Scottish Election Leaflets - Part 1

Previously I blogged about the Labour Election Leaflet in my Constituency of West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine here.

Well now I have received the aforementioned liesleaflet from Labour and along with it the rest of the candidates literature.

A quick review of the leaflets seen so far seems like a good idea so that I know who to vote for.

First the BNP.

Well I haven't actually seen the leaflet as my kids tore it up and permanently filed it. Well done!
I have obviously had them trained well. They are only standing in the list for the North East of Scotland and should end up last after the independents.

Second Labour - James Noble.

What more can I say. Leaflet says very little, attacks Lib Dems Tax policy, Says Labour is brimming with ideas on how to take Scotland forward. Not much else. He has little/no biographical details and lives in Aberdeen rather than the constituency. Apparently, from other sites, he is 21 and works for the Scottish Parliament in Aberdeen. Website is http://waklabour.org.uk/ not sure if wakLabour is ironic? Looks like a no-hoper being given some experience.

Third Liberal Democrats - Mike Rumbles. Sitting MSP

Nice glossy document, no mention of mortgages! Says the Lib Dems have made the difference at Holyrood. Many quotes from papers. Main theme is straight from Lib Dem Manifesto, Greener Scotland, Safer Scotland, Local Health Care, Young People Matter, Bright Future etc. No costings on any of these. Apparently he has helped "thousands" of constituents in the constituency at regular advice surgeries, this maybe a slight exaggeration! Mentions he was member of Standards Committee , a bit ironic? Says it will be a straight forward fight between Lib Dems and Tories. Some Biographic details. Best looking leaflet so far.

More later on once I can find the rest, but my Kids have taken to reading them. Sad?

British Forces at War: An American Tribute

After the Battle: “Squaddie” from 5 Platoon, 2nd Battalion, “The Rifles” Battle Group.


Via Rogue Gunner the following article starts:

Basra, Iraq

The explosions from enemy rockets and mortar fire have been constant companions for the small contingent of Coalition forces based at the former Basra Palace, on the banks of Shatt al Arab River. In the past five months, more than a thousand bombs have been fired at this small base, all while these British combat troops, Romanian soldiers and a small contingent of Americans continue their attempts to stabilize Iraq. The nearby US Regional Embassy office also is frequently targeted.

A dramatic surge in IDF attacks (indirect fire: rockets and mortars) began here in September 2006, subsequent an increase in British troops. Locals cite Iranian influence behind the attacks, while British officers say this is the most IDF’d base in Iraq. The dozens of bombs that exploded on the base in the first five days of my embed with a British infantry platoon punctuated those claims.

Full article continues:

EU Constitution "Lite"

Angela Merkel is trying to push through a "lite" version of the trashed EU Constitution by weasel-wording the original version. She says in the letter leaked to the Times:

“Every effort will have to be made to restrict change to what is absolutely necessary to reach an overall agreement and to ensure ratification by all member states.”

She then posed a dozen key questions, including: “How do you assess the proposal made by some member states to use different terminology without changing the legal substance — for example with regard to the title of the treaty, the denomination of legal acts, and the union’s minister of foreign affairs.”

In the same way, she asks whether to “replace the full text of the Charter of Fundamental Rights by a short cross reference having the same legal value”. As proposed by Mr Blair, the replacement for the Constitution could be presented as a treaty that amends the Nice Treaty of 2001, she said, “with the necessary presentational changes resulting from the return to the classical method of treaty changes”.

Mr Blair was trumpeting on about this the day before here. He says in the interview with European newspapers and the Financial Times,

that the plan proposed by Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, will not be a “constitutional treaty” that alters the relationship between Europe and member states, thus avoiding a referendum. But he steers clear of saying how far the treaty will go in extending qualified majority voting and installing a permanent Council president.

So here we go again having failed to get this through the normal methods of democracy and having been thrown out in both France and Netherlands, a few changes will make it all right and nobody has to approve it let alone put it to a referendum

Let me quote from the inimitable SeanT on PoliticalBetting

Unbelievable. They are nakedly - brazenly - trying to bring back a Treaty already voted down in two states, and this time trying to avoid a referendum by minor cosmetic changes. Utterly disgraceful. If you believe in Europe - and many good, honest people do - you cannot want your project to proceed in this fashion: by deception of the people, by treachery, evasion and sleight of hand.

