Think of our Forces this Christmas

[UlsterBrit] As you sit there reading this entry over the festive season, stop and spare a thought for the brave service men and women of Her Majesty’s Armed Forces and their families. Think about the troops who are recovering from injuries, those who are spending this Christmas away from their families and those who have bravely layed down their lives in the line of duty.

While you are at home filling yourself with Turkey and stuffing, think of those who have to work under constant threat and stress in the most appalling conditions. Think of the many families and friends who have lost their loved ones at the hands of the EVIL followers of the sinister cult that is Islam. The pain of irreplaceable loss endured by those families, who won’t be sharing this Christmas with the ones they have painfully lost.

But most of all think about this. Why are our soldiers out there fighting a never-ending war in foreign lands and spilling their blood on foreign soil? For democracy? To defend our democratic rights and freedoms from the tyranny of Islam? Our national security? These are the alleged causes that our troops are fighting for. But what is the point? And is there any truth behind these supposed reasons? Our troops are fighting on the wrong front. Fighting an illegal war constructed by the British Labour Party, a bunch of traitorous, left-wing, socialist bastards and the evil Republican Bush Administration in the Land of the Arrogant, home of the criminally insane - United States of America.

Instead, our troops should be fighting our biggest threat, right here, on our door step. The European Union is undoubtedly the biggest threat to our nation since the Second World War, in which our grandfathers fought hard in order for us to remain free, many of which resulted in paying a very costly price indeed. Gordon Brown and his under-educated chums of the Labour Party are sitting in parliament, rubbing their hands with glee as they slowly but surely sell Britannia and her Crown dependant nations down the river to Brussels, in return receiving massive pay packets and bonuses.

Our troops are sworn to protect our Monarch, the Royal family and the country. Our Government instead have our soldiers positioned at the wrong front, in order to allow a smooth and stealthy take over of the United Kingdom by surrendering all of our powers and rights to govern ourselves as a sovereign and independent nation.

As stated by a law made in the 17th Century (which still stands to this day) it is treason to surrender or give powers or governance to any foreign leader or government. Surely this is a valid reason for Her Majesty to call the troops to arms at home to defend our borders. That this is a valid reason for Her Majesty to order the Police Service to arrest the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown and the Foreign Secretary, David Miliband, for the crime of treason. This allows Her Majesty to dissolve parliament and call for democratic elections in order to allow the public to have a Prime Minister that is actually elected, as is the normal function of the British political system.

In theory, Gordon Brown’s government is really a dictatorship. It is on the same primitive level as that of a government, run by Robert Mugabe. A government of dictatorship and totalitarianism. The only difference between the two is that Robert Mugabe was elected whereas Brown, was pushed into office after Tony Blair resigned. Gordon Brown never ran for Prime Minister, but always had the ambition to become Prime Minister, whatever the cost and by any means necessary. Gordon also broke the promise that Blair and his government made on a referendum regarding  the Lisbon Treaty, which is basically the old Constitution, with the exception of the altered title of course.

No matter what Gordon does, he displays the classic signs of a third-world, backward thinking government. He is unelected, he is telling us how we are allowed to live, what we can and can’t say, we are constantly having our movements monitored via CCTV or Government databases at airports and refuses to give up power at the request of not only the members of his party, but the wishes of at least 95% of the nation. Most alarmingly he is forcing us into a government we don’t want to be a part of – a Unified Federation of Europe (I.E. United States of Europe).

This is exactly where he broke his promise to millions of Britons living in the UK. Gordon doesn’t care about the citizens of Britain. He is more interested in a large annual salary and the bonuses he will get for surrendering the UK to the widely hated European Union.

This is where the topic comes in line with our brave soldiers, airmen/women and sailors of the present and the past. Brown is telling our heros to fuck off and die, whilst urinating on the graves and spirits of our ancestors who fought and died for the establishment and stability of the nation, its freedoms and democracy we Britons enjoy so much. A democracy which has been copied in parliaments through-out the world, known as the ‘Westminster System’.

