March 31st, 2010 § § permalink
Instead of a big state, the Conservatives want a ‘big society’…
“It is a guiding philosophy”, Cameron said, “a society where the leading force for progress is social responsibility, not state control”.
Hmm. Progress.
“It includes a whole set of unifying approaches – breaking state monopolies, allowing charities, social enterprises and companies to provide public services, devolving power down to neighbourhoods, making government more accountable”.
Charities, eh?
I think I see a teeny tiny massive gaping hole in his plan.
via Justin
March 27th, 2010 § § permalink
The Tories, eh? Nice and shiny and caring and nice and not nasty at all.
If they are as nice as they want to make us believe, then why are there so many shits on their approved blogger list?
Here’s another one from that list…
Apart from the outrageously high number of eastern Europeans who have flooded the city in the past few years, Peterborough is now an almost unrecognisable shadow of it’s former self. I happened to go into the city centre yesterday – the first time in around 4 months. As I walked down the street there were literally no English accents to be heard – and I mean not one. Groups of foreign ‘youths’ filed past the Cathedral, once resting place to Mary Queen of Scots, spitting on the newly laid block paving and chucking cigarette butts on the ground. For the first time I actually felt nervous and frankly rather scared to walk around a city I once called home.
‘Youths’? Wtf with the scare-quotes? Either they were young enough to be called youths or they weren’t. Unless they were old foreigners pretending to be youths. More likely, ‘youths’ is only the official word for them. We all know what they really are, don’t we? *winks knowingly*
And their dirty bastards, too, these ‘youths’. Fancy spitting, on new paving blocks as well! You’d never catch one of those nice Peterborough lads spitting, would you? They’re all brought up nice and proper like. Peterborough lads, when they’re smoking in the street put their fags out in the palm of their hands and put the dog end in a bin, or their pocket if a bin in not in the immediate vicinity.
TT titles her post ‘Labours migrant swan slayers’ but there is nothing about swan killing in the post, so by implication, every East European is tarred as a rabid swan muncher. Even though, the eating of swans is, well, bollox. (I will admit, though, I bet they are fucking tasty.)
No wonder Tory Totty felt nervous and scared. Probably worried about opening her mouth and revealing what shit she is.
March 26th, 2010 § § permalink
Lets celebrate everything that human race have acheived. The extra-ordinary world that we have created that is so far from the trees and caves from whence we came.
You can do that at 8.30pm 27th March with the Human Achievement Hour.
During Human Achievement Hour, people around the world will be recognising the incredible accomplishments of the human race.
Originally conceived by the Competitive Enterprise Institute in 2009, Human Achievement Hour coincides with the earth hour campaign but salutes those who keep the lights on and produce the energy that makes human achievement possible.
Damn. It coincides with Earth Hour. I’m sure there’s a good reason the exact same hour was chosen. Gotta choose which to do then. Decisions, decisions. They’re both important things, really aren’t they? We got to look after the planet. Whether man made climate change is real or not, we don’t don’t want to mess our home up. You wouldn’t shit on your living room carpet, would you? Would you?
On the other hand, look what humans have acheived. flight, wireless communications, men walking on the moon. We truly are an incredible animal. That surely deserves our support.
I’m gonna go with the Human achievement hour. Let’s celebrate people for a change. We are down on ourselves a lot recently, a big pat on the back would do us good. What have I gotta do to praise the demi-god (and compared to mere animals, we are gods) that is the human?
Millions of people around the world will be showing their support for human achievement by simply going about their daily lives. While earth hour activists will be left in the dark, Human Achievement Hour participants will be going to the cinema, enjoying a hot meal, driving their car or watching television.
What? But I simply ‘go about my daily life’ er, daily. Does that mean that even if I didn’t know about this hour I would still be celebrating it?
Surely then, I celebrate with a human achievement hour 8736 times a year?
This isn’t a celebration. It’s a…
Now, where’s my lentil meusli…?
March 25th, 2010 § § permalink
The Guardian…
The government has officially confirmed plans for a new carbon levy on consumer bills which it hopes will make building new nuclear plants viable, as the Guardian revealed in October last year.
