All Seeing Eye: February 2009

Saturday, February 28, 2009

Join the Man-Up campaign

At last, someone has had the scales lifted from his eyes.

Over at good old Arrse.co.uk, they have finally decided that the wimp culture that women have foisted upon us "chaps" is to be resisted at all costs.

It is gratifying to hear phrases such as "you need to MTFU mate!" (M= Man, T= the and U= Up the rest you can work out for yourselves) being used freely in military circles, perhaps it's why I prefer their more "anglo-saxon" approach & company!

Read here

I too, believe that there is way to much crying in public going on, and that the only time a chap should ever be seen with a damp eye in public is at the playing of the Last Post, or if wales win at rugby!

Pop over & make a contribution yourself, or feel free to use the comments to tell me I'm wrong!!

St C

No Tea Allowed At A Tea Party

In 1773 a bunch of Boston Yanks decided to raid a perfectly legitimate trading vessel and offloaded its expensive cargo into the harbour. Shareholders were presumably not happy.

This became a trigger for some further minor grumblings in the colonies, but rest assured that we will bring them back into the fold when we judge that the time is right. In the meantime, though, unrest continues over there.

The political backlash against TheOne has now well and truly kicked in, with Michelle Malkin amongst many others reporting that angry US taxpayers are staging "Tea Parties". People are gathering for demonstrations against the biggest tax hike and government porkulus gambit in the history of - well - history and they are angry.

They might have voted for someone who used a Bob The Builder catchphrase but "Can We Fix It? Yes We Can" is already sounding hollow. Click on MM's site for scores of photographs taken at demos from coast to coast.

However, the really funny thing is that although the demonstrators are calling them "Tea Parties" they can't recreate one. It's illegal.

Iowa state officials have banned the use of tea at a demonstration in Cedar Rapids because it will discolour the water if thrown into the river. Its against environmental regulations, so they must use buckets of water marked "Tea".

They would need a permit to do it for real...one which was presumably granted to the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Chicago when they used a dye to turn the Chicago River green for St. Patrick’s Day. Bureaucrats, eh? What would you do without them...

As Michelle observes, what would the Founding Fathers have said?

Source: Des Moines Register via Michelle Malkin.

Irish IT Eyes Are Shining...On Expense Accounts

TheEye knows a nice little earner when one appears on the horizon. Courtesy of The Croydonian we can see how Northern Ireland's lawyers are raking it in (£98M for the Saville Inquiry and the meter still running). This is hardly news.

More interesting for TheEye and his fellow cable-monkeys is the amount being spent on IT in general (£38 Million for Saville alone) . Tory Owen Patterson MP (Shropshire North) is a much underrated bloke and will doubtless get a senior job after the Fall Of The House Of Brown. He's been asking questions in the House of Commons.

Mr C links, as an example, to the website for Robert Hamill's inquiry. TheEye could have knocked it up in an afternoon with a standard template. However the conflict between charging £xx0,000 and paying off the rest of the mortgage against being able to sleep at night knowing that you weren't a taxpayer-fleecing robbing scumbag is tricky.

Okay, it might have taken a couple of days work to be fair, but TheEye does want a few hours break to go to the pub between coding.

Hat-Tip: Croydonian

Friday, February 27, 2009

The Conservatives And The UUP Finally Meet At The Altar

The Ulster Unionist Party's ruling executive met last night to give its final decisions on the details of its partnership with the Conservative Party.

With only one MP, Lady Sylvia Hermon who regularly votes with Labour, you've got to hope that David Vance or another of this blog's NI correspondents might stroll past to explain the logic in this partnership, but nevertheless it appears to be on track.

It almost goes without saying that the most difficult issue has not been policy but has been what name the new grouping will take as most assembly members opposed Conservative plans to drop the word "Ulster". The new name will be the "Ulster Conservatives and Unionists - New Force".

Sir Reg Empey describes himself as "delighted" although the photograph on the BBC website makes him look like a shifty sub-prime mortgage salesman so he'll be less impressed by that.

Check out David's book about Unionism on the right sidebar of this blog...it's a cracking read.

SOURCE: BBC

"There Are No Atheists In Foxholes"

TheEye tends to avoid religious issues but this blog has military and political interests so this Parliamentary question is very relevant here.

Baroness Warsi, Shadow Minister for Community Cohesion and Social Action, has asked a question of the Government:

"To ask Her Majesty's Government what religions and faiths are recognised by the British Armed Forces. [HL1352]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence (Baroness Taylor of Bolton): The Armed Forces encourage people from all faiths to practise their religious observances as far as operational and health and safety considerations allow. While religion and belief is treated as a private matter, the services place a great deal of importance on the spiritual development of their personnel. Commissioned Armed Forces chaplains are drawn from the main Christian denominations practised in the UK. The first MoD civilian chaplains to the Armed Forces from the Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim and Sikh faith communities were appointed in October 2005. The services have had an honorary officiating chaplain from the Jewish faith under long-standing arrangements, and action is underway to recruit a Jewish civilian chaplain."

What, no Grand Master of the Church of the Jedi Knights?

This is not the first time that Baroness Warsi has asked questions along these lines. Completely independently the ever-splendid Croydonian has spotted a very similar question and blogged on it:

"Baroness Warsi: To ask Her Majesty's Government which religions and faiths are officially recognised by the Equality and Human Rights Commission

Read his article for Mr. C's take on the Government's reply.

Just as a point of interest, in the Royal Navy and the RAF a Chaplain adopts the rank/rate of the person that he is counselling so as to avoid any seniority issues. That doesn't happen in the Army where rank is never waived. Just so you know another pointless fact.

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Signed, Sealed, Delivered: GrumpyOldTwat's Input Here

Your (previously) dual-conspirators have given the GrumpyOldTwat a non-sweary haven in exchange for St Crispin and (more likely) TheEye a chance to vent their spleen in splendidly obscene verbosity elsewhere.

This will remain, by agreement between St C, G.O.T. and myself a non-sweary family-friendly blog.

The welcome could not have been more generous from the G.O.T.and St C and TheEye have been making a nuisance of ourselves in G.O.T.'s comments randomly for a while now.

The G.O.T. hasn't seen my rant in the pipeline yet. Much like a six day old Indian takeaway it is festering nicely.

I'll tell you what though, this picture is a great bit of digital messing-around-with-image-stuff on his part. Anyone want to offer him graphics work?

Not sure if he wants it but I loved the picture myself.

Yeah, Man, Like, Taxes, Yeah, And..Stuff...

