The mind of a sportsman

How does Ian Peel, silver medallist in the Olympic trap shooting at Sydney, concentrate his mind for an event?

"I sing to myself," the 46-year-old from Blackburn says with a boyish grin. "At the point where I'm holding the gun up, I sing, 'You fat bastard, you fat bastard, you ate all the pies'."

It's funny because it's true.

This thing is like that thing

Today’s ‘this thing is like that thing’ is:

The UN is like a bear that dislikes its own teeth and claws.

Quote of the day

This goes up as quote of the day simply because it made me laugh out loud. David Carr over at samizdata.net on David Goodhart and the progressive dilemma:

Ironically, in a state of affairs that the 'progressives' would like to see, 'diversity' and 'solidarity' are not polar opposites. 'Solidarity' means a whole population forced into a universal state of monochromatic immiseration under the stewardship of a dull, earnest and condescending ruling elite. 'Diversity' means exactly the same thing with the addition of some brown people.

Just you wait until Blunkett finds out you said 'brown people' David. You are so in for it.

This just in - Mother Nature not doomed shocker

Bjørn Lomborg is not a scary right wing American according to Michael Jennings:

...but has precisely the quality of sincerity and genuine concern that a lot of his opponents like to believe that they have a monopoly of. And this, more than anything is what I think they find so threatening.

A very interesting report of what looks like a very interesting lecture delivered by the author of The Skeptical Environmentalist, a book described by sableunadorned (an amazon reviewer from Bristol in the UK) as:

...a nice, cosy hole in the sand for ostriches to stick their heads into.

which just goes to show that not only is it environmentally sound but it's also very animal friendly.

The BBC reports on the same lecture Michael Jennings was at, closing with:

It appears as if this stormy relationship is set to worsen. Dr Lomborg's Environmental Assessment Institute will host a major conference called Copenhagen Consensus at the end of May.

Its aim is to bring together leading opinion formers, scientists and academics to hammer out what problems facing the world should really be at the top of the agenda.

Guess what? Greenpeace are not invited.

A most excellent ending by the BBC who, funnily enough, never seem to close with "Guess what? The gun lobby are not invited." whenever the Gun Control Network have a meeting.

Blair on Short

Clare Short's allegations about British bugging of UN chief Kofi Annan has solicited this response from Blair:

"I regard what she said as totally irresponsible, and entirely consistent."

He also said that he will have to reflect upon her position as a Labour MP, which is nice.

Much as I dislike Blair I am with him on this one. It is totally irresponsible for an MP to make such a public comment on her perception of the work done by our security services.

Clare Short is a national disgrace.

I will be providing squadron escort this evening

Tonight I will be piloting a fighter as part of squadron mission. We will be escorting a number of transport craft which will be carrying important parts needed to manufacture specialist communication equipment. We expect the enemy to intercept us along the way.

During the mission I will be in direct visual and audio contact with my squadron and will have at my disposal the best in terms of graphical Head Up Displays, target tracking radar and automated missile lock alarm systems.

My weaponry will consist of three ion based chain firing cannon and three rather expensive auto-tracking missiles.

We are prepared for trouble.

These are the joys of online gaming.

The old war on terror

Just so you know, this is the kind of thing that we in the UK have had to deal with for decades. Terrorism is not new to us.

A bomb has been defused outside a pub in north Belfast.

It was found in York Road at about 0230 GMT on Thursday after a telephone warning.

Army bomb experts carried out a controlled explosion on the device.

A number of items were taken away for examination.

By the way, any visiting tourists who wonder why there is such a shortage of bins (trash cans) on our London transport system it's because that's where terrorists used to hide their bombs. We thought it best to remove them.

On traitors and Liberty

Do you know what the most disappointing thing to me about this whole Katharine Gun traitor business is? It's this:

Human rights group Liberty, which supported Ms Gun throughout her trial ...

I am truly disappointed in Liberty who seem to be in need of a refresher course in history, GCHQ and British liberty.

A civil servant responds

A great little response from ‘a senior civil servant’ to, presumably, Blair’s speech on civil service reforms:

You paid tribute to the way the Service ensured that “the transition to new Labour after 18 years of Conservative Government was achieved with remarkable ease”. I cannot let this observation pass without paying tribute to the contribution you made to the transition by deciding not to change any of the policies of the outgoing Government.

Ouch, and I am convinced true during the ‘transition’ period.

Peter Hitchens on the welfare state

He lays into it:

A welfare state is like heroin. It makes you feel good while it kills you. The more you have of it, the more you want.

In the end, you will do anything to get the money to pay for it, by stealth or by theft, up to, and including, dragging penniless pensioners to court.

Because you are too weak willed to stop, you lie to yourself that giving up is physically impossible, so that you no longer need feel responsible for your own stupid, destructive behaviour.

And it ends amid the dustbins, in a waste of squalor, filth and decline.

He seems depressed. Cheer up Peter, at least we can look forward to when tax freedom day lands on the 25th December.

Man, what a party day that’s going to be.

You win some, you loose some

The BBC has won an environment award. Meanwhile, ITN (another UK broadcaster) has won a reporting award. Figures.

You know who you've got to love?

Those amateur astronomers, that's who.

Astronomers have revealed how they came within minutes of alerting the world to a potential asteroid strike last month.

A JPL researcher sent out an email saying that the asteroid had a 25% chance of striking the Earth's northern hemisphere in a few days and others were on the verge of phoning the president of the USA.

Cut to scenes of the president making an address to the nation. Then a momentary silence in the press room followed by shouted questions, arm waving, weeping from the back row.

Then all the news outlets go into overdrive with the BBC suggesting that the unnecessary war in Iraq is likely to mean that we have missed our chance to stop the rock. If only the Americans had been concentrating and had seen it earlier!

Aljazeera goes into a frenzy, blaming the Christians and the Jews for bringing down the wrath of God upon us. They name the rock Saddam's Hammer.

But no, wait, here comes the amateur astronomer:

Fortunately for all concerned, shortly after the ominous Chesley e-mail, an amateur astronomer managed to dodge the clouds and take a picture of a blank patch of sky.

This was significant because if 2004 AS1 really was going to hit the Earth, it would have been in the amateur's sights. The fact that it was absent meant the rock would not strike us.

Bless all you amateur astronomers. Bless you.

Blair seeks change

Oh oh!

Tony Blair has outlined his vision of a reformed dynamic civil service which will drive change rather than acting as a buffer against it.

Let's see if we can put it another way.

Blair is fed up with traditional safeguards because they get in the way of his advancement of state powers under the guise of modernisation.

There. That'll be fifty quid for the clarification.

It's easy being a cynic. All it takes is experience.

Looks like there's some sport to be had in San Francisco

An interesting letter from David Codrea, a gun owner, to a few officials in San Francisco. Seems that he's comfortable with his chosen lifestyle and has decided to come out of the closet:

You see, I also belong to a group that is forced by social prejudices to keep a low profile—often times to hide my choices and practices lest I suffer disapproval and ultimately, life-threatening persecution by the state.

Of course one can't equate being a gun owner with being homosexual but that's not what the letter is trying to do, though it will be discounted on that basis by anyone who deliberately wishes to miss the point.

Oh for pitty sake, what do you mean "so what is the point?".

Could it be that Mr. Codrea is an honest man who feels he is being persecuted for his minority lifestyle?

No? Oh never mind.

Angry vegetarian

Joanna Briscoe is an angry vegetarian. Frankly I’ve never met a vegetarian who wasn’t but though Joanna’s anger is animal related, it’s not what you might think:

As a vegetarian animal hater, I would be quite unmoved if all dogs were to die under the wheels of one big juggernaut, but at least I don't scarf down their furry brethren. England has long been known for its hypocrisy when it comes to the question of animals - a nation ever ready to cosset some smelly hound while eating the wreckage of a force-fed goose. But now it seems we've gone virtually gaga in our attitudes towards dumb beasts.

She’s pretty much sickened by all the hypocrisy, as am I. Go have a read.

The talent developing record industry

The UK record industry has, apparently, agreed a deal with play.com which stops it selling CDs sourced from outside of Europe. I have been using play.com for most of my CD purchases for quite some time and was very impressed with their pricing and service.

I’m not sure how this ‘deal’ will affect prices but I suspect that it will not be good news. One of the arguments put forward by the record industry is:

"It is impossible to invest in, develop and market new British talent if we do not protect our legal rights to prevent parallel importing."

Frankly, I think that’s bullshit and who needs these self proclaimed developers of British talent anyway.

Imagine, you and your band can play your instruments really well. You’ve written a whole bunch of great songs that you know people love because you’ve performed the songs to them, you know, live! Now all you need is a break to make the big time.

But wait, your talent hasn’t been ‘developed’ by the record industry so you are nowhere on their radar; not even a smudge. Even worse, the playing field created by the record industry over the past few decades is an expensive one. You actually need the buggers because they have raised the entry price to astronomical levels. The ‘stars’ that they have developed don’t sell themselves you know. They need the best marketing and if you don’t have it too you will be drowned out by the noise, unless you are very lucky.

And if you do get spotted and they decide to help ‘develop’ you further they’ll screw you as you make your music. Then they’ll screw me as I buy it.

Have you seen the new Lynx Effect TV ad?

I've always been a big fan of the Lynx Effect TV ads. In a world of political correctness gone mad and the over supply of commercials where men are made to look the fool they are like a breath of fresh air.

Anyhow, last night whilst relaxing on the sofa with my good lady we were treated to the latest Lynx Effect ad which has got to be the sexiest I have ever seen on TV.

Mmmm, twiddly...

You can watch it online. Go here, select your country, wait for the animation to stop, click on the TV and select the play TV ad option. Fantastic.

Sexy ladies everywhere.

The progressive dilemma

From a David Goodhart article in the the Guardian ( via Andrew Sullivan) we have this:

It was the Conservative politician David Willetts who drew my attention to the "progressive dilemma". Speaking at a roundtable on welfare reform, he said: "The basis on which you can extract large sums of money in tax and pay it out in benefits is that most people think the recipients are people like themselves, facing difficulties that they themselves could face. If values become more diverse, if lifestyles become more differentiated, then it becomes more difficult to sustain the legitimacy of a universal risk-pooling welfare state. People ask: 'Why should I pay for them when they are doing things that I wouldn't do?'

This struck a chord with me and certainly warrants some thought.

Perhaps it strikes a chord because it is just another way of saying “hey, that guy doesn’t deserve my tax money because he’s wicked”? You know the kind of thing, where a criminal tries to claim legal aid to sue a farmer after getting shot during a burglary or where a terrorist who shouldn’t even be in the country claims state benefit. What about young thugs going on holiday or partaking in a little motor racing at my expense? Yeah, that’s the kind of thing.

I know, I know, the progressive dilemma is more subtle than that and is not specifically (or even mainly) about criminality but that’s the chord it struck.

The Blunkett plans

On Wednesday the Home Secretary David Blunkett will spell out some of his anti-terrorism plans. These will include a lowering of the burden of proof required to obtain a conviction and also the ability for evidence to be heard in secret:

Among options under consideration are “special advocates” — state-vetted defence counsels — in British courts. They could be trusted not to pass on intelligence information heard in camera during a trial and to protect Security Service sources.

Now, I’m not particularly comfortable with the whole notion of lower burdens of proof and all the secret behind the scenes stuff so luckily for me one of Mr. Blunketts aides provides a brow soothing observation of his own:

The question is how much proof do you have to give? There have been a series of cases in recent times where Customs in particular have withdrawn prosecutions because they have been called on to explain where their information has come from. David is saying, do we need to do that in private with a judge.

What thanks I might have had for this Blunkett-bot for easing my concerns was short lived however as I recalled news from early last year which reflected badly on Customs and its notion of how to go about this whole justice thing:

After the hearing, Mr Grant's solicitor, Andrew Benson, said his client, who spent 16 months in jail, would be taking legal advice over compensation.

"The public should be absolutely outraged," he said.
"It is an absolute disgrace that the prosecutions have been brought and the only people who knew the prosecutions were wrong were those within the Customs and Excise."

I don't care what Blunkett thinks. The fact is that he is changing the machinery of the state in a way that makes its power easier to abuse. That's not a good thing and you can take that to the bank.

The squid's the star

I suspected as much. It looks like the only accurate news in this recent 'Osama found' posting is the squid I had for dinner. Unless, of course, this Reuters report is as unreliable as the Sunday Express one in which case we can file away this whole sorry episode under the news made up by hacks category.

Here's a picture of the squid again, just so we have something rock solid in this posting too.

For real.

Today is double quote day

Two quotes today. Notice the different delivery styles for the same subject matter:

"The rifle is a weapon. Let there be no mistake about that. It is a tool of power, and thus dependent completely upon the moral stature of its user. It is equally useful in securing meat for the table, destroying group enemies on the battlefield, and resisting tyranny. In fact, it is the only means of resisting tyranny, since a citizenry armed with rifles simply cannot be tyrannized."

"The rifle itself has no moral stature, since it has no will of its own. Naturally, it may be used by evil men for evil purposes, but there are more good men than evil, and while the latter cannot be persuaded to the path of righteousness by propaganda, they can certainly be corrected by good men with rifles."

from, The Art of the Rifle by Col. Jeff Cooper.

"Hey, Yutz! Guns aren't toys! They're for family protection, hunting dangerous or delicious animals and keeping the king of England outta your face!"

- Krusty the Clown from 'The Simpsons'

Osama bin Laden news

The good news is that there's a report out that Osama bin Laden has been located and is surrounded by US special forces. The bad news is that the report comes from The Sunday Express which I know, from personal experience, can be extremely unreliable.

I saw many of the front pages this morning whilst out shopping for squid and cookies and the Express was the only one with the story so it looks like an exclusive.

The squid - cooked - yum!

What could she do?

Alone and with no form of defence available to her by decree of the state this poor woman was faced with a simple choice. Allow her property to be taken from her with no questions asked or try to get it back. Retrospectively she made the 'wrong' choice but it was a choice that countless other women would make.

Of course, some readers might suggest that a third choice was available to the young lady. She could have marched off to the nearest police station and lodged a complaint. With luck she would have eventually received a crime number which would have facilitated in her insurance claim for the stolen lighter. Eventually.

Never walk home alone, they will say and it seems like good advice, but what is the real story behind it? The streets are not safe, you are not permitted to carry any item for self defence purposes and we cannot protect you. Bring a friend or you're on your own.

My knew spell chequer

I have a spell in chequer
It came with my pea sea
It plainly marques for my revue
Miss steaks I kin knot sea
As soon as a mist ache is maid
It nose bee four two long
And eye can put the error rite
It’s rare lea ever wrong
Eye strike a quay and type a word
And weight four it two say
Weather I am wrong or write
It shows me strait a weigh
Eye have run this poem threw it
I am shore your pleased too no
It’s letter perfect awl the weigh
My chequer tolled me sew

Quote of the day

G's Third Law:

In spite of all evidence to the contrary, the entire universe is composed of only two basic substances: magic and bullshit.

Super new look

The England Project Blog now has a super new look. If it's not appearing correctly for you (eg you still get the dark blue background) try doing a hard refresh (ctrl-F5 in IE) to force a reload.

Why the change? I found the old one a little too dark and depressing. This one still depresses me but hey, it's lighter. Enjoy.

Sparrow decline

Apparently much of the blame has been placed on an irresponsible and elitist minority who hunt these beautiful birds with felines.

Experts think the sparrow population may be dwindling because we keep too many cats or because modern gardens are too neat and tidy, leaving nowhere for the birds to roost.

If the problem is the former then one has to wonder about the advice being given:

A government campaign advises people on enticing the creatures back to gardens after a slump in numbers to about 13 million from a 1970s peak of 25 million.

Tips include leaving out food, avoiding mowing lawns intensively during the summer and leaving small, weedy patches.

Sounds like they're trying to create better hunting grounds to me.

Always the last to know

Holy crap, apparently there's going to be a better, newer TV set available next year!

Where do you stand on secret sex with dead chickens?

Take a chance and have a go at the Taboo test. My results are:

Taboo - The Results

Your Moralising Quotient is: 0.43.

Your Interference Factor is: 0.00.

Your Universalising Factor is: 0.75.

What do these results mean?

Are you thinking straight about morality?

Although you do not evaluate the actions depicted in these scenarios to be across the board wrong, it is not entirely clear why you think that anything in them is morally problematic. You don't think an action can be morally wrong if it is entirely private and no one, not even the person doing the act, is harmed by it. Yet the actions described in these scenarios are private like this and it was specified as clearly as possible that they didn't involve harm. Possibly an argument could be made that the people undertaking these actions are harmed in some way by them. But you don't think that an action can be morally wrong solely for the reason that it harms the person undertaking it. More significantly, when asked about each scenario, in no instance did you respond that harm had resulted. Consequently, it is a puzzle why you think that any of the actions depicted here are questionable morally speaking.

Hmmm, I think much of the discrepancy comes from my inclination to take into account what my reaction would have been to some of the scenarios had I been an observer. I'm sorry but a country where it's normal for people to have secret sex with dead chickens does bother me a touch. Call me old fashioned.

My suggestion?

A tax on politicians and government officials due to the health dangers introduced by their contributions to high blood pressure:

The Government is planning a tax on fatty foods in a bid to tackle the problem of obesity.

Bah!

The early Darkness

Jamie Diskson in the garage with The Darkness:

I remember Justin writhing on the floor with a guitar in a hilarious parody of Queen guitarist Brian May. The joke would have been unexceptional if he hadn't been thrashing out one of May's famous solos note-for-note.

Franlky, I never remember seeing May behave like this but there you go.

Health food at play time

Dumb Jon speaks:

A four-year-old girl was barred from eating a packet of chocolate buttons at her Cheshire primary school.

The school said sweets had been banned under its healthy eating policy because children were bringing in too many.

This practice of dictating to parents what their children can bring in to school to eat at snack time also goes on at the school that my boy goes to. No crisps, no chocs, no joy. They also have a thing called fruit and veg Tuesday when, horror of horrors, they request that a piece of fruit or veg is supplied as the child’s snack by their usually loving parents.

I have to tell you now that this fruit and veg Tuesday IS NOT followed by a jam and cigar Wednesday to balance things out! Yes, I know, hardly fair.

I had mixed feelings about the issue when my good lady first told me about it; I couldn’t decide whether I should jump up and down and froth there and then in the Kitchen or walk to the hall to do some stomping about (the wooden floor is great for stomping). I chose the former.

Needless to say we have come to a compromise, as so many do, so as not to bring down unwanted fury onto our son when all he wants to do is chomp and play. He takes one of those fake snack health bars packed with calories and chocolate disguised as raisins. Hehe, stick that in your face Miss.

This is not the end of the story though. I have to tell you that there is a certain amount of hypocrisy going on here and this hypocrisy takes the form of a pudding (much in the same way as the destructor took the form of the Mr. Stay puf marshmallow man). The day after we received the snack request from the school my son enjoyed a rather marvellous (and we were told in some detail) jam filled doughnut for his school dinner pudding. Certainly more yummy than the smiley face fish cakes he’d had earlier.

And so, in closing, health fascists are everywhere. They know deep down that it’s too late for us and so they move on to our children, thinking that they can persuade them to walk on the path of righteousness instead. That will be their undoing. Trust me, it will.

Men with guns vs the BBC

This time it's personal, and another formal complaint wings its way to the BBC.

Animal welfare body accused of hypocrisy over deer culling

Talking about deer it seems that even those that claim to have the best interests of the animals at heart, the so called "league against cruel sports", are predominantly against the sports bit and not that overly bothered about cruelty. I grant you that they may be described as a league (an association of states or organizations or individuals for common action) and that they are in general "against" something (predominantly the sports bit as I have said) but they sure don't seem to be against culling deer, you know, with guns.

The League Against Cruel Sports, the pressure group which campaigns against animal cruelty, has been accused of using "illegal" methods to carry out culls of its own deer after a member of staff was filmed shooting them from the window of a Land Rover.

This is surprising not only for the accusation of the use of "illegal" methods but also because this extraordinary league have previously stated that culling is not necessary:

The league has consistently claimed that it does not carry out "management culls" of its 250-strong herd because it does not believe that such methods are necessary, despite campaigners expressing worries that a proportion of the deer are suffering from malnutrition and diseases.

Hypocrisy, double standards, apparent law breaking. Something needs to be done!. We need to form a league or something.

BBC gags Gabb

My inbox this morning contained a number of messages, mostly of little to no interest. One that did capture my interest however had the subject line:

Sean Gabb on BBC World Service Radio Today 6-7pm London Time

My immediate thought, which I cannot help thinking when Dr. Gabb and the BBC get together was o-oh there’s going to be trouble.

And there was. A few messages further up I saw:

Libertarian news Release: BBC Shuts off Microphone on
Libertarian Alliance Spokesman

You can read the Libertarian Alliances press release on the matter here and join in the fun over at samizdata.net.

My main observation on the event is that the LA procedures need to be improved to include the automatic recording of such broadcasts, which they failed to do this time. Otherwise this can and should be thought of as a successful venture which further exposes the BBC for what it is. Unfair, unbalanced and infected with a liberal bias.

Dear oh dear, dear deer to become cheap deer

Oh how I laughed. You see apparently England has so many deer now that the government sees a need for a little extra culling and astonishingly, in spite of decades of trying to get rid of the things, there are still some people left in the country with rifles who are able to do the job.

Nature Conservation Minister Ben Bradshaw says deer numbers in England and Wales are out of control and causing damage to trees and crops.

The Exeter MP's plans, also mooted in Scotland, include extending the shooting season, recruiting more stalkers and getting the public to eat more wild venison.

All fine and dandy so far, unless you happen to be an idiot:

But Working for Wildlife says the animals should regulate themselves.

Working for Wildlife's secretary Douglas Batchelor told BBC 1's Countryfile: "What actually happens is in the wild most populations balance according to available resources of feed and everything else.
"When people start interfering and trying to decide which ones live and which ones die, you interfere with the process of natural selection.

The issue that Douglas fails to grasp is that this ‘balance’ he speaks of is not in question. What is in question is whether this ‘balance’ is compatible with the needs and/or desires of us, you know, people. Sure we could let the deer breed for England so that they can find the balance he speaks of but that would be a bit like, you know, ignoring the problem.

We have a problem, we have a solution. Seems like balance to me.

Dear God!

This brings back dreadful memories.

Why big government survives

I don’t know, but to hazard a guess I would say that as an average disinterested citizen it takes nearly a lifetime of disinterested exposure to big government to recognise it for the incompetent, self interested and expensive meddling mess that it is.

By then you’re too old and tired to care and too broke to afford the time to do anything about it.

Then you die.

Quote of the day

Be careful lest, in casting out your demons, you cast out the best thing that is in you.

Nietzsche

Odd RAF report

This is an odd report from the Battle of Britain archives (11th July 1940):

After 1100 hours considerable activity started with an attack on Portland and a convoy off the coast, some fifty enemy aircraft taking part. These aircraft were plotted from Cap Hague and Jersey. Five of our squadrons intercepted and succeeded in shooting down 8 Me110s for certain and 8 Me110s and 1 Ju87 probable. In addition, one Hurricane which attacked one of our sections and which bore red and blue checked markings on the wings was shot down.

I wonder what was up with that Hurricane. Captured by the Germans and used against us?

Here's an interesting picture from the archive showing a few belts of ammunition which have been laid across the wing of an RAF aircraft (a Hurricane I believe).

Some of the casualty reports show just how low the British were on aircraft. For instance:

Fighter Command Serviceable Aircraft
as at 0900 hours, 29th October 1940

Blenheim - 40
Spitfire - 211
Hurricane - 403
Defiant - 13
Gladiator - 8
Total - 675

And the next day:

Fighter Command Serviceable Aircraft
as at 0900 hours, 30th October 1940

Blenheim - 39
Spitfire - 213
Hurricane - 391
Defiant - 11
Gladiator - 8
Total - 662

One day I'm going to have to graph out these figures showing their rise and fall for each day of the battle.

The difference is it's my money

This post annoys me. At a time when my family is struggling due in substantial part to the high taxes I pay, this johann is gloating at how his family is being saved by those very same taxes.

The Home Office had been warned

David Blunkett, the Home Secretary of darkness, opportunistically suggested that ID cards could have prevented the deaths of the 19 migrant Chinese cockle pickers who died after being caught out by high tides. I heard his claims while driving home from work and was utterly flabbergasted. David Carr of samizdata felt the same:

I don't think any of us truly appreciate just how badly our Home Secretary, David Blunkett, wants a national ID card system but the desire must be intense enough to burn a hole in his soul. It has now got to the stage where there is no bad news too pathetic enough not to be manipulated into a ID card propoganda opportunity, be it a shooting in Shropshire, a murder in Manchester or a child-abduction in Cheltenham.

Via Paul of the Manchester United Ruined My Life blog we have a White Rose posting which continues with the debunking:

It simply shows that if you are willing to break numerous laws, that the police can't enforce anyway, then further legislation introducing ID cards, is a futile measure when it comes to stopping criminal activity. In fact the only people ID cards will significantly affect are the law abiding citizens of the UK who will not doubt adopt and follow the rules to the detriment of their own personal freedom.

So it seems that many of us are far from convinced that Blunkett’s ID cards could have saved the unfortunate immigrants.

However, I am far more willing to believe that their lives could have been saved had the Home Office taken note of a previous warning that they were given about the dangers of migrant cocklers and the sands:

A Morecombe MP is meeting the home secretary to discuss what action needs to be taken over last week's drowning of 19 Chinese cocklers.

Geraldine Smith warned Home Office ministers last year about the risks to migrant cocklers in Lancashire.

A warning that some would say verges on the prescient. Yet nothing was done because of resource issues.

Still, never mind. Onwards and upwards with the plastic cards eh David?

Plenty chilli

We have the best Kebab shop in the world just down the road from where we live. Not only is the quality of their food fantastic but when you say “Large donner with plenty chilli” that’s exactly what you get. A large one. With plenty chilli.

The best thing though, the very best thing, is that you can drink and make merry at home to your hearts content, suddenly decide that the thing you need most at that very moment is a kebab, pick up the phone and order for delivery. Order for delivery!.

Sometimes I just love being a consumer.

Eat more meat

Dirty tricks - PETA - no way....

WASHINGTON, Feb. 10 /PRNewswire/ -- The late Dr. Robert Atkins is being smeared for his alleged obesity at the time of his death, by a phony doctors organization that has been exposed as a front group for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA)

Today The England Project announces the start of its Eat More Meat campaign.

Redcaps

Via Kim du Toit we have this telegraph article which reports that the 6 British MP's killed by a mob in Iraq had to hand back their ammo days before they were attacked and killed. If this is true and the current investigation into the incident shows that a shortage of ammo was in any way a contributing factor to the outcome of the incident there is going to be hell to pay. I'm not sure that Hoon can take much more in the way of criticism.

African rumours

A comment by Nathan on the Across the Atlantic blog points to this disturbing rumour:

While former South African President Nelson Mandela, 85, scoffs at rumors of ill health, plans are being made by the nation's Communist Party to slaughter all whites in the country upon his death, G2B sources say.

Now the thing about rumours is that, true or not, it's only the ones that ring true that gather pace.

Does this one ring true? It's Africa, you decide.

Welcome to England

Home of the caring, sharing society where householders share the the contents of their home with you and where the state is your friend.

Up the revolution!

Indeed Tim. And the code is 13.

Pram buried in avalanche of toys

You know, sooner or later the BBC pram is going to run out of toys. In the meantime we will probably get to read a few more 'stories' like this one, where old hacks moan on about how badly the Beeb has been treated.

What is shocking about this report, despite the usual bullshit the BBC has been spouting recently, is this comment by the hack:

Humphrys says the outcome of Hutton "won't make us any more careful because that implies we haven't been careful in the past".

I wish I were capable of this same level of arrogance.

Blogrolled

In a wild and indiscriminate game of blog roulette I happened to land on this:

The worst thing about the influence of Liberalism on the legal system has been the politicisation of the law. Instead of upholding the law as passed by Parliament, every decision is now carefully weighed against political considerations. Is it any wonder respect for the law is going downhill when the law merely serves to provide an excuse to push the political idea d'jour ? So now we have the situation where police openly discriminate in favour of some victims and against others. Which leads to situations like this:.......

The blog owner, one Dumb Jon, relays to us the story of Huntington Life Sciences quest for a little justice. A new blogroll entry is born.

Big Blunkett and surveillance Britain

An Englishman's lawn

My lawn is a problem. Can anyone recommend any good weapons of moss destruction?

2000 year guarantee

So what have the Romans ever done for us?

Old BBC director general to sign book deal

Apparently Mr. Dykes book deal will be for over £1m; nice work if you can get it I suppose.

Mr Dyke hired agent Vivienne Greene to negotiate the book deal following his enforced resignation last week. Ms Greene also represents Mr Dyke's close friend, Melvyn Bragg, with whom he discussed his departure at length last Wednesday and Thursday.

Close friend Melvyn Bragg? That explains everything!

Ahhhh, diddums

BBC employees have

protested against political "pressure and interference" in the wake of the Hutton report.

They must feel somewhat like those that protest against financial preasure and interference caused by the BBC funding model.

Ian Lucas MP, the kind of man to play at poker

When commenting upon the Countryside Alliances attempt to hold a fundraiser at the Royal Courts of Justice, Ian Lucas MP commented:

“They claim to be the persecuted rural minority, but this shows them to be among the rich metropolitan elite.”