Nuclear companies like EDF Energy have warned they will not make the billions of pounds of investment necessary in the UK without government financial guarantees.
So it’s a fucking hostage situation is it? We’ve all got to pay for these fuckers to make buck?
How long has nuclear power been around? The first nuclear power station went live in 1954. That’s 56 years. 56 years to get it right. 56 years to work out a viable business model to get a power plant built ad working and make a profit out the process.
But no. These guys want us to pay for it’s construction.
I could understand if it was a small company with a new technology, or even just a small company. It’s not though. In 2007 EDF Energy made €8.4 billion (£7.5 billion) and EDF Trading made €670 million (£598 million).
…companies are reluctant to build low-carbon generation plants, particularly nuclear reactors, because they do not know what return they will make on the huge up-front investment required.
Who the fuck does know what returns they will make on an investment? If it was that easy I’d be build a nuclear plant.
It’s not just the cost of building the bloody thing in the first place. Although it is a big part of it, building these plants never stick to budget, we still have to deal with the waste that is produced. Bury it, store it, dump it in the sea, it’s stuck with us for sometimes millions of years. The energy companies ain’t gonna look after it for ever.
When any bit of kit of the size of a nuclear power plant, of whatever type and function, goes pop it makes a big ol’ mess. But when a nuclear plant goes bang it fucks thing big style. And they do go bang (my emphasis)…
A study published in Energy Policy in May 2008 shows that, in the period to 2007, sixty-three major nuclear accidents have occurred at nuclear power plants. Twenty-nine of these have occurred since the Chernobyl disaster
And who pays for the clean up? The fucking governments because insurance companies won’t touch them.
So, what do we have? Companies that make billions of pounds want us to pay for their equipment, deal with their waste and pay for it when it all goes tits up.
Fuck you. Shoot the hostage. I don’t want to pay that ransom.
(For more reasons, arguably more important reasons, why nuclear power is a bad idea ave a look at Greenpeaces’ Nuclear Reaction)
March 25th, 2010 § § permalink
Hand out mephedrone in nightclubs, says ex-drugs tsar Professor David Nutt
You what? Has the man taken leave of his senses? This stuff is dangerous. D.A.N.G.E.R.O.U.S.
But in a classic Daily Mail sidestep, that’s not quite what the Prof said. There’s more to it than just doleing out drugs.
I wouldn’t be against exploring the possibility of some sort of regulated use for MDMA or mephedrone where people, maybe in clubs, could have access to small amounts, safe amounts under guidance.
What Professor Nutt is saying is have a look at regulated access to the drugs. He isn’t even saying we should do that, just that we should look into what sort of harm reduction may be achieved from letting consenting adults, because only adults are allowed in nightclubs, buy untainted drugs that aren’t cut with all the usual rubbish along with the information to let those adults make an informed choice. We do that with alcohol and cigarettes, so why not with other substances that are no more harmful than alcohol and cigarettes?
The headline which gives the impression that every club should have someone just dishing out mindbending drugs to who ever wants them in what ever quantities are asked for. That is just ridiculous. We don’t even do that in pubs, and pubs are only there to sell you a mindbending drug.
This sort of mis-representation would be right at home at the Daily Mail. But it isn’t. It’s the Independent, a supposedly ‘quality’ paper. No wonder it’s had to pay someone to buy it. Which is bribery, isn’t it?
March 22nd, 2010 § § permalink
debate
noun
- a formal discussion in a public meeting or legislature, in which opposing arguments are presented.
- an argument.
source
Nick Griffin…
Tonight I will debate the issue of Christianity in modern Britain with Revd. George Hargreaves, Leader of the Christian Party UK.
WTF? That’s gonna be some debate.
I intend to press home the increasing Islamification of the UK, the decline and censorship of Christian values, history, traditions and culture in politically correct Britain, and the absurd spectacle of the modern upper echelons of the clergy teaming up with leftist political radicals to dismantle traditional Christian Britain.
To have a debate their needs to be an opposing argument otherwise there’s just a lot of nodding in agreement to what ever anyone says. What do the Christian Party offer? Well, during the European election campaign their line was…
Britain is a Christian country, vote to keep it that way
March 21st, 2010 § § permalink
The pope has written a letter in response to all this business about child abuse by Irish Catholic churchmen.