Recession? What recession. Assemblyman Tom Ammiano from San Fransisco has come up with a double solution.

Legalise dope and then tax it. He announced at a press conference on Monday that he had "new legislation related to the state's fiscal crisis". The advantage is that you're also too stoned to noticed them repossessing your house.

He "would remove all penalties in California law on cultivation, transportation, sale, purchase, possession, or use of marijuana, natural THC, or paraphernalia for persons over the age of 21."

Ammiano's bill would additionally stop state and local law officials from enforcing Federal marijuana laws. Entertainingly Ammiano's bill calls for "establishing a fee on the sale of marijuana at a rate of $50 per ounce."

Quintin Mecke, his press spokesweasel, said that would bring in roughly $1 billion for the state, according to estimates made by marijuana advocacy organizations.

TheEye has no idea what the going rate for dope is in California but doesn't think that a $50 markup is a reasonable hike. You'd create an untaxed black market because the free market always finds its level.

The Governator's views aren't known yet but he'd be a bit of a hypocrite to veto any law.

YouTube here, here and here, for example.

Source: San Fransisco Weekly but no more real content than written here. Also their graphic.

Sometimes It's Just Not Your Day: Military Edition

The B-2 "Spirit" Stealth Bomber is a rather cool looking piece of kit. Even with St. Crispin's well known dislike of fly-boys you know that he'd still have one in the private airfield which we all know he has at the bottom of his garden if he was given half a chance.

He's still only getting handkerchiefs for his birthday, though.

The crash on takeoff of a 509th Air Wing, USAF B-2 Spirit bomber, February 23 2008 operating at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, was caused by water in the aircraft's sensors and has been immortalised on YouTube...which of course is fun for the crew (who all survived) and who are probably trying to hawk insurance or sub-prime mortgages in America to rednecks now due to that abrupt career readjustment opportunity.

The video also explains what technically what went wrong, but when you know that someone is trashing $1.4 billion of kit then you don't really listen to those bits because you are too busy laughing.

That was their military pension screwed then.

TheEye had watched it before he began this blog, but was reminded by a recent post on Samizdata and thought it was worth another outing just for the fun of it.

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Beer Isn't Just For Breakfast...

Today is Shrove Tuesday or, for those of a less religious nature...Pancake Day.

TheEye heartily recommends this recipe for Beer Pancakes.

2 eggs
8 oz plain flour
2 tbsp granulated sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp salt
Half a pint milk
2 tbsp butter melted
grated rind of 1 lemon
2 tbsp Ale

How to make them: Beat the eggs in a bowl using an electric whisk until frothy. Add all the remaining ingredients and continue to beat until the mixture is smooth. Heat a griddle or large, non-stick frying pan over a high heat and lightly grease the pan with oil or butter. Pour a serving spoon of batter onto the griddle (the mixture may be quite thick so you will need to spread it a bit with the back of the spoon). Cook until the surface is covered with tiny bubbles, the batter is set, and the bottom is browned (this takes around two minutes). Flip the pancake over and continue to cook until the other side is brown. Transfer to a plate, and repeat with the rest of the mix. Serve warm with golden syrup and butter. Makes around 8 pancakes. Enjoy.

SOURCE: Spotted at the Englishman's Castle but from Hall&Woodhouse Brewers.

Free: Secret Warship, One Careful Owner

TheEye is unsure what to get St Crispin for his birthday this year, but may have found the answer. It also happens to be free but postage and packing may prove expensive.

How about a top-secret ship? The US Navy wants to give away the USS Sea Shadow to a museum. It's big, black and looks like a cross between a Stealth fighter and a Batmobile. It was designed to escape detection on the open sea. It comes with the Hughes (as in Howard Hughes) Mining Barge. Sea Shadow berths inside the barge, which kept it hidden from spy satellites.

Marvellous...a boxed set.

The barge is the only fully submersible dry dock ever built, making it very handy — as it was 35 years ago — for trying to raise a sunken nuclear-armed Soviet submarine.

But a gift ship from the Navy comes with lots of strings attached to the rigging. A naval museum, the Historic Naval Ships Association warns, is "a bloodthirsty, paperwork ridden, permit-infested, money-sucking hole..." Because the US Navy won't pay for anything — neither rust scraping nor curating — to keep museums afloat, survival depends on big crowds. That's why many of the 48 ships it has given away over 60 years were vessels known for performing heroically in famous battles.

A pair of mysterious vessels that performed their heroics out of the public eye can't have much claim to fame. Glen Clark, the Navy's civilian ship-disposal chief, has received just one serious call about the two vessels, and it didn't lead to a written application.

Anyway, they have been birthed in Providence, Rhode Island since 2006 awaiting a good home, but their fate of being turned into razor-blades is looming within the next few months.

St Crispin will probably get handkerchiefs.

The Economics Of Hopenchange

This has to be a pretty damning indictment of the Jug-Eared Obamessiah who was going to rid the world of all of it's woes.

Instead he's just brought utter devastation. This graphic from the Investors Business Daily.

Those who follow US politics will have heard of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Democrat from Nevada.

On MSNBC's "Morning Joe" show yesterday he said that the US banking industry is "very close" to being stabilized and the nation's economy is starting to rebound.

"We tend to talk about the negative. ... Things are beginning to turn and I think the American people are going to feel that very soon"

Assuming of course that you can believe a single word spoken by this Yank ~~Democrat / Politician / Serial Liar.~~

This would of course make the US the economy singularly best placed in the world to emerge fastest from recession. Ooops, didn't the Snot Gobbler say that was us? So which one is the weapons-grade lying bastard?

They are politicans. Both of them are.

Monday, February 23, 2009

Does This Bus Stop At...Anywhere?

Following two serious posts, it's time for a fun item.

The shambles run by the 'one-eyed Scottish idiot' has triumphed once again. The Isles of Scilly have received a government (i.e. your money) grant of £51,000 to fund free bus passes for all over-60's. That's almost a third of the residents.

Scilly benefits from a formula used to determine how much extra each local authority receives to cover the cost of making bus passes valid across England. They get a bonus but some councils find that their grant doesn't cover the cost of free travel.

Since last April, pass holders have been able to travel free on all scheduled buses in England, not just in their own council areas. The Government allocated £212 million to reimburse councils, which pay the bus companies for each free trip.

With only 10 miles of road across all of the islands, there is a problem here...

...Scilly doesn't have any buses.

