Big Brother

CCTV In The Sky

"There is potential for these [maritime] uses to be projected as a 'good news' story to the public rather than more 'big brother'," a minute from the one of the earliest meetings, in July 2007, states."

If you're having secret meetings discussing how to "project" your spying as "good news", that is from Big Brother. They can surveille my arse because I will be doing everything I can to stop this happening.

Democracies like Israel

BBC NEWS | World | Middle East | Rights group denies Israel bias

Robert Bernstein said Human Rights Watch had strayed from its original mandate to scrutinise closed societies, not democracies like Israel.

"democracies like Israel"

....

Just run that over in your head a few times, "DEMOCRACIES like Israel". There is no other democracy like Israel, there is no other democracy which is so unashamedly and intrinsically racist and oppresive as Israels.

Fascism Sucks

BBC NEWS | Politics | Protests ahead of BNP appearance

Anti-fascist protesters broke into BBC Television centre ahead of British National Party leader Nick Griffin's appearance on Question Time.

Fascism sucks because Fascists would seek to impose their will on the public, without consultation, without representation, without democracy. They would use force and violence to subdue anyone that disagrees with them. They would, for example, do something like sending a mob to a TV station where a controversial left-wing socialist was about to speak.

Difference?

I have literally seen people on tv (in those god-awful vox-pops) being questioned whether they think the BNP should be allowed on Question Time, and one man said "No, because I don't agree with them". WHAT THE FUCK!? I don't agree with the Tories, I rarely agree with any mainstream politican, but I don't think they should be BANNED from television.

I hate the BNP as much as anyone else in posession of a brain, but angry and violent protests are exactly what Nick Griffin wants to happen so he can paint the left as violent thugs, when ironically it is generally the BNP who are violent thugs, and the left nice peaceful sensible people! Or so I would like to think.

Torture is bad, except when it isn't

MI5 chief defends links with foreign agencies accused of torture | UK news | guardian.co.uk

"Given the pressing need to understand and uncover al-Qaida's plans, were we to deal, however circumspectly, with those security services who had experience of working against al-Qaida on their own territory? Or were we to refuse to deal with them, accepting that in so doing we would be cutting off a potentially vital source of information that would prevent attacks in the west?"

Fuck me, you were to refuse to deal with them!!! You can't have it both ways, constantly issuing statements saying "we do not condone torture and will not work with anyone who tortures", while at the same time saying "we had to secure Britain and using evidence obtained through torture was a price worth paying". Studies show time and time again that people tortured will say anything you want. If I had electrodes on my testicles I would say whatever they wanted to hear to make them stop.

Bruce Forsyth thinks it's 1950

BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Forsyth says 'Du Beke was wrong'

"You go back 25, 30, 40 years and there has always been a bit of humour about the whole thing."

This whole thing is a fucking embarrasment to the media. I guess it's hypocritical for me to talk about it, but anyway. It's pathetic the amount of fuss they make over things friends say to each other in private. That comment was between those two and they got over it and moved on, why on earth to the BBC have to issue statements saying "we stand by him blah blah blah" as if he should be sacked? And then Bruce Forsyth opens his big fat mouth when its really nothing to do with him. All it looks like now is he wanted an excuse to rage about "political correctness" and push for "paki" to become common parlance again I suppose. The key word in this quote is "has", where he really means "was". Forty years ago was a long time ago, and most people have learned a thing or two in those 4 decaces. Unfortunately Bruce still thinks its 1950 and doesn't understand that things change.

Fuck Off Tracey Emin

BBC NEWS | UK | Artist Emin may quit UK over tax

Artist Tracey Emin has said she is thinking of leaving the UK in protest about being overtaxed.

In a Sunday Times interview she said she was "very seriously considering leaving Britain," adding: "I'm simply not willing to pay tax at 50%."

Oh please please do! Please fuck off anywhere else! I guess it won't stop her writing her crass and immature newspaper columns and infecting our media everyday, but at least she'll be further away physically.

Still Commited To Disarmament

BBC iPlayer - The Andrew Marr Show: 27/09/2009

an exclusive interview with Prime Minister Gordon Brown

Here's what Brown said regarding nuclear weapons:

Every country round that table is now commited to a new non proliferation treaty. Those nuclear weapon states are all now, included britain, commited to reductions of their nuclear arsenals, where that can be done...we are on the verge of a very exciting breakthrough in non proliferation agreements

Wow, if only someone had thought of that before? You know, some kind of Treaty where countries agree to reduce their nuclear arsenals? Why don't I propose a draft statement:

Each of the Parties to the Treaty undertakes to pursue negotiations in good faith on effective
measures relating to cessation of the nuclear arms race at an early date and to nuclear
disarmament, and on a treaty on general and complete disarmament under strict and effective
international control.

Wait a minute, does that paragraph sound familiar to anyone? Oh yes! It's Article 6 of the mysteriously already existing Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty, which the United Kingdom signed in 1968, and then proceeded to undertake no steps at all to reduce our nuclear arsenal.

Look's like Brown's a bit late then, I guess he'll have to call his Treaty the NNPT 2.0?

Doctors Make People Better

BBC NEWS | UK | Doctors 'must report knife crime'

Doctors should tell police every time they treat a victim of gun and knife crime, new guidelines from the General Medical Council will state.

No no no no no. This isn't what doctors are for. Doctors are for making people better. The Police are the ones who are supposed to find out whodunnit. This will only lead to a situation where victims of gang violence will be to scared to hospital, and will have to setup gang doctors like they have on the Wire and the Sopranos etc.

Worst.Trial.Evar.

LRB · Gareth Peirce: The Framing of al-Megrahi

Even if the science that convicted al-Megrahi had not offended against every minimum standard, then the second pillar of the prosecution case, his identification by Tony Gauci, the Maltese shopkeeper, would remain spectacular in its noncompliance with any safeguard. He described al-Megrahi as ‘6’0’’’ (he was 5’8’’), ‘50 years old’ (he was 37), and ‘hefty’; said that he ‘had been to the shop before and after’, ‘had been there only once’; that he ‘saw him in a bar months later’; that he ‘will sign statement even though I don’t speak English’; that al-Megrahi ‘was similar but not identical’, ‘perhaps like him but not fully like him’, and, fatally for any identification of al-Megrahi in the first place, that he was ‘like the man in the Sunday Times’ (in other words, like Abu Talb, whose picture Gauci had initially identified). But Gauci’s evidence was needed and, reports suggest, handsomely rewarded. He apparently now lives in Australia, supported by millions of US dollars.

Wow. This piece really blew my mind, I'm a bit overwhelmed. Articles like this are often long winded with only tenuous suspicions that things weren't quite right, but pretty much every paragraph here contains evidence that blows the trial wide open. Whilst it by no means proves that Megrahi was innocent, it proves by a long way that this was one of the most farcical and corrupt trials ever, and no conclusions it made can be taken seriously.

Chris Evans Owns A Golfer

BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Evans 'messed up' Radio 1 stint

His professional golfer and model Natasha Shishmanian gave birth to their son, Noah, earlier this year.

Interesting, is there anywhere one of us Joe Public's can purchase a brand new Professional Golfer and Model? Do we get to choose the name?