[Murderoch] Bloody Foreigners!

Interesting debate today over repatriation of foreign nationals who are suspected terrorists. Reading Blairs response to one question, I found an example of the mindset that the Prime Minister and many Sun readers have:

“We have many people, I think almost 40, who are foreign nationals who are accused of terrorist offenses or of plotting or inciting terrorism and their cases are going through the court. The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right to say that we have got to make sure that those court cases are successful.”

I am assuming a successful verdict means those who are judged guilty are guilty and those who are innocent, are judged innocent? I am glad that the Prime Minister is backing the court process and committed to seeing that real justice is served. I also hope that this means any of those foreign nationals discovered to be innocent are freed and given compensation.

Speaking of foreigners, who the hell does this Australian think he is? Has Rupert Murdoch now been elected to represent the views of the British public? What gives him the right and the audacity to dictate to our politicians and influence our politics, when he is not even a citizen or resident of our country?!

Are our politicians so blind as not see that Murdoch is holding our government to ransom?! I say let him withdraw his funding for the corrupt New Labour project, and ban him from donating to any other political party for that matter!

Let’s deport this illegal immigrant and his hate literature now!

Tags: Dark Side of the Light Christian Satire

[Minitruth] Gitmo Detainees – Happy to Hang!

Are we to believe the doctors verdict that they ‘showed no sign of being depressed’? Locked up indefinitely and tortured, not being granted a fair trial? Yeah, wouldn’t faze me either…Taken from the Independent:

The three detainees – two Saudis and a Yemeni – were given psychological tests as a formality because they had recently participated in a hunger strike, including one who refused meals for 180 days. The military said they were found hanging in their cells from nooses fashioned from bed sheets.

After the suicides, Admiral Harry Harris, the commander of the detention operation, called the deaths an act of “asymmetrical warfare” against the US military. “If you ask my opinion, I agree with the admiral that this was somewhat of a political statement,” the doctor told reporters visiting the US naval base.

I just love how any form of dissent, or just sheer desperation is labeled as “asymmetrical warfare”. If we applied this logic consistently then these people are also guilty of asymmetrical warfare and so should be treated as (suspected) enemy combatants:

Asymmetrical warfare against Derby Council
Asymmetrical warfare against Croydon Council
Asymmetrical warfare against bin men
Asymmetrical warfare against Portugal
Asymmetrical warfare against a train

Back in April I blogged on the witch hunt taking place in America and the UK. I cannot think of a more trenchant example as Admiral Harris’s statement. This War Against Terror that they have been feeding us for so long is about whipping up fear and paranoia. But I believe the American government used this to their advantage. It is already a know fact that Bush wanted to test American military power and attack Iraq long before 9/11. After 9/11 the administration milked it all they could, constantly re-affirming how the world had changed and how we were all now part of The War Against Terror.

He suggested that American guards might have noticed the detainees sooner had the prison not been following International Red Cross recommendations, including how dark their cells should be at night. “If we did everything the Red Cross wanted, there would be very little that we could do to keep detainees alive short of putting them in a strait-jacket,” he said.”Every time we give them something to make their lives easier, they use it against us by trying to harm themselves.” Since the deaths, the military is guarding against future suicides by only giving out bed sheets and blankets during sleeping hours and monitoring detainees in their cells every three minutes.

It’s nice to see they are showing concern for these human beings whilst conducting interviews. It’s that pesky Red Cross again, always interfering and making our job of conducting TWAT difficult. How unreasonable is that, after going to all the trouble to detain these people against international law or any rights, they attack us by harming themselves?

Here’s a tip: You want to make their lives easier? GIVE THEM A FAIR TRIAL. Judge them guilty or release them!

Any detainee thought to be a suicide risk is now placed in a restraining, green anti-suicide smock for 72 hours and given a psychological exam, he said.

Oh yeah that’s going to work… will it be the same doctor? “No signs of depression here, he can be taken off suicide watch”.

The doctor said there have been no suicide attempts since the deaths on 10 June, but there have been several incidents of detainees harming themselves, such as putting themselves with paint chips or beating their heads against walls.

What, they’re not thankful for being there after all the care and attention being given to them? Some people just don’t get it.

