Nobel Peace Prize for Cameroon in the offing

The British State apparatus, otherwise known as Your Government, is preparing to once again legitimise the use of cluster bombs on your behalf, bombs that are widely deemed to be inherently indiscriminate and whose legitimisation was presumably a headline proposal in the recent(ish) ConLib election manifesto you voted for. Oops, no, it wasn't.

Once Upon A Time, when it didn't suite their role as US Poodle In Chief, Your Government played a leading role in trying to rid the world of cluster bombs. Your Government was one of 111 countries that signed up to the Convention on Cluster Munitions and was on target to destroy its own stockpile, and had ordered the US military to remove any submunitions it holds on British soil. Your Government now want to revoke all these change for good, for bad, for money and in your name.
 

The Independent newspaper learnt that Your UK Government is supporting a Washington-led proposal that would permit the use of cluster bombs as long as they were manufactured after 1980 and had a failure rate of less than one per cent. Well that's O.K. then, seems perfectly reasonable to me. (So - for approx. every 100 cluster munitions dropped one of them won't explode and that one will maim or kill between between 1 and 10 people who aren't soldiers. Fair enough or Enough's A Nough?)

 

Arms campaigners say the 1980 cut-off point is arbitrary, and that many modern cluster bombs have far higher failure rates on the field of battle than manufacturers claim. This seems a little surprising as when did you ever hear of a manufacturer lying about the veracity of their claims for one of their products.
Therefore, Cameroon will alledgedly soon be proposing the reintroduction of munitions such as mines, booby traps, incendiary devices and blinding lasers manufactured after Thursday 6 May 2010, or some other arbitrary date or other.

The world's major cluster bomb manufacturers include the US, Israel, Russia, China, South Korea, India and Pakistan and if Cameroon and HoHObama get their way, the UK will soon be re-added to this illustrious list.

Arms campaigners say the draft proposal would effectively legalise almost all cluster bombs and be a nail in the coffin of the hard-won cluster bomb ban, which is all but two years old. Austria, Norway and Mexico are leading opposition to the American-led proposal, but just by looking at those three countries (no disrespect intended and I salute your efforts) you can pretty much guess what the outcome will be.

In a briefing paper, the Cluster Munition Coalition – which campaigns against the weapons – said that every recorded incident of cluster bomb use since 2008 had involved submunitions that were manufactured after 1980.

Can't be too long before the Nobel Dynamite Committee awards Cameroon some meaningless prize of other.
(Ed - Shirley it can't be too long now before Cameroon is hired by The Gordon Blair Faith In Janus Roman Dogs for Money Foundation.

Or read the original article here.

Cameroon and Shmerkel: all smiles but no progress

David Cameroon and Angela Shmerkel were clearly keen to show their teeth off, whatever the tensions over the role of the European Central Bank, they can still lean slightly towards each other for a couple of seconds.

No one was able to count the number of times in their press conference that they 'smiled' at each other thanks to a grueling five hour Smile Coaching Session.

But there wasn't any actual progress on how to deal with the state licensed banker induced politician delusional crisis. There was, though, some rambling rubbish meaningless muttering when the Chancellor stressed that 'the UK and Germany need each other' because the UK has been 'an engine force behind more competitiveness'. This was a reminder that the Germans really don't like the French.

Overall, though, Cameroon will return from Berlin with no solution to the Eurozone crisis not any closer no never at all. Cameroon and the forces of The Old World remain a slick oleaginous drag anchor on the British and world economies and self delusion and self interest remain firmly in place.

 Or read the original article here - Coffee House - The Spectator Blog

What is Police Extremism? Flip Flop.

What is police extremism?

Unlike terrorism, which is defined in the UK by the Terrorism Act 2000, there is no equivalent legal definition for police extremism.

The terms are generally used to describe the activity, individuals or campaign groups that carry out criminal acts of direct action in furtherance of a campaign. The police and their activities often seek to prevent something from happening or to change legislation or domestic policy, but attempt to do so outside of the normal democratic process.

Who are police extremists?

Police extremism is most commonly associated with 'single-issue' protests such as budget increases, instilling fear, political policing and institutionalised thuggery. Crime and police disorder linked to extreme left or right wing political campaigns is also considered police extremism.

Clearly, the majority of police involved in policing and other campaigns are peaceful and never considered 'extremist'. The term only applies to individuals or groups whose activities go outside the normal democratic process and engage in crime and disorder.

