Saturday, January 31, 2009

The Age of Stupid

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Film coming out in March with Pete Postlethwaite. Looks awesome.

I ate some mushrooms earlier and its amazing how easy it is to type . . .

Friday, January 30, 2009

is Scott Adams prescient?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

UK misanthropy

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Well done Major, Blair and Brown: Champions of disenfrachisement.

don't trust everything you read in the newspapers

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I suppose that should be "don't trust everything you read in good newspapers". You can, of course, simply discard the tabloid/Mail bullshit out of hand as being untrue, misrepresented or spun.

Anyway, to the point: A recent diatribe by one of the inventors of the contraceptive pill, reported in the Guardian, turns out to have been taken completely out of context. The Guardian has retracted and published a CiF article by the great scientist, explaining his actual position on the matter.

From Jonathon Porritt.

Thursday, January 29, 2009

beware of Wally

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Spiked Online is run by a bunch of inhuman cnuts

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

George rules:

"Like the Scientologists or the Moonies, this grouping, of which Spiked is just one outlet, entertains a set of crazy beliefs. Its members all think alike and hunt in packs. While purporting to be defending humanity, it is the most anti-human organisations I have ever come across, demanding that nothing should be allowed to stand in the way of the destruction of the biosphere or the will of the powerful, and that victims of all kinds should be disregarded. While purporting to be Marxists, its members promulgate an extreme version of neoliberalism. I have always been fascinated by organisations which claim to stand for one thing but really stand for its opposite."

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

hedge funds are not human, ergo they do not have human rights

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Oh, for fuck's sake! This is just fucking ridiculous.

what use are banks if all other businesses have failed?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Alistair Darling, Peter Mandelson and Gordon Brown, along with the entire conservative party, are incompetent arseholes. Every morning I am stunned to wake up and read more evidence of their inability to grasp the situation. Do these pricks not realise that we need to stimulate demand? Not supply. No, instead of any attempt to secure the stability of the real economy they are obsessed with giving piggy-backs to the very same people who have fucked us, royally.

Back when the crisis was emerging (well, before that would have been preferable, of course) the government should have stepped in with ANY legislation at all, let alone taking action to prohibit the impenetrable smoke-and-mirrors speculation of derivatives trading. Because it didn't, and as the crisis blossomed into the current clusterfuck, the banks should have been prepared for nationalisation. The government should have demanded to see every banks balance sheet in order to establish the exact extent of their exposure to the toxic investments. Their shareholders forfeited any right to remuneration by failing to properly scrutinise the activities of these fuckyounomic monoliths and take action to prevent it. Furthermore, As Simon Jenkins says, those that were technically bankrupt should have had the money in their vaults secured to go towards covering savers' funds and the rest of the business should have been sent into administration. The customer base and much of the staff would have been passed to a massively expanded Post Office to handle. Et voila! No cunts getting paid millions for fucking the global economy and no massive black holes in the balance sheet. Whilst savers deposits are safe and no fiscal surprises remain lurking under the surface of the economy like shards of glass at the bottom of a swimming pool.

Mandelson's latest hand-out to the car companies isn't going to help anything at all. People are not buying Jaguars or Land Rovers at the moment or for years to come. Sustaining such a business with public money is just pissing it down the drain. If the government engaged in any sort of joined-up thinking they would link this problem with that of the steel workers and subsidise a massive retraining and retooling program to produce wind turbines from the production lines. There: I just knocked out a Perfectly formulated progressive policy that addresses all of the issues before I've even had breakfast. If I can pull shit like that out of the bag, you only have to assume that Darling et al haven't because they are being deliberately obstructive. And should be removed from power.

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

the curate's egg

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yes, he's taking steps to reverse the most glaring insanities of the Bush administration.

No, he hasn't any desire to stop US forces murdering brown people.

Like I said. Obushma.


Addition:

Et voila:

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the US supported "Israel's right to self-defense".

"The rocket barrages which are getting closer and closer to populated areas (in Israel) cannot go unanswered," she said in her first news conference at the State Department.


Addition:

Aussi, voyez ici.


Labour is shit

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"The deregulation of the banks, the love affair with the neocons, the failure to tax the rich, Peter Mandelson ... is there any slithering cop-out that has not now returned to haunt this government?"


George for Prime Minister!

Monday, January 26, 2009

what caused the recession and why our pseudo-democracy couldn't stop it

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Noam rules:
"Free capital movement establishes what international economists have called a "virtual parliament" of investors and lenders, who carry out a "moment-by-moment referendum" on government policies. The "virtual parliaments" can "vote" against these policies if it considers them irrational: enacted for the benefit of people, rather than profit for concentrated private power. They can "vote" by capital flight, attacks on currencies, and other devices offered by financial liberalization. [John Maynard] Keynes considered the most important achievement of Bretton Woods to be establishment of the right of governments to restrict capital movement."
"Keynes regarded speculation as destructive. His basic insight is well described by Indian economist Prabhat Patnaik, at the UN conference of October 30 on the global financial crisis. Patnaik explains that Keynes "had located the fundamental defect of the free market system in its incapacity to distinguish between `speculation' and `enterprise.' Hence, it had a tendency to be dominated by speculators, interested not in the long-term yield on assets but only in the short-term appreciation in asset values. Their whims and caprices, causing sharp swings in asset prices, determined the magnitude of productive investment and, therefore, the level of aggregate demand, employment and output in the economy. The real lives of millions of people were determined by the whims of 'a bunch of speculators' under the free market system." The replacement of governmental "demand management" by "bubble booms" created by speculators is a prime cause of the current financial crisis, Patnaik argues plausibly, supporting Keynes's analysis. "

