Who Mourns Senator Kennedy? - Not I

Senator Edward Kennedy died on the 25 August 2009. I will not mourn him, but his death has reminded me to mourn for the British Soldiers and Civilians killed, or maimed in Northern Ireland during Senator Kennedy's 30 year support of Terrorism in the United Kingdom Province of Northern Ireland and his positive encouragement to Americans to give money to the 'cause', which misguidedly they did, to the tune of Hundreds of Millions of Dollars.

During the troubles, it became a tradition for Fenian murderers to routinely feted on St Patrick’s Day by members of the US political establishment , and no American Politician welcomed them more warmly than Senator Edward Kennedy:



Whenever Margaret Thatcher visited Washington, Senator Kennedy could always be seen wearing a bright green tie, an unsubtle ''statement'' on his part of his support for Republicanism - something which the then Prime Minister was always aware of but chose to ignore (also a sign of how he retained a very 'juvenile outlook', even in late middle-age).

After 9/11 when even the Irish-American Romantics discovered what Terrorism really means and the mood in Northern Ireland Politics was changing, like any Political Animal, Senator Kennedy sniffed the wind and changed his Public Stance.

His public change of heart, positively supporting the peace process, even going so far as to publicly snub Jerry Adams, won him many plaudits, an even if in the unlikely event this change was real (and I doubt his views actually change one iota) it cannot expunge the previous 30 years.

Maybe Senator Kennedy was a good Servant to his Country on Domestic Issues, from here, he was a bigoted supporter of Terrorism.

As for his very public, Private Life: A man who if he had not been a Kennedy, would have likely faced extremely serious charges in connection with the death of Mary Jo Kopechne in 1969 in the 'Chappaquiddick Incident' (instead receiving a two month suspended sentence for leaving the scene), but even after this he continued to lead a lifestyle which would have shamed a juvenile-celebrity right through until the end of the 1980's.

The fact that an Honourary Knighthood was given to a man who had inherited his fathers loathing for Britain, supported Terrorism and was without doubt flawed in so many other ways, is a stain on my nations honour.

But he now faces the ultimate judgement, fortunately for him God is all forgiving. But it is going to be a very long time before I forgive his support of terrorism in my country.

United Airlines did him wrong, so he wrote a song and now a second one

When United Airlines Loading Staff broke singer/songwriter Dave Carroll's $3,500 Taylor Guitar by throwing it about (along with the bands other instruments) and then wouldn't pay compensation. Well in his final email to them, he advised he was going to write and produce three songs which then form the Music to three Videos which would then be posted online. See the Post: United Airlines did him wrong, so he wrote a song (or three)! Which has both Videos released so far and slightly more detailed background and links.

For those who have followed the saga and want to see the second Video NOW, well here it is:
United Breaks Guitars Song 2:

For more information on the making of United Breaks Guitars: Song 2 on Dave Carroll's Site.

Enjoy!

Update 27th August 2009: I have just seen this article on ZDNet (USA) which gives United yet another PR Headache:
Deconstructing United Airlines: Where Customers are Transactions

Campaign: Reducing UK Mobile-Landline-Mobile Call Charges

In the United Kingdom the real cost of many Telephone Calls whether from a Landline, or a Mobile has fallen over recent times, but there is one 'black spot', called the Mobile Termination Rate which is currently around 4.7p per minute that provides a 'cash cow' for Mobile Network Operators whilst resulting in a nasty surprise for consumers.

The Mobile Termination Rate, normally abbreviated to MTR is applied when a call is made from a Landline to a Mobile, or from a Mobile on one Network to a Mobile on another Network. Now it is fair that some charge is made for this, but 4.7p per minute is to say the least excessive. Therefore the TerminateTheRate Group has been formed to bring pressure to bear on the industry Regulator Ofcom to enforce a lower MTR that reflects the Network Operators actual costs. In part this pressure is to be applied by a Petition to Members of Parliament as well as Ofcom: Petition Form is on the TerminateTheRate Home Page

Outside the UK, the European Commission (EC), flush with success in reducing Mobile Roaming charges, recommended in 2008 that the MTR across EU Countries should fall on average by around 70% in three years (bringing it very close to the Termination Rates applied by Landline Network Operators)..

Would there be any downside to forcing operators in the UK to reduce the MTR they apply dramatically?
Potentially one type of Consumer could indeed be adversely affected this being Prepaid Mobile Users
A Deloitte Report from January 2009, points out that much of the revenue from Prepaid Customers is generated by the MTR, By reducing the MTR, these Customers could move from being a profitable Market to be a loss maker. How much of this is designed to generate FUD (Fear Uncertainty and Doubt) is difficult to gauge, but this market is too important to some major Network Operators to lose, so they will be already working on new methods of both retaining the Prepaid Customers, whilst ensuring that it remains a profitable market.

Returning to the TerminateTheRate Campaign, this has a surprisingly wide range of 'corporate supporters' including:
One Landline Operator (BT), One Mobile Operator (3), Industry groups, Local Authorities, Charities and Trade Unions - A full list of current supporters is here: Campaign Supporters Page 1 and Campaign Supporters Page 2

Having done some research into both sides of the MTR argument, the following are my conclusions:

1. Mobile Operators are resigned to the MTR being reduced.
2. Most Mobile Operators want this decline in MTR to be in small steps over a long period.
3. Business Users in Uk and across Europe find the current MTR rates onerous in the extreme
4. Consumers in the UK and across Europe don't know about MTR as it is a 'hidden charge' within their call costs, they just see their Operators Rates for Calls, which where applicable include the MTR.
5. Reducing the MTR dramatically will definitely benefit most Consumers, but has the potential to increase costs to Prepaid Services Users
   

I will be signing the petition, hopefully this post has provided visitors with sufficient information, to decide if they will to!

Are Your Communications Habits Being Monitored?

A News Item in Silicon.com: - One in 78: The chances your comms are being monitored forms a teaser to a much more detailed news report from ZDNet UK: Public targeted by 1,500 monitoring bids per day. So quoting from the ZDNet article: Police, local councils and other UK public authorities made more than half-a-million requests to see citizens' communications data in 2008, according to a watchdog report.

I am neither shocked, nor surprised at the total, but was surprised and actually quite annoyed, that local councils appear to be a major player in wanting to see our communications records. As far as I am concerned, the Police, Security Services, Borders Agency and HM Revenue and Customs should be the only organisations with the authority to request this information.

Requesting Communications data, which by using the provisions of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act , authorities can ask service providers for data such as which individual has communicated with whom, and when and where this communication took place and that is totally different from actively monitoring someone's communications.
From the moment I made my second post in this Blog, I assumed that due some of the Words and Phrases used, it would attract the interest of automated monitoring software (in this case no different from the way a search engine would gather information) and that providing the authorities were having a slow day, they might first request my Communications Data and then if things were really quiet, they might be granted a request to actively monitor my communications. Does this remote possibility upset me: NO, actually I would feel sympathy for any operative tasked with doing the monitoring, as being bored to tears listening/reading my communications, was almost certainly not what they hoped their job would entail.

