A New Home

Politicalog has move to a new home. Bandwidth restrictions on my free ISP webspace were going to become a problem, so I have setup a proper home for my New Labour hate filled rantings.

You can now find me at www.politicalog.co.uk. All my historical rantings will live on at the old address to preserve the links that people have already made.

Could any who blogrolls Politicalog do me a big favour and update your links accordingly?

Thank you folks. Hope to see you all over at the new gaff ;-)

Filed under: Politics, New Labour Spin

Britblog Roundup #22

Another sterling job from Tim. Lots of good stuff this week.

Filed under: Britblog Roundup

On Podcasting, Off Topic

Completely off topic.

I realised the other day that I used my iPod to do something that I hadn't done in ages. I listened to music. This is only because I had run out of Podcast episodes.

If you haven't sampled the delights of podcasting, I urge you to give it a try. iTunes 4.9 and iPodder are the two best apps for subscribing to and managing downloads.

There are nearly 5000 podcasts out there, so to get you started, look at the sidebar for my current list of favorites. They are free to download and damn good fun, especially The Seanachai.

I am always on the hunt for new Podcasts so if any of you have your own recommendations, please let me know.

Filed under: Podcasting

An Open Letter to Mr. Blair

Dear Mr. Blair,

I would urge you not to use the Terrorist attacks of 7th July 2005 as an excuse to push through ill thought out, poorly debated, new anti-terrorist legislation.

Please take stock of the situation. Don't feel that you have to be seen to be doing something. The Police and Intelligence Services are already doing a sterling job. You could do a lot worse than throw some extra funding their way.

If you do feel the urge to legislate then please make sure that you do not erode our civil rights any further than you already have.

I'm not sure I could stand that.

Yours Faithfully


Allan Scullion

Filed under: London Bombing, Politics, New Labour Spin

Over-65s given work rights boost - I wonder why?

Over-65s given work rights boost

Over-65s will have the same protection against unfair dismissal as younger workers under new government measures.

In addition, forced retirement before the age of 65 will be banned as will age discrimination in terms of recruitment, promotion and training.

The measures, laid before parliament on Thursday, will ensure the UK complies with the European employment directive on age discrimination.

The government wants the new rules to come into force on 1 October 2006.

More soon.

To quote one of my favorite Scottish comedy shows: "I smell shite!"
(Chewin' the Fat, in case you are interested)

If you don't think this has everything to do with some crass attempt to fix the UK pension crisis by making us all work past 65, then you are a fool.

Filed under: Politics, New Labour Spin

Control, Control, Control

Not content with wanting to fingerprint everyone in the UK, Charles Clarke is now pressing to fingerprint everyone in Europe who already carries an identity card.

The home secretary, Charles Clarke, is to press today's emergency European counter-terrorism summit to adopt a plan to compulsorily fingerprint all EU citizens who already carry identity cards.

On top of that, he wants to read all of our emails and know every person we phone.

The scheme is a crucial part of a 10-point anti-terrorism package that includes the retention of email and phone records for up to three years which Mr Clarke will propose when he chairs the emergency summit called in the wake of the London bombings.

This is not new. New Labour introduced the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA) giving them the right to force your ISP to intercept all of your emails and monitor all of your internet usage. This badly thought out legislation (it's New Labour... go figure) also has provisions to impose a 2 year prison sentence on anyone who refuses to reveal a decryption key for encoded information. So assuming you do have some dodgy encrypted information that would get you banged up for 10 years, all you have to do is sit tight and refuse to hand over the key.

The RIP act was an Orwellian stepping stone. It is worth noting that this act was passed in 2000, proving that New Labour's lust for Stalinist style control of it's citizens predates our post 9/11 terrorist fearing lifestyle. A useful overview of RIP can be found here.

The Guardian article goes on to say:

"Identity cards are valid travel documents. We cannot afford to have them be a weak link in international travel," a Home Office spokesman said, confirming the plan.

"A really significant amount of travel within Europe is done not on a passport but on an identity card which is just a piece of cardboard with a photograph attached. It is a weak link. We need to have a common standard."

The attacks of 7th July in London were committed by home grown terrorists. Clarke has already conceded that ID cards would not have stopped those attacks. So why does he feel the urge to extend his Orwellian nightmare into the rest of the EU?

I swear he won't be content until he has microchipped every single one of us.

In all honesty, I fear New Labour's lust for control more that I fear being blown up on the tube.