The Freedoms to Practise and Follow all religions have gone, thanks to the left-wing Labour Party. Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, etc are welcome to practice their religion. Christians however are penalised, denied the wearing of religious symbols or openly talking about Jesus. So much so that the labour government have for years been planning the demise of celebrating of Christian Holidays, by seeking to ban Christmas trees and decorations, the censorship of the word ‘Christmas’ on television, in the fear that they will offend the muslim minority.

The flames and the spirit of freedom of speech are dampened almost to the point of extinction under the Labour government. The right to talk freely about what you think or express your opinions is a crime. Talk negatively about Islam, immigrants, or in some cases bodies of authority, are all condemned by the somewhat, totalitarian regime of a left-wing government.

Anybody or person seen as a threat to the interests of the party, are silenced by court orders, hearings and fines. Sometimes even prison. A fine example of such sinister actions can be found in the case of the fast growing and uprising of the British National Party. Branded by the liberal left as a racist and fascist party, the BNP have had their honest credibility trailed through the bitter, foul-smelling muds of the left-wing, deliberately performed publically in order to ridicule the BNP in front of the nation. Having government-funded fundamentalist groups of students and unions take the BNP to court over their membership criteria. In order to join the BNP you must be a native of the UK (in the sence of an Aboriginal or Native American). The groups in question, ran by the left-wing, attack the ‘threat’ of the right-wing by claiming that the BNP, as a result of their membership policy, are racist as they only permit ‘whites’ to join. What about the Black Police Officer’s Association? Or the Muslim Council of England? Non-whites are only permitted entrance to the Black Police Officers Association and muslims are only permitted access onto the Muslim Council. Is this not discrimination? No? Then why can’t the ‘British National’ Party not only accept natives of Britain as members? Is this really democracy where one group must operate under one law, and another operate under a different law?

Britain is as its Governing Party is – Up the left. And it is time we, as a nation, change Britain for the greater good - to the way she used to be. A fair, and democratic society. A free and sovereign nation, in which the people can decide lawfully and freely who they want as their head of government, and who decides their laws.

Reject the EU, and burn its flag in protest, ensuring that the Most Grand and Glorious Union Flag is forever raised high above any other foreign flag flown in our nation. Keep us free, support our heros and deny Labour another chance to totally destroy our beautiful and historic country, in which so many of its citizens have spilled their blood in order to keep us free.

God Save the Queen, and may Britannia rule the waves once more.

BBC News, 26 December 2009

The collapse of a bridge being built in western India is feared to have left some 40 people dead, local police say.

Dozens of labourers working on the bridge are thought to have fallen into the river Chambal when it collapsed late on Thursday.

Rescuers have recovered 12 bodies but there is little hope of finding anyone else alive, a senior officer said.

The accident happened near the town of Kota, some 170 miles (270 km) west of Jaipur in Rajasthan.

Police Inspector General Rajeev Dasot said an inquiry had begun into the circumstances leading to the collapse of the bridge, which is being jointly built by South Korea’s Hyundai Engineering and Gammon India.

Mr Dasot said it could take another three days to clear all the debris, AP news agency reported.

The government has ordered an investigation and police have arrested two project managers.

Correspondents say construction site accidents are relatively common in India, where health and safety rules are often overlooked.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/8430703.stm

In our meeting today we all were able to come up with a story regarding Facebook. From the case of Anthony Stancl the American teenager who blackmailed fellow students at his secondary school into having sex after using their Facebook images . And to a story here in the UK about Craig Lynch, he is on the run from police after absconding from prison three months ago, but is still finding time to update his Facebook page.

And the list goes on, so what is it about Facebook that makes us put so much information about ourselves?  I guess the main reason is because we use it to link up with friends, but for some reason we seem to forget that that information is not bbc private. 

