Eric The Fish

WARSAW TRIP PHOTOS

2010-05-15T12:09:00.003+01:00

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Slowly putting the Warsaw photos on other blog host @ WORDPRESS

Still need to do travelog and Legia Warsaw game pics.

WARSAW TRIP PHOTOS

2010-05-15T12:09:00.000+01:00

Slowly putting the Warsaw photos on other blog host @ http://ericthefishblog.wordpress.com/2010/05/14/warsaw-may-2010/

Still, need to do travelog and Legia Warsaw game pics.

Tuesday Afternoon is Never Ending

2010-02-25T19:14:00.001Z

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The thing about bullies is that they don’t like it up ‘em, Mr Mainwaring, as Littlejohn found out to his cost when he was put in his place by Indy journalist Johann Hari on Dick’s own TV show hosted by the Murdoch network. Hari talks about his encounter here and a YouTube delight is here.

Littlejohn’s column on Tuesday was yet another example of his tired, formulaic method of writing.

He begins with an‘hilarious’ spoof telephone conversation with the National Bullying Helpline. This lampooning of on-the-face-of-it worthwhile causes is a favourite motif of RLJ. When he isn’t twisting some hearsay into a boring ‘elf ‘n safety hatchet job, he enjoys nothing more than sticking the boot into the Government no matter what the actual facts are.

Here, he lambasts Brown for bullying the founder of the helpline notwithstanding that she clearly breached confidentiality, has lost credibility among fellow patrons and forced the Government onto the defensive by releasing this so-called data. That she has been unable to offer conclusive proof that Brown was at the centre of any such behaviour.

The pretend telephone call starts as it means to go on by having a gentle dig at Brown’s Scottishness (Press 2 for Scottish) then scores a hit with readers by adding Polish to the list of options. Because if you’re Eastern European you only have yourself to blame for being bullied as you are (in Daily Mail Land) taking ALL our jobs. Those who watched the BBC programme on The Day The Immigrants Went may beg to differ.

The call lasts an eternity and none of the jokes work at all. It’s just a long list of disjointed rambling ending in the caller being diverted to a call centre in India. More BNP propaganda from the man whose love for ‘knuckle dragging Neanderthals’ dare not speak its name.

As one of the highest rating comments says,

Why won't the major parties discuss immigration, PC and Positive Discrimination and multiculturism? It is clear they all support these policies. No use blaming one or the other as all are at fault even if only by keeping quiet on the issues. The media are strangely silent too which makes it worse. All say BNP are fascist or racist but we no longer care if they are .

Only answer is the vote alternative, any alternative.

- Duncan, Personchester,

See what Duncan did there? He uses the trouser-wetting ‘Personchester’ as his home town instead of Manchester!

Littlejohn moves on to blame Labour for a Boundary Commission decision made under John Major. This is on a par with his online webchat where he claimed Labour had been recruiting immigrants to vote for them throughout the Thatcher years.

Jim: Richard, why are the Government so keen on such high levels of immigration? I live in the South East and it's clear that the last thing we need are more people.
Richard_Littlejohn After the Tories won their third victory in 1987, Labour decided it could no longer rely on the working class - so it set about importing a new one. There's a chapter on this - and emigration - in Littlejohn's Britain.

Either he’s actually that stupid or he’s naturally deceptive.

The piece de resistance in this pitiful effort is the headline ‘Now mad Hattie's making skirts illegal'.

I suppose we should be grateful he doesn’t follow Dunc’s lead and uses Harperson.

His logic is mind-blowing. Even the first two paragraphs launch it out of the water:

Conclusive evidence that the world has gone stark, staring mad comes from the Equalities and Human Rights Commission, which has announced that schools which make girls wear skirts may be breaking the law - by discriminating against transsexuals.
You couldn't make it up. (BUT YOU DID) A 68-page report on the rights of transsexuals says 'requiring pupils to wear gender-specific clothes is potentially unlawful'.
We are now ruled by maniacs who think the wearing of skirts should be made illegal.

At least one comment pointing out this abuse of language manages to make it through:

I'm struggling with your train of thought in that last section. You begin by saying that the Equalities and Human Rights Commission say that it may be unlawful to force girls in skirts to wear skirts, and somewhere along the way it becomes a complaint about people being totally forbidden to wear skirts. How did that happen?
- Katherina, Westbury-on-Trym, Bristol, 23/2/2010 9:10

Ah well roll on Friday.

Kung Hei Fat Choi 2010: Liverpool

2010-02-23T20:38:00.010Z

Wien 2009

2010-02-21T22:47:00.000Z

We didn't see much of Vienna, having arrived for the day from Bratislava and deciding to go to the Rapid game v Sturm Graz. Stumbled across one of the pubs on my list - a great brewpub. Caught a quick glimpse of the city (the Cathedral) before it was time to go back. Ah well, in the words of Billy Joel, 'Vienna waits for you' so maybe next time.

Rapid Vienna 2 Sturm Graz 1

2010-02-16T15:15:00.007Z

Some snaps from the game at the Gerhardt Hanappi Stadium in Vienna. The ground was hard to reach as we had to take a train from the city centre to Penzing and then get a tram.

None of the cheaper seats were available for the home team supporters; my attempts to have us deemed neutral fans failed. The cost was €26.

There is a small bar at the corner of the ground, which, surprisingly, wasn't full and we chatted to some locals about football - they had a great knowledge and interest in the premiership.

On the march down to the stadium we noticed a vast convoy of police vans and cars parked up. Although Austrian football has sometimes suffered from the 'British disease', this did seem to be overkill and a nice little earner for the uniformed ones.

Arriving in the ground we realised that the police justify this manpower with OTT shows of force. A handful of fans had run on to the pitch prior to the teams coming out, leading to a mass charge by helmeted officers.

The match itself was a mediocre affair and we actually missed the winning penalty as we needed to catch a late train back to Slovakia. (€11 day return).

Bratislava - November 2009

2010-02-16T12:39:00.008Z

GoPenguins

2010-02-13T21:15:00.006Z

Night of the Penguin Parade, St George's Hall, Liverpool

More information on the penguins here.

Extra photos taken with iPhone during their display across the city.

Here Comes The Fog

2010-02-13T17:15:00.007Z

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Thought I'd drop by after a hiatus and start with some photos which had been lying on the SD card.

Normal political rants will resume shortly.

In the interim, the following snaps were taken in Liverpool, near Lime Street Station on 6th February when the fog came down.

BNP Christmas Message

2009-12-26T13:11:00.001Z

There's been a bit of a hiatus recently on this space but hopefully this will change in the New Year. I've had a few technological problems but they now seem solved.

I also aim to move host next year and I've a few ideas about what the blog should be.

No football today as our match at Oldham has been postponed. I'll have to settle for watching one of the lesser known Mersey teams. Liverpool or Everton?

The blog does sometimes get bogged down with the moronic happenings in the BNP and other far right nutjobs but I think that it is important to document them; their level of support may not deserve this but I don't think they should be ignored.

The BNP still maintains it is not a nasty bunch of Neanderthals and racist thugs. Their online outpourings throw cold water over this.

Even their 'intellectual' deputy leader, eyebrow gardener Simon Darby shows his true colours with his Christmas Message:

"As you can see my early morning shopping expedition to M&S, in order to obtain all my Christmas food and drink, was a total success. Even the sight of an asylum beggar/Big Issue sales person scrounging outside the store at 7am didn't distract me from my mission."

For readers not familiar with the Big Issue concept here are a few facts which bigoted Darby seeks to ignore:

1. It is a charitable foundation with support across the political spectrum.

2. Sellers buy copies of the magazine for 75p and sell it for £1.50. Therefore, they are just as legitimate as a newsagent.

3. Sellers do not have to be homeless at the time they are selling the mag. They will have encountered problems with housing and homelessness but could be in the transition from living on the streets to obtaining accommodation.

4. The magazine is professionally produced with exclusive content. By way of example Paul McCartney is featured in the latest issue.

5. Sellers are vetted by the organization and can have selling privileges withdrawn. They will have badges accreditation. Just remember that when a BNP-ite rattles a tin when collecting on behalf of 'our boys'.

The fact that Darby lumps Asylum Seekers (who cannot earn money under Home Office rules) with Big Issue Sellers shows why this party will never change.

The use of the word 'scrounger' is symptomatic of what the BNP think about underprivileged people. For all they talk about supporting soldiers and veterans this is clearly just a way of jumping on a bandwagon.

Research shows that many ex-forces personnel encounter problems back on civvy street and can end up on the street.

Same old Fascists.

All Front, No Back

2009-12-08T17:09:00.003Z

I suppose you finally know you've hit a nerve when the White Supremacist and BNP loved site Stormfront starts linking to you. I posted about the EDL and its campaign to stop an application for a building to be used as a mosque in Weston-Super-Mare.

The application was actually turned down for what appear to be legitimate planning concerns. What is interesting is that the Weston Mercury reports that 97% of the objections had to be discarded due to them having an apparent racist element. Now, who would have thought that? When the EDL - which claims to be anti-extremism rather than anti-Islam - openly stoked the flames and asked followers (most of whom who had no connection with the town) to protest against this proposal, they knew full well what people would say.

The Weston Mercury reports, "North Somerset Council this week revealed it had to discard 97 per cent of 157 letters of objection to a proposed Muslim Centre in Orchard Street because of their racist nature.

It's indicative of the nature of the beast that one of the lobotomised souls frequenting Dante's new division has the charming quote "Give a negro a fish, and he will eat for a day.
Give a negro a fishing rod, and he will snap it and use it for firewood."

The Stormfront bod who linked to me is also a man of intellect and incredibly, seems to have attracted a mate:

Me and my gf spent the afternoon at Southend today - half the population of africa was there and that is no exageration. Seems like they prefer Southend to Notting Hill now.

The EDL still wishes us to believe it is non-racist and speaks for the nation. The EDL seeks to distance itself from the BNP and other far-right thugs. This will not wash. There are clear links as a cursory search of Facebook groupings will prove. Even regular blog reader and ego-Googler Liam Pinkham turns up at these protests. (There, Liam another mention to tell your skin mates about).

Let me make this clear to the EDL and BNP: you do not speak for me. Both organisations are racist. Fact.

Multimedia message

2009-12-07T15:22:00.001Z

I tend to know Xmas is approaching when either of 2 things happen - the PC madness banning Xmas myths appear and my electrical goods start to pack up just in time for the sales. In the past week I had problems with my laptop and my camera. Fortunately both are still protected that wonderful John Lewis warranty.

This precludes the need to have the usual conversation I used to have at Dixons type box sellers.
'Sorry, but you should have signed up for a 3 year warranty'

'Well actually you were only trying to flog an extra 2 years warranty as I was already covered for 1.'

Pause while gears begin to whir. The realisation comes slower than the movement of the Arctic tundra.

'yeh but it's not covered no more as it expired in February. Now is April.

'So you're aware of my rights under the Sale of Goods Act?'

Pause. 'Not sure if this applies to us. I'll check. '

After a 10 minute wait which feels like I'm the office junior being sent to the DIY store for a long stand, he returns and confirms that Sue has told him to tell me that I was correct.

This is going to be painful.
'Right now we've established that English law has not been circumvented by you, what can you do about the said item?'
I'd be happy with a repair but Namebadgeman trumps me. We'll just replace it. Easier paperwork. Perhaps he spotted my court file. Perhaps Sue knew a nark when she heard about one.

You see what consumers (and assistants) sometimes forget is that the 12 months guarantee is just a handy starting point. The concept of reasonableness is one that troubles every law student at some point.

What is firmly established is that we have a reasonable expectation that our goods should last some time. This is the case notwithstanding our increasingly built-in obsolescence society and the eagerness of poorly paid assistants to flog commission-gaining warranties for half the price of replacement.

In some respects this obsolescence is a natural progression of technology. Having begun life as a Luddite I quickly discovered gadget addiction. Whilst I'm not an early adopter freak I've lost count of the mobile phones I've had; my first one was bought by employers and people used to stare when it rang on the train. Now my mother has last year's model and I'm writing this from my iPhone.

I bought a microwave oven with my first student grant cheque and I'm reliably informed that this is still working and on its fourth owner - some 20+ years on. Similarly, most of my hi-fi I had as a teenager forms part of my sound system.

So don't be fobbed off this Winterval, make sure you know your rights. Try to dress like a Solicitor and look menacing. Tell them Eric The Fish sent you.

--
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Keeping Off The Grass

2009-11-28T18:09:00.006Z

I travelled to Vienna during the week and took in the Rapid Wien v Sturm Graz football match. There were about 17,000 spectators in the 20,000 capacity Hanappi Stadium so were a bit surprised to see so many police outside the ground in full riot gear. The home side had played the derby match with rivals Austria Vienna on the previous weekend but this seemed to be overkill.

Upon arriving in our seats we witnessed a bizarre example of OTT policing. A small number of fans had managed to get onto the pitch and they were then chased by the Polizei stormtroopers. Whether this is a way to justify the overtime bill is open to conjecture but this was just crazy. Indeed, from our standpoint we would have thought that this was more likely to incite a riot than solve any problems.

Certainly, the police were not dealing with the numerous flares deployed by the fans (though none were thrown) so this aspect of continental football supporting appears to be the norm. A great spectacle but you wouldn't want to be next to the guy holsding the firecracker whilst he gyrated up and down like a demented West Brom fan.

In stark contrast to this reaction comes the news of the abandonment of the game at Chester City. It is sad to see what has happened to this club over the years; they have rolled from one disaster to another. On Monday, they could possibly be expelled from the league for financial irregularities.

According to the BBC report, the police made the decision to call the game off -with Chester leading Eastbourne 3-2 - despite the fact that there appears to have only been a handful of protestors on the pitch. (Youtube video)

Perhaps Cheshire Constabulary need a fact-finding junket to Austria to see how to deal with these matters. Or maybe an exchange visit.

