My Two Cents

Transparency

2009-06-18T18:53:00.029Z

Elephants in the Room

2009-06-04T22:06:00.004Z

Barack Obama's speech in Cairo may be viewed as pushing all the buttons of the Arab/Muslim world but it failed to mention the biggest gripe ordinary Arabs/Muslims have about the USA: it's support for the dictators that rule the Arab/Muslim world.

Every Arab country is ruled by a murderous tyrant. All but two (Syria and Sudan) have been put in place and proped up by the USA. The USA will never be able to reach out to ordinary Arabs/Muslims as long as it ignores the big fat elephants in the room: Dictator Al-Saud , Dictator Mubarak, Dictator Bouteflika, Dictator Gaddafi, Dictator Mohammed, Dictator Abdullah II, Dictaor Al-Sabah, Dictator Al Khalifah, Dictator Al Said, Dictator Al Thani, etc.

The Failed Chinese Revolution

2009-06-04T22:05:00.001Z

End of a War. End of a Dream. End of a Race.

2009-05-18T20:12:00.003Z

End of a War
The Sri Lankan civil war is over. But it wasn't just the Tamil Tigers who were defeated. The whole Tamil population has been defeated.

End of a Dream
The Tamils' dream of an independent Tamil Eelam has ended in a horrific nightmare.

Independence was always going to be an uphill task. There are only three ways a people can achieve their independence: peaceful political actions, armed insurrection or international intervention.

The Tamils tried to achieve self-determination through peaceful actions but were only met with violence and laws that further undermined and marginalised them.

The Tamils tried to achieve independence through armed insurrection but were opposed not only by the Sri Lankan military but also the military and intelligence agencies of the regional powers (China, India and Pakistan).

Many Tamils had hopes of Indian intervention (in their favour) at the beginning of the conflict. Their hopes were dashed firstly by the assassination of Indira Gandhi and then by the failure of the Indian Peace Keeping Force.

The "international community'' has stated that there can no be no meaningful solution to the country's ethnic problems without addressing the Tamils' grievances. The Sri Lankan government has said it will do so but only fool would believe them. They are masters at lies, deceit and propaganda. And don't expect the "international community" to backup its sentiments with any actions. If they couldn't prevent the bloodbath in the so-called Safe Zone what hope is there of them enforcing a political solution?

End of a Race
Over the coming years those Tamils who can afford it to will leave Sri Lanka, as 1/2 million (one third of the population) have already done so. The ones who have to remain will, by hook or crook, "disappear" or be forced to assimilate. Their culture, language, traditions, whole way of life will disappear. The Sri Lankan Tamil race will be extinct in 100 years. The Sinhalese will have achieved what they've always wanted: the racial purity of the island of Sri Lanka.

Non Sequitur

2009-04-27T22:14:00.002Z

The Sri Lankan military has said today that it has stopped using aircraft / heavy weapons against the "Safe Zone". One naturally infers from this statement that they had been using aircraft / heavy weapons against the "Safe Zone", something that they have been denying doing so for the last two weeks. Everything the Tamils have been claiming is turning out to be true.

The contempt and arrogance shown by the Sri Lankan government / military shows the impotence of the "International Community". But in the past few days there have been signs that the "International Community" is waking up to the duplicity of the Sri Lankans. But it will come too late for the 50,000 civilians trapped in the "Safe Zone". The bloodbath that so many had predicted is now just a matter of when rather than if.

Much Ado About Nothing

2009-04-22T22:26:00.003Z

On 8th April 12 men were arrested over a suspected bomb plot.

We were told that there had been a serious threat life. The arrests were hailed as triumph by politicians. The police were commended for their work.

Two weeks later all 12 men have been released without any charge. This would be shocking had it never happened before. But unfortunately it had, many times.

Every so often the police carry out these dramatic arrests, in full public view, in order to strike fear into the population and to to justify the draconian powers they have been given. After a while all those arrested are released quietly.

By the way, was it a coincidence that the men were released on the day that every one's eyes were on the Budget?

Out of the Frying Pan

2009-04-20T22:41:00.004Z

As the 25 year-old Sri Lankan civil ware enters its death throws the Western media have finally started reporting the plight of the Tamil civilians.

Today's exodus from the so called 'Safe Zone" is just the latest ordeal faced by these wretched people.

