What No Silicon Heaven?

A view of the UK health "service"

2006-11-16T11:06:00.000Z

Well, a distinct lack of posting of late due to a bout of ill health over the last few months. I wont bore you with the details, and although not serious it has been very debilitating.

Still, seem to be on the road to recovery.

During this time though Ive had the pleasure (if thats the right word) of using the NHS - and as a victim heres some thoughts on it...

The ambulance service - Top notch. Awesome folks doing a bloody hard job. When I first fell ill it was in the middle of the night, woke up with incredible chest pain and could hardly breath. Ended up with a rapid response unit round, closely followed by an ambulance trip to A&E. Although they didnt know what was wrong (and quickly ruled out a heart attack) they were calm and professional throughout.

A&E - After several trips to A&E, my first thought would be to say "absolutely hopeless", but thats not entirely fair. They did a ton of tests and didnt find anything wrong, but seemed content to treat the symptoms only and pack me off home as quickly as possible (despite the fact I could hardly breathe without an incredible amount of pain). Couple this with wrong information given to my wife while I was out of it all on a drug cocktail didnt help matters. Suffice to say I think they are capable of doing a grand job if whatever is wrong is obvious - i.e. knife wounds - anything else and they seem to be left confused about what to do...

GP Service - Once I actually got to see my actual GP instead of a locum - absolutely fantastic. Narrowed the problem down very quickly, described and demonstrated exactly was wrong (which was the total opposite to what the A&E doctors had indicated) and although cannot do much but treat the pain and let it run its course, was sympathetic and did everything he could to put my mind at rest. On the downside, it could take up to a year to clear up.

So overall, I'd give it a "B Minus". from a personal perspective.

John Reid, that Demos Speech and the destruction of freedom in Britain

2006-08-11T13:07:00.000+01:00

Warning - this is a long one & contains bad language...
Via the BBC :

Terror 'may force freedom curbs'
The UK might have to modify its freedoms in the short term in order to prevent their "misuse and abuse" by terrorists, John Reid has said.
And whats the bet this “short term” measure turns into something far more permanent as people get used to being surveilled constantly in the name of “safety”.

He conceded that was never an easy request, but it was up to everyone to ask: "What price our security, at what cost can we preserve our freedoms?"
Shame they didn’t ask this before allowing the major influx members of a barbaric religion to get a foothold in this once great nation. The time for preserving our freedoms has come and gone – we are now fighting a battle to regain those freedoms that the populous sheep of this country have given away in the name of “safety”.

The UK faced its "most sustained period of severe threat since the end of World War II", the home secretary warned.
Yup – mostly from the policies generated by the idiots in charge over the last 20 years.

He urged people from all communities to help by being vigilant.
I think it was Thomas Jefferson that said “The price of freedom is eternal vigilance”. Somehow I don’t think that he had the idea of the population spying on each other and reporting it to an all powerful state in mind when he said it. Likely more along the lines that the citizens need to be vigilant in order to ensure the state don’t take away their freedoms.

'Not racism'
He argued, in a speech to think tank Demos, that while the police and security services were doing all they could to protect the public, they cannot be sure of stopping terrorist attacks.
Of course the police can’t be sure of stopping terrorist attacks. They’re too bloody busy persecuting motorists, filling in endless reams of pointless paperwork and dealing with idiotic Home Office targets. Like many of the other great foundations that this country was built upon, the idea of a police force that protects the citizenry while persecuting the criminal has long ceased to exist. Fucking moron.

He also described migration as the "greatest challenge" to the EU, claiming that there was a need to get away from the notion that people who discuss this were somehow racist, because "they are not".
Finally a few words of sense! Shame its only a few, so Id suspect that it's a fluke. Of course its not racist to talk about immigration. We’re a small island nation with limited resources – and we’re already way overpopulated, especially in the South East. Of course, most of this is down to the moronic policies of the last few governments, especially the current one. What we need to be looking at is a policy of reverse migration, imho.

His words come a week after the Court of Appeal said control orders used to restrain the movements of six terror suspects broke human rights laws.
Ah – human rights. I wondered how long it would take for that to come up. Frankly, the only people that “human rights” should be allowed to be applied to are those that abide by the laws of this country, whether they be immigrant or native.
The idea of human rights being extended to the dregs of the species that habitually kill, maim and steal their way through the lives of the rest of us is one that I find utterly repellent. Doing it in the name of religion doubly so.
If you make the conscious decision not to abide by the laws and standards that the rest of us adhere to, then I don’t see why we should accommodate these “rights” – after all, what respect have they shown for the rights of the rest of us? What about my human rights to not live in fear that some primitive with a bomb strapped to him is going to try and make a statement when Im on my way to work?

