Happy Christmas! And a message from Iran...

All the best lads (and lasses!).



Nutter giving Channel 4's message!










Firstly I would like to wish all readers a happy Christmas. Secondly I wish to send my regards to those serving in the 'sand pit' on behalf of HM Forces. Lastly and importantly I would like to wish a happy Christmas to some of the other bloggers who have commented on my blog and engaged in discussion. Those individuals including Todd, Jenny, Gabriel, Phil, William, Goat and of course as ever Mick Hall. As can be seen I have enjoyed my first year of blogging and have engaged across the political spectrum.







Now as Monty Python would say it's 'time for something completely different'. The Iranian theocrat Ahmadinejad is giving Channel four's alternate Christmas message this year. Doubtless that will please the Islamists and other Moonbat trolls who occasionally appear on these pages. From the BBC. I bet I know what he wants for Christmas! (or Eid). I'm off to check my Turkey is steeping in it's brine correctly, 'av a gud un and I'll see you all after the New Year.

Inspector Gadget on the Consequences of the Welfare State

Note to the real 'working class'.

£400 a week tax free for doing nothing. Result? Carry on doing nothing.

I intend to cross post a few things in the future from Inspector Gadget. Gadget is a serving Police Inspector who highlights the stresses of serving as a front-line cop in today's society. A society where the control of the Police appears to have passed to the New Labour Islington classes. Every day he documents more and more PC restrictions and bureaucratic time wasting. To his bosses and the New Labour machine he must appear quite reactionary. To me his is a sane voice of common sense in a wilderness.

Gadget has expressed his thanks to Karen Matthews for demonstrating what is wrong with the Benefits class in this country. Few people can deny it the problem is we cannot really fix it, so we have to put up with people like this. I am entirely willing to accept that before the launch of the welfare state in 1945 that there were serious problems and desperate poverty in many areas. But the excessive and expensive state nannying has exacerbated rather than solved the problem. Furthermore what is the point in giving out hand out after hand out, all it leads to is a despondent lack of moral responsibility. For instance Matthew's and her entire clique/family. If I am wrong and my taxes should be given with abandon to such people then I welcome such a discussion and invite others to comment below.

Inspector Gadget is here: or

http://inspectorgadget.wordpress.com/

Of course there are no terror training camps in Pakistan?

Some of the graduates from such a camp who attacked Mumbai last month








Langin was held captive in Pakistan at a terror camp for months
















I mean there can't be can there? What about the fact a Briton Sean Langin was held at one for several months here Langin describes his experiences to the NY Times. He describes hearing on a radio in captivity a Pakistani Government Minister their existence. Now this has led to the attack by another ISI (Pakistani Intelligence) sponsored attack against India as we Saw in Mumbai. What does the Pakistan government do? Nothing really they merely engage in further deception and denial. Zardari their foreign Minister has said Pakistan will defend themselves if attacked here. Never mind that India has a right to defend themselves having been the victims of state sponsored terrorism. Pakistan should close down the Lashkar-e-Taiba organisation, arrest those responsible and send them to India for trial. Anything else is just weasel words.
We have a desperate situation but the world should stand with India on this one, I have nothing more to say if others wish to comment do so below.

BBC with a Damning Indictment of the Welfare State! 'No one in our house works'

I'm tremendously surprised by this as the BBC has published a piece that actually goes firmly against the grain of their liberal/left bias. I'm of the opinion that a 'safety net' to prevent people from starving is one thing. However an entire benefits culture that nanny's people from the cradle to the grave is another. The result an entire class of people devoid of pride, self worth and motivation. The shame is the family here do not seem to be unintelligent they are however lazy and Mrs Malcolm herself admits herself she is a drain on society. If she worked she could be a proud member of society instead of a sponging free loader. I need not comment further, people in the US who consider that Obama may introduce Socialism over there need only look here for one of it's consequences.

