[Response] Barack v Bliar

Cecileaux responded to my previous post on Obama on his blog:

As for the many Clintonites in the new administration, the folks who in the past gave us no health reform, a regressive and pauperizing diminishment of public aid, without any real checks on corporate power, I am glad that they are ultimately not in charge. Obama appears to be unusually his own man.

An eloquent orator, he’s also aware of the dire need to lower expectations, which is my explanation for his relatively flat inaugural speech. In sum, I see Obama as a very cool and controlled individual with a few very clear goals in mind who is a virtuoso in the art of persuasion and leadership.

So I thought I’d respond further.

I eye Obama cautiously. Whilst I was overjoyed he won, and am glad he is now President, I am careful not to put too much expectation on the man – for he is human after all and therefore he will, at some point let us down – as all human beings do.

That isn’t to say he can’t achieve great things – time will tell. Hopefully he will not turn out to be a Bliar – but Bliar was greeted with much the same adulation and praise 12 years ago.

Bliar was seen as being young, idealistitc, being in touch with the people and as a positive change from the old ways.

Bliar was anti-nuclear – a member of the CND, but left his term calling for more nuclear power. Just as Bush was dead against interfering in foreign nations.

It leads me to consider that there are those who get elected and there are those who pull the strings. If Obama is genuine in his pursuit of change, and getting his agenda, then it is doubtless he will come up against these puppet masters and strong unseen opposition in the medium to long term. I expect assassination attempts – and not by white supremacists though they would make a fitting scapegoat.

obama, president, america, tony bliar, bush, cnd, assasination, scapegoats, hypocrisy, corruption

Powered by ScribeFire.

[Unconstitutional Alliance] – Where does the Rule of Law come in?

I’m having a state-the-obvious day, because (for want of another reason), not many people seem to be seeing things as they are.

I hold these points to be self evident:

1. The UK has a constitution.

2. The constitution is uncodified but partially written.

3. One of the sources of the constitution is the rule of law.

4. Hence, the government is bound by the laws of the land.

These are pretty simple, fundamental points. The thing is, the rule of law would not allow the wilful suppression of evidence relating to a torture case. So why does Miliband continue to pass off the UK’s spineless response to the USA’s strongarm tactics in the name of ‘national security’? Suppressing evidence is against the rule of law. The relationship between America and Britain enforces the suppression of evidence. Hence, the alliance is (on this front) unconstitutional.

As Crispin Black comments in the Independent on Sunday, the problem stems from the USA’s unilateral foreign policy. We can have a ‘special relationship’ with their government, as long as we don’t step out of line. “There is little cost/benefit analysis of our relationship with the Americans. And absolutely none about the intelligence relationship… We persist in an ‘intelligence cringe’ – the Americans know more, the Americans know better. Well, they did not know what was going on in Iraq… Quite why we should think they understand what is going on any else better than we do remains a mystery.”

In the words of Shami Chakrabarti, “Despite best efforts to shine a light on the grubbiest aspects of the ‘war on terror’, the Foreign Office has claimed that the Obama administration maintained a previous US threat to reconsider intelligence sharing unless our judges kept this shameful skeleton in the closet. We find this Foreign Office allegation … surprising.”

The bottom line is that by withholding evidence, both sides are implicit in torture, regardless of whether they were before (and I’m pretty sure they were). Yet another nail in the coffin of the War of on Terror that will no doubt have no effect.

[Believable] Birmingham Airport Security Shennanigans

This Post Is Rated: C for Controversial. Interesting results of an investigation into airport security by ITV’s Tonight programme.

ITV sent an undercover reporter into Birmingham airport to reveal serious screw ups lapses in airport security. Video can be seen here.

“Undercover filming showed bag checkers reading newspapers and other workers fast asleep”

Regular readers of this blog should not be surprised, as I highlighted their incompetence last year:

“So even though my wife was denied access, she was allowed through anyway, so much for protecting the country from the marriage bomb. Even better was the ‘escorted’ deportation. We walked up to the check-in, surprised and confused the lady. Mrs Fear made a point of collecting her air-miles, and then we were free to wander around departures with no problems whatsoever. Only when Mrs fear got to the departure gate, that a flustered immigration orificer came out with her passport, handed it back and walked off. Again, no escort, no handcuffs, no checks.

She walked through the gate and another immigration orificer, she handed him her passport. He then looked at her and stated “We were looking all over for you… Do you have your passport?”
“Yes,” she responded, “…you’re holding it.”
“Where is it?”
“You… are… holding… it” – An Immigration Problem Part 2

I would now like to see them investigate the employment of college age chavs on work experience at Heathrow.

