What Sort Of World Do We Live In?

It's a funny question I suppose, but one we'd all do well to keep asking ourselves.  Superficially we seem to live in a generally benign state where the government only wants what's best for us and most people are happy to accept that premise.  The government wants to help us and smooth life's difficulties with job-hunting, preventing homelessness, ensuring we eat our 5-a-day, lose weight, stop smoking and drinking, tide us over if we fall on hard times, cure us if we are ill and generally act as benefactor.  It says.

I've just caught up with this article which was published in Games Monitor while I was offline earlier this month.  It concerns security measures being taken for Olympics 2012 which include the construction of an 11 mile, 5,000 volt electric fence, topped  with 900 daylight & night vision surveillance cameras spaced at 55-yard  intervals.

"A new genre of military futurology has emerged which owes as much to  apocalyptic Hollywood movies as it does to the cold war tradition of  ‘scenario planning. Often outlandish and bizarre in its prophecies, and  always dystopian, this new military futurism sees threats to the western  way of life emanating not only from rogue states, weapons of mass  destruction and terrorism but also from resurgent nationalism, conflicts  over dwindling resources, migration, disease, organised crime, abrupt  climate change and the emergence of failed cities where social disorder is rife.

"Other security measures to be implemented for London 2012 will include facial and iris recognition, finger-print and hand recognition, guards with attack dogs and search dogs. New software is planned to integrate all of London's CCTV cameras, and will have the capability to follow you through the city. A scheme to search people and vehicles will include machines capable of looking through your clothing. The Air Force will deploy its Reaper pilot-less drone aircraft, which will carry laser-guided bombs and missiles including the Hellfire air-to-ground weapon. While on the Thames, the Royal Navy will deploy its new £1 billion Daring class Type 45 destroyer. These are also to be fitted with laser-guided missile systems able to shoot down a target the size of a cricket ball.

"The Olympic Act 2006, which sets out various laws relating to the Olympics, gives the right of forced entry into private property to remove unauthorised advertising or protest banners.  ... the right of forced entry is extended outside the police force to staff contracted to the ODA.

"... security measures for the London Olympics will include the nationwide use of Section 44 of the Terrorism Act, allowing police stop and search without suspicion. The London Olympics and its security does not exist in isolation but in a continuum of increasing state surveillance and security hysteria."

Take a look at this article too: The Police are considering the forcible chemical sedation of suspects.  "The Federation is currently undertaking work to formulate a strategy which we intend to lead to recognition and acceptance of excited delirious syndrome by the British medical profession."
Are you feeling safer yet or can you feel the noose tightening?  When has any government voluntarily relinquished power and control once gained?  Oh, grandma, what big teeth you have!

Cross-posted from Calling England

What Sort Of World Do We Live In?

Doug Carswell - Referendum Man

I seem to be behind on this, but I have just learned that Douglas Carswell MP, one of the few MP's in Parliament that listens to what people are asking for and then tries to deliver is seeking to bring about a Private Members Bill to the floor of the House of Commons providing the people of the U.K. a referendum on membership of the EU.

Private Members Bills are a tool for MP's who are not on the front benches to introduce legislation, but tend to have a low success rate and little floor time is provided.  There is going to be limited time available in Parliament with the lead up to the General Election as well.  However, with an issue as big as continued membership of the EU and with the right momentum there is a chance that Mr Carswell with enough public and media support could force the issue in Parliament.  We should assume that the Whips will not be in any mood to help Mr Carswell in this cause, so it is down to people to make their voices heard and for the general population to shout out that we do indeed want this Bill to be passed to that we can have our say on EU Membership.  It is time the people of this country are allowed a say on what we do and do not want.

Mr Carswell's piece, where he sets out his intentions is here.

I for one wish Mr Carswell every success, I hope he can succeed and help us get what so many of us have longed for, for a long time.  He will be a very popular man if he can!

Cross-Posted

Doug Carswell - Referendum Man

Corrupt And Dirty EU

The EU: an iron fist in a velvet glove. An anthropomorphised EU would look like Peter Mandelson. It's corrupt, sleazy, unaccountable and undemocratic.

Marta Andreasen, who was elected as a Ukip MEP for South East England last month, has been blocked from becoming vice-chairman of the European Parliament's budgetary committe. They even broke convention on the allocation of committee posts by demanding a vote by secret ballot to do it.

Andreasen, the European Commission's former chief accountant, was fired in 2004 by Lord Kinnock after she publicly claimed there was a £172 million discrepancy between two sets of Brussels accounts. Kinnock accused her of "disloyalty and breach of trust" after she went to MEPs with her concerns.

Inge Graessle, a senior German Christian Democrat MEP, admitted that Andreasen had been opposed for the senior post because of her 'trouble-making' past. "The role she played in the past, what I feel was a certain scandalising of issues, is not really one we want endorsed by her becoming vice-chairman," she said.

"This is a message about how much they fear me. But I still know what I know and they will not stop me," Mrs Andreasen said.

Source: Daily Telegraph

Also, before I forget again, here's a link I've been meaning to post for ages:

Petition against the nomination of Tony Blair as President of the EU

Sarkozy is much more luke-warm towards Blair's candidacy than he once was and seems to prefer the Spanish Gonzalez these days but we should never underestimate the vaunting ambition of the Blair-Mandelson team. Machiavellian back-room deals are being struck all over Europe in anticipation of full ratification of the Lisbon Treaty and we still don't know which side of the fence Cameron will climb down from. It won't hurt to sign it - just in case.

Corrupt And Dirty EU

Jack Straw: raping democracy

In response to the MPs expenses scandal, the government has introduced a Parliamentary Standards Bill, purportedly to stamp out corruption.

Refreshingly, the first draft of the bill defines a statutory requirement for politicians to tell the truth in Parliament, or face legal challenge, potentially resulting in a jail term.

Very sensible. Truth has been conspicuous by its absence in the past 12 years, lies being accepted almost as normal with no penalty attaching.

Too sensible for Jack Straw, though. This raper of democracy, who takes every opportunity to curtail our freedoms by sneaking trojan horse clauses into new 'justice' bills, is campaigning behind the scenes to cull the truth requirement from the bill.

Straw is the man who shook Mugabe's hand, his excuse for which being that it was dark in the room and he couldn't see Mugabe's face. He and his fellow Marxists don't want to live under the same rules that they devise for the rest of us.

The political crisis we've been living through, which was the catalyst for the drive to 'clean up politics', might have taught our contemptible politicians that we've had enough of their sleaze.

Oh, they "get it" alright. It's just that Jack Straw and his ilk know they can get away with raping democracy because we, the people, don't do anything about it, save from complaining to our MPs.

We need to rediscover our passion for peaceful but determined demonstration - en masse.

Jack Straw: raping democracy