Filed under: London Bombing, Politics, New Labour Spin

Dear Mr. Terrorist

Dear Mr. Terrorist,

If you have the time and are agreeable, I would like to take this opportunity to conduct a one-on-one English lesson with you.

I would like to concentrate this lesson on the word ‘Futility’, defined as follows:

fu·til·i·ty
n. pl. fu·til·i·ties

1. The quality of having no useful result; uselessness.
2. Lack of importance or purpose; frivolousness.
3. A futile act.

A quick peek in the Thesaurus gives us the following synonyms: uselessness, pointlessness, ineffectiveness, ineffectuality and senselessness.

Allow me to take each definition in turn and apply them to the events of 7^th July 2005.

1. The quality of having no useful result; uselessness.

It is certainly not my wish to appear flippant. You have killed and injured a lot of people and my heart goes out to all of them and their relatives. However, your ultimate goal is not the death of innocent people. Your ultimate goal is to strike fear at the hearts of the enemy and paralyse a nation. I am very pleased to say that in this regard, you have failed miserably.

2. Lack of importance or purpose; frivolousness.

Within days, London was back on its feet. You see, we have been through this before and know the drill. Many Londoners still remember the Blitz. Many more remember the prolonged bombing campaign of the IRA. If you think you can grind us down and stop our way of life, then think again. Many others have tried before you and all have failed. You are not any different. Like all civilised nations, we will mourn our dead and bury them with dignity. Then life will go on.

3. A futile act.

Don’t be fooled by our sensationalistic press or our reactionary politicians. Both have an agenda. We will deal with them in due course. Your average Brit will dust themselves off, stick two fingers up at you and get back to the daily grind. I hope that by now, the point of this little exercise is sinking in. Every atrocious act you commit, whilst hurtful and evil is ultimately futile. For you to succeed, you are going to have to kill every single one of us. While there is one of us left standing to defend our values and our way of life, you will have failed.

That, Mr. Terrorist, is futility.

Yours sincerely

Allan Scullion

Filed under: London Bombing

Call me a cynic if you like...

... but for me, the following quote sums up the likely outcome of the G8 conference :

"A conference is a gathering of important people who singly can do nothing, but together can decide that nothing can be done." (Fred Allen)

We shall see.

Filed under: Politics, New Labour Spin

The Live 8 Time Machine

More than one act at Live 8 (Madonna for sure) said: "Are you ready to change history!"

That would be a neat trick. Has Sir Bob invented a time machine?

Filed under: Dumb Pop Stars, Live 8

The cost of redistribution

Tax credit costs spiral 10-fold

The costs of administering the tax credit system have risen from £36.1m to £403m in four years, Treasury figures have revealed.

The statistics also show that 65.5m award notices have been issued in just over two years even though only six million households receive tax credits.

One award notice every two months to each household receiving tax credits? Why?

That is nearly half a billion pounds a year to administer a system that doesn't even work.

Filed under: Politics, New Labour Spin

Britblog Roundup #20

The ever loquacious Mr. Tim Worstall has compiled yet another grand weekly Britblog Roundup. Go check it out.

Filed under: Politics, New Labour Spin

You are getting democracy whether you want it or not!

Hoon suggests compulsory voting

People could face fines if they fail to vote in British general elections, under plans outlined by Geoff Hoon.

The Commons leader says a move towards compulsory voting is necessary to reinvigorate UK democracy.

The proposals, which would give voters a "none of the above" choice, follow the 61% general election turnout.

I'm finding it difficult to type because I am laughing so much. Of the 39% of the electorate who couldn't be arsed voting the last time, how many do you think would opt for "None of the above" if you dragged them kicking and screaming to a poll booth? If someone chooses not to vote, that is their right. I respect that. In my view, if they don't vote then they relinquish the right to complain about the outcome.

However, it would seem that the black heart of Stalinism is alive and well and beating at the core of New Labour.

We are slowly(?) drifting towards a Police State. A State where it is already illegal to hold a peaceful protest too close to the seat of our so called democracy. A State where pretty soon the Government will force you to justify you own existence, at your own expense. A State where the Government want to know and record every little detail about you. A State where the Government want to fit satellite tracking devices to your car. A State where you will be told when to vote.

What next? Democracy at gunpoint?

The Government is supposed to answer to the electorate, not the other way around. These people are supposed to be our representatives, not our masters.

Just where the hell is this country heading? I think I know and I don't like it. Not one little bit.

Filed under: Politics, New Labour Spin