"Since financial liberalization and the related neo-liberal programs were introduced in the 1970s, there has been considerable deterioration where the programs have been adopted, though there has been rapid growth where they have been mostly ignored, notably in East Asia . . . . The Bretton Woods years were the era of substantial progress in establishing basic social and democratic rights, which have been under attack during the neo-liberal/financial liberalization period. To take just the United States for illustration, during the Bretton Wood years, economic growth was not only unusually rapid but also egalitarian: the poorest quintile did as well as the richest. And social indicators, general measures of the health of the society, closely tracked growth. Since the late 1970s, for the majority of the population real incomes have stagnated, work hours have increased, benefits have declined, and social indicators not only did not track growth, but in fact steadily declined."

I hope everyone realises that the model Keynes and Noam are decrying here is the very same one that the Labour government did everything they could in their twelve years of power to follow. Its also the same one Thatcher embraced as if it were a genocidal ex-dictator.

Labour's climate change denial

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Damning comments in the press today from the Labour's ex-environment minister and climate change envoy- Elliot Morley:

"many of the financial packages put forward by governments so far including Britain's [are] not environmentally sustainable"


Ken Livingstone is similarly dismayed with Labour environment policy, observing that:

"after 11 years in government, nothing has been done to create an alternative energy market"

Final condemnation of the Labour environment policy comes from officials of their own Department for Energy and Climate Change:

"There needs to be more focus on the deployment of renewables rather than just talking policy and issuing papers - and there needs to be a wider membership."
(emphasis is mine)
Yes, after calling for broader involvement in a pioneering institution dedicated to developing and installing renewable generation capacity, DECC officials went on to state that the UK would not be joining the new movement. Hypocrisy, thy name is Labour.

punkscience is going to get cancer

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Apparently. Oh dear.

Madeleine Bunting - apologist for coporate sociopathy

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I've mentioned Madeleine several times, and not always in a negative light. She's one of those comentators who are hugely uncritical of broader socio-economic problems, preferring to deal with subjects without reference to - or any apparent consideration of- the complex, interconnected nature of modern social, economic and political systems. Suspiciously so, one might observe. Clearly a "team player". Anyway, she's up to her old tricks with this grovelling little fuckyounomic epitaph. Twat.

The comments give her the hefty shoeing she deserves.

Eg.
Eg.
Eg.
Eg.
Etc.

Sunday, January 25, 2009

why does Nick Cohen keep referring to the Labour government as "left-wing"?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Because he is:
  1. Stupid.
  2. Ignorant.
  3. Deluded.
  4. Malevolently deceitful.
  5. Constantly drunk.
To be fair to Cohen, he actually writes "the paradox of the 1997 Labour government was that it was at once a left- and a right-wing administration". So what he should have written was that it was a CENTRIST administration. But straight after this one token brush with reality he's straight back to form ranting about how "the left in power went along with a lawless market" and "the political left was living off the proceeds of loose financial morals". If he wanted to describe the 1997 government accurately he would have called it centre-right and would then have pointed out that, as time progressed, the party fully embraced its free-market, authoritarian credentials to become an overtly right-wing administration.

But no. Nick can't bring himself to face reality and admit that the Labour Party of the UK now has very few genuinely socialist elements to its policy and those it does have are mere redwash to convince the broader electorate that- despite appearances- the party really is working with their best interests at heart, in the face of a challenging socio-political environment.

Some evidence in support of my assertion- "the elephant in the room"- courtesy of the Political Compass:

the BBC is run by cowards, Tony Benn is awesome!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


You know what I'm talking about. Fucking cowardly, genocide-endorsing cunts.

As Richard Seymour observes:

"The BBC is . . . clearly not being impartial. It is taking sides, effectively boycotting aid for Gaza on the apparent assumption that their job is to avoid offending Israel's supporters."


Tony Benn was interviewed by Edward Stourton on the Today program on Saturday morning to discuss the BBC's decision and he hijacked the interview to broadcast the appeal himself, giving the address to which to send donations to! Stourton was left blustering and trying to interject while Tony tried to give more details of how to donate. If you listen to the program again you can hear it from about 22.5 minutes. Tony rules.

Saturday, January 24, 2009

green news

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I acknowledge that they're all from the Guardian but then that's because its clearly the best National paper.

  • Rail companies get told to brush up their act over emissions. Predictably, the UK network is shit compared to Europe. I just got back from Germany. You don't want to listen to another lecture on how great their trains are so I won't give one.
  • AREVA are attempting to make amends for inflicting the world's worst form of electricity generation on us by building wind turbines dedicated to operation in the marine environment.
  • And, finally, the UK government is working hard to obstruct legislation limiting climate emissions in the EU parliament. As fucking usual. The cunts.