RAF bomber delayed by concrete farce

Hard as it may be to believe, your correspondent has actually had to negotiate to have concrete poured in a certain place at a certain depth, to a certain specification IN AFGHANISTAN (camp bastion to be precise). And you know what? It's bl**dy impossible!

Story here

For once I actually feel sorry for the RAF (Tw&ts) who had to organise this.
The reason is obvious when you think about it. The contracting companies are not English speaking (the ones I dealt with were not even european, but Turkish!). The local civilians they employ (for sound reasons of security & rebuilding-of-economy purposes) are all INCREDIBLY lazy, poorly motivated, and UNSKILLED.

That the RAF did not aim off for any of this delay is more shocking, but then again, they've not been doing as much real war fighting as their colleagues in green have been, and therefore are way less organised. Plus, they only care about getting in their kites, and leave all that boring "admin" stuff to the lower echelons of the force. Well guess what kiddies, it's the boring detail that will ground you or kill you any day of the week & twice on Sundays.

British Muslims 'providing Taliban with electronic devices for roadside bombs'

Hands up all you who thought this would never happen? ....................

No one?! Well apparently this is news to our hand-wringing liberal political masters.

Apparently there are over 40,000 flights from Britain to Pakistan a year that no one can account for (not business, family or holiday).

"Explosives experts who have examined the devices say they have found British-made electronic components that enable Taliban insurgents to detonate their home-made, road-side bombs by remote control."

There is only one way to stop this. Declare a proper war, and start internment of all muslims of war-fighting / war-aiding age (i'd say a range of 10-70 years old would do the trick).

We did it to the germans and italians in the last war. The US did it to the Japanese after Pearl Harbour. It works, as it sends out the right signals to the non-indigenous races. Mess us up, and we'll mess you up, and your parents, and your siblings, and any aunts & uncles you have. Simple heh!

And last year, it was revealed that RAF Nimrod surveillance planes monitoring Taliban radio signals in Afghanistan had heard militants speaking with Yorkshire and Midlands accents.

So what if they then pack up & leave! Scum, all scum!

Brace Yourselves: TheEye Is On The Loose

TheEye and St Crispin have, by and large, managed to contain their general venom for the few months that this blog has existed. It's been non-sweary and will remain (roughly) so.

However, there are times when words need to be said, and GrumpyOldTwat and TheEye have come to an arrangement. TheEye will swear over there and the GOT is welcome to drop anchor in this harbour whenever the mood takes.

This will keep both blogs true to their roots and styles, but give TheEye a chance to release the hidden storm on a sweary site.

As the song goes: There may be trouble ahead...

Sunday, February 22, 2009

Vote Stearn!

Regardless of his (unknown) politics, TheEye thoroughly recommends the members of the University of Exeter Students' Guild to vote for this bloke as their next President.

Although your humble host has lengthened the night of more than a couple of returning officers and tellers in his time, he never had the courage to come up with such a brilliant slogan.

Or the hair either, if the silhouette proves to be accurate.

Good luck to the chap.

Hat-Tip: ToryBear

Saturday, February 21, 2009

The Rise Of The BNP?

TheEye is very interested in political as well as military matters and was intrigued to see ConservativeHome reporting the Local Government By-Election Results for the 19th of Feb.

As every political junkie knows, they showed a result which particularly stood out:

Swanley St Mary’s, Sevenoaks district council
BNP - 41% (+41)
Lab - 34% (-21)
Con - 25% (-)
(UKIP did not stand, having previously secured 20%)
BNP gain from Lab

TheEye would not normally comment on local matters of which he knows naught, but as the last post shows - one is in a parochial mood today. The result has been commented on by Michael Fallon, Conservative MP for Sevenoaks here, but to quote it all he said:

"Swanley St Mary's was Labour's safest seat on Sevenoaks District Council. There are three Swanley wards; we won all three seats in Swanley Christchurch, leaving Labour with three councillors in Swanley Whiteoak and two (now one) in Swanley St Mary's.

We campaigned hard with a strong local candidate who was born in the ward; I had a team of eleven with me canvassing there on Saturday. We put the Tory vote up from 208 to 247. The Lib Dems didn't bother to stand. BNP attracted frustrated traditional Labour voters (they did the same in Welling (Bexley) a few weeks back). Their literature and message was relatively moderate but focussed on immigrants and asylum-seekers jumping the housing queue."

Does anyone have any views or opinions? Anyone with any local knowledge or with general observations?

Princess Royal To Visit Gibraltar

Gibraltar is loyal to the Crown. Gibraltar is proud of its history, heritage and has shown in referendum after referendum that there is no wish to break the link with the United Kingdom.

So why the fuss over the Princess Royal, Princess Anne visting? She is coming to open a medical centre named in her honour next month and staying for two days. Angel Lossada who is the Spanish Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs has told the British Ambassador in Spain, Denise Holt, that the visit is "inopportune" and "an annoyance".

So much for the diplomatic speak reported in the Times. Allow TheEye to introduce you to an 18-carat arsehole - PSOE senator Jose Carracao (for it is he).

He firmly believes that Spanish tanks should be rolling down Main Street this afternoon and would happily give the order himself. He's restrained himself slightly by saying that the visit could derail the tripartite talks (which cover everything including border crossing, territorial waters, pollution etc) if the visit is high profile.

Carracao said that following his meetings with the Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos and more later on with Andrew Whittaker First Secretary at the British Embassy, he was concerned that the "engagement" with Gibraltar has lost momentum.

"If we stop peddling on the bike we could fall off," he said also repeating his argument that Chief Minister Peter Caruana has been "endiosado" ('too big for his boots') and that he should speak to Campo (the local area) leaders as well as to ministers in Madrid.

He told Mr Whittaker that he felt there should now be bilateral talks on the question of sovereignty between Britain and Spain. This *twitch* is *twitch* not *twitch* a *twitch* sweary *twitch* blog *twitch*. Cunt. Damn, lost it there. Sorry all.

"I was the most avid supporter of dialogue and co-operation and of setting sovereignty aside but I think that with that sense of co-operation that now exists we should begin to address the issue of sovereignty. We have to carry on making agreements so that issues like maritime co-operation avoid serious incidents but we also have to address sovereignty on a bilateral basis," he said.

Carracao also whined to the Spanish Foreign Minister that it was not right that the only go-between for Spain and Gib Opposition Leader Joe Bossano was himself.

"The Spanish Government also has to talk with Mr Bossano, with that part of Gibraltar represented by Bossano." Bossano is in his 80's and leads the out-of power Gibraltar Socialist Party although he was, to be fair, Chief Minister in the 90's.

