A Tangled Web: October 2004

>> 31 Oct 2004

Important Notice

I'm about to set off for a conference in London and won't be back until tomorrow. Don't forget that from tomorrow, A Tangled Web moves to our new site:

http://atangledweb.typepad.com

Happy blogging!

Premature Multiplication

When Bobby Darin sang his 1962 song, 'Multiplication' - a tuneful ditty about progeny, I'm sure he didn't imagine children, who were until recently still convinced about the existence of Santa Claus, participating in sexual acts. Today, 42 years on, we live in a society where the amount of unwanted teenage pregnancies coupled with ever-more premature sexual experimentations is nothing other than abhorrent.

On Friday, I read the story about two Blackpool sisters - one 14 and one 15 - who were literally in a race to conceive a child. When the younger of the two became the first 'success story', it generated fits of depression in her elder sibling. As usual, the parents were Fred and Wilma Flintstone look-alikes with adipose midriffs, copious amounts of jewellery, the inability to string two words together and probably possessing IQ's of the same numerics as Toulouse-Lautrec's inside leg measurements. When interviewed for a news article, the mother looked balefully at the camera, saying: 'Well, what can ya do?' A response which caused me to yell at the television: 'What about a bloody good hiding, for starters?'

Human beings have had the same urges at the same ages since the dawn of time. That's only natural. What is different about modern times is the persistently irksome stance taken by the liberal elite that somehow underaged teen sexual habits are something to be contained or encouraged safely, rather than opposed with far tougher penalties. Consequently, we have to read about acts of stupidity such as this, with guaranteed outcomes of more misery for the sexually obsessed numbskulls involved. I appreciate the stance of the Scottish Catholic Church on this matter. I suspect it would be too much to ask for similar condemnation from Anglican liberals.

There May Be Trouble Ahead

According the to Provisional IRA's favourite Sunday read, Fianna Fail (Sinn Fein/IRA without the weapons) is set to allow membership for people resident in Northern Ireland. It could set the scene for the foray of Southern nationalism into British politics - either through a Faustian pact with the SDLP, or as a supplanting party structure.

If precedent is anything to go by, I shouldn't be all that concerned. Look at how the secondment regulations for Southern participation in the PSNI were hailed as an advancement towards the jaundiced Utopia of all-Ireland interlocking institutional structures. To-date, 24 citizens from the Republic serve in a force of 7,000 strong. Hardly ground-breaking is it?

Northern nationalists have decided to choose murderers and fascists for their political representatives. I honestly cannot see how the encroachment of Bertie's disciples will seriously affect the situation. A party operating within the boundaries of the United Kingdom will gradually becomes accustomed to British-oriented politics unless, of course, Fianna Fail chooses to leech the Queen's shilling whilst boycotting Westminster. In that case, the Mother of Parliaments would be spared the putrescence of both strands of Irish nationalism. Ah bliss!!!

However, there was one sentence in the article which triggered severe annoyance on my part. It was a suggestion from some Fianna Fail nobody about the temporary existence of Northern Ireland!! '"If Northern Ireland is a transitional arrangement, then the SDLP must be a transitional party," said one party member this weekend." ' What is it with idiots like this? Did the Irish so enjoy their last civil war that they wish to engender the conditions for a fresh one!? If 'The Republican Party' is going to stick its hooter in Ulster's politics with views like the above, it's preparing its membership for possibly more trouble than they can handle.

A BILLION REASONS WHY ARAFAT IS CORRUPT.

The Times has a good article here on just how corrupt Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat, is. Apparently he has a cool One Billion dollars salted away for his modest retirement. It is the fate of this loot which prompted his wife to swiftly return from Paris to visit her ailing husband. It's just like Love Story isn't it - and weren't the BBC journalists covering the tale touched by it all?

VIDEO BECOMES WAR BY OTHER MEANS.

The Taliban scumbags that kidnapped Annetta Flanigan, along with two other UN workers in Kabul last week, have released a video on Al Jazeera TV (the terrorists broadcaster of choice) demanding the usual Jihadi nonsense (release all terrorists, empty Guantanamo Bay, etc). This should be treated with contempt.

All around the world the Jihadi i have all cottoned on to the propaganda value of these video's. They saw the UK media become hysterical over the Bigley videos', and they reckon that the release of a well scripted hostage video has now become war by other means. That is why I believe this video's should NOT be given the sort of wall to wall coverage that is afforded them - until that happens more unfortunate people (EVEN those with Irish passports) will be seen as high value hostage material. Margaret Hassan and Annetta Flanigan are paying the price for the liberal media's crusade against Bush.

IT'S ARMAGEDDON TIME.

Victor Davis Hanson sums it all up here...this is a key passge;

"When the Islamists behead a tearful Englishman or American, it is more likely that his surviving dad or sibling back home will be on television all over the Middle East within minutes damning Tony Blair or George Bush, without a word of censure for the Dark-Age head-loppers. After all, we are not Nepalese who storm the local mosque and put the fear of God into Islamists when they butcher our own. We are more likely to be frightened, turn on ourselves, and condemn some American somewhere who cannot stop "this."

But cannot our self-induced forbearance vanish as soon as we decide enough is enough? Should the American government ignore the EU hysteria, tell Kofi Annan to worry about his son's crooked shenanigans and not Americans' killing terrorists, and simply take Fallujah — as part of a larger effort to correct the laxity of the past and finish the war — then we would surely win. The fallout would be as salutary as our present restraint is disastrous. Like the murderous Pakistani madrassa zealots who flocked to Tora Bora only to be incinerated, Fallujah would not stand as a mecca for the jihadists, but an Armageddon better to watch on television than die in. "

WHY AMERICANS SHOULD CARE LESS ABOUT EURO-OPINION.

I liked Denis Boyle's take on the old "Why Europeans don't like Bush" argument.

He suggests that "there is a shiny obverse, which is "Why Americans care less and less."

The commonplace observation is that the end of the Cold War means that the Europeans no longer have to rely on the U.S. for protection, so they can be as self-serving and duplicitous as they wish. But what Americans seem to finally be understanding is that what the end of the Cold War really means is that the U.S. no longer has to give a damn about a European "alliance" at all — especially one dominated by French and Germans. The solution to rampant, hysterical, angry anti-Americanism is cold, practical, systematic anti-Europeanism.

Let the European taxpayers pay for the obese bureaucracy of the EU and a military establishment to go with it. Let's charge them double for DVDs and make them wear native costumes. We can go take pictures of them in their quaint poorhouses. Demographically, economically, intellectually, scientifically, and politically, the EU is a dead-end, a goner before two more cicada cycles in Pennsylvania. The persistent cynicism, corruption, and economic stagnation of the eurozone is only the tip of that particular iceberg. The real crunch will come in a decade or two when pension systems begin to collapse and European nations have to save themselves by importing millions of Islamic immigrants. That process cannot be stopped, unless every European is seized with a sudden and urgent need to reproduce like bunnies."

