The most moral army in the world.

February 1st, 2010 § 1 comment § permalink

… it turns out once again we are correct when we say the IDF is the most moral army in the world, from the chief of staff to the last soldier.

(source)

A female soldier in Sachlav Military Police unit, stationed in Hebron, recalled a Palestinian child that would systematically provoke the soldiers by hurling stones at them and other such actions. One time he even managed to scare a soldier who fell from his post and broke his leg.

Retaliation came soon after: “I don’t know who or how, but I know that two of our soldiers put him in a jeep, and that two weeks later the kid was walking around with casts on both arms and legs…they talked about it in the unit quite a lot – about how they sat him down and put his hand on the chair and simply broke it right there on the chair.”

Even small children did not escape arbitrary acts of violence, said a Border Guard female officer serving near the separation fence: “We caught a five-year-old…can’t remember what he did…we were taking him back to the territories or something, and the officers just picked him up, slapped him around and put him in the jeep. The kid was crying and the officer next to me said ‘don’t cry’ and started laughing at him. Finally the kid cracked a smile – and suddenly the officer gave him a punch in the stomach. Why? ‘Don’t laugh in my face’ he said.”

(source)

and, of course, the use of white phosphorous.

Some people have a strange sense of morality, don’t they?

On the EU Presidency

October 27th, 2009 § 2 comments § permalink

The Guardian has a piece about Blair and the EU presidency.

Our Tone might face some obstacles…

These are: a petition, which has so far attracted 41,326 signatures saying that it would be wrong to appoint a man who allegedly violated international law in the Iraq war; the implacable opposition of the Tories, who have warned EU leaders that appointing Blair would be seen as a hostile act in Britain; strong opposition from smaller EU member states, who fear that such a high profile figure would eclipse them; and a concern across the EU that it would be wrong to appoint someone from the most reluctant member of the EU.

But is still considered, by many, the favourite. Although he isn’t making life easy for himself by refuse to campaign. This refusal, the article says, is because he is worried about getting a humiliating slap down and also…

“It will be decided in horse trading over the coming weeks,” one Blair ally said. “This will all take place behind closed doors.”

Blair believes this is why it would be wrong to campaign. “This is a very odd election,” one ally said. “It will be decided by 27 people. This is not something that can be won by running a campaign.”

Not really an election, is it? More of an appointment, wouldn’t you say?

Is it really too much to ask for a little bit of democracy and, if we must have a president, let the people decide who it should be?

But it’s not about democracy, is it? I’m buggered if I know what it is about, but democracy it isn’t.

On the BNP and their constitutional changes to come

October 15th, 2009 § 0 comments § permalink

Fat Nick caved in

BNP leader Nick Griffin has agreed to ask his party to amend its constitution so it does not discriminate on grounds of race or religion, a court heard.

The UK’s equalities watchdog had argued the BNP broke the Race Relations Act by restricting members to “indigenous Caucasian” people.

The court heard Mr Griffin had agreed to use “all reasonable endeavours” to revise its constitution.

BNP members will be asked to agree to the changes at a meeting in November.

Either the begging letters didn’t raise enough or Fat Nick thought it would be better spent in the upcoming general election.

Will the disgruntled party faithful accept these changes? Who knows, but according to the current BNP consitution (pdf) says…

SECTION 14: REVISIONS TO THIS CONSTITUTION
1) Consideration will regularly be given to changes in this Constitution for the purpose of improving the functional efficiency of the party. Final authority to determine such changes, however, will rest with the elected National Chairman – saving those Sections protected by Section 13, Sub-section4.

So, the Chairman can change most of the constitution as he sees fit. What does Section 13, sub-section 4 say?

Any changes in Sections 1, 4, 5 or 13 of this constitution must be approved by a two thirds majority vote of members attending a General Members’ Meeting.

Follow the number. Follow the numbers.

Section 1 is Political Objectives

Section 4 is Elections to the Party Leadership

Section 5 is Advisory Council

Section 13 is General Members’ Meetings

All the above sections need a two third majority vote of the membership.

Section 2: Membership, doesn’t. Fat Nick, being the Chairman, has the authority to change that section of the constitution all by himself.

So where does that leave the BNP?

Fat Nick has no choice but to change the constitution because the law requires it to be changed and the Chairman has the authority to change it. The party faithful has no say in it. Either the constitution changes or the BNP stop being a legally* legitimate political party.

*Whatever, they will remain a morally illegitimate party.

All this though, will not change the party at all. Consider this, from a report of a public BNP meeting in Cleveleys (via)…

One member offers me a drink as he says: “We’re not intimidating are we? We get a lot of bad press but we’re not thugs.”
But I don’t like what I hear next as around six people put their hands up to request an application form to become a BNP member. One convert shouts: “I’ll have an application form, but not a coloured one!”
It was greeted with laughter by most in the audience, and was a deeply unpleasant reminder of where I was.

