Holocaust Denier Irving to Speak in Coventry

Following onto my last entry I see that David Irving, a noted Holocaust Denier amongst other things, will be speaking to a rally of BNP thugs and bullies at the Royal Warwicks Club, Tower Street, Coventry later this evening.

Whilst I appreciate that everyone is entitled to their own opinion, I think it fair that people protest about this sort of meeting. Much better this than the kind of censorship being applied by Alisher Usmanov on other bloggers at the moment.

David Irving to Speak in Coventry | Mike Rouse

Arbeit Macht Frei

As I read through this article, I thought this was an extraordinarily good idea. As time passes we tend to erase from our memories the bad things in life and replace them with the good things. As the article says

The one who does not remember history is bound to live through it again.

a quote from George Santayan which appears on a plaque at Auschwitz.

I will be trying to get my children to take this visit as they have little concept nowadays of what total war is about, as it is remote to them, despite Iraq, Afghanistan and the other conflicts that have taken place in recent years.

When I was young, many years ago now, we had many reminders of both World Wars both at home and in our daily life. Our parents and grandparent had fought in or survived the wars and our teachers had often fought in the wars and brought a personal view to the history we learnt. Nowadays, veterans of the wars are few and teachers have only second-hand experience.

An experience like this may help youngsters today understand what happens in war and may just let them make a difference when they become more active in decisions that affect us all. The explanation by one of Rabbi's who lead the children in the visit of why they want people to see and hear about Auschwitz is well worth reading in this age when we prefer to hide the dirty parts of life. He states that the Holocaust is not just an atrocity against Jewish people but against difference of any kind

People ask why do we have this obsession with the Holocaust? Why can't we move on and leave it in the past? How we would love to leave it in the past. That would be the easy thing to do, but we cannot," he says. He describes the horrors which took place at Auschwitz as simply the endgame of a sustained campaign which started with pointing people out as different. A world which allowed the Holocaust to happen has also witnessed genocide in Rwanda and Darfur.

What really upset me about the article were the first 4 comments from persons who would like us to believe that the Holocaust never happened. These people are unbelievable and there denial in the face of the truth marks them out as type of person who commit this sort of crime against humanity.

Perhaps some quotes from Winston Churchill might put this in context.

The farther backward you can look, the farther forward you are likely to see.

and also

A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on.

and finally aimed at all those deniers out there

When the eagles are silent, the parrots begin to jabber

The Children Who Are Determined We Will Never Forget The Horror (from The Herald )

Offensive, angry and ginger

Offensive, angry and ginger,

apparently that's us, the Scotsman, according to a poll carried out by Ipsos MORi for the Scottish Executive. We are typified by Groundskeeper Willie from the Simpsons.

The report will make depressing reading for the whole of Scotland far less the Politicians who commissioned it. The report carries the disclaimer that

The views expressed in this report are those of the researchers and do not necessarily represent the views of the directorate or Scottish ministers.”

You'd certainly hope so for all our sakes.

Of course who ever believed what an American said about places outside the good 'ol USA, typified by my telling a Texan in Houston that I came from Scotland and he replied,

"That's near Switzerland"

I retreated from the conversation to consult my Atlas of the World.

Offensive, angry and ginger - Simpsons' Willie defines US image of the Scot - Times Online

Liberal Politics -Jury told of 'corrupt councillor'

Apparently a man accused of murder in Aberdeen has alleged that an "unnamed" city councillor was corrupt. Now I wonder who that might be.

Perhaps these stories from a while ago might give a clue.

The story goes on - One of the defendants a Mr Carswell had said during the interview that he did not want to be taken to Aberdeen by police because he did not trust them. Mr Jackson, Carswell's lawyer continued:

"There was a lot of discussion - I am not sure if he is an Aberdeen councillor or not, I don't know who this man is."

Mr Jackson said Mr Carswell, in the interview, went into a lot of questions about whether he was involved in drugs.

"There is a long discussion about him (the unnamed councillor)and where he lives and who his girlfriend is and whether he is corrupt,"

said Mr Jackson and Det Insp Stewart agreed.

"There is discussion about his girlfriend, her name, the fact that he knows this man, the fact he is involved with prostitutes, involved with drugs, a whole discussion about this other man's involvement, I suppose. Quite serious allegations against this man."

Mr Jackson continued:

"He was perfectly willing to speak to you about this public figure in Aberdeen - I don't know him from Adam - but when you are talking to him about what you want to talk to him about he moves into 'No comment' mode at that stage?"

"Or stays completely silent,"

said Det Insp Stewart.