Before that they were trapped in the the "Safe Zone'", a tiny strip of land between between the sea and the Sri Lankan Army (SLA) controlled area, as the SLA unleashed a continuous barrage of shells on them. The civilians were literally trapped between the devil and the deep blue sea. Thousands died as result.

Before that they has been forced to flee from their makeshift homes in the Vanni to the east coast as the SLA attacked and captured the areas controlled by the Tamil Tigers.

And before that, back in 1995, they were forced to flee from their homes in the Jaffna peninsula to the Vanni as the SLA attacked and captured Jaffna.

No one can even begin to imagine the horrors they have been through. Being continuously forced to flee, leaving their homes, possessions, and often, their families behind. The physical scars may heal but the psychological scars will stay with them forever.

What now awaits those who have fled the "Safe Zone"? Will they be allowed to return to their homes and families? No. They will be herded into large concentration camps in the Vanni from which they can't leave and which outside agencies/media can't visit. A case of "out of the frying pan and into the fire". Over the coming months these people somehow "disappear" from the face of the earth.

The "international community" has urged restraint from the Sri Lankans but has not enforced this. The Sri Lankans have successfully defied the "international community''. This is a telling sign for all other peoples trying to achieve freedom. If the "international community'' cannot control a small developing country like Sri Lanka, what hope do the Palestinians, Tibetans etc have?

At the beginning of the 21st century, human civilisation has produced numerous treaties, conventions, declarations etc which lay down on paper the rights and freedoms of every human being. But when it comes to actions (not words) needed to protect oppressed people, such as the Tamils, humanity is at best indifferent, at worst culpable.

The power of the Jews

2009-04-20T22:20:00.002Z

Here's an example of the power wielded by the Jews.

Who else can make the ambassadors of at least 30 countries walk out on cue?

Thank Heavens for Small Mercies

2009-04-20T22:13:00.002Z

According to the Association of Chief Police Officers we should all be grateful for the way the police handled the G20 protests in London. In any other country the police would have used rubber bullets and water canons.

We should be grateful that one person was murdered by the police. We should be grateful that dozens were assaulted by the police. And we should be grateful that thousands were illegally detained in massive open air police cells.

Police State

2009-04-15T18:28:00.004Z

On 1st April the Met Police murder Ian Tomlinson.

On 2nd April a Met Police thug assaults a woman at a memorial for Ian Tomlinson. The thug had clearly planned do some hippy bashing that day - he had covered the identification numbers on his shoulders.

These are just two of the acts of police brutality meted out to the G20 protesters in London. They were fortunately caught on camera. Now just imagine how many weren't. The pathetic reaction of the "Independent" Police Complaints Commission to the Met's actions shows how incompetent they are.

Don't expect anything to come from the IPCC's investigations. Don't expect the review by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Police to achieve anything - Denis O'Connor, Her Majesty's Inspector of Police, is a former Assistant Commissioner of the Met Police! (You couldn't make it up). And don't expect any of the police officers responsible for the brutality to be punished. They never are.

This kind of police heavy handedness isn't restricted to the Met.

On 13th April Nottinghamshire Police arrested 114 people on suspicion that may commit a crime by disrupting an E.on power station. All 114 people were released without any charge.
Last August Kent Police employed every underhand tactic possible to disrupt the protests at another E.on power station. Why are the British police so keen to protect foreign owned energy companies from British protesters?
Hundreds of thousands have been stopped and questioned using anti-terrorism laws. Only a handful of these have led to terrorist convictions.

The police being above the law isn't a recent phenomena. Today is the 20th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster when 96 football fans were killed due to the actions of South Yorkshire Police. Twenty years on, not one police officer has been brought to justice.

It is now clear that the police see ALL protest as a nuisance. A nuisance that must be eradicated using every legal and illegal means possible. Britain is a police state. But don't blame the police for that. Blame the elected politicians who give the police draconian powers. And blame the "system" that is supposed to defend our rights and police the police.

April Fools

2009-04-01T20:56:00.001Z

What a bunch of fools we have as our leaders. Their corruption and incompetence have resulted in the worst recession for 80 years. But their solution to the problems is to help the people who caused the problems.

They have spent hundreds of billions of dollars in helping the financial institutions whose recklessness with other people's money caused the problems in the first place. Yet, at the same time they refuse to help the retailers and manufacturers who trade in the real world and are having difficulties because the banks don't trust each other anymore.

