Nigel Farage bids to regain leadership of UKIP

Can't keep a good man down!

Video: Born Rich - A world apart

Those who agreed to be interviewed in the video have a facsimile of a conscience (I'm guessing) and have thought about and care, to some degree, about how the rest of the world lives; they're probably in a minority of the fabulously rich.

But what about the parents of these people - perhaps divorced from the reality which 99% of the population experiences?  They pretty much run the world.

Wouldn't an interview from errant Rothschild offspring be instructive?

I don't begrudge people their wealth, except where their wealth buys influence in a corrupt political world, entranced by the power that [greater] wealth brings them.

There's something horribly wrong with a world which allows the rich to grow richer, via nepotism and corruption, while the poor grow poorer - too often paying for the indulgences of the rich.

That's what I object to.

Video: Taliban stones woman to death

Not for those of a nervous disposition, although the video footage, taken by Al Aan, (a Dubai-based pan-Arab television channel that focuses on women’s issues) has been censored to hide the worst of it.



It is astonishing that our dear leaders are happy for Sharia law to sit alongside our own. I hope they see this film and search their consciences for shreds of compassion and decency while searching their minds for sanity.

They will tell us that this kind of brutality is one of the reasons we are fighting the Taliban. Hah! Oil, drugs, commodities and control, more like.

EU: Ugly Goblins nightmare

Another guest post from the very welcome Avril King:

There is a building in Brussels, called Berlaymont.

Beneath this building is a labyrinth wherein a tribe of goblins reside and work.

These creatures perform a very important function for the European Union Commission – they comb through the minutiae of people’s lives to find elements and activities that have not yet been regulated, taxed or the subject of a directive or three.

To begin with, they were few - perhaps a thousand but, when they realised people do hundreds of things every day, and there are so many people doing so many different activities, they realised that they would have to increase in number or some activities might escape notice! Of course, once the momentum had been set, there was no way to stop it and their numbers increased in line. Then again, this costs money and there were only what, 12 countries? Not nearly enough, add a few here and there. Ooh! These people did even more activities – not the same as those of the other countries but then, suppose they move – their activities must be regulated across all the borders. More countries, more activities, more goblins, more costs, more taxes.

All this has been causing me to have recurring nightmares.

It’s the goblins. Ugly doesn’t cover it. They are small, grey, wizened Van Rompuy clones. Rejected by the Jobsworth Recruiting Agency for having more than one functioning brain-cell, they are understandably bitter and thus ideally suited to their job in the bowels of the EU.

In my nightmare, all these goblins are busy-bodying with great enthusiasm. Suddenly I hear a gurgling shriek and one goblin glows red and waves a piece of paper triumphantly. The Head Goblin comes over, looks at the paper, nods and pats the glowing goblin’s head. All the others squeal and wriggle with glee.

The Head Goblin puts the paper in a machine which transports it up to the next level, where faceless creatures called Commissioners copy it, add lots of words and make a regulatory hash of it. Then they season it, chew, swallow and digest it. Next, they excrete it and send it to the EU Parliament in Strasbourg where MEPs get to sniff (but not touch) it.

Now it is put into another machine which sprays this stinking slurry over the whole of Europe.

I open my eyes and – no – it wasn’t a figment of my unconscious. We really are living under a permanent and ever-thickening layer of EU shit.

A UKIPer's view of the Lib Dems

I'm delighted to host a guest post from Avril King, vociferous and humourous advocate of UKIP policies and principles:

I’ve been trying to analyse what makes a Liberal Democrat. I find it difficult to write those two utterly inappropriate words when speaking of the unspeakable, so if you don’t mind, from now I’ll use LD

Just take a look at the spectrum of those LDs who have become MPs, MEPs and your own local councillors - for example: Clegg, Hughes, Huhne, Cable, Laws, Graham Watson. (I also have a couple more of my own special examples, as I am sure you all do)

Every one of these creatures is totally convinced of their own moral superiority. Convinced that they know how you and I should live our lives – which is nothing like the way they live theirs!