It starts off by waffling on about how Irish Catholics have had a hard time over the centuries but there have been some outstanding chaps in that period too.
He continuous with bits aimed at the people who were abused themselves, their parents, bishops, Catholics in general and the vicars, or whatever they’re called, who did the abusing. All pretty obvious stuff with suitable a apology/condemnation/words of support in the right places.
Then, Gods elected right hand man says…
I now wish to propose to you some concrete initiatives to address the situation.
So what does he suggest? Shopping his pervy colleagues? Changes in the procedures to be followed when a priest is accused of or found to be fucking with the kids in their care?
At the conclusion of my meeting with the Irish bishops, I asked that Lent this year be set aside as a time to pray for an outpouring of God’s mercy and the Holy Spirit’s gifts of holiness and strength upon the Church in your country. I now invite all of you to devote your Friday penances, for a period of one year, between now and Easter 2011, to this intention. I ask you to offer up your fasting, your prayer, your reading of Scripture and your works of mercy in order to obtain the grace of healing and renewal for the Church in Ireland. I encourage you to discover anew the sacrament of Reconciliation and to avail yourselves more frequently of the transforming power of its grace.
Particular attention should also be given to Eucharistic adoration, and in every diocese there should be churches or chapels specifically devoted to this purpose. I ask parishes, seminaries, religious houses and monasteries to organize periods of Eucharistic adoration, so that all have an opportunity to take part. Through intense prayer before the real presence of the Lord, you can make reparation for the sins of abuse that have done so much harm, at the same time imploring the grace of renewed strength and a deeper sense of mission on the part of all bishops, priests, religious and lay faithful.
I am confident that this programme will lead to a rebirth of the Church in Ireland in the fullness of God’s own truth, for it is the truth that sets us free (cf. Jn 8:32).
No. More fucking prayer. More places and opportunities for prayer and worship. Whoopie-fucking-do. More of the same.
Oh, and more talking…
I also propose that a nationwide Mission be held for all bishops, priests and religious. It is my hope that, by drawing on the expertise of experienced preachers and retreat-givers from Ireland and from elsewhere, and by exploring anew the conciliar documents, the liturgical rites of ordination and profession, and recent pontifical teaching, you will come to a more profound appreciation of your respective vocations, so as to rediscover the roots of your faith in Jesus Christ and to drink deeply from the springs of living water that he offers you through his Church.
That’ll do the fucking job, won’t it? Give your priests a “more profound appreciation of [their] respective vocations” because that is exactly what the cunts that abused, not only, their position in the Catholic church was missing. If only those priests truly knew what sort responsibility they held and where it came from then they wouldn’t have fucked up so many lives.
March 19th, 2010 § § permalink
Look at this…
It’s a neoprene bracelet with a hologram on it. Remember that. It’s made from the same stuff as wetsuits and a little hologram. It’s not just for decoration, though. It is a nifty bit of magic.
I was told about it by a friend who said that surfers use them because they improve your balance. We laughed, naturally. I then googled it and am told that these things ‘promote balance, flexibility, strength and overall wellness’. The ‘subtle’ magic in these holograms is so subtle that they don’t even need to be worn, they can have an effect even when they are only near a person.
How does it work? Here comes the science bit…
Subtle frequencies (bio data) are programmed into holographic media. These frequencies resonate with the body’s red blood cells believed to amplify and increases the efficiency of electronic, chemical, and organic systems.
The human body is a bio-electrical system, “Bio-field”. The bio-electrical energy is created by cells in varying frequencies through muscular actions and can be altered, strengthened, and balanced when influenced by [the magic hologram].
[The magic hologram] can be understood by imagining how the tuning fork works resonating a specific vibration at a constant pitch. Similarly, [the magic hologram] resonates multiple frequencies “bio-data” with the body’s Bio-field, forcing the Bio-field into vibrational motion – at its natural frequency to enhance cell-to-cell communications.