'No-one in our house works'
By Paula Dear BBC News








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With redundancies rising and job vacancies shrinking, unemployment is back in the headlines. But for millions it never went away. As part of a series on Britain's jobless, one family explains how and why lack of work has touched their lives.
Elizabeth Malcolm, 43, has never had a job. She lives in a two-bedroom council flat in Glasgow with her three children, one grandchild, two cats and a hamster.
Neither of her two working-age children have a job.
BRITAIN'S JOBLESS
Our series asks, who are Britain's jobless?
Read more about the issues - Britain's jobless: who cares? - here
Interviews with five people who are out of work will be published on the BBC News website in December and January
Week beginning 15 December - ask a government minister your questions about unemployment
Q&A: Who are the jobless?
Key statistics
The family is what the statistics gatherers call a "workless household" - one of three million in the country. In reality it's not quite so easy to put every jobless person into a neat little box. This is their story.
Elizabeth, known as "Biff" to family and friends, wishes now that she had got into work or college back in 1980, when she left school at 15.
It was hardly a great time to be a jobseeker, especially living in Easterhouse, a part of Glasgow long synonymous with deprivation and unemployment. But she concedes that she doesn't really know why she didn't get a job, and that there was an element of just "not getting round" to it.
She doesn't think school wanted her to stay on because she "wasn't too bright" and used to bunk off a lot.
Without any qualifications she assumed she wasn't able to follow her chosen path and join the Army. She never actually made it to the recruitment office to ask.
I did try, but nobody took me on
Elizabeth Malcolm
Send us your comments
After signing on the dole, she was nagged to find a job by her parents - who both worked until redundancy and illness stopped them in their 50s - and says she tried to find something.
"I did try, but nobody took me on," she says.
By 17 she had met the father of her three children and by 22 had their first son William. From then on family, home life and dealing with a failing relationship took over, she says.
While Elizabeth "feels angry" at herself for not getting into work when she was younger, at the same time she believes looking after the kids and the house has been a job in itself. Labour market survey figures for the last quarter showed more than two million women gave the same reason for not working.
Now a lone parent, she shares her bedroom with her son Jon, 13, daughter Danielle, 17, and Danielle's son Rhys, 11 months.

Next generation: More on William, Danielle and Jon
In pictures
William, 21, who served in the Army for three and a half years and went to Iraq and Afghanistan, sleeps in the small second bedroom.
The family survive on a combination of Income Support and Child Tax Credits, claimed by both Elizabeth and Danielle. Both also receive the universal Child Benefit for one child each. It all amounts to about £270 a week between the five of them.
As no one in the house is actively seeking work, they don't count as "unemployed" and none claims Jobseeker's Allowance.
Things will change for Elizabeth next year, when she will no longer be entitled to Income Support for being a lone parent. She is already being asked to attend interviews at the local job centre.
"They send for you every month to ask you why you're not working and if you've been looking for work. I've told them my situation, that I've been having panic attacks when I go out - which started after my dad died - and they've written it all down.


"They said I'd be better off if I was out working because Jon's at an age now where the money I'm getting will stop soon. I'd need to sign on [for unemployment benefit] again and I don't want that because I think I'm too old to sign on."
Elizabeth says she would most want to work in a caring job, with animals, children or elderly people, because she has looked after people all her life.
Jobcentre staff have told her if anything comes up they'll "send her a letter", she adds.
Having a job would help "keep her mind off things" that have happened, she says.
Although there's always been a degree of struggle to get by, the family recently went into a complete tailspin, says Elizabeth.
A catalogue of events have left her and William suffering from panic attacks, while Jon has "gone off the rails" and started truanting from school.
I'll just need to get it out of my head and start going places, or else I'm going to be stuck in the house for the rest of my life
William, 21
Elizabeth lost both her parents in the last four years, with her father's death hitting her and William particularly hard. After his grandfather fell ill William became depressed and left the Army.
"He was his granda's blue-eyed boy," says Elizabeth.
In 2006 the children's father, John Purcell, who was separated from Elizabeth but had been visiting the kids, was stabbed to death. Soon after, William was savagely attacked by local gang members and stabbed several times. After a second attack he stopped straying more than a few feet from the house, and started drinking more and more.
It's left William so afraid to go out, he can't sign on.
"I'll just need to get it out of my head and start going places, or else I'm going to be stuck in the house for the rest of my life," he says. "I can't keep living like this, living off my mum." I'd like to have my own house, and my own wee family... definitely."
'Downhill'
For the time being he plays uncle to Danielle's baby, Rhys.
With no dad on the scene, Danielle relies on help from the family. She says she hopes to learn to be a hairdresser or beautician.
"All my pals are looking for work as well. But it's not that easy to get a job straightaway, you've got to write out your CV and everything and then hand it in to places."
Day-to-day she spends her time going to the shops for her mum, collecting her money, or visiting friends who also have children.