A few weeks ago Helen from WHYS wrote a blog post about trusting  Facebook, many of you said you didn’t.  But more than 350 million people round the world are active users and the numbers grow all the time, so there must be something we love about it? Why do you use Facebook?

Read more: bbc news
in wikipedia

In a Christian Majority Country

In a Muslim Majority Country

M Ilyas Khan, BBC News, Islamabad, 22 December 2009

The Pakistani Supreme Court’s decision last week to strike down an amnesty law for politicians has created more questions than it has answered.

The decision has led to the reopening of corruption cases against hundreds of people, including the country’s President, Asif Zardari, and some top federal and provincial ministers.

President Zardari is covered by constitutional immunity and cannot be proceeded against as long as he is president, but cases against the ministers can be reopened immediately.

Many in Pakistan have hailed the decision as a major step towards strengthening the rule of law in the country.

But many more read in it a familiar pattern by which the country’s security establishment has repeatedly undermined civilian governments, especially those led by the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), which is now in power.

Defiant stance

The government has avoided an open confrontation with the court, but has adopted a defiant stance.

President Zardari has refused to step down, and no member of the cabinet has been asked to resign, though they say they will abide by the court’s ruling and face charges brought against them.

The main opposition leader, Nawaz Sharif, has so far resisted the temptation to start a full-blown movement against the government, presumably because he fears that this will benefit the military, not his Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party.

But while the government may survive this latest setback, it has been sufficiently weakened to focus on the two core issues the country faces; war against militants and an ailing economy.

For the Western powers, such uncertainty does not bode well.

These powers decided to back a democratic government in Pakistan when the former military regime of General Pervez Musharraf failed to counter the expanding influence of Taliban militants.

Analysts say powers such as the US, the UK and Saudi Arabia underwrote a public amnesty which would enable popular politicians such as Benazir Bhutto to return to the country and counter the Taliban.

The result was the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO), a law which Ms Bhutto negotiated with former military ruler General Musharraf in 2007 to write off cases against her and members of her party which she said were “politically motivated”.

But when the legal team of the former president drafted the law, they expanded its scope to bring several Musharraf allies into its orbit.

Recently, more than 8,000 people – among them politicians, bureaucrats and businessmen – were found to have benefitted from the law.

But the entire debate in the week-long hearings at the Supreme Court revolved around the PPP leaders, notably President Zardari, and they are the ones who appear to be the most directly affected.

Ganging up?

This has led many analysts to question the validity of the original cases of corruption against the PPP leaders in the first place.

They point out that all these cases were instituted to justify the premature ousting of Bhutto’s second government in 1997.

The cases were lodged by the government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who had then replaced Bhutto.

None of the accused leaders were ever convicted in those cases, although President Zardari spent eight years in jail and Bhutto herself lived in self-exile in Dubai.

Many ask what difference will the courts or the investigating agencies make now if the cases are reopened.

There are also questions over the timing and the overall context of the decision.

Many in Sindh province, the stronghold of PPP, believe it is yet another example of the military and the top judiciary ganging up to oust Sindhi politicians from power.

They suspect that the December 2007 assassination of Ms Bhutto at an election rally was the work of some rogue elements within the security establishment to deprive the PPP of effective leadership.

The party still won the February 2008 election, and during the first year of its rule it created the conditions for a successful military operation against the militants in Swat region.

But President Zardari’s offer of a no-first-use of nuclear weapons pact with India, his assertion that India posed no threat to Pakistan, and his attempts to bring the military’s ISI intelligence service under civilian control were initiatives that many believe crossed the red line into a sphere which the military considers to be its exclusive domain.

Secessionists

The military was also perturbed over the recent American aid package to Pakistan which stressed the supremacy of civilian rule over the military as one of its core conditions.

It publicly opposed the package.

The Supreme Court’s verdict against the NRO, and its PPP-centric connotations have led many to point out why the court continues to defer other, more fundamental cases of institutional corruption.

