Sovereign Independent Newspaper - print and distribute

The Sovereign Independent Newspaper is now available online. Update: the link opens a PDF and might take a few minutes; here's an alternative link.

Any of you visiting Ireland over the next few weeks might want to print it and pass it around.

Murdoch calls BBC's ambitions "chilling"

James Murdoch attached the BBC's ambitions as "chilling", accusing the BBC of being a threat to free journalism and an organ of the state.

He delivered this provocative view at the 2009 MediaGuardian Edinburgh International Television Festival.

Why should people pay for news online when it can get it "free" from the BBC?

Watch Murchoch's speech.

James Murdoch is the son of Rupert Murdoch, Chairman of News Corporation.

Biased Broadcasting Corporation: UKIP

I complained to the BBC about it not giving coverage to UKIP, over the Norwich by-election, while it gave coverage to the Greens - a fringe party, if ever there were one.

Here is the BBC's response:

Please accept our apologies for the delay in replying. We know our correspondents appreciate a quick response and we are sorry you have had to wait on this occasion.

I understand you continue to feel our coverage of UKIP's Norwich North by-election campaign was not conducive with the party's level of support.

On the general issue of balance, there is an argument that in any election, all candidates standing should be given similar levels of coverage.
However, such an approach would mean that frivolous candidates, or those who might use an election to promote particular causes or commercial interests, would receive the same amount of coverage as those who had a realistic chance of victory. Therefore, the BBC takes the view that the best interest of the licence-payers - and voters - is served by giving appropriate levels of coverage to each candidate or party.

Normally, the most significant past result to take into account would be the last equivalent election - in this case, the 2005 General Election - but other subsequent and different elections can be taken into account in assessing levels of support for parties. In the case of Norwich North, the judgement was that the local and European results were so recent that they should be given rather more weight than normal.

It is by no means a straightforward calculation to arrive at this conclusion though. Norwich North falls across two different local authorities, so ward and division boundaries do not necessarily coincide, which means an approximation of voting patterns is necessary.

Although election results are not the only measure of past and/or current support, the calculation is normally made by looking at evidence of the electorate within the actual constituency. Therefore in the case of the European elections it would not be based on the whole of the Eastern Region
- only on how people in the Norwich North constituency voted.

The judgement about levels of coverage, respectively, for the Greens and UKIP, had to be looked at separately and on the evidence of past/current electoral support and other relevant factors, it was a reasonable judgement that the Green Party - in this by-election - merited a similar level of coverage to the main three parties.

Based on the same criteria, UKIP had not demonstrated sufficient evidence of electoral support in the Norwich North constituency to justify them being given similar levels of coverage to the main three parties. The Chief Adviser, Politics advised however that they had demonstrated a level of electoral support in the constituency sufficient to receive some coverage, in proportion to those parties.

This was based on the following evidence:

From the European elections, on 4 June, it is possible to break down the voting by local authority. These are the approximate percentage shares of the vote for the leading 6 parties in each of the two authorities covering the constituency:

Norwich City

Broadland

Cons 17.5 36

Lab 17

10.5

Lib Dem 15

16

UKIP 12

25

Green 25

11.5

BNP 4.5

6

(This is exactly how the table was formatted in their email - I can't make sense of it, either)

Although the analysis of the county council elections is more complex, a study carried out by the Eastern Daily Press early in the campaign set out the following (rounded) approximation of percentage share of the vote in the local elections within the Norwich North constituency:

Cons 40
Lab 18.5
Lib Dem 16.5
Green 16
UKIP 8 (did not stand in all wards)
BNP 1

In local government the Greens have established a significant and improving track record of support in Norwich - some of that within the Norwich North constituency. By contrast, UKIP have no track record of success locally in the same area.

Additionally, a telephone opinion poll was taken in Norwich North just before the campaign began. It was carried out by ICM with a sample of just over 500 and the results were as follows:

Conservative 34%
Labour 30%
Liberal Democrat 15%
Green 14%
UKIP 4%

Whilst being careful not to give undue weight to this survey in respect of levels of support in Norwich North, it did appear to provide some evidence of levels of electoral support consistent with the evidence of real voting in the local elections, which are normally more closely in line with Westminster than European elections. So in making the calculation about coverage of the by-election, the ICM survey was taken into account.

The BBC's approach is entirely consistent and takes no account whatsoever of what the particular policies of different parties are. In the June 09 European election campaign, UKIP received similar levels of coverage to the three main parties. This was based primarily on the party's strong showing in the 04 European election, when they won 12 seats and a higher share of the vote than the Liberal Democrats.

The fact that, in the event, UKIP secured more votes in the Norwich North by-election than the Greens does not invalidate the original assessment in any way. Judgements about levels of coverage can only be taken using existing evidence, they cannot speculate about future voting, without supporting evidence.