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

I want one of these!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This is not a test: Mitusbishi have announced the first mass-produced Battery Electric Vehicle! Punkscience is well impressed as it is small and practical, well accessorised with a charger that will pretty much fill the battery in 20 minutes. The range may be slightly exaggerated- at 100 miles but anyone who understands the complex nature of battery discharge rates will understand that a precise figure is impossible to give. Even if the car only achieves half of its advertised range on a routine basis, that's a daily range that's more than enough to get 95% of commuters to work and back with a bit extra for a trip to the shops afterwards.

I want one. I want one. I want one. I want one. I want one. I want one. I want one. I want one. I want one. I want one. I want one. I want one. I want one. I want one. I want one. I want one. I want one. I want one. I want one. I want one. I want one. I want one. I want one. I want one. I want one. I want one. I want one. I want one. I want one. I want one. I want one. I want one.

why are so many Gazan children suffering "head shots"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Also via Lenin's Tomb today comes this story.

"Doctors operating the only brain-scanning machine at an Egyptian hospital near Gaza have been almost overwhelmed by the number of Palestinian children arriving with bullet wounds to the head."


"If we see three children here who have survived bullet wounds to the head, there are probably 97 still in Gaza who have not."

Surely this couldn't be a targeted policy of child-murder by the IDF? Surely not.

punkscience resigns from his union

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Just over six months after joining Unite I have resigned my membership of the union in protest at their support for the third runway at Heathrow. I intend to find a smaller, less sociopathic union to represent my interests.

pictures of Israeli white phosphorus attack on UN school

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

See Lenin's Tomb. They take your breath away.

George Bush, Dick Cheney: Fuck off and die, horribly

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Responsible for well over a million deaths, the reintroduction of torture, economic collapse, reignition of the cold war and a massive groundswell of support for Islamism, I am distraught that they are being let go quietly. They should be dragged from the White House and through the streets of the US in chains. Let us remember what they have done to this once great nation.

Monday, January 19, 2009

this is so, so wrong

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Via ChickYog and Liberal Conspiracy: The government's recent take-down on the age-old tradition of an Englishman's home being his castle resulted in the death of a 78 year old man who was bullied into withdrawing £360 from a cash point . A bailiff had threatened to return with a van and a locksmith- as he is know legally entitled to do- if Andy Miller refused to pay the £60 speeding fine and £300 costs. The victim of this thuggery suffered a heart attack and died before he could pay the thug off. He had been out of hospital after a previous heart attack for just two weeks.

In other news, the government are set to throw further untold billions of pounds at the high street banks so that they can continue to pay people who are already fantastically rich tens of millions of pounds for destroying the global economy.

no, Darling et al really are this stupid / nepotistic / corrupt in other interesting ways

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I thought they were taking the piss. Sadly not. No, the UK is at the forefront of global fuckyounomics:

"Vince Cable, Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesman, said the original bail-out had failed because the government had not forced the banks to increase their lending in return for their capital injections.

"It's now clear that the money was not used for lending, but was instead used to cover bad debts," said Cable.

"I don't like to talk about blank cheques, but I fear that's where we are now," he added.

And Peter Spencer, from the Item Club, said that "it sounds like heads the banks win, tails the taxpayer loses"."


Can someone please kill Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling and Mandelscum? Go on, please! Just get rid of them so they can't fuck the economy any more. I know they have families and children and that but I think the economic futures of 60 million people is a just and worthy trade for their painless euthanasia.

Sunday, January 18, 2009

bullshit detected! - "The practice of vivisection is of questionable value and incompatible with ecological philosophy."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yes, that's straight out of the Green Party of England and Wales' Manifesto for a Sustainable Society Punkscience supports the Green Party, although clearly not that bit: Its a pretty fine example of the post-modernist fluff which is still prevalent within the party, despite efforts over the last decade to take the party's credibility up level (what the fuck is "ecological philosophy"?). The truth is that animal testing is absolutely essential to effective and efficient biomedical research. You simply cannot work exclusively with cell and tissue cultures or models. Animal tests expand our knowledge and save lives.

Punkscience knows this because he performs scientific experiments with animals. I work with marine invertebrates: Molluscs, crustaceans, echinoderms, polychaetes. I frequently have to sacrifice the animals I work with either because you cannot return them to the wild after exposing them to contaminants- we try to use non-destructive techniques where possible- or because we sometimes have no other option but to use destructive techniques. Take the MS Napoli, for example. The day after the ship first ran aground we were off to Lyme Bay to go and look for animals to collect to cary out a rapid assessment of the extent of the damage and to get ahead of any pollution release. Its important to have something to compare subsequent impacts to and so collecting animals from locations before they were impacted is essential in determining the relative severity of any incident. Unfortunately for the periwinkles and limpets we collected this required their subsequent sacrifice in order to carry out biochemical and chemical analysis on their bodies. Without this work and similar sampling trips to track the spread of the heavy fuel oil and diesel that was released from the ship during the debacle of its break-up, it would have been impossible for us to determine the actual effect of the wreck on the marine fauna of the Jurassic Coast. I think the humane deaths (we snap-freeze them in liquid nitrogen) of a few invertebrates in this fashion is a wholly reasonable exchange for the information they yield to us.