The story continues...

BBC NEWS | Scotland | North East/N Isles | Jury told of 'corrupt councillor'

Global Warming in Scotland

First Snow on Morvern
Originally uploaded by fitaloon

With all the talk about Global Warming going on, I give you the first snow of the Winter? for us in the depths of Aberdeenshire. This was on Tuesday morning. Thankfully it didn't last long.

Honour the Covenant - Take Action

Coming from a service family (My Father served in the RAF for 35 years) and having also married into a Service Family (Father-in-Law and Brother-in-Law both having served or serving in the Royal Marines), the action being taken by the British Legion is close to my heart.

My Father and Father-in-Law were also heavily involved in SSAFA (Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association (SSAFA) Forces Help) after they retired and understood many of the problems that service personnel faced when they left the services either voluntarily or because of injury.

Previously I had talked about this under the title "Neglected and Let Down"

A little story from My Father-in-Law, a few days ago, shows how the Covenant is strong within the Services themselves but this seldom applies to the government.

My Father-in-Law has been very ill recently and has been amazed at the amount of contact/help he has received from comrades, both those who have kept in contact and those whom he had lost contact with during the time since he retired. Contacts have been renewed around the world and many wishes for his recovery have been received. Help has been offered both from local people and those living further afield. This culminated in a recent phone call from an old comrade Sir Steuart Pringle, former Commandant General of the Royal Marines and President of the Royal Marines Association wishing him well and reminiscing about when they had served together.

Contrast this with the government's attitude that they are quite willing to ignore their responsibilities and pay lip service to honouring the Covenant that they promise to each and every serving person.

Gordon Brown and Tony Blair between them have taken us into war in Iraq and Afghanistan with little understanding of the outcome of these decisions and the long term effects it has on people in the services.

Their attitude is that they are tools to be used and then to be disposed of as cheaply as possible.

You can all help current and ex serving personnel by supporting the British Legion campaign or volunteering for SSAFA

The Royal British Legion - Honour the Covenant - Take Action

Cot Fuzz

Twa Noddies
Originally uploaded by fitaloon

Apparently my story of a few days ago may be true!

See this story


Welcome to Toy Town™: Cot Fuzz

Twa Noddies Seeking Mr. Plod

Twa Noddies
Originally uploaded by fitaloon

The police are getting younger so I have volunteered my two eldest to become PCSO's to help my big bro' in his fight against crime.

Urban Terrorism gains ASBO

Surely a punishment greater than an ASBO should have been imposed for this piece of Urban Terrorism. Apparently

A neighbour had complained that on one day alone the Tammy Wynette track D.I.V.O.R.C.E was played 20 times.

Suggestions for a suitable punishment are welcomed. My suggestion would be an Ipod glued to her head playing The Wombles or even better perhaps Barbie Girl by Aqua.

BBC NEWS | England | West Yorkshire | Music banned for Dolly Parton fan

Environmental Terrorists?

A Labour Councillor Neil Cooney from Aberdeen has been castigated as a "racist" after calling some travellers "Environmental Vandals or Terrorists" for the mess that is left behind at unauthorised camps.

After having reading the details I can only describe this as Political Correctness gone mad or at least an attempt to move the news away from the real story which is that Councils still do not provide enough sites for travellers.

Reading from the details it appears that Mr Cooney suggested that, on some occasions, travellers were environmental vandals and on one or two occasions you could call them environmental terrorists. He also added that he had been referring to a minority of travellers who left rubbish at the sites.

Now forgive me but what exactly is wrong with that.

We have all seen the mess left behind by some questionable travellers who park at unauthorised sites and then go on to leave the area in a disgusting state with no thought for their neighbours or other members of the public. This is against the Good Neighbhour Guide used by Aberdeen Council The description of the these people as Environmental Vandals or Terrorists is quite restrained compared to what the majority of people would call these elements.

Perhaps it is the use of the word "terrorists" that is the problem, as it is now thought of as describing bombers and suchlike, but in it's original meaning it was just those who brought terror onto an audience. The audience in this case being the local population who have to put up with the mess and despoiling of a local area and normally other types of activities that some of the scrotes pass off as legitimate "businesses".

Whilst I am sure that most of the travellers are law-abiding and genuine, there is an element who are nothing but freeloaders and criminals. They camp anywhere they feel is handy and then prey on weak and the old nearby before disappearing. Their only link to genuine travellers being the type of accommodation they choose to live in. These people take advantage of laws and bye-laws which are there for genuine travellers, smear their name and desecrate the area they have camped in, the title of "Environmental Vandals or Terrorists" is well deserved.