We are confident that we reported the UKIP campaign proportionately and in line with our Editorial Guidelines and the specific editorial guidance circulated to news teams by our Chief Advisor, Politics. This guidance is included below for your information:

"The Norwich North by-election takes place on July 23rd, the writ having now been moved.

From now on, in any pieces directly concerning the by-election, the constituency or the candidates, on TV, radio or online (either network or local/regional programmes broadcast in the constituency), output should take care to ensure due impartiality in the context of an Election Period.

The three main parties, Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democrats, should receive similar levels of coverage. On the basis of evidence of past and current electoral support in the constituency, the Green Party should receive a similar level of coverage to the three main parties. UKIP have also demonstrated a level of electoral support in the constituency sufficient to receive some coverage, in proportion to the main parties.

Other parties which can demonstrate some electoral support, including the BNP, should receive some coverage - proportionate to the main parties - over and above those candidates or parties with little evidence of electoral support, on programmes which cover the by-election.

The relative levels of coverage between the parties will depend on the context, format and duration of the output concerned - for further advice, please contact me on the numbers below.

As normal, any output about the by-election or candidates which does not mention all the candidates should - as a minimum - refer the audience to the website (link below) listing all candidates (until close of nominations, those so far declared).

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/norfolk/8127025.stm

This advice should be read in conjunction with Editorial Guidelines ("Broadcasting During Elections"):

http://www.bbc.co.uk/guidelines/editorialguidelines/edguide/politics/broadca
stingdur.shtml"

I appreciate you may continue to hold differing views regarding this matter; however should you now wish to proceed to the second stage of the complaints process, it's now open to you to write to the Director of BBC
News:

HelenBoadenComplaints@bbc.co.uk

Helen Boaden
Director
BBC News
Room 5601
Television Centre
Wood Lane
London W12 7RJ

Thanks again for taking the time to contact us.

Regards

Liam Boyle
BBC Complaints

www.bbc.co.uk/complaints

---------Original Message-------------


I have received a response to a complaint under reference xxxxxxxxxx and am not satisfied with the response.

In your response you claim that because there are so many candidates in the Norwich North by-election you allocate coverage to candidates based on evidence of past and/or present support".

In the election last month UKIP came second, ahead of Labour, the Lib Dems and the Greens. Labour no longer controls a single county council in England and the Lib Dems control only one. Labour lost three quarters of their councillors in England and now have less that the Lib Dems. The Greens continue to be an irrelevance in local, national and EU elections.

Glenn Tingle's opponent in Norwich North, Craig Murray, says on his website that more people are telling him that they will be voting UKIP than any other party which confirms that Glenn Tingle is the leading candidate.

So the BBC has clearly not based its election coverage on "evidence of past and/or present support". I am very unhappy at the unfair promotion of Labour, the Lib Dems and the Green Party at the expense of UKIP and at being lied to in the response to my original complaint.

A sizeable essay which does not convince. Did they not take into account the recent election results and poll results?

Another blogger offline, damnit!

Henry North is being targeted by the powers that be and is currently off-line. I look forward to Henry's re-emergence.

Update: Henry is still posting to National Death Service, which currently carries an update on why you SHOULD NOT take the swine flu vaccine.

Brown blackout is good news

In recent weeks, with Brown on holiday and not clogging the airwaves with his wooden delivery of tractor stats, I've found myself relatively relaxed and at peace with the world.

Might the Machievalian world of Fondlebum decide that, hey, we can silence right-wing bloggers by shutting the fcuk up?

Were that to happen, you could be sure that what was not taking place on the media stage was certainly taking place behind the scenes.

Which is worse?

Don't Inject Me: The Swine flu vaccine song

Hat tip: Natural News

Bored?

Vanishing liberties

From Anti-War:

If the seemingly unending wars in Iraq and Afghanistan ever do come to a close and a new war with Iran, Somalia, or Sudan can somehow be avoided, the most serious long term damage from the conflicts will be to the fundamental freedoms that Americans have cherished for more than two hundred years.  The erosion of America’s liberties has been driven by fear of terrorism but it is enabled by leaps in technology coupled with new legislation and a police state mentality that have made every citizen a target.  Hate crimes and laws targeting the internet provide a framework that relies on advanced monitoring technology to criminalize behavior that would have been considered off limits for privacy reasons ten years ago.

Read the full article.

Is this not happening in all first-world countries? If so, then it seems obvious that it is being orchestrated. Perhaps by the G20?

Who orchestrates the G20? Is there an uber force behind it? If so, what?

What are the ultimate aims of these measures?

Good reads

We're conservatives, not progressives - Donal Blaney
Do we need a dose of Thatcherism? - John Redwood
DNA database - a human scrapyard catalogue - Leg-Iron
Medical Papers by Ghostwriters Pushed Therapy - Natasha Singer
Two enormous lies that are being told straight to our faces - Man in an Shed
Musings on DNA - Leg-Iron

Professor Prezza of Climate Change

Erm.