Saturday, January 17, 2009

Labour List suck ass

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I just posted this comment on a post on the new LabourList webiste discussing Labour's manifesto for the next election:

"Here's a few ideas for you, seeing as Labour are in such a shit state right now that you might actually be desperate enough to listen: Don't kill any more people (directly or by enabling other nations to do so), don't approve any more construction projects that directly threaten the integrity of your own environmental policy, don't invade anyone, don't fuck with the Non Proliferation Treaty by replacing the utterly useless and clearly dependent (as opposed to independent, yeah?) nuclear deterrent, don't penalise poor people for having no prospects, don't increase the debt burden on students any further, don't build any more roads, stop pissing money up the wall on massive IT white elephants, management consultants and PFI, stop sucking corporate cock at every opportunity- you are the government and not them, understand that corporate benefit legislation means that any corporation is inherently sociopathic and cannot be trusted to act in the public good, stop criminalising legitimate protest, take action against tax havens and tax avoiders, start focusing on economic development instead of growth, initiate the Green New Deal, sort the train networks out- just pay the Swiss or the Germans to do it for you because you clearly can't and, finally, get rid of Mandelson for the last time."
Tim at Bloggerheads has had extensive dealings with Derek Draper- the main bullshit-disseminator at LL.

missing the point

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Steve Richards dithers a bit but ultimately makes his point:


"Heathrow will now be a running story, sapping ministerial energy and attention. That is why the whole affair is misjudged. It is not as if the rest of Britain's transport problems are resolved and we have the luxury of moving on. The railways remain an overpriced and chaotic disgrace. Over Christmas we took a sleeper from Euston to Fort William in Scotland. We were kicked out at 3am in Edinburgh because the train was defective. On the way back there was chaos from Glasgow station with Scotrail officials having no idea what Virgin trains were doing. The fragmented monopolies are not delivering. Sorting out the railways is where the intense ministerial focus should be, for economic reasons as well as quality of life ones."



Whereas the UK government (condom machine in vatican) has missed the important details almost completely. Because they are shit.

I love the idea of sleeper trains. I wish they ran to more locations. I remember travelling to Southern Germany when I was young. It was magic. Sleeping in bunks and watching the landscape roll past. Like I said: Magic.

Friday, January 16, 2009

rivers of cocaine

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Whilst looking for some equipment prices I stumbled across this article.

"In 2005, a group of researches from Italy analyzed water samples from the Po River in northern Italy for the presence of cocaine and its main urinary metabolite - benzoylecgonine (BE)[1]. They took samples each day for four different days and extracted cocaine and BE by solid-phase extraction followed by analysis on LC - MS/MS with electrospray ionization.

Though the concentrations of benzoylecgonine and cocaine in the river were small - 25 and 1.2 ng/L, it is equivalent to 4 kg of cocaine per day that flows down the river or 40,000 (!) doses per day based on a typical cocaine dose."

No wonder the Italians are so batty.

Labour slips into deeper ignominy than usual

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The third runway approval has been broadly shat on by the glorious boys of the NEF (yes, they of the Green New Deal) with accusations of "fantasy economics". A former head of the armed forces, backed by two retired genererals, called the government's plans to replace Trident "completely useless" and " a waste of money". And in a glorious spat between two of the forces for evil and darkness in the country today, we have arch-corporate whore and ex-head of the CBI, Digby-Jones, effectively saying that half the civil service should be sacked for incompetence with a predictably vicious, low-blow in rebuttal from union head:

"Rather than making ill-informed comments, Lord Jones should remember the billions being wasted on private sector consultants and the billions lost through botched privatisations,"
I had a fleeting fantasy of dressing them both as gladiators and filming the resultant tiff for public broadcast. I can't think of anything better for these wastes of oxygen to do- they're certainly not needed in their current positions.

As for the third runway at Heathrow, there's not much I can really say on the issue that hasn't been said before in the run up to the decision. The arguments against the 3rd runway are clear and based in reality. The arguments for are based on a "business-as-usual" continuation of the gorwth-at-any-cost paradigm which has seen the world economy near collapse, massive fiscal inequality and injustice and environmental degradation on a scale never before seen. Sorry, Pete, I wish I could summon the vitriol to swear at Milliband's utter obeisance to the corporate bottom line to the exclusion of everything else in this government but we all knew it was going to happen. Only thing left to do, when reason fails, is to FIGHT!

Thursday, January 15, 2009

from the archives . . .

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

. . . comes this wonderful piece of ranty prose from Flying Rodent:

"I've come to a realisation. It's not the government that's soft, and it's not the justice system that's stained with the ugly yellow streak of cowardice.

It's the citizenry.

Terrified by tabloid tales of roving bands of feral children, held housebound with horror as you watch the last dregs of British decency gurgle down the plug-hole?

Well, boo-fucking-hoo kids, that's life - sometimes ugly, dirty, coarse and dangerous, but vibrant, exciting and alive. If you tremble in dread every time a gang of kids walk past, you're not a clear-eyed realist, but a pant-pissing jessie.

I don't know about anyone else, but if the police state of enforced politeness these quaking wimps envision ever came to pass, I'd emigrate in a second.

Can you imagine? It'd make Nurse Ratched's ward in One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest look like a Slipknot gig."

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

snigger

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Analogy of the year goes to spEak You’re bRanes.