Whilst I am more than peeved by Local Councils being involved in find out peoples communications data, my angst is nothing compared to extreme annoyance of the Liberal Democrat shadow home secretary Chris Huhne: Who criticized the Government for allowing that volume of communication data gathering. Amongst the other things he went on to say, the following provided some ironic amusement:
"The government forgets that George Orwell's 1984 was a warning, and not a blueprint," said Huhne. "We are still a long way from living under the Stasi, but it beggars belief that is necessary to spy on one in every 78 adults."
Thoughts:
I wonder how many were repeat requests for the same person? - I suspect a large number.
How many requests led to a request to actively monitor communications in real time for a period of time (which is spying)? - I suspect a tiny percentage.
How many active monitoring requests led to a full investigation? - My guess is very few!
How many investigations led to prosecution? - Knowing, would satisfy my curiosity, but suspect less than 10%
Because, Local Council involvement aside, I don't have a problem with this, I am almost certainly once again out of step, at least with the 'chattering classes'. Well I can live with that!

Finally, back to Chris Huhne and George Orwell's 1984: This book was indeed a warning, about control of the population by taking away any sense of personal responsibility and accountability. This being accomplished through the enactment and then enforcement of laws that governed a citizen's every moment of their life and making every utterance either politically correct or illegal. In Orwell's world, even a simple domestic request becomes a major bureaucratic exercise.
Now for me this does have a familiar ring. Welcome to the 'Nanny State' resulting in a 'You Cannot do that Britain'. Now that is something I find very worrying!

British Sons and Daughters

I received this as a chain email and unusually for me, immediately passed it on to many of my contacts. However by posting it here I hope to distribute it even more widely and quickly - The Idle Man:

If you read this, you WILL forward it on.You just won't be able to stop yourself.

Here's to the heroes: Especially for all of the young ones we have recently lost.

The average age of the military man is 19 years. He is a short haired, tight-muscled kid who, under normal circumstances is considered by society as half man, half boy. Not yet dry behind the ears, just old enough to buy a beer, but old enough to die for his country. He never really cared much for work and he would rather wax his own car than wash his father's, but he has never collected unemployment either.





He's a recent Comprehensive School graduate; he was probably an average student, pursued some form of sport activities, drives a ten year old jalopy, and has a steady girlfriend that either broke up with him when he left, or swears to be waiting when he returns from half a world away He listens to rock and roll or hip-hop or rap or jazz or swing and a 155mm howitzer.

He is 10 or 15 pounds lighter now than when he was at home because he is working or fighting from before dawn to well after dusk. He has trouble spelling, thus letter writing is a pain for him, but hecan field strip a rifle in 30 seconds and reassemble it in less time in the dark. And He can recite to you the nomenclature of a machine gun or grenade launcher and use either one effectively if he must.

He digs foxholes and latrines and can apply first aid like a professional.

He can march until he is told to stop, or stop until he is told to march.

He obeys orders instantly and without hesitation, but he is not without spirit or individual dignity. He is self-sufficient.

He has two sets of fatigues: he washes one and wears the other. He keeps his canteens full and his feet dry.

He sometimes forgets to brush his teeth, but never to clean his rifle. He can cook his own meals, mend his own clothes, and fix his own hurts.

If you're thirsty, he'll share his water with you; if you are hungry, his food. He'll even split his ammunition with you in the midst of battle when you run low.

He has learned to use his hands like weapons and weapons like they were his hands.

He can save your life - or take it, because that is his job.

He will often do twice the work of a civilian, draw half the pay, and still find ironic humour in it all.

He has seen more suffering and death than he should have in his short lifetime.



He has wept in public and in private, for friends who have fallen in combat and is unashamed.

He feels every note of the National Anthem vibrate through his body while at rigid attention, all the while tempering the burning desire to 'square-away' those around him who haven't bothered to stand, remove their hat, or even stop talking.

In an odd twist, day in and day out, far from home, he defends their right to be disrespectful.

Just as did his Father, Grandfather, and Great-grandfather, he is paying the price for our freedom. Beardless or not, he is not a boy. He is the BRITISH Fighting Man that has kept this country free for over 200 years.




He has asked nothing in return, except our friendship and understanding.
Remember him, always, for he has earned our respect and admiration with his blood.

And now we even have women over there in danger, doing their part in this tradition of going to War when our nation calls us to do so.

As you go to bed tonight, remember this shot. ...

A short lull, a little shade and a picture of loved ones in their helmets.



Prayer wheel for our military... please don't break it Please send this on, after a short prayer.

Prayer Wheel

'Lord, hold our troops in your loving hands.
Protect them as they protect us.
Bless them and their families for the selfless acts they perform for us in our time of need. Amen.'

There is nothing attached...
This can be very powerful...
Of all the gifts you could give a British Soldier, Sailor, or Airman, prayer is the very best one.

I wouldn’t dream of breaking this one,Please pass it on to everyone

Extradite Gary McKinnon, no problem. But now let's fix the Extradition Treaty

The Idle Man has followed the Gary McKinnon Hacker Case with some interest, but with little sympathy for Mr McKinnon. After all he is not being accused of some minor misdemeanour, but of hacking into the computer systems of the United States Army, Navy and Air Force, plus the United States Department of Defence and NASA, as well as sabotaging vital American military systems after the terror attacks of September 11 2001. In addition McKinnon is alleged to have caused Criminal Damage by his actions, which have been calculated to total $750,000 USD for remedial action and repair. Any Government would, based on these allegations go to any lengths for extradition and subsequent prosecution.

In the UK a large number of high profile people and much of the media are stating that the current extradition treaty should NOT apply in this case as it was designed to counter terrorism. From the viewpoint of any Government, the allegations against Gary McKinnon are effectively charges of Terrorism, although prefixed with cyber. But make no mistake Cyber Terrorism may not have the instant, spectacular media impact of a Bomb Attack but if it is successful, it can easily be just as dangerous to society.

Apparently Mr McKinnon has been diagnosed with Asperger syndrome which even the medical profession cannot spell consistently and whilst McKinnon appears to in part fit the Asperger profile, in other areas it appears from the background to the case he does not (social interaction does not appear to have been impaired and he has even been part of the Hackers Panel at InfoSecurity Europe). What makes Asperger syndrome even more interesting is that there is now discussion as to whether this is a disability that must be treated, or a just a 'difference' that falls with the spectrum of normal Human behaviour. So using the Asperger defence always seemed more than a little disingenuous.

