May 06, 2006
Feh - bloody politics
So Clark has been sacked then, the cabinet reshuffled, Prescott kept on but had his responsibilities stripped from him (meaning his job essentially. Which surely can only mean he now has even more time to chase after even more skirt) and so Blair clings onto power for a little bit longer.
But one thing remains the same, mainly that the country is still being run by a bunch of politicians. Haven't we learnt anything by now? That the whole current system is totally inadequate to that very task? That of running a country. I can't but help think that such vitally important things such as the whole Welfare system, pensions, education, and handling the infrastructure etc. should be left to the whims of people who think in such -frankly childish terms as 'left wing' and 'right wing' and I’m constantly horrified when any genuine improvements which are made one year can easily be undone by a whole new party the next simply because it doesn't suit the ideology they’re purporting to follow. This perpetually tinkering with things because they’ve got to be seen to be doing something to earn their grossly bloated salaries*. That’s when they’re not in the pockets of one big business or another of course. “Give us some funding Guv‘nor - there’s a peerage in it for yer.”
There's another issue that needs to be addressed -isn't it clear to everyone yet that the career of politics itself only attracts exactly the sort of person who shouldn't ever be given positions of authority?
Every one's currently appalled at the Labour Party - but only a few weeks ago we saw the Lib-Dems implode in a rather ugly cloud of confusion and corruption. As for the Tories -it’s now taken the best part of two decades before people have started to forget the giant mountain of sleaze and corruption they had mired themselves in before the people finally twigged they were unelectable. (It took them long enough to realise.)
But it’s all exactly the same thing over and over and over again. When are we going to learn? These are not the sort of people we can trust to run anything important. They’re invariably stupid, usually greedy, certainly hypocritical, always self-serving, not to mention downright weird and once in any position of power ridiculously easily prone to corruption.
It’s long overdue that we begin to think up better ways of running the country than this continuous farce.
(*If I had my way - all politicians would be put on minimum wage. 1. Because if they think ordinary working people can live on that amount - then they should be able to too. 2. Think of the money it would save the taxpayer. 3. It would help it stop attracting the wrong sort of person for the job.)
Posted by groc at 04:44 PM | Comments (1)
February 12, 2006
ironic
Now this is weird. The Daily Telegraph here is one of those rabid Right-wing papers. During the Eighties it was a fervent supporter of Margaret Thatcher and her policies. Amongst which where discrimination against Gay and Lesbian people (the infamous Clause 28), a demonisation of single-parent mothers -and a general hatred of all immigrants. So it’s ironic that the free DVD today (and the only reason I bought this paper) is a 1960s kitchen-sink drama classic of a single-parent mother who’s having a child by an Afro-Caribbean and whose best friend is a gay man -pretty much a grab bag of all the things the Telegraph has staunchly been against for years.
Posted by groc at 02:26 PM | Comments (1)
January 25, 2006
Mmmm - suspicious
So George Galloway has been under investigation for `serious fraud’* has he? Interesting that. - I mean it wouldn't be anything like politically motivated revenge for having made the US senate look vindictive and foolish would it? It’s also odd that no one has bothered to investigate the links that there is between Iraq, various Saudi oil families and the Bush family. I’m sure all that would prove to be very interesting for everyone...
Meanwhile: Telegraph loses Galloway libel appeal.
Although Galloway did lose appeal when he wore that bright red leotard.
*Is there such a thing as the Trivial Fraud Office?
Posted by groc at 01:48 PM | Comments (1)
December 22, 2005
well Hello Big Brother
This is scary. Truly insanely scary. Why not go the whole hog and have every single last person in the UK wear one of those electronic tags they make criminals under house arrest wear? After ID cards and the National database that'll be the next thing.
Sweet Zombie Jeezuz.
Posted by groc at 10:29 AM | Comments (1)
May 07, 2005
politics - feh
See? This is what I hate and despise about British politics. See this man? I didn’t vote for him. I wouldn’t and couldn't ever vote for someone with policies like this. A quick perusal of his voting record tells me that he’s pro hunting, he’s pretty much anti-gay with his voting against the lowering the age of consent and his voting down of a bill that would have allowed gay couples to foster children, he didn’t do much, not even a token gesture to oppose the Iraq war, he‘s all for ID cards. Blah blah blah. Pretty much your typical right-wing tory overall. Yet he’s supposed to represent me and my interests in Parliament? With a supposedly majority vote. Even though if you think about it - more people voted against him than for him (59% of the turnout). Now tell me - how is this supposed to be fair?
Posted by groc at 11:20 AM | Comments (4)
May 01, 2005
No matter who you vote for this Thursday ---
a politician will get into power.
But who the hell are these people?
Has no one else noticed how thoroughly weird these people as a whole are? (and whatever party they belong to has little to so with it.)
No -seriously. The majority of them are clearly quite deeply psychologically damaged - the last thing we should be doing is putting people like that into positions of power, rather they should be hauled off for intensive psychotherapy and medication. It should be obvious to all that more often than not they’re trying to resolve deeply personal issues by playing out some sort of psycho-drama -unfortunately when it gets to be psycho-drama played out on a world stage... it involves us and all-to-often people in their thousands and sometimes in their millions get killed, hurt and maimed etc. It isn't as if we've not had plenty of lessons to learn from history.
It's about time we all as the human race gave up this primitive in-built 'follow-the-alpha-ape-member' we‘ve got. What served us well when we were swinging about in the trees and stumbling about on forest floors - isn't doing us much good now. We could do better, we really could.
Posted by groc at 09:56 PM | Comments (8)
April 25, 2005
UK election 2005. -part 3
The most bizarre part of this election is that in terms of policies and issues in polls everyone generally sees the Lib Dems as having the sanest, most sensible and decent policies that they feel they can support. Despite this pretty much no one is going to vote for them in the General Election. Simply and purely because the Lib Dems haven’t been in power before, and because of that no one trusts that’ll they’ll be up to the job. Yet the only reason they’ve never been in power before -is because no-one will vote them into power because they haven’t been in power before...