The Mirror reports that Prezza is now a professor of climate change at the Chinese Xiamen University.

Junk science professed by King of Junk food - he who failed his 11-plus!

Just goes to show how even the 'tards of the political bottom get rewarded for their efforts to fleece the public.

Not a bit elitist, either. No, sir!

Peter Hitchins was right all along (2)

Further to a previous post which hosted a superb collection of videos of Peter Hitchins on Question Time (which are sadly no longer available), here are a few more of Hitchens's gems:

Treasury fleeces low-income groups via premium rate

The Mail reports that tax officials have been told to keep callers on the line for longer, to maximise the revenue 'earned' by the Tax Credits and Child Tax Credits helpline (0845 300 3900).

The whistleblower says the result is that calls are now stretched out from an average of five minutes to eight:

‘The managers say it’s to avoid mistakes so we can double-check things with callers, but that’s rubbish because inputting errors hardly ever happen,’ said the source.

‘All the staff are convinced it’s to make more money. Most people call us from mobile phones, because poorer people can’t afford a landline and most of the younger generation have mobiles.

Nice little earner for a 'service' which is a monopoly. Of course, the department denies culpability.

Don't let them get away with it. Every 0845 and 0870 number has an alternative national number which these b@stards don't publish.

The equivalent national numbers for 0845 300 3900 can be found on SayNoTo0870.com.

Swine flu: fabricated data from government

Global Research has an interesting take on swine flu, accusing the British government of fabricating data to whip up panic - the winners here being Big Pharma and treasury coffers.

I'm glad more people are beginning to wake up to the latest government / big business scam, which I've blogged about frequently.

Henry North has a few posts on the ill-advisability of vaccines - particularly untested vaccines.

The government tells us that the vaccine will have been tested by the end of the year, when they hope to mass-vaccinate the population - starting with pregnant women and children! As Henry points out, the mercury in the vaccines causes brain developmental problems and should not be given to pregnant women and children.

In any case, does anyone actually believe that a vaccine can be thoroughly tested within the space of a few months?

I'll take my chances with the flu, thank you. Dose up on vitamin D every day, to keep yourself healthy.

Update: How pharma reps fool doctors into pushing their products, regardless of their toxicity.



Hat tip: Henry North

Just for the hell of it

EU: German law professor warns of looming democratic deficit

According to OpenEurope:

Sueddeutsche Zeitung features the comments of German law professor Frank Schorkopf regarding the Lisbon Treaty judgement of the German Constitutional Court. Schorkopf says that the judgement may come as a wake-up call alerting people to the fact that more EU competencies does not necessarily correlate to the success of the EU. He argues that a lot of problems have to be solved collectively, but not all. He added that the European Parliament does not stand up to the core principles of political governance:

"That's why Karlsruhe said, that there have to be decisions which can only be made on the national level."

"Year after year, significant legal acts are decided on the European level, which have an impact on the rights and liberties of the citizens. How long shall we wait until the threshold of real democratic legitimacy is crossed?"

Dan Hannan warns America about tyranny

Another excellent speech from Dan Hannan. He warns America on the tyranny of socialised medicine and how it leads to loss of freedoms.

Hard-hitting, couragous speech. Highly recommended for Brits and Americans.







Hat tip: Theo Spark

Property collapse: second financial crisis looming

Properties which were refinanced in the last four years are coming up for renewal.  Most of them are very likely to have been financed for more than they are currently worth now.

Are we about to witness the next financially lethal stage of the greed-fuelled crises we thought we were emerging from?

British taxpayers are funding the Taliban

Heresy Corner carried an excellent piece today on how our tax pounds are funding the Taliban.

We're funding the Taliban to kill our soldiers!

Why are the media not carrying this story? They saw fit to bang on about swine flu for weeks and yet they let this outrageous scandal ride?

Please read it, blog it, tweet it - spread the word as widely as you can!

IMF wants China to grow its welfare state and encourage debt?

Olivier Blanchard of the IMF asserts that the global financial recovery has already started. Presumably, by this he means that some countries in the world are experiencing positive (if minute) growth.

"The turnaround will not be simple," Blanchard said. "The crisis has left deep scars, which will affect both supply and demand for many years to come."

He goes on to say that the US recovery should be export-led, while the Asian recovery should be import led.

Fair enough. But then he offers up this little gem:

"From the point of view of the United States, a decrease in China's current account surplus would help increase demand and sustain the U.S. recovery," he said. "That would result in more U.S. imports which would help sustain world recovery."

But in order for China to boost domestic demand, it will need to provide a stronger social safety net and increase household access to credit, which will encourage its consumers to save less and spend more.

Whooaah!