As he promised to appeal against the ruling, Mr Reid said another attack on the UK was "highly likely".
This week’s prize for stating the fucking obvious. While this government’s policies of unrestrained immigration and pandering to the criminal element while simultaneously making life as difficult as possible for the generally law abiding indigenous population has made it a haven for islamic terrorists. Then our politicians sit back and exclaim utter bewilderment as to how such a state of affairs could come to pass. Cretins. Absolute fucking cretins.

In his address, Mr Reid used stark terms to describe how today's terrorists were "unconstrained" in their intentions, by international conventions, standards or morality.
That’s because, by and large the majority of these “terrorists” are members of a barbaric religion bent on world domination. Accept this basic fact, act against it and you make a start at dealing with the problem.
This was clearly understood in WW2 when German immigrants were rounded up and held in internment camps. It’s not a great thing to do, but the government of the time understood that they were in a war with a people hell bent on subjugation of the British. They understood that there was a large risk in having a section of the population at large that could pass information to the enemy, perform sabotage or start a guerrilla war from within. And they dealt with it in as humane way as they could afford to – the risk was isolated from the rest of the general population.
Is it something we need to be considering now? I couldn’t say for sure, although I could imagine the outcry from the liberal left. So what else – tagging the known fundamentalists? What about the unknown ones? It’s a situation where we are damned if we do, and damned if we don’t.

"None of us should be anything other than vigilant and that vigilance is the price of securing our freedom," he said.
Oh look, paraphrasing Thomas Jefferson. Didn’t see that coming, although the twisting of it to fit the situation was entirely expected. But he goes on..

"Our security services and the apparatus of the state, while they are an absolutely essential pre-requisite for defeating terrorism, cannot be sufficient on their own.
Of course they cant. However bear in mind that you’ve pissed away any trust that the people of this country once had for our leadership by systematically destroying the rights and freedoms we held so dear. You’ve subverted the police force into a political enforcement agency, you’ve turned neighbour on neighbour with stupid policies, you’ve fostered generations of ignorance with an education policy that no longer deals in facts. In short – the apparatus of state has contributed almost entirely to the problem – and now you want the rest of us to bail you out. Fuck off.

"Our common security in this country can only be assured by a common effort from all sections of society."
Sure – common security such as reporting when a neighbour uses a hosepipe illegally. Common security such as wanting to tag (via ID Cards) the entire population regardless of whether they have committed any crime. Common security such as letting immigrant criminals into the country lest their human rights be breached. So frankly, you can fuck right off. If I see a suspected terrorist trying to plant a bomb at a soft target then sure, I’ll let the police know. The outcome will be the same – they’ll ignore the report until its too damn late, and as usual the general population will pay the price. If they’re trying to bomb Downing St, I’ll probably give them a fucking hand.

Security rethink needed
Mr Reid said the "challenge to all of us" means "we may have to modify some of our freedoms in the short-term in order to prevent their misuse and abuse by those who oppose our fundamental values and would destroy our freedoms and values in the long-term".
"It is up to each and all of us to ask the questions: what price our security? What price our freedoms? At what cost can we preserve our freedoms?
As I said before – kick those immigrants out that are known criminals. Where enough evidence exists, lock those ones away so they are no longer a threat. If there’s not enough evidence – put them under constant surveillance until there is. Introduce a blanket shutdown on immigration and get our borders secure. Generate a full lockdown on all mosques until they’ve been searched and cleared by the police. And stop treating the rest of us that are trying to live our lives as potential fucking terrorists. This is the price of security. This is the price of preserving our freedoms. Because if you take those freedoms away, how are they preserved, other than for subsequent generations to gawk at as if it was some museum piece on display, complete with "dont touch the glass" signs?

"What values are at stake and what is the cost of making the wrong choices in the short term?"
The wrong choices were already made, because they were politically expedient. The cost is the terrorist threats we have now. The real question is whether we are willing to pay the cost, or cut our losses and hit back.

Mr Reid said politicians, the judiciary and the public sector needed to "understand the depth and magnitude" of the terrorist threat facing the UK.
I think you’ll find that the public sector understand the depth and magnitude of the threat quite well, you pompous twat. Try talking to the non-muslim sections of the population and you’ll see that pretty quickly. Of course that’s pretty difficult to do when you’ve got your head firmly shoved up Princess Tony’s backside while listening to Muslim Council of GB propaganda on your iPod.