(It would seem the Lib Dems only pick up any votes when someone is making a protest against the party they would normally support, rather than voting postively for the party.)
See the inanity?
Yes, indeed, the people in this country really are on the whole THAT stupid. Both Labour and the Conservatives know this and pander to this fact to the hilt. The Lib Dems are perpetually surprised by this, and being inherently decent haven’t learnt how to exploit this to their advantage. (I do have a sneaking suspicion that your standard Lid Dem voter has a higher IQ than that of your average Tory or Labour voter.)
My gripe about this sitituation is that to break this absurd deadlock is that we need to change the political system, we desperately need proportional representation. But we won’t get that until… the Lib Dems get into power -see the flaw? Of coursse Labour and the Tories aren't going to ever change the electorial system - it's not in their interestes to ever do that.
So the country remains trapped in this complete rut - we never really get to actually progress anywhere.
The other problem with the Lib Dems is that their Leader is a red head. I’m sorry, but this ignores another principle of modern politics which frequently gets overlooked: the fact that in this highly visual - completely televised world - politics is now in large part a beauty pageant. The political world is increasingly ruled by image consultants, every prominent MP you see is put under intense training to fake sincerity as convincingly as possible. Anything close to genuine authenticity was bled out of politics a very long ago.
Posted by groc at 09:37 PM | Comments (2)
UK election 2005. -part 2
Despite my deep seated dislike and distrust of Tony Blair -not under any circumstances must Michael Howard ever be allowed to gain power. He was one of the worst Home Secretaries we’ve ever had, he was one of the main forces behind the disastrous Poll Tax fiasco, the list goes on.
The Conservative Party played their race card early, all to make a direct appeal to their bigoted supporters. No doubt hoping to steal some votes from the BNP.
Also once again they’re dragging out their tired, completely threadbare and discredited promise for lower taxes. By which they always, but always, mean lower taxes only for their wealthier supporters, which in the end always involves sneakily clawing back this new shortfall from the poorer individuals and families in both indirect (VAT) and direct taxes, whilst at the same time cutting all the public services these people have to rely on. (Rich people never care about public services - they don’t use public transport, they don’t use NHS hospitals, they go to BUPA for their Health Insurance and go private hospitals, they have private pension plans -etc. Mark it all down to selfishness. If the Middle classes are about anything they're about all out selfishness.)
The Conservative Party has a whole have always disgusted me. I can see through how utterly primitive their world view is -it’s all so medieval, so completely feudal under-pinned with the mentality of the robber Baron. It's just nasty and grubby. So I can see why this is so popular amongst the 'less sophisticated'. Hell, it’s not far off from the whole monkey-mentality -"My banana! Mine! My territory! Mine! I’m bigger than you -I hit you. -I rule. Now I want your banana too. Give -or I hit you."
The only vaguely clever part of all this is where the Party leaders recognise this primitive mindset in their minions and exploit it to their advantage. They’ve been remarkable by how very successful they’ve long been in getting the working class to vote for them - despite the fact that everything the Tories have ever done and will continue to do has been totally against their, the Working classes own best interests.
(Much in the same way the Neo-Conservatives in the USA cynically took /take advantage of the Christian Fundamentalist Right Wing over there to help bulk up numbers at the polling booths.)
I hope that most people won’t fall for their lies - and can remember what a disgusting repellent ball of decadent sleaze the Tory party eventually devolved into after their far-too-long years in power. When you’ve got a primitive grasping monkey-mentality you’ve bound to start playing with your own shit and start flinging it around sooner or later. That's just what monkeys do.
Posted by groc at 09:18 PM | Comments (0)
April 07, 2005
UK Election time
Posted by groc at 02:25 AM | Comments (0)
January 27, 2005
US SS - about to get shot to hell.
Mr Bush and his friends think that private Pensions are going to be the only way forward. Uh-uh. I'm sure the victims of the Maxwell Pensions scam would beg to differ.
Posted by groc at 07:15 PM | Comments (1)
January 17, 2005
2005 set to get so like 1984
Posted by groc at 03:24 PM | Comments (0)
November 19, 2004
You have papers?
"How could you fight terrorism if you ignored the obvious and pursued the ridiculous?"
Gotta love America - making all that fuss since Sept. 11 about how evil terrorists were attacking their country mainly because they were jealous of all that (supposed) freedom. Every day since then they've done all they can to strip away those freedoms one by one. Good call.
Posted by groc at 12:26 PM | Comments (2)
November 18, 2004
8 Reasons
Why supermarket loyalty cards are not like a National ID card.
1. You volunteer to sign up for one.
2. No one will ever deny you goods or services at a shop if you havent got one.
3. No one ever checks up what information you provide. If you want a loyalty card for the points and money off offers they give you access to - no ones bothered if you sign up for one as Mickey Mouse at Disney World. It's not a criminal offence to do so.
4. The police wont ever be able to arrest you if you refuse to show them one or fine you thousands of pounds if you refuse to have one.
5. Loyalty cards are free - they dont cost 35 (cheapest estimate so far given - but will probably be a lot higher).
6. You dont have to have your irises scanned or fingerprint information on a Loyalty card.
7. The private companies who run Loyalty card schemes dont spread information about what you buy all over the place with other companies (most loyalty dont even keep any records on what items youve bought.)
8. Loyalty cards schemes don't waste billions of tax payers money that could be better spent elsewhere.
Here's an old Guardian article about Loyalty cards.