Bringing back the politics rubbish, he said it "injures the sensitivities of Spanish public opinion and that of the Campo in particular."
"We have nothing against the Royal Family or the Princess of course. What is provocative is that Princess Anne should come over to open a medical centre with her own name built on the isthmus. And this on a territory that is subject to dispute."

It's not in bloody dispute as far as I'm concerned. Or the residents of Gibraltar as expressed in every referendum, war and election since the late 1700's.

Carracao said that he believes that once the visit is made it will be "evaluated" by the Spanish Government and it will respond accordingly, depending if it is high level or discreet event.
"If it is high profile it could, I think, prejudice the talks"

He said that the PSOE were already facing criticism from the PP opposition (see my earlier post on them) who would say that the Madrid Government had made concessions to Gibraltar and not even been able to prevent a "provocation" of this nature.

Sodding provocation? What? You're having a laugh. Royal family member visting own territory thingy? Eh?

"If the visit sees the princess swamped by the multitudes I would not be surprised if it derails the talks," he said.

The visit was discussed at great length last night at the Royal Gibraltar Yacht Club at a dinner featuring the Minister for Sport, Commander British Forces, the Chief of Police and more distinguished pillars of the community than you could shake a stick at. TheEye had a splendid evening despite the proximity of an unknown insurance salesman. The card is in the bin. No-one had anything but positive comments about the visit. As it was a free bar, TheEye may have missed something worth reporting though.

TheEye would like to acknowledge David Vance on A Tangled Web for also running with this story. Visit his excellent site please.

Personally, TheEye will be at the forefront of the 'swamping multitudes'. Spain (and Sr Carracao) can go screw themselves.

Thieving Septics...You Are Doomed

Our Septic compatriots across the Pond are struggling with the reign of The One - The Obamessiah. Barak Hussein Osama.

A lot has changed in the month since Osama became president. Let's review, shall we?

Things That Have Gotten WORSE Since Osama Became President

1. The U.S. stock market has fallen to a six-year low.

2. Nationalisation of banks has become a serious possibility across there. America, like us, will become a banana republic.

3. Osama has backed three massive spending initiatives (the $787 billion stimulus bill, the trillion-dollar financial stability initiative and the $275 billion mortgage assistance program). A trillion here, a trillion there - but who's counting?

4. Hundreds of thousands of classic children's books (children's books printed before the early 1980s) are being destroyed all across the country because they may contain miniscule traces of lead in their print

5. Osama has lost a key air base providing the only supply line into Afghanistan, jeopardizing any future military action the U.S. may need to take in the region

6. Russia has become emboldened and increasingly aggressive

7. Iran has also become more emboldened and aggressive, has launched its first home-built earth satellite, and now has enough material to make a nuclear weapon

8. Pakistan has freed the notorious A.Q. Khan, who sold nuclear technology to North Korea, Libya and Iran, and has capitulated to the brutal Taliban in the Swat region

9. Osama has announced that he will close Guantanamo within a year -- even though his administration has no clear answer to the question of what to do with the most dangerous GITMO terrorists, including 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.

10. Osama has dropped charges against the U.S.S. Cole bombing suspect allegedly responsible for the deaths of American sailors. It's been a good month for terrorists.

Things That Have Gotten BETTER Since Osama Became President

1. America has had its first half-black president. (Technically, this doesn't count, though, since it didn't happen after Osama became president). And it's only 'different' not 'better'.

2. . . . .

Surely there's something.

2.. . . . . .

Help me out here.

Anyone?

2. . . . .

I guess that's it, then.

We can't wait to see his second month in office.

Some of this post is deliberately nicked with no hat-tip. Why? Because the Conservative Party PAID for the advert featuring Lord Mandy of Gay and (where is it again? I think I was MP there) Hartlepool but some Septics on the Right of the US blogsphere have nicked the idea and are claiming credit as completely original their Photoshop version of Sen Chuck Schumer.

No hat-tip to us means no hat-tip to you. Invent your own satire - if you even know what the word means.

Friday, February 20, 2009

Making A Grave Mistake

As odd suicide bids go, this one is rather impressive.

Milo Bogisic, 52, walked in to a funeral parlour in Podgorica, Montenegro, and paid cash for a coffin. Staff looked on bemused as he sat down and wrote his own obituary, but they weren't expecting him to climb in to the casket and shoot himself in the head.

His aim was so bad that the bullet just went through his chin and nose. Paramedics saved his life, which apparently he's not best pleased about. He was suffering from "family problems".

The funny bit was that Palma Funerals wouldn't give him a refund on the coffin, saying that one day he'll get some use out of it.

SOURCE: Austrian Times

Have You Seen This Man?

Prawo Jazdy, presumed to be a Pole who moved to Ireland to take advantage of the economic boom there, is a wanted man.

Apparently guilty, yet still at large and unconvicted of any offence, he has over 50 driving allegations against his name - and a string of varying descriptions and different cars.

His name is all over the Garda Siochana's "Pulse" criminal database and the Fixed Charge Processing System. Can you help catch this man?

Actually you are too late to help, as an Irish traffic warden has tracked him down.

He looked in a dictionary. "Prawo Jazdy" is Polish for "Driving Licence" and that's what the Garda had been writing down when booking people. D'oh!

Drink? You Should Be Flogged

So says Anjem Choudray; Muslim fruitcake and general Tosspot Of This Parish.

Alcohol is the "root of all evil" he said on his Islam4UK website yesterday, and anyone drunk in public should, under the Sharia Law which he insists must be imposed on Great Britain, get 40 lashes. It's 80 for a second 'offence'.

TheEye is not unduly worried tonight as he is drunk at home and not in public. Pip Pip!

Anjem (or Andy as he called himself at the University of Southampton where he drank, shagged and smoked pot and took LSD) isn't a particularly nice bloke.

Speaking a conference on September 11, 2008 in London, he said
"It may be by pure conversion that Britain will become an Islamic state. We may never need to conquer it from the outside."
"We do not integrate into Christianity. We will ensure that one day you will integrate into the Sharia Islamic law."

In response to a question posed at a demented rant in November 2008 he told a female Muslim with regard to Islam being a religion of peace:
"Islam is not a religion of peace. It is a religion of submission. We need to submit to the will of Allah."

Nice.

He's been struck off as a solicitor, formed two nutjob organisations which even THIS dhimmi government couldn't ignore and had to ban, and has also called for the assassination of the Pope. The most worrying, though, is his repeated call for alcohol should be "removed from society".