He said he was frustrated by the number of people who should be better informed, but "who just don't get it".
Hardly a surprise when every word out of every government agency is a lie. Why express incredulity when no-one believes you any more? When you systematically remove the means by which we can defend ourselves, and then remove the means of those that should be defending us. We do get it. We get that you’ve caused this situation and are milking it for all the political capital its worth. We get that you’re a bunch of lying shits hell bent on the destruction of this country because it satisfies your desire for multiculturalism and total control. But most of all we get that you really don’t give a flying fuck about the rest of us other than as a means to fund your mental schemes.

He called for a dramatic rethink of the country's security policy to fit this century, rather than base it on a framework more suited to the last century.
Ah, another reference to the “fighting 21st century problems with 19th century solutions” speech Princess Tony made a while back. Get some original material for fuck’s sake. I know recycling is a bit of a fad with this government but I think it’s going a bit far to keep recycling speeches. The only rethink we really need is to finally get rid of these bastards once and for all.

Border police call
Shadow home secretary David Davis said Mr Reid was right not to under estimate "the grave threat" the UK faces from terrorism, which was why the Tories had helped implement effective measures against it.
He said the government should now answer Tory calls for a UK border police force and appoint a dedicated minister for counter-terrorism.
A bit like shutting the stable door, but it’ll probably be a start. However you know damn well that any such force will be bogged down in political correctness, staffed by jobsworths and inundated with pointless paperwork, but it’ll be implemented just so that this useless government can be seen to be “doing something”.

The rest of the report was the usual bleating of the LibDems, which offered absolutely nothing new, and isn’t even worth commenting on.

In conculsion
I’m sick and tired of this fucking government. I’m tired of their fundamentally stupid policies. Im tired of the constant knee jerk reactions that only hurt the law abiding. I’m tired of the patronising way our politicians treat us.

John Reid – you can fuck off. As can Princess Tony, Two Shags, “Kiss Me” Darling and the rest of you festering, sycophantic shower of shits that purport to rule over us.

Someone sign me up for the revolution please.

The Teaching of Right and Wrong

2006-07-31T12:56:00.000+01:00

or How to teach Children that being Morally Ambiguous is a Good Thing.

I'll say it simply - the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority in England are fucking idiots.

via the BBC , a story on how the UK's exam regulator have drafted plans where the difference between right and wrong is no longer taught in English schools. Theres so many things wrong with this story that its hard to know where to start.

First off - I think primarily it is a parents job to teach their offspring the difference between right and wrong. Its something that should broadly be embedded before a child even reaches school age, and as a parent myself, its a fundamental part of parenting. However, not all parents are that bothered about ensuring their children are equipped to deal with basic moral issues, so I think it's also important that school also plays a part in teaching children the basics of moral and civic responsibilities.

Secondly - They think its better to learn "secure values and beliefs". Yup, we can be sure that if this barmy plan goes ahead, then children will be secure in their beliefs that not getting the latest toy actually denotes a breach of their human rights. They will be firm in their beliefs that kicking the shit out of the odd kid in the class is the right thing to do, because if feels good. They will be secure in the belief that only their values matter, and to hell with everyone else. Seems like a receipe for disaster to me.

Thirdly - They want our kids to "understand different cultures and traditions". Yup, that'll help them get a job in an increasingly difficult market, unless the Race Relations industry is a bit short handed of course. And tucked away under the proposals, the requirement to teach Britain's "cultural heritage" would also go. Funnily enough, I thought that had been ditched when NuLab came to power - certainly my kids have picked up precious little regarding English culture from school, its been down to the wife any myself to see they have a basic grasp on English history and culture. Want to bet thats not something that'll be dropped in Scotland and Wales?

Thankfully its not all stupidity though, with Professor Alan Smithers, director of the University of Buckingham's centre for education and employment research, saying:

"The idea that they think it is appropriate to dispense with right and wrong is a bit alarming."

Quite. Even more suprising is this bit of sense from the NUT, with a spokeswoman saying:

"Teachers always resented being told that one of the aims of the school was to teach the difference between right and wrong. That is inherent in the way teachers operate. Removing it from the national curriculum will make no difference to teachers. They will still ensure that children learn the difference between right and wrong."

Yup, its something a good teacher will do. I'll reserve comment of the actual number of good teachers around, as your mileage may vary with experience.

The QCA rounded it off with a statement that the proposals were only in draft form and would be consulted on next year. I suppose that makes it alright then?

The fact that even putting these proposals forward shows that even the QCA dont even know the difference between right and wrong.

QCA - do us all a fucking favour. Make sure that the curriculum is such that it enables our next generation of workers, businessmen, politicians, nurses and soldiers to leave school with the ability to read, write, reason coherently and logically, have the ability to analyse data, perform basic mathematical tasks and have a firm grasp on the historic and social background of the country they live in. Stop with the self indulgent wankery.