They have reduced interest rates, helping individuals who been borrowing well beyond their means. But this has decimated the income of individuals who were sensible and saved some of their income during the good times.

Our leaders' promises that there will be no more booms and bust were just a big fat lie. The actions taken by governments will produce a boom which will inevitably lead to a bust.

We are doomed to make the mistakes over and over again unless we have wholesale rethink about our economic values.

There has been a lot a talk recently about getting rid of hedge funds and other "imaginary" financial instruments. But what about reducing our dependence on the false prophets of the stock market and property market?

The stock market has been the heart of capitalism for the last 200 years but what do share prices really mean? A single rogue trader can decimate a company's share prices irrespective of the financial position of the company. Our pensions and investments are tied up in these houses of cards.

In recent years the property market has become a crucial part of the economy, particularly in the Anglo-Saxon world. People are using their homes to increase their wealth rather than working to increase their wealth. They are moving homes not because they need to move home but because they want to "cash in" the increase in price of their homes. They fail to realise that if they sell their highly priced current home, the home they move into will also be highly priced and so they aren't any better off.

Finally we have to realise that the idea wealth can be created is just a myth. The conservation of energy law states that energy can't be created or destroyed, it can only be changed from one form to another. Similarly, wealth, and money for that matter, can't be created (or destroyed). It can only change hands. So if someone has become wealthier it is at someone else's expense. People don't become wealthy by "working hard". They become wealthy by overcharging their customers, underpaying their employees and arm-twisting their suppliers.

Gaza: Do Your Bit

2009-01-26T19:14:00.003Z

Do you have more backbone than the BBC? Defy the Jewish lobby, do your bit.

Click on above image or visit

www.dec.org.uk

Thank you

A Change for the Better

2009-01-20T19:40:00.003Z

The Past

If ever there was one person wholly unqualified to become the most powerful person in the world surely it was George Bush Junior.

Had he not been his father's son he would be working in a McDonalds or dead now: killed in Vietnam, killed drink driving, died of a cocaine overdose, stabbed to death in prison whilst serving a sentence for insider dealing.

But that didn't happen. Because he was his father's son. Instead he was elected to the most powerful office in the world. Elected is perhaps the wrong word, stole would be more accurate. Most Americans who voted didn't vote for him, even after he got his brother to fix the results in Florida.

It is hard to be happy now that he has gone. He has done his damage: the graveyards of Iraq and Afghanistan are filled with hundreds of thousands of souls who would not be there had he not been his father's son.

The Future

Obama has won the hearts of so many around the world with his hopes and dreams. He has already made history by defying the bigots to become the first African American president. Can he make history again by guiding America, and the world, through the challenging times we face?

No Surprises

2009-01-18T14:20:00.003Z

The Jews have finally called a halt tho their latest rape of Palestine. I have been uncharacteristically silent because nothing the Jews have done over the last 22 days has surprised me.

I wasn't surprised that the Jews murdered 1,200 Palestinians as revenge for rocket strikes that hadn't killed a single Jew. I wasn't surprised that 410 Palestinian children have been murdered. I wasn't surprised that 85 Palestinian women have been murdered.

I wasn't surprised that the Jews bombed civilian infrastructure, including houses, mosques and schools.

I wasn't surprised that the Jews targeted anyone who worked for the democratically elected Hamas government, even if they weren't engaged in hostilities such as policemen.

I wasn't surprised that the Jews called a "humanitarian truce" only to fire upon UN aid convoy, killing two aid workers and forcing the UN to abandon it's aid work.

I wasn't surprised that the Jews attacked the UN al-Fakhura school which contained hundreds of Palestinians, murdering 40 civilians. I wasn't surprised that initially the Jews claimed that Hamas fighters were in the school compound. I wasn't surprised that when their lies were challenged, the Jews changed their story to that the Hamas fighters were in the "vicinity" of the school. I wasn't surprised that the Jews changed their story again, this time claiming that the school had been hit by a "stray" missile.

I wasn't surprised that the Jews attacked another UN school, in Beit Lahiya, where hundreds of Palestinians had taken shelter, killing two children.

I wasn't surprised that Jews wouldn't allow the international media into Gaza to report their crimes.

I wasn't surprised that Jews' propagandists, led by the smarmy Mark Regev, went on the world news channels trying to justify their crimes, as if the Jews were the victims.

