Prisoners and the Vote - No Change required!

The BBC's Nick Robinson published an article earlier this morning (0515 20 Jan 2011) with the title: Ministers in climbdown over prisoner vote rights in which he writes that the government is preparing to scale back plans to give the right to vote to thousands of prisoners serving sentences of under four years. They now propose to limit the right to those sentenced to a year or less.

But this misses the point, Belgium and Eire, and indeed 11 other countries who signed the 1953 European Convention on Human Rights do NOT allow Prisoners the vote. Yet they are not being singled out by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). Belgium goes further and can deny the vote to Prisoners even after they are released.

So why has Britain been singled out? Because the ban is automatic rather than part of the sentencing procedure. So just change the law, so that every year handed down as a sentence is given the same number of years voting ban (this to remain in force even if paroled, or early release).

However better still face down the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) and MPs will have the opportunity to defy the court's ruling in a couple of weeks' time when the Commons debates a motion tabled by Conservative David Davis and Labour's Jack Straw (I for one will be watching how the MP for my constituency votes on this).

Actually I would much rather the vote was on withdrawing completely from the 1953 Convention and instead preparing over the next few years a British bill of Human Rights which is based on the safety of citizens and the protection of victims of crime rather than the rights of those whose Criminal or other acts endanger the Citizens of this Country.

Related Post in this blog:
EU Law overrides UK Law and (some) Convicts will get the Vote 02nd November 2010
Douglas Carswell MP: Governed by judges? 05th November 2010

Other Articles:

• Tory rebels given green light to crush prison votes
• Far fewer prisoners will now get the right to vote
• Votes for (some) prisoners to get a vote in Parliament

Len McCluskey Speaks out in support of the Student Protest.

The Leader of the Unite Union Britain's Biggest and the owner main financial supporter of the Labour Party, Comrade Mr Len Mcluskey has spoken to the Guardian in an article entitled: Unions warn of massive wave of strikes. In the article he discusses his support of the Student Protests and how the Union movement should be planning a broad strike movement against the cuts. Oh goody an unrepentant former supporter of the aims of the Militant Tendency is alive and well and running the largest of Britain's Unions, just what this country didn't need!

Links
Other Guardian Articles by Len McCluskey
The Telegraphs Article 20th Dec 2010, which quotes his latest Chat to the Guardian:
Len McCluskey: head of Britain's biggest union praises 'magnificent' student protest movement
Also from the Telegraph but back on the 28th Nov:
Len McCluskey refuses to rule out strikes on Royal Wedding Day (What a miserable man!)

In this Blog:
In Reference to Mr McCluskey's Election:
Vote Unite sorry I meant Labour - NO WAY. 22nd Nov 2010

Student Protests:
Students Protestors, no Criminal Vandalising Hooligans 10th Dec 2010
The only ones to come out of the Student Protests with Honour! 11th Nov 2010

Granted Asylum in Britain dies an al-Qaeda Martyr in Afghanistan!

Having just read (belatedly) the Telegraph Article about Mahmoud Abu Rideh a British al-Qaeda refugee killed in Afghanistan. I thought I would do some limited research on the Background of this man.

Background to Mahmoud Abu Rideh in Britain:
Mahmoud Abu Rideh was born in Jordan to Palestinian refugee parents. He came to the UK in January 1995 and claimed asylum, whilst living off benefits with his wife and five children. Initially His asylum claim was refused because his story was not credible but he appealed and was granted refugee status in November 1998!

In December 2001 he was detained under anti-terrorism laws after the then home secretary David Blunkett concluded he was "an active supporter of various international terrorist groups, including those with links to Osama Bin Laden's terrorist network". The reasons for which are covered in the Telegraph Article and I quote:

The central allegation was that he had been involved in fund raising and distribution of funds for terrorist groups with links to al-Qaeda as well as procuring false documents and facilitation of the travel for volunteers to training camps in Afghanistan.

Although he was living on benefits, he was said to have raised around £100,000 in just two years, using the Arab Bank in Park Lane to funnel his money to al-Qaeda.

He also held an account at the Wimbledon branch of HSBC entitled “Islamic Services Bureau – Treasurer’s Account.”

He was said to be closely involved with senior extremists and associates of Osama bin Laden both in Britain and overseas.

He spent most of his time after his arrest at Broadmoor Secure Hospital (I think all Islamist Terrorists are mentally deranged, but the Law says otherwise). Surprisingly he was granted bail in January 2005, due to his deteriorating mental health (surely all the more reason for keeping him in a secure environment?).