These include a case in which the ISI allegedly distributed funds to raise a political front against the PPP in 1988. The case has been pending at the Supreme Court since 1999.

There have also been cases of major loan write-offs in favour of political allies of the former military rulers, such as General Musharraf and General Ziaul Haq.

In addition to these questions over the impartiality of the top judiciary, there is also a growing perception that the weakening of the PPP government may strengthen secessionist forces in Sindh province.

Many say the Supreme Court verdict has left the country more polarised than before.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/8425045.stm

I just got around to opening up today’s NYTimes op-ed page and almost choked on my tuna sandwich when I came across this call for US war against Iran. Alan Kuperman’s argument is like the cry of a neocon zombie who’s been locked in the basement since 2002, only to be let loose on the opinion pages of the paper of record. His argument boils down to this:

Incentives and sanctions will not work, but air strikes could degrade and deter Iran’s bomb program at relatively little cost or risk, and therefore are worth a try. [my emphasis]

To get an idea of Kuperman’s own sense of what “cost or risk” means, here’s the preceding sentence.

If nothing else, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have shown that the United States military can oust regimes in weeks if it wants to.

Why does the US need to bomb Iran’s nuclear sites and bomb them now? Kuperman says it’s because diplomacy has failed, Iranian leaders will give nukes to terrorists and the Pentagon’s got better bombs than Israel. He also says Israel’s bombing attack at the Osirak nuclear reactor worked in Iraq in 1981, and so did the bombing campaign in Yugoslavia in 1999.

This is insane. Are we going to have to listen to more and more of this stuff in the coming months?

UPDATE: Jeffery Goldberg says Kuperman is a serious guy. Goldberg’s no softie on the threat posed by Iran. But he’s also far from persuaded by Kuperman’s take.

Goldblog also links to Marc Lynch’s post on this… he breaks it down nicely.

Eritrea has been granted the dubious distinction of being the first new nation to be slapped with UN Security Council sanctions since Iran in 2006. And these sanctions have a lot to do with Somalia.

Neighboring Eritrea has been accused for some time now of supporting the insurgency in Somalia, most significantly, that includes the al Qaeda-linked Islamic militants, the al-Shabaab. I just talked with New York Times East Africa bureau chief, Jeffrey Gettleman. And he told me things are not as straightforward as they might seem.

Eritrea has been vilified – somewhat justifiably – for meddling in Somalia, Gettleman said. But there is also a complicated political game going on that involves Eritrea’s long-time rival, Ethiopia, which is probably closer to the US than Eritrea. Gettleman said it’s hard to blame all of the chaos in Somalia on Eritrea. “There was some pretty good evidence in 2006 that Eritrea was shipping weapons to Somalia to back up the government at the time, it was an Islamist government. But since then, the evidence has kind of dropped off and to me it’s kind of an open question as to how involved they are.”

Gettleman described Eritrea as the “North Korea of Africa.” Here’s some of my interview with him, where Gettleman talks about how the situation looks from Eritrea’s perspective.

I'd be disappointed if I found one of these in my Christmas stocking. Damn Nestlé baby killers!

After scouring for political inspiration this morning, it has dawned upon me that the boredom of British politics is continuing. More stories about bonuses, expenses, Iraq and, of course, the mildly bad weather which has dominated the news cycle for days.

In fact, the last story has really pissed me off so much that I think it’s time that the rolling news channels invented a way of distinguishing levels of their favourite BREAKING NEWS.

After all, one day the BREAKING NEWS is going to be justified. It will be the death of the Queen. Or a major politician. Or some seriously big resignation, or critical court judgement. A Category 1 Breaking News Event, reserved for truly special once-in-a-blue-moon events; you know, the kind of things that used to result in a “We interrupt this programme to bring you…” news special. Only that would justify the serious RED colours used by both Sky and BBC News 24. And yes, it will always be News 24 to me.

