Beware of 'nice politicians'.

"A friend to all is a friend to none!"

Aristotle.

More Indian persecution of Christians?

Prahlad Remani is a senior member of the hindu BJP political party in Karnataka. He has demanded a 'stop to the spread of Christianity' and for 'it to be weeded out of the state.'

This area is arguably the one in India where there has been the most persecution of Christians.

I wonder just how he would respond if politicians in the UK were to talk about 'rooting out hinduism'?

Please pray for this sad individual!

Source: Release International.

Princess.

Trapped in Bangkok by volcanic ash, our cruise company, Princess, virtually washed their hands of us.

We were dumped in a hotel with some local representatives who were very badly informed and whose English left a great deal to be desired. This was only the tip of a very large iceberg. - (Perhaps not the most appropriate metaphor when talking of cruises, I suppose.)

Four months later, and one superb passenger - a certain Liz Kemp - is still fighting for some acknowledgement and perhaps compensation from a cruise company which should be ashamed of its actions.

I fully recommend that no reader of this Blog should ever book a cruise with this firm! (An escape from Princess is the recommendation we interpret from the logo above.)

Kosovo.

For all of those people who adopt a casual line on immigration, I invite you to consider the 'new nation' of Kosovo.

It was a clear cut part of Serbia and in the first quarter of the 20th century, subjected to mass, uncontrolled, Albanian immigration. These people were the Kosovars who soon outnumbered and supplanted the native population.

And as recent history has shown, they have now laid claim to that land as their own.

This immigration brought war and loss of a large portion of their country for the Serbs.

Might there be some kind of message for us in all of this?

1 Peter 5:7.

"Cast all your anxiety on Him because He careth for you."

National institute for clinical excellence.

Interesting that NICE can afford half a million quid to refurbish its offices - just one week after putting the skids under wonder drug, AVASTIN.

Shame on you!

If guilt is proved ...

Simply wrong.

I know that during the Labour financial catastrophe, Lib Dem Vince Cable had some pertinent observations. Some of us even began to wonder if we had discovered a sensible politician in that party - but we need not have got quite so excited.

He has reverted to type in his statement that his government 'should not saddle the UK with excessive border controls' as he feels that this would 'hurt economic growth'.

Shame to say - he is just as much a dullard as the rest of his Lib Dem colleagues and tory hangers-on.

Gypsies: let's find out the truth.

There is enormous stereotyping of gypsies in this country. One former police officer said to me, "I've never met an honest one!"

This is certainly how gypsies are perceived by the general population and those views would add: they leave rubbish, they beg, they intimidate, they fail to educate their children, they are uncooperative with the society from which they extract as many benefits as possible. They do not hold down jobs, have lengthy criminal records and deliberately fail to integrate. They certainly pay NO taxes.

The question is whether the bulk of gypsies meet the description above or whether they are simply 'persecuted for being different'.

Nothing is ever simple. I think we need an honest assessment of the gypsy community today. A truly neutral investigation of the facts should be welcome to all who love truth. And if the negatives were to prove to be broadly accurate - then major targeting of gypsies by the authorities would clearly be necessary.

Currently, police are discouraged from active pursuit of dishonest and anti-social gypsies by the very same people who claim that 'racism lurks behind every corner'. They are not alone.

The taxation authorities are similarly restrained.

Problems are complex.

There are roughly three types of 'gypsy' to be found in the UK. These are the traditional gypsies - 'Romany' as they call themselves.

There are 'Irish tinkers' - often called 'travellers'.

And there is the new influx of Roma from Bulgaria and Rumania who come here because the EU says they can.

Any thorough investigation to see whether there is any positive contribution whatsoever from these three groups would have to be fully aware of the distinctions.

BUT ULTIMATELY, NOBODY MUST EVER BE ALLOWED TO BE BEYOND THE LAW.

Justice for Christians in Pakistan.

If you go to the Release International website, you will find an online petition to the Pakistani High Commissioner to the UK asking for just treatment of Christian minorities in Pakistan.

Please, do go there and sign it!

Mr and Mrs Polini.

According to the terminally politically correct in Ealing Social Services - Francesca Polini is 'too white to adopt a black or Asian child'. These rancid servants of crassness, idiocy and 'meaningful agendas' are hereby awarded a LoonyTunesWatch coconut.

On second thoughts, let's make it two!

Another for the boycott register?

Barnardo's is propagating the badly failed social engineering of the hard and - these days - of the soft left.
They are publicly advocating a manipulative system which is falsely named 'fair banding' - a recipe for dumbing down in schooling if ever there was one.
If you want success from children from poorer homes, like ME and MY WIFE - then they should be pushing for a return to the Grammar School System - which actually worked and was the ultimate and thus far, most successful form of meritocracy.
There are plenty of other childrens' charities out there. - I'll support them instead from hereon in.