Just give us a vote. That’s all we want. Whoever wins, wins. But let us vote.

Blair is the most disgusting man in the history of modern British politics. May he rot in Hell, if Hell will have him.

I'd agree with SeanT all the way on this.


Merkel revives a slimline constitution

Court rejects scroats voting bid

At last some sense from the Judges up here in Scotland they have thrown out the demand by some scroats in Jail to be allowed to vote in Elections. I had blogged on this yesterday here.

Just what we needed more murderer's and robber's involved in Politics.


BBC NEWS | Court rejects inmates' voting bid

Campbell warning on independence

I see Menzies Campbell has sort of said that the Lib Dems should not go into coalition with the SNP, if the SNP wish to retain their insistence on Independence.

Now I can't quite see the SNP wishing to drop that particular point as it is their main campaigning point.

However, he also put in a few get out clauses which is fairly typical of the Lib Dems, who appear to be able to move the goalposts at the drop of a thumb.

After the election when Labour has been properly buried the Lib Dems will do anything to try and stay in coalition, they won't worry too much about again being the whipping boys in any coalition, as long as they can get their snouts deeper into the Holyrood trough they will be happy.


BBC NEWS | Scotland | Campbell warning on independence

Blair’s Collie supports him in Scottish Elections at Beau Bo D’Or

This should raise a few smiles.

Beau Bo D'or has the following take on the likely SNP win in Scotland.


T

Blair’s Collie supports him in Scottish Elections at Beau Bo D’Or

Scroats in court fight for right to vote

I see those darling convicts are crying about the fact they are not allowed to vote.

As they have been convicted and sent to prison, they have no rights to the niceties of society which they have offended against.

Human rights my arse.

If you can't do the time don't do the crime.

The Scotsman - Scroats in court fight for right to vote

Whats killing 15-19 year olds around the world

What's the biggest killer of 15-19 year olds around the world?

Not AIDS, cancer or any other disease, its something much more simple.

According to The Lancet its Road Traffic Accidents.

Shocked me, I know that it's always hitting the headlines round this area but this is worldwide.

How much do we spend educating kids about this? I'll bet its a fraction of what we spend of Drugs and Sex education.

I drive about 25,000 miles a year and see the results of crashes too often and it's mainly youngsters in modified cars.

Education of the dangers of driving and in particular speed and drinking must be hard hitting to be effective, there is no point just saying don't do it, it must be graphic and preferably personal to a particular area/school.

Most schools round here have had a teenager die in a road accident in the past few years, pictures and stories about these accidents should be used to try and make kids understand what is going on. Show them the results and make them think.

Remember the car in the wrong hands is a lethal weapon, not just to yourself but especially to others.

Road safety here and here.

The Scotsman - ? is world's biggest killer of teenagers

Royal Marines Piss Take.

A quick piss take of the Marines, may not be the best of ideas as my Father-in-Law is an ex-marine and my Brother-in-law is still serving!

Thanks to the Rogue Gunner.

Deny the Holocaust at your peril

The Devils Kitchen is highlighting a new EEC Diktat that will soon probably be a new European Law. He quotes from the Times:

Laws that make denying or trivialising the Holocaust a criminal offence punishable by jail sentences will be introduced across the European Union, according to a proposal expecting to win backing from ministers Thursday.

Offenders will face up to three years in jail under the proposed legislation, which will also apply to inciting violence against ethnic, religious or national groups.

One further point worthy of special mention is the following:

Diplomats in Brussels voiced confidence on Tuesday that the controversial plan, which has been the subject of heated debate for six years, will be endorsed by member states. However, the Baltic countries and Poland are still holding out for an inclusion of “Stalinist crimes” alongside the Holocaust in the text – a move that is being resisted by the majority of other EU countries.

So the killing of 20 million people is obviously OK. What's next? Will we also have the denial that there is a Civil War in Iraq (650,00 dead and counting by the day) written into the law as well.

Have a read of what he has to say and a variety of other bloggers including Iain Dale

The Devil's Kitchen: Deny the Holocaust at your peril

Stockings for Leslie Grantham?