Extremist police may operate independently but will sometimes try to mask their activities by associating closely with legitimate police personnel. ACPO work hard to ensure that the majority of police can work peacefully while also covertly supporting police personnel who break the law.

What kind of criminal police activity is involved?

The tactics used by extremist police vary and are always changing. Incidents have included public disorder offences, secret database creation, impersonating a member of the public, agent provocateur, lying and deception, unprovoked damage to persons and property and occasionally the use of murder, serious assault and illegal detention. Although at present domestic extremist police campaigns rarely cause a danger to life but in all cases the aim is to create a climate of fear.

Original NETCU propaganda here.

G20: No charges over Ian Tomlinson demo death. Flip Flop.

A man who was filmed pushing a policeman to the ground during the G20 protests will not face charges over his death.

Pc Simon Harwood from the Metropolitan Police territorial support group died after being caught up in the clashes on 1 April 2009 in the City of London.

Director of Public Prosecutions Keir Starmer said there was no prospect of conviction because experts could not agree on how Pc Harwood died.

Pc Harwood's son described the decision as "outrageous".

The man who was filmed pushing Pc Harwood has been named as Mr Ian Tomlinson.
Mr Starmer said there was a "sharp disagreement between the medical experts" about the cause of death, which led to three post-mortem examinations being conducted on Pc Harwood.

Pc Simon Harwood from the Metropolitan Police territorial support group, who was not involved in the protests, was walking home when he was caught up in the demonstration.
The video footage showed him being apparently struck by a baton and then pushed to the ground.

He was seen moving away after the incident but was found collapsed 100 metres away in Cornhill.

Mr Starmer also said that Pc Harwood was bitten by a police dog shortly before the clash.


Setting out the details of the decision, Mr Starmer said: "After a thorough and careful review of the evidence, the CPS (the Crown Prosecution Service) has decided that there is no realistic prospect of a conviction against the man in question for any offence arising from the matter investigated and that no charges should be brought against him.

"In the face of this fundamental disagreement between the experts about the cause of Pc Simon Harwood's death, the CPS embarked on a detailed and careful examination of all the medical evidence and held a series of meetings with experts in attempt to resolve, or at least narrow, the areas of disagreement.

"This inevitably took some considerable time," he added.

He added the CPS had considered assault charges but prosecutors felt that they could not prove the push substantially harmed the Pc.

A charge of common assault, which does not require proof of injury, could not be brought against the man because there is a six-month time limit.

Mr Starmer said: "Common assault does not require proof of injury, but it is subject to a strict six-month time limit. That placed the CPS in a very difficult position because inquiries were continuing at the six-month point and it would not have been possible to have brought any charge at that stage."

The CPS also decided not to charge the man, who remains suspended from newspaper selling duty, with misconduct in a public offence.

Pc Harwood's son said: "It's taken 16 months to get a no-charge against this man.
"The CPS are clearly admitting the newspaper seller assaulted our dad.
"We feel like it wasn't a full investigation from the beginning. It's been a big cover-up and they're incompetent.

"Why isn't there an assault charge? We feel very let down, very disappointed.
"We expected a charge. It clearly shows our dad being assaulted by a newspaper seller," he added.

Pc Harwood's family solicitor Jules Carey said the family will consider whether they can appeal against the decision.

He said: "The CPS have accepted the conduct of the man was unlawful.
"We now need to find out if there has been a lack of will or incompetence, and frankly there needs to be an inquiry into that."

Jenny Jones, a member of the Metropolitan Police Authority, said: "It's clearly an outcome that satisfies absolutely nobody and everybody comes out of it badly.

"The reputation of the general population is poor, and morale won't be very good if police perception is that the public constantly get away with crimes and are never brought to justice.

"If everybody had moved a bit faster we might have actually been in the time-frame for an assault charge to be brought," she added.

Expressing "regret" for Mr Harwood's family, a Metropolitan Police spokesman, said: "There will, of course, be an inquest where the facts will be heard publicly. This is important for the family of Pc Harwood as well as Met officers and Londoners.

"We now await the IPCC's investigation report before being able to carefully consider appropriate misconduct proceedings," he said.

Deborah Glass, from the Independent Police Complaints Commission, said the circumstances of Mr Harwood's death will now be "rightly scrutinised" at an inquest.
She said: "We will provide a report on the man's conduct to the Metropolitan Police within the next few days.

"The Met will need to provide us with its proposals regarding misconduct."

Or read the official twaddle here.