Tribal voting patterns.

Last night I attended the count at the Woodhouse Ward by-election in Sheffield and watched in bemused amazement as the great Labour comeback commenced.

An enormous Labour majority proved that Labour voters have 'forgiven' Labour.

I just cannot grasp this loyalty to a party which so despises ordinary, decent people.

This is the party which forgot its working class roots several decades ago and moved instead into ivory tower, politically correct, do-as-I-say type politics.

This is the party of the massive government debts which have - as usual - to be cleared up by somebody else.

This is the party whose policies are actually despised by most of their own, fiercely loyal following.

This is the party you are BORN into! I had hoped that there was genuine evidence that this tribal, dynastic voting was moving inexorably into the dustbin of history.

Sadly - not yet!

David Willetts: the tory stalinist!

LINK:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-1306246/HARRIET-SERGEANT-Why-does-Tory-minister-want-Stalinist-social-engineer.html

Javan persecution.

The little Batak Christian Church in West Java has FIVE times been attacked by Islamic extremists. They will not be deterred from worshipping God.

Please pray for the comfort and safety of our persecuted brothers and sisters in Christ!

Source: Release Int.

Overcrowded: bursting at the seams.

Care to hazard a guess as to which country is the most overcrowded in Europe according to statistics from The House of Commons Library?

Let me see.

Which country has had the most pathetic immigration rules of any nation since America in the 16th Century? (AND, do remember what happened to their indiginous population!)

Care to hazard a guess as to which country has been utterly betrayed by its politicians?

National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence

NICE. Great title but do we actually believe it?

WCC.

The World Council of Churches is an appalling organisation which is completely dominated by so-called 'liberal christianity'. The high prominence of individuals such as the 'ever cuddlesome' Desmond Tutu, is a clue in itself.
Any and all pronouncements from this sell-out body should be treated with the utmost caution.
(Yes. The Bible is supreme! No. The thoughts of Man are not!)

Labour cynicism.

In spite of trying to deflect their own blame - this time onto the bankers - (And who let them off the leash) - we all recognise that yet another Labour government has left an unholy, economic mess behind it! They always do!

What is really bugging me at the moment is that they are attacking any and every measure being put into place to clean up behind them.

Every single case is apparently a 'sacred cow'. They should be ashamed.

Disney.

I know that Disney Theme Parks have enjoyed massive success but I do not think that I have ever met anybody who 'adores' Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, DD, Goofy et al.

Traditional Disney characters leave me cold - and I suspect, most others too.

One Yogi Bear; one Wilma Flinstone; one Dangermouse; one Dougal? Any single one of these beats the whole bunch!

Shot at dawn.

Last night I watched the Ian Hislop programme about the 306 allied soldiers who were 'shot at dawn' for a variety of offences - usually desertion - during World War 1.
The programme was well made, thought provoking and generally balanced.
Who could not have been moved by the stories of the 'shell-shocked' who were executed for cowardice?
Your heart went out to both them and their families.
But in the case of the true deserters - those who had calculatedly planned the abandonment of their colleagues - you experienced different feelings. There was a certain revulsion inside you and the feeling that they 'probably had it coming'.
Hislop pointed to the words of one man on a firing party who stated 'It had to be done.'
Distanced as we are today from these terrible events, we could never grasp how the majority of men in the trenches regarded their treacherous colleagues.
They were despised and in my life, this issue has often come up with soldiers who did active service in World War 2.
The mainstream soldiers certainly, fully approved of the executions.
Against this rather complicated backcloth, you have to revile the last Labour government for 'pardoning' all of these soldiers indiscriminately.
All the records of 'drum head courts martial' are still extant from WW1. If they wanted to do such a thing retrospectively - they really should have had the decency to filter the sad from the guilty.
But nearly a hundred years on - how can you possibly come to moral decisons from the comfort of a modern office when not lying bathed in mud and in constant fear of death and dreadful injury?

Drink drive limit remains precisely where it should be!

So. The tories have ditched the absurd idea to cut the drink driving limit - allegedly so that rural pubs do not end up closing down.

Well. In all fairness, they got there in the end but the logic is only peripheral.

This Blog has argued for a long time that lowering the limit is plain silly as it makes not one whit of difference to the hardened drink drivers but brings countless ordinary people problems for having had a second portion of sherry trifle!

Once again - we have glimpsed the horrors of 'punishing the majority to get at the lawless minority'.