And I wasn't surprised that the "international community" huffed and puffed but didn't stop the Jews.

The Jews are a special people. They are immune from international law. They exempt from the norms of decent civilised human behaviour. They can commit genocide, ethnic cleansing, torture and apartheid as they please. It is their God given right.

Happy Hanukkah

2008-12-28T22:28:00.004Z

The Jews murder hundreds of Palestinians as retaliation for rocket strikes which didn't kill a single Jew.

Who'd have thought it.

The "international community" cries foul but doesn't do anything.

How very uncharacteristic.

The US vetoes a UN resolution calling on the Jews to stop there barbaric aggression.

They've never done that before.

A Happy Hanukkah to the Palestinians from the Jews.

Sole Survivor

2008-12-15T21:09:00.003Z

It all makes sense now.

The intelligent designer, clearly distracted by the invention of the bikini, gave Dubya an extra helping of the reflex genes instead of the intelligence gene.

Open Verdict

2008-12-13T15:28:00.005Z

The coroner may have prevented the Jean Charles de Menezes inquest jury from delivering the true verdict. But the answers provided by the jury to the following twelve specific questions tells us what verdict they really wanted to deliver:

1. "Did firearms officer C12 shout armed police?"
ANSWER: NO

2. "Did Mr de Menezes stand up from his seat before he was grabbed in a bear hug by officer Ivor?"
ANSWER: YES

3. "Did Mr de Menezes move towards C12 before he was grabbed in a bear hug by Ivor?"
ANSWER: NO

Contributing Factors

4. "The pressure on police after the suicide attacks in July 2005."
ANSWER: CANNOT DECIDE

5. "A failure to obtain and provide better photographic images of failed bomber Hussain Osman to surveillance officers."
ANSWER: YES

6. The general difficulty in providing identification of the man under surveillance in the time available."
ANSWER: NO

7. "The fact that the views of the surveillance officers regarding identification were not accurately communicated to the command team and firearms officers.
ANSWER: YES

8. "A failure by police to ensure that Mr de Menezes was stopped before he reached public transport."
ANSWER: YES

9. "The innocent behaviour of Mr de Menezes increasing suspicion."
ANSWER: NO

10. "The fact that the position of the cars containing the firearms officers was not accurately known by the command team as firearms teams were approaching Stockwell Tube."
ANSWER: YES

11. "Shortcomings in the communications system between various police teams on the ground."
ANSWER: YES

12. "Failure to conclude at the time that surveillance officers could have been used to carry out the stop on Mr de Menezes at Stockwell."
ANSWER: YES

The death of Jean Charles was not a lawful killing. The actions of the police after the killing is proof.

The police destroyed CCTV footage.
The police leaked reports to the media about Jean Charles' behaviour on that fateful day, such as that he was wearing unusually baggy clothing, that he failed to respond to police challenge before entering Stockwell station and that he jumped over the ticket barrier. All of these reports were proved to be lies.
The Police officers involved were allowed collude in giving their (false) statements.
The police started a smear campaign about Jean Charles, such as that he raped a woman. Again, all of these smears were also proved to be lies.

The death of Jean Charles was unlawful killing. Jean Charles was murdered by the Metropolitan Police.

The apologists for Jean Charles' murder argue that since the police believed that they were confronting a man bent of mass murder they acted correctly. Indeed, if a similar situation were to rise again the police should do the same. I for one cannot accept that.

Has human civilisation reached so far that a person cannot leave their home knowing that they won't be pinned to ground by three burly policemen and shot eight times a point blank range using hollow point bullets? If this is the case then the terrorists have won.

It's The Sun What Done It!

2008-12-01T23:26:00.004Z

What forced heads to finally roll at Haringey Council over the Baby P scandal?

Was it guilt?

Was is government pressure?

Was it the damning inspector's report?

Was it public outrage?

No. It was an even more powerful force: The Sun.

DR Congo: Do Your Bit

2008-11-20T19:33:00.003Z

Over the last decade 6 million people have been killed in the Democratic Republic of Congo in the deadliest conflict since World War 2. And the world didn't bat an eye.

The Second Congo War was greatly exacerbated by most of Congo's neighbours (Rwanda, Uganda, Angola, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Chad, Burundi, Libya, Sudan) invading Congo in order to plunder its vast natural resources.