I see Leslie Grantham will be getting the stockings out again, but this time not to rob and murder a german taxi driver but to sell them on the Black Market as he appears in the stage version of "Dad's Army".

'Dad's Army' on the march again for theatre audiences - Independent Online Edition > Media

Labour Own Goals again

According to Curious Hamster over at A big stick and a Carrot those sleaze merchants at Labour are at it again but this time in my Constituency of West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine.

After being caught out with their "Ordinary Voters" in their Party Political Broadcast mentioned here they have made a similar error in the Election material for their Candidate James Noble.

Apparently their two "ordinary" voters are in fact Scottish Labour party local council candidates. No mention of this is made on the leaflet, which I have yet to receive/file permanently. Both stooges are presented in a way which suggests that they are local people (true) and unaffiliated supporters of Mr Noble (false).

Remember to vote Conservative.

Stuart Whyte should be your pick in West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine for the Scottish Parliament elections.

A Big Stick and a Small Carrot: Fools

Doubts raised over e-count system

I see Scotland maybe on the way to an interesting count for the May Elections, with the new Electronic Counting system in use for the first time on such a scale.

As this is the first large scale use of the system you would have thought the numpties on the Scottish Executive (Labour/Lib Dems) would have had enough sense to at least follow some of the calls of the Electoral Commission who asked for e-counting to be independently verified more than three years ago to boost voter confidence but nothing has been done.

Even the company that produces the system has welcomed the call.

DRS head of elections, Sonia Anderson, said: "As an organisation, we would be hugely in support of an independent accreditation programme if e-counting is to become in the longer term an adopted technology that returning officers have the freedom to use as opposed to manual counting."

However, Deputy Scottish Secretary David Cairns said the system had been thoroughly tested and a hand recount was still an option if things go wrong.

So there we are a fairly new voting system and a new Election Count method, should make the tighter results a bit more open to challenge like in Florida.

Remember Labour has a wonderful track record with IT systems!

P.S. DRS the people who supplied the system might just want to check their website because as far as I can see they are in breach of the Companies Act as every company should list its company registration number, VAT number, place of registration and registered office address on its website as a result of an update to the legislation of 1985.

You'd hope an IT company might get their Website correct!

BBC NEWS | Scotland | Doubts raised over e-count system

Vote 2007

On the trail of getting people out to vote and get more interested in Politics here are some sites that maybe of some use.

BBC Voting Site here.

BBC Scottish Election Site here.

Scotland Votes site here.

Scottish Politics site here maybe slightly leaning to the SNP!

Aberdeenshire Council's Election website here for a list of candidates in local/Holyrood elections.

And finally the most important here.

That's a good starter and try any number of the links on the blog for some more indivdual views.

BBC NEWS | Politics | Vote 2007

Chocolate the key to uncovering PC passwords

According to a train station survey of 300 office workers carried out in London, the disturbing statistic that 64 per cent of those surveyed would hand over their office computer passwords for a bar of chocolate "and a smile".

Good-looking, chocolate-bearing researchers apparently had to probe a bit harder with the IT professionals than random train platform suits in order to get passwords, but the questions were simple.

Researchers asked IT conference delegates if they knew what the most common password is and then asked them what their password was. Only 22 per cent of IT professionals revealed their "Open Sesame" at this point, compared to 40 per cent of non-techie commuters. If at first they refused to give their password, researchers would then ask if it was based on a child, pet, football team, etc, and then suggest potential passwords by guessing the name of their child or team. By using this social engineering technique, a further 42 per cent of IT professionals and 22 per cent of commuters inadvertently revealed their password.

Even after all the stories in the press and internet people are still amazingly lax about passwords and use them willy-nilly. They use simple to guess ones and don't change them. They use the same password for every account, be it for Bebo, or their Bank and then they wonder why their accounts are emptied.

If in any doubt follow the simple advice here. Don't forget don't use the same passwords for all types of accounts. Use a number of passwords and use them according to the type of system you are using.

For example for a simple logon to a newspaper or something simple with only some basic details at risk, use a fairly simple password and don't bother too much about it.
For a system that stores more useful information like addresses use another and change it at least yearly.
For E-mail accounts use another and change it every 90 days.