One thing though. It IS a volte face by Cameron & cronies who had warmly embraced the idea in the last couple of years.

Still as Bill would've put it, 'All's well that ends well."

An apposite response to political correctness.

Child care.

Child care costs in the UK are four times the levels found in Germany and Portugal. Apparently, we have the highest costs for childcare to be found anywhere in the world.
This is apparently scandalous.
The question is however, whether or not we should see huge amounts of taxpayers' money put into a system which encourages women to abandon their young children for enormous swathes of time each week.
Readers of this Blog will know that I support equal rights for women. I do not support a massive tax bill to help fund feminist thinking.

Demos.

Amazing! The leftwing Demos 'think'tank has concluded that Labour was damaged by their immigration policies during the last election. They have also spotted that it is dark at night and light during the day.
What is unstated - and perhaps even more startling - is that surprisingly few voters seemed to have recognised that Lib Dem policies are even more extreme. Tory history on immigration has always been poor and the clues were in place that this was not going to improve - and it hasn't!

You really MUST read the Green manifesto on this matter. It is horrendous!

Never forget that the vast majority of the immigration problem is a direct cause of our membership of the European Union!

Beggars.

As a Christian - and hopefully a reasonably generous one to boot - it pains me to have to write this piece of advice:
NEVER GIVE MONEY TO BEGGARS IN THE UK!
Peter Hitchens outlines the reasoning in the link below.
If you are truly convinced that the person is in need - and it is all too easy to fall for a sob story - then you must act in a Christ-like fashion.
Offer alternative help. Buy them the sandwich and cup of coffee they claim to be begging for. Add a pastry, if you will.
BUT please, do not put your money into the pockets of drug dealers which is precisely where the vast majority goes.
Ask yourself the question too. In our welfare state - who can possibly need to beg? I was not always so wise.
I was once enjoying a coffee in a bar on the Gran Via in Madrid and having a chat with the barman when a dirty, unkempt, gypsy beggar came in - a truly piteous figure.
I reached in my pocket for a coin whereupon the barman shrieked 'No!' and made the man leave.
He went on to tell me that this very man had been featured in a documentary on TVE. In today's terms - he was 'earning' about £70 - 80K a year!

Mind you. In the poverty of Bangkok earlier this year - I felt it right to break my rule.
"As wise as serpents - as gentle as doves."
Do right. Shunning wisdom is not part of that.

LINK: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-1305026/PETER-HITCHENS-These-beggars-helpless-casualties--black-eye-proves.html

Acheson's Rule of the Bureaucracy:

A memorandum is written not to inform the reader but to protect the writer.

The Apostle Paul said:

"I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing."

(Galatians 2:21.)

Grace not works: faith not works.

Toffs.

I regularly read the Letters' Page on Ceefax. Recently, we have been treated to a string of verbal diahorrea from leftwingers attacking the Conservative Party for being: rich, public school educated, out of touch, champagne-swilling, caviar-scoffing, elitist, upper class toffs.

With the exception of the 'out of touch' - which applies equally to all of the LibLabCon and Greens - this portrayal is profoundly unfair.

My readers know me by now. These sort of attacks are wholly unreasonable. Why do it?

Surely, there is enough 'stuff' out there with which to beat the tories without descending to these cheap, class war-ridden tactics. Well, isn't there?

Interesting stats.

.......
59] Hong Kong: 0.00550804 per 1,000 people
60] Japan: 0.00499933 per 1,000 people
61] Saudi Arabia: 0.00397456 per 1,000 people
62] Qatar: 0.00115868 per 1,000 people

(Weighted average.)

On the national listings of murders per capita on Nation Master, the bottom 4 countries on their list have something in common: all have a death penalty!
Hmm. Must be a coincidence!

Either you approve of democracy or you do not.

In one newspaper yesterday, I was given pause for thought.

A writer vehemently stated his opposition to the concept of 'government by referenda' ... except ... in circumstances whereof he approved - which incidentally and not particularly relevantly - were to do with matters pertaining to electoral reform.

Let us consider a few of the flaws here:

1] The politicians ride roughshod over the people meaning that

2] All governments are unrepresentative.

3] We are told what we must think - which, coincidentally is precisely what the ruling class thinks.

4] As the ruling class are largely guided by the principles of the liberal left - that is what 'voters' get by default.

5] Political correctness is inevitable.

6] What is so wrong with referenda when the system works so darn well in Switzerland?

7] On all moral matters - and in many more pragmatic areas too - what qualifies a politician to be the conscience of the people?

8] It shows no trust of the electorate and

9] Clearly FEARS what the voters would do.