Steven Boote RIP

2009-11-27T16:08:00.009Z

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Some photos of the funeral of Corporal Steven Boote who died on November 3rd in Helmond Province, Afghanistan. He was one of five soldiers killed by an Afghani police trainee. Political statements are unnecessary at this time.

The funeral took place at Christ Church, Port Sunlight Village. The church itself is featured on Songs of Praise on Sunday 29th November.

Liverpool Echo coverage here and a lengthy tribute from the MOD here.

Collett's Ghosts Come Back

2009-11-12T11:24:00.005Z

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Sky News today reports on the Mark Collett Pacman motif I mentioned on 5th November. Ah well, after spending the last few days retuning digi boxes for people, it's good to see that they weren't missing anything.

Collett , predictably, dismisses this as a joke:

Collett told Sky News his spoof Pac-Man picture was "simply a joke" and said he did not want to "sort out" Muslims.
He said: "The Pac-Man character eats ghosts, but to suggest that anyone in the BNP wants anyone to eat women in burqas is laughable.
"It's not suggesting that anyone needs sorting out, it was simply a joke."

Given how ridiculous this man is, the rumours that Collett has something over Griffin seem more than plausible.

Collett is not apologetic. Indeed he has a follow up:

Not So Plain, Janes

2009-11-10T15:32:00.004Z

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I thought I'd wander over to the Mail online site as I was feeling lazy and knew I would be pushing at an open door. There was bound to be an endless supply of spelling and grammar mistakes in the comments on the Brown Letter. Imagine my surprise at finding a sympathetic hearing for our flailing PM. What's going on? Is this a sign of compassion breaking out, or just an indication that Mail readers see themselves as a cut above The Sun?

What kind of society are we becoming? I am not a labour supporter but stop kicking a man when he's down. He made the effort to hand write a letter at least, nothing he does seems to be right.

The man lost a baby and his second child has cystic fibrosis, he's not exactly had an easy time of it. I feel people are being excessively cruel and need to lay off a bit.
- Kelly, Cheam, Surrey, 9/11/2009 12:37
Click to rate Rating 1668
I am not a supporter of Gordon Brown and suspect I never will be. But... However badly the letter was written, it was written by hand. It would be oh so easy to write a template or two and insert the appropriate names. The letter would be well written, gramatically perfect and with and with flawless spelling. But it would be meaningless. The man put his own pen to his own paper. And for that, deserves some credit.
- Allan P, Plymouth Devon, 9/11/2009 18:01

These are heavily supported in the ratings whilst the worst rated are these:

I don't understand all the apologists for Gordon Brown. This man has wrecked our country, where is the sympathy for the jobless and all those losing their homes and businesses? The letter is an insult to the memory of a brave man, no wonder Mrs Janes was upset.
- Caroline, England, 9/11/2009 12:34
Click to rate Rating -482
and we wonder why we are a global laughing stock!!!!
- Danny Boy, lancs England, 9/11/2009 12:37

On the face of it, the letter does look shabby and anyone who has redrafted a covering letter to accompany an application form will be aware of the time it can take to attain perfection. However, this was clearly a personal matter. Given that the Government has access to highly paid spinmeisters and advisers, one may have felt that someone had dropped the executive stress ball, but this is surely symptomatic of Brown's modus operandi.

That Ms Janes should choose to make this public via the offices of The Sun shows her in a less than perfect light. That she should then compound that by allowing her telephone conversation to be recorded (without consent) and a transcript published in this disgraceful rag, does her son's memory more harm than good.

Perhaps - just perhaps - even Mail readers consider that to be a step too far.

9/11

2009-11-09T11:31:00.003Z

Part of the Berlin Wall taken during my visit in 2001

Hate Actually

2009-11-07T12:37:00.007Z

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As The Guardian reports, actress Emma Thompson has declared that Exeter University would be a place where Griffin and the BNP would feel at home. This comes in the light of the treatment she claims her adopted son, Tindy suffered whilst a student there.

(She) urged a university to work to stamp out racism after her adopted son endured "unpleasant" experiences while studying there. Thompson says Rwandan-born Tindyebwa Agaba suffered because of the colour of his skin during his first year studying politics at Exeter University.
Speaking at a diversity event at the university, Thompson claimed the leader of the BNP, Nick Griffin, would "love" the area because of its relative lack of racial diversity. She urged staff and students to carry on trying to drive out prejudice.

This is how BNP Deputy Leader Simon Darby reports this:

Switching to the Daily Telegraph which reports that the vile trade in African children appears to be spreading. Self-loathing white liberal and actress Emma Thompson even goes so far as to utilise this inverted form of people trafficking to advocate the replacement of the white population of Exeter. Notice how the report emits the statistics for the percentage of white people currently resident in Rwanda:

People trafficking? Apparently Tindy was only informally adopted by Thompson so the inference that this is a Madonna type shopping excursion is totally wrong. Indeed (according to Wiki) he was fighting deportation up until last year. For once we'll rely upon a report in The Mail on asylum (though notably he's referred to as a refugee in the positive article):

Tindy came into Miss Thompson's life when he was only 16, after being introduced to the actress and her second husband, actor Greg Wise, at a Refugee Council party in London.

Tindy's father had died of Aids when he was nine and his mother and sister were listed as missing after the 1994 Rwandan genocide - they were raped by soldiers and abducted, never to be seen again.

He has nightmares about it to this day. Tindy had been forced to serve as a boy soldier, and had escaped the country thanks to the charity Care International.

"He didn't have much English, but we just got talking," says Emma. "His experience had been awful and when he finally got to Britain after tremendous suffering, he told us the Home Office didn't believe him.

"He spent two nights sleeping rough in Trafalgar Square before they finally did. It was the only time he considered suicide.

Darby continues his contemptuous piece with this:

She will turn 51 next April and perhaps we should rise to the challenge and show how kind and considerate us BNP people are when faced with such a chronic case of ethnomasochism. If we all club together, perhaps we put the poor girl out of her misery and arrange for some of her organs and limbs to be replaced by those from donors from Africa. Having been suitably modified and enriched she could then lead a more fulfilling and purposeful life, happy knowing that she had become a living embodiment of the anti-racist cause. A perfect and thoughtful gift.

All good patriotic stuff from Darby. Note the dog whistle term 'enriched'. This is what passes for nationalist humour and perhaps gives us an insight into why Darby felt that the video on the BNP site entitled 'Spot The White Man' featuring a walk through Peckham in London and includes the commentary "“Ever felt like a foreigner in your own country?”

A speech bubble has an Asian man saying: “Please don’t film me – I’m illegal and I’m working for cash in hand, innit.”

Darby defends the vile video by saying, “It’s a hard-hitting, topical thing that people will find funny. We are linking to it on our website.”

The Mail also picks up on the story today. In keeping with their symbiotic love affair with the BNP, the article is fairly neutral but the comments are mostly pro-BNP. Of note is this one from a fellow immigrant:

If she wants to live in a more diverse area, why not move him to Peckham or Wembley or one of many majority ethnic areas instead of constantly complaining about how white Britain is.
- Stephen, Vancouver, Canada., 7/11/2009

I wonder where Stephen of Canada got that Peckham bit from?

Tindy is a young man who has suffered so much yet has managed to achieve so much. Yet many people believe he should be so thankful for being allowed to stay here that he should turn a blind eye to naked racism. Maybe he should just smile and buy a golliwog from the BNP site. As Emma's father might have said, 'Boing!'

Hat tip to Noxi (@June4th)

Mark Collett: More Puerile Muslim Bashing

2009-11-05T23:15:00.004Z

BNP man-child Mark Collett has been showing the party's true colours again. The Hitler admirer, who seems to exist in a cartoon world, and who came to fame in Young Nazi and Proud and in the recent BBC interview, wants his online fans to vote for his latest graphics effort.

If you click on the screenshot you'll see that the picture is of Pacman chasing burkah-clad aliens with the strapline 'Pacman - sortin' out Muslims since 1980'. Class.

Düsseldorf Photos - August 2009 -

2009-11-05T18:12:00.017Z

Hooters Sports Bar

Party on the Rhine

Rhine Cruise

Rheinturm and bridge

Stag and Hen Party Merchandise

Street entertainment in the old town

Uerige Brewpub (featured in Auf Wiedersehen, Pet)

Uerige again. I was given a pen and post-it notes by a CDU canvasser despite telling him I would support the SPD if I could vote in German elections. Put them to good use across the city though it didn't affect the final result.

Market Place

Duesseldorf webcams

Glory of the Jury

2009-11-04T23:35:00.008Z

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Fresh from Daily Mail readers wanting a form of Sharia Law introduced to the UK, we see what some of them think about our present legal system when applied to the BNP.

Commenting on the acquittal of an Asian man on charges of racially abusing Nick Griffin, the Mailites clearly believe that our jury system is failing the racist in the street.

One law for them and no law for the public seems to fit the system we have now.

I am no supporter of the BNP but this sends out the wrong message
- AlanUK, UK, 4/11/2009 16:03 (1100 people agreed with that)
If Griffin had used the same language ,I suspect the court woul have arrived at a different result.
- dennis jones, newbridge gwent,
The man said "I shouldn't have done what I done really, it was just a spur of the moment thing"
Is that not an admission of guilt? How come he was cleared?
Nobody in this country should be racially abused, black or white.
- Karen, Manchester, 4/11/2009 15:52

These people are either too stupid to read the story - Mr Khalid admitted shouting at Griffin but not using the words 'white bastard'. His version was accepted by the jury but this is not enough for the Mailites. Obviously the jury was made up of 12 members of UAF specially empanelled for the occasion.

Any dissent against this know-it-all mindset is given short shrift.

So, like many others, the jury has found Nick Griffin to be a liar. Thank goodness for the British jury system.
- Ella, Leicester, 4/11/2009 15:40

The jury system isn't perfect and heaven forbid that one would end up before a dozen of the more rabid of DM readers, but it works well. Perhaps Griffin may reflect that his performance on Question Time cast doubts on his credibility. Lying about being misquoted and why he couldn't tell the audience about his changing Holocaust beliefs do not make for a star witness.

UPDATE

This is what Griffin says about the case on the BNP site:

Three events this past week all prove that there is one law for British people and another for the Third World colonisers of this country, said Nick Griffin MEP.
“Over the past seven days we have seen the acquittal of a Muslim who racially abused me in public. Earlier, all charges were withdrawn against the black UAF thug who attacked Liverpool BNP activist Tony Ward with a claw hammer, and then I was refused entry into Sellafield power station,” Mr Griffin said.

Griffin then turns to his usual victim status for whites stance:

“There are numerous cases where indigenous British people have been sent to jail based on no other evidence than what a single Third Worlder has said,” Mr Griffin continued.

“The case of Kevin Hughes, for example, who was imprisoned purely on the word of an asylum seeker with no other witnesses, springs to mind. Yet when a Muslim man abuses me personally in front of witnesses, he is discharged.

“The double standards are blatant. An indigenous white person’s word is worth less than a Third World immigrant.”

Here are some of the comments (moderated and therefore sanctioned by the BNP)

Given the acquital of the gent who abused Nick Griffin MEP, following on from the racist references to Nick's colour on QT; can we now assume that it's ok to shout abuse at someone based on the colour of his skin, and to make threats against them? And it won't even be a breach of the peace?
Now, where can I find Trevor Phillips. I assume there will be no problem with shouting abuse at him. I can think of quite a few choice phrases.

As has been said in numerous posts on this site. You just couldn't make it up.

There are also calls for a Nationalist Government to overturn these decisions. Kinda tells you all you need to know about what these vile individuals would like to introduce to this country. Firtunately there is more chance of Griffin winning Strictly Come Dancing.

Crime and Punishment and The Idiots

2009-11-04T11:33:00.009Z

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Some breathtaking logic over on today's Mail Online. It must be hard being a Mail bigot because life throws up dilemmas. Who to hate more? Muslims or paedophiles? There is that famous joke about how to confuse a Mail reader - you tell them that Muslims eat paedophiles. Ho ho. Life imitates art though today.

Saudi paedophile to be beheaded and crucified screams the headline.

A man in Saudi Arabia is to be beheaded and crucified after he raped five children and left one of them, a three-year-old boy, to die in the desert.

The offences were clearly appalling and the average Mailite thinks that the man would have got a community sentence in the UK as all the bar room lawyers line up to give their rational thoughts. Some are a bit peeved that the death sentence is carried out by a swift sword blow before the body is displayed for the drooling masses. Remember the Python sketch where the vox pop guy suggests putting little birdies down the throat to peck them to death?

Send in the clowns:
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Fitting punishment, however, he should be crucified first, in the middle of the desert, where he left that poor child to die. Evil monster.

If only our justice served the same punishment, this country would be a much safer place.

- Hayley, UK, 4/11/2009 11:05

Superb! He won't do it again!

- Gareth, Harrogate, 4/11/2009 11:00
Surely beheading first is a little too quick. Would not crucifixion first, in the scorching desert sun obviously, be a better option?

- Jack Sprat, Bristol England, 4/11/2009
May I ask the people that suggest this punishment is OTT, what would YOU want the punishment to be?

If, God forbid, it was one of your children this man attacked.

Popping him in a soft touch prison, giving him community service etc? Letting him out to re-offend, which let's face it, he would do.

Harsh in the extreme though this is, he won't be doing it again will he?

- H, UK, 4/11/2009 10:59
"That's the way to do it" AND to the gentleman from Derby, the UK used to have severe penalties for ALL crimes. BUT with the arrival of "pinkies" and "Slap the other cheek brigade" the criminal is a sad case and needs to be saved! Mr Derby person, talk to the regular man in the street, not the staged ones, you will find that many, many milliona of indigenous folk want the death penalty resume, TODAY and that life in prison means 50 years plus, NOT 12 years.