Now the Rwandans are back. They are murdering, raping, looting, destroying and generally behaving as if they are immune from international law, which they are. This has caused yet another humanitarian catastrophe. You can help.

Click on above image or visit

www.dec.org.uk

Thank you

BNP Membership List

2008-11-19T19:33:00.003Z

A list of 12,000 BNP members was recently published on the internet and this was republished on numerous websites. But threats of legal action by the fascists have forced most websites to remove the lists.

How ironic that the human rights, civil liberties and other laws and regulations aimed at protecting the civilised should now be used to protect these fascist scum. You can be sure that if, God forbid, the fascists ever gained real power the first thing to go won't be the immigrants. The first thing to go would be these same rights and liberties.

Why is it that the public are allowed to know the identity of paedophiles and other sex offenders but we are not allowed to know the identity of fascists? The fascists, in their positions as police officers, teachers, doctors, nurses, prison officers, journalists etc, are able to do as much damage, if not more, as the criminals that the laws allow to be publicly identified.

I have the list. But I will not be posting it on this blog, nor will I post links to websites that still have the list. Blogger have not only removed the lists but they have deleted entire blogs that post the list. Such is the terror caused by the fascists' threats of legal action.

If you want to see the list just search the internet, it's not that difficult. There are still some courageous website hosts out there who are prepared to defy the fascists' threats.

Lest We Forget

2008-11-11T22:27:00.002Z

It is now 90 years since the guns fell silent on the Western Front and World War 1 came to an end.

The are now only a handful of WW1 veterans. Soon they will all be gone and WW1 will just be another chapter in the sordid history of mankind.

We must never forget the sacrifices of a whole generation of people, nor the mistakes that led to the death of nearly 19 million people.

We must also never forget the mistakes that followed the end of the war, the mistakes that would eventually lead to World War 2 and most of the wars that have followed: the peace treaties.

Redemption

2008-11-05T21:25:00.005Z

"A new dawn has broken, hasn't it?", to borrow a phrase from a liar.

Historic is an overused word but surely the 4th November 2008 will go down in history.

America has not only redeemed itself for the last eight years but it has finally ended the schizophrenia that has haunted it since independence: calling itself the land of liberty and yet enslaving / discriminating against one section of its population simply because of the colour of their skin.

The world's reaction to Obama's success shows just how much respect America lost in the past eight years.

This is not the end. That hard work is just beginning: recession, two wars and climate change. Obama will make mistakes. And he won't achieve all that he promised. No politician does. But he can't be worse than his predecessor.

Judgement Day

2008-11-04T00:00:00.003Z

Today has finally arrived. After what seems like years of campaigning judgement will be passed.

Nearly 150 million Americans will pass judgement on the two candidates. But perhaps more importantly, the World will pass judgement on America.

Has America learnt from the last eight years?
Has it learnt from its mistakes in 2000 and 2004?
Does it truly want change?
Or, in the privacy of the voting booth, will it revert to it's prejudiced, ignorant, paranoid form?

Nothing is certain until the Republican Supreme Court has passed its judgement.

Aunty Bashing

2008-10-30T22:12:00.007Z

The saga over the Russell Brand-Jonathan Ross prank callgate is another example of Aunty bashing by the reactionary press.

The show was broadcast on 18 October. Between then and 26 October, when the Mail on Sunday published its rant, there were just two complaints. Now there have been 30,000 complaints.

The Mail, and most of its readers, have a pathological hatred of the BBC. They are just using this as an excuse to give the BBC a good kicking.

The show was childish and not funny. Brand and Ross should have been sacked. As should all the editorial staff who listened to this recorded show and thought it was appropriate to broadcast. That should have been the end of it.

But the press have whipped this story into a storm, forcing senior people in the BBC to resign unnecessarily. The story has been all over the papers for days. It is the top item on the news. It has been greater prominence than the recession or the humanitarian disaster in DR Congo.

This has all the hallmarks of the Hutton Report after which Greg Dyke, the then director general of the BBC, was forced to resign even though it was the Bliar government that had fabricated a pack of lies to excuse the invasion of Iraq, not the BBC.

Schadenfreude

2008-10-29T20:02:00.002Z

Here's something that will give you a warm glow inside.

Hedgefunds that had bet on Volkswagen shares falling lost $30 billion when the shares actually rose by 350% in two days.

It's wrong to take pleasure from the misfortunes of others. But, then again, isn't that what hedgefunds do?