"Under Islam, all harmful intoxicants will be banned unequivocally, regardless of their classification or their profitability in retail marketing."

As justification he always uses the example of George Best. George Bloody Best? Okay, so he wasn't too shabby at Association Football and threw his life away on the demon drink, but if he knew that he was being used as an example by a Muslim terrorist then he'd spin in his grave (although always managing to tilt his wrist to keep the glass upright).

Due to this banning threat, TheEye has spent several decades on a mission to buy all of the alcohol in the world and stockpile it in the cellar of Eye Towers in preparation for the Apocalypse. Some, though, has been sampled in the meantime and it remains work-in-progress.

SOURCES: Original nutjob rant at the scary Islam4UK and also seen at the Daily LabourGraph and some quotes from Wikipedia.

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Unbiased Headline Of The Day

Bias in the media should be challenged at all times in a free society. TheEye is a frequent critic of the BBC in this respect. Check out Biased-BBC's live-chat shadowing Question Time at 10:30pm on Thursday for what will doubtless be another classic example.

However it will have to go some to beat this marvellously straight-down-the-middle headline in the unmissable Pravda.

"Ukraine desperately begs for help kneeling in front of the whole world"

"Top officials of world’s biggest financial structures have become frequent guests in Ukraine lately. They assigned a great amount of money to the country, but it seems that the efforts were wasted. International creditors will most likely turn their back to Ukraine as Viktor Yushchenko and Yulia Tymoshenko continue to fight with each other"

"A second tranche from the IMF will not solve the deficit of the Ukrainian budget no matter how the situation unfolds further. Tymoshenko stated only several weeks ago she was conducting financial assistance talks with six countries, including Russia. Ukraine’s President Viktor Yushchenko harshly criticized her for that."

""It is very hard morally and psychologically to comment on the making of the secret Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, when it goes about Russia’s five-billion loan to Ukraine,” he said."

"It goes without saying that it would be a lot more pleasant for Ukraine to become financially dependent on Europe or the United States."

That last bit was their editorial and not a quotation from a politician. The BBC have nothing on these guys. Watch and learn boys, watch and learn.

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Leave Heroin Dealers Alone Or Face Jail

Peter Drummond's brother-in-law became addicted to heroin, so Peter decided to do something about it. He went to see the dealer.

This post firmly belongs in the You-Couldn't-Make-It-Up Department.

He went round to the home of John Nellies (for it is he) and accused him of destroying the lives of innocent families. He then flushed five bags of heroin down the toilet.

So far, so good.

However it will come as no surprise to avid observers of the train-crash which this country has become that one of Nellies' customers then reported Peter to the police. He was promptly arrested and has just been sentenced by Sheriff Robert McCreadie of the Perth Sheriff Court to serve two months inside.

He told Drummond that he should have contacted the police. "You can't take matters into your own hands the way you did," he said.

He should have been given a medal.

Source: The Scotsman

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Labour Council Bans St George's Day Parade

Labour-run Sandwell Council has withdrawn all funding for a St George's Day parade over concerns it might attract "far right" elements.

Presumably they mean Tories and members of the Armed Forces.

The organisers had planned to invite Gurkha soldiers to the event. TheEye is proud to be involved with a Gurkha charity - many have fought and died bravely for this country - and is thus even more disgusted by this turn of events.

Sandwell Council officers have apparently been scouring photographs to spot if local BNP activists have attended the parade in the past. It's a pathetic attempt to reverse-justify the decision. Maybe they did. Maybe they didn't. That's hardly the point.

Conservative-run Calderdale Council has a better idea for April 23rd; events including a fireworks display and an activity day for schoolchildren with flag-making and shield-making.

The plans include a St George's Festival at the Piece Hall on the weekend of April 25th and 26th, with a re-enactment of the story of St George, events, storytelling and crafts for children and young people and a themed market. A red and white themed fireworks display on Beacon Hill if you can survive the cold. School children are going to design their own flags and shields and parade them around an athletics track.

There will also be a selection of English films showing at Hebden Bridge Picture House (although to be fair these should probably carry a health warning of potentially being rubbish).

You'll get free admission to ~~a chance to letch at girls in swimsuits~~ Council pools and ~~a chance to letch at girls in leotards~~ fitness activities if you wear a St George's cross, for example on a T-shirt or by carrying a flag.

Can you imagine St. Andrews Day or St. Patricks Day or St. WhoeverTheyHaveInWales Day being sidelined by a Labour council in the same way as Sandwell Council are doing?

Monday, February 16, 2009

French drivers! Pah!

Expensive undetectable machines undetected - shock

How unlucky was this? It's a bloody big ocean, and they are comparatively small!!

I can only hope we get one of the other ones back out into the oceans & threatening our enemies with nuclear destruction as soon as possible.

I don't think we have a spare!

Your correspondent was recently involved in chucking lots of 4.5 inch shells into the oggin (google it!) all the way down the French, Spanish and Portuguese coasts. He was amazed that part of the planning process was to phone up the submariner chappies to tell them to avoid certain bits of sea lest they get twatted by a piece of expended shell!! Apparently we also phone up some of our mates in other countries (read USA) to share the love with them too.

A nice little "geeky" touch to this story is that both boats (do not call submarines ships by the way) are the "lead" ship in their class.

St. C

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Joe Townsend: An Excellent Result

TheEye doesn't like Noel Edmonds. He's possibly one of the poorest "entertainers" on British television at the moment. However in the past he has used his fame to do some good things for those who need them. This particular one, however, stands out, and TheEye is very grateful.

From an article on this site about the 20 year old British Marine Joe Townsend who lost both legs in Afghanistan and then was then treated with contempt by Wealden District Council when he needed to build disabled accommodation...we finally see common sense and humanity.

They have (basically) reversed their decision.

The GrumpyOldTwat was one of many who also had this cause on their blog and one of thousands who took the time to complain. Many people found this issue via the blogsphere, so we all have scored a victory for Joe. Also salute the vendors and builders who, as you'll see in the video, have pledged their time and products for free.

Today is a splendid day for what is right and good.

They Shall Not Grow Old

On June 6, 1944, D-Day, the day of Operation Overlord, the U.S. First Army, under General Omar N. Bradley, and the British Second Army, under General Miles C. Dempsey, established beachheads in Normandy.

A force of about 152,000 Allied soldiers from the United States, Britain, and Canada were supported by about 23,000 paratroopers.

TheEye's grandfather's were fighting in North Africa and Asia respectively at the time and he salutes them.