You better believe it.

- David on the beach., West Bay Dorset.

(David even manages a BNP dog whistle about indigenous folk whilst not quite appreciating the irony of BNP poplicy on Islam.)
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Leave Me with This or any Child killer, with a pair or pliers & a blowtorch, it might take some time !

- Mike Allan, Chatham Kent England,
Not enough of a punishment in my opinion. That poor, poor toddler to endure such a drawn out painful death.

Still, it's more justice than the kids in Labour Britain get.

- fay, Surrey, UK, 3/11/2009 20:10

(Extra marks for dig at Labour there, fay)
*

Plenty good enough - how long before it will it be on Youtube ?

Paedophiles are vermin that have no place in society. Their condition is untreatable, and they are always likely to reoffend.

Why waste so much time trying to help them ? Resources would be better spent on helping the victims of crime and building more prisons.

Our liberal, do-gooder establishment are completely out of touch with reality. The Human Rights brigade worry too much about the rights & feelings of criminals. Face facts, serious crimes, such as those against defenceless children should carry the ultimate penalty.

Problem we have nowadays is that too many people in a position of responsibility are prepared to look the other way or make excuses for people. Whatever happened to individual's being accountable for their own actions ?

Tough on crime, Mr Blair ? Rubbish.

- G, Kings Lynn, England, 3/11/2009 20:37

(This sicko wants to watch it and probably has Saddam's execution as a screensaver)
*

A good punishment for a sick peado. Why can''t we hand out this very appropriate sentence to UK offenders? Put it this way, he won't re-offend, or cost the taxpayer anything in the future.

- MARTIN CANE, CLITHEROE, 4/11/2009 8:47

Of course a few dissenters get through but are quickly attacked as do gooders and liberal.

* Pity we can't have a few in our courts...."

Sounds like the Mail's readership is just about ready for Sharia law in the UK....wonders never cease.

Seriously - this man committed some awful awful crimes; but whether or not the death penalty is justified (a separate debate...), it is beyond belief that any jurisdiction in the 21st Century still uses such medieval methods.

I doubt any Westerners who witnessed a Saudi public execution would still consider this acceptable.

- Oliver, London, 4/11/2009 9:17

The comments are hardly surprising given the recent ones applauding the death of an immigrant in the Channel Tunnel. If he turns out to have been a sex offender then the Mailite dilemma would have been lifted.

UPDATE

I note that the Independent also covered this topic and even referenced the confuse a Mail Reader joke. What is more interesting is that Channel 4 will showcase a drama 'The Execution of Gary Glitter' set in a Britain which has the death penalty. Perhaps another dilemma: evil, porn-filled C4 or stringing up a Paedo?

Tranmere 1 Swindon 4

2009-10-31T22:56:00.007Z

This was our 125th anniversary game but it turned in to a very sad day.

HMS Illustrious 2009 @ Liverpool

2009-10-24T02:33:00.006+01:00

Don't Expect a Trial

2009-10-21T16:11:00.006+01:00

It is not so extraordinary that Nick Griffin has sought to link military generals with Nuremberg hangings. This is all part of the BNP tactic of gainsaying opponents with the Fascist motif; the political equivalent of those playground philosophical discourses that ended when someone said 'No, YOU stink! No comebacks.'

Hopefully, the public will see through this particular outburst and see Griffin for the ideological deceiver he is. Whether Question Time provides an opportunity to hold him to account is another matter. The format of the show does not allow for such grillings and only the cognoscenti are likely to watch. It will be interesting to see how the media reports the highlights. It was often suggested that David Beckham was ideally suited to US soccer due to the heavy reliance on big moments rather than the niceties of the game itself. Griffin will, similarly, be able to offer scraps for the soundbite-orientated media.

Today's eye-opener as to the mindset of Griffin et al on matters judicial comes courtesy of referring to Peter Hain as a bank robber in its latest email/begging letter to party faithful not put off by a potential further leak of membership details. Moreover the email is headlined, ' Former Bank Robber accuses BNP of breaking the law'.

For those not aware of the story upon which the BNP affixes its libellous statement, Hain was a leading member of the anti-apartheid movement and in 1975 was charged with being part of a raid on a Barclays Bank, stealing nearly £500 (even in 1975 not on the Ronnie Biggs level).

Hain was acquitted by a jury. As The Times explains in an article in 2007, there are allegations that Hain was fitted up by dark forces due to his extra-parliamentary activities.

In this fervid atmosphere, the police behaved in a way that would get the case thrown out now.

First, they put Hain in an identification parade after “Hain on theft charge” headlines had appeared, and even after the London Evening Standard had printed his photograph with the caption: “Peter Hain — due to appear in an identification parade today”.

(The bank cashier who had handed over the £490 duly identified him as the robber.)

Secondly, two senior officers repeatedly went at night to the home of Terry MacLaren, one of the schoolboys who had chased the robber. MacLaren did not think Hain was the thief and had agreed to testify for the defence. The apparent purpose of the police was to see him without Hain’s lawyer being present. MacLaren’s father sent them packing.

In addition, there was the belief that the South African security services were involved:

Whether this was true or not, Hain’s lawyers decided they could not introduce it into their defence because it could not be proved and would be more likely to muddy what was a clear defence of mistaken identity.

Whether the consipiracy theory has any veracity is not relevant; the fact is, Hain was found NOT Guilty.

Griffin urges followers to - after they've given some more urgent funds - to download a form to serve on Hain, who claims the BBC should not be inviting the BNP on to QT because it is (currently) illegal due to its constitutional limbo. I don't actually buy this but anyhow, Griffin bellows:

Lawyers acting for the BNP have drawn up a legal "notice of interested party status" letter, which supporters can download and send to Mr Hain directly. A notice of interested party status letter can be sent by any person who can prove a legal interest in the matter. This automatically includes all BNP members and voters. This letter will oblige Mr Hain to include the sender of that letter a full copy of any legal action which he might institute against the BBC.

Evidently in a Griffin-led system of justice, trial by jury will be unnecessary. If Hain is looking for legal action, a further writ against Griffin for defamation should be considered, if only to make the squeaky-voiced bigot squirm and have to go cap-in-hand to members for more help.

FOOTNOTE:

As I was out most of yesterday I didn't relise that Lancaster Unity had covered this first and that there is now a second email hastily changing the headline to 'suspect'. The implication is still there notwithstanding the alteration. Clearly in Griffin's judicial system you remain under suspicion 30+ years after an acquittal. On another note, the BNP refers to 1974 when the court case was in 1976 with the alleged offence the preceding year.

Scurrilous and potentially defamatory remarks are the stock-in-trade of our friends over at Mersey Nationalists (formerly Mersey BNP). In a typical attack today they state:

While it is likely that a minority of the Labour Party are law abiding members of society, no responsibility can be taken on this site for the majority of the Labour Party that goes for the Conservatives as well who are out and out Nazi Fascists!

This ties in with my point about trying to turn the tables on opponents. The same article has pictures of various Labour politicians and army officials with Hitler moustaches drawn on. Clearly further evidence of the playground mentality of these half-wits.

Back Of The T'internet

2009-10-21T15:02:00.005+01:00

I don't know what I'm most proud of, having a comment kicking lazy journo Richard Littlejohn over that cooking fat story which he regurgitated or being next to the great Sid Noggett.

QM2 in Liverpool: October 2009

2009-10-20T21:37:00.008+01:00

Will post further pics later. It was a bitterly cold day on the Mersey as the largest passenger liner, the Queen Mary 2 arrived in her spiritual home for the first time. The ship is on a tour of the British Isles. As the QM2 departed there was a brief fireworks display. I managed to arrive just as it was ending and with no time to put up the tripod!

Cat Litter

2009-10-19T14:39:00.009+01:00

As I've mentioned before (many times - as Lord Denning would say) the odious BNP and the loathsome Daily Mail have a very strange and symbiotic relationship.

As the boy Anton pointed out the other day, Melanie Phillips has another attempt at distancing herself from the party despite her constant Londonistan bile which would not be out of place on official BNP literature. Perhaps they'd let her be their second Jewish member now that Herr Griffin is about to open the borders.

Today's example comes courtesy of a cute, furry creature (no, I'm not talking about Beckham's latest style) whose name may well be Eric, Eric The Cat.

According to The Daily Moir, this cat was the reason that a Bolivian immigrant was allowed to stay in the UK. Of course, with all these 'cor blimey, guv, you can knock me darn with a fevver' stories, there is more to it than that.

As MacGuffin demonstrates, the original story in The Telegraph mentions a couple of salient facts the Mail found no space for.

The Telegraph explains that whilst the cat aspect was taken into consideration 'as one detail of many' in the original decision, upon Appeal the judge declared that it was an error to rely so much on the fact.

"It was made clear by the initial judge and then by Senior Immigration Judge Gleeson that the appellant should benefit from that policy and be granted the right to remain," he said.

"Furthermore, it was accepted by the Home Office representative at the hearing before Judge Gleeson that the policy should apply and any other errors in the initial decision by the judge, including too much detail on the cat, were immaterial."

The Mail doesn't tell its readers that and therefore opens up its own floodgates to a tidal wave of spew:

Come on, let's change the rules a bit.
If you marry a non british resident you take his or her nationality and move to thier country.
Simple change in the law, doesn't change your human rights but does stop the convenience marriage.
After all if you don't want to live where vyour partner comes from then perhaps you are making a mistake,
- Johnrs65, Norfolk, 19/10/2009 7:

And politicians wonder why there is so much support for the BNP!
- Sara, Sydney, Australia, 19/10/2009 3:04
I sometimes think that I should give up my British citizenship and then immediately claim asylum, what a wonderful life I'd have if I did; everything I want on a big fat silver plate without lifting a finger for it! Better make sure I buy a cat first though, just in case!!!

- Mike, London, 19/10/2009 3:00

I will vote for anyone who gets rid of the illegal immigrants

- Eileen, Notts . G.B. ( or was once ),

It is noticeable that not only are the commenters largely aghast at the inaccurate story, they also show that they don't like immigrants at all. In the Mail story the man is also referred to as an illegal immigrant just to press the matter home.

Eileen's comment sets us thinking. Who could she mean? Over to another version of the story (complete with picture of another cat who has obviously signed up with Max Clifford for an exclusive in Pussy Monthly [waits for inappropriate googlers to arrive]):

BOLIVIAN INVADER ALLOWED TO STAY IN BRITAIN - BECAUSE HE HAS A CAT

* An invader from far off Bolivia has won an appeal against deportation from Britain because he has a “settled family life” here

*The decision is one more example of how Britain has become the dumping ground for the world’s scroungers — all courtesy of a corrupt system put in place under decades of Labour and Tory rule.The quotes and headline are, of course, from the BNP official site. The BNP has decided - because it does not know the unnamed person from Bolivia - that he is a scrounger. Interestingly the BNP borrows from the Telegraph article in referring to other cases, but like The Mail, chooses not to emphasise the facts when reporting it.

The story also surfaced in The Sun and Irish independent who both ensured more publicity for rentaquote Migrationwatch buffoon, Andrew Green, who, did not warrant a mention in the BNP propaganda.

There was an interesting discussion on Black History month in the Radio Merseyside studios earlier. If ever it needed punching home why we need such a venture then a listen to the articulate voices here on BBCi player, together with the cat story and the racism found in Bristol by the BBC's Panorama should answer that.

Original hat-tip via Twitter to Duncan Stott.

UPDATE

Tabloid Watch has further points to make now that the lie has been repeated by Richard Littlejohn and the lawyer involved may have got in contact.

In another example of the Mail's odd relationship with the BNP, we see Littlejohn referring to Nick Griffin as 'unsavoury'. Yet he still claims the cat was the real reason the man was allowed to stay and then proudly announces:

Sir Andrew Green, from Migrationwatch, said: 'I despair. This is symptomatic of the attitude held by many members of the judiciary, in complete disregard for the impact of such decisions on the future of our community.
'Drawing pets into the consideration of such important issues is so utterly absurd that you could not make it up.'
That could have been me speaking.

Letz Zep @ Liverpool's The Cavern

2009-10-17T19:45:00.006+01:00

EDL Mosque Bashing

2009-10-17T17:20:00.009+01:00

Despite claims by the EDL that they are not anti-Islam, just against extremism, the evidence continues to fly in. As we witnessed in Manchester there were anti-Muslim slogans and posters with 'No More Mosques'.

EDL members (in conjunction with members of the party they are supposed to be distinct from) have set up a Facebook protest about a proposed Islamic centre in Weston-super-mare. The planning application aims to convert a former working men's club (possibly a British Legion) into a community and education centre. That the function would also include prayers means that the EDL is able to do a little conversion of its own.

The Facebook group 'No to the new Mosque in Weston Super Mare' sets the tone for the campaign. Notwithstanding that the majority of its 900 plus group have no connection with the area, they are urged to protest.

In order to set the scene the group helpfully posts a picture of a large (and somewhat breathtaking) mosque. [An Eric The Fish badge for anyone who can identify which country it's in - I tried Tineye but couldn't locate it].

Now, having seen the plans online - and not to take anything away from architect M.J. Harding - I don't think the former Wheeltappers and Shunters place is going to turn into the Brighton Pavillion (did I mention that Tranny beat Brighton 2-1 today? That tumbleweed drifting past is for our Fascist friend's silence).

The group outlines its intentions:

At present we are not aware of any mosques in weston super mare in somerset.
The are major flaws in this application as it has been described as being for muslim children, If it was for muslim children then why does it require 24 hour access? We believe this is a fasttrack way of building a mosque, Then there will be 2, then 3, and so on.
This further ads to the islamification of the united kingdom.