So as far as I am concerned the McKinnon Allegations do fall within the original purpose and spirit of the Extradition Treaty and whilst my view counts for nothing, it has been supported in Law up to and including the Law Lords and the European Court of Human Rights, which have rejected his appeal against extradition.

What I find ironic is that this fast-track Treaty has occupied the Legal Profession for three years! When for once it was actually being used for the purpose for which, at least the British thought it was designed. Of course because of the implicit imbalance to the treaty, if an American Hacker had done the same to the MoD, MI5, or SIS Systems, Britain would NOT under the treaty have able to extradite them.

Now the obstacles to Gary McKinnon being extradited, there will be a jury trial under the American Justice System. So Gary McKinnon will have his 'day in court'(although I suspect this will actually be weeks in Court). There are four possible outcomes:

1. He will be found guilty of all charges and if this is the case a very long sentence is appropriate.
2. He will be found guilty of some of the charges and if is the case the sentence should appropriate to those he is found guilty of.
3. His Lawyers will successfully use the Asperger defence, but hopefully this will still mean he will be institutionalised for a period for assessment to ensure he is not going to repeat his actions.
4. He is found not guilty of all charges - Extremely Unlikely!
   

Whilst I have every sympathy with McKinnon's Mother attempts to stop her son being extradited (and indeed have much more sympathy for her tireless efforts than I have for her Son), I find it embarrassing and distasteful that 40 British Members of Parliament have, after the Legal Processes have been exhausted have jumped on the McKinnon bandwagon by writing to the US President. Their protest is NOT about whether after a Trial he is found guilty and the punishment is too harsh, but the fact that he should NOT stand trial at all. If these allegations are true and this man attacked an ally and compromised their national security then it is only right that the USA should have the right to try him for these Crimes. True he is being extradited under a flawed and imbalanced treaty, but these MPs efforts would be better served by NOT using the case for self-serving publicity, but working hard to get the provisions of the Treaty fixed, so that there is no imbalance and it limited to the purposes that the British Government believed it would be applied! In the case of McKinnon, the treaty (flawed though it is) has been correctly applied.

The Idle Man, is as so often the case, is apparently out of step with Media and Political Opinion (what the general public thinks, matters not one jot - After all the e-Petition to the Prime Minister to stop the extradition, only managed to obtain 876 Signatures before it closed, not exactly an outpouring of support). So be it, but I consider what Gary McKinnon is alleged to have done, constitutes extremely serious crimes against an ally of this country and he should stand trial for those crimes in the country against which he launched his attacks, But that does not in any way alter my view that the current extradition treaty should be suspended until the provisions of the treaty between UK and USA apply equally to both Countries. This should not stop the Gary McKinnon Extradition because the Legal Processes were finally taken to the European Court of Human Rights and the extradition was upheld (quite rightly).

In the interests of Balance here are three of External Websites that show support for Gary McKinnon's attempts to avoid Extradition and Trial in the USA:
Free Gary McKinnon - or at least give him a fair trial in the United Kingdom - Blog
Daily Mail Articles in Support of Gary McKinnon
London TV Net

About that Extradition Treaty:
Posts in this Blog:
UK-US Extradition Treaty and Certain American Politicians Support for Terrorists - 13th August 2003
The NatWest Three - 29th November 2007

External Sites:
Extradition Act of 2003 - The UK Statute Law Database
The Extradition Act 2003 - Wikipedia Entry
StateWatch News Online – Special Report on the ‘New US_UK Extradition Treaty - 2003
MPs Impotently Huffing and Puffing in Parliament - Hansard via They Work for You - 15th July 2009

News Update:
Alan Johnson: I can’t stop extradition - Times Online 2nd August 2009:
In this article the Home Secretary states he cannot stop the extradition as he would be breaking the Law. However once again Gary McKinnon is described as young (he is 43, which means he should be described as of middle age), Vulnerable (so vulnerable he can sit on the InfoSecurity Hackers panel and give a number of media interviews) and Misguided (He certainly is, he got so overconfident whilst hacking into US Defence Computers and those of NASA that he misguidedly got careless and therefore got caught).

I would rather the Home Secretary concentrated on making his Department 'fit for purpose' and ensuring that illegals are deported, dangerous prisoners stay in jail and sorting out the totally mismanaged National ID Card Scheme, than writing articles for the Sunday Times.

United Airlines did him wrong, so he wrote a song (or three)!

Post Updated on the 3rd March 2010 to cover the entire trilogy of Songa/Videos:

When United Airlines Loading Staff broke singer/songwriter Dave Carroll's $3,500 Taylor Guitar by throwing it about (along with the bands other instruments), he started what should have been a simple compensation claim, which ended NINE MONTHS later with United Airlines final refusal to pay compensation, So in his very last email to United Airlines he said he would write and produce three songs about his experience with United Airlines and make videos for each to be viewed online by anyone in the world.

This is the first of these videos - United Breaks Guitars :

The sorry tale in both short and long forms is here: United Breaks Guitars
There is also a video statement from Dave Carroll

Here is the Second Video: United Breaks Guitars Song 2:

For more information on the making of United Breaks Guitars: Song 2 on Dave Carroll's Site.

The third and final Song/Video was released on the 2nd March 2010 and here it is:

United Breaks Guitars Song 3 - "United We Stand" on the Right Side of Right

UK facing 'energy crunch' as North Sea oil and gas cash dries up

Not my headline but one from an Article with same title by Rowena Mason in the Daily Telegraph on Wednesday the 8th Jul 2009, which can be viewed here:
UK facing 'energy crunch' as North Sea oil and gas cash dries up.

I found this article both interesting (and recommend that visitors take the time to read it) and at the same time ironic as Mark Jago's article in this blog on the 5th January 2009 covered this in some detail:
Banks Risk Scottish North Sea Oil industry and Britain's Energy Future

Mark's article despite being six months old remains as valid as when it was written.

Included with Rowena Mason's article, but separate from it, is a Telegraph TV item with Robert Miller interviewing Liam Hallingan Chief Economist at Prosperity Capital Management and writer of the Economics Agenda Column is the Sunday Telegraph. Whilst this takes a broader view of the Global Situation the Video (republished below) is well worth watching!

The Idle Man

Darling I shrunk the Economy

I apologise if this infringes copyright, but when I received it in an email, it brought a wry smile and I had to share.

Gordon Brown's Britain - Surreal View of the Week

An Article by: Mark Jago - Published with his permission.
The Opinions Expressed are those of the Author, who assures me the article was written under the influence of nothing stronger than decaffeinated coffee:

Good news, the Government is working tirelessly to create jobs for those British citizens negatively affected by the global economic crisis brought on by outside forces that would seek to undermine the social fabric of the British state.