War in the Middle East, ID Cards and other strange creatures..

2006-07-20T12:48:00.000+01:00

The Israel / Lebanon War
I've been watching this on and off for the last week. Frankly I can't blame the Israelis for the response they have chosen, however I can't help but feel its going to make things worse.

To be on the receiving end of the constant hatred they get, not only from their Arab "neighbours" but from the left wing media across the planet, it's hardly a surprise when they lash out in a disproportionate response.

The whole Middle East conflict makes me sure of only two things:

The Israelis are only doing what they think best to protect their own people.
Its whole ongoing conflict is only going to truely end when only one side is left standing.

Better minds than I have been trying to resolve the overall conflict for as long as I can remember, and got nowhere. I can't see that changing anytime soon.

ID Cards
via Longrider & Simon Hoggart in The Guardian I see that ID cards were being "discussed" in the Commons again, with Joan Ryan (Minister in Charge of Electronic Slavery Projects) trotted out to try and spin the government's scheme to the MPs gathered.

And what spin it was. Laden with Management Speak you could have played Buzzword Bingo until your consultants orgasmed in ecstasy. What it didnt tell us is anything new. The government is spinning so fast on this scheme it would make a pulsar look positively slow in comparison.

The main thrust of the argument this time seemed to be that ID Cards will prevent "Identity Theft", which is a bit rich considering that it is this government that wants to steal our identities and then lease them back to us.

What then ensued was a number of MPs pointing out the inaccuracies of this, which range from the figures quoted by the banks and Government on the cost of identity fraud being significatly different, to government departments selling identity information to criminal gangs for tax fraud purposes. Both points were acknowledged by Ms Ryan then studiously ignored. Nothing like avoiding facts that get in the way of a good bit of attempted PR.

So, when that tack failed miserably, she then threw out the old "essential in the fight to counter terrorism" spin. Which as we all know is a load of bollocks to say the least. Most of us that live in the South East and work in London for the last 20 or so years have lived with the threat of terrorism daily, firstly from the IRA and now from the Islamo-nutters. We didn't need ID cards then, we don't need them now.

The only terrorists we need protecting from are the 26 or so that sit in cabinet at No.10 Downing Street.

Home Office ReOrg
I see that John "Mad Dog" Reid has been moaning again about the Home Office and the terrible state it is in, with his latest wheeze to split it up so that Immigration is a seperate, quasi-independent company that reports to the Home Office.
Anyone want to take bets that the running of this spin off will go to some NuLab stooge without a clue, but with enough fingers in the pie that they get filthy rich in the process? Looks like another "deckchair shuffling" exercise to me.
Mad Dog recently described the Home Office as unfit for purpose. IMHO, that describes this whole NuLab government from the top down.

Light Posting...

2006-07-20T12:42:00.000+01:00

Apologies for the light posting this week - had a bit of a health scare very early on Saturday morning which saw me carted off to A&E with chest pains etc. Thankfully nothing serious wrong but it was a bit of a shock all the same. On a side note the NHS were great - the RRU (Rapid Response Unit) turned up within 10 mins of the wife calling NHS Direct, shortly followed by the ambulance. First time I've ever been in one of those, and hopefully the last. The hospital were quick and thorough too.

On holiday next week as well, so light posting will continue while I spend some much deserved Rest & Recreation with She Who Must Be Obeyed. With the kids out in Jersey with the grandparents it means we have the house to ourselves and a bit of peace - bliss.

The Dead Tree Media need a kick up the arse..

2006-07-14T14:09:00.000+01:00

A pleasant day in London today, so a mate and I decided to go to the pub for lunch, a pint and to watch the lovelies walk past in the sunshine.

While waiting for the food to arrive, and supping a nice cold pint of Directors I decided to flick through a copy of The Daily Express which was kicking about. Now I normally try to avoid the papers & news due to the levels of bias and outright poor reporting that passes for journalism these days, and this copy of the paper just reinforced why.

The front page headline was something to do with an Italian magazine printing a photo of Princess Di at the crash scene - apparently the last photo of her alive. Cue outrage, Italian bashing and denouncements of the photographer & magazine. Relegated to the second page was a much shorter story on the Labour homes landgrab currently doing the rounds.

I mean, get a fucking grip. Its pretty clear which is the more important story for those of us living in the UK, but heres a clue for those idiot editors of the dead tree media.

ITS NOT THE YEARS OLD STORY ABOUT A DEAD BINT, A MERC AND A PARISIAN UNDERPASS.