Yes, I know the writer of the comment would benefit from some of the centre's educational facilities. There's more.

Because of recent comments in the Weston Murcury, where members of this group were called racist for having their say. We would ask all group members to watch what they write, ( NO RACIST COMMENTS PLEASE ) By all means have you're say.

Ooh, what's that? The Weston Mercury explains.

But some of the 440 members have written threatening comments in the internet forum.

One post said: "Muslims are never gonna take over this country....well at least weston super mare, I swear on my life if they built this new mosque in weston I will set fire 2 it and thats a f***in promis."

Other comments say that all Muslims are terrorists and one aggressive member threatens to drive a bus into the centre and blow it up if it is given planning permission.

The disturbing comments have also been sent to planning officers at North Somerset Council

I see. So the comments were on the group not just made up by the paper and that's why members are reminded to try not to be racist. You've got to admire the person who thought the way to defeat terrorism was by driving a bus bomb!

Not that deleting previous posts has had much success. One of the founders of the group, John Sheridan shows his loose grip on historical knowledge:

John Sheridan Edl wrote
at 11:24 on 12 October 2009
Omar, not all muslims are terrorists, But all terrorists are muslims FACT, That is enough, Thats all we need to be afraid.

When Nick Thorne of bristol suggests urinating in the centre, group admin Dennis Raines wades in with his DMs:

Dennis R Raines wrote
at 22:56 on 11 October 2009
I Look forward to leaving a little present on their doorstep, just hope i have something to wipe my arse with.

Fellow racist Nick bites back with:

do you know what,i aint racist at all,anyone who knows me will know that half of the people i mix with are not "white english"

I can feel a but coming on

We're getting all Points of View now. Anyway, he continues his erudition:

im sick of this now...THIS IS MY COUNTRY,ENGLAND,IF YOU WANNA LIVE HERE THEN YOU DO IT THE ENGLISH WAY....FUCK MUSLIMS,FUCK MOSQUES,FUCK TURBANS,FUCK ROMANIANS,FUCK POLISH...ALL OF YOU AND YOUR FUCKING TERRORIST WARS,FUCK OFF AND KILL EACH OTHER AND DO US ALL A FUCKING FAVOUR....WE HATE YOU,GO AWAY AND LEAVE US THE FUCK ALONE...IF YOU DONT,THEN SOON SUMMUT BAD IS GONNA HAPPEN COS THE ENGLISH ARE GETTING REAAL PISSED OFF...GO TAKE YOUR FUCKING MOSQUES AND THE REST OF YOUR DIRTY SHITE AND TAKE IT BACK TO YOUR OWN FUCKING COUNTRY......WHERE THERE ARE ALREADY FUCKING MOSQUES!!!!!

Stop SHOUTING, you moron! then there's the genuine international security expert:

don't let this happen there is an airport not far away remember.

That last startling comment was from Ron Bennett. In his picture he's clearly pointing out how much of a plantpot he is. As Ron knows all terrorists set up plans right near to the place they intend to target.

Among the other topics for discussion is a plea to boycott all Muslim businesses posted by Mr. Raines himself. So no way is the EDL anti-Muslim. Oh no.

As we saw at the demo in Manchester there was a larghe number of neo-Nazis in the EDL presence. Our friend Liam Pinkham (who should be banned from attending Tranmere games and is a big fan of this blog). Remember that cartoon, Pinky and the Brain? Well, it had a spin-off. Pinky Without The Brain.

Which brings us to the membership of this group.

Dennis Raines is friends with Scotland BNP organiser Gary Raikes
Denis Adams, BNP member
Tommy robinson (one of the EDL leaders)
Dave Oloughlin (who likes to send Nazi insignia to friends and has one of the ugliest webcam pictures ever seen. I think he deserves a post to himself particularly his predeliction to sending Facebook eroticism to someone described as his sibling!)
Granty Chelsea Headhunter (another football hooligan to keep Robinson company)

There are other interesting members but we'll be here all day. It's a bit disconcerting that there are school pupils on the list too.

The group is also advised to contact the local council to protest. Well, we're all in favour of mass action aren't we? Unfortunately, what the idiots don't realise is that they don't have sufficient standing to oppose the application. Some of the comments are pitiful:

Would this site not be more benificial aimed at the youth or community in Weston Super Mare.

writes our friend Dennis Raines from Bridgwater, Somerset even though he does not reside there.

I do not think this development should take place. ADAM JONES, West Midlands

JUST GOES TO SHOW THAT THEY WILL TAKE OVER SOON! ANON

Where will the working men now go to socialise? Muslims should stop displacing British people

Now that last comment is interesting as it echoes comments by the BNP about the loss of British pubs due to Ismamification. Nothing to do with the economic situation or the stranglehold the PubCo owners have on the industry.

UPDATE:

As Wales Online finds, the EDL Nazis were out in force in Swansea on Saturday (in the guise of the Welsh Defence League) with Hitler salutes being seen. Their article is here and a photo on Flickr from prusakolep, A History student, is here.

For those who think the comments abour Mosques are just bravado, this BBC story should put matters straight:

A 53-year-old man has been charged after petrol was thrown at the doorway of a mosque in Wearside.
The man, from Peterborough, is due before magistrates on Monday charged with attempted arson with intent to endanger life with racial aggravation.

This is a man who seems to have travelled from Cambridgeshire to the Sunderland area. Or had he relocated his racist tendencies?

STORMRONT FASCISTS MAY WISH TO READ THIS. PLEASE ASK AN ADULT TO HELP WITH ANY HARD WORDS.

No Matter What They Say

2009-10-16T13:00:00.006+01:00

Jan Moir is almost an anagram of I'm a Journo; the name is also a byword for mixed up hatred and bile.

As many have already commented (and Twitter #janmoir is trending), today's piece by Ms Moir is a clear attempt to take away the limelight from the usual proponents of vile polemic, Littlejohn, Platell, Liz Jones and Mad Mel.

Before Stephen Gateley's body could be flown home, this bitter hack puts poison pen to paper to urinate on the dead as only Mail commenters can. Well, it's not as if they can be sued.

We all know that not all Mail writers die of strokes even if they've lost all feeling, but Jan seems to know what all gay people die of.

I won't go on at length as the story speaks for itself. The headline 'Why there was nothing 'natural' about Stephen Gateley's death' is bad enough, hiding as it does behind those inverted commas.

No matter what the medically trained people found, no matter what lack of evidence there is of large-scale drug taking, no matter what facts are missing, these journalists will fill in the details long before the graves have been filled in.

Sing The Praises

2009-10-16T11:48:00.004+01:00

In previous posts I've questioned the morality of charities accepting donations from the BNP and other extreme groups. I'm heartrened, therefore, to see that South Oxhey Community Choir has snubbed this particular attempt to hijack good causes.

As we saw with the pitiful 'cardboard box' stunt, all this amounts to is a publicity coup for the BNP as they seek respectability. No matter that there is no way of knowing how much will be paid to the charity or whether they will receive it at all, the party will put this act of altruism on their website. This is the political equivalent of those self-satisfied bank managers parading enormous cheques on Children in Need whilst dressed as a giant ~~cock~~ chicken.

In South Oxhey, councillors are given £1,000 to distribute to good causes.

As the Watford Observer (via Lancaster unity) reports:

Committee member Russ Clancy told the Watford Observer why the group decided to reject the offer: He said: “Obviously we would really like this money but we discovered that if we took it that our name would be used in BNP literature in the future.

“We’ve worked really hard as a group to be inclusive of everybody and promote an ethnically diverse choir. We don’t feel the BNP shares those values so, as group, we decided to turn the money down.”

Hallelujah for the way this has been Handeled. (gets coat. Look i'm allowed dreadful puns on a Friday)

Kelway's Nest

2009-10-15T22:29:00.004+01:00

Still haven't got round to a finishing a lengthy post on the EDL, which continues to enjoy legitimacy in certain sections of the media (which just happen to be the ones spewing forth ammunition on their behalf such as today's disgraceful Daily Express headline).

In the meantime here's a further snippet from EDL spokesman, Trevor Kelway's mindset. In a post regarding the September Al-Quds march in London he rather gives the game away about his intentions with a little reminder to the troops.

Now, I'm no defender of groups like Al-Quds and some of the Palestine is 100% right; Israel is 100% wrong brigade, but this is another example of what the EDL are really like. On one hand - like the BNP leadership - they court respectability by distancing themselves from the crackpots whilst secretly showing their true colours.

More later. For our Fascist friend from Brighton who clearly has nothing better to do than visit here 5 times a day and then expects me to publish his illiterate mumblings, there'll be more soon depending on Tranmere's result against Brighton on Saturday.

The Unholy Alliance

2009-10-09T21:47:00.003+01:00

As long suspected, the self-appointed guardians of the public purse and beloved rentaquote bosom buddies of the Daily Mail and other lazy journalists are not so whiter than white when it comes to digging deep for HM Treasury.

As The Guardian informs us:

The Taxpayers' Alliance, a campaign group that calls for tax and spending cuts and claims to represent the interests of taxpayers, has admitted one of its directors does not pay British tax.
The Guardian has learned that Alexander Heath, a director of the increasingly influential free market, rightwing lobby group, lives in a farmhouse in the Loire and has not paid British tax for years.

The article also covers the relationship between the T.A. and the Tories.

This is an important issue; whenever the TA pronounce this or that to be 'an appalling waste of taxpayers' money', let them be tackled over this. And while we're at it, let's not forget Lord Ashcroft's lack of transparency over his tax status and newspaper barons and companies.

FURTHER READING:

Who Funds The TA? (Guardian 9th Oct)

The Other Taxpayers' Alliance

Potting The Pink

2009-10-09T12:48:00.008+01:00

There's been a lot of fun and games with the EDL's arrangements for the protest in Manchester tomorrow. One minute they gave out instructions to their blockhead followers, then they changed it, then they reverted. Mind games that would be better employed in Manchester by Sir Alex.

I will post after Saturday so I will not go into too much detail here. Suffice to say the appropriate bodies have been given appropriate information.

The EDL's spokesman, Trevor Kelway has maintained that the EDL is against extremist Muslims, not Muslims in general. Funny then that he should choose to post a link to the story of Lord Ahmed's dangerous driving conviction on Facebook recently. The former Labour peer was involved in a car crash and was found to have texted minutes before the collision. All well and good but this is a story in The Sun from December 2008 so hardly topical or relevant to the EDL cause. Ahmed may be controversial and have some odd views, but not many rational opponents would accuse him of being on the same plane as the preachers of hate.

The EDL has also tried to distance itself from the BNP and similar Fascist organisations but despite this, they continue to be involved. (There's an interesting debate going on in BNP circles over the potential conspiracy status of the EDL but maybe another time).

Kelway also posted a link to an article on the barking-at-the-moon ramblings of BNP 'lawyer', Lee John Barnes.

One potential attendee at the Manchester shindig is Birkenhead's biggest piece of rat excrement, Liam Pinkham. Skinheaded Pinkham harassed people at a bookshop in Liverpool and was pictured giving a Hitler salute in Blackpool after a BNP meeting. He is a member of the lunatic British Freedom Fighters, a band of plastic paramilitaries who spend most of their time giving Seig Heils in woods and drinking turps.

Pinkham was sentenced to community punishments including attending some kind of racial awareness course. Has this worked? Well, I'll leave Wirral Probation Services to deal with that one. As you can see from his recent Facebook blurts, the course has been very valuable. Hopefully, Mr Pink (insert own Reservoir Dogs joke) will have his collar felt again. He seems to like police station food.

It is sad that this protest was allowed to go ahead and hopefully there will not be widespread trouble. Unfortunately, history shows that this is inevitable. Violent and offensive behaviour from any group is reprehensible (and there are plenty of left wing antagonists).

Where's The Party?

2009-10-06T12:08:00.003+01:00

I've been to a few party conferences over the years and even made an unscripted live speech. That was in the days when I thought I was a shoe-in for Prime Minister-in-waiting (although to be truer to my ego, Lord Protector would have been more descriptive).

Party conferences have long been stage-managed and the days when local activists could gain kudos for attacking the leadership in fron to TV cameras have well gone. Contrast Labour's conference of 1985 with Mersey militants shouting at Neil Kinnock during his scuttling taxis speech with the treatment of Walter Wolfgang twenty years later when we witnessed the grotesque chaos of a Labour Party hiring thigs to throw out an Octogenarian Holocaust survivor.

There is of course some semblance of democracy at such functions with local parties and affiliates able to propose motions (or the industrially prosaic Composites of Old Labourspeak) for debate. It was always abit of a fallacy as any victory by the left was ususlly a pyrrhic one as the ledaership could circumvent decisions in the future. This is why my resolution never made it (in full) to any amnifsto though I've haerd that The Monster raving loony party is giving it serious consideration.

Often the most exciting aspects of the gathering was the fringe meetings and concerts; Tony Benn on the chartists On Tuesday; Billy Bragg on the Levellers the next night. They were days of opposition when none of us knew where the next Buggins was coming from. In the coming months, L\bour may have to return to those dark days. The question will be, what has it learned from the past. Can it realistically group as a radical alternative or weill the clamour be for another nice-but-electable leadership to keep the left in its place.

At that conference in 1985, Neil Kinnock also said that there was no use in having principles without power. Arthur Scargill retorted with power being useless without principles. Both were, in their own ways, correct. the trick is to marry both.

On a more laughable note the Odious BNP will be holding its conference in the North-West in November. Griffin explains, "details will be released nearer the time the rough location and cost". They haven't even decided where it is to be held yet which makes a mockery of their claim to be a serious party. Also, this has a potential for security headaches. Given the trouble which is always attracted by these events, it is reprehensible that police and council have insufficient time to plan.