[Up The Irons] Holy Smoke

Believe in me, send no money
I died on the cross, and that ain’t funny
But my so called friends, they’re making me a joke
They missed out what I said, like I never spoke
They choose what they wanna hear, they don’t tell a lie
They just leave out the truth as they’re watching you die
They’re saving your souls by taking your money
Flies around shit bees around honey

Holy smoke holy smoke
There’s plenty bad preachers for the devil to stoke
Feed ’em in feet first this is no joke
This is thirsty work making holy smoke, yeah
Making holy smoke

Jimmy reptile and all his friends
Say they gonna be with you at the end
Burning records, burning books
Holy soldiers, nazi looks
Crocodile smiles just wait a while
Till the tv queen gets her make-up clean
I’ve lived in filth
I’ve lived in sin and I still smell cleaner than the shit you’re in

Holy smoke
Smells good

They ain’t religious but they ain’t no fools
When Noah built his cadillac it was cool
Two by two they’re still going down
And the satellite circus just left town
I think they’re strange and when they’re dead
They can have a lincoln for their bed
Friend of the president trick of the tail
Now they ain’t got a prayer 100 years in jail

Lyrics: Iron Maiden

[Attack Blog] Moment of Truth

I’m interested in getting an opinion from what little readership I have. What do you think…

Is this blog an attack blog?

Doubtless, I have a strong opinion and I’m pretty much no holds barred. In subject terms, I like to think there is no place that is too sacred to go. However, my line of “attack” is not focused on one particular church or group, I see hypocrisy and foolishness in all elements of society- even though the specific purpose of this blog is to highlight mainly religious ones.

Neither do I blog out of bitterness, though you may be mistaken. It’s more of a desire to point out and address things which seem wrong, hypocritical or show ulterior motives.

What is the nature of attack blogs, what makes a blog an ‘attack blog’?

[Profiteering] Road Safety Statistics

icWales 23 March 2007 – 13 Year Backlog to Repair Poor Welsh Roads.

“The maintenance backlog for local authority roads in Wales is estimated to take 12.9 years and each county council here has a maintenance budget shortfall of £4.1m.”

icWales 22 March 2007 – North-South Devide for Speed Camera Cash

“The Treasury will provide a fixed grant to each camera partnership, with Wales’ money, totalling £8.5m, channelled through the Welsh Assembly Government.”

DriveTime 24 March 2007 – Poor Maintenance Threatens Road Safety

English authorities receive just 40% of the budget they need to spend on local roads.
Welsh authorities fare even worse, receiving only 28% of the budget they require – just £1 per metre a year is spent on roads in Wales in comparison to £2 in the rest of England and six in London.

[Pharisees] Hypocracy Is Still Hypocracy

Disclaimer: I’m all for anyone resisting state interference and attempts to capture our data, this post is about religiosity.

I know this will be an unpopular opinion, but I find the faith of the Mennonites to be fraud. Yes, they may seem eccentric and are not doing any harm to anyone, but what example are they setting to the world?

MSNBC reports that Missouri Mennonites are planning to move out of the state because a new law forces them to have a photo ID on their driving licenses:

“The Mennonites, a plain-living sect whose members are similar to the Amish, but usually more worldly, say the 2004 law conflicts with the Biblical prohibition against the making of ‘graven images’. – MSNBC, Mennonites plan to move over Photo ID’s

Last time I checked, a graven image was an image or object made specifically for worship, but how many people do you know worship their own photo ID on their passport? Most people I know are practically embarrassed of their photo ID and try to keep it hidden- not exactly an image of worship is it?

But there’s something more that bothers me about the Mennonites, Amish (though I have great respect for the Amish in their demonstration of their faith) and all other similar followings- and that’s the association of their Christian faith with the following of religious rituals. Something that Christ himself came to free us from.

I have no problem with alternative lifestyles, or the communities in themselves, but when you begin to use scripture to justify this type of lifestyle. To me it’s old covenant, and it is betraying Jesus’s message which was to go into all the world and preach the gospel- not form communities and shun the world.

What’s they are tying a noose around their own neck. If you are going to follow rules, one of those rules is not to lead others into breaking them. Why then are photographs not righteous enough for the Mennonites, but ok for those around them- are they not simply getting someone else to do their dirty work?

“Kropf said he is looking to sell his store. He said if he cannot find a buyer, he will stay in Missouri but rely on someone else to bring in his supplies, because he will not be able to hold a driver’s license without agreeing to a photo.”

“And in Pennsylvania, a state law requiring photo identification to purchase guns has prompted many Amish who hunt to hire non-Amish neighbors to buy guns for them, according to Kraybill.”

So is it a sin, or not a sin? Is it a religious requirement, or not? It seems even those who have shunned the modern world, still rely on it for certain necessary evils.

[Pharisees] Stones… Houses… Glass… Anyone?

Fixed News making a break from the usual right-wing propaganda to report on recent operations of another pharisee.

Shattered glass lay everywhere, evidence of a major stone-throwing had taken place.

Referrer: Ian Dale

[Anti-Terrorists] Government Representation

Have you ever heard of a government that represents and considers the welfare of it’s people?

[Churchianity] The Purpose Driven Fisherman

Is a person a fisherman if year after year he never catches any fish?

Now it came to pass that a group existed who called themselves fishermen. And lo, there were many fish in the waters all around. In fact, the whole area was surrounded by streams and lakes filled with fish. And the fish were hungry.

Week after week, month after month, and year after year these men, who called themselves fishermen, met in meetings and talked about their call to fish, the abundance of fish, and how they might go about fishing. Year after year they carefully defined what fishing meant, defended fishing as an occupation, and declared that fishing is always to be a primary task of fishermen.