Harry's Blog

Yesterday's gaff by the prime minister brought to focus once again the subject of immigration. A phrase I've heard several correspondents use when covering the subject is "highlighting voters' legitimate concerns on immigration" which is ludicrous.

Just because a large part of the population are poorly educated (their fault), mouth-breathing, selfish, xenophobic, bigoted morons it doesn't make those concerns valid. Stupidity isn't wiped out by volume.

The insidious lie that the BNP and other brain-dead simpletons have managed to make a national topic is that there is an immigration problem. Alas the topic has managed to become one which mainstream politicians will engage on now and offer solutions. Not one of the three major party leaders has had the balls to stand up and say "there is no immigration problem, the problem is lazy thick Brits who can't stand people different from them or more successful."

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Here in our West Dorset constituency it's a two-horse race between the Liberals and Conservatives. There's not a chance on earth I'd ever vote Tory - but that's even firmer as this is smiley-toad Oliver Letwin's base of operations.

By natural inclination and my record I am a typical Labour voter. I'm from a working class background and although I believe everything my dad says about his beloved unions is complete bullshit, I saw enough of Thatcher's Britain in the eighties to never vote for the blues.

But voting Labour here in West Dorset would be a wasted vote under our current system. If I want to see Letwin defeated then I will have to vote LibDem. I'm not a great fan of tactical voting, I'd rather vote with true intentions. But the political system being what it is there's no point in that in this constituency.

So LibDem it was going to be. And then this week we have the sudden terrified assault on Clegg and the LibDems from the Tories and Labour, a shameful pathetic display if there ever was one. The Tories are the most terrified, and their desperate sad press are comically inept at dealing with it in any sensible way.

This is going to backfire in their faces. Already the Twitterverse is awash with the #nickcleggsfault hashtag belittling the attempts to smear the LibDems. And I'm seeing plenty of friends now willing to vote LibDem because of the negative campaigning against the Liberal party.

A few days ago I was going to vote LibDem out of necessity. Today I'm be willing to vote for them anywhere thanks to Labour and particularly Tory attacks.

Link: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/somerset/8510091.stm

A primary school in Weston-super-Mare has banned Valentine cards to save pupils the "emotional trauma" of being rejected.

Now before you send the Eco-Stazi round I just want to make clear that I believe that it's more likely than not that mankind is having an adverse effect on our climate. But my beef is the way that views on climate change are being forced on people and the way language is being used to do so.

We're well used to hearing phrases like "holocaust denier" - and rightly such people are pilloried for being ignorant racist fools. But when similar language is applied to people who are unconvinced by what continue to be a lot of contradictory arguments, bad science and total nonsense it's not surprising people remain sceptical about the concept of man-made climate change.

To describe such people as "climate change deniers" is disingenuous, unfair and really a Godwin'a Law own-goal. It also displays a Newspeak style attempt at controlling thought through language.

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Link: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8382584.stm

I'm not at all surprised by these problems found at Essex hospitals. I'm waiting for St. John's in Chelmsford to join the list - the lazy nursing, poor management standards and an incompetent consultant there led to a tragedy in my own family.

I have absolutely no idea who to vote for in the next general election. I know some people don't care - but I believe that democracy is important. So I feel I do have to vote. But part of democracy is choice and we really don't seem to have any.

Look at the options:

New Labour - Started well in government (minimum wage, tax credits etc.), then made a complete cock of things by following Bush's insane colonial aspirations in the Middle East. Cosying up to the banks has left us broke and the whole government seems to be in disarray.

Conservative - Oh they look very reasonable now, but I remember the 1980s. While tempted to vote Tory just to annoy my Dad I really can't bring myself to do it. Behind the new smarmy façade I expect the Tory party is as evil as ever. I try not to be evil.

Liberal Democrats - Ha Ha Ha! You're having a laugh.

British National Party - No I'm not mentally ill.

The Greens - See Liberal Democrats.

UKIP - No I'm not the kind of nutter who believes the bigotry published by the Daily Mail.

So there's very little choice really. Which means it's not much of a democracy is it?

I've made it pretty clear in the past how I feel about the increasing dumbing down of the once great BBC News presentation - the silly pointless live linkups etc.

One other thing that's getting on my goat is the way the news deals with people who wish to retain their anonymity. Often these people are filmed from behind, in shadow or without the camera pointing anywhere near their head.

So far so good. But what's really odd and rather irritating is how these people are given a name. For some reason, "This man, who wishes to remain anonymous told us..." isn't good enough.

Instead the reporter usually says something like, "We spoke to Dave...not his real name...about his experience..."

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I received an answer phone message today from Barclays Fraud Prevention, asking me to call 0800 389 1652. I'm glad I actually called the bank before doing a Google search of the number.

If I'd done the search I wouldn't have been able to confirm the attempted (but not successful) fraudulent activity on my bank account. Why?

Well as you may know UK is chock full of complete idiots, most of which seem to be online. And doing a Google search for 0800 389 1652 will lead you to many websites owned by such idiots which claim that this is not a genuine Barclays number.

These people who claim the number is false are either deeply stupid or are actual bank fraudsters, I think the former is most likely. So let me make it quite clear - 0800 389 1652 - really is Barclays Fraud Protection.

An excellent article here in The Times on how people are now too scared of our police state and the ridiculously McCarthiest paedo witch-hunt to come to the aid of children who might require the help of an adult.

So it seems that the man convicted of the Lockerbie bombing will be released on compassionate grounds to die in peace with his family back in Libya. He is terminally ill with cancer. I feel his release is a good decision.

Most of the families of British victims of this terrorist action don't believe Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi is guilty anyway. It sounds like they are probably right too - al-Megra was a convenient scape-goat in a time when the US sought to befriend Syria and Palestinian groups - the more likely perpetrators.

But the reason for my post is that I heard an interview with a US woman who lost her son on the downed Pan-Am flight. She said, "Did Megrahi as he planted a bomb on a US airliner reflect on any compassion for the people he was about to blow up out of the skies and the people on the ground in Lockerbie? I think not. [He should] never qualify for anything compassionate."

Kathleen Flynn I'm sorry for your loss. But you are completely wrong. Our capacity for compassion is what sets us apart from those who carry out such atrocities. In releasing al-Megrahi (whether he's guilty or not) we are showing that we are better than those who seek to cause death, horror and destruction. The belief that people "never qualify for anything compassionate" is behind such terrorist atrocities - only by distancing ourselves from such views can good follow bad.

Link: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8152002.stm

What kind of person brings children into the world at the age of 67? This woman lied to get fertiility treatment - though I can't understand why it would be right for a 55 year old woman either - and has now died aged 69. Her astonishing vanity in giving birth at such an age means that these two children are now orphaned.

There isn't a problem of immigration here in the UK. There's plenty of room and the economy could do with a boost from younger workers paying into the national coffers. But that doesn't stop a thin layer of scum floating to the surface of our nation politics whose agenda is based on fear and hatred. I speak of course of the British National Party (BNP) and to a lesser extend The United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP).

I used to work in Burnley and unfortunately that meant coming into contact with the local peasants who thought the BNP was a cause for celebration on a par with Robin Hood and his band of merry men. Burnley has a high number of Asian-owned businesses - companies run by families that have moved to the UK and worked hard for a better future for their families and in doing so also contributed greatly to our economy.

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Link: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/8076253.stm

Once again evil right wing fundamentalist crazies have proved why abortion should continue to legal. Because a world where they weren't allowed to be born would be a better world.