Maybe the details will be released on Facebook with the inevitable motley crew of gate crashers attending and trashing the place like those middle class teenage parties so beloved of the Daily Mail. Actually, this isn't so far fetched given the BNP's love of social network sites these days. as a forthcoming update on the EDL will show, this an effective channel for these purveyors of hate to organise.

BNP members and supporters have been inundated with appeals for donations in the past few months; some for spurious legal battles. others for life membership scams. So, it's interesting to see that in order for members to have an effective say on policy (ho ho ho), they have to satisfy criteria:

This year's BNP National Conference will be held in the north of England on the weekend of 13th to 15th November. It is open to Voting Members only. 1) A Voting Member is an ordinary current member who meets all the following criteria:

(a) A Voting Member must hold two years continuous current membership i.e. 24 months.
(b) A Voting Member must have attended the required number of training events within the current year.
(c) A Voting Member must be a recognised activist as verified by their Regional Organiser. This includes as a matter of course, councillors and other elected members, branch organisers, fund holders and regional officers.
(d) A Voting Members must make a financial contribution, as defined each year. Councillors, branch organisers, fund holders and regional officers are exempt.

I particularly like the fact that 2 years is explained to the flock as 24 months. Look at the other vague hoops members have to jump through. A recognised activist verified by a regional officer. I'd imagine the kerfuffle if this happened in other parties. They may have tried to stifle debate and parachute the odd candidate in but to have a monetary contribution qualification is beyond belief. again, the details are woolly. Yet branch organizers are exempt. This is a fascinating insight into the pecking order of the BNP hierarchical system. Yet as they are constantly telling us, they ate the only truly democratic outfit.

Another Dog's Dinner From Littlejohn

2009-10-02T11:25:00.003+01:00

After Littlejohn's lazy piece of journalism over a Times birth announcement made him look like a prize gherkin, another one comes along to take its place.

Richard - from his gated manor in Florida has his finger on the pulse again - by picking up on the story (covered here in The Telegraph) of Devon and Cornwall Police recruiting spaniels as rescue dogs. Littlejohn mocks with the payoff:

The increasingly absurd Devon and Cornwall force has started replacing their German shepherds with springer spaniels, which are said to be 'less frightening'.

Of course there is more to it than that. As The Telegraph makes clear:

The force dog inspector added: "Our existing general purpose dogs are fantastic at what they do but vulnerable people are often scared when confronted by a German shepherd dog.

"These lost person search dogs have no other skills and are pure specialists in finding people who are lost."

Littlejohn may be too lazy to do research, but what is more likely is that he knows most of his audience is made up of sycophantic rodents who would believe the moon was made of cheese.

As with some of Littlejohn's neighbours, they truly reside in a Mickey Mouse world.

UPDATE: The boy Johnny @ No Sleep Til Brooklands was there first with this one. So, just pretend you read it here before you went over there for fuller details.

Rattle Snakes

2009-10-01T16:55:00.006+01:00

The English Defence League aims to hold a display of bigotry on 10th October in Manchester City Centre. Given the appalling incidents in Birmingham a few weeks back, one wonders why this is being allowed to go ahead. Protest letters have already been sent but the police and politicians appear to be playing pass the buck.

As I've mentioned before, the EDL tries to maintain that it is merely against Islamic extremism and that it has no links with the BNP, football hooliganism or other right-wing extremism. The evidence to the contrary is clear to see.

I covered EDL spokesman, Trevor Kelway in an earlier post when we saw his online links to those groups. I also touched upon the new tactic of these groups to canvass respectable causes to ally themselves with legitimate groups. As has been seen by the BNP's crude attempt to align itself with the Royal British Legion through percentage fundraising, this is merely a propaganda exercise; rattling a tin for charity whilst pocketing the majority of the money themselves. The RBL seems to finding that out to its cost, as it has not received the donation in question.

As Lancaster Unity points out:

As it happens, even though Firth's little stunt took place way back in August, the RBL still hasn't had its donation and according to Third Sector (the UK’s leading publication for everyone who needs to know what’s going on in the voluntary and not-for-profit sector), the RBL is now seriously considering whether to reject it even if it is (finally) offered, on the grounds that the party has used it to make political capital.

The EDL has latched on to the Help For Heroes charity which raises money for injured servicemen. EDL was selling T-shirts on eBay with 10% supposedly going to H4H. whether this has happened is anyone's guess. How is the charity able to ascertain how many items have been sold?

Now, comes further evidence of the sinister nature of the group. Previously the EDL had referred members to a hooligan store selling face masks for use at the demo. On eBay, the group is now selling an EDL Hoodie Burka (sic). This is a charity listing with 10% again reputedly going to the H4H. The garment retails at £17 (with an extra £13 for postage - where's it coming from: Honduras?).

Charities should be aware that eBay sellers are able to obtain perks by holding such a listing. Perks include reduced listing fees and increased visibility.

Kelway has some other interesting comrades. One Sidney Martin has a Nazi insignia avatar (what is it with these nutters?). A quick glance at his friends sees Gary Raikes (Scottish BNP organizer and no stranger to charitable propaganda), Mark Collett (BBC 'youth BNP rep') and Liverpool BNP. There's also an appearance from Kenny Cooke (of more at a later time).

The challenge goes out to the authorities to ban this parade of hate and to charities to have the courage to distance themselves from dirty money.

Twit To Woo

2009-09-30T22:19:00.003+01:00

I feel a sense of pride at Tony Woodley's act at the Labour party Conference. Many moons ago I made a speech there and I would love to have ripped up the Murdoch trash paper. Unfortunately, New Labour sought to woo those tabloids 'wot won it', believing that myth of amateur psephologists and soaring off to sidle up to Middle England and the Daily Mail. This is an ongoing romance notwithstanding its unrequited love.

Hate Mail

2009-09-29T21:34:00.003+01:00

There were two interesting but disturbing crimes covered by Crimewatch on BBC 1 tonight; a harrowing and horrific sexual assault on a pregnant woman and a plea for information on a poison pen writer.

The first offence is covered by the Mail as Heavily Pregnant Woman Raped... and the BBC video is here.

The suspects appear to be black and/or Asian. Whilst most of the comments are predictably - and perhaps understandably angry at this despicable act; some demanding capital punishment - others take the opportunity to blame Gordon Brown, the police and to make the usual childish grunts about prison holiday camps. Then there is the sizeable section that picks up on the description of the alleged perpetrators:

*

David Cameron - get us out of Europe, get rid of the human rights law, bring back corporal and capital punishment, bring back National Service, get rid of immigration and make our prisons something to be feared, not the luxury 5 star hotels they have become. If you could promise us this, you would win the next election with a landslide victory.

- Cathy, Watford, England, 29/9/2009 12:21

* alk about a breakdown in society, harsh penalties and if possible deportation to where ever they came from. Home grown's should have longer sentences to compensate.

- lionel Clarke, macclesfield, Cheshire,
*

it just couldn't get any worse.... can it???? what are the police doing? diversity training no doubt and hugging these criminal filth in case they are prosecuted..

- Wilcox, Hereford, 29/9/2009 10:38

Na, no need in convictions, just execute them all there and then.

- Chris, North East, 29/9/2009 11:02
*

Somebody remind me of the benefits of mass immigration,because i cannot think of any.

- Chris, Edinburgh,U.K, 29/9/2009 14:29
*

There are even more rapes in countries ruled by sharia law mohammed as you very well know, only men are included more often among the victims in those countries than they are here. And women there do not bother to report the rapes because they would be killed by their families for adultery

- sandy, outer space - thank God!,
*

Well Europe opened the door to other many far away countries, not enough with dealing with crime of their own. Now also has to deal with crime of other outside.
In a few years we won't be able to walk outside the house, not even indoors. Close the borders please if you want crime to go down 80 per cent. And please who is opposite to this comment, whether is an ignorant or are these people themselves. Think many years ago crime wasn't that but and why? Think.
Well, I forgot to mention that also crime of people of our own country is related to the government so nice on benefits (and law). So getting rid of giving away benefit and closing the borders, crime will be down, a lot!

- Peter, London, 29/9/2009 12:17
*

A database of all DNA Paul is all well and good but if these are illegal immigrants how would you go about getting their DNA? We need to pull out of Europe repeal the 1951 human rights act. Then deal with these people without fear of their human rights being violated. A vote on the re introduction of capital and corporal punishment would be a start.

- Colonel Mustard, Oldham England,
*
Soon all that will be left of the UK will be immigrants, criminals and those too lazy to get off their backsides and work. Not a great future and it's nearly too late!

- Louise, France, 29/9/2009 16:28
*

These kind of crimes were unheard of thirty years ago.

What's different now ? We all know, but we're not allowed to say in case someone gets offended.

- up to our necks in Brown, suffolk, which used to be in England, 29/9/2009 14:04
*
this is what Britain is becoming - THIRD WORLD with Third World crime. This can only get worse and will get worse until we address mass immigration. We also need to get A LOT tougher on crime, we should re-introduce capital punishment and chemical castration for these types of crimes. Only ONE party that I know off that would do this.

- Nick, Brackley, 29/9/2009 14:2
*
he only way I can see of stopping this type of crime is to deport the WHOLE FAMILY. Even if the culprits have been born here, by committing crime they have violated our codes and thus shouldn't be allowed to stay under any circumstances. It may even be self policiing by the families as they won't want to be deported.

- mosey, yeovil, 29/9/2009 13:28
*
What if they are illegal immigrants Paul. Do you think they would drop in and say take my DNA before I vanish in the crowd?. There are that many immigrants here that there is no chance of a 100% database.But like most who want the DNA database you have not thought it out.

- Pat, UK not EU, 29/9/2009 11:53
*

The government should offer £100.000 to all brits who want to emigrate, that would free up more space for illegal immigrants. Labour might win the next election, get everybody who is left in britain on welfare then its all sorted.

- david, yorkshire, 29/9/2009 13:37
*

One has to ask ones self whether this has been kept from the public to promote the myth of racial harmony. If the Police circulate horrific crimes like this and give out a description stating their ethnic group people gasp and say this is not good for race relations. When will someone get it into their head that we do not have racial harmony we have fragmented ethnic sections. The only thing we do not have yet is the Northern Island sectarian walls.

- Michael, Birmingham, 29/9/2009 14:01
*
This happens several times a day in THIS country. it's just not reported.

- AA, Herts, 29/9/2009 13:50
*
Also why is it always, or certainly seems to be, black or Asian perpertrators.
Muggings, rapes etc, it always seems to be the same, where is mindless yobbery seems to be the province of white scumbags.

- C Johnston, Indonesian expat, 29/9/2009

Phew! had enough yet? Great to see the usual assortment of ex-pats moaning about immigrants, and barking mad legal experts.

So, why is this important? Well, let's go on to the second story covered by Crimewatch but not by the Mail. Over to the Guardian:

Police are hunting an elderly letter writer responsible for sending more than 50 racially abusive letters to people across the country, including the prime minister.
The letters, some sexually explicit in content, have been sent to schools, hospitals, mosques, universities, doctors' surgeries and private individuals, leaving some recipients "extremely distressed".
Clippings from the Daily Mail have been included in many envelopes, which often also include cartoon drawings.
According to Hampshire police, which is heading the investigation, the letters are all pro-English in content and racially inflammatory, with many appearing to have been sent in response to Daily Mail articles. All the letters are offensive and racist against a wide variety of nationalities and cultures.

Beep Beep and Beep Beep Yeah

2009-09-24T22:33:00.003+01:00

The number of uninsured drivers on the UK's roads has been a concern for many years. I once knew someone who had driven for 41 years without a licence or insurance. He managed to evade detection simply because he was a competent - and more crucially - a lucky driver. He was only found out when another, negligent driver collided with him.

I'm not sure but I'd hazrd a guess that he paid road tax as this needs to be displayed lest Lovely Rita or her equivalent spots this oversight.

Therefore, whilst the Motor Insurers' Bureaux trumpets the fact that there are more convictions now, the simple solution seems to be to have a similar system whereby your insurance has tobe shown in your vehicle. Unworkable? Not cost effective? Perhaps I'm just naive on a subject I know little. Favourite car? Oh, probably a red one.

Barnbrook Sanctions

2009-09-24T18:02:00.002+01:00

Just a brief post. richard barnbrook, BNP councillor for Barking and Dagenham and member of the GLA had the charge of bringing the councils into disrepute upheld by the Standards Committee.

Sanctions imposed by the separate bodies are:

1. GLA

a) Councillor Barnbrook censured

b) B to submit written apology including an apology and correction on the internet (on GLA site and own blog)

c) B to undertake ethics training

2. Barking and Dagenham

a) Suspension for 1 month (i.e. October)

b) Repeat apology on blog (or suspension will be extended)

c) No access to council facilities or expenses during suspension

Barnbrook will (apparently) appeal.

Coming To Take You Away

2009-09-23T14:07:00.012+01:00

Marcus Cahill @ The Cavern

There are times when I need a break from reading racist filth and appalling journalism. The other day I booked myself on the Magical Mystery Tour in Liverpool. I often see the bus trundling around town and many tourists have been on it but not me. It's that on-your-own-doorstep syndrome. We fly thousands of miles and take in the sights in the guide book and muse over local artifacts in the museums, but neglect our own cultural hotspots. For instance I once visited a Picasso exhibition in Weimar but didn't see some of his works when exhibited in Wirral.

So having visited the homes of Mozart (Salzburg), Beethoven (Bonn) and Nana Mouskouri (Ok I lied about that one but the first two weren't in when I turned up), I thought it right to see my lifetime heroes' patch. It's easy to get blase about The Beatles and Liverpool; even easier for some to sneer at nostalgia, but for me they are an integral part of this area. I was seven when I acquired a parental mono 45 copy of She Loves You/I'll Get You and played it to death. It still resonates now in super enhanced remastered stereo

The MMT begins at the Albert Dock and costs £13.95 (to rise to £14.95 in October 09). It seems to be more popular than ever and so booking in advance may be advisable. There are 2 tours per day at weekends. Further details can be found by clicking here.