It's the 65th anniversary of this monumental battle approaching. However it is Labour Government policy to only help fund veterans to attend 10th, 50th, 60th and 100th anniversaries of any major engagements.

It would only cost £300,000 to send the few survivors back for the 65th...after all, how many are likely to be around for the 100th anniversary!

This evil corrupt government, featuring a Justice Secretary caught breaking the law, a Home Secretary caught fiddling her expenses by £166,000 using a fake address, and several Labour peers taking £30,000+ each for changing laws, could find this sort of cash down the back of the sofa in the Cabinet Office.

The Government has apparently commited to providing the funding for the 100th anniversary.

How many WWII veterans are going to be applying for grants to attend a ceremony in 2044, eh?

If anyone else feels as TheEye does, then feel free to complain and be ignored by the one-eyed Scottish idiot. More constructively, TheEye will also be donating to:

The National Treasurer,
The Normandy Veterans Association,
1 Chervilles, Barming, Kent, ME16 9JE

...to ensure that someone who might not have made it there can go to salute his old comrades.

Shame on you, Brown. Shame.

'Ello 'Ello 'Ello Is That A Camera, Sir?

Regular readers will not need to be reminded that tomorrow Section 76 of the Counter-Terrorism Act 2008, becomes law.

This makes you liable for prosecution for taking a photograph of a policeman or a member of the Armed Forces.

St. Crispin's natural modesty is now legally preserved.

However anybody; be you a tourist, a professional photographer or just a passer-by to London who wants to take a snap of the guard outside of Buckingham Palace it could well be - you're nicked Sunshine.

Under section 76, eliciting, publishing or communicating information on members of the armed forces, intelligence services and police officers which is “likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism” will be an offence carrying a maximum jail term of 10 years.

So if I show you a photograph of St Crispin in his front garden and you see the street name then *I* could be up for a decade playing Don't-Pick-Up-The-Soap. Why do we keep surrendering our freedoms in this horribly casual way?

Vernon Coaker, the Minister for "Policing, Crime and Security" (ha!), told the NUJ that photography could be limited “on the grounds of national security”, in “situations in which the taking of photographs may cause or lead to public order situations or inflame an already tense situation or raise security considerations”, or “to prevent a breach of the peace”.

So basically anything a copper doesn't like. It's a complete catch-all lawyer's safety-net. And it's not the first time they have abused so-called "anti-terrorism" laws for the hell of it.

From the British Journal of Photography, who are leading the backlash against this:

"The law is expected to increase the anti-terrorism powers used today by police officers to stop photographers, including press photographers, from taking pictures in public places. ‘Who is to say that police officers won’t abuse these powers,’ asks freelance photographer Justin Tallis, who was threatened by an officer last week.

"Tallis, a London-based photographer, was covering the anti-BBC protest on Saturday 24 January when he was approached by a police officer. Tallis had just taken a picture of the officer, who then asked to see the picture. The photographer refused, arguing that, as a press photographer, he had a right to take pictures of police officers.

"According to Tallis, the officer then tried to take the camera away. Before giving up, the officer said that Tallis ’shouldn’t have taken that photo, you were intimidating me’. The incident was caught on camera by photojournalist Marc Vallee.

"Tallis is a member of the National Union of Journalists and the British Press Photographers’ Association. ‘The incident lasted just 10 seconds, but you don’t expect a police officer to try to pull your camera from your neck,’ Tallis tells BJP."

We've sleep-walked into a position where wedding photographers, plane spotters, train spotters, and just any random chap with a camera have already been stopped, questioned, detained and even arrested under the Terrorism Act. This law just makes the UK a whole degree more oppressive.

The sooner we collect piano wire, politicians and lampposts in the same place, the better.

Saturday, February 14, 2009

The New iRant Keyboard

Never never never have any building work done.

Never. Ever. In. A. Million. Years.

Move house or something instead. Or just burn the place down.

Blogging has been light for this reason.

Anyway, for a bit of light entertainment this excellent picture of the new iRant keyboard is courtesy of the GrumpyOldTwat. All keys apply to politicians but some are interchangeable for 'actually it might cost a bit more than we thought' builders.

This is not a sweary blog, but the limits of TheEye's tolerance on that point are being strained at the moment. Normal service with serious posts will be resumed soon, but enjoy this in the meantime.

Thursday, February 12, 2009

The Obamasburg Address

It's Abraham Lincoln’s birthday today, but you'd be forgiven for thinking that it is the Obamessiah's as well.

If you follow US news and you’re drowning in the fawning, endless dreary Obama/Lincoln comparisons today, Bruce at MassBackwards has this excellent offering. Enjoy.

Introducing…The Obamasburg Address:

"Three weeks and two days ago our community organizers and voter fraud operatives brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Socialism, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created to be subservient to their government.

Now we are engaged in a great class war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave up their individual liberty that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate — we can not consecrate — we can not hallow — this ground. The gullible voters, living and dead, who were bamboozled here, have consecrated it, far above the diminished power of the people to detract.

The media will little note, nor long remember what we are actually doing here, nor will it ever admit what they did here. It is for us the powerful centralized government, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so fraudulently advanced.

It is rather for us, the ones we have been waiting for, to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us — that from these uneducated, unskilled masses we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion — that we here highly resolve that these useful idiots shall not have voted, however many times, in vain — that this nation, under Me, shall have a new birth of Hopenchange(tm) — and that government of the lobbyists, by the politically-connected, for the career politicians, shall not perish from the earth.”

An excellent effort. Well written, Sir.

Say it ain't so!

St C is only just able to stop himself adopting a sweary mode due to his beatific persona.

Please read this carefully!

I had to trawl about the net bit until I came across the article in a non-Red-Top paper.

Ask yourself this question.

Had the carer been an agnostic and the girl converted would the result have been the same?

What if the girl had converted to agnosticism?

I must dig myself a hole in the ground now, and do as Midas' barber did!

St C.

Don't Pick Up The Soap

Is there no end to the mindless stupidity of the people who live around us? Sometimes they manage to breathe and talk at the same time but that's about their limit. And they are allowed to vote, too.

For example, who could believe that the library at HMP Erlestoke near Devizes, Wilts, includes books such as Escape by David McMillan, which describes how he broke out of Thailand's "Bangkok Hilton" prison?

A book by Tim Carroll about great escapes during World War Two is also available, according to The Sun.

Gloucester Prison library stocks biographies of high-profile criminals including notorious London gangsters the Kray twins and "Mad" Frankie Fraser.