If we pause to ponder awhile - we can only assume that their 'authority' is threatened but

10] Do they in fact possess 'authority' or is it mere 'power'?

CONCLUSION.

The only people who do not want referenda are those who grasp that they will lose out in a situation which permits true democracy.

PS. UKIP wants to give power back (??) to the people. It is the only party saying "We want your views - we do NOT tell you what you must think and believe!"

THAT is why UKIP is distinct from all the rest!

A message for bureaucrats and numbercrunchers.

'A good decision is based on knowledge and not on numbers'. Plato.

A non sequitur.

'A legal trade body has backed calls for an increase in the age of criminal responsibility after two 11-year-old boys were sentenced for trying to rape an eight-year-old girl.
The Law Society, which represents solicitors in England and Wales, said the move was needed to help reduce the chance of young offenders becoming serial offenders.' Aol News.

A non sequitur is when a conclusion is reached which does not follow on from, or is not justified by, the original point.

Please read the first part of the above; then the second before applying the test!

Well he ain't wrong - is he?

RICHARD LITTLEJOHN: If a mosque opens at Ground Zero on 9/11 next year, Obama can kiss the White House goodbye!

Utter disgrace.

'A Roman Catholic adoption agency which wants the right to refuse gay couples lost its latest battle against the Charity Commission yesterday.'

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1304333/Church-loses-gay-adoption-battle-help-heterosexual-couples.html#ixzz0x2HywrpZ

What else does the liberal-left bring us?

Speeding.

As a former JP I have punished many a person for speeding and have removed many a driving licence.

I have no conscience about this - except perhaps where these have been 'totters' who have accumulated silly points for 'clicking' speed cameras.

In my drive the other day, not only was I struck by how many silly parking restrictions there were but it was also disturbing how many stretches of roads had totally inappropriate speed limits.

If the law is manifestly absurd - then how can you expect people to respect it? - The moral high ground is lost and then penalties alone become the means of enforcement.

ALL parking restrictions and ALL speed limits should be reassessed and viewed with simple common sense.

Gentle Jesus Meek and Mild ...

"Gentle Jesus meek and mild,

Look upon a little child ......"

Well. The compassion of Jesus for children, women and gentiles - all regarded as 'lower in the pecking order' than Jewish men - is certainly there to be found in the Gospels and easily!

However, this picture is not entirely accurate. Let us consider the disciples. Note how often this bunch of losers gets a tongue-lashing from Jesus for incompetence, wanton stupidity and lack of faith.

'Meek and mild' when he trashed the tables of the moneychangers in The Temple?

To understand Jesus properly takes study!

I'd be apathetic but I just can't be bothered.

It really bugs me that so many people throughout society have the answer to the ills of society but let it all escape them because they cannot be bothered.
These are the many who know precisely what is wrong but whose views are so introspective and their thought patterns so selfish, they are quite prepared to let society remain under the egregious control of the rancid liberal-left.
Take Christians. Consider how many of them vote for parties whose policies are in direct confrontation with the Gospels.
Consider how many shun interest in politics with the lamest of excuses.
May I remind them that salvation does not come through works in any way but that:
FAITH WITHOUT WORKS IS DEAD!
I really can't work out why or how any evangelical is not voting UKIP.
CHRISTIANS! Working in charity shops and shaking the occasional collection tin is all very well - BUT it ain't enough! Bad politics is the big issue. Please help to us to rid the country of it!

Tweet tweet.

'Dedicated Christian, Chris Juby, has pledged to spread the word of the Lord - tweet by tweet.
The 30-year-old plans to publish the entire Bible on social networking website Twitter by condensing one chapter a day into less than 140 characters - the maximum allowed for a single entry.'

Stoning in Afghanistan.

An Amnesty International spokesman said: ‘The stoning of this couple is a heinous crime. The Taliban and other insurgent groups are growing increasingly brutal in their abuses against Afghans.’

The trouble with Amnesty is that it embraces so many unworthy causes - who pays them a jot of attention when they are actually right?

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1303502/Afghan-couple-stoned-death-adultery-Taliban.html#ixzz0wqSf5kS4

Typical parental response: GTA.

Parking restriction

Yesterday, I travelled some 200 miles by car and what constantly struck me was how often the motorist is subjected to petty and ill-conceived legislation.

Let us consider the ubiquitous yellow lines. As you travel around, note just how many parking restrictions apply where absolutely unnecessary. Allowing for the possible fact that on rare occasion, you will not be able to see the bigger picture - why not complain?