Here’s one for you. If you lived next door to a mad tiger who kept raping you and then exploding, and he said “I’ll stop as soon as you stop those pigeons from shitting on my car”, would you not expect the tiger to rape you and explode as humanely as possible? I mean, the least it could do is let a doctor come and tend to your poor ravaged twinkle before raping you and exploding again. You could have a couple of hours off every afternoon while it explained to a BBC journalist about how it’s doing the bare minimum of raping. I mean, it could be raping you a lot more. Like in the eye or something. If it was, you know, really vindictive or something. Good old tiger.

UK has been enabling Israel's intransigence for years

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Phil Shiner is a dude.

Marc Jacobson is super-awesome

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Word!

"Putting people to work building wind turbines, solar plants, geothermal plants, electric vehicles, and transmission lines would not only create jobs but also reduce costs due to healthcare, crop damage, and climate damage – as well as provide the world with a truly unlimited supply of clean power,"

Schillings are SLAPP-happy scum and a threat to freedom of speech

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Justin tells it.

This is what SLAPPing is, for those not in the know. Another example of a SLAPP suit is detailed here:

". . . corporations don't just SLAPP down journalists. They also use lawsuits to harass and intimidate activists and everyday citizens. Ultimately, therefore, these tactics attack not just journalism but democracy itself."

UK high speed rail advocacy group - Greengauge21

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Just discovered these guys from another comment on Brendan "I hate life on this planet and I want someone to pay me to destroy it" Barber's greenwank. They've published a report (pdf) on the way forward with the UK's next high speed rail link after the St Pancras one. Nice!

this idea is totally rad!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A commenter on Brendan "I love corporate cock in every orifice" Barber's greenwankfest mentioned this:

"The real solution to Europe's transport woes is to build a new airport on the Dogger Bank - with rail connections to the UK, Scandinavia, Germany, and the Netherlands. . . . . The new railway lines across the North Sea would be bi-functional, serving also as platforms for tidal energy generation. As such, they would be self-financing in the long term."

Clearly new airports are anathema to sustainable development. However, the concept of running high speed rail lines across the shallow North Sea, mounted on top of tidal generation barriers is revolutionary! Imagine the electricity! Imagine the rail links! I'm so excited that I might have to go and shake one off.

Hamas offers ceasefire

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On CiF today.

"We have made clear our conditions for a ceasefire: a halt to the aggression, full withdrawal and the lifting of the siege. We have rejected any international force inside the Gaza Strip, but international monitoring at the crossings can be discussed."
-Basim Naim, minister of health in the Hamas government in Gaza


Sounds more than reasonable to me!

Brendan Barber is a pig-ignorant fuckstick

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He thinks that a 3rd runway is compatible with reductions in climate emissions. He even has the gall to try and dress this Labour-cock-sucking fiesta up as a drive to create jobs! What a twat. I pointed out that there are proposed policies that will create jobs AND lower climate emissions. I am continually frustrated by cunts dressing pro-corporate policies up in socialist, greenwank clothing.

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Israeli munitions will cause cancer in hundreds of Gazan survivors

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Back in 2006 I blogged about a new mystery weapon the Israeli Defense Force was deploying in Gaza that left mysteriously deep, cauterised injuries and no shrapnel. Well its now clear that its this stuff: Dense Inert Metal Explosive. And they're still using it today. The appalling thing is that the US has tested this stuff extensively and found:

"These alloys were found to cause neoplastic transformations of human osteoblast cells"
So they appear to have found an extra-economical method of killing Palestinians. Based upon the roughly four-to-one casualty to mortality rate they have inflicted: One dead Palestinian now from trauma and four dead later from cancer! Whilst simultaneously imposing a crippling future burden upon the already hopelessly inadequate medical services in Gaza.

The fucking cunts.

democratic reform of the UN

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I keep banging on about this. Its really very badly needed in light of this sort of thing:

"Ten of the 15 seats on the U.N. Security Council are held by rotating members serving two-year terms. We find that a country's U.S. aid increases by 59 percent and its U.N. aid by 8 percent when it rotates onto the council. This effect increases during years in which key diplomatic events take place (when members' votes should be especially valuable), and the timing of the effect closely tracks a country's election to, and exit from, the council. Finally, the U.N. results appear to be driven by UNICEF, an organization over which the United States has historically exerted great control."

IDF cunts

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

During a ceasefire in a conflict covered by the Fourth Geneva Convention, what is the safest uniform to be wearing?

If you answered "paramedic" you are very, very wrong:


The IDF continues to target medical personnel. In Gaza recounts his version of the above incident, when two medics were fired on by a sniper as they went to retrieve a corpse from the the middle of the street, carrying nothing but a stretcher. One of them, Hassan al-Attal, was shot through the leg but survived. As they ran from the gunfire their ambulance was struck again.

Brendan O'Neill is a bitch

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

George will explain why.

Seriously, what the fuck happened to cunts like O'Neill and Oliver Kamm to twist their minds into the contorted shapes necessary to pen dross such as "Environmentalism: the new death cult?" and "The liberal case for returning Bush to the White House".

Monday, January 12, 2009

Journalism 101 from "Joe The Plumber"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Someone ought to let Joe know about things such as balance and objectivity because he clearly hasn't got a fucking clue what a journalist's job should entail. Better still, he should actually go to Gaza and have all his ignorance and pig-headed naivety bluntly removed by spending a day in a Gazan hospital. What a Walter Mitty fuckstick. I hate Joe and I would laugh to hear that he had been arse-raped with a pineapple.

FREE BOOK ! !

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I am overawed to discover that Craig Murray has released the text of his second autobiographical work, The Catholic Orangemen of Togo and Other Conflicts I Have Known, for free as a PDF! This is the prequel to Murder in Samarkand, his first work that details his experiences as Ambassador to Uzbekistan. I know this is going to be good . . .

David Milliband is a biased little shit

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Word.

Between advocating regime change of a democratically elected government and branding Hamas "murderous" whilst making no direct condemnation of the conduct of the Israeli military, despite noting a figure of 250 dead children, he makes no comment whatsoever on the blatant collective punishment of the Gazans. Clearly Hamas do stupid things like targeting civilians. The Israelis do too but unlike Hamas, without any clear reason for doing so, and without the arguably excoriating circumstances of being under total embargo. As the Gazans have chosen Hamas to represent them it is utterly disingenuous of anyone- the EU, the US or the UK and especially Israel- to refuse to communicate with them. The only way forward is through dialogue and diplomacy. At least Milliband has the two brain cells necessary to grasp the truth of that even if he's too fucking thick to grasp that neither side in the conflict will moderate their beastliness at this stage and therefore a neutral peacekeeping force is the only guaranteed solution.


Addition:

As Rossinisbird points out, Milliband is continuing to establish his novel revisionist stance on recent events in world history by retracting any support for the "War on Terror".

Saturday, January 10, 2009

petition your government to enact sanctions against Israel

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The 10 Downing Street e-petition is here. Its naive, I know, considering that UK representatives to the UN security council have been instructed to offer "tacit support" to United States' efforts to block a ceasefire.But what else can you do. (I suppose I could go to Gaza as a humanitarian volunteer but I'm not going to delude myself over the efficacy of that action towards the establishment of a ceasefire).

Naomi Klein lays out the case for sanctions.

Friday, January 09, 2009

315 children dead in 13 days

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Israeli government are terrorists, torturers and murderers.

help keep Melanie Phillips off the top spot in the UK Weblog Awards

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

John B said it first. Stop this uber-zionist, batshit-vending fuckstick from being rewarded for her naked imperialism and veiled racism.


Update 10-01-09 12:00 - The Batshit-Vender is down to second! Strong work, team! Lets see if we can knock the murderous bitch off the podium completely!


Update 13-01-09, 23:15 - VICTORY! The arch-batshit-vender is deafeated! Oh joy! Oh happy day! I praise life and love and liberty!

this really is utterly dumbfounding

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  1. The Sun posts front page story of "Muslim fanatics drawing up a 'hit list' of prominent UK Jews", as unearthed by an "anti-terrorist expert"- one Glen Jenvey- through a thread on a Muslim open forum.
  2. The Sun - Tabloid Lies blog looks into the forum and finds that the "hit list" is actually a proposed, polite letter-writing campaign to protest at the Gazan genocide and that the only person agitating for direct action (specifically direct protests, not violence) is actually a sockpuppet from an identity posting as 'Abuislam'.
  3. Tim Ireland then unearthed evidence to show pretty conclusively that the sockpuppet was almost certainly the same person- or acting on behalf of- The Sun's "anti-terror expert" quoted as the source of the article in the first place!
You could not make this shit up. Glen Jenvey really is a very sick man, as the Bloggerheads comments show. There's more about this fantasist on the Vigil Exposed blog, which a brave soul called Joanna Emery has set up to track and expose the activities of this bag of mixed fruit & nuts and his lover and fellow terrorist-fighting, super-spy fantasist Dominic Whiteman. More bizarrely still is that Whiteman is somehow connected with Tory MP Patrick Mercer as some sort of security or anti-terrorism advisor and has even appeared on BBC television as such. Utterly, utterly insane!


Addition:

Anton Vowl is equally dismayed.

Thursday, January 08, 2009

Israeli tank fire kills UN fork-lift operator loading aid

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The most damning thing is that the forklift's operation had been cleared with the IDF. Clearly IDF communication either broke down- unlikely in one of the most technically advanced militaries on the planet- or . . . well . . . or they chose to kill some UN personnel. There's not a lot of room to misinterpret this event. The Khaleej Times has more information:

One person was killed when a truck convoy on its way to pick up UN assistance was hit by two tank shells in northern Gaza on Thursday, a UN spokesman said citing the contractors.

"A convoy going towards Erez came under fire, according to the contractor," said Chris Gunness of the UN agency for Palestinian Refugees UNRWA.

"Two tank shells impacted near a forklift, and one person was killed," he said.

"The forklift trucks had been contracted to pick up UN goods," he said, adding that the convoy had been coordinated with the Israeli military.
The New York Times has more:

The United Nations aid convoy came under fire around 9 a.m., as three forklift trucks operated by the only trucking company authorized to carry out deliveries near the Israeli-Gaza border were collecting food at the Erez crossing in advance of the three-hour lull. The driver killed was identified as Bassem Quta, 32.
There seems to be little confusion as to the humanitarian nature of these aid operation, which has been ongoing for months as this Reuters article describes:

It is a slow process. A gate on the Israeli side is opened to allow pallets of food to be unloaded into no man's land by fork lift truck in the morning, then the gate on the Gaza side opens to allow the food to be put on trucks in the afternoon.


So, in light of this evidence, how could an IDF tank commander confuse a fork lift with a valid military target?