Amen to that Denis - I fully endorse it. Let them choke on their Euros.

NO DRAFTS IN THIS HOUSE!

Donald Rumsfeld spells this out for even liberals....

" We have undertaken a range of initiatives to increase the pool of deployable

troops within the Armed Forces and the quality of life for service members and

their families. The result will be that individual troops will be deployed less

often, for shorter periods of time and with more predictability.

With a professional, all-volunteer force, the U.S. military won the Cold War, liberated Afghanistan and Iraq, and has kept the peace in Asia and Europe. And the all-volunteer force will win the global war on terror."

THE DOCTRINE OF REASONABLE FORCE

By Courthawk.

HERE is an excellent article on burglary and the law by Max Hastings in the Guardian. Court Hawk applauds Max Hastings and his balanced approach to the problem of aggravated burglary and the doctrine of "reasonable force". There will be no need for a free-for-all if the police and the courts do their job. Above all, there is no need for more legislation, just more law and order!

THE SWISS (BANKER) FAMILY ROBINSON.

I was entertained by the media storm that has grown around DUP MP's Peter and Iris Robinson Westminster expenses. Naturally, Peter is outraged by the very idea that one should dare to question the generous expenses that he and his wife have claimed. Perhaps should he ever become First Minister he will ban such impertinent press intrusions? Mmmmm...

Here's what I think. The media, gutless as it is, has EVERY right to examine EVERY aspect of any MP's expenses. After all, Peter and Iris must accept that since the tax-payer funds them the tax-payer can expect to have every penny satisfactorily explained away. It would be arrogance incarnate if Mr. Robinson thought otherwise - and that would surely not be the case here - would it?

In my limited experience (limited to what I could bear!) the political class are, ny and large, money-grabbing whores who, be they to the left or right (though that classification is almost irrelevant in Northern reland) love money. When you think about it - what other reason have most of them for being in it?

>> 30 Oct 2004

Paddy versus Sam

Every year around the time of St Patrick's Day I avoid the news as much as possible. I simply can't stand the mass vacation of Irish politicos to America for a wild Saturnalian Mardi gras at the White House. Pseudo-Irish shmucks the length of Uncle Sam consume copious quantities of green-coloured beer, sing 'The Wild Rover' out of tune and march down public thoroughfares brandishing the Tricolour. How revolting!!!

To put 'Irish America' into context, there were approximately 36 million who identified Irish ancestry at the last US Census (not the 40 - 44 million figure so beloved of Irish hacks). When broken down into Protestant or Catholic ancestry, the former is clearly the larger 'community' - around 21 million in total. That means that only 15 million Americans claim Irish Catholic decent (a measly 5.2% of the total population. Thus, all the nonsense about the exceptionally close ties between Ireland and America is just that - nonsense.

Where Europe is concerned, the USA has one relationship first and foremost (albeit one whose primary consideration lies in geopolitical cooperation as opposed to sentimental attachment): that with the United Kingdom. I wonder how many Americans would throw themselves into a fit of wild abandon every March if they were aware of just how much anti-American opinion there was in deal old 'Oireland'. Richard Delevan and Gemma O'Doherty both have excellent pieces on the state of Irish disdain for the United States.

In Delevan's article, he makes a comparison between the essential Left-wing ethos of the broad Irish media, and how their irrational dislike of Bush has manifested itself in the psyche of the Irish population. For my part, I think some of the dislike could even come down to Bush's black and white stance on terror. After all, few countries have a greater experience of harbouring and subliminally supporting terrorism than the Paddies (as we in the United Kingdom well know!!). Delevan concludes his piece by considering leaving the Emerald Isle permanently.

O'Doherty's article revolves around the personal experiences of two US citizens resident in the Irish Republic for the last few years. One, a prominent member of the Republicans Abroad, has suffered particularly unpleasant experiences. "We were getting weird calls, some of them threatening, so we had no choice," says Young, an economist from Arkansas whose wife is Irish.

"Out of 20 American business people living here who are members of our group, 12 are leaving Ireland. The most common reason they cite for going is that they are tired of the bashing. They just don't feel comfortable living here and they're not willing to put up with it any more.

"It seems in Ireland you can say whatever you like about Americans these days and get away with it. If you slotted in the words 'black person' instead of 'American', it would be a different story," Young continues.

To our American friends I say- please remember the words of James Young and Stan Korzeniewski before you venture out on ludicrous sessions so closely associated with St Patrick's Day. The Irish are a broader version of Sinn Fein/IRA when it comes to perceiving Uncle Sam. The country serves its purpose in promoting Irish political agendas, but the rest of that time it is broadly despised. American brethren, please wake up and smell the coffee!! Your celebrations pay homage to a nation which collectively dislikes you and your role in the world. Furthermore, it is a nation where terrorism is very much de rigeueur as evidence by the political growth of IRA proxies.

ITALIAN SURRENDER (AGAIN)

Italy's controversial European Commission nominee, Rocco Buttiglione, has said he is standing down as commissioner-designate. "I am ready to stand aside to smooth the way for (the) commission," he said. Nice to see that Italy managed to show resistance for at least a few days - nothing new there!

There is something very rotten in Euroland when a man who espouses Christian values has to "stand down" in order for the EU to go forward.

SO WHAT IS THE ANSWER?

Excellent analysis here on that Bin Laden video speech.

In the end, it's simple. He wants a truce. He wants left alone. Do we grant him his wish or do we blow him and his acolytes to hell? I know what I want - Tuesday will tell us what America wants. I put my confidence in the American people.

NATALIE SOLENT FOR BUSH!

I liked this quote from fellow-British blogger Natalie Solent;

"Consider me a September 12 gal. On September

12 2001 there was no downside for those planning the next terrorist spectacular. You too can humble the Great Satan and win undying glory! Now there is a downside.

And I thank God - literally thank God - that the guy in the White House who started work on making that downside on September 12 2001 was a sunny-tempered frat boy who is President, at least in part, because his Daddy was. Peter Briffa's column said that professional politicians irritate. That's only half the problem. The other half is that they

are all a particular type of person. Bush is close enough to that type to

function but doesn't really belong. I am aware that he can be a ruthless

political operator. (He can pick 'em, too, a useful skill.) But in important respects his values are more normal than is normal in his milieu.

I will go further. I thank God that Bush is a believing Christian who takes seriously the obligation to love his enemies. He didn't limit himself to making a downside for terrorism, necessary though that

was. (Not that most of his opponents would have done it.) Instead he did what idealists claim to want: he set out to tackle the injustice and oppression that are the root causes of terrorism."