Our supreme leader Gordon Brown returned on the weekend triumphant from an EU meeting where he secured European autocratic socialistic "order in our time" by agreeing compromises that would see UK financial regulators have an expanded role as part of a new super European financial regulator with powers over the City of London financial system. He gained reassurances that the UK Government would retain "the right to bail out UK Banks when the Government thought it necessary". In exchange he has agreed a compromise package of sweeteners that would encourage the Irish to ratify the Lisbon Treaty making any renegotiation of the Treaty by a future Conservative Government more difficult. European commissioners are keen to maintain their support for the Prime ministers Government until the Lisbon Treaty is ratified.

This news was overshadowed by continued state sponsored media headlines detailing more parliamentary expenses revelations. That had in its wake brought about Government party purges, prompting our supreme leader to respond with an early re-shuffling of his cabinet. He also decided to increase the number of his non-elected members of cabinet to ten and at the same time said that he intended to bring about Parliamentary reform. The Government sanctioned Conservative party opposition has now become concerned that their party will lose out on reforms designed to smooth our supreme leader's re-election.

In a move designed to bring his supporters rushing out on to the streets in celebration, state media reported our supreme leader Gordon Brown has announced his intention to lead the Labour party into the next general election securing a fourth successive term for the party. The spontaneous demonstration however failed to materialize and we can now report that an un-named source has informed us that Chancellor Alistair Darling had failed to secure an EEC grant to pay for security forces to round up the necessary "volunteers". We also found that placards that were to be used in the demonstration did not materialise because the Government had failed to pay a previous printing bill. The placards were supposed to be pictures of the supreme leader with captions saying "God Save our benevolent leader", "You saved the World and we love you" and "one party one leader for life". This after our supreme leader had allegedly said that he could quite easily leave the trappings of leadership behind and go into teaching. Apparently he was misunderstood because he was a little incoherent due to the fact that he had lost his temper at the time. What we believe he said was "If a few malcontents think they are going to make me give up the trappings of power they have another think coming". When is my little red book "The teachings of your supreme leader Gordon" going to be available from the printer's? I'm going to make this book compulsory reading for all UK citizens!

The alleged rift between are supreme leader and Chancellor Alistair Darling seems to be getting worse after budget forecasts for tax revenues were publicly reported to be falling short of expectations. The governor of the Bank of England, not someone who normally likes to associate himself with common talk about money has let it be known that some fix-up of the Country's finances may be necessary? We understand that he got into a little bit of a sweat after workers who were printing new twenty pound notes started to demand to be paid their wages in foreign currency. Apparently there had been some minor Government miscalculations based on their assumptions that the City of London was "The financial capital of the World" and that the Prime Minister had already saved the World's financial system. Was there a general breakdown in the coordination and communication between Government departments? The Government is denying the oppositions assertion that tax increases would be inevitable. A anonymous spokesperson for the Government said that the first planned autumn petrol tax increase originally planned to be at four pence a litre could be increased "to say forty pence" without constituting breaking the Governments promise not to bring in any "new" taxes.

Unrest has again been reported in the energy industry following the firing of some 51 contract worker's some 650 other workers who walked out in sympathy were then also fired. The allegation being that cheap foreign workers were being brought in to complete the Total refinery project. We hear from an undisclosed source that these workers are going to be offered re-training and jobs in law enforcement, social services and the funeral service industry. This as a reward for not advertizing the fact that the government and their UK banking friends have exploited foreign Companies developing North Sea energy and have forced some of them either into bankruptcy or to drastically reduce expansion plans. The resulting loss of jobs and tax revenue is said to be substantial.

In other news our supreme leader announced this week an enquiry into the Iraq war to be held behind mostly in private although the public will get to hear some conclusions. The inquiry he said will look into lessons learned and not apportion blame. Someone not wishing to be named said that the government would be interested in gaining a better understanding of how they managed to invade another country and commit murder without being indicted for war crimes?

There has been some good news out of the National Health Service after it was found that the number of deaths from deadly infections introduced during surgery had declined. It has been found that deaths are now more commonly attributed to delays in transporting patients to hospital and simple mistakes during the admission process. An industry spokesperson said that this was a "Win Win" solution because patients no longer have to face the likelihood of a prolonged agonizing death at public expense. A rumour that the number of patients turning down National Health Surgeries was substantial was said to be exaggerated. However the spokesperson did admit that for some reason that hospital admissions and even attendance at doctors sugeries had suddenly declined substantially and that there was no longer a problem with waiting times. The spokesperson reiterated the health services commitment to provide a prompt humane service.

Finally this week, a first successful test run of Britain's first high-speed domestic train service using a Japanese-built train that hit a speed of 143 miles per hour on route between London and Ashford was rapturously announced by British Transport Secretary Lord Adonis. This is a real tribute to the policies of successive British Governments over decades of encouraging the export of innovative British industries and talented engineers and scientist to countries where their technologies and talents are more appreciated. The new "very" limited service is to start only thirty three years after train regular 170mph service was introduced in Japan and some decades after high speed rail services became common place in France.

The UK Government is beyond Contemptible

An Article by: Mark Jago - Published with his permission.
The Opinions Expressed are those of the Author.

It comes as a relief to hear that the rabble that call themselves politicians will be shortly shuffling off to their respective constancies for a long undeserved break from Parliament through to October.

It seems to me too much of a coincidence that the public should be subjected to a sordid little expenses scandal when there are other more critical issues that the Government should be held accountable for.

It's been long understood that the tabloid press is little more than a mouth piece used by politicians to communicate their positions and to influence public sentiment. There is an incestuous relationship between the press and their political insider informants. Over the last few days politicians have been using the press to communicate to each other their positions following the Labour Cabinet shake up.

It's my view that the Parliament expense scandal was deliberately encouraged as a relief valve in order to channel public attention and displeasure that has been building up over the past few months. The instigator and benefactor of this sordid little exposé is obvious. Gordon Brown, who now has all those people that would be his successor in Cabinet with him, where he can keep them busy and have them compete for his favour's as a possible successor. The hapless less intelligent politicians caught up in the coop that "really never was" having become collateral damage road kill. Convenient scapegoats that can be used to palm off past government failures onto, not many voters are going bother with semantics over these losers.

Mary Riddell's June 08th Telegraph Column:
"Gordon Brown: His enemies want him dead, but he is still Labour's only hope"
could in my view have been written by Gordon himself. It's difficult to imagine why she would of her own volition and while being of sound mind write such drivel?

Meanwhile the Government's sound bite politics and disastrous economic mismanagement continues quietly unchallenged and without democratic sanction.

Readers of my earlier Articles about Oilexco in this blog will not be surprised to hear Chancellor Alistair Darling in an interview is warning that the current high price for oil had the potential to be a huge problem as far as a recovery from the recession is concerned. (See: Oil prices could hold back recession recovery warns Chancellor).