Who believes this stuff? It’s just a load of horse-shit. I would go through that description, but it speaks for itself, doesn’t it?
Update (i really shouldn’t publish posts so readily, should I?):
Surfing magazine interviewed a salesman of these thing last May (my emphasis on the last question)…
SURFING: What the hell exactly is this thing?
HARRY: Power Balance is based on the reality of frequencies. Albert Einstein said that everything in life is vibrations. Power Balance, in effect, is it’s own frequency — just like a radio station is a frequency. The use of frequencies has been around for ages: from ancient metals to modern EKG’s. The guys who made Power Balance learned how to transfer this particular frequency onto a medium — this hologram — to make it possible for everyone to benefit from it. When you put Power Balance next to your body, it resonates with the frequency in your body — similar to how you tune a guitar with a tuning fork. So it helps you tune your body to that particular “pitch” and the energy in your body — or the Chi as they say in Chinese — is at an optimal level; increasing balance, concentration, flexibility, blood flow… Power Balance helps your body work to its maximum potential.
So, are you a witch?
I’m not, but I think the owners might have met a witch when they found this thing.
But really, is this thing magic? It doesn’t really seem to work very, you know, logically.
No, it’s science. Frequencies are used in MRI’s in hospitals, they use frequencies to cure tumors. Everything has its own frequencies — from an earthquake to this spoon — everything is resonating. It sounds weird and wonderful, but it’s a fact and it’s the basis of this whole universe that everything has its own frequency.
March 15th, 2010 § § permalink
Give it away, then. Let some one else make use of it.
How a nation deals with issues such as climate change, war, poverty and imigration don’t just have an effect in that nation. The vaery nature of the issues have an impact on other countries.
What the campaign Give Your Vote aims to do is give those people affected by, but cannot influence those decision, a voice.
If you intend not using your vote then you register with the campaign site and they will send you details of someone from Bangladesh, Afghanistan or Ghana and how they would vote if they were eligible and ask you to use your vote how they would. The press release also says…
The GIVE YOUR VOTE campaign will see:
The Conservative, Labour, Lib Dem and other manifestos launched in Kabul, Dhaka and Accra.
- Local language campaign posters of Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Nick Clegg being pasted on walls across the cities
- Questions on party policies from Britain’s new overseas constituents passed to UK candidates via their own constituents.
- Afghan, Bangladeshi and Ghanaian voters in the British poll will vote by sending a text message on election day to a local number. A registered UK voter will receive a message telling them how they can carry out that vote.
- In the three countries the campaign is called ‘USE A UK VOTE’ and will launch on 30th March following the collection of the first set of UK vote pledges.
Sounds like a noble thing. It brings the idea of a global democracy closer to a reality.
I won’t be using it, I know how I’m going to vote. I also have doubts as to how much real effect it will have. We shall see, eh?
March 9th, 2010 § § permalink
There’s a new site on the block – Counterfire.org.
It has been set up by many of those that resigned from the SWP a month or two ago and goes a little like this…
News and theory publication Counterfire was launched today with a plethora of reports and essays focusing on the crisis in capitalism, imperialism and war and popular culture.
The website is being launched on International Women’s Day with a 60 strong team including an investigations team, an industrial unit, arts reviews and peer reviewed publications.
Lindsey German, author of Material Girls, Women, Sex and Work and convenor of Stop the War said: “We live in a world of growing conflict, crisis and inequality and Counterfire is a much needed new voice calling for fundamental change.”
Adrian Cousins, editor of the new site, said: “Counterfire includes snappy news articles alongside expert analysis of the most important issues today with original design, photography and video. There is a blog aggregate so those interested in the movements know where to come.”
John Rees, broadcaster and author, said: “The journalism and analysis on Counterfire will provide a welcome alternative to the discredited and failing policies of the political elite.”
Elly Badcock, women’s officer at SOAS and women’s editor, said: “It’s fantastic that on the 100th International Women’s Day this powerful new site which uses the latest technology is providing a platform for the new feminism of the 21st Century.”
The site features daily news from the movements including articles on protests, petitions and campaigns alongside theory analysing the economy, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and campaigns against the BNP and the English Defence League.
Go have a look round.