Tags: Dark Side of the Light Christian Satire

[Jobspam] No CV? No Problem for Total Jobs

Total Jobs are definitely worth their salt. Yesterday I joined as a member but didn’t have time to edit and post my CV (resume). But that minor detail didn’t present any problems to Total Jobs, who got to work straight away to find me new opportunities (my emphasis added)…

[PR Exercise] Patron Saint of Sport

Tony Blairs pledge to become a patron of a London Community Sports club is near its deadline.

At the time of this post he has 48 people signed up, 3 of which also signed up for a pledge to form a human chain around Westminster no protest zone (currently 1028 of 6000 signed up). Perhaps Tony will consider joining that pledge instead?

Interest seems to have plateaued now, possibly due to speculation that it’s merely a PR exercise. but some of the pre-(local) election comments are hilarious:

“…the track record for sticking to pledges, even ones made in manifestos, isn’t that great for Tony is it?” Duncan Drury at 12:33, Wednesday 5 April.

“I plan to honour my pledge by building a website for the club and promoting them heavily via grass-roots PR. I am open to approaches from any club involved in any kind of sport, but they must be willing to understand that we will be playing a new game with new rules; my rules. I would require my adopted team to wear orange jumpsuits as their uniform *and* play while wearing iron shackles on their legs and bags over their heads. The training programme will be rigorous… it will push local, national and international laws to their limits and – when nobody’s looking – it will go way beyond these petty constraints. Of course, officially, all training will be by the book. For example… no-one will actually drown as a result; they will merely enjoy the repeated sensation of drowning…” Tim Ireland at 00:26, Thursday 6 April.

“Yes, I would rather the PM didn’t bother, because if I were a member of a sport club that he became a patron of, I would leave it, and the same goes for Livingstone and Jowell” Sam Hayes at 23:21, Wednesday 5 April.

Tags: Dark Side of the Light Christian Satire

[Blogidarity] More Offerings

It’s that time again where I offer up some new blog-links, and give some respect to the ones I’m already linking, whom I haven’t mentioned already. Without further ado:

Guido Fawkes Blog – The witty diatribe of the main political parties. Written, as far as I know, by an parliamentary insider. Not sure which party he belongs to though.

The Bearded Man – A thought provoking, revealing and authoritative commentary provided by someone who has lived and worked in Zimbabwe. Knowing only what we hear in the British and International press, it’s great to read something from someone who has lived there and knows exactly what is happening.

The Cranky Insomniac – A US Army veteran who is kept up at night by thoughts of politics, military affairs, religion, culture amongst other hot topics. In honesty, I haven’t had a chance to read Cranky yet but he seems to have some fairly good observations.

Sharper Iron – Some good articles written by a Christian in order to discuss “news and ideas from a Christian, Biblical, Fundamentalist worldview“. It’s pretty positive, wanting to avoid the typical fundamentalist narrow mindset and merely edify Christ.

Chase Me Ladies, I’m In The Cavalry – Very, very funny, not to be missed!

Nick Robinson’s Newslog – OK, so he works for the BBC, but this guy is a god when it comes to TV political news reporting. Sorry.

BarrenAlbion – Pregnancy and IVF treatment might not be up everyone’s street, but this girl manages present it in a humourous way. So I make Albion the exception to the rule, and I’m glad that I blog anonymously.

Universal Soldier – Intelligent memoirs from a serving British soldier half way through his army career. He does some pretty awesome stuff with his own images, and offers some good insights into a soldiers life.

[False Choice] Justice or Mercy?

Mercy is not the opposite of justice, in fact, it can be argued that mercy compels us to fight for justice.

There is a false truth being propagated in the Church today, you may have heard it already.

I don’t know the exact source this has come from but it goes that people tend to fall into one of 2 categories: Justice (Judgment) or Mercy. Whichever side of the line you fall will influence your decisions and interactions with people.

I would go so far to say this is a lie and it has come from the enemy. For a start, God through Jesus is the only judge, he repeatedly reminds us in his word:

“For we know him who said, “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” and again, “The Lord will judge his people.” – Hebrews 10:30 NIV

Secondly, mercy is not the opposite of justice, in fact, it can be argued that mercy compels us to fight for justice. In fact Jesus repeatedly reminds us not to judge, in the word:

“Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.” – Luke 6:36-37 NIV

and

“…because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment!” – James 2:13 NIV

Tags: Abandon All Fear Justice or Mercy Judgement Bible Church

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