The life story of Charles Bronson is available at Doncaster prison. Bronson has had a seven-year sentence repeatedly extended for serious crimes, including wounding with intent and threats to kill, GBH and false imprisonment.

The catalogue of "inappropriate" books, which was collated by the Conservatives, also includes Pretty Boy, the story of Roy Shaw, an armed robber who assaulted prison guards while jailed.

Dominic Grieve, the Shadow Justice Secretary, told The Sun: "It beggars belief that books glorifying crime and violence are being made available to prisoners."

A Prison Service spokesweasel said: "New instructions on prison libraries will make clear that if a particular item is inappropriate, it can be considered for removal - governors have already done this in some cases."

TheEye once went to a library and tried to borrow a book on suicide but was told to sod off because he wouldn't bring it back.

Dinner Party Ideas No.94

Currently homeless due to building work, TheEye misses his well-stocked kitchen and the chance to create.

So it was with some delight that this excellent idea was found on Dungeekin. Rather than just cull grey squirrels to save the red ones, why not eat them?

He offers this most alluring method of cooking them:

‘Ecureuil En Papillotte’

First, take your squirrel and bludgeon it for the oven.
Bludgeon it some more. Feels good, doesn’t it?
Peel and disembowel your squirrel (purist torturers may wish to do this before the bludgeoning, as it can improve the flavour).
Wrap in greaseproof paper with two garlic cloves, a sprig of rosemary, two slices of onion and shredded field mouse to taste.
Cook in the oven for 25 minutes at Gas Mark 6.
Remove from the oven, and leave to rest for ten minutes.
Open the greaseproof paper, and inhale deeply.
Throw it away and order a Pizza.

Or maybe just stick to the Walkers Cajun Squirrel flavoured crisps.

Serious posts will resume shortly but TheEye craves light humour at the moment.

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Public Service Announcement

TheEye has the builders in.

This is not a cheap undertaking, and it also involves a certain Sleeping-At-A-Mate's-Place effort as the disruption really is unbearable. Therefore one of your two humble contributors has been unusually silent. My apologies.

This will be rectified with a splurge of posts as soon as possible to catch up on all that has gone on in the last few days - however if anyone can find out what has really happened to TractorStats in the meantime then TheEye would appreciate it. If gone then will be very badly missed.

St Crispin will do an excellent job here and also on his own blog as TheEye is currently unable to provide instant random abuse.

UPDATE: The Lone Voice has tracked down a gallery of TractorStats best work here. The mystery remains though.

Monday, February 9, 2009

At last. Some good news

Tower of strength

Top bloke, Guardsman Scott Blaney, has come back to work at the Tower of London after having recovered from losing a leg in Afghanistan.

Simply put, England needs more top guys like him, and a less of the bottom feeding, social services addicted insects we are stuck with.

To top it all he also want to go on to be a paralympian!

Sunday, February 8, 2009

Anyone Want To Buy A Golliwog?

The dhimmification of the United Kingdom procedes apace, with news that as of next month, Asda will sell a £24.99 'Muslim Doll' to teach Quranic Arabic to immigrant children.

It's going to be piloted in the Bradford store. Go on, insert obvious comments here and save me the effort.

If you squeeze the foot of the female doll then it says "As-Salamu'Alaikum," the traditional islamic greeting, "my name is Aamina and I am a Muslim."

For the record, the lad is called "Yousef", but that's not really important here.

Both speak Quranic words, phrases and surahs (prayers) which they then translate into English.

Someone called Noor Ali, who celebrates in the title of Asda Ethnic Non-Food Buyer intends over the next few months to offer us saris, salwa kameez suits, jewellery and shawls from Asia, plus West Indian hair care products, Polish Mother's Day cards, and Indian fashion magazines.

Both of the dolls come with realistic ethnic headgear which is apparently fine to the Thought Police, so does anyone want a golliwog?

Computer Virus Grounds French Airforce...Nobody Notices

French military aircraft were unable to fly for a few days last month after their systems were knocked out by the "Conficker" virus - which World+Dog was warned about back in October.They didn't start to apply patches until 16th Jan.

This lack-of-airforce was not noticed by the Free World. Or the Germans.

At one point French naval staff were ordered not to even turn on their computers.

Jérome Erulin, a French navy spokesweasel told Ouest France: "It affected exchanges of information but no information was lost. It was a security problem we had already simulated. We cut the communication links that could have transmitted the virus and 99 per cent of the network is safe."Yeah riiiight, sunshine. There will be a few techs losing their jobs over this snafu.

A rogue USB key and idiocy are being blamed, but you should at least lock down the ability for users to play with the first as much as possible. Security101. The second one you can't get rid of....especially if he is an unelected one-eyed Scot.

The French navy admitted that during the time it took to clear up the mess it had to return to more traditional forms of communication: telephone, fax, post and large white flags.

"The Sicmar Network, on which the most sensitive documents and communications are transmitted was not touched", it said. "The computer virus problem had no effect on the availability of our forces." Apart from the lack of air cover. The virus attacked the non-secured internal French navy network called Intramar and was detected on 21 January.

According to Liberation newspaper (referred to in France as Libé), two days later the chiefs of staff decided to isolate Intramar from the military's other systems, but some computers at the Villacoublay air base and in the 8th Transmissions Regiment were infected. Liberation reported that on the 15 and 16 January the Navy's Rafale aircraft were "nailed to the ground" because they were unable to "download their flight plans". The aircraft were eventually activated by "another system". Why did it take an extra 5 days to find the cause?

The French press also reported that the only consolation for the French Navy was that it was not the only ones to have fallen victim to the virus. It said that a report in the military review Defense Tech revealed that in early Jan 2009 the MoD had been attacked by a hybrid of the same virus and it had infected the computer systems of more than 24 RAF bases and 75 per cent of the Royal Navy fleet including the aircraft carrier Ark Royal.

Job-wise...it doesn't seem to be a good time to be a military geek.

(Note: some phrases nicked from the Labourgraph who in turn had nicked them from the French papers)

Those Were The Days....

Yesterday was the anniversary of traitor, liar, EEC-sellout and infamous cottager Edward Heath calling a snap election in 1974.

Alistair Cooke has written a very good article about what life was like in those hard times. Documenting the run-up to the election it serves as a bit of a reminder to us of how things changed either side of that historic vote.

Especially enjoy his second paragraph:

"To conserve vital stocks, Ted Heath's Government put industry on a three-day week from 1 January 1974. There was no legislation: industry simply did as it was told in that very different period in our history. Under the Government's restrictions, a 50 m.p.h.speed limit was imposed on motorists. Television closed down at 10.30 p.m. A junior minister (subsequently a member of Margaret Thatcher's Cabinet) earned instant notoriety by advising people to clean their teeth in the dark."