This goes even beyond New Labour’s Harman, Blair, Brown, who were upfront authoritarians, or the NewBlue bunch who don’t give a toss how you live your life as long as they don’t have to live the same one as you.

The LD is blessed with that extra special gene – smugness.

Principles are bargaining tools to an LD.

A principle is something to be haggled in order to get the better of the opposition in any situation, after which they gather in groups, sniggering that they have fooled you and have snapped up something worth far more than they paid.

The LD will tell you, in no uncertain terms, that you have no idea how to look after whatever it is that you cherish or care about – whether it is your children, your money, your future - and that you should put it in their hands to manage it for you. Of course, once having dragged it from your grasp, to them it no longer has any value, so the LD will use it, abuse it, sell it or squander it.

There are, essentially, three types of LD:

1. Power hungry political pimps – who would sell their own parents, grandparents even offspring, for the heady cologne of “power”.
2. Political whores – being groomed to become councillors and compromising every belief they ever held in order to sleep in their pimp’s bed.
3. The sad folks who actually vote LD – and really believe that the pimps and whores are SO glamorous and actually WANT to share their good life with you.
4. Should you EVER even DREAM of voting LD, I would advise you to shed your clothes and bathe in bleach.

A cracking speech from Vince Cable

A cracking speech from Cable. I agree wholeheartedly with his assertion that Capitalism needs regulation and that many businesses are anti-competitive, seeking to wipe out their competition.

Sure, some companies deserve to go to the wall, but many cannot compete with corporations, who have become too big to fail. That has got to change. Corporations have become far too powerful and as such, threaten our democracy.

I also agree with his stance on banking reform.

Nigel Farage's 2010 conference speech

God, I love that man!

Are black markets a bad thing in a recession?

A commenter in the Telegraph on welfare as a lifestyle choice had this to say:

I reckon that if government actually goes through with their threats, we are going to witness a buoyant black market and a rising prison population.

A reversal of the policy, after they have found out the hard way, might well reduce the prison population, but it will do nothing to the black market.

Let us be clear here, the reason that this place is in such a mess, is because government over the last 65 years has not understood (probably wilfully) the nature of the markets. Instead they have pursued the creation of a social democracy which people have been born into, grown up with and then died in.

In this social democracy, government hasn't been defending our interests, it has been pursuing fascist ideology as defined by such luminaries as Marx and his acolytes Lenin, Trotsky, Mussolini, Hitler, Stalin etc. Admittedly watered down in the British way. It has then had the temerity to charge us all for it, with crap maths and inefficiently used taxes.

The problem with this is that they don't have the foggiest idea and now that it is all falling apart, they are attacking the very people that could save them.

While I agree with most of that, I'm in two minds about whether or not a black market is necessarily detrimental to the economy at a time like this - apart from the fact that it 'deprives' the Treasury of our money.

Should we be concerned about a black market, if it gets people off welfare, if those trading in the black market do not also claim the dole?

A black market tends to arise where there is deprivation or where taxes are far too high. Isn't it ludicrous that those on pretty much subsistence salaries have to pay both income and sales tax?

Perhaps, once the economy recovers, we could start to clamp down on black markets but I believe black markets can help to drive the economy.

Views on this would be very welcome indeed.

Psywar: psyops documentary

This is a fabulously researched film about how governments of 'sophisticated' democracies use propaganda and stage events to influence the public's thoughts, emotions and ultimately choices.

The medium was, of course, the 'mainstream' media.

I don't agree with all the conclusions, but the arguments put forward are thought-provoking.