Various groups have complained as follows:
Lib Dems

Kate Dean, the Liberal Democrat council leader, told Mr Cooney she was disappointed that "racist, xenophobic and discriminatory language" was rife in the council chamber.

Not sure what she was on about here but that's about normal for Kate as she seems to have little grasp on what goes on around her.

Then we have the Gypsy Council who added the following

Alfie Kefford, the chairman of the Gypsy Council, said Mr Cooney's remarks were "highly offensive" and called for him to be removed from office.

He said: "We are extremely angry at what this man has said and want him sacked.

"He would not be allowed to use terminology like that against any other ethnic minority, but because we are gypsies he thinks he can get away with it."

Now if Mr Cooney had attacked all gypsies as being Environmental Vandals or Terrorists then maybe he might have something here but Mr Cooney was only describing those elements who have no thought for the rest of the public. If Mr Kefford wants to be taken seriously then he needs to start admitting that there are some problems in the travelling society (as there are in most societies) and working on this. If we in fact looked at those who are causing the problems, I would bet that 99% of them having nothing to do with gypsies/travelers and are just some scrotes who have been kicked out of their council provided housing and now prey upon us from a different angle.

Then we have the Commission for Racial Equality where a spokesman said

"Travellers are an integral part of our communities and have as much right to receive services as anybody else.

"There is a great tendency to draw stereotypes on the basis of the behaviour of a minority of individuals.

"It is unacceptable to stereotype any group in this way."

Nina Giles, the director of Edinburgh and Lothians Racial Equality Council, told The Scotsman: "There were problems a few years ago in Edinburgh over sites for gypsies, but I don't remember this sort of language being used.

"It is not helpful to race relations to label a particular ethnic group like that. There is also no evidence to base the statement on."

The problem is that Mr Cooney did not "stereotype" this group of people, in fact the only one guilty of stereotyping people was the spokesperson who assumed Mr Cooney was talking about gypsies rather than the so called travellers who are causing the problem.

The real problem is that for many years councils have not provided enough spaces for travellers and so "illegal" camps have been set up, as under Scottish law, gypsy/travellers are classed as an ethnic minority and they cannot be moved from an unauthorised site if the local authority has not provided an adequate number of spaces. Why are there not enough spaces, because it is difficult and expensive to set up legal sites, so it is cheaper to have illegal sites and then clear up after the people have moved on.

Because of these loopholes some groups of so-called travellers exist, who undermine the genuine travellers, and bring the whole group under public suspicion. If these groups can be whittled out and ejected from the genuine travellers then this type of vandalism or terrorism can disappear.

The Scotsman - Scotland - Aberdeen - I'm no racist, says politician under fire over gypsy tirade

Why you should read PoliticalBetting.com

If you have to use only one site to understand Politics then Political Betting should be it. Where else do you get such gems as this comparison of Blair's government to a Porno Flick:

75. Unfortunately, I kind of agree with you. Having read the Campbell diaries, the equivalent of the Redwood stunt - getting, say, Dennis Skinner to talk about the future of coalmining - would have been squashed before it was born by Campbell, Mandelson, et al.

Where I probably depart from you is my overall analysis of the Campbell book and what it means. Yes, it’s very readable - witty and brisk - and an invaluable insight into British politics and New Labour thinking.

But it is deeply, deeply unflattering about New Labour, probably much more than Campbell realised. It is inadvertently revealing.

Blair comes across as psychotically selfish. Campbell glum and punchy. Mandelson seems insecure to the point of hospitalisation. Brown is an unpalatable figure brooding on the edges.

Their entire philosophy is to screw the Tories and make good headlines. Principles are way down the list. The atmosphere is tawdry and bleak, albeit oddly watchable. Like a cheap porn flick.

Indeed, that’s what Blair etc come across as Porno stars in the sordid skinflick of politics.

Blair is Johnny ‘the wad’ Holmes, obsessed with his manhood. Campbell is ‘King Dong’. Mandelson is Tracy Lords, constantly being shafted, and Brown is the bizarre German bloke with the weird haircut who comes in at the end for the money shot. (SeanT)

A-levels and Education

Two posts from the BBC this week that seem to show different results in our Education system in Britain.

First we have this article, Fewer teens achieve maths target, from earlier in the week which seems to show slight drops in achievement by 14 year olds in England for maths and only slight increases in English and Science. Whilst the rises/drops are only small they need to be balanced against the targets set of 85% reaching Level 5 in English and in mathematics by this year.