Of course, I agree with her!!

BIN LADEN COMES OUT FOR KERRY!

Vote Kerry! That appears to be the subtext to Uncle Ossie's latest broadcast to the United States. Bin Laden, back from the grave apparently, makes it clear that US Foreign policy has to change. Only one candidate standing for the office of President provides that change - John Kerry. So, go ahead and make Bin Laden's day - vote for the Talibanic-endorsed French candidate - you know it makes sense.

THIS IS WHERE THE HOME TRUTH ENDS.

I've been listening to the Radio 4 tribute to John Peel in his "Home Truths" morning slot today. I was touched to discover that one of Peel's favourite songs is also one of mine - "It's Over" by Roy Orbison. I know the lyrics are a tad melodramatic but THAT voice - bittersweet! As the final bars faded, with the last "It's Over" sung, I said a little prayer for Peely. No more to be said.

The Cheek of Ahern

Foreign political interloper, Bertie Ahern, has resorted to the more traditional Irish method of threatening Unionists because, at this moment in time, they refuse to countenance the abomination of the Provisional IRA back in the corridors of Stormont. A concerted effort has been made by the Irish Government in recent time to try to con us into thinking they had actually changed. Alas, at the end of the day, all they seem to seek is the gradual and progression erosion of the Unionist position. Two weeks ago, Ahern made a speech to the republican ill-bred at Bodenstown - assuring them the destruction of the Union was at the heart of all Irish policy towards Ulster. Now, he issues threats about the termination of Stormont, citing the DUP rather than the fascism of republican terror as the principal stumbling block.

'THE Irish and British governments will pull the plug on efforts to create a power-sharing executive in the North unless the DUP agrees to it within the next month, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern warned last night. '

My contacts in the various Unionist parties have assured me that Irish representation is absent during discussions on internal Northern Ireland matters. I know it's unfortunate we have to tolerate the presence of foreign Dubliners in strands two and three, but there is no such Hibernian adulteration of issues surrounding the resurrection of Stormont. How disingenuous of Ahern to pretend otherwise. Mind you, show me an Irish nationalist with honesty and sincerity and I'll show you a miracle. Now comes Ahern's barely-disguised threat:

"If we can't complete this phase, then we'll go for another phase, but it will be on the basis of partnership, there won't be any divergence," he said.

Bertie, do yourself a favour. Don't use fulminating terms your benighted country hasn't the political clout, the military wherewithal or the financial muscle to make a reality. 'Partnership' implies an equality of input - joint authority. It ain't gonna happen. You know it, I know it!! Don't instil false hopes into the addled brains of northern separatists by pretending it's just around the corner. If you want to threaten the end of devolution, go ahead. Most Unionists wouldn't shed any tears over its demise. However, don't predict what you are incapable of delivering.

Daylight Saving

This is a reminder to all ATW fans in the UK and the Irish Republic that Summer Time ends tomorrow morning at 2am. Remember to put your clocks BACK one hour.

Saturday's Marx Quote - 30.10.04

'Ever since they found out that Lassie was a boy, the public has believed the worst about Hollywood. '

>> 29 Oct 2004

Straw in the Wind

Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw has promised Britain's voters the opportunity to vote on the EU Constitution signed today in Rome by our esteemed autocrat, Tony Blair.

Please forgive me if I don't jump for joy around the room or shout my expostulations of exaltation across the moors. I remain more than a tad sceptical about the intentions this nefarious crowd will use to try to browbeat the electorate into endorsing a document that, whatever propagandistic gloss is put over to the people, the supposedly nebulous powers incorporated into this constitution are actually anything but!

A fundamental difference between previous treaties (however objectionable they were) and the new constitution lies in the long-term ramifications for the ability of Parliament to remain the identifiable sovereign body for the United Kingdom. Independence of sovereign integrity is sacred to all nations. When Germany violated Belgium's independence in 1914, it helped to precipitate the First World War. When the EOKA movement and the machinations of Makarios in Cyprus undermined the tripartite agreement guaranteeing the status of the island as an independent entity, it brought about the Turkish invasion of 1974. In most parts of the world the moves towards cooperative coalescence mean a closer degree of collaboration in areas such as trade and the environment; they do not mean the progressive encroachment of pan-national inteference into sacred tenets of sovereignty. The European Union is the exception, and an exception increasingly rejected by the peoples over which it is supposed to rule.

Let the British nation beware. If the government tries to manipulate the electorate with comparable thinly-veiled threats and lies employed in the vote on the Belfast Agreement, we will be in for a hard struggle. Nonetheless, I possess considerable faith in my fellow Britons to reject this document when they are presented with the opportunity to do so.

Feeney Watch - 29.10.04

I thought Bigoted Bri had gone off the boil so to speak on the last couple of occasions. Still, he's back with a vengeance this week. Just when I suspected his penchant for obnoxiousness and vacuous argument had taken a tumble, he has managed to re-kindle my faith in his mordant journalism.

His most recent submission to the separatists' little green book is a re-hash of the 'victory through demography' argument resurrected with ridiculous frequency throughout the 1990's. I remember BB being at the vanguard of the 'Catholic fecundity' school of thought. Of course, when the census figures demonstrably refuted the prospect of significant populations changes, I expected BB's cavernous gob to fall silent on the issue. But no, he re-visits what must surely now be a rather tiresome discourse - this time as a consequence of proposed changes to local government in Ulster. As his submission thoroughly warrants a blow-by-blow rebuttal, it's exactly what I'm going to provide.

'UTV managed to get its hands on the most plausible proposals, not only for the number of councils but also for new boundaries: Belfast and Derry with five others.

A helluva drop from 26, but long overdue.

The only reason for 26 was because originally the Unionists had established 73 – honestly – to ensure they had an iron grip on every parish pump in the north. The other reason for the ridiculous number was to create the impression that the north was a state requiring a vast system of local infrastructure, whereas of course it's smaller than Greater Manchester with fewer people than Manchester itself. '

First off, the proposed changes to Belfast City Council would not involve leaving the ridiculously gerrymandered boundaries which exist at present. Most of the Protestant hinterlands of the city's suburbs are trapped inside Newtownabbey and Castlereagh district councils; a situation almost certain to change if the number of local authorities are reduced. This bullshit about Belfast being a nationalist city has done the rounds that bit too often over the years. The current city boundaries are laughable, a throwback to the early 20th Century when they came into existence. If BB wants to discuss 'gerrymandering' maybe he should start with a tangible example, instead of resorting to legend.

Secondly, Greater Manchester ceased to exist as a metropolitan county under the local government changes of 1986. It formally lost its county status under a similar Act which brought in unitary authorities ten years later. Manchester (the city) suffers from the same restrictive boundaries as its British cousin across the North Channel. The administrative city boundaries contain a population of approximately 480,000. The suburbs (Irlam, Prestwich, Sale, Urmston, etc.) add around 200,000 more. I know maths was never my strong point, but 680,000 is considerably less than the 1,700,000 now residing in Northern Ireland.

'The fact that only one Unionist MP is based west of the Bann reveals the stark reality that there is a clear Unionist majority in only two counties of the six.'

Antrim and Down do indeed have strong Unionist majorities. They also contain 2/3 of Northern Ireland's population. Londonderry county (excluding the city) has a Unionist majority, and Co. Armagh is approximately 50/50. If only two counties have a CLEAR Unionist majority, it's also safe to presume that only two counties have a CLEAR Catholic (not necessarily 'nationalist') majority.

'Boundaries are one thing, but there has to be legislation which will force Unionists to behave themselves in the small number of councils they can still disgrace, a law to require all councils to use the d'Hondt system to elect leaders and committee chairs.'

Bigoted Bri's 'Big Bad Unionist' line is an absolute hoot!! As if nationalist-dominated councils are not up the their eyeballs in chicanery!! Unionist areas in Londonderry have been starved of investment whilst their inhabitants have had their noses rubbed in the trough of nationalist hubris by the shameful attempts to change the city's official name. Unionists have not occupied the Chair or Vice Chair on Strabane District Council for eight years; and in Down, no DUP councillors have ever held the position of Chair or Vice Chair. By contrast, SDLP members have held mayoralties in both Coleraine and Lisburn.

What is especially amusing is the sight of nationalists becoming ever-more frustrated at the lack of Unionist acquiescence to their never ending self-indulgence and sense of victimhood. If it doesn't manifest itself in historical inaccuracies and community stereotyping, it raises its ugly head in the calls for joint sovereignty. The biggest boon of all for Unionists is the sheer impracticality and unworkability of joint authority coupled with the death of the Belfast Agreement in its current configuration. No degree of petty codswallop from BB can alter those realities.

SIR REG SAYS SOMETHING SENSIBLE!

Sir Reg Empey, that most urbane of Ulster Unionists, has said something sensible! Yes - this is the big story of the day folks.

"With the people facing a tidal wave of increased charges for rates and water, and with very little improvement in hospital waiting lists, I do not see how the democratic and financial costs of Stormont can continue to be borne much longer.I want Stormont to work, but equally, if the opportunity is not going to be seized now and acts of completion delivered, then it might be in all our interests to wind things up now before more damage is done. At least that way we might have a chance of a restoration in the future."

Good idea. Let's also dismiss the MLA's and save a fortune. Taxcuts all round.

WHERE'S THE KERRY APOLOGY?

A U.S. Army officer came forward today and said a team from the 3rd Infantry Division took about 200 tons of explosives from the Al-Qaqaa munitions base soon after Saddam Hussein's regime fell last year. Major Austin Pearson appeared at a Pentagon news conference to say it was his mission to go the facility and clear explosives from the base. He said he did not discover that the International Atomic Energy Agency had reported 377 tons of explosives were missing until Tuesday night and he said he promptly contacted military officials.

So, the question is, why did Kerry "rush to judgement without waiting for the military to offer their side of the story? Is this the sort of man to sit in the Oval Office - a man with such little confidence in the US Army. Time to apologise now Senator Jean Francois?

DESTROYING THE POINT OF EDUCATION.

I note that the Government is planning to bring in a new system of variable university tuition fees in Northern Ireland to match the scheme already announced for England. Barry Gardiner MP, minister for Employment and Learning, plans to let universities charge up to £3,000 per year, instead of the current £1,150.

This is a scandal. It's not JUST the money, though I think that is bad enough, it's the way in which Labour is going to make damn sure that kids from working-class backgrounds are going to really struggle o get a university education. Massive debts, dumbed down degrees, this is the age of the Philistine. The wanton destruction of our education system by political imbeciles makes me want to WEEP!

A TANGLED WEB - ANNOUNCEMENT.

This is to advise everyone that A TANGLED WEB will be moving onto a new platform next week - probably November 2nd/3rd. This will enable the site to provide readers with much more than this current blogger platform does. I will provide full details shortly and hope you will find the new site more enjoyable! We're on the move - upwards, and rightwards!!!

THE EURO TYRANNY COMETH...

Today, that nice Mr. Blair flies out to Rome to sign this United Kingdom up to the European Constitution. The constitutional treaty will be signed in the Campidoglio, Rome’s spectacular town hall designed by Michelangelo, where the Treaty of Rome, which first set the EU in motion, was signed in 1957. Make no mistake, this is a momentous day. This is a launching pad designed to elevate the power hungry European Union way above the nation state. It is a tyranny in motion - since no country has voted for the constitutional treaty that these "Leaders" are arrogantly signing up to. I am sure in many years time, people will look back to Friday 29th October 2004 as the day that democracy in Europe was put on notice. That Blair should sign up to this abomination when the majority of the UK population rejects it makes me wonder how debased the democratic process here has already become - we are in the grasp of a political class which thinks it knows better.

KERRY OFFERS ARAFAT STYLE HEALTHCARE....

Democrat presidential candidate John Forbes Kerry today unveiled a proposal to provide all Americans with healthcare comparable to that which ailing Palestinian leader Yassir Arafat is now receiving. "I have a plan to offer Arafat-quality healthcare to each and every family," said the professional Vietnam veteran and distinguished war protestor. "But George W. Bush doesn't want you to see my plan, because he doesn't think you deserve to be flown to Paris for the best medical treatment in the world." Read the rest of this at the wonderful Scrappleface!!!

QUESTION TIME.

Did you see the BBC "Question Time" programme from Miami? What did you think?

I was most impressed by the audience and in particular the many intelligent coherent contributions from the Republicans present. I also thought the panel was good - and even wacko Michael Moore amused me - though not in the way I think he would have wanted. Leaving aside the specific politics, I really liked the PASSION of the audience. They were not prepared to swallow every propagandist point made by whomever on the panel, they cheered and the jeered - quite a contrast from the dull lefty hordes that make up QT UK audiences.

I now know how Richard Littlejohn is - and thought him quite good. David Frum was also articulate though perhaps he tried to be overtly conciliatory in front of a divided audience. Sidney Blumenthal was an oily creep - you can see what Clinton saw in him. Moore was a bumbling oaf - a self-hater, and as we all know, a fantasist. That said, I thought he was polite enough and for that he gets my respect.

An interesting programme!

>> 28 Oct 2004

LEAVING THE BUNKER.

Dateline: Berlin. 1st May 1945.

Emerging from his bunker, the great Leader looked unwell, gaunt some dared to say. His Doctors moved to reassure his supporters, "The Leader is unwell, this is true, but nothing too serious. We are still conducting investigations, it may be some time before we can be sure of what is wrong it is minor. But you must understand who is responsible for his sickness - it is the Allies. Their random bombing campaign has forced the Leader to live in a small room, with little light, not enough medical supplies, and no opportunity for exercise."

The BBC understands that the Leader will be flown to Paris - a capital city with which he has a special attachment. (and not a few battalions) It will be hard to imagine what Europe would look like if the Leader was gone. He has done so much for his people - restored their pride, and fought for their political dreams of a homeland. Whilst Jews may celebrate (those left alive, that is) sophisticated Europeans are praying the Leader survives his ordeal. The lights are going out across Europe.........

FRENCH FARCE.

France will be always on the side of the Palestinian Authority leader Yasser Arafat, French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier has declared

“France....will be always on your side to back your effort in favor of a just and negotiated peace,” Barnier said. “It is with concern and sympathy that I keep informed of the development of your health,” said Barnier. “I wish to express my most sincere wishes for your recovery, hoping that you can return rapidly to your place to lead the Palestinian Authority,” he said.

What a bunch of degenerates the French political elite really are. Cosying up to the arch-terrorist Arafat with a knowing look in their eyes, prostituting their once proud nation. No wonder Jews are getting out of France.

Thanks to Litte Green Footballs.

BBC Sickness!

Did anybody listen to the phone-in vote on BBC Radio Five Live this afternoon? I have to ask because the presenter, Simon Mayo decided to launch a straw poll on how listeners would vote had they the chance to do so in the US election. Quite naturally the response was overwhelmingly in Kerry's favour (with the exception of two callers - one in Suffolk and one in Belfast).

Not wanting the programme to turn into a hagiographic endorsement of the capricious JFK, I took the option of phoning in myself to provide some balance. If readers have attempted to contact these kind of shows in the past, they will know that their call is answered by an intermediary who ascertains the tone and content of the contribution before passing it on to the presenter for analysis and possible on-air conversation. Below is a near verbatim account of the conversation I held with just such an intermediary. I hope it provides a snapshot of the degree to which the BBC has totally lost the plot when it comes to impartial examination of the respective presidential candidates. My responses are in red.

'BBC Radio Five Live, may I take your name please?'

'Yes, it's Andrew calling from Halifax.'

'And what would you like to say, Andrew?'

'I'd like to cast my vote for George W Bush.'

'Oh, and why's that?'

'Because I believe he is a man of principle who has the determination to see the justifiable war on terror reach a successful conclusion. I admire his stoic sense of leadership, his Christian beliefs and his honesty in his dealings with the Ameri............'

'Hold on. He lied about the mythical weapons of mass destruction.'

'No he didn't. He made use of the intelligence available to him at the time.'

'But there were no weapons of mass destruction.'

'In the conventional sense, there were no assembled weapons of mass destruction. However, there is plenty of evidence of all the necessary ingredients in place to devise future weapons programmes had he intended to do so. Also, don't forget about the tacit links formed between his junta and Al Queda.'

(Contemptuous snort) 'Not on any news bulletins I've ever seen.'

'Must have been looking at the wrong news bulletins then, musn't you? Or perhaps you have been indoctrinated by the expurgated selectivity which passes for news within your organisation.'

(An air of annoyance) 'What are you trying to say?'

'I'm not trying to say anything. I am saying the BBC never misses an opportunity to present Bush in a negative light. At the end of the day, this so-called 'esteemed' broadcasting corporation is fundamentally anti-Bush, and anti-Israel into the bargain.'

'Well (voice level rising) what about the rapid decline in the American economy since he took over?'

'Do you mean the economy which has enjoyed reasonably steady growth throughout his presidency? The same economy that was on the slide at the end of the Clinton era?

(Guffaw) 'Huh, the share of national debt has grown under this guy.'

'The share of national debt has also increased under New Labour. Hasn't stopped the economy from growing though.'

'Well, I'll put your comments through and we'll see if we can get you on air' (intonation of insincerity).

Needless to say I wasn't given a platform to elaborate on my support for 'Dubya'. Never mind, the liberal Lefties at the BBC will be crying into their Guardian newspapers come next Wednesday. I can hardly wait!!

POPPIES BANNED.

Here's an unbelievable tale.

"A traditional shower of poppies planned for a Remembrance Day service in Sandwell has had to be scrapped because of Health and Safety regulations. In previous years thousands of paper poppy petals have been released during the minute's silence at the packed event in West Bromwich town hall. But the emotional tribute which has been part of the annual service since before the Second World War has now been banned. Fire inspectors who visited the venue in the town High Street said the practice breached health and safety regulations. They believe the paper poppy petals would be a fire hazard."

What do you say? Is this why tens of thousands laid down their lives - so some third rate half witted jobsworths - from the public sector, of course - could BAN acts of remembrance lest paper poppys cause a blazing inferno in Sandwell high street???????

With thanks to An Englishman's Castle.

THE BIG FAILURE.

What is a big failure? The European Union's attempt to become the world's most competitive economy. According to Romani Prodi. So, why do we wish to part of this "big failure" ? Details here.

KILLING TIME.

"They say that Arafat is sick, that he has cancer, that his days are numbered. If this is correct, then our time is running out. Our time? Yes! Our great window of opportunity, to kill Arafat and re-conquer justice, is closing." Moshe Feiglin on IsraelInsider has an interesting take on the breaking Arafat story.

Also, Steven Plaut has this to say;

"Try to imagine a proposal made in 1945 to take Hitler's carcass and

bury it inside the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, perhaps draped with

flowers, across Lincoln's knees. No, I am afraid even that does not begin

to approach the mindless mega-stupidity of those proposing to allow

Arafat's carcass to be buried on the Temple Mount once it stops breathing.

He concludes,

"If Arafat is interred on Judaism's most holy spot, then why not dig up Hitler's and Eichmann's bones and move them there as well. I mean, come on, let's have a little consistency!

I agree with Feiglin. It is a matter of the most intense shame and humiliation for every Jew on earth that Arafat will die a natural death. The man who most singularly personalized the devotion to genocidal annihilation of Jews and mass murder of Jewsish children was never

targeted by the state pretending that "Never Again" is its raison d'etre. Burying the carcass (am I the only one who suspects the living Arafat is far uglier than how the carcass will look) is simply the most effective way to announce to the world that the Jews have raised their hands in surrender and have given up. They might as well be calling to Palestinians, "Come over and murder us all." All day long Israel's radio and TV bimbos and bimbettes have been

reporting in muted semi-mourning, as if Arafat's demise represents a reason for sorrow. Mark Twain once described false reports of his own demise as premature. Arafat's demise is 40 years much too late. Efraim Inbar had a nice comment. Arafat, after all, is not a Palestinian at all,

but was born in Egypt. Bury him in Cairo. Some of Israel's own greatest Arafatphiles might want to volunteer to be buried alongside His Ugliness."

Quick - call Orla Guerin - we need more BBC balance on this one!

FROM RICHILL TO KABUL.

Northern Ireland UN worker, Annetta Flanigan, has been kidnapped, most likely by remnants of the Taliban, in Kabal. Along with two other colleagues, she was taken captive earlier today. Let us hope they are all released without any harm coming to them. She holds British-Irish identity - so we have now to witness the likes of Irish Minister Dermot Ahern hogging the media spotlight, wringing his hands and mouthing empty platitudes. As if the Taliban care she may be "Irish"! The sad reality is that when it comes to the Jihadi - you are either WITH them or against them. The UN does not appear to understand this. Neither does dumb Mr. Ahern.

PIERS MORGAN SPARKS MASS PANIC.

Disgraced former editor of the Daily Mirror - Piers Morgan - caused panic among UK Mid-morning TV viewers today when he claimed al Qu'eda is about to stage a terrorist spectacular. Morgan didn't realise his comments were being broadcast live on air. You can read the details here.

This indicates three things;-

1. Morgan really is a grotesque waste of space - a man with no critical judgement.

2. Some TV viewers are easily panicked.

3. Phillip Scofield is a great talent.

YASSIR - THAT'S MY BABY!

Having listened to the ever-so-caring UK media coverage of what may prove to be Yasser Arafat's final hours, I now see I have got it wrong about Yasser. The news that he is being flown to France for urgent medical treatment gladdens the heart. France, after all, knows how to deal with tyrants, sorry, I mean... sick political leaders. (I just hope the hospital that treats him isn't near any Synagogues - that can be such a danger)

There was me thinking that Arafat was a vile corrupt murderous old anti-Semite, a man who gloried in killing Jews, a man who has blood of thousands on his hands. I was wrong. Based on the reporting of genuinely talented reporters such as Orla Guerin, I see that Yasser is a kindly man, a family man, and an inspiration to all. No wonder we are now all so...anxious.

It makes such sense. I sincerely expect the BBC to break into solemn funeral music should Nobel Laureate Yasser die - with mass mourning obligatory in the streets. Maybe Elton John could do the music at the funeral?

COKE DEALER WON'T HAVE HIS OATS!

Get this. A man accused of involvement with the largest haul of cocaine ever seized by Northern Ireland police has gone on hunger strike in jail - because he doesn't like the food!

William Andrew Askin is currently on remand at Maghaberry Prison after being arrested following the seizure of more than £1m-worth of cocaine in west Belfast.

Here's a thought - let him STARVE! If he kills himself it will be his choice - why should the tax-payer fund the Cordon Bleu preferences of this alleged drug dealer?

A LITTLE MORE DETAIL ON THOSE "LOST" WEAPONS!

Tech Central Station provides some good detail on the now discredited claims of the Kerry camp and their media allies about the so-called "lost weapons."

"Jim Miklaszewski of NBC News reported Monday night that his network was right there, on the spot, when the 101st Airborne got to the installation south of Iraq's capital on April 10, 2003. "But these troops never found the nearly 380 tons of some of the most powerful conventional explosives called HMX and RDX" said Miklaszewski.

Then on Tuesday Miklaszewski provided more details. He reported that the 101st airborne troops "were not actively involved in the search for any weapons" and that, given the size of the Al Qaqaa facility, it's unclear if the 101st was "near the bunkers that reportedly contained the HMX and RDX."

But he went on to say that "in March, shortly before the war began, the [International Atomic Energy Agency] conducted another inspection and … inspectors were unable to inspect the RDX stockpile and could not verify that the RDX was still at the compound." It seems some of the missing materials were moved even before Americans set foot in Iraq - right under the UN's nose! Pentagon officials have speculated that Saddam could have ordered the materials moved before the invasion by coalition forces."

Since these explosives went missing under the UN's noses - shouldn't John Kerry be calling for Kofi Annan to resign and Hans Blix to offer up a full and frank apology?

NO LINKS BETWEEN SADDAM AND AL QU'EDA.

Really? When we hear leftists trot out that particular lie with monotonous regularity (after all, if the truth does not matter, you can say whatever you want) maybe someone should draw attention to this:-

In a letter sent on Oct. 7, 2002, by the CIA's director to the then-chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Sen. Bob Graham, George Tenet wrote:

"We have solid reporting of senior level contacts between Iraq and al Qaeda going back a decade. Credible information indicates that Iraq and al Qaeda have discussed safe haven and reciprocal nonaggression. We have credible reporting that al Qaeda leaders sought contacts in Iraq who could help them acquire weapons of mass destruction capabilities. The reporting also stated that Iraq has provided training to al Qaeda members in the areas of poisons and gases and making conventional bombs."

There are none so blind as those who do not wish to see.

HALLOWEEN.

Witches with pointy noses and things like that are not respective symbols of the Wiccan religion and so we want to be respectful of that."

Karen Hansen, spokesman for Washington State Puyallup school district on the decision to cancel Halloween celebrations in school.

Gosh - we wouldn't want to offend Wiccans, would we? Or Satanists......or any other wacko group. But when to comes to Christians and Jews...well, that's a different story.

THE CLINTON RECORD ON TERRORISM.

Neatly summarised by David Warren.

"The Clinton administration had its chance to wake over the first attack on the World Trade Centre in 1993, and chose to look the other way. Egyptian intelligence warned the FBI that Arab terrorists were entering U.S. flight schools after the attempt to fly an airliner into the Eiffel Tower in 1994. The Clintonians looked away after uncovering a plot to bring down 11 airliners over the Pacific in 1995; after Khobar Towers in 1996; after uncovering an Al Qaeda masterplan in Albania in 1997; after the embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998; after attempted terror strikes on the U.S. in 1999; after the USS Cole was hit in 2000. They chose, consistently, the path of least resistance. "

And that, folks, is what John Kerry is offering all these years later.

RUSSIAN ROULETTE.

Gotcha! Russian special forces moved many of Saddam Hussein's weapons and related goods out of Iraq and into Syria in the weeks before the March 2003 U.S. military operation, The Washington Times has learned.

John A. Shaw, the deputy undersecretary of defense for international technology security, said in an interview that he believes the Russian troops, working with Iraqi intelligence, "almost certainly" removed the high-explosive material that went missing from the Al-Qaqaa facility, south of Baghdad.

When will John Kerry be apologising for his vicious slur on the US Military and the Commander-in-Chief?

NEW HUMAN SPECIES FOUND - IN NORTHERN IRELAND.

When I heard that scientists had discovered a new species of human, I was excited. Here was confirmation, I felt, that the scientific community had discovered that those unionists who supported the Belfast Agreement - Homo Supinus - were indeed not like the rest of us.

The evidence is clear for all to see - no obvious backbone, a smaller than average brain, and - the evolutionary killer characterstic - an odd desire to celebrate their likely extinction! You can imagine how distressed I was to discover that it was this the scientists were talking about!!

ANTI RACIST FOLLY.

All the dweebie lefties will be out on parade in a few days letting us all know who much they care for their fellow man at the anti-Racist rally in Belfast. These sort of public demonstrations appal me. It is nothing short of grand standing for the cameras. I don't buy into any of this "deeply concerned" citizenry nonsense. Let's be clear - Racism is wrong. Terrorism is wrong. Many ism's are wrong. But chanting masses at a Halloween carnival-style rally in Belfast do nothing to solve the problem. Do they REALLY think that those who are so intolerant of their fellow man and woman will suddenly see the crowd and have an epiphany? Really???? That's how childish leftist thinking really is.

THE KEN BIGLEY EXPERIENCE.

Having learnt how to milk UK political opinion for all that it is worth, the Jihadists who captured Margaret Hassan have released another video of the unfortunate woman asking for British troops to be pulled out of Iraq and for Care International, the aid agency she works for, to close its office in Baghdad, and appealed for Iraqi women prisoners to be freed.

This is copycat propagandising - and once more our media and liberal elite swallow it all. The pathetic attempts by the British Government to "negotiate" Ken Bigley's freedom have emboldened the terorists. They have made this event much more likely - and whether Al Zarqawi has the lady concerned or not (and it is hard to know) - the lesson must be NO negotiations with terrorists. That must be tough for a UK Government that boasts of its ability to trade with killers.

>> 27 Oct 2004

Doherty Rages

Pat Doherty, the Glaswegian disguised as an Irishman, IRA Army Council member and sometime MP courtesy of the neanderthals of West Tyrone, rages about the IMC. He claims : 'The IMC in their activities to date have proven the Sinn Féin argument that they are little more than the echo chamber for the securocrats and spooks who wish to see this process derailed. The information contained in these reports comes solely from the Special Branch, British Military Intelligence and MI5. We all know the anti-peace process and anti-Republican agenda that these faceless organisations pursue.'

I'm not a fan of the IMC myself. I would much prefer the forces of law and order to summarily round-up all Sinn Fein/IRA personnel, incarcerate them where they so richly deserve to be, and perhaps even execute the most prolific murderers in their entourage. However, in the appeasing world of the 'peace process', I suppose the IMC will have to do.

What Doherty actually wants (as an IRA insider) is to see continued electoral growth of his odious party whilst simultaneously practicing all the usual activities which make the IRA the blood-thirsty organisation that it is. Anything that potentially undermines this Jekyll and Hyde pincer movement on democracy must therefore be decried. I have one question: Doherty is a member of an illegal, subversive organisation. Why was he allowed to even stand for Parliament, let alone be elected to it?

ARAFAT DESTINED FOR PARADISE?

It seems that the wicked terrorist godfather, Yasser Arafat, may be on his deathbed. I certainly hope so - for this evil man has personally ensured that Israeli and Palestinian can never know peace whilst he remains alive. Whether Satan calls him home or not I do not know, but it would be a small mercy for thinking Palestinians of this rogue was sent to paradise - or better, hell.

Can you imagine the sombre and dignified tributes the BBC and its ilk will pay should he pass away? It doesn't bear thinking about.

Circles in the Sands

Twinbrook GAA club has decided to incorporate images associated with Atkins Diet guinea-pig, Bobby Sands, in their new logo. How often do we hear the cries of innocence when the GAA is listed as 'the IRA at play'? Still, we are supposed to swallow the guff about the ostensible sporting ethos of this association. Please don't let the hallowed turf of a new national stadium for Ulster become defiled by the presence of these people. My thanks to Ambrose Uprichard at Slugger O'Toole for the link.

Durkan and the Politics of Torpor

Poor Mark Durkan. He is a leader whose eyes see so much, yet whose brain sees so little. Have a gander at the rubbish he has written in the Irish News. So incensed am I by this nationalist speck, I feel suitable ripostes should be given to each of his arguments in turn. Here goes.

'The Good Friday Agreement gave new hope to the people of Ireland. After years of Troubles, it promised justice. It promised equality. It promised peace.'

The Belfast Agreement (the Multi-Party structures thereof) was voted in solely by the electorate of Northern Ireland. I know nationalists like to pretend it has some all-Ireland ratification structure which supposedly renders it impervious to Unionist demands for democratic structural alteration. That is NOT the case. As for the codswallop about 'equality', nationalists had already been living under the most stringent laws governing equal status anywhere in the European Union for almost thirty years.

'For two years in total, the agreement's institutions not only worked, they worked well.'

Suspensions, lack of ministerial accountability, efforts to strip the British institutional fabric out of the province altogether. Yeah, they really worked well, Mark! Ha!!

'Loyalists continued to terrorise nationalist communities and poison their own with drugs. And it just won't wash for unionist politicians to excuse their violence as "reactive".'

Another effort to equate mainstream Unionist politicians with terror in order to shadow the real links of Sinn Fein to the Provisional IRA. Unionist politicians of all hues have called for the arrest, punishment and - in some cases - imprisonment of 'loyalist' terrorists. These calls are well documented and in the public domain. Durkan is nothing other than a devious hypocrite in expounding this opinion.

'IRA activity has also badly damaged trust.'

Indeed it has, Mark. However, when did your separatist crew ever try to punish Sinn Fein/IRA for ongoing terrorist activity. Furthermore, when did you ever abandon nationalist camaraderie to cut a deal with democrats??

'The SDLP has always been at pains to make honest and positive judgments.'

Like the 'honesty' shown by Seamus Mallon when he promised to kick Sinn Fein out of the Executive if the IRA did not cease terrorism. Three years later, they were still there. Lo and behold, so were the SDLP!!

'The SDLP wants a deal that has shared commitments from all the parties not a deal produced by the Governments that all the parties have the opportunity to pick and snipe at.'

No, the SDLP wants transitional institutions en route to a 'united Ireland'. Any exercises designed to make the province stable within the United Kingdom will be resisted by Irish nationalists. That's why the concept of power-sharing is a total abomination.

'Let's not let bad politics damage the agreement, damage our society and risk storing up new trouble for future generations.'

I'll re-phrase that last line. 'Let's not let a bad agreement damage our society any more than it already has done by promoting and enhancing the status of evil and insurrectionism at the expense of a loyal majority.'