While inside the building the recruitment drive was in full flow, it was a different story outside as four people got turned away. All were either black or Asian. There were no members of the ethnic minorities inside.
As I left a security guard told me: “After a while it was getting full up so we decided it had to be members only.”
Strange that, as I was given a seat all to myself and I’m not a member. And I swear there was plenty of space.

Healthy Profits

October 2nd, 2009 § 4 comments § permalink

Yesterday the Guardian revealed the sheer magnitude of the sums of money spent by Lobbyists on both sides in the great healthcare debate in the US:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/oct/01/lobbyists-millions-obama-healthcare-reform

Lobbyists representing the commercial interests of those who are opposed to the introduction of public health insurance have spent a grand total of $380 million on advertising campaigns, lobbying and direct political contributions, whilst those supportive of the bill, such as the Pharmaceutical companies, have stumped up $150 million.

These methods of lobbying have been described as ‘morally suspect’, rather an understatement of the situation, and indeed cast yet another dark cloud over the mechanisms of democracy, and the brand of democracy that the US are attempting to export all over the world.

What this shows us, alongside yet another damnation of the current democratic system, is that the Capitalist system is so wasteful and incapable of satisfying even the most basic of human needs. Anne Kruger, a famous neoliberal and pro-capitalist academic, wrote about ‘rent seeking’ in the 1990’s, arguing that rent-seeking, defined as the quest for access to  ‘super profits’ (profits gained over and above the profits one would expect to receive in a perfectly competitive market), is wasteful to the economy, as Firms compete for these super profits at the expense of investment. Kruegers’ original model was used to criticise certain countries in the Developing world for the non-market policies that they implemented. Supporters of the efficiency of the market would yet again hold up this model, and argue that the public medical insurance scheme proposed by Obama is government intervention is anti-market, which in a sense it is. The $430 million spent by the Firms in competing for the super profits could have been used more productively if it were invested.

So far so good, Ms Krueger, you almost have us convinced that Obamas’ proposed reforms have actually contributed to a reduction in the efficiency of the market. If you are arguing that this sum could have been invested in the  public healthcare system, not made it’s way into the pockets of the already super -rich that inhabit Capital Hill, sorry, Capitol Hill, then that is very admirable of you.

However, this kind of argument is consistently used to hide that basic fact that the market is simply defunct as a system that can fulfill even the most basic of human needs.  Another finding of Kruegers’ model is that the amount that Firms are willing to spend on competing for the super profits will eventually equal the amount of super profits available to them. As the legislation has not been passed yet, and we do not know how much more will be spent, what we can say is that there is at least $380 million in super profits up for grabs.

We can also say that without the proposed legislation, these $380 million worth of profits implicitly coexist,  and rely on the fact that an estimated 46 million of the poorest Americans are excluded from the healthcare system as they are unable to afford either the private medical insurance or the fees.  To put it bluntly, the ‘efficient’ market outcome trades off $380 million in profits against the healthcare needs of the poorest 15% of the US population. This is what ‘efficiency’ means in real terms, and is characteristic of the market outcomes that we see all over the world. It is one of the starkest examples of how the capitalist system places profit above human need.

If it looks like a goose and steps like a goose…

September 28th, 2009 § 0 comments § permalink

The BNP are not Nazis, Fat Nick tells us.

Well, if it looks like a goose, and steps like a goose…

Mike Bell, the midlands BNP organiser took a delagation to Germany to a rock festival organised by the NPD.

Who are the NPD, I hear you ask. PoliticalhackUK has a the answer…

The NPD is the National Democratic Party of Germany and has been under constant investigation by the German government for being a threat to the constitution – these nutjobs worship Rudolf Hess as a martyr to the cause

They wished Obama well for his presidency, announcing that he was elected by a ‘Jewish-Negro alliance’ and was out to destroy the white identity of the US.

Germany still maintains very strict laws about displaying anything relating to the Nazis – not a great surprise, to be honest. So when one of their local leaders – Jurgen Rieger – wore a Nazi uniform to be driven around in a Nazi staff car bedecked with Nazi propaganda, he ended up being prosecuted for this minor transgression. Rieger is now out to try to create a museum to the Nazi ‘Strength through Joy’ movement which extended Nazi Party control to leisure and travel in the pre-war years. He’s also been blocked from using a rural hotel to start a training camp for young wannabe Nazis – German police had to storm the building after gunshots were reported. Jurgen is reported to be a great admirer of Oswald Mosley.