The BBC has looked at the story as balancing one year against the next rather than looking at the underlying problem which is that the targets are being breached by large amounts. This makes the results look better than they really are.

The opposition spokesmen caught this and pointed out the problems as follows:

Shadow Schools Minister Nick Gibb said the results confirmed Ofsted's view that half of secondary schools were performing at a level that was "not good enough". The government was being complacent. Secondary schools needed to learn lessons from the best, with a rigorous focus on better behaviour and classes organised in sets in all academic subjects so children were taught in groups of similar ability.

Liberal Democrat spokesman Stephen Williams said the government had fallen "woefully short" of its own targets. "Any progress previously made has now stalled or is even going backwards," he said. "Ministers must now say when they expect to reach their targets and what measures they will put in place to help teachers and children achieve them."

Next we have the A-Level results coming out down south today which are again supposedly going to up in number of passes and the number of passes at the highest level.

Ministers defend standards but are making changes so the exams will be challenging in future, with the very best papers getting a new A* grade. Some universities have said that exam grades are no longer sufficient for them to use to select undergraduates.

One student who is taking her A-levels said

the boom in A grades was down to students taking "much easier subjects like media studies or flower arranging" not maths, economics or history.

"There is also the fact that the soft options that are available now, were not available 40 years ago - I wonder whether the pass rate differences between now and then would be so great if there had been the opportunity for some people to study the softer options?

"As a student who has studied for three tough academic subjects I find it very disheartening when my hours of study are effectively written off as my qualifications are seemingly worthless."

How does this balance against the fact that rates of passes are stagnant or falling when pupils are fourteen?

From my own observations from the type of work my kids are doing at school I see standards are much lower, both in terms of the the level of work being done and the quality of work that is acceptable.
Much of the work appears to be aimed at reaching targets rather than reaching above that to proper understanding of concepts and the application of these. Perhaps I am being unfair as I was lucky enough to attend a school that ranked very highly in England versus a standard school in Scotland.

All hail the Queen of Scottish Labour

Apparently Clunker Brown has decreed a coronation and Labour MSP's are bending over backwards to stand aside for the chosen one to be crowned.

Alex Salmond will be laughing for some time to come.

Second chance for Wendy Alexander

Neglected and Let Down

The Guardian has a couple of interesting articles today about the armed forces and the fact that that the Military Covenant, which says soldiers should always be able to expect fair treatment in return for the rights they forgo, is not being upheld.

The first one Neglected and Let Down shows some of the actions that both the British Legion and BAFF are taking in the coming months.

The second one Care of soldiers compromised by failing army pact details some of the Broken Covenants currently being experienced by relatives and members of the Armed Forces.

The existence of a group like BAFF in itself is an indictment on the current government.

The fact that the British Legion is running a campaign like Broken Covenant should worry all of us.

Please take time to visit the website and add your signature to the petition.



We've been neglected and let down say combat troops | Special reports | Guardian Unlimited

Articles on Afghanistan

Some light reading on the current situation in Afghanistan, whilst our so-called Defence Minister, Des Browne is caught up in some problems nearer to home.

First an article in the Independent titled "Politicians must accept the reality on the ground"
This explores the current situation and the way reality is only slowly dawning on the government in this country that it's not going very well and they may have to get a policy and perhaps some firm goals on what they want to achieve there.

The second an article in the Guardian titled "We are making a difference in Afghanistan, insists Browne", This appears to be Des Browne saying things are slightly tougher than Labour expected (no Bullets required)

Now a few articles from the Telegraph that explore some issues on Afghanistan.
First a poke at Gordon Brown and his disinterest Tories condemn Brown's 'lack of interest'

Next an article that gets a bit more to the heart of the problem titled "Blunder, confusion and a rising death toll" which also explores the fact that the Taliban are not quite the pushover they were expected to be by our Government. It finishes with the following

It is only now, after British fatalities in Afghanistan have passed the 70 mark, that public disquiet over the way the Government has handled the Afghan issue is raising questions about whether, in these challenging circumstances, the British military has any chance of achieving its original objective of helping to restore order.

British commanders predict that it will take at least three decades, not three years, to turn Afghanistan into a fully functioning state. If the casualty rate continues at its current level it is unlikely that the British public would be prepared to tolerate so many fatalities for so little gain.

And finally to the BBC who can only provide this piece Browne defends Afghanistan role which is wonderfully short on any thoughts on the situation but does provide the following substantial quote

Mr Browne, speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, said: "What we have to do is that very difficult balancing act of making progress militarily, which we can do.