This followed the overturning by the Law Lords of the Detention without Trial System for Terrorism Suspects (on the 16th December 2004) as this was against European human rights laws. The same day as Charles Clarke became Home Secretary. As the European Laws are binding on this Country a way had to be found that was acceptable to the unelected people who made these laws and so Control Orders were introduced. This almost exactly coincided with Mahmoud Abu Rideh's release on bail. Not surprisingly Mahmoud Abu Rideh became one of those subject to a Control Order.

In early 2007 Mahmoud Abu Rideh came before Mr Justice Beatson who on the 4th April 2007 ruled the order should be quashed, saying "its cumulative effects in my judgment deprive [Mr Rideh] of liberty, and the secretary of state has no power to make such an order". This judgement came as no surprise to Home Secretary John Reid (who would probably, if he had stayed in Office the best Home Secretary in living memory) as Mr Justice Beatson had made the same ruling in a previous case. However unlike most Home Secretaries who would have been 'extremely disappointed' by this judgement, John Reid immediately issued a new Control Order.

From this moment on there and increasing campaign to get the control order on Mahmoud Abu Rideh lifted.
When John Reid was sadly replaced by Jacqui Smith (who's lack of suitability for the post almost matched David Blunkett's) the campaign got seriously underway with Amnesty International (UK Branch) launching an appeal and PetionOnLine (they got 1078 Signatures).

By June 2009 he was working on generating his own publicity by appearing at the reception desk of the Guardian Newspaper. This resulted in the Guardian taking up the cause of this 'tragic figure' with his Walking Stick, worn clothes, visible evidence of self-harm and his tale of how his wife had finally left him with the five children to live with her parents in Jordan. The result was a 'heartbreaking article' and video: A day in the life of a terror suspect a man driven to despair due his loss of his freedom, his family and with suicide on his mind. Didn't actually mention his pre-British life working for a school in Afghanistan for Arab Speaking children, many of those fathers were some of the world’s most wanted men, or his later work with Islamic Services Bureau in Pakistan, run by Osama bin Laden’s mentor Abdullah Azzam. Or even his publicly known fund raising support of Terrorism whilst in the UK. But hey why spoil a good story!

On the 3rd July 2009 Amnesty International was able to trumpet that the Home Office, now under Alan Johnson had agreed to allow Mahmoud Abu Rideh to leave Britain (and Never Come back, although wasn't mention in the Amnesty release). So in September 2009 he left Britain but NOT off to Jordan to see the Wife and Children, no destination Syria and by whatever means eventually arriving in Afghanistan and then dying with a group of al-Qaeda Terrorists.

For 14 Years this man and his family lived in Britain at cost to the Taxpayer was a supporter of terrorism and when able was an active participant in raising funds for terrorist organisations and finally achieved what was probably his life's ambition of dying a terrorist. I hope whose who supported him like Mr Justice Beatson, the Guardian, Amnesty International and those who signed petitions are proud that they assisted him to achieve his goal of becoming a Martyr for a cause, that would, if it could, ensure that the very institutions and the people that supported him would be eliminated. In a world run by al-Qaeda, life in the 12th Century AD would appear utopian!

Some Questions for MP Mike Hancock: 1st why hire a Foreign National?

In the furore over whether Katia Zatuliveter is, or is not an agent of the SVR (KGB by any other name is still the KGB), some questions don't appear to have been asked.

• The most important being: Why employ a foreign national as a research assistant?
• Were there no suitably qualified Citizens of the United Kingdom?
• If, as stated she was the best person for the Job, how was the Job advertised and how many applicants interviewed?
  
• Was her ability to speak Russian a consideration? Because there are a large number of Russian Speaking UK Citizens. But this may have been a consideration as Mr Hancock does it appear have more than passing affection for Russia (as a state) and has made numerous visits there. Although exactly how many is publicly difficult to know, as his Passport 'fell into the sea'. However this begs another question:
  
• Who paid for this unknown number of trips to Russia?

A little more on Mike Hancock MP
Also there are it appears concerns about Mr Hancock himself, not that he is a spy, but his more than somewhat 'rose coloured' view of Russia plus his unusually large number of detailed questions on Defence Matters. Well as he is MP for Portsmouth South and Portsmouth is a major Royal naval base this might be understandable! But majority of these were a series questions were about the Trident Flotilla which is not Portsmouth based and the Atomic Weapons Establishment at Aldermaston. He is also a denier of the Armenian Genocide and a 'friend' of the government of Azerbaijan. There are rumours he is womaniser and he is currently on Police Bail on suspicion of indecent assault (this will be heard in January 2011). He is also involved in supporting worthy causes notably: NSPCC, Captive Animals Protection Society and has been involved with MENCAP.