Itinerary

The tour, on a replica of the coach in the film, visits the following places we remember:

Forthlin Road (McCartney's childhood home)
Menlove Avenue (Lennon's middle-class home)
The Empress Pub (On cover of Ringo's Sentimental Journey)
Strawberry Field
Penny Lane
Arnold Grove (Harrison's birthplace)
St. Peter's Church, Woolton
Sefton Park
Queens Drive (Epstein family home)
Liverpool City Centre
The Cavern, Mathew Street

Beatles fans will be aware of the historical significance of most of the places so there's no need for me to go over this.

The tour mentions a few other places of note and our guide, Neil (not Buster Bloodvessel) was so informative that even a Beatle anorak like me may have learned a thing or two. For one and three quarter hours our charabanc trundled around the outskirts of Liverpool, with almost every turning delivering a Beatle fact or link (if a little tenuous at times).

One particular anecdote involving matters of an intimate nature reminding me of the parochial adventures of the guide in Little Britain ('and it was behind that hedge that my charming wife Edna permitted me oral pleasure' type of thing).

The coach was mostly full but my pre-journey pint of Greene King IPA at the Pump House (the Baltic Fleet was closed) meant I joined the back of the queue. Being one of the few Britons on the bus - and almost certainly the only local - there is no excuse for taking a seat on the right-hand side. Blimey, man you do know we drive on the left so ipso Beatle facto, most of the sites of note will be on that side. Suffice to say this handicapped my happy snapping.

Now, this error of judgement would not be so severe if the coach stopped more. Unfortunately, there are only two scheduled leg-stretching opportunities - at George's Wavertree birthplace and at Paul's National Trust owned childhood home.

A separate tour can be booked for access to thoe homes of John and Paul and perhaps an alternative would be the taxi tour (£45 for 5 - see below).

We pulled up to Strawberry Field's freshly painted red gates but not for long; the road is long and winding, but also narrow. Similarly, we only glimpsed snatches of the Church Hall of St Peter's, where it all began, and didn't stop to imbibe at the isolated Empress.

Still, the tourists were able to peruse their newly purchased souvenir map (£3) and take in the break-neck patter of our guide, who, having starred in a Beatles film himself, only managed to plug this about six times.

One aspect of the tour was remarkable; to me at any rate. My cynical side might have thought that the children of Childwall to be bored stiff of seeing the coach passing as they left school. They still waved with enthusiasm (and not with the finger salutes the tabloids would make you expect) and perhaps this gives us an indication why we were recently voted 4th most friendliest in Europe. London, Manchester, Paris, who are yer?

The audio system crackled at times as Neil gave way to Fab classics. Was this a deliberate part of the 1967 experience, or have they not yet invested in the new remasters? No matter, the party of Beatlemaniacs - ranging in age from about 14 to about 60 - were busy singing or mouthing the words though. From Lonnie Donegan's skiffle through Dr Robert to I've Got A Feeling as we entered Lime Street. Anyone who hasn't mimed 'Everybody had a wet dream' in the company of strangers has never lived.

The brotherhood and sisterhood of man then embarked to take the compulsory snaps of John's Mathew Street statue and the new AHDN hotel, before earning a drink (Guinness £3) in The Cavern and a free postcard. Other recommendations would be The Grapes further down the road and (better for beer) The White Star round the corner. Both have good Beatles connections.

A Lennon tribute act then finished off the day with distinctive nasal style.

Speaking to one visitor (hello Gabriella from me to you) who had travelled solo from Spain, it was clear that a splendid time was guaranteed for all.

Photos?

(As most were taken from the coach past people, please forgive. Promise to get better ones soon)

Let me take you down(stairs)

Wall of Fame (Gary Glitter and Jonathon King removed!)

John

"And the banker never wears a mac.."

20 Forthlin Road (Macca's abode)

20 Forthlin Road

"And that's an invitation..."

Menlove Avenue

Strawberry Field

12 Arnold Grove

"In Penny Lane there is a barber showing photographs"

"Behind the shelter in the middle of the roundabout
A pretty nurse is selling poppies from a tray"

The Empress of Sentimental Journey

Useful Information:

Bus and train times

Lovely Pubs

Maps

Local Info

Beatles Tour by Taxi

Photos (Liverpool) (Wirral) (Eric The Fish)

News

Webcams: Mathew Street ; Wirral & Liverpool

Another Migrant Health Scare

2009-09-23T10:35:00.008+01:00

I often refer to the fact that The Daily Mail is the paper of choice for the odious BNP and that despite both lovers seeking to distance themselves from each other, there certainly is a symbiotic relationship. Both the mail and the express are currently engaged in a competition to ensure their scary immigrant front pages find their way into BNP literature [(c)A.Vowl] and yesterday Simon Darby linked to Littlejohn's latest piece of crap.

However, today does see the BNP breaking away from the the Associated Newspaper bondage gear. In a story about the NHS - based on a BBC radio programme no less - the Mail is content to publish an article merely having a dig at NHS standards and young medics in general.

One in six patients 'wrongly diagnosed' screams the headline.

Of course, the NHS does not keep records of such cases - presumably due to the difficulty in defining what is a diagnosis. My own mother was given Tamiflu not so long ago and it became clear that she may not have had the dreaded swine flu after all. That is just a non-medical opinion so how could that be verified?

The figures preceding the journalistic trick of using quote marks are based on research from a body called NPSA which,

runs a database that records medical errors, patient incidents, mistakes in medical notes and near-misses on a voluntary basis.
Between April 2008 and March 2009 there were 39,500 reports of incidents involving clinical assessment.

Quite how this figure of reported cases adds up to one in six (or about 16%) is unclear. Normally a study would involve using a set number of randomly selected patients and finding a figure from that. Again, how is misdiagnosis quantified? Many legal cases involving NHS negligence claims are settled without any finding or admission of liability (often for financial expediency reasons but there you go).

The story then refers to a 'similar' study in the USA (with its 'similar' health service no doubt) reaching a figure of 15% and other research concluding with 10%. So let's just pick the higher figure eh?

The article then quotes Professor Graham Neale, of the Centre for Patient Safety and Service Quality at Imperial College London, who has been researching misdiagnosis for the past four years and wants to see improvements to medical training.

Again, not clear whether he is anything to do with any of the studies or just a convenient rentaquote. Wanting to see improvements is natural but where's the beef.

I didn't set out to pick apart the Mail article itself but it does raise questions and maybe someone like Ben Goldacre will/has covered this in detail.

Allowing for the issues raised above, I thought something was missing from the tone of the piece.

So, over to our friend at the BNP bunker. They noted the story and also managed to find a way of completing the jigsaw with that funny looking piece that doesn't seem to fit anywhere unless to stretch it and cut off a few edges.

* Is NHS's Misdiagnosis Rate Linked to High Number of immigrant Doctors?

The haters continue:

* Are new figures which show that one in six National Health Service patients are the victims of misdiagnosis related to the fact that 30 percent of all doctors in state employ are of Third World origin?

Nice use of rhetorical questions there. I wonder what BNP supporters will answer to that one. No need to phone a fiend (sic) or take fifty-fifty so let's move on.

* Observers have asked this uncomfortable question in the wake of new research from the Imperial Centre for Patient Safety and Service Quality at Imperial College London which has revealed that 16 percent of all patients treated in NHS hospitals and GPs’ surgeries are having their symptoms misdiagnosed.

Now this is interesting. Prof Neale is clipped to the 16% figure here whilst the Mail article is ambiguous. Is the BNP capable of better journalism than its reluctant mentor?

But where do immigrants come in ? (If you answered Calais to that, you should stop reading right-wing papers).

* “There is absolutely no doubt that this is being under-reported,” Prof Neale was reported as saying. “But more importantly they are not being adequately analysed. Trainee doctors are too quick to judgment; that is one of the problems that we face.”

Note the slight irony in the reference to inadequate analysis. Tell us about the foreigners, Prof. Neale.

* According to Prof Neale, doctors were making mistakes because they were too quick to judge patients’ symptoms while others were reluctant to ask more senior colleagues for help. It is in the area of trainee doctors — specifically identified by Prof Neale as a problem hotspot — that Third World immigrant origin staff are a disproportionate part of the NHS.

M'lud, the prosecution is leading the witness here. What does Prof. Neale say about Third World immigrant staff?

* According to the medical journal The Lancet, in issue 9685 of 18 July 2009, around 16 percent of the 1.4 million people who work in the NHS are of Third World immigration origin, including 30 percent of doctors and nurses, 16 percent of midwifery and health-visiting staff, and 5 to 7 percent of staff in ambulance services.

Come, come. Answer the question. Cause. Effect. Evidence. Facts!

* Prof Neale, of course, did not dare mention the immigration factor in his findings.

The defence rests, M'lud. Before that, may it please the Court to suggest that Prof. Neale requests that the BNP remove his name from a report which is a tissue of lies and hatred.

Interesting that the BNP finds a figure of 16% to tie in with the totally unconnected Lancet stats and then includes the 30% figure. So, on a purely average basis, this would suggest that the figures could well be less for foreign doctors. Of course, like when the Mail talked about 20% of crime in London being committed by 'foreign' people when the immigrant population of the capital is much higher, it relies upon your reader being too dense to look closely at the numbers.

We all know that BNPers will also take the figure to mean that 30% have just landed here, rather than being born here because in Griffin's tainted world you cannot be non-white and British.

Not content with the thinly-disguised innuendo, the article then adds another favourite - the superbug!

* The increase in the numbers of Third World staff has also coincided with the rise of the superbug scandal in NHS hospitals — a problem which never occurred in pre-mass immigration NHS days.

See, everything that is bad is down to dem brown people. Not a racist party, my arse!

So what would the patriot barnpots do?

* The British National Party’s policy on the NHS is to return it to the First World standards for which it became famous. This will be done by raising pay rates so the trained, native British personnel who were forced into private practice will return, and by calling a halt to the recruitment of Third World personnel, amongst other measures.

I could be wrong here but the study does not make clear that it only involves errors in hospitals. Are GPs in private practice involved here?

Footnote:

Wondering what the BNP morons would say about it? Oh go on then:

* Now this is not surprising,1 in 6 people are diagnosed wrongly by the foreign untrained so called doctors added to the disseases that they brought with them and put in our hospitals,are'nt we lucky to have this type of health service where you go in to get diagnosed and come out with something else.It is well known that the New Queens hospital in Romford is full of aids, a nurse told us whilst talking to us and yet there is no investigation into this,absolutley disgusting. RJ Mitchell

* the thought of being treated by 3rd worlders does not appeal to me one bit, the words heal, treat, care are not part of these immigrants interests, there here for the money

* I remember my only stay in horsepittle. It was 1940. Not a single nurse, sister, matron nor doctor was of the enhanced melanin variety.

* If I am unfortunate enough to need surgery I do not want a third world person anywhere near me - not even sweeping up.

* Misdiagnosis or medical jihad?

* If the BRI(Bangledashi Royal Infirmary)in Bradford is anything to go by then I fear for my safety...The nurses there can barely speak english and the whole building is awash with invaders.

* members of the amdd ASSOCIATION OF MUSLIM DOCTORS AND DENTISTS are carrying out the objectives stated in their charter by misdiagnosing kafir patients

* I will not have any more foreign medical staff examine or treat me.

* Misdiagnoses and dangerous treatments by third world doctors might well be part of jihad. It would certainly be a very easy way to kill.

* why should we be treated by foreign doctors we dont no what there medical history is like all we no is that they are hear because they are cheep laber .why should we listen to them speakin in the lanuges when they are walken around like they are britsh or some think . and another thing is that why should children in school be mingerling with the polish it ant right .when my kid go to school she ant going to do that and she anit going to be lerning they langues in class i would just take at her out of school and teach her my self and she would learn much more at home then she would school. [CLASSIC!]

I'm now going to have a lie down, do some work and have a big pie.

The Relegation Will Be Televised

2009-09-20T18:48:00.005+01:00

Went to watch the Davis Cup defeat to Poland today. Although andy murray won in straight sets, our number 2 (who is 302 in world rankings) could not prevent Team GB's relegation. next year we will be playing such tennis luminaries as the Isle of Man and St. Aloysius Under 13s.

Some pictures. Not good as we were up in the sky and indoor lighting is a bit difficult with this slow lens.

Slippy The Snake

2009-09-19T15:59:00.003+01:00

Reading yesterday's Giardian in The Baltic Fleet, I was taken by the nostalgia caused by the inclusion of a Whizzer and Chips comic from 1978. I was getting this around that time so probably would have bought this at the time from the pongy woman's shop (See, even the word 'pongy' evokes balloon-capture memories).

On page 2 of the edition, we have an amazing offer of lifetime membership of the Funlines Joke Club for 60p. For that princely sum (the comic itself is 8p) readers would rceive a diploma (a bit like the GCSEs nowadays - ooh there'll be letters), and a super club badge.

The club is meant for people who 'like playing jokes on school mates, chums, Mums and Dads, even Teacher'. This probably does not involve the downloading of the Terrorist's Handbook, writing fantasy essays on Columbine or making videos of explosions.

The lifetime membership bit is interesting. Is this what Nick Griffin envisages when offering this for gold-plated Nutzies? A bit more than 60p though. Fewer jokes (unless you count Richard Barnbrook) but just as slimy as Sid's Snake.

Off to the Davis Cup tomorrow. A bit disconcrting to see all those union jacks and BNP (Paribas) adverts on the sides. Must plan my smuggling of food and drink in advance.