The picture, by the way, is of his old yacht "Morning Cloud". TheEye couldn't find an insulting picture of Heath.

Saturday, February 7, 2009

Heave Half A Brick....

Not something you will want anywhere near you at 4pm UK time today if in a violent frame of mind. Chapter 15 of The Armourer's Prentices by Charlotte Yonge which is on TheEye's current "being read" schedule is called Heave Half A Brick At Him.

Replace 'Him' with 'Her'.

You may need more than just half a brick if you tune in to Radio4 today. Sharon Shoesmith, sacked because of her major responsibility in the death of Peter Connelly (Baby P) is being interviewed on 'Woman's Hour' today.

This could be her mea culpa, may be her attempt at justification, or a way to pass blame on to the Government. Or the Tories. Or perhaps mind-controlling sentient frogs.

Whichever way, ensure that when listening you have no potential projectiles within range, as significant damage to wireless equipment is likely.

UPDATE: Also just spotted this story on GOT who appears to have beaten us to it and has a much more appropriate picture of a noose. That's what you get for a heavy night out and a late start.

It's Not Quite The Armada Again But...

It's not a well known fact but Spanish naval vessels are designed with glass bottoms so that their new navy can see their old navy.

Elsewhere, in parochial but marginally interesting news for political junkies, the rightist Spanish opposition party Partido Popular has just opened a fully fledged branch of the organisation in London. The first congress of the PPE-UK took place in London last weekend.

TheEye's invitation was lost in the post, it seems.

Until recently the Conservatives have l0oked after Spanish expat Tories from London via ConservativesAbroad and the PP have represented their 500-ish UK members from Madrid. Now both parties have got full local branches. The PP are offering golf tournaments and wine-tasting for members and anyone stupid enough to be interested. Speaking the lingo is probably required though. Arm-waving won't cut it. Especially if holding a golf club at the time.

There are 1.5 million Spanish nationals living abroad, mostly in Argentina. 50,000 are in the UK, which compares to about 1 million who have gone the other way to the Costas to live in the sun.

They, of course, get to avoid the "one-eyed Scottish idiot". And that's the main thrust of this post...two centre-right EU opposition parties are stepping up contacts in advance of General Elections which they both have a great chance of winning.

From Sr. Oleo, the PPE-UK spokesbloke: "Broadly speaking, the Partido Popular shares the same political ideology as the Conservative party in the UK. The PP think tank FAES, which is led by former Spanish president Jose Maria Aznar, is associated with many of the British think tanks associated to the Conservative Party." Miguel is staying strictly non-partisan, it seems.

On the plus side the PP actively canvassed for Boris, but they also aren't fans of Gib, so it's a 50/50 result. Still, they are better than the other mob.

Friday, February 6, 2009

So, It's Back To Watching Star Trek For Hints

There is, according to scientists paid simply to churn out random made-up statistics for publication in journals read only by other scientists - who then steal and recycle the bogus figures to inflate their own nonsense - a theory that our galaxy may contain as many as 38,000 intelligent civilisations. The Scotsman here.

Scottish scientists (ah, not a convincing start there) including a Mr Duncan Forgan (note: not identified as Dr) thinks that there are between 361 and 37,964 inhabited planets out there.

This is based on some statistics and number crunching which almost certainly involved beer and the back of the pub quiz scribble-pad during the mid-session interval. In that Scotsman article Professor Keith Horne (see, there's a title) politely questioned "uncertainties" in the work, and then goes on to say nicely that its a crock.

TheEye actually bothered to find a link to the Science and Technology Facilities Council and Scottish Universities Physics Alliance, and where it is published in the International Journal of Astrobiology. You have no idea how lucky you all are to have me here.

There is a nagging suspicion that the taxpayer (that'll be us, then) has funded at least parts of this.

Anyway, where are these other 37,999 intelligent civilisations? Not down TheEye's local tax office - that's for damn sure. The regular readers of this blog certainly count as one but that's about it.

Mars and France are right out as options.

Thursday, February 5, 2009

Political Cricketness Gone Mad

TheEye is a former cricketer (to a limited standard) and remains an ongoing armchair fan of the great game.

Middlesex won the 2008 20/20 slogathon at the Rosebowl - home of TheEye's former team - but unfortunately they did it under a name which some people who are sworn under their religious book to enslave non-believers weren't happy with.

Middlesex Crusaders.

Anyway, so turn the page. A couple of Muslims have complained about the name and therefore it needs to be altered or else there will be trouble. The dhimmi's have caved in and they are going to re-brand themselves as the Panthers. Pathetic - although the always excellent Tractorstats has added in the comments on GOT that it's rather ironic that the new name is now along the lines of the Black Panthers. More than a little ironic, actually.

This wasn't going to be announced until March but some acne-riddled teenager in the PR department at Middlesex seems to have leaked it prematurely so everybody is in full damage-limitation mode.

It's also hardly surprising that the BBC and the GrumpyOldTwat report this very same story in two completely different ways. The BBC never seem to use the 'M' word.

Trivia: Two Great Computer Mods

TheEye saw these over on Dizzy and, being a bit of a geek personally, I felt the need to share them.

It's A Police State - But You Can't Photograph It

Coming into law on the 16th of February, the Counter-Terrorism Act 2008 makes it an offence to take a photograph of a policeman.

Or of St Crispin.

Yes, any member of the Police Force or the Armed Forces won't be able to have their photograph taken at a family birthday party if it's deemed 'likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism'. That of course would include any way to identify the house of a member of a club with a membership card that allows you to carry a gun but still can't get you in to JD Wetherspoon.

Think of it. You aren't being accused of being a terrorist. Or of even daydreaming about doing something. The photograph only has to be "likely to be useful to a person...". Any person.

It could cost you up to 10 years of not bending down to pick up the soap.

The British Journal of Photography are understandably running with the story but even before it comes into effect there are plenty of stories of abuse by the authorities on this theme. A journalist was also stopped, from my recollection, a couple of years ago trying to film a piece for the sadly defunct 18 Doughty Street due to the fact that the New Scotland Yard building was visible over his shoulder.

TheEye has had an airport policeman cheerfully confess to a friend that he was 'randomly' stopped for questioning because he was wearing a baseball cap. What sort of society are we sleepwalking into?

Originally noticed via OldHolborn so a hat-tip in that direction.

Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)

Back to TOP