He goes on to say that "we've got to convince everyone, including some of the Gulf states, who really have been badly affected by this downturn in their broader economies, it is in no one's interest that we allow a high oil price to impede recovery." The truth is that the Gulf States have suffered very little. He doesn't mention that the current run up in oil is largely due to commodity market speculation in which the City's commodities traders are intimately involved in and are active participants in siphoning off huge profits.

He also warned that getting banks lending again remained a problem, and that lenders were still struggling to build confidence. "If you don't fix the banking problem, you'll never fix the wider economy," Mr Darling said.

What is clearly understood by the World political community is that the US and UK are jointly responsible for the credit crisis and recession. They both benefited by usurping their trusted positions as regulators of their leading financial centers to allow for their own financial institutions to fraudulently manipulate investments and defraud the World community.

The fact that the British Labour Government has added to these problems with their own profligate spending and lack of banking supervision has in truth brought the UK to the brink of economic oblivion. They continue to blame others while failing to put their own house in order with corrective actions that protect their citizens from additional liabilities.

Those people in the UK that continue to support this Government because they themselves have been bailed out of a bad personal banking situation, or are reliant on the Government for a job, or for financial support should know the facts and rethink your motives.

Firstly, the amount of Government bailout money used to help individual depositors makes up only a small portion of the bailout funds given to the Banks. Much of the money has gone off-shore to cover the obligations that the banks created as part of their sub-prime involvement. The collapse of the car industry, other business and of the housing bubble is because the Banks withdrew their lone support in all these areas in order to save themselves from bankruptcy.

The amount of World toxic debt is many times larger than the amount of bailout and stimulus funds that have been committed to date. The UK Government may be working feverishly at this moment to size the exposure that they took on by taking over the UK banking system, but they still most likely have no idea of the cost of their commitment.

This is a major critical error the Government made is compounded by the fact that they persuaded the US to do the same. The action the Government should have taken was to support the good UK banks, those with non-subprime exposure to take on the retail business and industry lone businesses from the bad Banks who had the toxic lone exposure. The toxic debt would then be imprisoned within a few bankrupt banks and Government stimulus would be focussed on a quick recovery of the economy.

As we now know, successful businesses and families who through no fault of their own were at the time reliant on bank funding in the course of a normal banking relationship have been whipped out due to this extra ordinary catastrophe.

Last week's meeting G8 optimism about an end to the recession should be taken in context. On a global basis the world economy has gone from free fall to a bottoming process. The more robust economies and those with less exposure to toxic debt have begun to recover. The change in sentiment has seen funds that were put into the US as a safe haven are now being taken out again. This has resulted in the drop in the US dollar that has also seen other currencies including the pound rebound.

In the case of the UK, the major economic engines are Government spending and the City's financial business. These are both areas of economic activity that are not going to collapse over night, but will wither and die over time given a shift global sentiment.

This shift has already begun. Following on from the London G20 meeting there is a move to have the City's financial oversight come under European Common Market control. This will most likely fought by Gordon Brown who will try to postpone the inevitable however, his position is becoming weaker by the day. The Government has already requested Common Market banking help to save the North Sea energy industry, a move that's come too late. They are also asking for assurances that UK Vauxhall car plant production will remain operational under the new owners.

With a tax base that's shrinking by the day and a Bank of England reduced to printing money to keep the economy afloat the Government has only a short window of opportunity turn things around. Unlike the US they don't have a reserve currency to fall back on. Any special relationship they have with the US is fading fast and their attitude towards the EEC has not won them any friends. A rising tide will likely come too late to lift this UK boat.

The World does not owe this contemptible Government a living. The UK has made its own bed and now it must lay in it.

Why Would Someone Vote BNP?

The Idle Man has for sometime believed there were reasons beyond the obvious (anti-immigration and pure racism) why people vote for the BNP, but couldn't formulate a clear perspective of what these reasons might be (probably in part because of my intense dislike of the party). I finally came across an Article by David Lindsay (a writer based in Lanchester, County Durham. He has been a Councillor and a school governor since 1999. He holds two Durham degrees) in The FirstPost from February 2009.

At the risk of having my knuckle rapped (and possibly worse) for copyright violation the following is amost all of the original article, which can be found here: How the BNP moved into the political mainstream:

In the centre of Durham, one recent Saturday, I walked past a Trotskyist stall, manned by undergraduates, and a BNP one, run by men in early middle age, all with accents from no further than five miles outside Durham. While the Trots were ignored, the BNP was swamped.

How come? There are no asylum seekers in County Durham, and visible ethnic minorities account for only one per cent of the population. At the last census, the district of Easington was found to be the least ethnically diverse area in Britain.

No, the reason why the BNP inspire such interest is because neither Labour, the Tories, or the Lib Dems are talking about the issues that worry people here.

Many in the North-East, and, indeed, around the country, are concerned about a loss of sovereignty, whether to the European Union, to the United States, or to global capital. And about the practical consequences of this loss, from the Common Fisheries Policy, to the Iraq War, to the credit crunch.

They are concerned about a new working class whose members understand no English except words of command, know little or nothing about workers' rights here, can be moved around the country at will, and deported if they step out of line. Deference to Islam is another complaint.

A lot of people really are worried by these things. I am. So why aren't the three main parties? Proper Labourites, or Conservatives, or Liberals would be.

Otherwise, people are talking about the erosion of the traditional family and its values, not least on the airwaves; about lap-dancing clubs; about the deregulation of drinking and gambling; about how the Police and the Crown Prosecution Service have effectively legalised cannabis and lowered the age of consent to 13; about the Police not patrolling the streets, soft sentencing, and indiscipline in schools. Again, the BNP is the only party that has responded.

They are also talking about the real concern that the white working class has been left behind. And that no one ever mentions manufacturing, which still accounts for more than twice the GDP of the entire financial services sector, never mind the bailout-begging City.

Meanwhile, because the powers-that-be are unable to distinguish between the respectable working class and the characters from Shameless, council and housing association tenants now face having Shameless characters moved in next door to them, or even in place of them.

Many people are also concerned that Scottish devolution has never been supported by the majority of eligible voters in Scotland; that a mere 26 per cent of the electorate ever supported devolution in Wales, where it is being used to entrench the rule of those in English-speaking areas who speak Welsh as a cordon sanitaire; that the government of Northern Ireland has been carved up between a fundamentalist sect and a terrorist organisation; and about how badly England has been treated.