Reviews:

"A deep, richly illustrated study of the nature and history of propaganda, featuring some of the world's most insightful critics".
- Mark Achbar; Film director; 'Manufacturing Consent', 'The Corporation'

"Psywar exposes the propaganda system, providing crucial background and insight into the control of information and thought."
- Kim Petersen, Dissident Voice

"An Important work"
- Russ Baker, Journalist, Author "Family of Secrets"

"Must See"
- Tom Feeley, Information Clearing House

"Encyclopedic and riveting"
- Stephen Marshall, Guerrilla News Network

"Truly excellent"
- William Blum, journalist, Author 'Killing Hope'

"A Lucid and insightful study of the manipulation of public consciousness...Take heed."
- Michael Yates, Associate Editor, Monthly Review

"If it is your desire to understand how we are manipulated into believing the things we do -- watch this film.  Every American should see it...for the sake of our future."
- Timothy Gatto, former Chairman, Liberal Party of America

Sources:

• Beder, Sharon – Consumerism: an Historical Perspective
• Chomsky, Noam – What Makes Mainstream Media Mainstream
• Darwinia – WWI Propaganda
• Ewen, Stuart – Captains of Consciousness: Advertising and the Social Roots of the Consumer Culture
• Lazere, Donald – American media and mass culture
• Lutins, Allen – An Eclectic list of Events in US Labor History
• Millies, Stephen – The Ludlow Massacre and the Birth of Company Unions
• Parenti, Michael – Super-Patriotism
• Simpson, Christopher – The Science of Coercion
• Smith, Sharon – Subterranean Fire: A History of Working-Class Radicalism in the United States
• Snow, Nancy – Propagnda, Inc., Selling America's Culture to the World
• Stauber, John and Rampton, Sheldon – Weapons of Mass Deception: The Uses of Propaganda in Bush's War on Iraq ; Toxic Sludge is Good For You
• Tye, Larry – The Father of Spin: Edward L. Bernays; The Birth of PR

Related:

• Cinema shows the real story of Britain - Simon Heffer

Sign the petition for a referendum on EU membership

Today, Dan Hannan appeared on the Daily Politics calling on people to sign a petition to push for a referendum on our EU membership.



Sign the petition here.

Do You Really Want To Know?

I suppose the answer to that depends on whether you've read the newspapers or heard tv news yet.  My day was going fine (decorators in, haircut - well, the haircut wasn't fine, it's actually a disaster -  flat yet pineapple-ish with a hint of chav) until I checked out Barroso & Pals.  Then I heard fat toad Tom Watson (Lab, West Bromwich East), slimewort Alan Johnson and that contemptuous, pompous old fart Frank Dobson spouting oh so self-righteously in the Commons on their first day back.

Nothing gets better with the EU. Every day there is a stream of announcements and new directives coming through and every single one drives me to deeper depths of despondency.  The Great Unelected are so remote, inaccessible and ignorant of the way ordinary people feel and live their lives that you may as well bang your head repeatedly against a brick wall.  Of course, they'd say they know exactly how ordinary people feel and that that's why they're in politics, to make our lives better. I just wish they'd fuck the fuck off and leave us alone. Please excuse my French.

They discreetly take our money and spend it on glitzy, self-promotional campaigns telling us how good and honourable they are but they're not; they're just lying, thieving bastards (pemf) with a power and control fetish.

I wish I could say I felt better after that mini-rant, but I don't.  Here's the latest from the scheming scumbags in Brussels (or Strasbourg, depending on what month it is).

Talking of the forthcoming EU supervisory legislation for the financial sector the EU Commissioner for Internal Market, Michel Barnier, has said, "No actor, no product, no sector, no territory should no longer be able to escape sensible and intelligent regulation and supervision". (There they go again with one of EUspeak's favourite words: 'actor'; What the heck is their concept of 'an actor'? Do they mean you and me? And that use of the word 'territory' - I assume he means 'territories' formerly known as sovereign nations).  There's more about the nitty-gritty of the proposals from Open Europe eg:

The new European supervisors will be granted binding powers over  national regulators in seven broad areas and will be given the mandate  to interpret, apply and enforce provisions in over 20 separate EU laws.  The supervisors are also likely to become more powerful over time, with  several proposals already in the pipeline to extend their powers.