And that, in a nutshell, is one of the reasons I dont read papers or watch the news very often any more.

Christ on a crutch, I swear this country gets more fucking stupid with every passing day. But at least the view from the pub window was nice.

Daydreaming....

2006-07-13T12:47:00.000+01:00

What with the arrest of Lord Levy yesterday, it got me to daydreaming.

Wouldn't it really be something to see Phony Tony arrested and led, handcuffed and cowed from No 10?
Watching as his beady, shifty eyes dart around looking for a way out, the first signs of panic etching themselves forever on his detestable face.
Having the camera capture the moment when he realises that his corrupt, morally disgusting ways have final caught up with him - and theres no way out.

Glorious.

Unfortunately its unlikely to ever happen, but hey - it makes for a great mental picture.

Realistically though, I can see the whole thing being covered up by that other idiot Blair and the feckless shits that presume to rule over us carrying on as normal.

ID Cards again

2006-07-13T12:35:00.000+01:00

A good article over at The Register summing up the whole sorry situation.

As I mentioned in a previous post - its only a matter of time now before the whole thing dies.

Good bloody riddance.

A thought...

2006-07-11T13:07:00.000+01:00

If we have rules against insider trading to prevent those in the financial industries / stock exchange from making money on specialist knowledge...

Why do we allow laywers to become politicians?

After all, they know the law inside out (in theory), they have a vested interest in lawmaking, and when placed in a position of political power - they can pass laws which can effectively benefit only themselves financially (whether it be in directly via case fees or via inderect schemes such as speed cameras etc).

Why dont we have any rules in place which prevent or restrict the number of lawyers who make our laws?

They should only be allowed to interpret or advise on existing law, imho.

The long, drawn out death rattle

2006-07-11T12:48:00.000+01:00

of the ID Card / NIR scheme here in the UK.

Well, the start of it anyway.

via the Sunday Times, it looks like the programme is on the skids and starting the slide towards oblivion.

The BBC have been reporting on it too, with officials today stating that the contracts process has been put on hold indefinately, and they'll introduce the scheme when "the time is right".

I hope that Charlie "The Safety Elephant" Clark, "Shagger" Blunkett, that twat John Reid and our miserable excuse for a PM, Phony Tony all rot in the lowest depths of that hell which is reserved for the likes of rapists, paedos and reality tv presenters for trying to push such an illiberal, authoritarian scheme on the public.

I hope the scheme itself dies an painful death, taking the companies that are pushing this technology down with it.

I hope the directors of these companies are staked to the hard baked earth for the crows to pick at, for the sheer effrontery of even trying to enslave the UK population.

Its not too late to fight back either - get on over to NO2ID

Crash and burn baby, crash and burn.

07.07

2006-07-07T14:19:00.000+01:00

A day like any other for me - commute into London, walk to the office. Work, walk to station, commute home.

Suspected people would be a bit on edge today, and as usual I haven't been disappointed. Most of the buses I saw this morning were empty (packed beyond capacity), and there were a lot of people on foot - a bit like Oxford St at Christmas in some spots.

Sitting here in the office listening to sirens screaming past the building all day - but no incidents on the news. Normally get one or two during the day as theres a police station just down the road, but today its been every 5 bloody minutes.

Otherwise pretty quiet - although the BBC are doing their level best to avoid pointing out that the bombers last year were extremists of a particular religion. Must admit I'm trying to avoid all the news media, as you know damn well its going to be full of false outrage and saccahrine sentiment - then tomorrow they'll be back to reporting on the size of Jordan's tits or Jade Goody's lastest business venture.

And in the meantime, this government will continue to strip away our liberties while the MSM turn the other way. Bastards.

Fingerprinting Children.

2006-07-07T13:05:00.000+01:00

First proper blog posting, and its an interesting one.

Picked this up via An Englishman's Castle.

I must admit I didn't think this was as prevalent as its being reported, but it seems to be true. As a parent I'm going to be having a word with the Headmaster at the school my kids attend to see if they're planning such a scheme (or if its in place already), and I'll be making damn sure that my kids know they shouldn't be forced into submitting fingerprints.

These shits get away with it because people are too bloody trusting of the state in order to think
for themselves. What is it that drives people to blindly follow those in a position of authority without question? Its a mindset I really don't understand - and frankly, I don't want to.

What with this, ID Cards, 700,000 kids on the police DNA database and everything else thats going on thats driven by the asshats in power, I seriously fear for the future.

I sure as hell will be kicking up a stink if they try it where my kids go to school.

A campaign site has been set up over at LeaveThemKidsAlone.com to inform people of the issue - its well worth a read.

Spread the word.