Posted by groc at 01:52 PM | Comments (7)
November 13, 2004
apology not necessary
But it isn't those guys who have anything to be sorry about - it's the other 51% other Americans who have their heads so far up their own arses they can't see how completely wrong they are about ...well, just about everything.
Apparently (according to the popbitch) newsletter - the 3 part BBC2 documentary 'The Power of
Nightmares' is now up on Bit torrent. I urge everyone who hasn't seen this to grab it. Especially you US guys - because somehow I get the sneaky feeling it's not ever going to get shown over there.
Posted by groc at 01:23 AM | Comments (2)
November 09, 2004
groan
it's begun. State-sponsored homophobia for schools. America is going to end up tearing itself in two.
This article scares me. How can you possibly have a viable credible democracy when actual votes are not properly counted, or are even casually thrown away simply because no one could be bothered to count them properly! Especially this year when I get the impression that a record number of the American public turned out to vote.
It's horrible to think that there may well be truth in that anarchist slogan which goes: "If voting changed anything - they'd make it illegal."
Posted by groc at 04:33 AM | Comments (3)
November 03, 2004
I can't bear to look
It's like watching a mass of brain-damaged turkeys voting for Thanksgiving / Christmas.
Update:
The Tories here in the UK successfully managed to pull a similiar trick here in the UK as they managed to get the Sun-reading working classes to vote for them time after time and thus bringing in those long dark years of Thatcherite misrule. All this despite the fact it was Tory policies which directly made the Working classes lives harder and harder.
I really have to ask if the stupid and the terminally masochistic should be allowed to vote.
Posted by groc at 02:48 PM | Comments (3)
October 27, 2004
Isn?t it nice living in a Democracy?
A country where any important changes to the law of the land, especially those pertaining to the freedom of it?s own citizens, are all well thought out beforehand and properly researched then carefully debated then eventually put before the people for a vote you know, rather than implimented willy-nilly?
Just one problem - it sure isn?t this country.
(I thought was of the supposedly positive selling points of the ID card was that it was going to be a combined passport and driving license etc. If it becomes yet another plastic card -albeit one which will it be compulsory to carry with you at all times, then er... what's the point of it - when you can *already* use your passport or your driving license as ID?
Oh yes - there's all the databases you'll get put onto. The new ones that will all be able to talk to one another.
Meanwhile - seen any terrorist attacks on British soil yet? You know, the very thing that having an ID card is supposed to be help prevent? No? Neither have I. Odd that. We seem to be doing awfully well preventing terrorism without having to treat every last citizen of this country as a potential threat.
Even odder when you consider how many different things it's been sold to us as... first it was an 'entitlement card', then it was a passport/driving license replacement, then something to help keep track of incoming immigrants, a sure-fire cure for international terrorism...
Posted by groc at 03:08 PM | Comments (2)
October 17, 2004
carded
But that's OK - Because by then Mr Blunkett will have an top-notch PR and marketing man who'll sell it to us - probably very much like the TV ads for Actimel - making it seem all rather fluffy and friendly and jolly.
Sigh.
Posted by groc at 05:52 PM | Comments (0)
air strip one
Wednesday BBC2 9pm (20th October) The Power of Nightmares. Watch.
Posted by groc at 01:01 PM | Comments (1)
October 15, 2004
an aggrieved outsider class
They're certainly well organized in their sleaze aren't they - those US republicans.
Update: Because the US media really has a left-wing bias. Doesn't it? *Cough.*
Posted by groc at 07:17 PM | Comments (0)
October 13, 2004
Blunkett deemed arrogant? -surely not.
Posted by groc at 01:19 PM | Comments (0)
October 07, 2004
Gotta love that
oh so cosy Anglo-American special relationship.
Posted by groc at 04:23 PM | Comments (0)
October 06, 2004
privacy? who needs that?
All Americans are about to say bye-bye to the last shreds of their privacy...
You know, 'cause their intelligence agencies are like, so brilliantly excellently good. Like they brought Osama Bin Laden and his "Al Qaeda" terrorist group to justice in next to no time.... er no wait. Cough. Well they definitely lost no time in finding all those WMD that... oh, wait. Er...
Do anyone seriously think that these shady characters should be allowed completely untrammelled, totally unlimited free access to everyone's personal information?
And if -as it is being claimed by Bush and Chaney (and Blair) we're living in a much safer world now - why do they need these new powers?
Posted by groc at 08:16 PM | Comments (2)
September 29, 2004
A better life for everyone.
(Except for all those innocent people we killed in that unjustified invasion of Iraq. They're dead now. Whooops-a-daisy. Never mind hey.)
That's what passed through my mind when I caught sight of that particular slogan on TV of this year's Labour Party conference.
Posted by groc at 03:02 PM | Comments (0)
September 26, 2004
Bush and the Nazis
An old Bush family connection with Nazi Germany? Who would've thunk it...
Posted by groc at 07:51 PM | Comments (0)
September 23, 2004
if voting changed anything
they'd make it illegal. Oh, they do that already? What a f**king surprise.
via Die Puny Humans >> The commission, in a report earlier this year, said that in Florida, where President Bush won a bitterly disputed election in 2000 by 537 votes, black voters had been 10 times more likely than non-black voters to have their ballots rejected and were often prevented from voting because their names were erroneously purged from registration lists.
Posted by groc at 03:49 AM | Comments (0)
August 30, 2004
Go Bush Go
No, I mean you really should go*. As far as I can remember no other President in the history of the US has had mass demonstrations like this against them, certainly not so close to an election. In normal circumstances people would just assume they could easily vote someone so unpopular out, but everyone there must suspect that there's still the slim chance he could get a second term, thanks to the miracle of modern technology. None of that dodgy old world style 'hanging chad' stuff that worked so well in his favour last time. People have seen through that one now.
(NY Times article. requires registration - but if you don't wanna and who does-- username: noneofyour password: business --will get you in.)
Posted by groc at 12:13 AM | Comments (0)
August 23, 2004
human rights and Tory wrongs
Don't you start getting used to any of those new-fangled European human rights you think you might have living here in the UK, because as soon as the Tories get back into power they're planning on taking them off us again. The twunts. All of which begs the question 'Why haven't we got a proper written constitution?' And what the hell does "too many spurious rights" mean exactly. Makes me wonder how long it'll be before they have a go at bringing back slavery.
Posted by groc at 08:42 PM | Comments (0)
June 29, 2004
But,
but if the Government is to close down 550 benefit offices, where are all these 30,000 newly unemployed civil servants going to go to sign on for their job seekers allowance?
Posted by groc at 05:48 PM | Comments (0)
June 15, 2004
BB USA
What *is* going on over there? Looks like the US Government just doesn't trust it's own people any more.
Posted by groc at 02:51 AM | Comments (0)
June 13, 2004
Dear Tony,
When members of your own party start getting disgruntled and express their worries.
You are doing something wrong.
When even members of your own cabinet resign over the issues.
You are doing something wrong.
When thousands take to marching in the streets against what youre doing.
You are doing something wrong.
When in local elections voters turn against you so heavily your party ends up in third place.
You have done and are doing something very, very wrong.
Got the message yet?
Get your coat, and don't let the door hit you on your ass on the way out.
Posted by groc at 09:42 PM | Comments (1)
asylum
Over at Burnt toast -Lisa bought attention to the news item of the Home offices 'great' new idea of forcing immigrants to do community service work, this just after having their knuckles rapped for violating UN Human Rights by refusing even the most basic of subsistence to asylum seekers, (which Blunkett lost 3 appeals against) or in failed cases denying them any benefits and threatening to split families taking their children away from them and putting them into care. Presumably were supposed to see this as a step above obliging refugees to sleep destitute in the streets, or as a step up from them working on illegal chain gangs. It's certainly better than when they've sent people back to be imprisoned, tortured or killed without even the hint of a chance to claim asylum.
Its apparent that immigration policy is in a total mess, that new legislation is constantly being drafted year upon year (usually by Mr Blunkett) but based only on emotional and irrational knee-jerk responses with frightening levels of mean-spiritedness -all too often playing to the little Englanders narrow xenophobic mindset -hoping to keep their votes coming in -rather than to actual facts. But its legislation that frequently gets thrown out for being illegal or is heavily criticised for its less than humanitarian leanings. Meanwhile the genuine asylum seekers are, as always, suffering deprivation and having humiliation piled upon humiliation from all sides in what must already be an extremely grim situation to be in.
As an aside: another thing I don't understand is -given all the tabloid-driven hysteria over illegal immigration, why then has a certain brand of beer based a whole TV commercial around a 'cheeky chappie' pretending to be an illegal immigrant in order to be deported to various countries of his choosing.
Posted by groc at 06:30 PM | Comments (0)
June 08, 2004
Watchdog's 'alarm' over ID cards
"It is not just about citizens having a piece of plastic to identify themselves."It's about the amount, the nature of the information held about every citizen and how that's going to be used in a wide range of activities."
--Richard Thomas
Posted by groc at 08:31 PM | Comments (0)
June 07, 2004
eye Dee
So there's not enough volunteers for the pilot ID card scheme in Scotland. Oh dear. Oh dear. What they haven't said anything about is just how are the ID cards (once enough of them have been given out) to be further trailed and tested? Will police be knocking at people's homes at all times of the day and night demanding to see their ID? "Just testing Sir/Madam." Will roaming bobbies in the street be stopping random passers by? Will newagents refuse to sell newpapers or cigarettes to anyone without a card? "Just testing Govnor." Pubs and off-licenses refusing to sell alcohol to the un-carded? Will the unemployed be refused their benefits until they can show one? Will they have people trying to commit random acts of terrorism? Because surely it can't be enough to just give out the cards - haven't they got to be tested out in the real world to prove they actually do all these magical things Mr. Blunkett swears blind they will. (*Cough*)
Oh, by the way since terrorist attacks have been already falling to their lowest levels since 1969 without the introduction of the new ID cards. Isn't it already redundant?
By the way, we're still waiting for that first ever terrorist attack on British soil that might possibly justify all this mess... and nothing less than a plane flying into the London eye will do.
Posted by groc at 10:07 PM | Comments (0)
June 05, 2004
Kitten
Groc fully agrees with Zbornak about Kitten. Annoying as most people seem to have found her -in a lot of ways she was right about a lot of things. We should all be making little acts of rebellion against the establishment and doing so all the time. If only just to make things difficult for those who are in control of us. The whole country seems to walking around in a sleep walkers' daze of bland complacent conformity. For instance why do we work the longest hours in Europe? It's not as if we're the most successful and richest country because of it. It's more to do with people continually being exploited because no one ever bothers to stand up say. "Well, no -thanks for the offer of extra hours. But you know, I should be working to live, not living to work. I'd rather spend those hours for myself rather than helping the company/corporation/whatever getting even richer.' Or "why is my bank making so much money off me, it's got my money to make money off my money and it then charges me interest and fees etc. in order to do it?"
We should be asking questions of any of the rules we're told to follow, like: what are they? Who put them in place and for whose benefit are they for? Are they genuinely fair? Because more often than not they're there acting against your best interests.
Posted by groc at 11:25 AM | Comments (1)
June 01, 2004
I D
Mistaken Identity Report. The minutes.
Posted by groc at 03:46 PM | Comments (0)
May 25, 2004
No, not us Gov.
It's not our fault this whole Iraq thing. We was stitched up like a kipper we was.
Pull the other one it might have WMD bells on it.
Posted by groc at 10:03 AM | Comments (0)
May 24, 2004
America is so screwed
Susan Sontag on the Abu Ghraib photos.
And if this is true - then, I'm sorry -but the American people need to get their fat arses out into the streets and start a revolution against Bush and his cronies. Just how much more right wing do things have to get over there?
Posted by groc at 03:00 PM | Comments (3)
"The first casualty...
...in war -is the truth."
Of course - the answer is simple. The systematic abuse, humiliation and torture of Iraqi prisoners/detainees doesn't happen - if we don't know about it. What we don't see won't concern us then. Of course they could try things like -oh, I don't know, maybe respecting everyone's human rights and treat these people humanely, and in so doing show the rest of the world that they're not every bit as bad as Saddam ever was. But that's probably way too difficult. No, not after they've spent all that time and effort demonising the Iraqi people to the US soldiers so they're happy enough going in bombing and shooting all those godless 'towel-heads'.
Posted by groc at 09:19 AM | Comments (0)
May 23, 2004
Blunkett is just evil
Evil and downright inhumane. It's not enough that he's actually sent asylum seekers back to their deaths. He's denied housing and subsistence benefits to three people simply because they failed to claim asylum as soon as they entered the UK. Presumably he just simply expected them to quietly starve to death on the streets whilst cluching their ID cards to their chests so the police know what names to put on their forms. Luckily the law courts disagreed with him, but that doesn't matter. He's appealing to the House of Lords to try and get his own way still .
Posted by groc at 07:31 PM | Comments (0)
May 19, 2004
well...
Which echoes similiar results in Australia not so long ago where initially people were all in favour of an ID card until they got to know more and more information about it and what all the possible implications were - by then 90% were against the idea. And that card wasn't even a fully featured all-singing all-dancing technological biometric-containing marvel like the sort Blunkett wants us to have.
You'd think -wouldn't you, that our Government would be able to learn from other countries' experiances without having to go through all the pain (and not mention the vast expense) of making all the same mistakes over for itself. But there you go...
Posted by groc at 04:18 PM | Comments (0)
May 16, 2004
ID
Which would be better to help prevent crime and potential terrorism -ID cards or 60,000 extra policemen? Wendy M. Grossman on ID cards.
The people who are really going to benefit from ID cards:
Terrorists: The 9/11 hijackers had ID, the bombers in Madrid had proper ID etc. I don't think suicide bombers will care much about whether they carry their own true ID or someone else's. (Update: [Blunkett] ...also acknowledges that 65% of known terrorists use their own identity.)
Criminals -a card will actually make their lives easier. If you have your wallet or purse stolen -they'll now have your address handy to come round and burgle you later - it'll probably also make it easier for them to be able to use your credit cards and cash cheques and open new accounts etc. (There have been tests proving that many people don't even look at the photos on the various existing ID cards.) Not to mention this whole new revenue stream organised crime will now get in the making and selling of forged IDs.
The Treasury. 35 at least for the basic card -ker-ching. 77 (or more) for a biometric passport and/or driving license -ker-ching. and I wonder how much they'll gouge you for a replacement everytime it gets stolen or lost. Let's face it - the ID card is a tax. It's a national citizen tax. Then there's all the income from the ridiculously huge fines they intend to bring in for such things as not notifying the Government when you change your address, or if you neglect or forget to inform the Government when it's been lost or stolen, not to mention when it does eventually become compulsory being fined if you ever go outdoors and forget to take it out with you. (You can imagine the police harrassing someone using that proposed law can't you? Popping across the road to the shops, or taking the rubbish out, "excuse me Sir/Madam, may we see your ID." Ker-ching. Ker-ching. Ker-chimg.)
The IT companies must currently dancing on table tops not being able to believe their good fortune at all the vast amounts of money that will be rolling in. They've just been given a blank cheque. (hell no, they've actually been given a whole pre-signed blank cheque BOOK.)
Sigh. Can Governments not get into into their heads yet that technology is not the answer -computers aren't magic boxes that can solve all problems. In fact they're more likely to cause and create far more problems than they solve.
Register articles:
How to fool ID card system - give a false ID, say UK gov.
Blunkett risks ID card battle with EU.
Guardian article. Here's looking at you.
Privacy org: FAQ
Posted by groc at 11:29 PM | Comments (0)
May 14, 2004
mirror mirror
As the whole Gulf War/Sept. 11th/Iraq occupation thing has been unfolding I've been finding it harder and harder to tell what the differences between Saddam Hussein and George Bush are supposed to be. Both got into power under highly dubious circumstances. Both invaded countries they shouldn't have. Both had armies that were/are given carte blanche to detain and torture innocent Iraq people in order to keep them in line. Both are maniacs believing that they can do no wrong. Both are steeped in various shady business dealings with Saudi Multi-millionaires...
Hey, maybe America needs an occupying force from another country to liberate it's people from their power-crazed leader? After all Mr Bush really does have WMD and has proven beyond any shadow of a doubt he cant be trusted with them. And for various reasons there's no reason to suppose that the upcoming elections are going to change anything. (Saddam himself got back into power with 100% of the vote. Remember?)
I wonder if Finland is up to the job?
Posted by groc at 01:52 PM | Comments (4)
May 13, 2004
I don't get it...
Spain has had ID cards for a while now. Madrid had a terrorist attack. ID cards did nothing to prevent that. ID cards didn't even have anything to do in helping to find the perpetrators. So why then are we being told that as a result of the Madrid bombings we absolutely must have expensive ID cards forced upon us as soon as possible?
How can we ever trust any Government that's so willing to twist facts to suit itself and take advantage of a massive tragedy to push through it's own dubious agenda?
Just because Mr. Bush has done it -doesn't mean we should be following his lead.
Posted by groc at 11:48 AM | Comments (0)
May 07, 2004
Crude
Petrol prices are going up are they? Mmmm oh well, get used to it - things are only set to get to get a lot worse. [Via Codshit.] (Now if I was one of those Texan Oil billionaires that are financing Bush (and indirectly this whole Iraq occupation thing) -I'd be getting out of oil and into renewables, and into financing of research and development of other alternative energy sources, because that's were the money of the future is going to be. But then I've got a brain and clearly many of those shady characters haven't. No, really they haven't, they've got way too much money and power and influence but plain old common sense and intelligence? The cupboard is bare.)
Posted by groc at 10:43 PM | Comments (4)
April 28, 2004
See Red
Labour: I See Red (Labour Needs Leadership Change)
More on the technical aspects of the forthcoming ID cards rightfully described as "a disgrace to democracy."
Posted by groc at 11:43 AM | Comments (0)
April 24, 2004
ID cards -again -again
Blunkett plans 10-year jail term for possessing false ID. Don't leave home without it - don't accidently pick up someone elses...
Because our jails just aren't full enough.
Funny isn't it? We had all those years of genuine IRA terrorist attacks on mainland Britain. You know -the ones were actual real bombs were exploded and innocent people killed in the streets. There was even a bombing of the hotel were the Tory party were having a conference -a proper assassination attempt no less - in which 5 people where killed. Yet back then in all that time no one ever thought that forcing everyone to have a national ID card would magically solve any of those problems. But now without a single proper terrorist attack on our shores, with only one foiled half-hearted attempt here, a bombing miles away in Madrid and much, much further away in America land two whole years ago. Suddenly were all to be classed as potential criminals who will be forced to be finger-printed, iris-scanned, bagged and tagged -to then forever more be made to carry papers that any official can demand to inspect at any time they feel fit. As if it was WW II all over again.
I ask you -what the fuck is going on?
PS. Whenever I see some bright spark who's blindly in favour of ID cards saying 'only those people with something to hide will object to having them' -I think right then, you won't mind showing me your all bank statements, the contents of your wallet, your health records, I'll also have a set of your fingerprints, oh and I'll have a copy of your door keys so I can search around your home any time I feel like it... you've got nothing whatsoever to hide so you can't possibly object. And if you do feel like objecting at anytime - then you won't mind us putting you in prison for 10 years.
Posted by groc at 07:02 AM | Comments (1)
April 23, 2004
police
I'm sure I wrote a blog entry ages ago about saying that before long we'll have a copyright police who'll be bursting into your front room to confiscate your video tapes, your PC, your home-burnt CDs, your minidiscs and whatever else to stop you doing any of that naughty bad copyright infringing stuff.
Well it's starting to come true - today the schools in Phoenix USA -tomorrow...
Posted by groc at 07:19 PM | Comments (0)
friends in high places
Hey nice friend and loyal supporter you've got there Mr. Howard. A racist and an ex-pornographer. Lovely. Nice to see the traditional tory sleaze hasn't been swept away completely.
Posted by groc at 01:55 PM | Comments (2)
towers
["But why should the two towers have collapsed in a manner suspiciously akin to a controlled demolition?" Actually that's easy to explain, the burning high octane fuel of the planes would have melted the steel structure of the floors above and below, then after that the sheer weight of the now unsupported floors above would have collapsed straight downwards and caused a domino effect. Mimicking by coincidence how tower blocks are usually demolished. (Never let it be said I didn't learn quite a bit about skyscrapers from my holiday in Chicago.)
What I do tend to believe is that the US Govt. (or the CIA or whatever the spooks are part of these days) knew long beforehand there was going to be that attack and allowed it to happen -but simply didnt expect that the whole of the towers would come crumbling down like they did.
This isnt as far fetched as it sounds -considering theres a theory that Pres. Roosevelt allowed the attack on Pearl Harbour to happen just so he had the excuse to take America into WW II.
(Oh and if you happen to think I'm being paranoid -then what the hell does that make the USA?)
update: Sarah B also passed on this link: serendipity which makes claims that it was more than just the planes that brought down the towers.
(I'm personally still not convinced there were additional bombs involved - surely the survivors/eye witnesses would've noticed the extra explosions going off? What would be the point of making sure the towers were so cleanly demolished and making so sure they didn't fall over or explode taking out other buildings in the area? Wasn't the planes hitting the towers statement enough? If it was by terrorists wouldn't they have wanted to cause as much damage as possible? If there where such bombs so successfully planted (in two buildings with high security) -why even bother with the planes? It's an Occam's razor sort of thing. After all we're dealing with a US Government that I'm sure if they were so inclined could've easily planted a few stacks of ready-to-go WMDs in Iraq any time they wanted... in fact I'm rather surprised that they haven't. It would've made things so much simplier for themselves.)
Posted by groc at 01:35 PM | Comments (5)
April 22, 2004
ID cards -again
Well there you go -I wrote the last entry before I read this on the BBC news site.
Anyone else spot the rather dubious statistical sleight-of-hand played here that 'most' people (out of a mere 1,000) will be happy to carry a card? Which er... rather suddenly falls to less than 500 once they're told they'll have to pay 35 for it*. In fact only 1 in 5 said theyd be happy to pay that for it, so were really down to only 200 people. Now less than a 5th doesn't sound like a good definition of 'most' to me. Does it to you? So we have a rather dishonest headline there dont we? All very post-Hutton.
We really need to constantly remind ourselves that with any poll/questionnaire its exactly how a question is asked -and of whom and then its down to how the resulting data is presented. It all amounts to lies, damned lies and statistics.
Now considering that earlier figures banded about for a card were more like 77 -I bet that given that figure those eager-beaver oh-so-willing 1 in 5 figure would drop even more. In actual fact its likely to cost a lot more than that. (Incidentally, I wonder how much a replacement for a lost/stolen/damaged card is going to cost. I bet that's going to be a nice little on-going earner for the Treasury.) Now all this is even before any of the various issues have been openly explained to the public.