 God, I loathe these people and their artificial political construct.

The EU Budget Commissioner, Lewandowski, is in the news again:

"The British rebate  has lost its original justification.  The structure of the EU budget has changed substantially.  Farm subsidies - the main reason for the rebate - have decreased, while the per-capita income of the UK has increased substantially since the 1980s.  There will be very difficult negotiations.  We will need the acceptance of London in order to come to a result.  My role in this business is that of an honest broker."

*choke*

Lewandowski also said that "the level of farm subsidies in 2020 has to be lower than today, in order to free more money for research, development and global ambitions".

Something gave me a laugh though, or perhaps it was more of a wry smile:

Lady Ashton, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, has been  urged by David Cameron to rein in the budget for the new European  diplomatic corps amid worries the project could clash with the era of  austerity dawning across Europe.
Of concern to Mr Cameron,  according to people familiar with the matter, was a request from Lady  Ashton in July for €9.5m (£7.9m) to hire an additional 80 senior-level  staff for External Action Service delegations.

I don't know why but I don't fancy his chances.  I read this cr@p issuing from the EU and I feel like running into the garden and howling at the moon.  I may as well for all the good any other method of registering my dissent will do.  A referendum; what's that?  'Okay, you can have one on AV which is a p!sspoor voting system just to give those of you who are actually bothered about the illusion of democracy but you can't have one on something that really, truly matters - get back to your 24hr drinking laws and your dumbed-down tv & press with its non-investigative journalists.'

Speaking of journalists, according to Open Europe, in 2009 over €8m was directly spent on entertaining, training and 'informing' journalists. This included spending €351,800 on Irish journalists and Lisbon Treaty related seminars in 2009,  €710,000 on journalism competitions and prizes and €7,500 on two (yes, two!) cocktail parties.  Blogs went wild about the EU descending on Ireland at the time of their second referendum - the visits, the speeches, the hospitality but what do I know.

As if all that wasn't enough to have me biting my pillow and spitting feathers, there's more news on INDECT:  Following criticism of this EU-funded project,  which includes the "monitoring of various people clusters and  detection of abnormal behaviour and situations of danger", INDECT's Ethics Board (oxymoron alert) has decided to reduce the amount of public information  available, citing "a possible threat to the reputation of the parties involved".

That's what they do.  If something is criticised (like the Freedom of Information Act itself) they try to change the rules and make it more difficult to find out what's going on.  Our surveillance state.

The more I read the more I know that  it/they aren't going to go away willingly.  We are, at some point, going  to have to grasp the nettle and boot them out ourselves because our elected representatives, the politicans and government, sure as hell aren't going to do it.

Here's a woman who would have approved whole-heartedly of the EU, so much so that she'd probably be sleeping her way around Barroso, van Rompuy et al and pleading for funds for the UAF.

Cross-posted

UKIP's Gerard Batten talks to RT (Russia Today)

Argument clinic

John Cleese ...

Quote of the day

The greatest obstacle to discovery is not ignorance - it it the illusion of knowledge.

- Daniel Boorstin, Librarian of Congress and Rhodes Scholar

Critical thinking absent from the educational sausage machine

Wall Street Whistleblower exposes regulator and bank fraud

Officially titled; "20/20 Hindsight: CENSORSHIP on the Frontline", this interview also includes solutions, documents and references, and asks only that you consider the information - to think for yourself - and communicate with others in order to achieve a higher-level of awareness.

Vancouver-based documentary filmmaker Paul Verge brings us a revealing interview with Richard Andrew Grove which exposes the (Who, What, When, Where, Why and How) of the recent economic decline, how it was legislated into existence, defended by corporate media and political "watch-dogs"; and allowed to drain America of nearly $200 Trillion Dollars... through a series of Ponzi-Schemes which could have and should have been exposed years earlier... but weren't.

It puts the global financial crisis into context.

Update:

More brilliance and lucidity from Richard Grove: