Ink and parchment

Via The Anglo Saxon Chronicals we have this from the Telegraph. It concerns itself with the interesting issues of which of the UK’s various laws are constitutionally statue (ie need to be explicitly overridden by the will of parliament) and which are not (ie do not need to be explicitly overridden but, instead, are diminished or nullified by new laws in a hierarchical manner – or something like that anyway). Magna Carta and the Bill of Rights were classified as constitutionally statute during the trial of the Metric Martyrs three years ago so need to be explicitly overridden which I don’t think this government has officially decided is a progressive thing to do yet. Give them time.

The recognition of the special status of some legislation in the UK is becoming an issue now. The safety of the conviction of the Metric Martyrs (convicted of selling produce in Imperial measures like pounds and ounces), the right to fine people without a conviction (which seems to be shady legally if the Metric Martyrs were guilty), the governments current plans for restricting freedom of people not found guilty in a court of law and, also, possible issues for various bits and bobs of EU legislation. All these things, it seems, reach back through history to a couple of rather well written inky parchments.

I’ve posted about this issue before and concluded that the state and this government can get themselves out of the various problems that the Bill of Rights and Magna Carta will very soon cause for them. Aged documents which primarily concern themselves with the rights and liberties of the unwashed masses are inconvenient for the powerful progressives who look upon hand written documents as rather quaint but irrelevant in modern Britain. Nietzsche once said:

The masses seem to me worthy of notice in only three respects: first as blurred copies of great men, produced on bad paper with worn plates, further as a resistance to the great, and finally as the tools of the great; beyond that, may the devil and statistics take them.

The parchment bonds which are beginning to raise their voices exist exactly for this reason. For the protection and liberty of the masses that Nietzsche, a great man, refers to.

In the Telegraph article Christopher Booker concludes:

Whichever way the Government plays it, in its continuing assault on the constitutional rights of the British people, this time it is stuffed.

Which leaves me thinking two things. Firstly that I may be underestimating the trouble that these old safeguards will cause for the government and, secondly, how nice it is to see the MSM catching up with the blogs on this story. Mind you, you can't blame them; they simply don't have the manpower.

BritBlog Roundup 2

Tim Worstall's BritBlog Roundup is up. Lot's of shared bloggy goodness with a blighty flavour for your pleasure.

The new face of the law

I know but what are you looking for, balance?

ASBO - It's great - can be used anywhere

I'm not sure if I could make this up. You know those Anti Social Behaviour Orders (ASBO's) brought in by this government to deal with anti-social behaviour (noisy neighbours and the like)? Well, people are beginning to get somewhat creative in their application.

You see, anti-social behaviour is a rather broad area:

On Thursday, magistrates sentenced her for three public order offences after deciding at an earlier hearing that throwing herself into a river did constitute disorder.

The Asbo seeks to prevent her doing anything which could cause alarm or distress to the public.

It was clear from the start that the current voluntary option of not throwing ones self into a river was failing and, thankfully, the state and its judiciary have now stepped in.

Once you start using the language.....

The English Democrat blog reports that they now only require a West Midlands Regional Chairman because they have 8 out of the 9 English Regions, covered:

I can confirm that we have 8 out of the 9 English Regions, covered by Regional and/or County Chairman.

The West Midlands is the last area the English Democrats need to cover, and we currently have a Vacant Area.

I'm curious about these English Regions. Are they the same as what are commonly described as the European Regions of England or some other bunch of regions?

Wishful thinking?

I certainly hope not:

From private conversation with a Conservative spokesman in the Commons, I gather there is a feeling that the Government would be happy enough for the BIll [ID cards] to stall in the Lords.

United front

Well, I have to say that this is a fine idea.

I've never tried playing Online Poker. I've played the real game and I am curious how Online Poker holds up against it, but not curious enough to find out.

I suspect that, in truth, Online Poker is actually a more crappy version of proper poker.

Talking about poker, my mum used to play quite a bit in the old days but I'm not sure Online Poker could hold a candle to the sight of five or six Italian dinner guests sitting at a large table containing piles of money. Man, the shouting.

Online Poker must be rubbish in comparison.

Filed under crime and crime prevention.

PS. Online Poker.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

27th January 2008

EU CONSTITUTION

"Should the United Kingdom approve the treaty establishing a constitution for the European Union?". That was the question put to the electorate in 2006 and 68% of voters said NO. So why is the government consistently abiding by every section, paragraph and sentence within the document? Why are elected government ministers sitting on the EU constitutional committee, helping to further add to what is an already weighty document?

We asked one government minister those very questions today and were shocked at his answer.

"What the electorate said they don't want, is an approved treaty. Some of them may have thought they were making a decision on whether they wanted an EU constitution or not, but that was not the decision they were making", says Malcolm Blows, assistant director of the constitutional committee.

"The question was: do you want to approve the treaty? The answer was no. If you don't want an approved treaty, then you have a constitution that is used as it is now. If there was some uncertainty in people's minds, well...," he shrugs.

Constitutional committee chairman Bob Getsome, also leader of Stackten Council, is dismissive of suggestions it has no democratic mandate.

"I'm not interested in that issue. The committee will carry on the work that it has been doing, the same as the other member countries are doing. That's all I'm saying on the issue," he says.

Catalyst

The continuing existence and the current behaviour of members of the unelected North East of England Regional Assembly.

Hat tips to Neil Herron, Jules and the CEP.

Con-woman pulls off scam

The BBC paid £60,000 for the sculpture.

Minister, minister, care for your children

Plans to detain terror suspects under house arrest without trial are vital because of the continuing threat to UK interests, the home secretary has said. The new powers would apply to British as well as foreign terror suspects. It would be the home secretary, not judges, who decided to impose control orders. Tony Blair, who strongly supports the Home Secretaries scheme, said:There is no greater civil liberty than to live free from terrorist attack but the feeling from much of the British blogosphere is that Blair's words were nothing more than a cheap sound bite, failing both in the measure of sincerity and in accuracy. One blogger remarked Blair's wrong. A greater civil liberty is being able to think and say what you like. Blair's problem is that he equates safety with liberty. He doesn't really understand what liberty means and that will ultimately be his nemesis.

Hat tip, Marillion.

Not quite Fallujha

The sleepy town of Bourbriac in France is not quite Fallujha but close according to this Guardian article. You see, the British are invading (ie buying property) and the townsfolk don’t like it:

"We are not anti-British ourselves," says Salomon, "but anti-British feeling is growing in Brittany and we are tapping into that. Unless something is done, the British will be targets. In small villages, the British come and almost take the village over. The local people feel overwhelmed."

They argue that the British need to integrate more, learn French (they accept that learning Breton may be too difficult) and make an effort to appreciate the local culture.

Frankly I agree with them and, in the interestes of integration, urge all Britons in France to develop a more arrogant attitude.

Joking aside though, I honestly do agree with their sentiments. Integration into and appreciation of the country you are living in (part time or not) is be part of the deal.

World of Warcraft

So I've been looking for a new MMORP game to get stuck into and it looks like World of Warcraft might be the one. A rather large departure from my usual area of space sims but most of the clan I play with have moved to the fantasy platform that is WoW and it's probably high time I joined them.

The game seems to be rather hard to get hold of with PC World no longer taking on-line orders and the in store shelves being empty. Even Amazon are now quoting it as a special order with a 2 to 3 month waiting list.

Further, it seems that my graphics card is not really up to the job so a further investment will need to be made.

There's always a price to pay when trying to keep up with PC gaming.

Quote of the day

Game on boys.

Neil Herron on government ignorance of the Bill of Rights and Magna Carta.

Apparently information leaked from the Inland Revenue reveals that two individuals have already refused to pay fines citing the Bill of Rights as the reason why.

Beer ad banned

What were they thinking?

Blogospheric pointy stick frenzy

It seems like everyone is pointing to this blog tittled Little man, what now?. It's like a pointing stick frenzy in the bloggosphere at the moment so over I went and what did I see but a picture of a man who is far from little. On the front page. A fine juxtaposition which further exaggerates the littleness of the title. I like that in a blog.

Laban Tall is pondering the meaning of the blog's title and Ted, one of the blog's three authors, has given us a clue:

For those pondering the reason for our name. I can only tell you that the symbology and hidden meanings behind the blog title, pseudonyms, posts and what not - actually point to the precise location of the holy grail, and are nothing to do with Hans Fallada novels, or songs by The Smiths.

The Holy Grail. Heh, I've already got'a one, but on the blogroll it goes nevertheless.

The Boy has a gig

Scott "The Boy" Burgess of Daily Ablution fame has got himself a weekend gig over at Vodkapundit, a US based blog of some repute. US readers are in for a treat as Scott continues to work away with his keyboard at the foundations of the UK press.

Scott reminds me (and please don't take this the wrong way Scott) of the dog that, when the paper is delivered, runs up to the letter box and grabs it with his teeth, shaking his head savagely from side to side as bits of paper fly all over the entrance hall. With all the snarling and the chewing. Intellectually speaking of course.

I'm usually the one to side with the underdog but in this case the poodle like UK press are on their own and I'm backing the rottweiler.

Guido's new home

Guido has moved to www.order-order.com so update your blogroll why don't you.

Sean Gabb on British conservatism

Sean Gabb's speech at the Royal Society of Arts on what is wrong with British conservatism is available as an mp3 here. He argues that conservatism is in rude health in Britain, driving the agenda of the day, and all that it lacks is a proper conservative party. What we have instead is the Quisling Right.

Quote of the Day

"The turnout at the last election was pitiful and is likely to be even more so at the next one - probably below that in Iraq, where voters ran the gauntlet of bomb and bullet.

"In one of the world’s most secure democracies, how can such disillusion have set in?"

John Major, former leader of the Tory party, putting the boot into Blair and his New Labour machine.

On seeing that Alistair Campbell is back in Downing Street as Blair’s spin master in chief Major had this to say:

"But the identity of the spinner is a side issue. He is merely a mercenary, a hired hand. It is not the monkey, but the organ grinder who makes the music. The culprit is the man who commits them to behave as they do - the Prime Minister."

Ouch.

Good job it's still legal to hunt rats

Days after the Government's hunting ban came into force, the Rural Affairs minister, Alun Michael has blocked the release of information on his dealings with pro and anti-hunting lobbyists.

The request for information on these talks was made under the Freedom of Information legislation and was declined because the information relates to the formulation of government policy. In other words, it is the information you are looking for.

Pointing out that Labour received a £1m donation from their opponents in 1997, the CA [Countryside Alliance] smells a rat. "I see no reasons other than suspicious ones why these talks should be covered up," says its chief executive, Simon Hart.

Ken refuses to say sorry

So does Newt Boy Ken look principled or does he look like a Jew hater? Frankly I think he looks like neither. What I can tell you is that I think he looks like a twat with a vendetta against a newspaper group.

So this is where we are. One politician currently in office against one newspaper group, currently in a huddle.

My prediction? Twat on toast.

Conservatives cut into Labour's lead

This poll seems to have been pretty insightful:

The poll also shows London Mayor Ken Livingstone, deputy leader John Prescott and Labour's election chief, Mr Milburn, are regarded by voters as liabilities.

Mind you, I hope they didn't spend too much on it. They could have just phoned me up.

Development affected

The policeman has been on holiday. Either that or he's been to sunnier climes on official business (hunting down old train robbers and the like perhaps). Anyhow, on his return he noticed that things had changed:

So much has changed, I don’t know where to begin. The traditional sight of the hunt saboteur may soon disappear from our rural landscape. I’ve always felt reassured by the presence of students and older people pretending to be students, fashionably dressed in the latest rags, running about being concerned. The hunters and their supporters always look so much healthier and better prepared for both the British weather and countryside, with their sturdy green jackets and green Wellingtons. The hunt saboteur tends more towards “Oxfam chic”: long threadbare coats, training shoes and leggings. The men and women seem quite indistinguishable from each other, I suppose a vegan diet will do that to you.

When you're right, you're right.

The fantabulous case of the Metric Martyrs

Via Neil Herron we have this clear explanation of the mess the Government had to get themselves into to prosecute the Metric Martyrs for selling produce in pounds and ounces.

This argument gave the Government an enormous problem. If they defeated it—by arguing that the doctrine of implied repeal does not apply—they would be admitting that a Parliament could bind its successors and therefore be compromising their own sovereignty. If they were defeated by it, they would have to admit that part of the European Communities Act 1972 had been repealed by a later Act and would have to expect that other parts of it would also turn out to have been repealed. With parts of the European Communities Act 1972 being repealed willy-nilly, it might one day be discovered that Britain had in fact left the EU some years previously. Neither of these possibilities was acceptable.

It's not The Times, I mean it says so in very big letters

I wish some bloggers would refrain from calling the New York Times The Times. It isn’t. You can tell the New York Times from the real deal by the huge New York Times banner at the top of the New York Times website. Look:

NEW YORK Times

I think that needed to be said.

Blimpish on Hunting

Here is an excellent post from Blimpish on Hunting:

First things first, let us be clear: there is a consensus in this society that animals have categorically lesser moral value than humans, and can be killed at human will. Further, we recognise that some animals are pests and can be killed simply to end their lives, because their existence causes harm to our interests. You mightn't personally like this consensus, but it is the prevailing moral view.

The ban on 'hunting with dogs' does not change this consensus, it simply outlaws one particular method of killing some animals. It is now illegal to go hunting foxes or mice (not rats or rabbits: go figure on the moral coherence there) with dogs. It is not illegal to just go and kill them, but only to do so with dogs.

Now, all evidence I have seen or heard suggests that farmers view foxes as pests, and will want them killed, regardless of method. If the ban were completely successful, this would mean that the farmers would resort to poisoning or shooting foxes. Again, all evidence I have seen or heard suggests that this is worse for the fox, because killing by a pack of hounds is typically sudden and complete, whereas killing by (for example) shot often results in initially non-fatal wounds, which can turn septic or reduce the ability of the fox to survive. (Reports suggest that most hunts will follow the practice in Scotland of hunting the fox as normal, and hiring gunmen to finish the job before the hounds get the target.)

Indeed, I believe that one of the findings of Lord Burns on Hunting was that there was no convincing evidence that Hunting with Hounds was overall any more cruel than other forms of controlling the species.

Naturally, people ask whether we were implying that hunting is cruel... The short answer to that question is no. There was not sufficient verifiable evidence or data safely to reach views about cruelty.

The wrong priorities minister

According to Alun Michael, the rural affairs minister, the hunting ban as not led to a breakdown of trust between the government and rural communities.

He said most people living in the countryside were more concerned with issues like the economy, the health service and their children's future than hunting.

700 hours of parliamentary time were used to force the ban through parliament. How does that figure sit with the minister and his stated understanding of the 'real' issues that concern rural communities?

BlahWar

Ken Livingstone, Mayor of London and renowned authority on the history of British newspapers is apparently on the verge of apologising for his recent Nazi jibe at a reporter for the Evening Standard.

Somehow, in preparation for this apology and according to the Guardian newspaper, he is going to ratchet up his row with Associated Newspapers by highlighting claims about a party that took place 13 years ago. It is alleged that at this party members of the newspaper group dressed up as Nazis.

This issue seems to have sparked off something similar to a BlogWar in the mainstream media. A BlahWar if you like:

The claim [Nazi dress party] has been repeated several times by the satirical magazine Private Eye, most recently a fortnight ago, and has been seized upon by another of Associated's enemies, the Daily Express. The two papers had a deal which obliged the Express to stay away from stories about Associated's past support for Hitler, but following the Mail's publication last Friday of mafia threats to the Express's publisher, Richard Desmond, the agreement seems to have been set aside.

It's tragic to see the authoritative and well respected print media going large at each other like this. I trust that the Guardian will act as a kind of public spirited UN force in the matter and call in the Americans to sort it all out.

The end of Old Britain

Katie Grant, yes the one who thinks the English are unattractively soft, yobbish, aggressive and insufferably arrogant laments the passing of Old Britain:

As traditional hunting dies, so, too, dies this valuing of experience and observation, and a mortal blow is dealt to the natural British sense that tradition and history are not just for theme parks. The hunting ban is the final act in a flurry of destruction by the gleeful institution wreckers, constitutional vandals, tradition-haters and petty, jeering class-warriors who constitute the cutting edge of Blairism.

Killing hunting marks an important victory for them, not because it will save any foxes (it won’t) but because it signals to Old Britons that they are finally finished.

One of those flat computer thingies

Mrs. England project is looking to buy our first ever laptop for her evil capitalist business venture. This is where she offers her services to a local clientele for cash. The laptop market is not one that I am particularly familiar with so I thought I’d put up a quick post just in case any readers can help.

Firstly, the question of cash. My good lady is looking to spend about 700 pounds, maybe 800. It’s not much but then the requirements are not particularly high as the machine will be used for the production of documents and other similarly low demand tasks.

The machine must have:

Wireless networking.
256mb memory minimum 512mb preferable.
Good battery life.
DVD re-writer.
Good construction and looks (customers will likely see it).
Windows XP.
We would prefer a Pentium processor but a Celeron will suffice (1.4mhz min).
40 gig hard drive minimum.
At least 2 usb ports (the more the merrier).

If you have any recommendations please email us.

Email from the Mrs.: Processor type is not an issue.

It’s just the flag of your country – no need for alarm

Hounslow council seem interesting. They are refusing to fly the St. George’s flag over their civic centre on St. George’s day (23rd April) and are refusing to publish related articles and encourage the organisation of events in local schools. It’s hard to work out quite why but it seems to have something to do with not wanting to upset the locals, 30% of them apparently not being English. I wonder if anyone on the council has actually bothered to find out how the locals actually feel about it?

Imagine living in a foreign country. Would you be against the council of the town you live in flying their national flag and organising other related events on their national day? No of course you wouldn’t. Would you even suggest that some of your fellow settlers might be offended? Of course not. So what exactly is the council’s problem?

Also on The CEP blog.

Mmmmm, bear

And liberty she flew away

"The woodlands where my race has bred
Unto the axe shall yield;
Hedgerow and copse shall cease to shade
The ever widening field."

The ban on fox hunting comes into force today. I've written much about it over the past year or so and regular readers know where I stand on the issue. For those of you that do not, I am against the ban. Utterly. Go ahead and search the archives to find out more if you want. This day was coming, but knowing that doesn't make it any more acceptable.

There are certain events that occur in peoples lives that are unforgettable and unforgivable. Time does not heal them. They are red lines that have been crossed and I suspect that the ban on fox hunting is one of these events for hundreds of thousands of people across the country.

It's that kind of issue and why wouldn't it be? Forcing people to live their lives in a way that is acceptable to a few other and more powerful people is exactly the kind of issue that is likely to raise merry hell.

Some of these hundreds of thousand of people will be angrier than others and some of those will not be able to help themselves in expressing that anger. Any large group will have some people among them who are less able to control their rage. I hope and pray that any incidents will be few and far between and minor.

For some it is no longer about who is wrong and who is right; that process has pretty much run its course and those in the wrong were fortunate enough to have the ear of some of the most wickedly illiberal men and women to have ever held influence in this country.

Like I have said before, I have never hunted and I have never felt the desire to go hunting. That has now changed.

Andy writes:

Do you really believe that huntsmen and women are above the law? Do you really think that punching a woman is okay if you're angry?

The answer to Andy's first question is kind of. They are not above all law, obviously. They are not above the law on Fox Hunting either. However, I believe that the law is wrong on this issue and I would support a policy of civil disobedience on the issue. That is, and to clarify, I would support the continuation of hunting if hunters who break the law submit themselves for prosecution. Read that again Andy, lest you once again missunderstand what I have written.

As to the second question I leave it to the reader to try and work out what other article Andy was reading when he decided to accuse me of thinking that it was alright to hit a woman because one wanted to continue fox hunting and one was angry about it. I said:

Some of these hundreds of thousand of people will be angrier than others and some of those will not be able to help themselves in expressing that anger. Any large group will have some people among them who are less able to control their rage. I hope and pray that any incidents will be few and far between and minor.

I wrote that before reading about the incident Andy refers to and I stand by it now. It is simply analysis based upon what I think human nature is and it seems to have been born out by events. I do not support it and have not said anywhere that I do, yet Andy manages to attribute support somehow to me.

Andy offers me advice: John, you really ought to look at what you've written. I would suggest he also takes a look at what I have written.

Andy adds:

Civil Disobidence is a bedrock of our democracy, indeed as I said above egg-throwing is to my mind perfectly acceptable, the problem I have with John's post is that he seems to consider physical violence as civil disobidence. John is going to respond to that by pointing out that he's never said he supports it, however he has managed to write about it now without even vaguely condemning it. All I want to hear from him is that the Beaufort and the Chiddingfold, Leconfield and Cowdray Hunts have overstepped the bounds of what's acceptable.

I recall writing on the subject of violence (with respect to the anger some are feeling and the incident of the unacceptable incident with the woman) that I do not support it and have not said anywhere that I do. That, at the very least, is a vague condemnation. I certainly consider physical violence as a possible form of civil disobedience, but I do not give it my support. Indeed, I remember as a younger man feeling simply dreadful the day that taxi driver was killed by a protesting miner when he threw that concrete slab off that bridge and it is not something I have forgotten.

Andy wants something from me; he want's me to say that the Beaufort and the Chiddingfold, Leconfield and Cowdray Hunts have overstepped the bounds of what's acceptable. This I cannot do. What I can say is that some protesters have. I condemn their actions.

Peggy Noonan in the OpinionJournal

Via Lileks we read this OpinionJournal piece by Peggy Noonan. It praises the American blogosphere and I say why not? They've certainly been game to get up and at the mainstream media in the past year or so or, more accurately, up and at a number of difficulties some of the American MSM have been having with facts and other issues loosely related to facts. Like lies.

It is my opinion that the MSM and the blogosphere are similar in the truth/lie/spin marketplace in as much as all of it goes on in both. The one difference in this marketplace that I am sure of is that, in the blogosphere, one bloggers truth/lie/spin is material for another bloggers (or many other bloggers) blogging. Indeed, this hunger for sport and the speed of publication is what makes the blogosphere credible, if anything does. Some of that does go on in the MSM but not enough to make a difference. Not enough to drive the MSM forward.

Noonan makes a number of observations which I think deserve repeating (read copy and pasting). Firstly on having a thick skin:

I have seen friends savaged by blogs and winced for them--but, well, too bad. I've been attacked. Too bad. If you can't take it, you shouldn't be thinking aloud for a living.

It's certainly true, but I would go further in as much as I think some newspaper hacks simply shouldn't be thinking out aloud, full stop. Many of them contribute to the intellectual ill-health of the nation and, given that it seems the current voluntary option has failed, we need legislation to prevent their infections from spreading. Many journalists practice sexual perfidy and have taken whores as partners.

Noonan does make a mistake in her article when she says:

Bloggers are certainly not as rough as the splenetic pamphleteers of the 18th and 19th centuries, who amused themselves accusing Thomas Jefferson of sexual perfidy and Andrew Jackson of having married a whore.

However, one can forgive her this as the bloggosphere is simply too big to take in all at once so some characteristics are going to be missed.

Lastly is Noonan's closing paragraph which I hope will never come true. It's too chilling to contemplate:

Finally, someday in America the next big bad thing is going to happen, and lines are going to go down, and darkness is going to descend, and the instant communication we now enjoy is going to be compromised. People in one part of the country are going to wonder how people in another part are doing. Little by little lines are going to come up, and people are going to log on, and they're going to get the best, most comprehensive, and ultimately, just because it's there, most heartening information from . . . some lone blogger out there. And then another. They're going to do some big work down the road.

War of the Worlds

The fact that Spielberg is currently making a War of the Worlds film is probably of no great surprise to you. But I wonder how many of you are aware that an independent film studio, Pendragon Pictures, has already finished filming what is supposed to be the first authentic movie adaptation of the H.G Wells novel.

I was looking forward to it

There was supposed to be a TV programme on last night about a bunch of people hunting around in a glacier or some such for some World War II bombers.

It was cancelled because of an overrun in a previous programme on which Tony Blair sat down and chatted with a bunch of people about this and that.

It was clear to me that neither the participating audience nor the Prime Minister had any interest whatsoever in World War II bombers and their possible recovery from the grip of an icy tomb.

It's a disgrace.

Quote of the day

This from Sean Gabb's speech at The Royal Society of Arts (“What's Wrong With British Conservatism?") on Tuesday.

All that is wrong with British conservatism is that it lacks a conservative party.

Play my music anywhere

iTunes is great isn't it? I was watching the recent something or other music awards on TV. A band came on and played a tune I had never heard before and within 5 minutes of having heard it I had it downloaded and, a little later, playing on my iRiver MP3 player. The future is great.

Oh. On an iRiver you say. How so? Well, I like to play my music anywhere which is why jHymn is right up my street.

Creepy, perverted and weird

The following article, by Carol Sarler, appeared in the Daily Express on the 18th of July 2001. It was an epiphany for me.

I have always considered myself an essentially nice person. Obviously whether you are nice or not is best defined by others around you but all indications are that I am probably right.

When I read the following Sarler article, and in particular the second from last paragraph, I could not believe my eyes. There was this person that I had never met, and who had never met me, in a position of some considerable responsibility and, dare I say it, power, calling me creepy, perverted and weird. She could never wish me happiness in my life and doubted my very soul.

I did not see a single article in the mainstream media coming to my defence. Not a peep. I was one member of a persecuted minority (and yes, we were being beaten up pretty badly back then, metaphorically speaking) and we were a minority that was effectively alone. Powerless, weak and utterly reliant on the tolerance of the majority and we were left to fend for ourselves in the face of mainstream media onslaughts such as that written in the article below.

Prejudice ruled and we were crucified.

Two of my faiths took broadsides. Firstly my effective belief that the mainstream media were essentially truthful. I was naïve, I know, but I really didn’t appreciate it for the spin fest that it was and is. Secondly, democracy lost some of its lustre.

Here is the article in full.

Article by Carol Sarler - Daily Express 18 July 2001

"OUR OLD friends from the Countryside Alliance stuck their pointy heads out of their burrow on Monday, pleased as a stirrup cup of punch with their latest wheeze for yet more killing.

According to a report that they paid good money to commission, the criminal use of handguns rose by 40 per cent during the two years after they were banned in response to Thomas Hamilton's massacre of 16 children at Dunblane. Therefore, reasons the Alliance, the ban should be reversed.

Yes, I know: it takes a moment. More guns in more crimes, so let's have...more guns. This is the selfish nonsense of the spoilt brat. "Me, me, me," it cries, "I'm not Hamilton. I'm safe with a gun. And anyway, he didn't kill the kiddies because guns were available to him, he killed them because he was mad."

It never occurs to them that if guns had not been available to him, he couldn't have killed anyone, even if he'd been mad as a skunk. But logic is never a great imperative to such people; their focus here, as it is with their passion for fox.hunting, is on the rights of the hoorays to enjoy what they like to call "sport". So their thinking goes that if a ban isn't working as well as it might be, instead of trying a bit harder with it we should revoke it altogether to allow those who care to do so to get back to their beloved shooting matches.

I dearly hope that our legislature doesn't take a blind bit of notice. Partly because - and we know this from the experience of the whole wide world -more guns mean more deaths and a couple of years or the odd report makes not a jot of difference to that fact.

But I stand agin partly for another reason. I once wrote on this page that my opposition to fox.hunting is based on a visceral feeling that people who take pleasure in it are precisely the kinds of people I do not wish to have pleasure. And so with guns and so with the people who, similarly; take pleasure in them.

There is something quite particular about a gun. Almost any other weapon you can think of has the potential for good; an axe wood for warmth, a machete hacks bamboo for shelter, dynamite builds dams for water, knives cut vegetables for food and, in a surgeon's careful hand, can actually save life. Even the man who split the atom was working towards an ultimate good he believed in.

Guns, by contrast, have only one function. Whether lifted in attack or defence, whether aimed at an endangered ibis in Africa, a tortured schizophrenic in Liverpool or a silly sod with a boy-wonder cigarette lighter in Brixton, the goal is the same: to rip bullets through flesh, to wound or to kill. In times of war, with awe and respect and reluctance, our trained soldiers may need to load and fire their guns but in times of peace, what do we say of those who find them a source of entertainment? Those who will stroke and clean and polish, who will devote their precious time and energy and even their love to such uncompromising apparatus of destruction?

I say that they are, to the last man woman among them, creepy, perverted and weird. They could not be friends of mine, doubting their souls as I do, and I could not wish them happiness -let alone could I wish them a change in a right and proper law.

We should keep our ban, flawed though it have more best to have it before - might be, tighten it, extend it, enforce it. And if there are still people out there who feel an urgent need for a pastime that allows them to show off their keen eye, their steady hand and their infinite talent for precision, then let them try embroidery."

If you can read that article and nod, agree and generally wonder what all my fuss is about then you are one kind of person. If you can read it for the disgrace that it surely is then you are my kind of person.

East Midlands Regional Assembly - the who exactly?

This is utterly hilarious:

PRESS RELEASE
More information from Jon Whowell, Policy Advisor Communications East Midlands Regional Assembly
DDI 01664 502551,Tel 01664 502555
Mobile 07887 635749
E-mail jon.whowell@emra.gov.uk
Web site www.emra.gov.uk
Release Date: 10th Feb 2005
Ref: 08/02/05

East Midlands salutes local heroine - Ellen MacArthur “brings great credit to region”

Cllr David Parsons, Chair East Midlands Regional Assembly, said "We are very proud of the achievement made by Ellen MacArthur who brings great credit to the entire East Midlands region, we would like to congratulate her on her magnificent effort of breaking the world record and the honour Her Majesty the Queen will bestow on her. The East Midlands is not normally noted for its maritime links so Dame Ellen's success is very special to us all."

It's hilarious because it serves to highlight the straws that the East Midlands Regional Assembly are willing to clutch at to help their crumbling agenda.

Fact of the matter is that people in England do not and do not wish to recognise these EU inspired artificial regions. Villages, Towns, Cities, Counties, England; these are the well established regions that people enjoy.

They certainly don't enjoy un-elected Assemblies that help to encourage the current language of the day enjoyed by some Labour politicians who insist on using the term the regions of England when, by God, they should be refering to the nation of England.

Who is this?

FACT: I am a politician.
FACT: I cannot say to you words I do not believe in my heart (Ed: stop giggling at the back).
FACT: I am the victim of a 24 year hate campaign.

Yes it’s Ken Livingstone, Mayor of London, refusing to apologise to the Jewish newspaper reporter who he accused of being a German war criminal. Hey, he only said it to indicate the level of loathing and disgust for the racism they [the papers] have perpetuated and the bigotry they have encouraged for over 100 years.

A 100 years. A long time. I’m sure some of the company that Ken keeps can improve upon that.

mySociety.org

The people at mySociety.org deserve our thanks. I have made a great deal of use of their Fax Your MP service in the past and their They Work for You initiative is also very useful. They have now annouced the Beta test of the successor to Fax Your MP, called Write to Them:

WriteToThem lets people write to any of their elected representatives: MPs, MSPs, MEPs, Welsh or London assembly members, and last (but certainly not least) their local councillors.

UK challenges Brussels over carbon trading

Of course, the difference between the people on both sides of this argument is that, on the one hand, we have people we can directly vote for or against and, on the other hand, we have people:

Negotiations between the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the European Commission continue, but Mrs Beckett has warned Stavros Dimas, the Environment Commissioner, that the UK will take Brussels to the European Court if he does not approve the revised British plan.

Tried that, didn't work

This is just one of the many reasons why decisions on when and where customers are allowed to smoke should be left to private businesses:

A pub in Kent which banned smoking last June has said smokers are welcome again after profits fell.

Playing with big fish

Neil Herron brings us this article from the Sunday Telegraph. It’s on the subject of the legality of issuing fixed penalty notices without first finding the recipient of the fine guilty in a court of law. Basically it seems that the practice is either illegal or the Metric Martyrs, found guilty of the offence of selling produce in pounds and ounces, were innocent:

The law making it a criminal offence to sell goods in pounds and ounces was issued under the European Communities Act 1972. But the Martyrs' defence was that this had been overridden by the Weights and Measures Act 1985, which authorised continued selling in non-metric measures. By ancient tradition, when one Act says something different from another, the later Act, by the principle of "implied repeal", takes precedence. But Laws ruled that, since the European Communities Act was a "constitutional statute", it could not be overridden by the 1985 Act, since this had not made the point explicit.

After conferring with the British Weights and Measures Association (BWMA) and Neil Herron of the Metric Martyrs Defence Fund, Mr de Crittenden concluded that, if Lord Justice Laws was right, the 1991 Road Traffic Act could not implicitly repeal the relevant clause of the Bill of Rights, because, as Laws stated, this was a "constitutional statute". Either the automatic penalty system was illegal; or Laws was wrong, in which case the Metric Martyrs should not have been found guilty.

The state, particularly this one, can get around pretty much anything it likes (otherwise it would vanish in a puff of logic) but this case seems particularly prickly.

Naturally the state can argue that it is nothing to do with them; it's down to the courts, but that is not the point. The point is that these laws are created by the state and the inconsistencies that have now become apparent apply pressure on the legal system to re-examine the validity of judgements and processes that might directly affect state law.

Even if you can’t land a big fish, playing the slimy bottom feeder on light rod and tackle can be immensely rewarding, and this particular two barbed hook must be just about as rewardingly uncomfortable as they get.

Saturday night is crazy night

Two stonking posts by the Blognor Regis blogger to satisfy your Saturday night desire for entertainment. The first on a bunch of Kyoto Ninja Hippies and their shadowy media supporters. The second on another case of lottery moonbattery.

Now where did I put my pint of Old Peculiar.

Ahem, I say

ebay - click

The first in, possibly, a line of patriotic drawings etc from Oliver Cook, who I met (virtually) a little while back during an ebay transaction.

What's up with Ken?

I mean when he opens his mouth:

On tape the mayor is heard asking Oliver Finegold [Evening Standard journalist] if he is a "German war criminal".

Mr Finegold replies: "No, I'm Jewish, I wasn't a German war criminal. I'm quite offended by that."

The mayor then says: "Ah right, well you might be, but actually you are just like a concentration camp guard, you are just doing it because you are paid to, aren't you?"

Finegold apparently swore at Ken, mayor of London, at the end of the conversation, which does a great deal for the credibility of the mainstream media if you ask me.

Also in today's news Anti-Semitic crime 'reaches high':

Nearly 60% of anti-Semitic incidents - 311 - took place in the Greater London area...

Here is how the conversation apparently went:

Shortly before 9pm, as Ken Livingstone left City Hall, Finegold asked the Mayor about the party. The conversation was recorded on a tape recorder which Finegold held out in front of him:

Mr Livingstone [talking to photographer Nigel Howard]: You've got one [picture] already.

Finegold: Mr Livingstone, Evening Standard. How did tonight go?

Livingstone: How awful for you. Have you thought of having treatment?

Finegold: How did tonight go?

Mr Livingstone: Have you thought of having treatment?

Finegold: Was it a good party? What does it mean for you?

Mr Livingstone: What did you do before? Were you a German war criminal?

Finegold: No, I'm Jewish, I wasn't a German war criminal and I'm actually quite offended by that. So, how did tonight go?

Mr Livingstone: Arr right, well you might be [Jewish], but actually you are just like a concentration camp guard, you are just doing it because you are paid to, aren't you?

Finegold: Great, I have you on record for that. So, how was tonight?

Mr Livingstone: It's nothing to do with you because your paper is a load of scumbags and reactionary bigots.

Finegold: I'm a journalist and I'm doing my job. I'm only asking for a comment.

Mr Livingstone: Well, work for a paper that doesn't have a record of supporting fascism.

At this stage, Mr Livingstone refused to comment further and Mr Finegold ended the exchange as the Mayor walked off.

Classic.

NO2ID blog

I missed this one. There is now a NO2ID news blog. One for the rss reader and the blogroll.

Update yours today.......

Please, make it stop!

The media drone on the wedding, it burns.

Astonishing and worrying

Looking at my referrer listing I notice a large number of hits coming from some place called drypool.net which turns out to host the guest book for the National Front. The particular place they link to is this email I wrote to the British Council and they also include the full letter text.

For the record, and just in-case anyone over at the NF (or anyone else for that matter) thinks I am a supporter, I am not.

I support an English Parliament and an English Executive. I also loosely support attempts to reduce the real prejudice and perceived prejudice against the English. Granted I bleat against enforced multi-culturism every now and again, but that is because I believe multi-culturalism and tolerance is a natural characteristic of the English. It is enforced aspects I dislike because these programmes themselves are full of prejudice.

An Englishman, woman or child can be black, white, yellow, brown, translucent or any other colour and come from any background. To be welcome in England you can come from any part of the world. I don't care where. I care about behaviour, not about race, and I'm pretty accepting of a wide range of different behaviour.

This is the first time since I started blogging again that I have considered closing down the thing. It makes my skin crawl that words I have written appear on an NF resource (unofficial as it is).

Lottery funding refusal for Samaritans a "small misunderstanding"

This from The Times:

THE Samaritans may have to close a large branch after lottery organisers ruled that it was not helping enough “disadvantaged” people.

The charity, best known for its work to help the suicidal, said it had been told that an application for a £300,000 grant was rejected because it was not targeting asylum-seekers, ethnic minority communities, the young and the elderly. Instead, the Big Lottery Fund has given £360,000 to a group that helps prostitutes.

Apparently, and according to one lottery big wig, there may have been some small misunderstanding between the lottery people and the Samaritans charity.

You know the funny thing is that this particular article has revealed a prejudice that I've seem to have developed somehow. You see, I nearly stopped reading just after the third paragraph, in which case I would have missed the sorry little explanation from the lottery man and this blog entry would have been the worse for it.

I just read the first three paragraphs and shrugged. While blog worthy the story simply didn't surprise me one bit. I was willing to believe that the lottery funding was refused solely on the basis of the perceived low propensity of the Samaritans to operate a policy of positive discrimination in the favour of selected groups.

How the hell that little prejudice developed I have no idea.

I would love to see the funding refusal letter, you know, to actually check out the nature of the small misunderstanding.

The franchise you are looking for does not exist, move along, move along

The Honourable Fiend thinks he is some kind of Jedi master:

Q: Is there, in truth, actually an international terrorist organisation called Al-Quaeda?

A: No. And Fiend has very strong suspicions that if the Home Office and its subsidiaries were to tread a less illegal path with respect to anti-terrorism activities, that inconvenient fact might become slightly more apparent to the voters. And that would never do.

Your Jedi mind tricks don't work on me; however I do look forward to the day when the Fiend is right on this matter.

An old receipt for a fine gun

Here's a thing. Most of you will not be particularly interested in this but it's right up my street. The other day, during a visit to the old family home, my father said that he had come across the receipt for the John Wilkes side-by-side shotgun that he bought back in 1964. Naturally, now that I am the owner of the fine fitting and superbly fast gun, I immediately took ownership of the document which I reproduce here for the benefit of the one, perhaps, reader interested in such old ephemera.

John Wilkes still operate today in London

I've been told that the written over postage stamp in the bottom left of the receipt is something that was provided on many receipts of old, though I am not sure what it is there for.

Imagine my surprise when I realised the Wilkes was bought second hand. Naturally my father still retains the bought-from-new William Evans.

Heh, it turns out that Tim is the one interested reader. Mind you, he reads everything.

A little freedom now, a little freedom gone forever

Phil, over at Limeypundit, goes into more detail regarding his musings over Blair and the war on terror. I read it last night and he made a lot of sense.

This got me to thinking about yesterday’s posting while coming into work this morning. I wrote what I did yesterday instinctively which is, as I have said before, how I tend to naturally approach subjects. I wrote it in spite my recognition that there is a war on (unusual though it may be) and that Blair is generally doing a good job in facing up to it.

Why? That was the question I found myself facing from myself this morning.

The war on terror is portrayed as a conflict of ideas and of cultures. Islamofacism against the west. This simple view is complicated by the fact that there are people who are easily lead into one cause or another by the rhetoric of hero figures and important men. That’s a human condition that occurs in all cultures to some extent (though some more than others) and it does complicate things but the rhetoric coming from these figures currently stands upon the foundations of Islamofacism so we will be inclusive here.

Blair is facing up to this challenge but it is not because of him that I believe we are going to win. We will win because of what western culture is. No, I am not talking about TV and consumerism here, nice as those things are. I am talking about the ideas that made the west what it is today.

My instinctive posting was born from this question. If Blair or New Labour were not in power in Britain do I believe that the war on terror would be lost? My answer could not be anything but no, it would not.

Today I got round to asking myself why not? Well, It’s because I believe we will win due to existence in our culture of exactly those things that New Labour are treating with such disrespect. Those very things that I respect the most.

I respect traditions that have served us well for centuries. I have a strong live and let live approach to life. I like to take responsibility but I dislike being told what to do. I believe that, even though we are a democracy, it is right and proper that minorities should be protected. I believe in the rule of law and that the law can only rule if it is respected. I believe there are good reasons to offer violence up to your fellow man but that if you do so without good reason you should expect to receive more in return than you are comfortable with. I believe the state should be here to ensure individual freedom, to provide for the weak and needy, to protect the nation and to otherwise keep out of the way. It is because of the existence of these things, and more, that I believe we will win.

Now, I fully accept that some of the above swing from one measure to another over time and through different governments but they are robust ideas. It just so happens that I think New Labour are flexing some (note, not all) of those ideas in a very dangerous manner indeed.

We will win the war on terror and, I think, it could take many decades to do so. Blair will be gone within 4 (give or take). Who knows how long New Labour will be in and out of power in that time. What I can say is that I do not think they are doing us a service by eroding the very things that the enemy hates about us.

One, two or three or more years of Blair may shorten the war. It may not. Either way it is going to be a long one. But New Labour are doing things that I disagree with that will quite possibly last for centuries.

Don’t believe me? Which government will repeal the Civil Contingencies Act? That’s right, none of them. It would not be in the nature of the state to do so.

On Archer

Guido Fawkes on the Jeffery Archer question:

Is Guido the only one who thinks it odd that Liam Fox says he would welcomed back into the Tory party and Michael Howard thinks he should still be in jail without remission?

Interesting one to categorise this; a difficult choice between "Politics and Politicians" and "Crime and crime prevention". It's a recurring problem.

Scary lift incident

Sometimes using the stairs is the only option. Flash required.

Blimey Limey

LimeyPundit is thinking the unthinkable, but thinking about it, is it?

Personally I still think so. New Labour are not instinctively pro-freedom even though Blair has been exceptional when it has come to the war on terror.

I support the war on terror, but I do not support ID cards. I am completely unconvinced by them and will not give the Labour party a pass card because I agree with their leader on the important issue of the day.

I support the war on terror, but I do not support New Labour's EU ambitions and their plans to formalise the regionalisation of England.

I support the war on terror, but I do not support New Labour's big state and their almost worn out ban stick.

Blair will not be around much longer but his big state party will and I can't bring myself to have anything to do with it.

The state is only rarely rolled back. Further EU entanglement is unthinkable. Individualism and non-PC minority interests are being destroyed. One head of the hydra is undoubtedly right, but that does not excuse the rest of the beast from spitting and shitting on anything that moves.

Quote of the day

Sometimes a single sentence can be so devastating that it stops the reader in their tracks:

Japan wonders why it is giving aid to a nation that has a program to put a man on the moon.

Too much hatey Katie matey

Bishop Hill points us to this simply astonishing article by Katie Grant in the Scotsman:

Where the English are unattractively soft, the Scots are endearingly tender. Where the English are yobbish and aggressive, the Scots are manly and tough. Where the English are insufferably arrogant, the Scots are grittily stubborn.

Of course we could point out to Katie how untrue and irresponsible her generalisations are but she's a clever girl and has already prepared her escape route for her obvious desire to belittle a whole bunch of people she has never met.

Preceding her comments above she wrote:

Abroad, Scots are respected for not being English, but are still part of a Great Britain with more friends across the globe than enemies. And people like us better.

And there is her way out. Accuse her of being an anti-English idiot and she will simply reply that her words are those of Scotland's friends across the globe.

Typical Mainstream Media pants.

These are my real world (first or second hand) experiences of Scottish tenderness.

An Englishman walks into a bar in Scotland and asks for a pint of his favourite beer. He is derided as an English poof for not using the correct language to order his beverage.

An Englishman has just watched his national team loose to a foreign European country on penalties. A handful of young Scottish men are dancing with glee that a British team has lost. The same handful that were extremely vocal during the match in support of a traditional British sporting "foe".

An Englishman over the wall on a freezing cold new years day is refused a taxi for not being Scottish.

An Englishman, against his better judgement, resorts to supporting the French rugby team. Enquiries reveal that it is simply because he is sick and tired of what he perceives as the traditional hatred of the Scots for the English.

It would be remiss of me to consider any of the above incidents as anything other than the result of individual prejudices and misunderstandings.

The facts of the matter, Katie, are that both England and Scotland have their share of thugs. Both have their fair share of manly and tough individuals. Both have aggressive teenagers. Both are blessed with tender individuals.

So, in recognition of Katie's contribution to the world of ridiculous generalisations and discriminations against the English I hereby announce the Sullivanistic "Katie Grant" award. Bloggers who feel inclined might like to award it to any other commentator who finds it as hard as Katie does to hide their anti-English sentiments.

Tilly, in the back garden, with a fox

Of course, it was always going to come to this:

Urban foxes are attacking and killing pet cats because they are struggling to find enough food to eat in British towns and cities.

There is nothing quite like the head of pet cat stuck on a pole in the back garden to raise the hackles of the British public. Expect the emergence of the urban cat protection squad, or the urban protection squad of cats or some-such.

Disclosure: I hate cats so I am definitely with the foxes on this one.

Tories - for and against ID cards

Though still managing to support the notion of ID cards in principle it seems that the Tory party will, more than likely, abstain from a key vote on the issue. Bishop Hill points us to this Telegraph article on the apparent Tory climb down.

It looks like the Tories are excusing themselves from the vote because some questions they have raised with the current government remain unanswered.

Hardly a cry for liberty.

Of course sophisticated commentators might suggest that we read between the lines here. The Tories are just seeking a way of removing their support for ID cards in principle without causing huge embarrassment to themselves. Ahhh, diddums, would be my reply. The manner in which the Tories are extricating themselves from the vote does not constitute an undertaking to not impose ID cards as a matter of policy were they to form a government.

Remember the sources:

Sources within the Conservative Party told the BBC Michael Howard has always been in favour of ID cards, and tried to introduce them when he was Home Secretary.

The party has been "agnostic" on the issue until now but had now decided to come off the fence, the Tory source said.

Howard is not anti-ID cards and never has been. The best that we can hope for with him as leader is a party that is agnostic on the issue and that policy does not serve those of us who are against ID cards well.

We need an opposition that is against ID cards in principle and in practice and it needs to be seen as such for the debate to be won.

Wolfie, over at the Liberty Cadre, lays into the Tory position.