You're so Vain!

'I love me, who do you love?' It's a common derogatory quip used here in Yorkshire and the North West. I wonder if Robert Kilroy Silk has repeated these words over and over to himself as he ponders the shoddy outworkings of his blatant efforts at appropriation of the UKIP leadership?

All of us must at some time have watched an episode of Kilroy. Some of the debates were quite interesting, some were not. Nevertheless, Kilroy Silk was a reasonable anchorman - possessing wit, compassion, plus the ability to put the audience at their ease. On the media front he was an amusing and highly articulate journalist whose treatment at the hands of the panjandrums of the Daily Express was nothing short of despicable.

Even so, my opinion of him as an individual with integrity has been damaged by his machinations whilst an elected representative of the UKIP. I appreciate his 'pulling power' on the hustings when campaigning for a seat at the European Parliament; I acknowledge his detestation of the EU and its multifarious institutions of interference (it is a distaste I and many other equally share). What I do not like is his view of his own infallibility and political apotheosis. If he had wanted to become a future leader of the UKIP he could have done so with patience and understanding. Instead, he has tackled the party hierarchy like a bull in a china shop: undermining his hitherto high regard in public opinion as well as causing deep divisions in the movement he professed to embolden. And, as we know from the experience of John Major's administration in the 1990's, people do not vote for divided parties. What an ass!!!

WHO'S THE MOST BORING COMMENTATOR?

Right. I've just read (if that's the right word, snoozed might be more accurate) through this stunningly dull article by the new boy at the Belfast Telegraph, Jim Dougal.

Jim seems a nice man. He appears polite, pleasant company and perhaps gifted with incisive political insight. But, and here's the crunch, boy, is he D-U-L-L-. His column is a cure for insomnia! And that got me thinking - who is YOUR most boring political commentator of choice in Northern Ireland?

My top three nominations are;

1. Jim Dougal. Has he ever had a radical thought?

2. Alf McCreary. Beyond words.

3. Lynda Gilby. A blancmange with a keyboard.

Any takers....?

A WARNING FOR THE INDOLENT.

"So long as the people do not care to exercise their freedom, those who wish to tyrannise will do so; for tyrants are active and ardent, and will devote themselves in the name of any number of gods, religious and otherwise, to put shackles upon sleeping men." - Voltaire

WORSE THAN 9/11?

Do you think that if an American news network came into possession of a tape from Al Qu'eda st claiming that the next attack on the US will dwarf 9/11 the American people show KNOW about it?

"The streets will run with blood," and "America will mourn in silence" because they will be unable to count the number of the dead. Further claims: America has brought this on itself for electing George Bush who has made war on Islam by destroying the Taliban and making war on Al Qaeda.

And yet, nothing. The networkconcerned - ABC- stays quiet. It's more important to ham up the now discredited "Bombgate" slurs than it is to let the US people know that whether they like it or not, and whether Bush is re-elected, the Jihadists are coming for them. Bush knows this - Kerry is in denial.

THE FLORIDA RECOUNT.......IS UNDERWAY!

It's started - and well covered on Powerline.

"Led by the Florida Democratic Party, the People for the American Way, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees and the AFL-CIO, lawsuits target, among others, Florida Secretary of State Glenda Hood, who was appointed by Republican Gov. Jeb Bush, President Bush's brother.

The suits say Republican officials refused to count provisional ballots, improperly disqualified incomplete voter registrations, established overly restrictive rules to disproportionately hurt minority voters and actively sought to disenfranchise blacks. One suit challenges a ruling by Mrs. Hood to throw out forms on which new voters had failed to check a box indicating whether they were U.S. citizens, and another argued that although only 17 percent of the voters in Broward County and 20 percent in Miami-Dade County were black, more than a third of the voter-registration forms that were determined to be incomplete and invalid in both counties involved black voters."

"The essence of the Democrats' strategy is to use bullying tactics to facilitate voter fraud, which they hope will tip the election in their favor. All together, the Democrats have now filed 35 lawsuits in 17 states."

TERRORISTS IN FROM THE COLD.

Isn't it sickening that at a time when the UK is nominally helping lead the war against terror, three UDA "brigadiers" from Belfast and Londonderry are expected to meet Secretary of State Paul Murphy on Tuesday in an attempt to persuade the Government to recognise the UDA ceasefire.

Murphy has no guts whatoever. The UDA "Brigadiers" should be in prison, not in talks! There should be no candle-lit suppers for these hoods and their simpering proxies. Once more, we witness an appeasement minded Government in full retreat from the practioners of vile terrorism.

BOTTOM OF THE CLASS.

The cash crisis that afflicts the Belfast and South Eastern education boards has resulted in a Trade Unions (scourge of the Earth) calling for the Education Minister, Bazza Gardiner, to resign from his position as the row over funding for two cash-strapped boards gathered pace.

I have nothing but sympathy for Gardiner and nothing but contempt for the ludicrous Nipsa Branch secretary, Brian Booth, who whines: "The Minister of Education is being totally unreasonable expecting the boards to live within budget..."

There we have it - the fatcat reckless attitude of the public sector manifest. Everyone else in any other walk fo life has to learn how to budget, and to ensure that they live within their means. Everyone but the Education Boards it seems. The Management of these Boards which are u to £20 million in the red should be sacked, and then the individuals should be prosecuted for presiding over a shocking waste of tax payers monies.

The DUP's Sammy Wilson said that the same pressures experienced by the SEELB and BELB were felt across Northern Ireland. "The Minister has made it clear that he has no pot of gold and will not raid the coffers of other boards to help out the SEELB and BELB. The question then is how then will these boards get back to a balanced budget.All the time the clock is ticking towards the end of another financial year and is pointing towards another financial overspend."

Poor Sammy seems to have spent too much time in the class room and not enough time in the real world,. He should get out more. The Education Boards will ONLY achieve a balanced budget when they learn to how to manage their income against their outgoings - its kinda simple! If a Board cannot control the finances of the organisation over which it presides it should be dismissed. That is what should now happen to the profligate Belfast and South Eastern Education Boards.

THE BRITISH TALIBAN.

Eursoc picks up on a story ignored by our TV media that claims "four of the five British prisoners recently released from Guantanamo Bay had been trained in guerilla combat by the Taliban and al-Qaeda terrorists."

I remember when these guys were released we were treated a media-induced welcome that gave the impression they were heroes.

Eursoc notes that " Few have questioned their stories of what they were doing in Taliban and al-Qaeda dominated Afghanistan in the first place."

My theory was they may have been confused eco-tourists.

>> 31 Oct 2004

>> 30 Oct 2004

>> 29 Oct 2004

>> 28 Oct 2004

>> 27 Oct 2004

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