These are the issues that the BNP advertise on their leaflets, and discuss when they campaign door-to-door. This is what they were telling the Durham public at their stall that Saturday afternoon. Far from being racist, these valid and well-founded concerns are strongly shared with ethnic minority communities. I am, myself, mixed-race. Far from being necessarily right-wing, these concerns are felt most keenly by traditional Labour supporters, who now abstain in enormous numbers, and could put the BNP third in numerous seats and second in quite a few. The BNP is far more of a threat to Labour than UKIP ever was to the Tories. Yet neither Labour nor the other two parties are addressing these concerns. So the BNP is filling the vacuum. The terrible truth is that they are now the only force even pretending to share and articulate numerous perfectly mainstream and reasonable fears and grievances. Ignorant of and unfaithful to their own traditions, and scornful of the people whose worries these are, the main parties simply refuse to do so. Thus are people drawn into a world of racism, thuggery, and Holocaust denial.

I wish I could write that well, but my shortcomings aside. All the major parties say they are listening to the electorate, but effectively ignore them. Instead wringing their hands over the problem of political disengagement and how to tackle it. For example see Squirrel Nutkin's, sorry Hazel Blears speech to the Hansard Society in November 2008: Tackling Political Disengagement (in PDF Format).

The BNP realising that to make any real impact it had to change its image has done the obvious and listened, and then made peoples concerns part of its policy platform. UKIP to a lesser extent has done the same.

I believe that the leadership of all the major parties should read this article an take on-board the simple message. Listen to the voice of the people, take on-board their concerns and do something about them, hardly rocket science.

Dear Prime Minister. About My Pension

The following is a genuine letter (with the senders details removed) which was sent to the Prime Minister on the 15th May 2009. The contents will strike a cord with 1,000's of women, who have reached pensionable age and then discovered that because during their working life they had to take time out to care for members of their family, they are considered to be worth less than an unemployed school leaver:

The Right Honourable Gordon Brown
Dear Prime Minister,

I have worked for 40 years, 11 years full time and 29 years part time, paying full stamp for 11 years and then lower stamp for 29 years. I went part time to enable me to care for my parents who were both in bad health, and in order for me to do this I paid the lower stamp, and continued to work part time in more recent years to look after my sick husband.

Because of the strain of caring almost continually for these years I had to give up work at 6 months over 56.

When my husband retires in September this year I have learnt I will receive a pension of £57.05. This makes me one of the many women in this Country who have paid N.I. contributions some at the higher rate and some at the lower rate, paid taxes, cared for sick relatives, been hardworking and responsible human beings, to find our reward in our retirement is less than Job Seekers allowance. This can be paid to individuals who may have paid none or very few contributions, some who are still living with parents, with no expenses at all. In some cases, I understand, benefit can be paid to individuals who have never contributed. The rules seem a lot stricter for people in my situation, which seems very unfair. Where savings and Council tax are concerned the formula used to calculate entitlement to help, is ridiculous and outdated.

I know I am only one of hundreds and thousands of women who are in my position in this Country today, who are the forgotten, overlooked and undervalued members of society.

I am also very angry when I hear and read in the media about the alleged misuse of M.P.s expenses, and how I am expected to live on my income.

I look forward to receiving you comments.
Yours sincerely.

The Idle Man can do little more than point out that Pensioners are an increasing percentage of the electorate and if this. or any future Government continues to ignore them, then they do so at their peril.

Reply from the Prime Ministers Office
(Scanned and OCRed):

10 DOWNING STREET
LONDON MA2AA
www.number10.gov.uk

From the Direct Communications Unit

3 June 2009

Name and Address Removed


Dear xxxxxxxxxx.

The Prime Minister has asked me to thank you for your recent letter and to say that the views that you have expressed have been carefully noted.

Mr Brown would like to reply to you personally, but as you may know, he receives many thousands of letters each week and his many duties mean that he must ask Government Departments to reply on his behalf. He does appreciate the time that people take to write to him.

The Prime Minister has asked that I pass your letter to the Department for Work and Pensions so that they are aware of your views and may reply to the detailed points raised in your letter.

Yours Sincerely
MRS S.CAINE

Assuming there is a communication from the Department of Work and Pensions it will be posted here:

UK and Holland inching further Right

Which UK Party has the following as part of its core policy?
We will freeze immigration for five years, speed up deportation of
up to a million illegal immigrants by tripling the numbers engaged in
deportations, and have ‘no home no visa’ work permits to ease the
housing crisis.
No not the BNP, who now have two MEPs, but UKIP with 13 MEPs.

Staying with UKIP as they now have the second largest number of MEPs in the UK and intend to field a large number of candidates in the next General Election should we now consider them a Mainstream Party?

Moving over to Holland and the situation where the far-right PVV has won 4 European Parliament Seats and has Nine MPs in the Dutch Parliament.

For some years the Idle Man has considered Dutch Public opinion as an indicator of future trends in British Public opinion.

If the Dutch, who for all my adult life, have been one of the most tolerant of nations has moved this far to the right, then my guess is unless the Mainstream Parties in Britain address the reasons for the BNP and UKIP gains, then in five years time the Far Right may not just a cause for concern, but a major force in British Politics.

But I fear the three main parties, other than occasionally wringing their Hands about the rise of the BNP and promising to do something to address the reasons, will actually do little, or nothing.

In the European Parliament my guess is that two BNP MEPs will 'double team' with the four MEPs from the PVV (after all they have so much in common) but whether they and the PVV join the Independence/Democracy Group (of which UKIP is a member) or combine with other Far-Right MEPs (with whom they have less common ground) to form a new Group is going to be a situation to watch.

External Links to the Parties Mentioned in this Post
UKIP - United Kingdom Independence Party
See the UKIP Policies Section both summary and detail.
BNP - British National Party
PVV - Partij voor de Vrijheid (Party for Freedom) English Website

Other External Links
Independence/Democracy Group Web Site
Independence/Democracy Group - Wikipedia Entry

Nick Robinson BBC Political Editor Blog
Mark Mardell's Euroblog

Tonights European Election Results are in!

The results mean, unlike the Idle Man, most Labour MP's will have trouble sleeping. Not of course over the problems that face the country, but over their careers. The Disasters in Wales and the South West are just bigger blackspots in a nationwide picture of misery for the Labour Party (and I am sorry to say I cannot find even a smidgen of sympathy for their plight).

The Conservative Leadership will be pleased at their share of the vote. Plus MEP Daniel Hannan confirmed his celebrity status with his acceptance statement:

For the Lib Dems a slightly disappointing night, but at the end of it all one seat gained.
But for The Greens and UKIP a good night and for the pariahs of the far right the BNP, a night of joyous celebration having not just achieved one MEP, but two!

Whilst the rest of today will be interesting for those who follow the Westminster Soap Opera, but as for actually getting to grips with the problems that face the country and need to address the underlying reasons for the BNP success, another wasted day.