This statement put me in mind of a quote which, though is specific to decision making rather than commentary, I should imagine fits Ian Lucas rather well:

Every now and again a senior politician makes a decision that is so lame, so ramshackle, so out of touch with reality, that you have to question the whole basis of his judgment. Does he understand the context at all? Is he in fact hopeless? - GREG SHERIDAN

Lucas is not a senior politician, though I suspect he would like to be, but on the basis of his commentary I think this very unlikely.

He has revealed his hand and his true reason for opposing the Countryside Alliance is there for all to see.

Bugger, again

It seems that some crook has stolen the delivery van that contained the soldier 95 camouflage trousers, respirator pouch, DPM forage cap, British army woollen gloves and 7000 rounds of ammunition that I ordered.

How is a man supposed to skirmish without trousers?

By the way, I thought that some of you might be interested in some of the other items equipment that I use during a skirmish (the kind that has been delivered without interception by crooks).

This is my Tokyo Marui MP5-SD5.

It’s quite a good copy of the original Heckler and Koch and is properly licensed by the manufacturer so that they can add all the little extra touches, like the Heckler and Koch name, to the copy. Visually the biggest difference is that this copy is 5mm longer but I can forgive Tokyo Marui for that I think. It also doesn’t sport the 3 shot burst option available on the original but the single shot and full automatic modes work perfectly.

It’s light, very manageable in all kinds of situations (in the mud, up a tree, in a ditch, in a bush or what have you) and is very reliable.

This is my backup weapon:

It’s a Tokyo Marui Tactical Master and is loosely based on the Beretta 92 created, I believe, by Carlo Beretta, Vittorio Valle and Giuseppe Mazzett in 1970, first bought into production in 1975 under the designation Mod. 92 cal. 9mm Parabellum (or so I’m informed, I just use the thing).

I wear it in a shoulder holster and have had to pull it on two occasions when the magazine on the MP5-SD5 emptied and I had no full ones available on my belt. Facing down a group of men with fully automatic skirmish weapons when all you have is a pistol is heart thumpingly unpleasant, but it’s better than a stick.

BBC Enforcement

In response to this piece of nonsense I offer the following:

Oh boy am I behind the curve. Still, not quite the same points being made as mine is more of a forced license fee issue.

Poodle cake

Feeling down? Need a little cheering up? This Telegraph article has what you need to brighten up your day. It's packed with wholesome goodness, with a distance ourselves from the French crispy biscuit base, a federal Europe is unworkable chicken poop creamy filling and a we want a successful Iraqi democracy icing. The only thing that's missing is a get rid of the BBC license fee cherry on the top but we can forgive them for that. After all, goodness in moderation is healthy.

Germany is seeking to distance itself from France's tight embrace and realign itself more closely to Britain and America, senior German officials signalled yesterday.

"We have to be careful that we are not identified with every word that the
French president utters. We must have our own identity and be a little more clever."

I can hardly stand it and it's only the beginning.

The latest indications of Berlin's quest for a rapprochement with London and Washington came two days after Joschka Fischer, Germany's foreign minister, abandoned Berlin's dream of creating a European federal state.

In an interview with The Telegraph, Mr Fischer said the Iraq crisis had exposed the divisions within Europe and brought home to him the need to accept diverse traditions and history.

Oh my, the goodness! Feel the goodness!

Now German officials say they are also ready to offer limited help in Iraq. "We have an interest in success in Iraq," insisted one official. "Unless there is stability and some kind of democracy there could be a negative domino effect across the region to the detriment of everybody's interests in the West."

Brrp, I'm stuffed. I couldn't eat another thing.

Rehabilitated, hoorah!

Proof that community service "works".

Or a load of old cobblers and the man is the same one cast out not so long ago. You decide.

The long game

The BBC reports that some MP's think that the war in Iraq may increase the chances of terrorism against British nationals and British interests in the short term. This author thinks that the war in Iraq is likely to decrease the chances of state sponsored terrorism against British nationals and interests in the long term.

Unless, of course, we loose our nerve and fail the Iraqi people in the midst of all the bleating that's going on.

Blunkett is at it again

The Home Secretaries proposal to reduce the burden of proof required by a court to convict a suspected terrorist is exactly what we have come to expect from the man and is incompatible with my belief that capital punishment should once more be legal in the UK.

I cannot support it