China was better placed than other countries to ride out the depression precisely because it wasn't mired in debt and doesn't have a weighty welfare burden like Britain's.

So the answer to the world's problems, according to the IMF is to encourage China to wreck its economy the way Brown wrecked ours?

Sounds like dreadful advice, to me.

A time for choosing - Reagan reminds us of freedoms lost

The man was a first class orator back in the time when Conservatives were conservative and not wishy-washy liberals sporting blue rosettes.

Confessions of an Economic Hit Man

Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, by John Perkins, is an account of Perkins's career with consulting firm Chas. T. Main. Before Chas T. Main employed him, the National Security Agency (NSA) interviewed him and he claims that this interview effectively constituted an independent screening which led to his subsequent hiring by Einar Greve, a member of the firm (and alleged NSA liaison) to become an "economic hit man".

John Perkins, author of "Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, talks to Mike McCormick about his career as an economic hit man, hired by the NSA and corporations to destabilise countries.





"Covertly recruited by the United States National Security Agency and on the payroll of an international consulting firm, he traveled the world—to Indonesia, Panama, Ecuador, Colombia, Saudi Arabia, Iran and other strategically important countries...Perkins reveals the hidden mechanics of imperial control behind some of the most dramatic events in recent history, such as the fall of the Shah of Iran, the death of Panamanian president Omar Torrijos, and the U.S. invasions of Panama and Iraq."

Perkins writes:

"The book was to be dedicated to the presidents of two countries, men who had been his clients whom I respected and thought of as kindred spirits–Jaime Roldós, president of Ecuador, and Omar Torrijos, president of Panama. Both had just died in fiery crashes. Their deaths were not accidental. They were assassinated because they opposed that fraternity of corporate, government, and banking heads whose goal is global empire. We Economic Hit Men failed to bring Roldós and Torrijos around, and the other type of hit men, the CIA-sanctioned jackals who were always right behind us, stepped in.

“I was persuaded to stop writing that book. I started it four more times during the next twenty years. On each occasion, my decision to begin again was influenced by current world events: the U.S. invasion of Panama in 1980, the first Gulf War, Somalia, and the rise of Osama bin Laden. However, threats or bribes always convinced me to stop.”

Perkins was also interviewed by Amy Goodman of Democracy Now.

A soldier's view

Repatriation

The leviathan of the sky does land
In England's green and pleasant land.
Its cargo more precious than gold
The body of a hero, bold.

Once the giant's engines stopped
The cargo ramp is gently dropped
Carried by six on shoulders true
The hero is saluted by the crew.

The coffin draped in Union Jack
Is slowly carried out the back.
Out of the dark and into light
Slowly down the ramp and to the right.

The six approach the hearse all black
And place the hero gently in the back.
The six then turn and march away
Their duty has been done this day.

Politicians usually have much to say
No sign of them near here this day.
They hide away and out of danger,
Much easier if the hero is a stranger.

The hearse with its precious load
Moves slowly out onto the road.
The floral tributes line the route
While comrades snap a smart salute.

At the edge of a Wiltshire town
The cortege slows its pace right down.
The streets are packed, many deep,
Some throw flowers, most just weep.

The crowd have come to say farewell,
The church bell rings a low death knell.
Regimental standards are lowered down
As the hero passed through the town.

The cortege stops and silence reigns
The townsfolk feel the family's pain.
The nations' flag lowered to half mast
Our brave hero is home at last.

Andy McFarlane, a soldier fighting in Afghanistan,

Courtesy of the Daily Mail

Mercury declared 'safe' by FDA. Really?

What's wrong with this picture?

1990 to 2008: Worldwide, governments declare mercury amalgam fillings unsafe and restrict or ban their use.[1] Apart, that is, from America's FDA which curiously classified a mercury amalgam as a device, rather than a substance.

1990 to present: Dentists set about removing mercury-based fillings from patients' teeth.

June 2009: Swine flu vaccine is reported to contain mercury [2]. (Watch video)

June 2009: Fears emerge that swine flu vaccinations will be mandatory for certain 'groupings', such as children.[2], [3]

FDA declares mercury amalgam fillings 'safe'.

Natural News reports:

Any scientific credibility the FDA might have been clinging to in these last few years has now disintegrated with the agency's recent announcement that after reviewing 200 scientific studies, it has concluded mercury fillings are safe for human health! This ruling, as you'll read below, further demonstrates how the FDA is a rogue federal agency that respects no law and frequently operates in direct violation of the law.

Who's behind this corruption? Follow the money.

Lobbies:

It seems the government is not there to look after our interests, but to change the laws to suit corporations and special interest groups.

[1] Dental amalgam controversy
[2] Washington Post: Swine Flu Vaccine Will Contain Mercury
[3] Mandatory Swine Flu Vaccine Alert
Mandatory Swine Flu Vaccinations This Fall?