At close of play tonight the results were:

1. Conservatives 24 (+1)
2. UKIP 13 (+1)
3. Labour 11 (-5)
4. Lib Dems 10 (+1)
5. Green 2 (No Change)
6. BNP 2 (+2)
7. Plaid Cymru 1 (No Change)
   

Squirrel Nutkin and the WAGs

Hell hath no fury like a Woman Scorned: Well Gordon Brown has scorned three women recently and one about a year ago. Plus a number other Ladies, who feel disgruntled and marginalised since Gordon became PM.

The result the monthly Quiet Girls Night Dinners for Senior Members of the Sisterhood (a body of female Labour MPs more loyal to each other than their party and Blairites to a woman - Surely their loyalty should be to their Country, their Constituents, then their Party. Silly me, these are New Labour Politicians, self before all others) has metamorphosed into the WAGs (Women Against Gordon).
Membership of the WAGs is basically the same as the original Social Dinner Group, but with a single focussed agenda: revenge.

The fact this country is at War in Afghanistan, faces a Terrorist Threat - At time of writing this is deemed Severe and a terrorist attack is highly likely, coupled with a severe Economic Recession (leading to ever higher unemployment, exacerbating the already serious problems with the Health and Education Sectors, Business and Manufacturing), is irrelevant to this group of (sic) Honourable Ladies.

So who are the WAGs all of whom entered Politics as a Career (tsk, I mean of course Public Service - Where is that hollow laughter coming from)?
Well as they are on a bit of a recruiting drive at the moment. the list of shame that follows only covers the key members, three of whom are shown (in happier times) in the picture below:

Caroline Flint, Squirrel Nutkin & Jacqui Smith

• Caroline Flint: - Nice to Look at, but unpredictable emotional behaviour. Was a briefly gushing Gordon Groupie, until Gordon didn't give her what she wanted and immediately became the harpie from hell:
  
  
  
  Caroline Flint in Modelling Pose (at least in Modelling a hissy fit is accepted) .
• Hazel Blears: (aka Squirrel Nutkin): Resigned just before she was pushed.
  
  
  
• Jacqui Smith: Resigned before she was pushed. A relief to the Idle Man who felt she had been promoted way beyond her limited talent.
  
  
• One Apparent leading WAG not in the Group Photograph is Ruth Kelly (remember her):
  
  
• Other Current Members it appears include:
  Beverley Hughes, Patricia Hewitt, and Margaret Hodge
  

As this post is having a go at a Group of Labour Politicians, who are all Women, I think it is only fair to finish with quotes from women:

First Geraldine Smith MP writing in the Mail Online:
I’ve always been uncomfortable about women-only groups. I’m not a member of the so-called Women Against Gordon (WAGs) group as Caroline, Hazel Blears and some other Blairite MPs are. Nor would I want to be. I call it the ‘Blair Witch Project’ – not WAGs.

Jan Moir also writing in the Mail Online:
Tired of being girls interrupted, they want to be girls aloud - no matter what price the electorate must pay for their personal ambition.

What a sick joke. Especially when you consider that most of them are in office only because of Labour's notorious 'women only' candidate shortlists.

If their fate had been left to the process of natural political selection on a non-gender basis, they'd all still be teachers, sweet shop assistants, failing social workers or stay-at-home mums.

Judged on merit, all of them would merit not much more than a kick in the pants.

Instead, they are the highly-promoted beneficiaries of reverse sexism; Calamity Jane third-raters who have become drunk on the fleeting tot of power that this Government has poured them before it finally self-combusts.

None of these women is fit to iron Betty Boothroyd's tights. Or polish Barbara Castle's boots. Or even, if we must, sweep Margaret Thatcher's front steps. (Jacqui, dear, you hold the broom the other way up).

Unsurprisingly, Blears and gormless Jacqui Smith are at the core of the group, while other members include Beverley Hughes, Patricia Hewitt, Caroline Flint, Margaret Hodge and Tessa Jowell. Now that's what I call a party! Although not a political one, obviously.

Over quiet suppers in the privacy of their flipped homes, the WAGs meet to compare freebie soft furnishings and get out the taxpayer-subsidised fish knives to stab the Prime Minister in the back.They plot over pasta and cheap wine. Pesto sauce from a jar is dished up alongside over-heated, ready made Blairite grievances with a side order of sour grapes.

My heart almost cracks with the agony of it all.

Well thank you Geraldine and Jan, I guess you are both off certain peoples Christmas Card List!

Present For The BBC - Much Better Pay than being an MP

The base salary for an MP is nearly £65,000. Which is about twice what many of them are worth. But if based on the 'job description' is probably about £15,000 too low.
Now MP's salaries and expenses have been in the Media spotlight with the BBC in there with the best of them (and quite rightly so).

Yet when it comes to the contracts for its Radio and TV Presenters, it suddenly goes very coy. Siting confidentiality agreements with presenters over pay!
This is the BBC fearless investigator of those whom it deems have their noses in the trough and are riding a gravy train?
Apparently so, but then who but the BBC would pay:

• That aging Juvenile Jonathan Ross £6 Million a year for the past three years and is rumoured to be renewing the contract for another three years at £3 Million a year!
• The miniature man Graham Norton has been paid nearly £2.5 Million a year for the past three years and looks like renewing for less (but almost certainly many times what he is worth i.e. the Minimum Wage plus 10%)
  

But this is the BBC where the 'talentless' are routinely overpaid and allowed to over exercise their egos! Surely there are some decent Chat Show Hosts out there?

Moving on: Jeremy Paxman who is very good at what he does. gets £800,000 for Newsnight and plus more for doing University Challenge, pushing his annual earnings over £1 Million. Yes Jeremy is good, but that good!

Meanwhile, Terry Wogan is reputedly being paid £800,000 a year for his radio show! Whilst Chris Moyles get £630,000. These inflated salaries mean that Production costs for most breakfast and drivetime shows on BBC radio were "much higher" than those on commercial radio stations and the average Presenter Salary was twice that paid by Commercial Radio.

I think the BBC is one of the greatest British Institutions, but some of these salaries are beyond belief and trying to hide information from bodies such as the National Audit Office and House of Commons public accounts select committee is an indication of not only they have something to conceal, but know that they will face the same sort of public outcry that they have helped to stir up against MPs expenses.

The BBC's reaction is typical of the Media's fear of being investigated for the very abuses they publicize in others. Whilst one almost expects this of the Newspapers, the fact that this is the BBC once again shows how low standards have fallen.

However as light relief, here are Stephen Fry's comments on Journalists during an interview with Michael Crick:

“Although, of course, anybody can talk about snouts in troughs, and go on about it, for journalists to do so is almost beyond belief, beyond belief. I know lots of journalists; I know more journalists than I know politicians.And I’ve never met a more venal and disgusting crowd of people when it comes to expenses and allowances."