MS Deutschland in Liverpool

2009-09-19T14:00:00.003+01:00

MS Deutschland

Baltic Fleet

The White Star

Roll up...

Amazing Grace

Old Fire Station training tower

Liverpool's famous name-dropping lawyer parks outside his offices.

MS Deutschland

Ground Control to Major Dumb

2009-09-16T19:28:00.002+01:00

Over at the Mailwatch forums there is a regular feature about Mail readers taking harmless non-political stories to make an hilarious comment about the Government. Today's beaut comes from space cadet Martin.

In the story concerning the discovery of a planet that could contain life blah blah blah, there cometh a giant leap from a man if not a giant leap for mankind:

Sorry but we've already found non human simple organic organisms.

Gordon Brown
Hattie Hatemenperson
John Prescott
Geoff Who
The Millipede sisters

However, we haven't found anything intelligent amongst them.

- Martin, Ashford, 16/9/2009 19:15

If you know Martin feel free to point at him in the street and don't worry about calling him Martian either. He'll appreciate the puerile nature.

Heil Bulldog

2009-09-14T14:21:00.002+01:00

As news breaks that Disney is to remake Yellow Submarine, let's return to Pepperland. I think we all know who the new Blue Meanies are.

Simple Simon and Dennis The Menace

2009-09-08T21:40:00.004+01:00

On 3rd September 2009, the BNP website had this to say about the English Defence League:

The British National Party has declared the “English Defence League” a proscribed organisation and it will be a disciplinary offence for any party member to be involved with that group.

“The British National Party does not wish to be associated with the English Defence League in any way whatsoever.” Mr Butler’s circular ended with a request for any party official who becomes aware of any member who breaks this rule to report such incidents to elections@bnp.org.uk.

So, maybe someone will report Deputy Leader and Euro-funded officer worker for having a dreaded EDL sympathiser as one of his Facebook friends, Dennis Phillips, the EDL T shirt wearer.

Same old BNP lies. Why the media falls for this I do not know.

Daily Mail Fantasy Comments League: Late Results

2009-09-08T15:56:00.003+01:00

There's been some action over at the Associated Newspapers Ground where the following shock result has reached us:

ISLAMIC EXTREMIST LIQUID BOMBS UNITED 427

WHITE SUPREMACIST ALBION 0

Quite remarkable Brian, but not entirely unexpected.

I Love Google Ads Irony

2009-09-07T21:09:00.001+01:00

English Defence League: The Real Face (Updated)

2009-09-07T15:16:00.014+01:00

Further to my post about the use of charities and good causes by the far Right, I have received an email from Help 4 Heroes. They say they will look into it.

In the meantime, as with our BNP members, the EDL recruits have interesting friends.

Take Trevor Kelway, the main point of contact for the media. On Facebook he has the following mates:

Frank Atack who like BNP member Gary Aronsson likes his SS insignia. Whereas Gazza plumped for the Totenkopf (3rd Division), Frank opts for the 2nd division, Das Reich as his avatar. One of Frank's friends also has a Waffen SS picture. Frank stood for the BNP in Dewsbury in 2007 and is in a folk band, Red Claire with other BNP members.
Ian Sayers who has a Sunderland Vote BNP avatar
Sean Barry who goes for an Ulster red Hand 'No Surrender'
Roger Phillips (Wales BNP) who proudly shows a picture taken with Nick Griffin
Paul Tranter who has a charming bulldog with a superimposed union flag. Tranter himself includes local Liverpool BNP activist Peter Stafford Jr, BNP councillor and drink driver, Bob Bailey and a man with Adolf Hitler as an avatar.
Wewantour countryback who has a 'No Surrender' UK Casuals United avatar, this being a right-wing group of football hooligans.
Dave Brennan - friends with Liverpool BNP. Indeed, this brings us full circle as many of the allies of LiverpoolBNP are the same as those for the EDL, including SS devotee Frank Atack

I could go on and it may seem boring to constantly bang on about these people but I think it is important. Pete Molloy of Liverpool BNP is a well-known figure on Merseyside. He is the weird chap who seems to wear his medals at any given opportunity (despite Royal British Legion disdain for connecting them to political activity). Perhaps he sleeps with them too.

Now Pete, as I've said before, has some interesting friends himself. Perhaps the most disturbing is the vile character that is Chris 'Scoobsta' Hardy of Leicester. This BNP member stood for the party in the local council elections and is a regular contributor to the BNP site. Strange then that Hardy should choose as his avatar, the logo of the British Freedom Fighters. This pseudo-paramilitary gang has some amazing (if not very literate) views:

BFF - Our recent history evolves around full on street action, we started the BFF after a split with the ASF, allthough I started the ASF,, I didn't want to be associated with some of the committee for there actions which was dishonourable, a few felt the same way and followed me, hence the BFF was formed, and also because at the time we wasn't aware that other groups was our way of thinking, I started the BFF, but as such I don't see myself as the leader, we kind of all work together, we have divisions were there is a person who people go to for ops, I suppose a organizer would be a good word, our plans for the future is to take our streets back, and inspire other groups to join in, we will be looking at venturing further abroad, and want full on unity with other groups and orgs, that are our way of thinking, and want the same thing.

Now, I know that's difficult to decipher and not the greatest advert for the supremacy of the white indigenous people, but it gives a clear indication of what type of person is countenanced within BNP ranks despite Griffin's assertions that they have no truck with extremists. Indeed, Griffin claims that the EDL is a proscribed organization but the evidence shows this to be a sham.

RVF (Racial Volunteer Force)- Would you say that you are a nationalist socialist organisation?
BFF - Indeed I do, we don't live in the past of Hitler, but we do live by the principles of what he started, it is proven the only political ideology that put into practice actually works, works for our kin, our race, other ideals like communism, has proven to be very destructive, and has never worked.

Some eye-opening names there. 'Achtung Totalt Aryan Propagand', and the usual Nazi and paramilitary and insignia. Note that Emma Colgate, a BNP councillor and leading light in the BNP Euro office is also a friend of Hardy.

Perhaps these are the things Griffin should be tackled on when he goes on Question Time rather than the old favourites, which he is now becoming adept at returning with spin.

Much debate will go on about how to tackle this vermin. I'm not convinced mine is the appropriate way but I do think it is clear that the 'no platform' policy is outdated in its original form. Strong arguments have been made as to the danger of legitimising the BNP through debate (and the QT format is a tired one these days).

I felt that labour missed a trick during the Euro debate in the North-West by boycotting it, whilst the others merely refused to sit in the same studio as Griffin. In that debate - in which Griffin was questioned but not involved directly - Chris Davies MEP came over very well for the Lib Dems. He has indicated that he would be willing to take Griffin on.

Maybe one problem is that like all the pre-election stories, the BNP will feast on publicity whether they are afforded special treatment or not.

BNP Question Time

2009-09-07T11:33:00.002+01:00

In April 2009 Nick Griffin was quoted by the BBC as saying,

"The BNP manual, leaked to the anti-fascist group Searchlight and seen by the BBC, says that "BNP activists and writers should never refer to 'black Britons' or 'Asian Britons' etc, for the simple reason that such persons do not exist".

So, it probably comes as a surprise to our little Neanderthals that the BNP is now considering having an ethnicity monitoring form for members. This form - produced in the light of the EHRC case - has the following sub-groups:

Asian or Asian British
Black or black British
Gypsy/Romany/Traveller

Smoke and mirrors? Maybe it really is question time for BNP members.

When I Get Older...

2009-09-07T11:12:00.003+01:00

After our poor start to the season, John Barnes has intimated that he would be prepared to play youngsters in the team; following our great victory in the Masters last night, the old guard would be best suited to helping the cause. Ian Muir, thank you.

The Ride of The Valkyries

2009-09-06T17:04:00.004+01:00

I mentioned the odious BNP's attempts to align itself to the Royal British Legion in an earlier post.

The Times reports that a veterans' charity has accepted money from the BNP. This has been a difficult decision for the organization and indeed it was not originally known that the BNP had its murky fingers on the notes.

The BNP-linked English Defence League, which caused mayhem in Birmingham city centre for the second time, at the weekend, is also seeking to hitch a ride on good causes. Although the Help 4 Heroes charity is somewhat tainted by its support from The Sun, its reputation is in danger of being tarnished by an association with these football hooligan Nazis.

The EDL is selling 'No Surrender' shirts on eBay with a percentage of the proceeds going to H4H.

As I've said before, all charities are under pressure, but there comes a time when principles dictate that blood money cannot be accepted.

Anyone concerned about this development may wish to register a comment on the H4H website.
I am of the view that original letters rather than pro forma templates hold more weight.

The H4H website is here.

A Platform For The BNP

2009-09-06T11:45:00.004+01:00

There will be intense debate over whether Nick Griffin should be invited on to Question Time. The 'No Platform' policy seems to have outlived its purpose; argument should be as to whether the BBC's contrived format will benefit Griffin or his opponents.

In the meantime, here is a good platform for the BNP.

Pass The Cyanide

2009-09-06T11:20:00.002+01:00

After our 3-0 defeat at Carlisle, only one of my five horses winning and Wetherspoons running out of Rev. James, I was cheered up by this from Stinky Ponky:

BNP Fuhrer Nick Griffin has sent all members of his party a cyanide capsule to use as the European Allies close on his bunker.

The whole story (in a Daily mash style) is here.

From Twitter (@ericthefishking)

Savage: Pride of Lyin'

2009-09-04T21:01:00.004+01:00

I chanced upon a racing fanatic's biro-stained Daily Mirror today and journeyed to the football pages to laugh at Chelsea. I came across a column by famous diplomat Robbie Savage of Derby County.

Says St. Robbie of Wrexham Central,

...the sight of Nathan Tyson waving a Forest corner flag in front of our supporters while other Forest officials cavorted around could have caused a riot.

Of course, he hasn't always been such a beacon of virtue, particularly with his new fans at Derby:

In his first season for Leicester, in the final minute of a league game between rivals Leicester and Derby at Pride Park, Savage dived in the penalty area. Leicester were awarded the penalty, which was converted, and meant they won the game 3-2. Savage's blatant dive, his hopeful look at the referee and his aggressive fist-pumping celebration in front of the home fans resulted in a torrent of abuse from the fans and in Savage being chased across the pitch by incensed Derby players...(Wiki)

As another Mirror columnist, Brian Reade pointed out earlier this year,

Further proof that when God was handing out brains, Savage was laying a cable in the referee’s changing room.

Oh, Robbie, another thing. I haven't forgiven you for being part of the Leicester side that defeated Tranmere in the League Cup Final.

You Couldn't Dick It Up

2009-09-04T16:16:00.004+01:00

Ever since I invented Twitter I knew it would be worthwhile. Here is something that I would have read before the intervention of Twitter but is worthy of a heads up. Richard Littlejohn totally called out - LITTLEJOHN: WHAT A WASTE OF MONEY

Well done, Macguffin at Tabloidwatch.

Essentially, Littlejohn used an announcement in The Times about quins born to someone named 'Pong' to have a Jim Davidsonesque jeer at funny names and single parents. Some commenters on the story pointed out the poor research the highly paid bigot carries out before splurging, but unfortunately, most Daily Mail readers will be oblivious to the deceit of the story and have their prejudices massaged in the Florida style.

The Day War Broke Out

2009-09-03T22:33:00.002+01:00

Those of you under the age of 70 may struggle to know where the title quote comes from so maybe trundle over here later. I thought it was interesting that possibly the first shots fired on British soil were at Fort Perch Rock, New Brighton whereas the first shots of the War itself occurred at the Westerplatte in Gdansk, which I visited this year.

The Wirral story is covered in our local freesheet:

Fifteen minutes after Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain announced Britain was at war with Germany, Fort battery commander Colonel C.J Cocks ordered two shots to be fired across the bow of a vessel seen entering the closed Rock Channel.

His notes from the day of the event read: "I fired two rounds across the bows and probably these were the first shots of the war."

Ely Post Office Scandal Update

2009-09-03T21:41:00.004+01:00

Further to the 'Postgate' scandal I covered here, it seems that although the local Mersey BNP bigots and the main BNP site have deleted their stories, BNP supporters in Derby continue to trumpet it. Originally, they urged people to take action by writing to the post office and said, "We must BOYCOTT muslim businesses. DON'T use their shops or taxis.

Now, they helpfully provide us with a letter they received from the Post Office, which clearly states that there is no foundation in the accusations made (that the proprietor refused service to a woman because she wanted to post a parcel to her son serving in Afghanistan):

When are people going to wake up to the fact that we are losing our country to invaders backed by those arrogant, self-centred dhimmi’s in charge?

Don’t take things lying down. Protest by email, telephone calls and letters. Let these people know we will not stand by and watch while they infest our lands with traitors to Queen and Country.

Now nobody knows the truth as only a handful of people were present during the alleged incident. However, having seen the YouTube footage of the complainant, I know who my money is on.

Another Twit on T'internet

2009-09-03T14:08:00.002+01:00

Suddenly realised that the Twitter link on the top of the new template merely went to the designer of the template so I've managed to change that and actually joined Twitter which is probably a volte face on my part. Now if I'm stuck in a lift with Stephen Fry I can rant as I wait. Technology. Marvellous, Isn't it?

Kissinger Moment

2009-09-03T10:52:00.003+01:00

The Telegraph reports that Nigel 'it must be a face it's got ears' Farage is to defy convention and stand against Commons Speaker John Bercow.

Mr Farage said: “This man represents all that is wrong with British politics today. He was embroiled in the expenses saga and he presides over a Parliament that virtually does nothing.

As Farage admitted to Labour MP Derek McShane, his own expenses bill since becoming an MEP is not to be sniffed at.