Further reading:

• Toxic teeth
• FDA Stuns Scientists, Declares Mercury in Fish to be Safe for Infants, Children, Expectant Mothers!
• Mercury Tooth Fillings: FDA Does an About Face
  

Gerald Celente: The revolution is coming

Gerald Celente, trends forecaster, predicts a revolution in the making.



Update: Once mainstream America gets wind of Obama's proposed new executive powers to declare a "major disaster" and call in the 400,000 military to control the US population, the revolution might be closer than Celente imagines.

Goldman Sachs under scrutiny for fraud

Who really runs America?

For years, many of us have been suspicious of the relationship between the banks and governments, fearing that the banks have far too much influence over government.

The Bailout, seemingly engineered by Bernanke and Paulson, lent credence to those suspicions and yet those of us who cried foul were dismissed as being conspiracy theorists. That is always the way these people operate - discredit dissenters, then they will shut up for fear of being ridiculed by their peers.

Well now.

Even Channel 4 has sniffed the whiff in the air, emanating from Goldman Sachs. A vital piece of the jigsaw puzzle slotted into place when Goldman Sachs announced handsome profits recently, handing out taxpayers' money to its bankers in bonuses.

I believe we were all just a tad miffed about that.



To relieve the monster Goldman Sachs of its power, the US government need only consider ending the money-creating power of the Federal Reserve. After all, the money Goldman Sachs owns doesn't strictly exist. It was created out of thin air and does not have gold or other commodities to back it.

Governments around the world should find the guts to drive a stake through the heart of Goldman Sachs, cancer of the global financial system, along with the Fed.

Read about the Fed's 'missing' $2 trillion.

Update: Read the full story. (Hat tip to VotR for ferreting out the link)

Having engorged itself on the dot com boom, the oil bubble, the housing bubble, the credit bubble and a major proportion of the bank bailout (TARP), Goldman Sachs has moved on to its next kill - the carbon credit business, Cap and Trade.

Matt Taibbi writes in Rolling Stone Magazine:

Gone are Hank Paulson and Neel Kashkari; in their place are Treasury chief of staff Mark Patterson and CFTC chief Gary Gensler, both former Goldmanites. (Gensler was the firm's co-head of finance.) And instead of credit derivatives or oil futures or mortgage-backed CDOs, the new game in town, the next bubble, is in carbon credits — a booming trillion- dollar market that barely even exists yet, but will if the Democratic Party that it gave $4,452,585 to in the last election manages to push into existence a groundbreaking new commodities bubble, disguised as an "environmental plan," called cap-and-trade. The new carbon-credit market is a virtual repeat of the commodities-market casino that's been kind to Goldman, except it has one delicious new wrinkle: If the plan goes forward as expected, the rise in prices will be government-mandated. Goldman won't even have to rig the game. It will be rigged in advance.

Who, then, is driving AGW?

I believe we know the answer to that one.

I'm a photographer, NOT a terrorist

A new website has been launched to campaign for the right of photographers to take photos in public places - I'm a photographer not a terrorist:

"Photography is under attack. Across the country it that seems anyone with a camera is being targeted as a potential terrorist, whether amateur or professional, whether landscape, architectural or street photographer.

Not only is it corrosive of press freedom but creation of the collective visual history of our country is extinguished by anti-terrorist legislation designed to protect the heritage it prevents us recording.

This campaign is for everyone who values visual imagery, not only photographers.

We must work together now to stop this before photography becomes a part of history rather than a way of recording it."

Show your support.

Ronald Reagan warns against socialised medicine

Clearly, the left have waited a long time to bring socialised medicine to America.

Ronald Reagan warns that socialised medicine is the means of introducing socialism to a country by subterfuge, by appealing to people's emotions and by pleading the case for the poor. Demonise those who oppose it and make them feel guilty.

Is that not exactly what is taking place today?

The ploy is to introduce it gradually so that people barely notice, never letting a crisis go to waste - or manufacturing a crisis for the purpose.

Makes you think again about swine flu, doesn't it?

Once socialised medicine has taken root, it's a monumental task to uproot it. The powers that be know that, which is why they want to compel the entire nation to subscribe to it.

Sane, right-thinking people can be led to believe anything - if they are sufficiently conditioned. Can you honestly say that this is not happening in America?

It's been the modus operandus of the 'ruling classes' of the UK for a century or more.

Corruption in the White House

Glenn Beck explores Rahm Emanuel's career with Pat Caddell, former Democratic pollster - revealing a tale of revolving doors and a mesh of inter-connected politicians who help to fill each other's wallets.

Power, money, corruption.

The administration is corrupt and "corruption is killing this country", says Caddell, fingering Rahm Emmanuel as a prime player in the Chigago-style political mafia that rules America.