Blunkett: "What has anybody to worry about having their true identity known?" he said.
Er for one thing targeted harassment by the authorities misusing their powers maybe. Does no one remember the infamous sus laws being used by less than scrupulous (IE racist) PC Plods to stop completely innocent members of the black community going about their neighbourhoods?
Likewise does no one remember the heavy handed state of siege that went on during the 1984 miners strike? I bet the police would have loved to have had ID cards back then.*
That's just off the top of my head...
Blunkett: "They have got everything to fear from someone stealing and misusing it."
Yes, all now put into the one single card. How convenient for the identity thieves and the forgers to target. You moron.
By the by doesn't Madrid have a strictly enforced compulsory ID cards system? but did that stop the terrorists there from bombing the railways? How exactly would having a ID card have helped in foiling the recent terrorist bombing attempt here in the UK? The police seemed to manage that one quite well without needing any ID cards.
The whole ID card scheme is ill-conceived, pointless, stupid, useless, thats already more trouble than its worth, a complete waste of taxpayers money oh wait, see how that description applies to Blunkett too. Him and this evil scheme theyve both got to go.
*Everyone wanting to know just how bad things can get under an UK Government needs to read A State of Siege by Jim Coulter, Susan Miller and Martin Walker.
When was the last time any Government had your best interests at heart?
Bonus link [via Codshit:] You are all slaves.
Posted by groc at 04:40 PM | Comments (0)
warning signs
Now if we put this new report next to Mr Blunkett's proposals for the ID card -what do we get? Well, it's practically an assurance that it will cost millions over budget and that it won't work properly. That's aside from all the other concerns about it. But you can guarantee that won't stop this Government ploughing ahead. What? Did you think we're living in a democracy or something? Oh wait a minute...
"Projects are often poorly defined, codes of practice are frequently ignored and there is a woeful inability to learn from past experience."
-that sounds like politics in general.
(I just wish we had someone decent to vote for... They all look like a bunch of self-serving total idiots to me...)
Posted by groc at 09:10 AM | Comments (2)
April 19, 2004
Debt.
Now this wouldnt be the same lot who when they were in power started to move the Further Education system from a Grants based one to a Student-loans based one, is it? A rather ill-thought out system which institutionalises a large debt burden at the very start of any graduates career. A system which to the Labour partys eternal shame followed through with and with University top-up fees only set to make the situation even worse?
Hmmmm. A system which has actually encouraged record levels of bankruptcy -among students. Seems an awful lot of grief to go through just to get a rubbishy admin. job.
Might be time to give a good hard rethink as to how we're currently organizing education, work life and society -don't you think? Instead of continuing to match down this path which is only set to make things worse.
Stupid Conservatives, stupid Labour.
(Can you tell I've been looking into what it'd mean if I tried to go back into full time education?)
Posted by groc at 01:03 PM | Comments (4)
Iraq war secrets
...Gets to a point where in July, the end of July 2002, they need $700 million, a large amount of money for all these tasks. And the president approves it. But Congress doesn't know and it is done. They get the money from a supplemental appropriation for the Afghan War, which Congress has approved. Some people are gonna look at a document called the Constitution which says that no money will be drawn from the Treasury unless appropriated by Congress. Congress was totally in the dark on this."
Posted by groc at 09:12 AM | Comments (0)
April 12, 2004
boo hoo, boo hoo
Why doesn't that surprise me in the least? Now when the Government starts behaving a bit more like the er... Labour Party and a lot less like the Tory party -it might get a few members back. But I think the damage has been done now.
I hate politics -isn't it about time we came up with something a bit better?
Posted by groc at 02:51 PM | Comments (1)
Priorities
It never fails to amaze me just what the Government of the day can find money for when it wants to -and what it can't find the pennies for when it doesn't.
Posted by groc at 02:16 AM | Comments (0)
April 11, 2004
'Lock 'em all up' Blunkett
So according to Mr Blunkett -how will we stop disaffected young men from being attracted by the teachings of Islamic fundamentalists? Why, we'll put them in prison of course. That'll teach 'em. That'll show them to go around direspecting our democracy and the law of the land.
When did I fall into 'Looking Glass' world?
Posted by groc at 01:14 PM | Comments (0)
April 07, 2004
Blunkett -back again with his big answer to everything.
I am forced to ask: is David Blunkett a complete and utter moron, or is he just downright plain evil, or merely naive and trusting to the point of absurdity, or maybe it's a mix of all of the above? Because when someone is presented with stacks of evidence to the contrary - a whole slew of facts and figures and empirical evidence attesting that ID cards will prove at best a complete waste of money* and at worse a very sinister proposition, what with all the issues surrounding function creep etc. This added to the fact that it will also will likely damage the Government's credibility and already pretty shaky image among the general public/voters even further. Yet they still press on regardless, only just short of putting their fingers in their ears and singing la-la-la -not listening, la-la-la. Youve got to start asking what the hell is going on.
The other thing I dont understand is why -if the idea is to have biometric information -iris scans and fingerprints information and whatever else on the cards (probably a DNA sample) -we will even need the card itself? The card will be forged, a document as important as that is bound to be, no matter how hard and difficult the Government tries to make it. Will the next stage be constant fingerprinting and iris scanning by various agencies and Government departments and the police and schools and work places to verify our existances? Won't that be fun?
Years ago I remember reading some mad American right wing Christian fundamentalist comic that was saying in the near future everyone will be marked with a bar code tattoo (something to do with the 666 number of the beast) and/or a implanted silicon chip, and so no one would be able to go anywhere or do anything - even buy food or anything without an evil Satanic World Government knowing every last little thing about it. The Government owned you. Now when all this talk of having a compulsory ID card starts making me think those mad comic books might have a glimmer of truth about them - Its time to start to get seriously worried.
