Calls To Dry Up The Wikileaks!

If you put water into a leaky bucket, you get wet.

Similarly, if you do not secure confidential transmissions between diplomats around the world you get leaks.

That one basic fact is what the USA is finding out today as a staggering 251,000 of its confidential memos have been published on the whistleblower website Wikileaks

Of course, the publication of the documents on the web and their subsequent revelations being reported in the media is being met with outrage by the US authorities, with one Senator demanding that Wiklileaks should be proscribed as a terrorist organisation.

We have heard the usual cries of an attack on the Freedom of Speech and a blow for democracy etc. etc.

Surely, though, it is more an embarrassment over their lack of security that has the American politicians riled.

In reality, it is the ultimate demonstration of freedom of information.

Personally, I have not been bowled over by the quality of the revelations so far and I am not the slightest bit surprised by the underhand, devious shenanigans of the American authorities which have been revealed within their private communications. I am certain they are no different from those of any other country around the globe.

If there is one thing I have learnt in my life, it is to be wary of the 'friend' who appears to smile too much!

MI6 Blamed For Taliban Hoaxer

You couldn’t make it up if you tried.

The man who claimed to be a senior Taliban leader in Afghanistan and who has been engaged in talks with coalition forces and the Afghan government about reaching a peaceful settlement, has turned out to be a fake and has disappeared without trace.

As if that were not bad enough, he had already been paid thousands of dollars to take part in the talks and unsurprisingly, the money has disappeared too!

Of course, a game of Pass The Blame has started, with the Afghans blaming our MI6 and our government blaming the Afghan security forces, but whoever ends up with the reddest face, it is just one more reminder of how stupid we were to get involved in such a vain war in the first place!

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Are Our Students Becoming Our Teachers?

There must be something about the quality of the lectures on a Wednesday afternoon, for only two weeks after the Millbank riots in London, our students are once again …well…revolting.

All over the UK, thousands of young - and presumably intelligent - folk have decided to demonstrate their immense displeasure and opposition to our Coalition Government’s intent to make further education a luxury, rather than a right, through introducing a massive increase in fees and the removal of the Education Maintenance Allowance.

Sadly, though, many are just focusing on the man whom the Tories have set-up to be ‘cannon fodder’ to the students’ ire, Deputy PM Nick Clegg. While this may be understandable, given that he appears to have been economical with the truth while canvassing for them to vote for the Lib Dems back in May, they need to pause for breath and see the bigger picture.

Admittedly, Clegg appears to be a self righteous, pompous, oaf. He is a man who has no hope of defending the indefensible, how ever many times he appears in the media telling us that he now sees things differently from six months ago. He knew then, as did all his colleagues, the state of the nation’s finances. There was, after all, rarely a day when his party’s Vince Cable was not ‘mugging’ the media spotlight telling us all we are on the verge of bankruptcy. Clegg is, therefore, either a fool, or he deliberately misrepresented the truth to gain the maximun student vote.

Sadly, it is not just the students who were hoodwinked by the false promises of the Lib Dem leader. Many of the extremely hard working and loyal members of his party (including those who stood for election) feel betrayed and will now have to face the anger of the people who so willingly gave them their votes. Clegg, meanwhile, will be protected from such front line hostility, by the blanket of security which surrounds a deputy prime minister.

However, Clegg is in reality, just the ‘fall guy’ for the real villains who are the Conservative Party. They aim to destroy the hopes and aspirations of anyone who did not go to a school where 'having a fag' had a totally different meaning to the same expression used to describe smoking by those in a state school.

I sympathise with the students - although not with the violence shown by many - and I hope by their actions they are inspiring other groups, who are similarly under attack from this government’s unfairly targeted cuts, to join the fight against the Tories’ ‘single class’ society.

We are supposed to be a Democracy where opportunity is available to all. Let’s see just how deafening the collective voices of fairness can be!

Help I'm A Prisoner - I'll Vote Me Out Of Here!

I have always been of the view (somewhat naively it now seems) that if someone commits an unlawful act against the society in which we live, they forfeit the right to be a part of our society for a specified period of time set by a Court of Law - they are ‘banged up’

While I can accept - to a point - there might be an argument in favour of having certain ‘distractions’ within a prison  (like flushing toilets, exercise areas and the odd communal television) I am not in agreement that a custodial sentence should entitle you to the same individual rights you enjoyed before being sentenced; I believe prisons should be seen as a deterrent and a punishment - not as Premier Inns with added security.

However, it seems I am now politically incorrect.

The Ministry of Silly Interfering Decisions, (otherwise known as the European Court For Human Rights) has decreed that we, as a nation, must obey a stupid EU court ruling allowing all prisoners within  the UK prison system the right to vote.

No, I am not referring to those expensive phone votes during programmes like X Factor or Strictly Come Dancing, but to a proper vote that elects the very government that maintains the laws that put them all away in the first place.

Of course, our government is saying it is unable to oppose such European madness, so it looks like the next logical move could be to allow conmen, thieves and sexual deviants to stand for Parliament!

Merde!!.... that’s one idea that’s already too late!

Think Yourself Fit - Avoid The Cold

 

It’s almost that time of year again when everyone around seems to be staring at you through watery eyes or coughing and sneezing in your face.

For some, it is a time of sharing while for those bathed in sneeze particles, it is complete annoyance.

However, a new study of over 1,000 people, claims that those who partake in regular exercise are less likely to suffer from the common cold than those who do not.

My first reaction to such claims is always that it is a concerted campaign, deliberately started, to convince us all we should buy ill fitting lycra, join expensive health clubs and suffer the humiliation of being entertainment to the bored fitness ‘gods’ and ‘goddesses’ who can then justify their own massive club fees, by the amount of laughs they are able to generate at our expense.

Personally I am not going to fall for it. I don’t want to look like a caricature of an oversized penis squeezed into an undersized condom.

Any surplus ‘unfit’ bits I might be carrying are going to continue being hidden under my normal everyday clothing and remain as far as I can keep them, away from the torture chamber that is a gymnasium.

Fortunately, though, the study revealed a useful finding that could be my saving grace: it is not just the reality of how fit you are but the perception of how fit you are. If you think you are fit, the severity of any symptoms of a cold can fall by up to 41 percent.

Just by taking a small amount of exercise and thinking you are fitter than you are, can boost your immune system and ward off the worst of the effects of a cold.

With that thought in mind, I am convincing myself I am a world class marathon runner and am going to saunter back into the kitchen and get myself another bacon sarnie.

Aaaaaaarrrchooooo!!……..Bless me!!

It really does seem to work!

Political Message Or Just An Excuse For A Snigger?

I viewed the above pic as part of an article in today’s Guardian newspaper about a political rally in the USA.

When I got over my first reaction (having a guilty schoolboy snigger) I started trying to work out what the message from the poster is really supposed to be.

Is it a comment on those who vote? Or is it a comment on those who we elect into public office? It seems it could be either, or both!

All theories would be welcome. But in the meantime, I really just wanted an excuse to share a guilty snigger!