Beck: "It's all about connections. It's really not about what you see - it's ..."
Caddell: "It's everybody connected to everybody else - in the money."

Glenn Beck lobs eugenics into health care debate

Glenn Beck gives his views, likening Obama's Health Care plan to something that would be at home in Nazi Germany.

Beck has a disabled daughter, as does Sarah Palin. Glenn digs up some choice quotes from those behind the planning of this legislation and discusses eugenics with guests.



Wolf Blitzer on the Larry King show offers a more serious debate, his panel of guests including Ron Paul, a strategist, an economist and an illusionist.

Practical adult approach to house renovation

Not suitable for children ...



Hat tip: Virtual Mirage

Things that enrage

Lickspittle Ainsworth accuses the public of letting down the troops by adopting a "defeatist" attitude, while he refuses to take the blame for needless deaths of troops ill-equipped by his department.

While innocent members of the public are prosecuted for minor offences such as littering - under the terrorism Act - an actual terrorist might be freed on compassionate grounds by the Scottish Mafia. The poor dear has willy cancer.

Update: Couldn't possibly have anything to do with Libya's bid to buy Shell's Cheshire refinery, could it?

Petty bureaucrats policing your purchases

Full marks to Sainsburys for going above and beyond the call of duty to win my coveted, and internationally prestigious, "Prats of The Week" Award.

Lewis Pengam, a balding 28 year old bank manager, was going about his regular shopping in Sainsburys Birmingham. Within his purchases was a DVD of the family film "Firehouse Dog" (no sex or violence), rated PG.

There he was was at checkout, ready to pay when.....

...blinky, blonky, blimey...

Can you guess what happened next children?

Yes, that's right, the checkout operative refused to sell him the film unless he showed proof that he was over 18.

I would remind you at this stage that the film is a family film, not a slash and gore or acrobatic porno film.

Mr Pengam's work colleague was with him, and offered her driving licence as proof of her age.

Can you guess what happened next children?

Yes, that's right, the checkout operative refused to sell it:

"You're only buying it for him."

Sainsburys, well deserving Prats of The Week!

Here is Justin King's (CEO) email Justin.King@sainsburys.co.uk, if you want to drop him a note.

Hat tip: Nanny Knows Best

Next time anyone encounters this sort of lunacy, go public. Hold up the 'offending' item and ask loudly of everyone in the checkout queues: "Did you hear that, everyone? I am asked for ID to buy a PG-rated DVD ...."

Humiliate the bastards, then abandon your shopping on the checkout counter and announce that you'll be taking your custom elsewhere.

Then boycott them. The local shops could do with your custom, anyway.

Unless we make a very public stand, with courage, others will meekly take the treatment meted out by these petty bureaucrats.

Good reads

The trouble with Labour is that they never grasp the consequences - Simon Heffer, Telegraph

Chimps and the Righteous - Dick Puddlecote
More Charity Scaremongery - Dick Puddlecote (he's inspired today)

UK ministers urge EU Commission to approve GM crops

Now we know why Hilary Benn has been spouting off about food security.

Livestock farmers warn that lack of feed will put them out of business and they're of the opinion that they need GM soya and maize to feed their livestock.

Are they aware that GM crops cause cancer and that the pesticides needed for them to grow kill animals that come into contact with it - or do they simply not care?

The Times reports that Government Ministers are pressing the European Commission to speed up approval GM crop varieties or risk a collapse in the £6.8 billion a year market for home-produced chicken, eggs, pork and milk. UK farmers have warned that unless they can feed their pigs and poultry on GM soya and maize varieties being grown in North and South America - but which are currently unlicensed for use in Europe - they may be forced to leave the industry.

The article notes that GM crop producers in the Americas have begun exporting to China and India rather than the EU. The issue is expected to be on the EU agenda in the autumn.

Andrew Malone of the Mail had this to say, after his visit to India:

In one small village I visited, 18 farmers had committed suicide after being sucked into GM debts. In some cases, women have taken over farms from their dead husbands - only to kill themselves as well.

...

Village after village, families told how they had fallen into debt after being persuaded to buy GM seeds instead of traditional cotton seeds.

The price difference is staggering: £10 for 100 grams of GM seed, compared with less than £10 for 1,000 times more traditional seeds.

But GM salesmen and government officials had promised farmers that these were 'magic seeds' - with better crops that would be free from parasites and insects.

Indeed, in a bid to promote the uptake of GM seeds, traditional varieties were banned from many government seed banks.

The authorities had a vested interest in promoting this new biotechnology. Desperate to escape the grinding poverty of the post-independence years, the Indian government had agreed to allow new bio-tech giants, such as the U.S. market-leader Monsanto, to sell their new seed creations.

And this is what our government wants to do to the UK. Andrew continues:

In return for allowing western companies access to the second most populated country in the world, with more than one billion people, India was granted International Monetary Fund loans in the Eighties and Nineties, helping to launch an economic revolution.