Links:
Mike Hancock CBE - Personal Website Which has a Heading: Standing up for Portsmouth.

Mike Hancock on Wikipedia

Vote Unite sorry I meant Labour - NO WAY.

Unite, the Union that owns the Labour Party, sorry I mean contributes, the most to the Labour Party has voted as Leader one Comrade, I mean Mr Len McCluskey, who still quotes Communist guerrilla leader Che Guevara (which would be quaint if he wasn't so powerful) and believes there is no such thing as an irresponsible strike! It is also apparent he still espouses the agenda of the Militant Tendency which in the 1980's set out infiltrate Labour Constituency Parties with the objective to moving the Party much further to the Left. Overall he reminds me of the most Militant and Destructive Union Leaders of the 1970's and that is an extremely bad thing for the average Unite Member, future of Industrial relations, the Labour Party and most importantly the Country.

I had hoped that Bob Crow of the RMT was the last throwback to that era to make it to the leadership of a Union. Sadly I was wrong.

As Unite is the Labour Parties biggest backer and regardless of how the party spin it, a major unelected influence on their future direction, something that I have always felt was a concern. Now with Len McCluskey leading Unite, I think they will be unfit for election to Government for the foreseeable future.

The only bright spot is I shall no longer even have to bother reading their Election Literature, whether for Council Election, Bye Election, or their Manifesto for a General Election, because with his brooding influence, however worthy their Candidate they won't be getting my Vote.

The only ones to come out of the Student Protests with Honour!

The only people to come out of the Student Protest in London Yesterday with Honour were the Policemen and Women who stood their ground and despite being attacked with 'missiles' as well as abuse acted with restraint and paid a price for it with a total of 41 officers received injuries, and a "small number" were taken to hospital for treatment before being released.

A policeman who was injured in the clashes Photo: EDDIE MULHOLLAND
From Telegraph Article: Student tuition fees protests: police got it wrong, says Nick Herbert

At least their boss, Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson recognised their fortitude, nay bravery in an internal message to staff:

Sir Paul paid tribute:
He said: "Many faced thuggish and disgraceful behaviour which has been well publicised in the media. Their bravery and professionalism in the face of adversity was hugely commendable and, once again, demonstrates the commitment and dedication of our officers in the Met."

"We know that the vast majority of protesters were entirely peaceful and well behaved, but it is clear that some chose to engage in senseless criminality. Sadly, some of our colleagues, my officers, were injured in the line of duty and some came perilously close to being seriously injured."

"This, once again, demonstrates the willingness of officers to put themselves in harm's way for the people of London."

Sir Paul said those responsible for the violence must be found and brought to justice "swiftly".
He added: "That is our number one priority and an investigation to achieve this is already well under way."

Student protest against tuition fees turns violent at Millbank Photo: Dominic Lipinski/PA
From Telegraph Article: Student tuition fee protest: Infantile behaviour

I certainly hope that all those who engaged in Criminal Damage (Smashing windows in private cars was NOT a Political Act, or Protest, but Criminal Damage for which those responsible should pay, both financially and with a Criminal Record).
Whilst some would argue attacking Conservative Party HQ, could be construed as Political, as itwas both Violent and in some cases, as e.g. the dropping of a Fire Extinguisher from the Roof of the building was life threatening. In this case custodial sentences are appropriate.

The Senior levels of the Metropolitan Police are going through a period of navel gazing and soul searching over what they could/should have done and those who weren't there (including the Politicians - See: Student tuition fees protests: police got it wrong, says Nick Herbert ) will voice what they would have done better, but to some extent they are in a no win situation; A much larger presence, especially of Riot Police and they would have been accused of being 'too heavy handed', or as in this case too few and they are blamed anyway.

My views on the Protest in general have been summoned up, so much better than I could myself in this article in the Telegraph Online (and the Headlines says it all): Student tuition fee protest: Infantile behaviour

EU Law overrides UK Law and (some) Convicts will get the Vote

First a statement of my view on this: Convicts should NOT get the Vote!