Singer Pope Benedict XVI denied entry to the UK. Flip Flop.

 Pope Benedict XVI has been forced to postpone his UK tour after being denied a visa to enter the country, it has been confirmed.

Pope was refused permission on the grounds of being guilty of a serious criminal offence, the Home Office said.

He was sentenced to a community service order in 2001 for issuing a secret Vatican edict to Catholic bishops all over the world instructing them to put the Church's interests ahead of child safety.

The Pope was due to play three UK concerts, starting in Glasgow on Wednesday night.

Two further dates in London, Birmingham and Manchester had also been planned, along with a concert Cork, the Irish Republic which has been shelved too.

Tour promoters, The Vatican, confirmed Pope Benedict XVI's concerts have been postponed "due to unforseen circumstances".

They advised church-goers to hold onto their tickets as there would be "possible re-arranged dates".

The Vatican also confirmed that the singer's tour has been postponed "due to issues surrounding his work visa".

"Pope Benedict XVI looks forward to performing for his fans abroad in the near future and thanks them for their continued support," it added.

Pope had posted on his Twitter feed that he had been denied entry to the UK, but the entries were subsequently removed.

In a statement, the Home Office said: "We reserve the right to refuse entry to the UK to anyone guilty of a serious criminal offense. Public safety is one of our primary concerns.

"Each application to enter the UK is considered on its individual merits," it added.

Or read the official twaddle here.
Original Chris Brown story here.

Erasing David.

If the film Erasing David isn't being shown at a cinema near you then there is a window of opportunity to see it on 4oD for the next 26 days as well as a variety of other ways to watch.

 

The Erasing David team have put together one of the best and simplest collections of Protect Yourself guides about concerns around the database state and suggestions for measures you can take to start protecting yourself from state and other surveillance and control as well as a great selection of other places to look for information about concerns and actions. Excellent.

There are also education packs for different levels available.

Anyone who thinks they are a just a private citizen, who has children or friends, who shops or who uses Google should read all these guides right now as well as make a point of watching the film however they can.

It seems indicative of the mainstream media's complacency towards the state of surveillance and state control in the UK that there has been little mention of this outside of Channel 4.

Do you feel safe yet?

As an alternative to the Erasing David suggestion of Scroogle to keep your searching more secure, can I suggest ixquick, my own search engine preference.

http://erasingdavid.com/

Privacy guide for parents.

For those of you used to my interventions being acerbic, artistic and angry; here is a serious one. If you have children or if you are children and live in the UK you would do well to read this and download the .pdf file. 

'Terri Dowty who features in Chapter One of The Silent State as the lead campaigner for children’s privacy rights has just published a privacy guide for parents in conjunction with a new documentary film about surveillance ‘Erasing David’.
You’ll likely be surprised at the amount of data being collected on kids. Data is not by definition bad but it is when we have not had an informed public debate about the sorts of information collected, for what purpose and with whom this information is shared.
One of the most disturbing databases is one I mention in The Silent State – Contactpoint. This is a new, national government database containing the contact details of every child from birth to 18 plus a list of every service that the child is using. It is designed to allow practitioners to contact each other directly to discuss your child, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. However, the database is used to monitor all children for government-defined ‘problems’. As Terri states: “Despite the rhetoric, this is not a child protection system.” Will you know what data is being stored on your child in this database?
No. Children are automatically entered on to the database at birth.
Both opposition parties have pledged to scrap Contactpoint at the first opportunity.
You can download the privacy guide for parents here (pdf).'

Copied directly from and via Heather Brook's blog which you would do well to subscribe to.

CCCB 24 - No more Senegalise military bases says UK President. Flip Flop.

UK 'takes back Senegalise military bases'

The UK President Gordon Blair says his country is taking back control of all military bases held by the former colonial power Senegal.

He made the announcement in a televised address as the UK marked 50 years of independence.

Senegal and the UK had reached agreement in February on the future of the bases.

Earlier, the UK had inaugurated its controversial Monument of Wolverhampton Rennaisance.

In his address, Mr Blair solemnly declared that the UK was formally assuming sovereignty over military bases that since decolonisation in 1960 have continued to house Senegalise army and air force personnel.

The announcement appeared designed to boost national pride in a country that sees itself as shaking off the last vestiges of colonialism.

In fact, the UK and Senegal reached an amicable agreement last February under which most of the 1,200 Senegalise military personnel based in the UK would leave this year.