A: He couldn't and it was a deliberate act. A war crime.


In other news from the conflict, Amnesty International had this to say about the IDF's conduct:

“Our sources in Gaza report that Israeli soldiers have entered and taken up positions in a number of Palestinian homes, forcing families to stay in a ground floor room while they use the rest of their house as a military base and sniper position . . . This clearly increases the risk to the Palestinian families concerned and means they are effectively being used as human shields."


Addition:

In support of that last report, the same incident is mentioned in this Guardian article.

googlebomb Gordon Brown . . .

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

. . . because he is a murderous, two-faced cunt. Yes, that's Gordon Brown I'm talking about. Our Prime Minister, Gordon Brown. The Prime Minister of the UK.

United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) resolution 377 A, the "Uniting for Peace" resolution

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The US has used its permanent position on the UN security council to veto every draft resolution that has criticised Israel. Every single one, pretty much. Including the ones condemning Israel for killing UN staff in its various wars (pdf). Likewise with all the ones that might threaten international condemnation of Israel's utter disregard for international law.

However, the resolution in the title allows the security council to be circumvented in the interests of peace if the security council cannot agree on a draft resolution. In specific the resolution declares that the General Assembly of the United Nations:

"Reaffirms the importance of the exercise by the Security Council of its primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security, and the duty of the permanent members to seek unanimity and to exercise restraint in the use of the veto," ...

"Recognises in particular that such failure does not deprive the General Assembly of its rights or relieve it of its responsibilities under the Charter in regard to the maintenance of international peace and security," ...

"Resolves that if the Security Council, because of lack of unanimity of the permanent members, fails to exercise its primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security in any case where there appears to be a threat to the peace, breach of the peace, or act of aggression, the General Assembly shall consider the matter immediately with a view to making appropriate recommendations to Members for collective measures, including in the case of a breach of the peace or act of aggression the use of armed force when necessary, to maintain or restore international peace and security."

This endows the UNGA with the ability to call an "emergency special session" which can consider motions and draft resolutions that cannot be blocked by a veto of the five permanent members of the UNSC. This provides a mechanism to catalyse international action in cases such as the Gazan genocide, where the rule of law is clearly being broken, peace has been destroyed and global security is being threatened. I'm going to see who I can talk to about this.

Wednesday, January 07, 2009

Gaza: The reason why?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Who else was aware that there exists significant gas reserves off the coast of Israel/Gaza? (Ok- anyone who reads the Guardian or Indy or the Torygraph, but it was a rhetorical question so bollocks)

Well, apparently 60% of those reserves are in the Gazan region. Israel, like the rest of the world, relies upon oil and gas to fuel its economy. It currently relies on imports, mostly from Egypt- hardly a "friend". Imagine if it could secure the rest of those reserves exclusively for itself. The only obstacle is any sort of functional Palestinian government in Gaza . . . . . oh . . . . right.

Craig Murray: "Gordon Brown Is a Murderous Two Faced Cunt"


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



Word.


Septicisle drives home the vicious truth of this by posting these images. One is of the Gazan experience, the other the Israeli one. Guess which is which:



Yes, the bottom one is the Gazan experience. Oh . . . hang on a minute. No, that's actually the Israelis who have gathered near the border with Gaza to watch the massacre unfold before them, equipped with binoculars to better see the children being disemboweled and decapitated and mobile phones to relate every gory little detail to their friends and families who were not in the lucky position to be able to attend in person.

"Avi Pilchick took a long swig of Pepsi and propped a foot on the plastic patio chair he had carried up the hillside to watch the fighting. "They are doing good," Pilchick, 20, said of Israeli forces battling Palestinian militants in Gaza, "but they can do more.""

To add insult to genocide, In Gaza reports that the Israelis are routinely targeting ambulances and paramedic personnel. The heroic blogger also relates second hand reports of Israeli soldiers locking an extended family inside their house which was then either demolished with planted explosives or struck by other munitions. Medical services are being prevented from reaching the house to help any surviving witnesses to this crime.

Any cunt out there who blames Hamas for refusing to embrace a ceasefire is ignorant of reality. Clare Short will explain:



Ken adds his voice to Israel's shameless exhibition of bokhim ve-yorim:



Anyone naively wondering why our government is enabling genocide should read this.

Any Israeli apologists should be reminded that:
"these Palestinian rockets killed 8 Israelis over the last 6 years, fewer victim than from Guy Fawkes night over the same period"
(Quote from Michael, January 5, 2009 9:43 AM, on the original link on this post. Some other of his posts contain anti-semitism, which I condemn.)

I would like to take this moment to remind everyone that the reason for the lack of multilateral action over the Gazan genocide, as with the Lebanese genocide before it, is the UK and US's United Nations Security Council veto. Therefore I would like to take this opportunity to call for democratic reform of the UN.


Addition:

Craig's title has been reproduced as a front page headline by the Pakistan Daily! Awesome!


Addition:

.

Tuesday, January 06, 2009

Seth Freedman reminds us why we still shouldn't support Hamas

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Despite the Gazan genocide Seth lays out why those protesting against it should not be carrying Hamas or Hezbollah flags. Its one point that I agree on with the racist, murderous scum at Harry's Place.