Sadly as a British Citizen I do NOT have the right to Vote on this issue, my Elected Representative does NOT have the right to try and get this ruling over turned, 'the extremely disappointed' Theresa May as Home Secretary can do nothing (which is actually no surprise, but on this occasion not her fault), the Prime Minister has tried, but doesn't have the power to change this European Court of Human Rights Ruling.

So we in Britain have no say on this! This is the unacceptable face of EU Power via the European Court of Human Rights to force Member Countries to accept Laws they don't want. Although I disagree with the ruling (even if passed by UK Parliament), my real irritation, nay anger is that this has been imposed over our Sovereign Rights as a Nation.

For a more objective view on this (rather than my rant) see:
BBC: Convicted prisoners to get vote after European ruling

The United Kingdom Extradition Review

I welcome the Independent Extradition Review which in particular will put the current US-UK Extradition Treaty of 2003, the European Arrest Warrant and the more general EU Extradition arrangements under the Microscope, but will also cover Extradition Treaties with other Jurisdictions.

Starting off with the US-UK Extradition Treaty, which despite US Assertions that it fair, is probably one the most unbalanced negotiated by Britain in recent times, even the then Home Secretary David Blunkett (merely one of a long line of pretty useless Home Office Ministers) now admits he may have 'given too much to the Americans', NOT just an understatement, but 7 years late and an indication that David Blunkett should never have been Home Secretary (or indeed a Minister of the Crown in any capacity).

The trigger for putting the US-UK Treaty as a major element of the review appears to be the case of Gary McKinnon, who as far as I am concerned is one case where the Treaty has a value
(See: Extradite Gary McKinnon, no problem. But now let's fix the Extradition Treaty Posted 1st August 2009). But this Blog has been highlighting what I see as the failings of this treaty since 2006. See:

• UK-US Extradition Treaty and Certain American Politicians Support for Terrorists 13th August 2006.
• The Natwest Three 29th 29th November 2007
• The Murder of Captain Nairac - Two Suspects still Safe in the USA 23rd May 2008
  
• Extradite Gary McKinnon, no problem. But now let's fix the Extradition Treaty 01st August 2008
• The Extradite Gary McKinnon Saga Continues 28th November 2009

Moving on to the European Arrest Warrant; when this became law, I saw this in general as a good thing and conceptually I still do. But the reality has shown that it is open to being abuse and that it needs urgent reform. Part of the problem is this is an EU Law and therefore allows the Home Secretary, or their equivalent in other EU Countries, no 'wriggle room' to deal with Warrants that fall outside what is compatible with UK Law.

Whilst it is right that European Arrest Warrant is put under the Microscope, it is actually only part of a wider problem and this is the all encompassing EU Human Rights Legislation. Once again a pan-European Bill of Human rights is conceptually a good idea, but it terms and conditions are so aimed at the rights of the individual, they ignore the rights of society and indeed the rights of states to try Defendants according to their laws. See: Judge Determines Man is a Security Threat, but will NOT deport Him! This treaty does not need to be reviewed, Britain should withdraw from it immediately and replace it with a properly constructed UK Bill of Human Rights where the rights of the Individual and the rights of Society are balanced (Unfortunately my distrust of British Politicians has reached the point that I doubt they could actually construct such a bill).

The two threads of this post so far came together in the case of the extradition to the US on terror charges of radical cleric Abu Hamza al-Masri and three other men, which I covered in this post: How Dare the EU Block Abu Hamza US extradition on the 10th July 2010.

Even just reviewing the US-UK Extradition Treaty and the European Arrest Warrant would require considerable time, regardless of how qualified the Review Team might be. Adding in (quite rightly) other Extradition treaties and Arrangements means that the current Home Secretary's statement that this review will not report for a year is reasonable. But this statement is in itself unsatisfactory, as it doesn't address what needs to be done in the interim. My view is that the United Kingdom should suspend both the US-UK Treaty and the European Arrest Warrant and go further and withdraw Britain's acceptance of the Jurisdiction of the European Court of Human Rights until further notice.

With any decent Home Secretary this would actually resolve some issues with the USA as both Gary Mckinnon and Abu Hamza (and his associates) would be extradited anyway. But instead we have the permanently disappointed Theresa May (If only Dr John Reid had felt able to stay as Home Secretary, we would have at least a Home Office fit for purpose even if the current Home Secretary wasn't). Of course with the 'beloved Theresa' in charge nothing will happen!

Biometric Passports & ID Cards are Necessary

The new UK Coalition Government is determined to scrap both the New Generation of Biometric Passports and ID Cards and therefore the National Identity Register.

