The aim of all fascist states, in order to maintain control
of the population, is to suppress or eliminate dissent. This will involve the
removal of all intellectuals, the closing down of debate, and the suppressing
or closing down of all NGO’s (non-government organisations) such as charities, campaign
groups, unions and church organisations. This is the tactic used by all fascist
dictatorships and autocracies and is currently being practised in states such
as Bahrain, Russia and several states in the Caucasus and the middle east and
was used ruthlessly by South American dictatorships such as Argentina, Chile
and Paraguay and European dictatorships such as Spain and Portugal. Today the
government of Great Britain and Northern Ireland can claim to be a fully paid
up member of that odious and loathsome group.
On 28/1/2014 politicians voted through The Gagging Bill (
Transparency of Lobbying, Non- party Campaigning and Trade Union Administration Act 2014).This will mean that all NGO’s will have their campaign
spending restricted, in the year prior to an election, on any campaigns that
could be considered as political. In other words, any dissent, or any campaigns
directed at government policy will be shut down if it is ‘considered as possibly affecting
an election’ and the alleged perpetrators will be referred by the
Electoral Commission to the police, possibly to face criminal sanctions that
may involve imprisonment. It is a blatant attempt to silence groups as diverse
as Oxfarm, Macmillan Cancer, The Countryside Alliance, Friends of the Earth,
The Trussell Trust, pro hunting groups, anti abortion groups, anti hunting
groups, Worldwide Fund for Nature, 36Degrees or campaigning church groups.
The bill will not affect 80% of all lobbying companies, who
will still be allowed to continue to go about their shady business of
perverting democracy, whilst working in the interests of industries such as
Alcohol and Tobacco, Petrochemical, Pharmaceuticals and arms suppliers and the
bill will still allow wealthy individuals to donate large amounts of money to
parties with the purpose of influencing government policy in their favour.
Andrew Lansley, the
Tory MP responsible for pushing this bill through parliament, when confronted
with objections, suggested that the objectors should either form a political
party or join one. This demonstrated a level of detachment from real life and a
level idiocy that, if you didn’t know he was a Tory, you would find
frightening.
When the proponents of this bill are asked to provide
evidence or examples of when an NGO has influenced or tried to influence the
outcome of an election in Britain, the only examples given are all USA based,
such as the NRA (National Rifle Association). The only example that apparently
occurred in Britain was when an anti abortion group tried to affect the result
of a marginal seat IN 1992!!!
If it wasn’t for campaigning groups we would never have seen
changes to child labour laws, votes for women, universal suffrage, gay rights,
free universal education, equal pay, employment rights and civil rights, to
mention just a few single interest apolitical issues that were all, initially,
disregarded by politicians until the protests became too politically toxic to
ignore.
The Tory-led coalition may dress this bill up as an attempt
to stop big money influencing the outcome of elections, but its real purpose is
to stop awareness being raised of damaging government policy, i.e. church
criticism of welfare reforms and the proliferation of food banks, the stifling
of freedom of speech and restricting dissent and criticism, an example being
student union criticism of Nick Clegg’s craven reversal of his stance on
tuition fees, as well as a veiled attack on trade unions. The Trades Union
Congress may be unable to hold their annual
conference in the year leading up to an election because the cost
may breach the spending limits allowed
by this bill, exposing trade union leaders to the possibility of arrest and
imprisonment. Suddenly the true motive of this bill becomes crystal clear, a
brazen attempt to eradicate political enemies, suppress dissent and take the
first step in establishing a fascist-lite state that will favour the rich and
oppress the poor.
The saddest aspect of this charade is the keenness of the
Liberal Democrats, the junior partner within the coalition, to push this bill
through. You would expect a right wing party, such as the Tory’s, to be eager
to install legislation that would suppress free speech and quash dissent; it is
in the DNA of every right winger. Unfortunately, the Liberal Democrats,
supposedly a left of centre party, realising that at the next General Election
they are probably going to be eviscerated as a political party, are desperate
to shut down any criticism of their role as the Tory enablers during their five
year governmental butchery of the poor and vulnerable, so will despairingly
grab any passing wreckage, no matter how anti-democratic it is, if they think
it will save them from sinking without a trace in 2015.
A message to the LibDems: IT WONT!!!!
Profit First,
Customers Last?
For several weeks, customers of the utilities company Thames
Water have been unable to flush their toilets. This has meant children having
to use carrier bags and adults having to wait until they get to work before
they can go to the toilet. The criticism is not the time it has taken to
rectify the fault, it may be a complex problem. The criticism is the lack of
effort, made by Thames Water, to alleviate the problems of their customers. How
difficult would it be for Thames Water to provide Portaloo’s for each household
until the problem is resolved? Why has no Thames Water ‘exec’ come up with this
blindingly obvious solution? The only stumbling block can be cost; it cannot be
the availability of Portaloo’s, after all there are not many music festivals
being held in the dead of winter, so there cannot be a shortage.
Perhaps Thames Water puts the payment of shareholder
dividends or their own yearly executive bonuses or the effect the hiring of
portable toilets would have on the bottom line over the needs of their
customers.
It looks like a modern day example of, ‘profit first,
customer last.’
Tax Shock!
Rich complain about oppositions promise to reinstate 50p tax
band for the wealthiest. “Duh, who’d ‘ave thunk it.”
Incompetence,
Meetings, More Incompetence and More Meetings.
As the government convene yet another COBRA ( Cabinet Office Briefing Room A) meeting to
discuss the flooding of the Somerset Levels, you get the feeling that the
residents of the levels biggest problem is that they do not live on the
Henley-on-Thames Levels or the Chipping Norton Levels, because if they did, the
government would have rushed in the Army, the Navy, the Air force, Christian Aid,
Shelter box and probably a United Nations Defence Force before the first
raindrop had hit the ground. It’s a shame the government has either taken the
view that Somerset is broadly Tory voting, so government incompetence will not
threaten their voter base or maybe they consider the South West to be a god forsaken
place full of uncivilised heathens that is not in or anywhere near London,
therefore is unimportant.
What is undeniable is that the last six weeks has seen a
catastrophic level of incompetence demonstrated by an out of touch government.
The primary incompetent has been Environment Minister Paterson, a man who
turned up to view the floods without suitable footwear and then refused to
speak to the victims of the flooding. The man is a climate denying, badger
slaughtering. idiotic f£**w*t.
However I have a plan that will prevent further flooding.
Instead of wasting £70 billion on a train set (HS2) ,that will get you into
Birmingham 20 minutes early (sounds more like a punishment than a benefit?),
why not use the money to build a canal from Bristol to Taunton and then onto
Exeter, perhaps connecting up with the existing canal systems in the region. It
can be called The West Country Waterway, promoted as a tourist attraction, and
the levels could be designated an Area of Outstanding Beauty and Protected Wildlife
Park.
As well as helping to
contain the high water levels and surges it would provide an economic boost to
the region in the form of jobs and opportunities. Just an idea.
You Can’t Argue With
The Facts.
The Public Accounts Committee has said, that ‘the old
boiler’ in Buckingham Palace is over 60 years old now, has served it’s purpose,
and should be replaced.
You can’t argue with
that.
“If parallel lives exist, how
come I got the crappy one?” (anon).
Thank you for taking time out to read my absurd ramblings.
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