Because, I’m afraid, a breaking news strap to tell me that Liverpool John Lennon Airport has closed due to snow just does not cut the mustard. Minor travel news, of interest to a handful of people, should get a Category 5, and a nice blue colour.

It makes perfect sense to me. But then, I am one of life’s organisers. I like putting things into order and making things as efficient as possible. I suspect a latent, undiagnosed form of autism.

But anyway, all this lack of anything new or interesting is a perfect moment for me to call a halt for the Christmas holidays. I suspect things won’t be much better on my return anyway, because most of the top political journalists (if you can call them that) are taking a much longer break. Like it or not, the vast majority of us bloggers are totally reliant on the media. Only the elite get to break their own news. And probably only the elite get to make money out of blogging. The bastards.

So, I think I’ll declare a cease-fire until early next week. The only thing that might bring me out of temporary retirement would be a Category 1. Or maybe a Category 2. Neither of these includes the current spoiler story about what the Queen’s Christmas Message is going to be, currently boring me to tears on News 24. Just how far have you fallen, Nicholas Witchell?

Happy Christmas to all my miniscule band of loyal readers. And the same too to all you crazy people who arrive on my blog looking for pictures of fireworks. Hint: you will find it here. By the way, it’s the worst thing I’ve ever written, and yet it’s the most read page every day. There’s no accounting for taste.

Until next time…

It'll Pretty Much Do Everything But Housecleaning

Word from XONA Media, via Contact Music (with thanks to Scumbag Style for pointing it out to me), indicates that kiosk-based DVD rentals may soon be a thing of the past. Meet the MK3 DVD+Digital, a video/game rental kiosk that not only rents out DVDs, but also allows users to connect their USB flash drives to download the data in as little as ten seconds, thanks to new USB 3.0 technology. The data deletes itself once the feature is watched, and boom, you don’t have to run back to the Redbox. The MK3 is also more cost-effective than the Redbox kiosks, starting at just under $5,000, compared to the predecessor’s $15,000 to $25,000. Symwave are the developers behind the MK3’s USB 3.0 tech, which according to their specs, downloads DVD-sized files (6 GB) in 20 seconds and Blu-Ray-sized files (25 GB) in an astonishing 1 minute and 40 seconds.

At $75 Apiece, I'll Take Four.

FuseProject, the people who brought the XO Laptop, a $199 computer that brings connectivity to kids in need, to the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) Program, have announced the concept of the XOXO Laptop, slated for release in 2010. According to Tech Generation Daily, the device hopes to be released at $75, though as BBC News points out, the XO Laptop was shooting for $100 and came in at $200. It will depend on technology that hasn’t been released yet, and depend on subsidies from bulk orders by governments buying them for their children, but all-in-all the idea is not completely unbelievable. With 2010 projected to be a big year for tablets, a 2010 ear-mark for distribution is completely feasible - and I’ll get to be jealous of school children in Europe.

Opening Christmas Day is Guy Ritchie’s adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s most famous character, Sherlock Holmes. Played by Robert Downey Jr., with assistance from Jude Law’s Dr. John Watson, this film has been one of the most anticipated for me since I saw the trailer this summer (during the terrible Terminator: Salvation). Stack my favorite contemporary actor upon one of the greatest directors of all time and you’ve got, to me, a romping, stomping, action-packed, witty, and spectacular walk through 19th century London that is not to be missed opening day. The Wall Street Journal reviews it with something of a heavy hand, complaining about Ritchie’s fascination with the criminal element and Holmes’ use of martial arts, but does rate the performances as exemplary, thankfully. Regardless, I look forward to spending my Jewish Christmas (Chinese food and a movie, for the uninitiated) at the matinée.

Dear online editors,

We know your job is pretty new and there are a lot of unanswered questions about online exclusive content and web vs. print. But honestly, let’s take a step back and be a bit more mindful of how everything looks — not to mention our relationships with those who monetize our publications.

Courtesy of BBC News.