Whilst this is not news, I had hoped once the new Government was in power there would be a realisation that whilst the Labour Government's handling of the planning and initial implementation was 'poor' to say the least, these projects were beginning to progress towards being not only a much needed addition to our Border and Internal Security, but also would have the potential to be useful across all Government Departments and even, in the case of ID Cards have the potential to be useful to citizens in everyday life both as a way of proving identity and when , as is inevitable dealing with Government both Local and National.

But of course getting rid of them is going to be simple as both the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats were against them and therefore getting them cancelled will be easily passed by Parliament.

Of course wasting all the public money already spent on a £5.4 Billion project is not going to even cause them a smidgen of concern.

But hey, let's not let National Security, or the other benefits of this project get in
the way of populist politics.

MPs - They Work for Who? Well it appears many don't work for You

There is an excellent Website called TheyWorkForYou that tracks the Parliamentary Activities of UK Politicians in the Assemblies, Commons and Lords. Unfortunately it does not track their other activities, their second, third, or even fourth jobs, their trips paid for by overseas Governments (which in some cases it appears has meant certain MPs have become 'agents of influence' ) and playing the expenses game so far outside the relaxed rules that some face criminal proceedings.

It makes you wonder how they find the time to represent the people who elected them. Well of course if you have multiple jobs and are busy on junkets paid for by foreign governments, whilst fiddling your expenses, you have to fit the representing of your constituents and helping to decide on what is best for the Nation into whatever time is left over (not much)!

I have for a long time now viewed British Politics as a trade, rather than a profession and certainly not an elite. I also have long realised that as in some other trades the number of 'dodgy operators' is significant, but even as a hardened cynic, I am stunned at how bad it has become.

I was brought up on the principle that even if you cannot respect the Man (or Woman), respect the Position they hold.
The inability of Parliament to self regulate it affairs, to stamp out corruption and to remove the corrupt, means I cannot respect the institution, the position of the members nor the members themselves. I used to believe that most MPs were reasonably honest, and attempting to do the job well (even if not actually that good at it) and from this group a few would make good Ministers of the Crown. Belief has now been replaced by hope and prayer, not helped by David Cameron replacing Tony Blair in the Murdoch Bed.

How long before Nigerians begin to view their Politicians as being more honourable than their British Counterparts?
The ways things are going not long,

Guido Fawkes an Article: Mad Mullah Gets More Than Frontline Soldier

Whilst the Guido Fawkes Blog is largely read by Politicians, Lawyers and City Movers & Shakers, (not always with enjoyment - Hazel Blears in a speech described it as the vicious nihilism of Guido Fawkes), some of his articles should receive a wider audience. The following is an entire post made on the 6th January 2010:

Start Guido Fawkes Post:

Mad Mullah Gets More Than Frontline Soldier

Here is another evidence-based chart you won’t see elsewhere; it shows how much taxpayers are forced to give to Anjem Choudary – the extremist cleric who wants to lead a protest march through Wootton Bassett.  He claims £25,740 in benefits to subsidise his hate preaching.  Guido questions how he can be seeking work when he spends all his time rabble rousing in broadcast studios and on demonstrations.  In contrast a frontline soldier, fighting Choudary’s taliban allies in Afghanistan, takes home £17,004 for risking his life.  If that private is killed in combat, his widow and children would have to live on a pension less than Choudary gets.

Why are British taxpayers paying their enemies more than their soldiers?  Is Choudary really actively seeking work?  The evidence suggests he has other priorities – so stop his benefits…

END of Guido Fawkes Post

The British Legion Manifesto & Petition

In what could be a five, or even six month lead up to the next United Kingdom General Election, the parties will be preparing their Manifestoes to explain what they will do if they win.

As the teams of backroom specialists, spin doctors and election hierarchy from each party work on these documents, there is a window in which non-political groups can galvanise opinion in an attempt to ensure cross party support for their agenda and therefore inclusion in the Political Party Manifestoes.

The British Legion has launched It's time to do your bit campaign, with their own six page General Election Manifesto in PDF format. Having read it (several times), I have come to the conclusion that it is the only General Election Manifesto where I totally agree with the agenda!

The British Legion has also launched a Public Petition to show support for the British Legion Manifesto and a form which sends an email to all potential candidates for election to MP in your Constituency requesting they support the British Legion Manifesto.