Finally for Banking or really personnel information use a good long password according to all the rules and change it often (at least every 90 days), don't use it for anything else and don't store it on your computer or anywhere else!

Don't forget all the other Online Guidelines and stop taking chocolate from passing blondes!


Chocolate the key to uncovering PC passwords | The Register

Simple Guide on how to Vote in Scotland

The attached "cartoons" should show you how to vote in Scotland in the forthcoming elections.

A written version is available here.

Whatever the instructions, just remember, a vote for Labour is a vote to continue destroying this great country of ours, a vote for the Lib Dems is the same as a vote for Labour, though open to offers from any parties who can help them get their snouts back into the trough.

If in doubt just vote Conservative, you know it makes sense!


Vote Scotland - Vote Scotland Walkthrough

Great Bowls of Fire

Must pop down to B&Q for a new toilet today then!

Free repairs to flammable toilets

Austin Mitchell on Blogs

Austin Mitchell has the following to say on Blogs (on his Blog!):-

Don`t join the chorus of praise for the Blogsphere as a new dimension of democracy which will liberate the people from dependence on old media.

Crap. Blogging is a forum for gossip, character assassination, sensation and expose. It is inherently anti-government and conservative because prejudice is easier to get over than serious explanation. Just like Talk Radio.

So the strongest practitioners are Republicans like Drudge or rank Tories like Ian Dale and Guido Fawkes, leaving this as the only voice of sense, semi-socialism, freedom, truth and justice.

What he means is that Blogs aren't working for Labour (Nu or Old), as they just can't work them out.

As has been seen many time they can't find the right level to pitch their Blogs at, and end up coming across as zealots and humourless dried up old sticks.

Austin Mitchell's WeBLOG :: Blogs

The Brown Bottom - How to lose 2 billion pounds

I wrote earlier on the Iraq Dossier problem that has been awaiting release of information under the Freedom of Information Laws. Now we have details of another fight with the Labour Government and in particular the Treasury to release information about the selling of Gold back in 1999 that has cost this country an estimated £2 Billion.

The article says

The Sunday Times has been battling the Treasury for 18 months to obtain documents revealing the advice it received on the sale of gold, writes Holly Watt.

Under freedom of information laws, the paper has asked for statistical information relating to the decision to sell gold; minutes of ministerial meetings; official correspondence and studies into the aftermath of the decision.

Before the 2005 election the Treasury rushed out comparable information about the Conservatives’ darkest economic hour, Black Wednesday, but it took it five months to turn down this request, although it is required by law to respond within 20 working days.

Among five exemptions it has claimed to block publication is that “such information relates to the location (past or present) of the UK’s gold holdings, which, if made known, could increase risks to security”. This information is on the Bank’s official website.

Seems that Labour don't like these laws now as they are exposing their soft underbelly as we see the lies and spin they have been using to deceive us during their 10 year reign.

According to the article we have a wonderful new name for the lowest gold price in 20 years, it's now referred to as the

"Brown Bottom".

No jokes about nappies now please!

Another Minister involved in this story was a rather more junior Patrica (best year so far)Hewitt who according to the Times in answer to a written parliamentary question placed by a Labour backbencher.

“Today we are announcing a restructuring of the UK’s reserve holdings to achieve a better balance in the portfolio by increasing the proportion held in currency. This will involve a programme of auctions of gold,” she said.

“The Treasury intends to sell 125 tons of gold, 3% of the total reserves, during 1999-2000, with the Bank of England conducting five auctions on the Treasury’s behalf. Auctions will be held every other month starting in July.”

The answer was later shown to be wholly misleading as the government actually planned to sell 400 tons before 2002, representing more than half the country’s gold.

Hewitt’s figure of 3% referred to “total reserves” which, apart from gold, included tens of billions that the government borrows on the international currency markets, rather than the gold reserves actually owned outright by Britain.

So as usual Patricia has been bending the figures to suit Labour's needs.

Just another example as to why no-one should vote Labour in the upcoming elections.

Goldfinger Brown’s £2 billion-News-Politics-TimesOnline