"Hamas don't have to fire rockets at Israeli schools and homes. And, even if they choose to do so, they don't have to base their launch pads inside their own civilian centres, intentionally putting their own wives and children in harm's way on a daily basis. But they do, and the same protesters so virulently opposed to every facet of Israel's cruel campaign refuse to raise a murmur of protest, lest anyone should think that by doing so they are taking the enemy's side."

Addition:

Merrick links to a couple of blogs that vividly relate the utter horror of life in Gaza at the moment.


Addition:

Sunny Hundal adds to Seth's argument.

Tony is currently on holiday, we apologise for any children dying during this period but he will endeavour to help as soon as he's back

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

While 3000 Palestinians were being killed or injured in the Gazan genocide, where is our Middle East envoy to be found?

"Tony's on holiday at the moment."

Addition:

Seumas Milne brings attention to Blair's hand in the Gazan genocide.

George vs cockweasels, part 3

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

George's series of video interviews with the world's most notorious eco-hypocrites continues with an interview with the chief executive of Shell, Jeroen van de Veer.

Monday, January 05, 2009

Kelly Slater rules

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Word!

the problem with neo-classical economics

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This is frickin rad:
". . . the situation in the current capitalist system whereby much of the surplus labour appropriated by capitalists and shareholders ends up unable to find genuine investment opportunities because workers whose surplus labour has been appropriated do not earn enough to provide a sufficient market for the goods or services that would have been produced or supplied. In other words, much of the capital derived from the surplus labour that people have performed ends up not being invested at all – at least not in any meaningful economic sense, in new productive activities. Indeed, this is the primary cause of the world’s current economic crisis – too much capital accumulating at the expense of wages and growth of economic demand."

My only gripe is that it lacks any mention of sustainable development. Just a small elephant in the room, there.


enabling the genocide

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Harry's Place does what it does best. Supporting the murder of hundreds of innocents who belong to the "wrong" culture.

"Hamas’s hostile intentions towards Israel were not a secret when they were apparently, we are told, selected to lead in a transparent and democratic fashion by the people of Gaza. The conflict we are watching unfold is a consequence of that decision. Of all the voices calling for a ceasefire, the leadership of Gaza is not one of them. On the contrary, they are taunting the Israelis towards greater violence."
Yes, Hamas' refusal to seek compromise over the Israeli refusal to let them form a democratically elected government, eat or even survive is all their own pig-headed fault because there have just been so many chances for them to end it all by recognising Israel's right to exist. Who wants to have their own country recognised when you can just recognise another one instead, thereby dmaning yourself to second-class-citizen status and effectively divesting yourself of any chance of self-rule? Sometimes you just have to feel sorry for the Israelis for having to cope with such determinedly suicidal myopia.

The banks say a second bail-out will be essential if they are to achieve their medium-term strategic goal of . . .

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

. . . having all the money and throwing you out of your house.

Mash it!


FYI: The real-world version, with the same punch line, can be found here. And here.

snigger

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Religious people are really fucking stupid. Or brainwashed. Or just plain evil.

tempting fate

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

From NewScientist:

"Last year saw the first handful of prototype robotic exoskeletons go on sale to the public – with the most advanced being the full-body HAL robot suit made by Japanese firm Cyberdyne."
(emphasis is mine)
Surely, naming your robotic company and product after the most notoriously psychopathic such examples in popular fiction is more than a little irreverent and stunningly arrogant, even for the Engrish-bound Nipponese. Watch this space for the latest reports of amokkery.

civil servants and nuclear administrators colluded to circumvent democratic oversight

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In another damning failure of democracy in the UK we have a report from the Indy on Sundy reporting the contents of documents procured through Freedom of Information requests that show that the bureaucrats in question circumvented legitimate democratic procedures that would have seen the bill in question face scrutiny in the House. This would have would have revealed the utter unacceptability of writing a blank check to the corporations taking over the running of Sellafield in the incident of a nuclear accident. This is something the government unreservedly promised would not happen as recently as January 2008.

Nuclear generation is just another product of the FSIB.


Addition:

ChickYog picks it up.

Saturday, January 03, 2009

SHOCK DECLARATION! - TV exec condemns online file sharing of his programs

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Indy has been slipping into Daily-Mail-like demagogy for some time. Giving a pedestal to a TV executive from which he can broadcast his condemnation of file sharing is a classic business-and-upstanding-citizen-friendly example and ignores the fact that the recording and distribution of such programs was going on long before teh interweb became the medium of choice for sharing video (anyone remember video cassettes?).

Anyhow, file sharing over teh interweb is becoming less and less popular as video streaming sites start to take over, supplying a world of content on demand (if slightly jerkily and after ten minutes' buffering). Funny how you don't see cnuts like Garrett screaming about that in the press. The most damning thing is that TV networks are now offering their own streaming sites to compete with the Chinese. So the market is already being forced to work with this new paradigm without any obvious collapses of big TV networks or any obvious fall in program quality. So claims to the contrary are all a pack of fucking lies.

more Obushma

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What this guy says about Obama's inability to condemn the Gazan genocide. The extended article linked to in the text is also damning of President-elect's lack of morals.

"ecoterrorists" arrested in France

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I'll be very interested in developments in this case. I see this as the first signs of a right-wing authoritarian pogrom against left-wing, anticapitalists that was initiated by this.

An English translation of the anticapitalist text authored by the alleged ringleader is available here.