For current MPs who read this blog (yes there are one, or two), or are a candidate then the British Legion has thoughtfully provided a means of showing your support: Election Candidates- How to do your bit


It's time to do your bit campaign

The Extradite Gary McKinnon Saga Continues

My views on the Gary McKinnon Case and the Extradition Treaty were detailed on the 01st August 2009 in this post.
Extradite Gary McKinnon, no problem. But now let's fix the Extradition Treaty
Even the Home Secretary after reversing his decision to not to review the case (U-Turns being one of the few things British Ministers seem good at), has found that there are NO valid reasons to stop the extradition.

As a reminder on what this is all about:
Gary McKinnon hacked into 97 Computers belonging to:
United States Defense Department, US Navy, US Army, US Air Force, and NASA in the months after the Sept. 11 attacks. In the process of causing (by latest figures) $700,000USD of Damage, and stole 1,000 passwords from high-security computer networks.

He has admitted he did indeed commit these crimes, but only because he was looking for information on U.F.O.’s. Hmm, if this was indeed his only agenda, why did he leave the following message on one of the Pentagon computers he hacked:
“U.S. foreign policy is akin to government-sponsored terrorism. I will continue to disrupt at the highest possible level.”

The Lawyers acting for the US in the Extradition Case have described Mr McKinnon as:
The most prolific and damaging computer hacker in the history of the United States military.
Well I would change the wording to:
The most prolific and damaging, non-state supported computer hacker in the history of the United States military, that has been caught so far.
But then these are only Lawyers and what do they know about Cyber-Espionage being carried out against all Western Countries Military and Industry.
But despite this caveat, the crimes committed mean Gary McKinnon was carrying out acts of Cyber-Terrorism against the USA.

But hold on, a Professor watching a Television Interview  being given by McKinnon after extradition proceedings had started, began to suspect that he was suffering from Asperger syndrome, and subsequently he was indeed diagnosed as a sufferer of this disorder in August 2008 (three years into the Extradition proceedings). Asperger Syndrome is viewed as being within the Autism Spectrum of Disorders and is the cause of much discussion amongst researchers and indeed sufferers whether it is a difference (i.e within the spectrum of normal behaviour), rather than a disability that must be treated or cured.

As covered in my earlier post, Gary McKinnon does seem to fit some of the Asperger Profile, but surely this should have been diagnosed in Childhood when the symptoms are more pronounced rather than in his early 40's. Also within Asperger, like any of the disorders within the Autism Spectrum, there are huge variations between individuals.
If Asperger's is a valid defence, then there is no reason why this would not be considered as valid in a US Court as in a UK one?
Alternatively now that it is known that in Gary McKinnon case Asperger's is so serious that his obsessive behaviour meant that he went out and attacked the systems of a British Ally, then why hasn't he been sectioned under the Mental Health Acts and currently in a secure facility and (as there is nor real treatment) confined there for the rest of his life?

A lot of People from the British Autism Society to a bunch of Cross-party MP's and 'Celebrities' have jumped on the Save Gary McKinnon bandwagon. At least in the case of the British Autism Society, I have some sympathy with their stance as for the rest, well..

The only Person for whom I have both sympathy and respect in this case is Gary McKinnon's Mother, Janis Sharp who has mounted one of the most impressive campaigns in support of her son that I have ever known. Having said that, I believe her campaign should fail and that Gary McKinnon's case be heard in an American Court on the eight counts of computer fraud, that the extradition request is connected with.

But this does NOT in any way change my views on the 2003 Extradition Treaty. It is one of a small number of issues where I agree with Shami Chakrabarti (I respect and admire the Lady, just don't often agree with her) that this Extradition Law is in need of urgent reform. I would go further, in the next parliament the Treaty should be revoked and whilst renegotiated replaced by Extradition on a case by case basis.
See:UK-US Extradition Treaty and Certain American Politicians Support for Terrorists Posted on 13th August 2006 .
After all one of the reasons it is so imbalanced is the concern that members of the IRA living in the US would not be given a fair trail if extradited to Britain and one of the concerns of the British Supporters of Gary Mckinnon is that he won't get a fair trial in the USA, I trust US Justice the same as I trust British Justice, I view both with considerable reservations, but they both attempt to give defendants a fair trial - My Objection to the NatWest Three being extradited, was their case clearly fell within British Jurisdiction and due the intense anger over Enron, there was a possibility of trial bias. But the reason that I support Gary McKinnon's Extradition is treaty, or not, this case falls within US Jurisdiction and there is NOT the same US Domestic angst.

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!

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.

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