Nice.

via Bob Piper

Here? Why not there?

September 22nd, 2009 § 3 comments § permalink

Teh Guardian

Scores of French riot police descended early this morning on the “jungle” camp in Calais, bulldozing makeshift tents and rounding up hundreds of illegal migrants hoping to stow away on lorries to Britain.

It’s a sorry state if affairs.

We all know why illegal immigrants, asylum seekers, whatever you want to call them, want to come here to this sceptred isle. Depending on who you ask the reasons range from: work; benefits; convert us all to Islam; endangered at home; want a better life; other family already here.

These guys in the ‘jungle’ in France, though. Looking for asylum in Britain. If they get here and can get a claim going, fair enough to them. But…

All the journalists and reporters I’ve heard on this story (and I don’t claim to have heard them all) have all asked why these refugees want asylum in Britain, but never asked why they’re not claim asylum in France when they’re already in France.

Is the French system that bad? Surely they don’t all have family here?

Just an observation. That’s all.

Compassion? Do we have any?

August 19th, 2009 § 1 comment § permalink

Al-Magrahi, the chap that has been convicted of the Lockerbie bombing has dropped his appeal against his conviction so he can be considered for early release on compassionate grounds as he has terminal cancer or could be transfered to a Libyan prison.

The Americans are up in arms about this and reckon he should be left to rot and most of the Scottish victims families don’t think he actualy did it. What a strange one.

Putting aside all the fuss about whether al-Magrahi is guilty or not and all the inter-nation dealings (Mandelson recently visited Gaddafis’ son), I think al-Magrahi should be released on compassionate grounds.

i) He is dying. He is not a danger to anyone.

ii) Ever heard of ‘taking the moral high-ground’? If al-Magrahi is released, especially on compassionate grounds, how does that make us look? Like a bunch of pussies or ‘Good People’?

ii) I don’t think we should be taking lectures on incarceration from a country that wants to lock someone up for up to 60 years for an offence that i) wasn’t about money, ii) wasn’t about power, iii) didn’t blow anything up or iv) didn’t kill anyone.

Bullshit baffles brains…

August 18th, 2009 § 2 comments § permalink

… as the saying goes. It doesn’t apply here though.

The question over at the BNP site is “Who are the minorities?”. And guess who are the minorities…

Over and over again, British people — and Europeans generally — are told that they must “accommodate the minorities” in their countries. Yet the worldwide reality is that European-origin people are the true global minority, and, using the liberal logic which demands special rights for minorities, it is Europeans who should receive the special perks.

Yes. The poor old white man is the true minority. The white man might not be a minority in their own country so the BNP are making the battle global. Suddenly, the Nationalists are worried about other countries. If the white man clubs together, then and only then, and even then only in absolute numbers does he become an endangered species.

[There are several reports mentioned in the BNPs’ pamphlet of shit and it’s late so if someone else wants to look into how good/reliable they are, go for it..]

Consider the following: The world’s population is forecast to hit 7 billion in 2011, the vast majority of its growth coming in ‘developing’ and, in many cases, the poorest nations, according to the latest World Population Data Sheet issued by the Population Reference Bureau in America.

Some 97 percent of global growth over the next 40 years will happen in Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, said the report

And there is a lot of talk of birthrates, quoting various population increases in various countries and suchlike, all of which may be accurate, but just as likely not. But then there’s also stuff like…

A United Nations population survey in 2007 predicted the 21st century disappearance of western man.

By 2050, a fourth of all the people of Eastern Europe will have vanished. Ukraine will lose one-third of its population. Russia, 150 million at the breakup of the Soviet Union, 142 million today, will be down to 108 million.

Ah, ‘Western Man’. That’s what the racists are worried about, aren’t they? So, in the next 91 years, there will be no true white man, eh? Why are they quoting Eastern Europeans in the decline of western man? Aren’t they one of the groups of people coming over here, taking ‘our’ jobs and taking ‘our’ benefits whilst shagging ‘our’ women?
Here’s the first solid bit of bullshit numbering. Either the BNP are adding their own numbers or the report they got it from was written by an uninformed twat because didn’t the Soviet Union break up twenty years ago? Any recent self-respecting, legitimate report wouldn’t count anything to do with the Soviet Union. The USSR is history already. Oh, and where do all these people in the Ukraine get lost? In the sodding permafrost?

The UN statistics, however, show the populations of Northern, Western and Southern Europe stabilising or falling only slightly.

That’s just not good enough, is it? Come on. It’s your duty to your race to fuck more!

It is time, therefore, that liberals stopped talking about ‘minorities’ as if European people were somehow the dominating majority. European-origin people across the world are the true minority, and as such deserve extra special treatment in their home nations.