This web shot was taken from a BBC News online article I found this morning about the horrific murder of the southern Columbian governor Luis Francisco Cuellar by suspected rebels.

After reading the article an initial time and watching the video clip, I noticed the jarring ad placement of the new 2010 Range Rover Sport. A commercial for the vehicle plays before the video, and below the multimedia box there is a line that reads, “the vehicle that police suspect was used to transport the kidnapped governor.”

Am I missing something? Is this really the vehicle that was used to kidnap Governor Cuellar, or is this some gross misunderstanding? As one who has spent some time examining online ad placement and the complementary relationship they have with content, this truly violates some of the most basic rules of business.

As there is nothing in the article that discusses the vehicle used, I tend to think this is just a case of copy gone awry. I wonder if Range Rover knows about this, and whether they’re looking for BBC employees’ salaries back. That’s one more hit to the journalism world. We really can’t afford any more mistakes.

Just something to keep in mind,

Ileana.

Why didn’t China want to give foreign experts permission to study carbon emissions inside China? John Lee writes at ForeignPolicy.com:

“… these international teams would undoubtedly discover exactly how dysfunctional the heart of the country really is. They would see firsthand and report back how China’s 45 million local officials remain the most formidable obstacle to improving transparency in China’s sprawling economic structure — protecting their turf, defending their privileges, arbitrarily enforcing the law, and when it comes to economic performance, blatantly cooking the books.”

The short of it, Lee says, is that Beijing couldn’t get local power brokers on board to meet emissions requirements even if it wanted to. It’s an old story about central control in China; that is, the mountains are high and the emperor is far away. So, what actually happened in Copenhagen? At the Guardian, Mark Lynas says he was in the room when China wrecked the deal on climate change. And China’s leader wasn’t.

What I saw was profoundly shocking. The Chinese premier, Wen Jinbao, (sic) did not deign to attend the meetings personally, instead sending a second-tier official in the country’s foreign ministry to sit opposite Obama himself. The diplomatic snub was obvious and brutal, as was the practical implication: several times during the session, the world’s most powerful heads of state were forced to wait around as the Chinese delegate went off to make telephone calls to his “superiors”.

And why did China deep six a deal? Lynas says it had everything to do with geopolitics.

China knows it is becoming an uncontested superpower; indeed its newfound muscular confidence was on striking display in Copenhagen. Its coal-based economy doubles every decade, and its power increases commensurately. Its leadership will not alter this magic formula unless they absolutely have to.

What with all this snow around, it seems appropriate to post this video

Good evening gentle reader,

For those of you familiar with my blog and those of you who aren’t, I am a freelance copywriter who has until recently highlighted errors in news articles. I call it “Typos in the Nuwz…I Mean News.” Perhaps you’ve seen them around the WP blogroll. No periodical has been safe, The Huffington Post, The BBC, Fox News, MSNBC and even AOL News. I’ve critiqued their typographical errors, clarity and consistency. That’s been fun and the pictures are usually pretty, but I would like to add another facet to my blog: typos in books. In addition to being a copywriter, I am also a trained proofreader and avid reader. Do you see where this is going?

My trained eye picks out errors whether I want to or not and I must must perform the appropriate proofreading markage and make a note to myself at the top of the page. I said it was a gift in my last post. I might have exaggerated a bit and perhaps “curse” is a better word to use.

The first installment will begin…tomorrow! Muahahaha! Now I’ve got you hooked! Which book will it be? The blameless author? Which publisher was careless enough to let these bedeviled blemishes make it to print?!

Find out all that and more tomorrow on A. James Editing!

It’s been a big weekend for web enriched news. We had the trapped passengers on Eurostar story being played out on Twitter via #eurostarfail, then there was Rage Against the Machine upsetting the X-Factor Christmas number one push thanks to an online campaign, plus continuing reports of regime opposition in Iran at the funeral of Ayatollah Montezeri posted online at reformist sites like aljaras.com and Rahesabz.net (as reported by BBC News).