"The British can over face the Taleban in any circumstances, we can over match them rather, we can face them down and we can drive them out of communities.

"The challenge is then to be able to build those communities, local government, their links to the provincial government and to the central government in such a way that that is sustained."

You have to feel that Mr Browne has forgotten what he is talking about and is drifting back to his Scottish role and how he might like to face up to the SNP rather than a distinctly more dangerous foe

Global Warming?

Apparently we are suffering from Global Warming. Problem is this morning as I went out to the car it had ice on the roof.

This is about the first time I can remember Ice in August. However considering the summer (what summer you ask) we are having it's probably about right.


Never mind we now have two days of weather warnings from the Met Office for Heavy Rain, thankfully I managed to cut the grass last night.

Update: For an interesting, if heretical, read on Global Warming and some other thoughts have a look here.

Brown Bounce costs you 39 Billion

Apparently the "Brown Bounce" in the polls that has some of the papers frothing at the mouth over the weekend has cost you and I 39 billion pounds. That's just over over twice as much as John Redwood thought he could save businesses in a year by reducing red tape.
The Guardian says

The huge sum suggests that, as chancellor, Mr Brown was able to hold back funds and policy initiatives until Mr Blair had stood aside. In effect, this helped fund the "Brown Bounce" that has delivered a run of significant poll leads and added to the expectation of an early general election.

The new spending includes an extra £7.7bn for defence to 2011; £15bn to improve the railways; £4bn extra spending on early years education over three years, covering Sure Start centres; £8bn on increasing the availability of affordable housing; £800m on flood defences; £400mon students grants and £1.2bn on a new electronic national border system.

Also noteworthy is that much of the spending is being targeted at issues that may affect marginal seats.

Oh and did I forget to mention that much of this "extra" spending has already been announced.

The biggest problem about all this money is that it has to, somehow, be paid for by us the Taxpayer. No mention has been made yet of where this money is going to come from, this will be saved until the fine print of the 2007 comprehensive spending review, due in October, has been pored over and the "Clunking Fists" deceit is exposed as per the 10p tax rate.


Brown spends £39bn in first seven weeks in No 10 | Special Reports | Guardian Unlimited Politics

Browne defends Afghanistan role

I see Des Browne has been defending our role in Afghanistan, and whilst I have no problem with what we are supposed to be doing there I do have a problem with the execution of that role.

The problem, has as usual occurred, because of the standard 4 P's, Piss Poor Planning and Preparation. The government as usual have put our armed forces in a situation where they are not properly funded, manned or supported. Just less than a month ago The Commons Defence committee report said Nato must commit more troops and aid to Afghanistan if it is to establish a stable democracy. In the report MP's were careful and measured, but there is no mistaking the central message, things are going badly, alarmingly wrong in Afghanistan.

The governments hope is that they can somehow disentangle themselves from Iraq in time to help sort out Afghanistan. All this will do, will be to desert one disaster, by putting a sticking plaster on a haemorrhaging situation. Real backing from NATO and the UN is required.

BBC NEWS | Politics | Browne defends Afghanistan role

Fine threat over T-shirt slogan

Gordon Brown will no doubt be happy with this sort of story as he leads us into a society where we are only allowed to do what he thinks is correct behaviour.

Assuming this sort of T-Shirt is banned, the police should be able to clean up most days on the streets by stopping people and fining them for wearing "offensive" clothes. I assume any with the FCUK label would be banned and obviously any with pictures of Politicians on them.

Of course the real beauty of this will be ability to ensure that those people who wear "baggy pants" that hang down to their knees are suitably punished. A quick tasering and removal of said offensive items seems appropriate.



BBC NEWS | England | Cambridgeshire | Fine threat over T-shirt slogan

Prescott signs memoirs deal worth £500,000

The news that John Prescott has the ability to write has amused me.

In most of the dealings we have seen with Mr Prescott over the past 10 years, the ability to write or even speak English has been severely in doubt. His main means of communication seems to have been grunts, thumps and some rather less salubrious methods.

The fact that this odious individual, who has taken large amounts of our cash, whilst doing little in return has been able to sell his memoirs is little short of unbelievable. Unfortunately he probably does know where much of the dirt has been buried. We can only hope, that with this amount of upfront payment, we will get some sort of return on the money and he will dig a giant hole for his Labour colleagues. We certainly won't be expecting any honesty about his own personal life which has been a tissue of lies and deceit.

Perhaps this will mean a job for one of the Iraqi translators who have been left to rot in Basra. They at least might be able to make some sense of this man.



Prescott signs memoirs deal 'worth £500,000'