Scarlett's Dodgy Munition Weapons Lie

Iraq inquiry: Sir John Scarlett says he was not put under pressure by Number 10 over 'dodgy dossier' And if you believe that...

Sir John also conceded it would have been better if his report had been more specific about the 45-minute claim to make clear it referred to munitions not weapons.

But he said there was no 'conscious intention to manipulate the language or to obfuscate or to create a misunderstanding'.

...which is an obvious and disgraceful lie. Using the word 'weapons' when they meant 'munitions' is a blatant attempt to mislead.

Scarlett also said he had seen a draft of Blair's foreword

and knew what it said but had never considered it his role to alter Mr Blair's wording.

'My memory at the time was that this was something which was the Prime Minister's and was going out under his submission so it was different from the attention that I had paid to the wording of the dossier,' he told the panel.

He admitted that it might have been better if the political argument had not been put at the start of the report, which gave rise to the claim that Saddam could launch WMDs against British bases within 45 minutes.

Weasel words - the claim about the 45 minutes was either true or not; it had nothing to do with the political argument.

Considering that we were about to embark on an unjustified and disastrous war, Scarlett should have shown more integrity and courage, but that would have been too much to expect from the current political classes.

Just in case your memory needs refreshing on Blair's own words to the House of Commons on this matter, this is what he said:

I am aware, of course, that people will have to take elements of this on the good faith of our intelligence services, but this is what they are telling me, the British Prime Minister, and my senior colleagues. The intelligence picture that they paint is one accumulated over the last four years. It is extensive, detailed and authoritative. It concludes that Iraq has chemical and biological weapons, that Saddam has continued to produce them, that he has existing and active military plans for the use of chemical and biological weapons, which could be activated within 45 minutes, including against his own Shia population, and that he is actively trying to acquire nuclear weapons capability...

The Government dossier confirms that Iraq is self-sufficient in biological weapons and that the Iraqi military is ready to deploy those, and chemical weapons, at some 45 minutes' notice.

A heap of festering lies.

Lies, Lies, Lies, Delusion and More ID Card Lies

According to Hillier*, the public wants the biometric cards, adding that Home Secretary Jacqui Smith is already being asked "When can I get my ID card?". (Silicon.com)

Of course we all do. Thirty quid a pop is not bad for something we don't need, didn't ask for, which will cost the country millions to run, cause untold problems, won't work properly, and be hacked into and abused by criminals.

Jacqui Smith's majority is a slim one (2,716) and there are rumours New Labour are trying to secure her a safe seat come the General Election Massacre. Perhaps we should get her husband to write letters to the local press asking her to quit politics so she can spend more time with her family.

* Meg Hillier (40): another professional (New Labour) politician - university, journalism, local government. According to Wikipedia: 'In March 2008, Meg Hillier voted with the Government in favour of nationwide Post Office closures, including 7 in the London Borough of Hackney of which her constituency forms a part.' Well done, Meg. Good to see you have the interests of your constituents at heart. Her pointlessness has already been noted.

Terrorist Paperboys In Cambridgeshire Little Hitlers Drama

The Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (2000) may have proved unfit for purpose, in that, designed to counter terrorism and crime, it failed to stop the July 7 bombings in London (and subsequent actions), but it is proving immensely useful to local authorities in allowing them to spy on constituents for truly heinous crimes such as not having the correct paperwork for paperboys.

No mention of the names of any of the council members or employees responsible turns up in the article, despite the fact these people are there to look after the interests of local people, who also pay their wages and expenses. Here is the page of the Council's own website dealing with enforcement:

2 It is the County Council’s policy that only officers authorized through the delegated powers of Deputy Chief Executives, Directors and Senior Officers can undertake enforcement work.

I don't suppose we shall know the name of the person responsible for instigating the use of this act. Perhaps some civic-minded citizens would like to do some spying of their own in order to make the official's name public?

Lying, bullying, spying and snooping: it's about time we started applying the same tactics towards those in authority all over the country. It's about time we started to disobey and subvert. It is well past the time that we started to make their lives a bloody misery.

Bloggers Beware Bastards

On Thursday the clones of Brussels discussed the fate of blogs and how they might extend their dictatorial grasp over them. Click here to go to actual document.

Various bloggers have drawn attention to the desire of some in the EU to demand some kind of 'registration' for bloggers - presumably so they (the clones) can keep them in line. See the Bruges Group blog, for example, or Charles Crawford.

Some points to think about from the execrable document itself:

AD. whereas the proliferation of new media (broadband internet, satellite channels, digital terrestrial television, etc.) and the varied forms of media ownership are not sufficient in themselves to guarantee pluralism in terms of media content,

- what on earth do they mean by 'pluralism' in the first place? The media are already 'plural' - just like the word. And who has the right to demand that new media, or any media, for that matter, should 'guarantee' anything to do with content beyond what is already legally required? Content and quality are the business of the people owning and employing the media, not of bureaucrats.

AU. whereas there are a growing number of conflicts concerning freedom of expression,

AV. whereas, in the information society, media education is an essential means of empowering citizens to make an informed and active contribution to democracy,

AW. whereas the increased supply of information (particularly thanks to the internet) is making the interpretation and assessment thereof increasingly important,

AX. whereas the promotion of media literacy among the citizens of the European Union needs much more support,

- please note the presumptuous and authoritarian nature of these words: the idea that the state or the EU are the arbiters in determining how citizens should be 'empowered' to do anything that is basically their private business and that they are expected to make an 'active contribution to democracy'. I don't want to mkae an active contribution, I want to be left alone. Interpretation and assessment of information is the individual's business, not the state's. And who says we, as citizens, need any kind of 'support' from the EU to improve our 'literacy' in new media and making up our own minds about the information it provides?

The rat that you can smell is the rat who pretends to be protecting your freedom whilst actively depriving you of them.

16. Considers that the rules on media concentration should govern not only the ownership and production of media content, but also the (electronic) channels and mechanisms for access to and dissemination of content on the internet, such as search engines.

- consider that - content and means of access. In other words, all of it. And search engines! Is there nothing they don't want to control?

25. Encourages an open discussion on all issues relating to the status of weblogs;

- that's an outright lie.


There's plenty more of this bilge.

The one thing that is certain is that all governments and legislative bodies such as the EU are determined to bring the internet under their control.

No Al-Qaeda

'There is no such organisation as ‘Al Qaeda’. The spooks know this, Cabinet Ministers know this and so do the ‘security correspondents’ who so readily trot out the spooks’ point of view on our broadcasting networks.' Peter Hitchens reiterates what everyone knows.