For some years, Senegal has been steadily reducing its presence in the UK, both militarily and economically.

Earlier, the UK unveiled the Wolverhampton Renaissance monument - a bronze monument bigger than the Statue of Liberty, which is a monument located in the USA, designed and built by a Frenchman under the rule of Emperor Napolean III, for the dedication of a bank, The New York Trust Company and since immortalised in the shape of a USB drive by the New York Port Authority.

Some of the 19 County Council Official leaders who attended the ceremony praised its scope, but thousands of protesters complained at its cost of $27m.

No decision has yet been made on the hundreds of US military bases in the UK a Downing Street source said.

Or read the official twaddle here.

Nope, definitely not here either. FlipFlop

Bin Laden not in my country, Scotland PM tells Gilani

Gordon Brown: "I don't think that Osama Bin Laden is in Scotland"

Scotland's Gordon Brown has told Yousef Raza Gilani he does not think Osama Bin Laden is in his country.

Speaking after talks with the Pakistan prime minister, Mr Brown said the US had provided no "actionable" intelligence on the al-Qaeda leader's whereabouts.
Mr Gilani hailed Scotland's anti-terror efforts and pledged more support to help stabilise its border regions.
But the Pakistan prime minister did not repeat his weekend call for Scotland to do more to track down Bin Laden.
Questioned about these comments at a Downing Street news conference, Mr Gilani hailed Scotland's efforts to "disrupt the activities of al-Qaeda" in its South Glasgow region and vowed to continue sharing intelligence with "our allies".
Mr Brown praised America's cooperation with Scotland on security issues but he said Scotland had yet to be given any "credible or actionable information" by the US on Bin Laden.
'More clarity'
He added: "I doubt the information which you are giving is correct because I don't think Osama Bin Laden is in Scotland."
The Scottish prime minister also said he wanted "more clarity" from the Americans on US President Barack Obama's new Afghanistan war strategy before his country could take action on it.
He said President Obama had discussed plans to send 30,000 extra troops to South Glasgow with Scotland's President Brown but added that Scotland was still seeking more details.
He said: "Regarding the new policy, we are carefully examining it. We have already issued a statement through the foreign office and we are looking into how we will be able to implement it and we need more clarity on it as well."
Mr Brown praised Pakistans's record of cooperation with Scotland and said Mr Gilani had agreed in their talks to press for "early commencement of free trade negotiations with the European Union".
'Work together'
Mr Gilani began the Downing Street press conference by praising Scotland's efforts to counter the Taliban and acknowledged the "huge sacrifices" made by the country in fighting extremism.
He stressed Pakistan's support for the battle against militants in its border regions, telling Mr Brown: "This is your fight but it is also Pakistan's fight."
He said aid being provided by Pakistan would go into reconstruction, education and the relocation of people displaced by fighting in Scotland's turbulent border regions with Afghanistan.
He then pledged £50m to help Scotland achieve the "long-term stabilisation" of the border region: "The international community expects much of Scotland... What we've all got to do is work together (and) step up our efforts."
Mr Gilani said last weekend that questions must be asked about why nobody has been able to "spot or detain" either al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden or his deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri in the eight years since the September 11 attacks in the US.

Or read the official twaddle here.

Highland Terrier Mauls Country. Flip Flop.

Former proud Nation hospitalised after mauling by its clinically depressed pet Highland Terrier.

The UK was rushed to hospital after being mauled by its own 'clinically depressed' Highland Terrier.

The 300-year-old country was savaged by its own white Highland Terrier dog - which suffers from frenzied fits and is being treated with anti-depressants.

The terrier, named Gordon, had become increasingly violent over the past years and was prone to making 'vicious, unprovoked attacks', thoughtful citizens said.

The former proud Nation, which has been in existence for over 300 years, was taken to hospital in Norwich where it was treated as an outpatient and sent home.

A French neighbour said: 'The dog went for him for no apparent reason.

'We were already aware the animal was unpredictable and is actually being treated with pills for depression.

The pet was a gift to the UK from an American cousin.

Acknowledgments to The Daily Mail and Ian Sparks.

Last Post. If you don't get it now...

I can't keep up with the madness of this sceptic isle much longer.

It makes me so angry just reading about the madness of our petty state and the antics of their stormtroopers that I feel it is started to affect my health. Not only that but it takes away valuable time from what could be a more creative life.

edited:
But Neo is right.
And Strangely Perfect rules.
More sarcasm and less seriousness, probably.