"It is a vast sum," Farage said. "I don't know what the total amount is but - oh lor - it must be pushing £2 million."

No further comment is needed.

STOP PRESS:

Looks like Nick Griffin is getting ready to throw the towel in over the EHRC challenge over its membership rules. Whether this is on advice from Counsel or financial expediency is unclear. Whether this is a positive thing or a publicity coup for the BNP is also open to question.

Beggaring Belief (Updated)

2009-09-02T16:15:00.006+01:00

There was an unfortunate slip of the tongue on radio today when the newsreader announced that (the) BNP had discovered oil in Mexico. I thought Nick Griffin had been swimming in Cancun.

We received another begging letter from Uncle Nick today. it concerned the court case brought by the EHRC (of which I'm in two minds).

The next few months will be critical to the Party's future. We have to defeat the Equalities Commission's attempt to criminalise our Party, but fighting court cases does not come cheap. That's why I am asking EVERYONE receiving this email bulletin to text the word 'DONATE' to *****

I need you to do this immediately - yes RIGHT NOW. At the moment we need every penny that can be spared for our legal fight back, not to mention the routine running costs in keeping one of the largest political organisations in the country ticking over.

The number to text to is repeated 4 times. i know most BNP members would struggle to remember their own IQ figures, this takes some beating. Still, judging by the incompetence displayed by the BNP's crack(ed) legal team, those £3 texts are badly needed.

Today I am in court in London for the opening salvo of the Equalities Commission legal case concerning our "British-only" membership policy

As the BBC reports:

Mr Griffin and fellow party officers Simon Darby and Tanya Lumby did not attend the hearing at Central London County Court.

The case was adjourned to give the BNP more time to prepare a defence, after the court was told the party had only instructed its counsel, Jonathan O'Mahoney, at 5pm on Tuesday.
(The Judge) said the BNP had known since June about the possibility of legal action and said it was "unfair" of the party to have instructed Mr O'Mahoney at the last minute.
He therefore ordered the BNP to pay the costs of the hearing.

Further evidence of why the BNP is a racist bunch of shits comes in their treatment of two events that took place over the Bank Holiday weekend. In Liverpool we had the Mathew Street Festival, which I attended. There was a lot of merriment despite the deteriorating weather and there was some drunkenness. Merseyside Police stated that around 230 people were arrested - mostly for minor public order offences connected to drink and drugs. There were some witness accounts of minor scuffles and morons throwing cans of lager, but given the amount of people attending, this was a good result on the whole.

The Notting hill Carnival took place in London. Readers may recall BNP councillor Richard Barnbrook (who seems to have disappeared of late) wanted to ban this due to violent clashes occurring (and obviously nothing to do with the colour of some of the participants). Police report that there were 215 arrests, again mostly for minor offences. There appears to have been a stabbing and some minor skirmishes. unfortunately, this is part and parcel of any major gathering these days.

You can guess what's coming. The BNP cover the Carnival (with a little help from their friends at The Mail) and has this to say:

Predictably, the “celebration” of African coloniser culture in the heart of London ended in running battles with police and reports of several stabbings.
Chief Inspector Edwards said police had used CCTV to track several gangs of “youths” (which is a code word for black youngsters) who were “intent on causing trouble, at times throwing bottles at officers.”

The Notting Hill Carnival is nothing more than the colonisers of London putting on a show of how they have been able to take over Britain’s capital and turn it into a Third World cesspit.

If this vile hatred were not bad enough, let's see what the Neanderthal members have to say:

Since when did a bunch of bongo drum players, limbo dancers and half-naked women with feathered headresses (trying to embarass the police) constitute culture?
Knife violence is endemic and gangs of thugs go around carrying guns and dealing hard drugs. Women are not safe, rape is commonplace and the whole atmosphere wreaks of intimidation and threat.
We need a new system of instant justice and police prisons to keep people locked up for short periods who are caught red handed whilst their deportation arrangements are made
The carnival does not belong here, African culture can be celebrated to your hearts content...in bloody Africa!
If I want to be "enriched" by Pakistani or African culture then I will travel to asia and Africa,I don't want them here
Time is running out for the invited invaders who have no respect at all for our great nation, so get them out by persuasion or EVICT them.
This bongo party is a disgusting multi culti stain on our Nation

Bastards. The lot of them. No wonder they keep on giving to the odious party of hate.

UPDATE: 3rd September

It seems Griffin is preparing his members for a climb down. In another begging email, he asks for £20,000 within a week if the Party is to continue to fight this case and a further £60,000 before the adjourned hearing.

Of course, he has managed to put spin on this, so that he is portrayed as the victim.

Either we shift our position or we will be utterly crushed. That fact was established beyond any possible doubt when the judge ruled that we must pay the thousands of pounds of costs of today’s hearing.

This is an outright lie. Costs against were ordered because he failed to comply with court procedures. This is par for the course for his lot, but it means that his followers are misled into believing the court had made a ruling of fact on the case. It was his request for an adjournment and negligently late instruction of new Counsel that led to the costs order.

His pathetic attempts to attain victim status even arrives at this staggering piece of logic:

Our lawyers’ highly compelling argument that the principle of Equality of Arms means that CEHR should fund our defence (as they would indeed assist any organisation representing literally any other ethnic group) was simply brushed aside by CEHR’s own lawyers, and thus not even considered by the court.

The last sentence defies belief (and does not even make sense). It's also confusing that he uses the acronym CEHR rather than EHRC!

Perhaps most chilling is this subtle dog whistle for neo-Nazis to stand firm:

"I have no doubt that it is possible to redraft our constitution so as to ensure we comply with the new law while at the same time holding true to our core principles and most important of all to our purpose – to secure a future for the true children of our islands."

This is a reference to white supremacist David Lane's 14 words, regularly used by BNP members and Stormfront posters - ""We must secure the existence of our people and a future for White children."

The EHRC action may not have been the most appropriate tactic, but it should make for interesting times.

Something Rotten in the State of Belgium

2009-08-31T21:49:00.002+01:00

Nick Griffin, in an Australian TV programme compares the BNP to The Sex Pistols. "...and we've just got a number 1".

Funny, when I think of the BNP I tend to think of a Number Two! Can't wait for the next album from Nick Vicious and the boys. The Great Red, White and Blue Swindle? Griffin in the Rigging?

Well, you get the idea...

Charity Box

2009-08-31T15:08:00.004+01:00

One of the more insidious trends in the charity sector is the cut-throat operations carried out in their name. Charities will of course be under enormous pressure as people tighten their belts (though it is often the less affluent who give more proportionally).

We've all been stopped by chuggers in the High Street. One of the strangest aspects of this form of raising funds is their unwillingness to accept one-off monetary donations; they only want you to sign up for monthly direct debits despite your pleas of 'well, I already give half of my income to that talking donkey off the TV'.

This makes sense as the charity can make financial projections based on what it knows will be coming in. However, it does seem to be irritating beyond the 'end justifies the means' aspect.

Does there not come a time when charities should ensure that money is obtained ethically. In this regard I'm thinking of Christmas cards (ha! not yet September and the X Factor creeps into the blog - wait until the banning stories!) which give a minuscule percentage to charity whilst making a healthy profit. Why not just give it straight to the organization?

I was thinking about this when hearing of the disappointing news that the Royal British Legion has backtracked and decided to accept a donation from a BNP member, Rachel Firth who was sleeping in a cardboard box in Yorkshire to highlight the plight of homeless ex-soldiers. A good cause one would say. Of course, only half of the proceeds of this stunt will go to the RBL; the other half goes to the BNP.

The RBL defended the volte face by saying that it had originally thought the donation was being made on a political basis — and the money could therefore not be accepted but had now concluded that this was a personal gift.

Not surprisingly, this personal fundraising effort has found its way to the BNP site where the Fascist acolytes queue up to give us the real story behind it all:

Well if BNP members money such as mine isn't welcome then I guess they can pass the hat around some gangbangers or jihadists & see how far they get on that!
I think they realise a BNP member is more likely to be a BL supporter than not & so are the people that they help.

What a lovely gracious person Rachel is, a credit to her country and the BNP.
Unlike the Royal (?) British(?) Legion who, via the press, gave her a slap in the face then held their politically soiled hand out for the money.

Well done Rachel keep up the good work, shame the RBL dont have the strength of conviction the BNP do, like Steve Gray said I Bet they dont get much money from the enrichers,

Well done Ms firth we need people like you to highlight are housing shortage and the fact immigration is still allowed no end when we cant even home the population now,

As the for the Royal British Legion, I would be tempted to tell its officials where to stick their magnanimity.

What Rachel has done is a formula that cannot fail. Creative peaceful protests and civil disobedience work. It's time for all of us to sleep in cardboard boxes or do something else which will raise public opinion for the BNP cause.

When i donate money to the poppy appeal this year i will write on the £10 note BNP in marker pen, but not on the queens side , lets see them refuse that .

I reckon Rachel really should'nt bother giving it to them but instead should give it all to the party, as it seems we are clearly closer to the grass roots ex service personnel and more serve their interests than the Royal British Legion

For the first time in my life I will deliberately not be buying poppies this year, I am disappointed with the RBL and, unless they totallly change their attitude, they have lost my support completely. Sorry, that is just how I feel, all charity is now corrupt. I give nothing to any of them now.

I noticed last year in Worcester a lot of the news agents , and petrol forecourt shops didn't have collection tins on the counter, these outlets were usually run by asians

The Royal British Legion had better learn not to bite the hand that feeds it as they have a decreasing number of patriots who care about their own and who are willing to collect money for their cause as this country is overrun by aliens.

I therefore believe that the RBL has made a mistake here. Whilst it is proper for it to remain non-political and independent, it needs to distance itself from clear attempts - like the poppy wreaths with BNP stickers - to use it to garner respectability for this party full of Nazi admirers. It is part of the BNP's attempt to gainsay the Fascist tag. Taking money like this gives publicity to these purveyors of hate. The Mersey BNP also has this story on their site and I still recoil with horror at the thought of Nick Griffin defacing the war memorial in Liverpool with his presence. Without being too hyperbolic it was tantamount to seeing Adolf himself parading through the Arc de Triomphe.

The RBL might also wish to ponder the point that many homeless people come from ethnic minorities (whether ex-armed forces or not) or are failed asylum seekers. The BNP repeat the lie that there is a housing shortage due to immigration when official figures prove this to be a distortion.

Mathew Street Festival

2009-08-31T13:42:00.004+01:00

The Greets (Argentina)

Nube 9 (Argentina)

Penalty Clause

2009-08-31T02:44:00.003+01:00

This is for my friend, Andy who did not make it to witness this late goal via the penalty spot by Everton.

Dogs For Life

2009-08-29T16:33:00.002+01:00

I remember a man who had been in the Labour Party since its inception; he had been involved as a suckling in the Independent Labour Party of 'O' Level History fame. He fought the good fight and eventually he was rewarded with - I think - a gold badge and life membership.

Now, the labour Party can be bought as much as any political organization, but i thought the patriots of the BNP were a bit different. After all they used the 'pigs in the trough' motif throughout the Euro elections.

Yes, another begging letter from Nick 'The grief' Griffin:

Fellow Patriot,
I am delighted to inform you of a very special invitation now open to you: the British National Party 'LIFE MEMBERSHIP' offer.

Ooh! Tell me more, Nicky, babe.

This honour is being extended to a carefully selected group of British citizens, stalwart BNP members like you, and I would like to be the first to personally congratulate you for being among that special chosen group of people.

This is sounding like a Reader's Digest letter. Congratulations Mr ERICTHEFISH for being selected out of all the other blogs in T'INTERNET. Complete the enclosed form acknowledging your Aryan supremacy and post to us immediately. Just imagine that Golden swastika outside ERICTHEFISH TOWERS. Don't delay send them back today!

Even our brave young soldiers, heroes all, cannot have a homecoming parade without being spat at on our streets by Muslim fanatics or Marxist UAF traitors.

This obviously happens every day in BNP world. No evidence just smears.

Despite the tremendous progress we have made this year, we are still not strong enough to make a full assault on the corridors of power at Westminster, but soon we will be. You see, at this critical, early stage in our rise to power, it is more important than ever for friends, patriots and members like you to demonstrate your support. The more LIFE MEMBERS we have, the stronger our voices will be in defence of all we hold dear.

Assault on Parliament? Tanks on the lawn? Tell me more. But surely, like the gold membership scheme from a few months back, this won't be available to just any old Nazi. As you say in the initial paragraph 'carefully selected group of British citizens' (and not just crazies like me who signed up to the mailing list for a laugh).

We have set the fee for LIFE MEMBERSHIP at £500, but if you respond to this written invitation right away, you can take advantage of this offer for the special invitation price of £395. This massive reduction is a token of my deep appreciation for your loyalty and hard work for the party.

Sounds too good to miss. Where's my cheque book? What else do we get?

FREE top quality, exclusive, engraved watch, his or hers.
FREE exclusive LIFE MEMBER pin badge to wear with pride and dignity.
FREE lifelong subscription to new IDENTITY magazine 64pp. (£4.99)
FREE lifelong 'annual party reports'. (£6.95)
FREE complimentary copies of the party's magazine, Hope and Glory
FREE prestigious LIFE MEMBER certificate parchment scroll for framing.
FREE limited edition signed portrait of Party Chairman Nick Griffin MEP

My pen seems to have dried up! Parchment scroll? Imagine finding that when the grime busters break into the rat infested flat covered in animal faeces. A picture of Griffin? Mental.

But time is of the essence. This really is a once in a weektime offer.

May I request that you respond to this offer as soon as possible, indicating whether or not you will be accepting my offer of LIFE MEMBERSHIP. (If you have to decline, please email us to notify us. This will allow us to keep our records up-to-date.)

BNP: the party that just keeps giving.