Ok. Taking their figures, the dodgy groupings and double accounting, at face value, so what? Aren’t they supposedly ‘Nationalists’? Isn’t the clue in the name? What do these Nationalists care about other countries? Don’t they have an isolationist twang to their policies? All of a sudden, the go-it-aloners are worried about other nations ‘indigenous people’.

[added during a read through: When liberals (and that could be anyone when the BNP say it) talk about minorities, they talk about the minority ethnic groupings of that country. In South Africa the minority is the white bloke. In European countries, European descended people are the majority. FFS.]

I just spotted too, ‘European-origin people’ don’t just deserve an equal crack at the whip, not even special treatment, but extra special treatment. What do they want? A fucking house given to them? They want immigrants that come here to work (until they can send them packing), but want extra special treatment themselves. Sounds like aparthied would be just up their street.

Here come the big guns of the arguement: The United Nations stuff…

The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, adopted by General Assembly Resolution 61/295 on 13 September 2007, states very clearly that:

Oh, go on. Lets see what you make of this. I’m going to quote everything they do and then deal with it in one go at the end…

“Article 3
Indigenous peoples have the right to self-determination. By virtue of that right they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development.
Article 4
Indigenous peoples, in exercising their right to self-determination, have the right to autonomy or self-government in matters relating to their internal and local affairs, as well as ways and means for financing their autonomous functions.
Article 6
Every indigenous individual has the right to a nationality.
Article 8
1. Indigenous peoples and individuals have the right not to be subjected to forced assimilation or destruction of their culture.
2. States shall provide effective mechanisms for prevention of, and redress for:
(a) Any action which has the aim or effect of depriving them of their integrity as distinct peoples, or of their cultural values or ethnic identities;
(b) Any action which has the aim or effect of dispossessing them of their lands, territories or resources;
(c) Any form of forced population transfer which has the aim or effect of violating or undermining any of their rights;
(d) Any form of forced assimilation or integration;
(e) Any form of propaganda designed to promote or incite racial or ethnic discrimination directed against them.
Article 33
1. Indigenous peoples have the right to determine their own identity or membership in accordance with their customs and traditions. This does not impair the right of indigenous individuals to obtain citizenship of the States in which they live.
2. Indigenous peoples have the right to determine the structures and to select the membership of their institutions in accordance with their own procedures.”

Indigenous people do have all those rights. They are meant, primarily, where a land has been occupied, colonised or conquered. A good example of this are the Aboriginal people of Austrialia. Foreign people came and conquered the land and for fuck knows how long denied them full rights, equal rights in their own land.
I challenge anyone to give me an example of where one of the UN articles quoted above are being violated with regard to the ‘indigenous’ population of Great Britian.

Those UN articles apply to individual countries, territories, irrespective of what is happening in other countries. The Republic of Ireland could have a majority population of Easter Islanders and it wouldn’t matter to the rights of anybody in the UK at all.

I would imagine ‘Western Man’ is already a minority. Think about it. There’s a fuck load of people spread over this earth and western Europe and North America is a small part of it. If the fascist nationalists are having to club together with unnatural bedfellows to become the put-upon victims, the rest of their arguments disappear like sand through their fingers

All it needs is bin Laden to show his face

August 14th, 2009 § 0 comments § permalink

What the difference between who was running Afghanistan beforethe US/UK went in and now?

Before we went in the Afghan rulers were hardly officially recognised internationally.

The Guardian

Afghanistan has quietly passed a law permitting Shia men to deny their wives food and sustenance if they refuse to obey their husbands’ sexual demands, despite international outrage over an earlier version of the legislation which President Hamid Karzai had promised to review.

The new final draft of the legislation also grants guardianship of children exclusively to their fathers and grandfathers, and requires women to get permission from their husbands to work.

“It also effectively allows a rapist to avoid prosecution by paying ‘blood money’ to a girl who was injured when he raped her,” the US charity Human Rights Watch said.

Apparently, the USA isn’t a democracy

August 13th, 2009 § 2 comments § permalink

This comment is from a Fox News article about the Republican lies about the NHS* (my emphasis)…

by wantmytaxesback Texas

The NHS was conceptualized during WW2. At that point, EVERYTHING was rationed. Food, anemeties…lets not forget that they were getting bombed by the Luftwaffe. I know most liberals are too young to know what WW2 was even about, but that’s ok. You have the internet to educate you. I suggest you do it. Now. There are so many employees of the NHS now that it is near impossible to get rid of. It is a fact of life in Britain. Its unfortunate, really. However, we cannot let that happen in America. We are a Republic, not a democracy. Mob rule does not, and never will, work

You fucking thick twat. Fucking rednecks.

*If you don’t know it read the article itself

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