...

Far from being 'magic seeds', GM pest-proof 'breeds' of cotton have been devastated by bollworms, a voracious parasite.

Nor were the farmers told that these seeds require double the amount of water. This has proved a matter of life and death

With rains failing for the past two years, many GM crops have simply withered and died, leaving the farmers with crippling debts and no means of paying them off.

Having taken loans from traditional money lenders at extortionate rates, hundreds of thousands of small farmers have faced losing their land as the expensive seeds fail, while those who could struggle on faced a fresh crisis.
When crops failed in the past, farmers could still save seeds and replant them the following year.

But with GM seeds they cannot do this. That's because GM seeds contain so- called 'terminator technology', meaning that they have been genetically modified so that the resulting crops do not produce viable seeds of their own.

As a result, farmers have to buy new seeds each year at the same punitive prices. For some, that means the difference between life and death.

A leader in the Telegraph argues, "Farmers are overwhelmed with regulation and red tape, most, it is true, the result of our membership of the [EU's] Common Agricultural Policy, which has been instrumental in embedding inefficiencies in Continental farming and impoverishing many producers in the developing world through the dumping of surpluses."

We have our answer then. The EU is the reason that our farmers can't afford to feed their livestock affordably but instead of rectifying that problem, our esteemed, cerebrally and morally challenged ministers seek to compound the problem by introducing GM.

Someone, please stop these madmen before they destroy this country completely.

Iain Dale's downfall

It's a few months old but it's a cracker!



Hat tip: ScaryMary

Google Friend Connect problems

I have suddenly lost the ability to follow other people's blog via Google Friend Connect. Since approximately 10:00 pm yesterday, I've been getting the error message:

We're sorry...

We were unable to handle your request. Please try again or return a bit later.

Buggery.

Hillary Clinton shows her achilles heel: Ouch!

Very politely, a student in Kinshasa asked her:

"We've all heard about the Chinese contracts in this country there are interferences from the World Bank against this contract.  What does Mr Clinton think, through the mouth of Mrs Clinton, and what does Mr Mtomo think on this situation. Thank you very much.

Hillary Clinton showed her achilles heel:

That must've stung!

Hmmm.

Hype: swine flu and food security 'scare'

Burning Our Money has a cracking post today on the government's latest cock-ups.

My response:

It has been obvious from the beginning - both in the US and the UK, that swine flu has been hyped up. It seemed strange, because the virus was not even considered to be dangerous, nor had it spread faster than regular flu.

Tamiflu was, of course, concocted to counter avian flu. When that failed to take hold, Tamiflu makers must've been gutted. Poor dears.

It does make you wonder how much big pharma (and other large corporations) and the government are in each other's pockets.



I contend that Hilarious Benn is softening us up for GM crops, which his department has allowed to trial (again) in the UK, despite our protests. He will tell us that GM is the only solution - which is complete bollocks.

We were self-sufficient in food before the left-wing extremist Labour party came to power, and we can be again. Just get the government out of our lives.

Nick Herbert has revealed how Labour has decimated our farming output with its incompetence, its draconian rules and its slavish adherence to EU diktat.

They created the problem. They are the problem. They cannot formulate the solution.

Obama resurrects Real ID with biometric data

Despite the dangers of the ID card system, as testified by Bruce Schneier*, Congress is currently attempting to resurrect the failed REAL ID Act, more accurately named “Dangerous ID.”

Dangerous ID, which passed in 2005, establishes a de facto National ID System paving the way to Federal biometric tracking of every US citizen.

No state currently complies with the mandates of the 2005 bill and 23 have passed legislation refusing compliance.

So now Obama wants to “Fix it,” and ram it down states’ throats.

Surveillance Czar Janet Napolitano is pushing for a revamp of the system to get the invasive federal program up and running while many are fighting for an outright repeal of the original legislation.

Although Dangerous ID is a clear attempt to establish a National ID System, the reality might be much worse - an International ID System.

We know that's true because the UK and even Mexico are pushing for the same thing, based on the same standards.

You see, Dangerous ID actually requires that driver’s license photographs meet the UN's biometric format standards. At this level of sophistication, government software can analyse facial characteristics and generate a unique ID number.

Think about that for a moment - your identity reduced to a single number in an international database that can be tracked globally by one-world government surveillance cameras and facial recognition software.

Last month, Senator Daniel Akaka introduced The PASS ID Act to tweak the 2005 Dangerous ID legislation and ram this program into action over state opposition.

Supporters claim this Real ID Redux bill softens requirements on states, supposedly making the breach of federalism a little more palatable. But it is merely a transparent attempt to get the Dangerous ID system implemented in any form, only to be augmented later to meet government’s needs.