*Money that surely would be far better spent on the police and intelligence gathering etc. that would actually counter terrorist threats much more directly and efficiently. Wouldn't it? You know -if they were really interested in that sort of thing. Um?
Some links:
(most Americans are opposed to the idea of ID cards - although these days Pres. Bush seems to be warming to the idea. Odd that isn't it?)
ACLU and their 5 reasons why ID cards are a bad idea.
George Kerevan at Scotsman.com
Posted by groc at 08:58 PM | Comments (0)
February 28, 2004
funny thing -tolerance
"Bushor Karl Rovesees the country as culturally split: There are the people who have cable and watch "Queer Eye" and "Sex in the City." Those people are tolerant, liberal in their values and comfortable with gays. And then, theoretically, there are people like the congregants at Willow Creek, the super-church in Barrington, Ill. where Gibson test-marketed the film. Those people have "family" valueswhich is to say, they've got one and they don't want to share it. They're not troubled by the potential anti-Semitism of Gibson's movie, but they are pretty pissed off that a bunch of gays in San Francisco and Massachusetts are trying to show their love for each other. "
Posted by groc at 01:26 PM | Comments (0)
February 22, 2004
GP 4 US
Posted by groc at 11:31 AM | Comments (0)
February 03, 2004
Oh reeeeeally?
You don't say.
Even Mr. Nobody-know-nothing little me could have told them that yeeears ago. It's plain enough common-sense after all. In fact, I seem to clearly remember various voices coming out of the security services saying similar such things well before the war, explicitly pointing out that a war with Iraq (and Afghanstan) would only make for a far less secure world. But I get the distinct impression that they (Mr Bush and his mates) were only ever going to listen to the things they wanted to hear in order to justify the unjustifiable -no matter what. It doesn't matter if all of those things are now proving to be blatantly somewhat far from the truth. They've got what they wanted. Oh hum. Of course we'll all be paying the price for that in one way or another for years to come now.
All this concerns me somewhat because I'm off on my travels again this week. (Yay for me.) It's just a good job I'm not heading for Washington isn't it? Although I'm waiting to see if we'll have to undergo fingerprinting and iris scanning upon arrival yet.
America is screwed. The people there really need to take back their country from those people in charge (mainly the corporations). But from over here the whole system looks so utterly corrupt I fear for the worst.
Posted by groc at 05:30 AM | Comments (1)
January 31, 2004
bbc
Momus' take on the issue. (Super cool Memphis TV illo.)
Me, I was going to do a photoshop thing of Blair as Pinocchio with his nose growing out of control, but I couldn't be asked. My disgust for the man has hit a new all time low. So when exactly are things going to start getting better then Tony?
Posted by groc at 03:15 AM | Comments (0)
January 25, 2004
airport insecurity
Fingerprinting Foreigners [via Soreeyes].
The sheer brain-dead futility of this whole enterprise is truly stunning.
What no one else seemed to have bothered themselves to point out in all this is that the terrorists who perpetuated those September 11 attacks were on a suicide mission! Hence I dont think any such similiar terrorist is actually going to mind in the least whether their fingerprints or iris prints or whatever else are on file somewhere because THEY ARE GOING TO KILL THEMSELVES and are only intent on taking as many people with them and to do as much damage as possible.
What earthly good is having the biometric information of someone whos soon to be a corpse?
So what is the point? What is the point?
Now either the US Government is deeply, deeply stupid or is still using the excuse of 9/11 to push through lots of very sinister legislation the likes of which the old ruling elite of Communist East Germany would have been envious of. Me, I rather suspect its both.
I could never quite see the logic behind the likes of Bush saying ooooh those nasty evil people are jealous of us and our freedoms in our country and who then spend all their efforts doing everything they can to remove as many of those same (supposed) freedoms.
But as Jenny Holzer once said: Abuse of power comes as no surprise.
Posted by groc at 09:06 PM | Comments (1)
January 14, 2004
bad (American) ideas
One day -and hopefully one day soon, all our UK businesses* and our UK politicians etc. will wake up to the fact that they really don't have to blindly copy whatever America does first. That -gasp! maybe we can and should sit back and actually learn from their mistakes (and they make lots of them) and with that knowledge in hand do things a lot better for ourselves.
Just a few bad American ideas I can think of off the top of my head:
The 80s cult of privatising just about everything that moved.
Which went hand in hand with the still on-going disgrace of fat cat directors pay cheques and obscene golden handshakes to reward gross incompetence. Oh yes, 'greed is good', and so too then must stupidity and ineptitude be. We havent had our own Enron scandal (-yet) but with all the above we havent needed one. But you can expect a few more power cuts before we finally get the message.
Care in the community.
Saving money by closing long-term care hospitals and putting the most vulnerable people in our society onto the streets. Brilliant idea. And to think our NHS was once the envy of the rest of the world
Replacing what was a reasonably successful free Further Education with its grants system with what's proving to be a deeply flawed student loan system, one which ensures only those from wealthier middle-class backgrounds can take advantage of FE. Who are now bleating because they're being gouged. (Well hey, maybe if they'd been paying out a bit more in taxes all this time the costs would have been spread out more evenly and there wouldn't be all this mess now. D'oh.)
Outsourcing. Employing call centre workers in other countries rather than our own. Um -think for a moment, is having electronic sweatshops ever a good image for any company to have? Let alone ones moved abroad to exploit cheaper labour there.
That'll do to be going on with.
Oh to have some good British ideas... ones which will incorporate things like social justice and a sense of fair play and generosity of spirit. Qualities we haven't seen much of in decades.
*[via nicelytoasted]
Posted by groc at 03:41 PM | Comments (0)