It is probably the first time I have laughed whilst watching a Newsnight Interview. Whilst I disagree with Stephen over much of what followed in the interview, it is worth watching for his opening comments:

Michael Crick inteviews Stephen Fry on MPs Expenses

The MPs Expenses scandal is a Symptom

I has not previously posted on the scandal of MP's Expenses, because:

• The Daily and Sunday Telegraph were doing such a good job of covering this and the rest of the Mainstream media rushed in with a feeding frenzy to cover any angles that the Telegraph had not dealt with. Thus making any post from me irrelevent.
  
• I was not surprised that some MPs were feeding off the expenses gravy train to an embarrassing, scandalous, and probably illegal extent. The scale of some of the claims and the number of MPs involved playing the system for all it is worth did give me pause, but quite honestly I see this entire scandal as purely a symptom of the collapse of standards in public life.
• In the Article MPs' expenses: Full list of MPs investigated by the Telegraph, there were a few MPs' claims that caused a wry, ironic smile: How Sinn Fein MPs' claimed £500,000 for second homes, the five MPs, who represent the political wing of the IRA, have not even taken up their Parliamentary seats and yet they have rented three London properties from the same family at rates well above the market norm. The Hazel Blears property swap trick, which Gordon Brown has deemed totally unacceptable, I found particularly ironic after my post:
  Agreeing and Disagreeing with Hazel Blears. The case of Alex Salmond who's claims for food allowance even when parliament is not sitting (not that he often attends even when parliament is sitting, because he his playing at being a pseudo prime minister in the Scottish part of the United Kingdom). This claim for Food might be expected of John Prescott and of course he did claim the maximum food allowance, but then even when Deputy PM, he was more interested in his perks than actually doing anything useful.
• One name that (so far) does NOT appear of the Telegraph list of investigated MPs' is George Galloway! This is a surprising omission as he was deemed to be the Worst MP in a Telegraph Article on the 4th April 2009. His value rating which is total expenses claimed (for the year 2007/2008) divided by a calculation of an MPs work rate (attendance, voting record, speeches in debate and number of written questions) is £21,201. This is well over three times the 2nd Worst MP Claire Short with a value rating of £6,546 and almost 70 times worse than the best value MP Philip Hollobone (Conservative, Kettering) with a value rating of £376.

But as I stated earlier this scandal is, I believe just a symptom of the collapse of standards in Public Life, where duty, integrity and public service have lost their meaning to far too many of those we elect to represent us. Where the subtle and sometimes less than subtle corruption of whose elected to office is built into the system (second jobs, free trips and dinners where favours are requested and too often granted, an expenses system designed to be abused, etc) . This coupled with the politicising of some Senior Civil Servants under New Labour, has resulted in the Mother of all Parliaments, being more comparable with Nigerian Political Practices of the recent past than a symbol of how Democracy should work.

The complaint that our Politicians have lost touch with the people who elected them is valid. Unfortunately many of them don't actually see this as a problem as they only have to even consider us at election time and these days they will spin their record and that of their party as best they can, then pray that we re-elect them so they can get their noses back in the trough. After all being an MP is their job, their career, we the electorate are an inconvenience that can be ignored most of the time whilst they get on with being a Politician.

Even some of those who express concern about the need reengage the public in politics have, by their behaviour done this cause serious harm, yes Hazel Blears (nicknames 'Chipmunk' and my favourite from Ian Hislop, 'Squirrel Nutkin') I mean you!

However there are MPs' with integrity and a belief they are in Parliament to make a positive difference, Notably:
Douglas Carswell who was elected in 2005 and shortly afterwards was moved to comment openly of his "revulsion" at the system and how, frankly, he was embarrassed to be an MP - His Blog is now on my must read list!

Blog Links:
BBC Nick Robinson's News Blog
BBC Stephanomics - Stephanie Flanders

Douglas' Blog (Douglas Carswell MP)
his website is here:
Douglas Carswell MP for Harwich and Clacton
Iain Dale's Diary (Tory)
Labour List (Obviously Labour)
(Note - former editor: Derek Draper who resigned due the emails smear scandal)
Guido Fawkes Blog
(Apparently Hazel Blears least favourite political blog
Now on the Idle Man's must read list)

Something worth Reading:
(and I still mean to blog on this):
Revitalizing Politics: Have We Lost the Plot?.
a paper by:
Gerry Stoker, Colin Hay and Andy Williamson.

cc All Emails to Jacqui Smith Day - Not A Good Idea

An internet group is urging internet users to send a copy of all emails they send and receive on the 15th June to Jacqui Smith, the Home Secretary in protest against the government's plans to monitor internet communications (emails, VoIP calls, texts, internet usage etc). Actually the email address is Home Office Address for comments regarding the Policy Consultation Document and not Jacqui Smith Directly.

Firstly I see the policy, which is in the Consultation Phase, as an extension of existing powers covering 'traditional means of communication'. Probably because I have spent much of my professional life in an industry where Terrorism has been the 'Elephant in the Room', not discussed, but always there, I understand the need for extending current legislation to encompass the internet and am in many ways concerned that this has not been dealt with earlier.
However I can understand that for many people this is an issue, and their concerns have both an emotive and intellectual basis and accept my viewpoint is a pragmatic one because of my background.

Secondly the Consultation Document covers the alternatives methods of achieving what is required, whilst at least giving some consideration to privacy concerns. Despite what some Online Articles and Blogs have indicated, HMG is NOT considering a Central Mega-Database (although the consultation document indicates that this would have been a good solution but not a viable one for non-technical reasons - Note: from the Governments Record on actually implementing major IT projects I see this as non-option anyway). So the alternatives revolve around the collection and storage of the required information by: ISPs, Social Networking Sites and VoIP providers.

Moving on from Policy to Emailing the Home Office. Emailing a Government Department regarding a particular issue, or policy statement is the right of every citizen. Encouraging what is effectively email spamming of a department, is at the very least juvenile and distasteful.

I am not a fan of Jacqui Smith as Home Secretary and really don't believe she should be in that job, nor indeed a Minister of the Crown in any capacity.
Unfortunately the flood of pointless emails will be directed at those trying to put together the comments concerning the Consultation Document and I suspect the effect will be to harden Jacqui Smith's resolve that the policy is necessary and urgent.

Thus the Idle Man finds himself in the awkward position of agreeing with Jacqui Smith that legislation is needed and the consultation document makes sense.

Links:
Protecting the Public in a Changing Communications Environment
If having read the above you want to comment then:
Email the Home Office (But do it before 15th June, as any valid considered comment will be lost in the spam),

In the interests of balance here are some links to sites which have a very different viewpoint to mine:
Henry Potter's Blog - Guardian
NO2ID

Finally of course, you may wish to be Juvenile and Distasteful:
cc all your emails to Jacqui Smith day