This tactic is so nonsensical as it keeps drivers on the move as they seek out where to park. Cars having to stay longer on the road is NOT a green option.

(Don't you perhaps think that it is just that closet greens disapprove of private motoring and want to punish motorists at the drop of a hat? - "We inconvenienced loads of motorists, tee hee!")

Back to The Victor and Hornet.

'Dr Sharon Lamb, of the University of Massachusetts, said that modern depictions of superheroes like Iron Man are often playboy millionaires who are only ruled by selfish goals.'

The conclusion drawn is that superheroes make 'bad role models'.

Normally, I am unconvinced by this type of research but on this occasion that goes by the board.

The reason for this is that the 'superheroes' have supplanted the traditional heroes of the great British comic.

The Victor and, my own personal favourite, The Hornet were inspiring in almost every storyline.

Without sounding too much like a dinosaur, "Heroes were heroes in my day!"

Georgia graduate student told to change beliefs or lose degree!

Liberal fascism is on the rise!
'The latest controversy involves Augusta (Ga.) State University, where the faculty allegedly required Jennifer Keeton — a counseling student with strong Christian beliefs — to attend "diversity sensitivity" training, increase her interaction with homosexual populations, read scholarly articles about homosexuality, and then write about what she learned and how her beliefs were impacted. The faculty allegedly even encouraged her to attend a "gay pride" parade in Augusta.'

LINK:http://www.christianexaminer.com/Articles/Articles%20Aug10/Art_Aug10_16.html

Socialism CANNOT work.

I was in my teens when it first occurred to me that socialism simply could not work.There were demands for ever higher wages without higher productivity and that struck me as rather odd when you put this into the context of a small business where the owner could only ever gain a higher income with increased turnover.
The anomaly was clearly quite a serious one and once this point has been grasped the entire house of cards is obviously unable to function properly.
Against this backcloth, it was evident that socialists were heavily opposed to businesses earning profits which seemed to be regarded as fundamentally immoral. Absurdity was piled onto absurdity.
Add to this the fact that socialism supported 'big government', nationalisation et al to create employment, I struggled to see where the money came from.
Obviously enough, with nationalised industries actually designed to make a loss, the situation was getting ever more nonsensical and history showed that this was how socialism always failed when granted some power.
So. The taxpayer had to fund all of this and clearly money which was rotated, government to government employee and back to government would inevitably leave the circle incomplete and by quite some distance.
So. The money was to come from the private sector alone - which was to be taxed 'til the pips squeak' according to Denis Healey.
High taxes disincentivised business; drove investment away; caused a brain drain' and guaranteed an industrial downturn.
I know that the socialists never quite put it in those terms but that was the reality.
They spent money they did not have and when that ran out they printed it! They seemed surprised when inflation kicked in.
One 'intelligent' socialist I knew as a young man who had once been a Rotherham councillor said to me one day: "What harm has inflation ever caused you?" - Incredible - unless you were there to hear it, of course.
Incidentally, socialists rejected the EU as a 'capitalist conspiracy' until they began to see it as the best vehicle for attaining their own ends.

Northern General's shame.

SHAME on The Northern General A&E in Sheffield where a friend and colleague with a shattered lower leg was kept waiting for more than two hours to be seen - and then only after much prompting by her husband.

She was in unnecessary agony all that time! She went on to undergo complicated surgery.

So, whatever happened to triage?

Why is it that you get better treatment if brought in by ambulance than by a friend or relative?

(This is the same hospital which ignored the DNR my Mum had in place during her final illness three months ago but which rather fortuitously did not prove disastrous.)

Cutie pie foundling returned to the wild in Penrith.

Flagging!

So, Yorkshire Forward - a quisling organisation to Brussels if there ever was one - is now teaching British businesses how better to kowtow to the rabid EU where advertising the 'evil empire' is concerned.

This is against a backcloth of businesses which have received EU funding - a scam with strings - having been fined £150 million for not promoting the EU cause with the traitor's flag on most of their products.

The only good piece of news here is that this government is committed to the abolition of Yorkshire Forward. (Clearly, Mr Cameron had not realised that this is such a pro EU organisation or he would have put money into it rather than close it down!)

I would not ordinarily advocate breaking the law but anybody who hauled down that foul symbol of shame wherever they saw it and set it alight would earn my full support. I might even pay their fines for them!

Revolting.

The French are just one of a number of nations who make the idea of revolution sound wonderful. It is all so romantic and democratic.
This is oh-so-seldom the case! Usually it just means more dictatorship - only from a different source.
Just how benevolent a leader do you think that Che Guevara would have made, for example? - Quite!

Yellow line for Hartlepool hedgehog.