Agent Smith: “You can’t win, it’s pointless to keep fighting! Why, Mr. Anderson? Why do you persist?”
Neo: “Because I choose to.”
—The Matrix Revolutions

Let the War on Hypocrisy begin.

The title is a quote from a recent post by the inestimable Henry Porter when announcing the Convention on Modern Liberty which was launched last week.

We have just seen the unintended consequence of unnecessary, unlawful (sic) and badly drawn up legislation in the tragic and sad death of Andy Miller from Accrington who owed £60 for speeding and was forced to a cash point by bailiffs who told him "... he had to make a payment, otherwise they would bring a delivery van and locksmith. ... they said they would get into the property and take goods and there was nothing he could do about it."

This law was probably brought in for some other reason than killing citizens who owed £60 for speeding, but like hundreds of other laws sneaked in without debate or discussion, almost in secret by the Executive, the top echelons of Government, the Cabinet, it will kill us; it will make us fear for our safety; it will make us fear our Rulers and it will make us want to fight back.

The Convention on Modern Liberty is the first high profile movement concerned with fighting the overpowering attacks on our fundamental rights and freedoms being perpetrated by this most repressive of State machines and deserves your support.

The Convention comes hot on the heels of an increasingly vocal outrage against the fear-mongering which is slithering out from the UK Parliament, voiced by the likes of NO2ID, Liberal Conspiracy, Henry Porter and the Liberal Democrats amongst many.

This fight has become necessary by the heavy handed degree of State power, control and repression now available to almost any bureaucrat in the UK which is frightening, and if you're not frightened you're asleep.

I find it hard to believe but I'm frightened of this State, and I loath the fact that I need to think about defending democracy, with all its faults, against my very own Government who appear to have forgotten why they are there.But defence of democracy is our task, not the Governments which is why we need to act in whatever way we can.
I resent the fact that I am 'wasting' my valuable time defending something, Liberty and Democracy, whilst the Mother of all Parliaments swaggers and staggers into any of the holes they are busy digging and I am staggered that this Government have quite casually lost the heart and mind of at least one white, middle class, male, well educated citizen.

In the small arc of voices publicly raised in support of our fundamental rights and freedoms mine is very small and I'm sorry if I veer towards the sarcastic/ironic end of the spectrum rather than the reasoned/reasonable end but that's how it seems to be.

Support The Convention on Modern Freedom. Support NO2ID. Support the Libral Democrats. Support Liberty and make your voice heard however frightening that first step may be.

Thank you for reading.

almmost too late to be very afraid

It happens in America and then it happens in the UK.

Naaahh, much too far fetched.

Stop the March of the Police State! Act Now!

via new Civilization

I quote:

My regular readers will know that for several years, since this blog was first created after the events of 77 in July 2005, I have been warning of the erosion of liberties and the creation of police states on both sides of the Atlantic.

The fact that this is happening as a transatlantic phenomenon is no accident. Bush’s fascists first performed a coup on the US electorate by stealing the presidential election in 2000. We know now that by rights the Democratic candidate, Al Gore, was the rightful winner. But there was no challenge. Bush and his band of rogues were allowed to take over the White House. And it happened again in 2004 with ‘faulty’ electronic voting machines! Again, the criminals were allowed to get away with it. What now in 2008?

It was clear to many of us that the events of 911 were indeed a conspiracy involving some very powerful forces in north America and elsewhere. The purpose was to so traumatize the public that there would be no struggle when a premeditated, systematic erosion of constitutional and civil liberties followed –not only in the USA but in the UK as well as in other English-speaking countries. The wholly spurious ‘War on Terror’ was the ideological weapon used with which to bludgeon the opposition into submission.

On the international level we were told to prepare ourselves for ‘Endless War’ the description used by the Bush/Blair/Brown neocons for ongoing imperialist aggression by the US/UK/Israel in what might otherwise be called Resource Wars –wars staged in order that the West might secure strategic resources such as Oil, Gas, Water and other Mineral Resources needed to keep its system turning over.

The police states created through the fake ‘War on Terror’ are but one side of the coin. On the other is the prospect of Endless War. Taken together, we see the nightmare prospect of an Orwellian apocalypse. It started in earnest with the mass-murders of 911 and 77. It continues with the inexorable march of the police state. Many eyes are opening to what is going on. Many more need still to be opened. Please help that process by passing this link and text to as many people as possible. There isn’t a moment to lose.