Campaign for Liberty claims that there is evidence that this reincarnated Dangerous ID bill could wind up being worse than the original.

Chief among the bill’s supporters is Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano, who stands to wield expansive and virtually unchecked power to set standards.

Under Dangerous ID, Napolitano can unilaterally expand required information on driver's licenses, potentially to include biometric information such as retinal scans, fingerprints, DNA information, and even Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) radio tracking technology.

International databases, RFID and biometric ID cards, and constant government surveillance are what's in store if this bill passes.

The name of the bill has changed but the game is still the same.  The same tactics are being used in the US as are used by the EU - viz the EU Constitution being renamed the Lisbon Treaty.  Same deal in a different wrapper.

While the country is busy talking about the Health bill, the PASS ID (ex-Real ID) Act comes in under the radar.

Make no mistake; if this bill is passed in the US, we'll be next.

* Bruce Schneier, Security technologist, author, founder and CTO of BT Counterpane, gives testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee on the dangers of the ID card system.

If you do only one thing today ...

Read Leg-Iron's excellent offering today:

Fear and loathing in Birmingham

Moran told to quit or the bay tree gets it

Luton Today reports that comedian and political activist Mark Thomas kidnapped Margaret Moran's £50 bay tree, paid for by the taxpayer.  He said:

"Instead of clinging to office for the sake of your salary and pension, for the sake of democracy you must stand down. You have until 7.58pm on Sunday, August 2, 2009 to resign or your bay tree will pay the price."

Watch the tree decapitation (about 57 minutes into the video).

LT continues:

But with no resignation forthcoming, the bay tree met its fate on the Fourth Plinth in London's Trafalgar Square. A friend of the comedian who had signed up to take part in the art exhibit, where members of the public can stand for an hour, climbed onto the plinth with the tree and a sign urging the MP to stand down.

With the Ms Moran unwilling to negotiate the tree was unceremoniously chopped in two and its head thrown into the watching crowd.

But in the end the tree did benefit the public who had paid for it - its leaves were used to flavour a giant batch of minestrone soup served up at a nearby bar.

A spokesman for the MP said she was aware of the theft but had not reported it to the police.

Tamiflu does more harm than good

Quelle surprise!

Research shows that Tamiflu does more harm than good* when given to children between 1 and 12 years old.

And feeble-brained government ministers have been getting untrained call-centre staff to recommend Tamiflu to patients - even if they do not have swine flu symptoms. Are they really sufficiently qualified to recommend the taking of a drug which has potentially fatal side-effects?

How much of our money have they wasted on something that is not only not necessary, but is positively harmful?

* British Medical Journal

Update (11 July 2009):

One commenter on one of my previous swine flu posts asserted that it was criminal to advise people not to take Tamiflu. I hope he is eating his words now. The Mail provides a good example of the harm Tamiflu can cause.

Food security: An excuse to introduce GM Frankenfoods?

Hilary Benn contends that if we want to be able to feed the population of the UK in 20 years, we'll need to use technology to increase crop yields.

Is he trying to soften us up for GM 'frankenfood' crops? Last month, the government secretly permitted GM trials in the UK, claiming that there was no possibility of contamination of neighbouring farms.

And yet GM foods have been proven to cause cancer and life-threatening allergic reactions. Are government ministers being paid by GM giants like Monsanto to put public health and the environment at risk?

In any case, Nick Herbert has exposed the extent to which Labour has destroyed farming in this country. We were self-sufficient once and we can become so again - without meddling from the EU or Labour know-nothing interventionists.

MPs and Police above the law

It was this Conservative election poster from half a century ago that predicted life under Labour; prodnoses intruding at every opportunity.

1,183 Met Police employees committed fraud against the taxpayer by abusing their American Express cards and the response from Senior officers was? Why, they "were so overwhelmed by the number of cases" that they decided not to punish the offenders. Instead, the police fraudsters would be given "training and guidance".*

And we have yet to hear of any prosecutions of fraudster MPs by the Met. What a cosy relationship they must have.

Meanwhile, every 60 seconds, an innocent member of the public is being clandestinely spied upon by snooping bureaucrats for suspected 'crimes' as petty as dropping litter - under anti-terrorism law, RIPA. The next government should put a stop to these outrageous intrusions into our privacy.

The government and the police get away scott free with proven fraud, while we suffer at their hands for the pettiest of 'offences'.

Nobody should be above the law. If lawmakers were subject to the laws that they draft, they'd doubtless draft them a tad more carefully.

Hat tip to Raedwald for the poster.


* Of these cases, 50 were passed to independent investigators. Three officers have since been convicted of criminal offences and two more await trial.

Jenny Jones, of the Metropolitan Police Authority, said training and guidance is "not enough" and some disciplinary action should be taken. She said: "I find it unacceptable that the police have just let these officers go with guidance. They must have known what they were doing was wrong."