This way, that way, whatever

Labour's new policy rings a bell.

Wow. The story on the BBC web site has completely changed flavour since I originally linked to it. It previously started off by saying that Labour party researches had found that many voters were attracted to the Tory line on immigration and, consequently, Labour were formulating their own similar policies in an attempt to head the Tories off at the pass.

That inspired my graphic above.

I know what I like, and I like what I know

I’ve just been reacquainting myself, via iTunes, with an album from my past. It’s easy to forget the pleasures of the music that one grew up with, particularly when that music was of the very early progressive rock variety.

The album in question is Genesis – Live and no, it is probably nothing like the Genesis you know. Apparently the tracks on this live 1973 album were:

extracted from a live performance recorded for the King Biscuit Flower Hour radio show on their [Genesis’s] Foxtrot tour. This is basically the whole set, minus "Supper's Ready," and most of Peter Gabriel's in-between-song banter.

The highlight, I think, is Musical Box (possibly followed by Mike Rutherford’s base peddle solo) which, oddly enough, has been taken as a name by this tribute band who attempt the task of:

re-enacting Genesis’ performances as originally presented between 1973 and 1975.

Nice.

By the way, this is not a recommendation. Early Genesis is not for everybody. Only people with a very highly developed musical intelligence would appreciate it.

Genesis, in my opinion, reached the pinnacle of their abilities with their live album Seconds Out. Yes, it’s Phil Collins singing Peter Gabriel songs and that is exactly the point. Obviously this is before Mr. Collins decided that falling in love really sucks, or whatever it was that made him go all Straight Jacket Required on everybody.

Now just hold on a minute there matey

What business is this of yours?

A UK nuclear submarine, HMS Sceptre, has docked in Gibraltar for repairs, prompting protests from the Spain.

Heh, from the Spain....The Beeb have fixed it now.

Bring on the Rain

Richard North publishes the address he gave to the Kings College European Week. It's a hoot and recommended reading.

The British Council

According to their annual report the purpose of the British Council is to:

build mutually beneficial relationships between people in the UK and other countries and to increase appreciation of the UK’s creative ideas and achievements.

I’ve read much of the report and it certainly seems that the Council do an excellent and worthwhile job.

The British Council also recognises, through the publishing of work by Professor P. Taylor, Britain’s important roll as a bridge between the USA and the rest of the world:

The agonising in the United States after September 11th about ‘why they hate us so much’ would suggest a failure on the part of American cultural diplomacy. Considerable efforts are now – perhaps belatedly – being expended on convincing a global audience about the Americans ‘as a force for good in the world’.

Tony Blair described this as the ‘gulf of misunderstanding’ and it is obviously seen as important enough by the council to warrant pointing out Britain’s roll in helping to bridge this gulf and in helping to repair this suggested failure in American cultural diplomacy. Personally I do not believe that there has been a failure by the Americans but that there is a gulf, say between the USA and some countries in mainland Europe, I have no doubt.

Clearly proud of the United Kingdom, the council also recognises its diversity.

There is a web area specifically devoted to Scotland. On it they say:

The British Council enhances Scotland's international reputation and contributes to building an internationally-oriented, outward-looking Scotland.

Jolly good. Scotland has an international reputation to be proud of and it’s not inappropriate, I think, for the council to want to work towards enhancing Scotland’s reputation even further.

The council, in their magnanimity, also have web areas specifically devoted to Wales and Northern Ireland. Welsh wind farms, apparently, generate enough electricity to meet the needs of nearly 100,000 British homes. An encouraging thought for any global citizen worried about global warming I would think. The council in Northern Ireland share their unique experience in education, governance and arts with countries overseas through the creation of lasting mutual relationships worldwide. I have no doubt that the sharing of these experiences is appreciated and applauded and does indeed increase the appreciation of the UK’s creative ideas and achievements.

By providing this country and province specific web real estate, the British Council is quite rightly recognising those countries and provinces within the United Kingdom that have unique or compelling contributions to make to the rest of the world. Cultural diplomacy at work.

Image hotlinking

I will be disabling image hotlinking on The England Project later on today because it is beginning to account for a larger than acceptable amount of bandwidth. Any fellow bloggers out there using one of my images (eg the 1952 Committee images) directly from this site should arrange hosting and update their image links.

If you can't arrange hosting let me know and I will see what I can do.

Labour council groups oppose ID card scheme

And now, from Norwich, it's the quote of the week:

Finger printing ordinary people and making them feel like criminals, then charging them for the pleasure, has no place in a supposedly free and liberal society. New Labour is becoming alarmingly authoritarian, to the point where even their own Council Groups cannot support them.

Under attack

This site is under a sustained trackback ping attack from an online gambling spammer. I shall have to invest some time in finding out how to prevent this in future (my sql skills being up to the task of removing such pings from the backend database).

Trackbacks disabled for now.

I've cleaned up the mess and enabled trackbacks again. I've also applied a small tweak that has a slight chance of encouraging the spammers to move on, but it is by no means certain.

Yes, but what about clarification

Can I deliberately keep a weapon, say a baseball bat or a household knife, in a suitable place so that if I am woken in the night by a burglar the weapon comes easily to hand? If I use this weapon on the burglar will the fact that I had premeditated access to it be used against me or considered in any way whatsoever when deciding if I should face prosecution?

Those two questions are simple enough and important enough to warrant clarification. Yet, the recent publication by the Crown Prosecution Service which attempts to teach misguided householders their rights fails to do so.

People programming

I am of a mind that people and computers share the particular characteristic of being programmable. It’s obvious really and, you might think, accepting this is just another way of accepting that humans can be educated. But that’s not what I mean.

I mean because people are programmable there are a whole bunch of other people out there willing and eager to do the programming. Some of these are professional educators, some of these are family, some of these are artists, musicians and writers of fact or philosophy or even fiction. And some of these are the media, mainstream or not. Not all the programming is intended to be what we would call classically educational. I would suggest that most people programming is performed in the pursuit of the self-interest of the programmers or the people who hire the programmers (which amounts to the same thing really).

It’s a nightmare.

People programmers are trying to program people day in, day out, at breakfast, lunch and dinner. When you are at work, when you are at home. On your way to work and on your way back. When you are on holiday. All the time.

Knowing this (or rather accepting this as an odd but valid way of looking at things) raises one specific question. How does one protect ones self from malicious programmers?

I’m thinking that a belief system based in hard fact is the best defence but employing such a system is not as easy as you might think. For instance what actual hard evidence do you have that your best friend actually works where he says he works? Or another issue, you choose.

I could go off and read a whole bunch of philosophy and, perhaps, stumble upon a suitable defence but honestly, many of those writers are/were extremely clever. If I were convinced by the wrong philosophy, say, one created by a super hacker of humans then I would be worse off than I am now.

I mean, what about Ayn Rand and her philosophy of objectivism? The box looks good but will I regret installing it? I’m too scared to find out.