Elizabeth - who is besotted with her cats - would like to work with animals
"Some days I'm just sitting in the house. That's what I do, morning til night, unless I go down to see my auntie or something. It's not really a life."
Elizabeth is aware there are some who would criticise her life. She would agree, she says, with those who say it is "terrible" that taxpayers should be in the position of paying for those without work.
"I'm sorry they have to pay tax money to me. If I could get a job... give me a job then and I'll work, and then they won't have to pay me."

A Different National Embarrassment

I rarely blog about sport. But the article speaks for itself. At this rate I will have to start supporting football at which England are not too bad. What is wrong with our RUFC national side? Mind you at least the Welsh were not disappointed. From the BBC:

Autumn Tests 2008
8-29 November 2008
Wales v Aus
Wales quotes
Eng v NZ
Eng quotes
Photos
As it happened
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England (3) 6Pens: Flood, Armitage
New Zealand (12) 32Tries: Muliaina 2, Nonu Con: Carter Pens: Carter 5
By Mark Orlovac

Conrad Smith and Richie McCaw (right) celebrate one of Mils Muliaina's tries
England were made to pay for their indiscipline as New Zealand comfortably secured a 'grand slam' of the home nations on their autumn tour.
The home side gave away a host of penalties and had four players sin-binned as they slumped to their third straight defeat at Twickenham.
New Zealand battled to a 12-3 lead but they cut loose after the break.
Full-back Mils Muliaina crossed twice in the right-hand corner while Ma'a Nonu added another as England tired.
The defeat completes a chastening autumn series for new England manager Martin Johnson, who has seen his side lose to Australia, South Africa and now New Zealand in successive weeks.
For New Zealand, the result completes their third "grand slam" to add to their successes in 1978 and 2005, and incredibly they end their tour without conceding a single try in their Test victories over Scotland, Ireland, Wales and England this month.
Although England's display on Saturday was much improved from last week's record home defeat against South Africa, Johnson will be angry with the number of penalties his side conceded against the All Blacks - 15 in total.
The indiscipline negated any momentum England built as they took the game to New Zealand, while gifting the visitors easy points.
It also led to hooker Lee Mears, flanker James Haskell, fly-half Toby Flood and replacement open-side Tom Rees all being sin-binned.
606: DEBATE
New Zealand thoroughly deserved their win, but England can only have themselves to blame for their indiscipline yet again
no12will
And the margin of defeat could have been even greater had New Zealand fly-half Dan Carter not missed five kicks at goal.
After an incident-free All Blacks haka, the first half was a scrappy affair with England hassling their revered opponents while New Zealand struggled to find their rhythm.
And the early signs were good for the home side with recalled London Irish lock Nick Kennedy pressurising the All Blacks line-out while the English defensive line were keeping the dangerous New Zealand attack in check by denying them quick ball.
But it was the penalty count that cost England dear in the opening period, with Johnson's men conceding 10 penalties before the break.
Flood, who replaced Danny Cipriani in one of three changes to the starting line-up, had the first chance to put points on the board but his fifth-minute penalty drifted wide.
Carter put his side ahead in the 15th minute after scrum-half Danny Care cynically kicked the ball away from a ruck although England levelled the scores two minutes later through Flood when Tony Woodcock collapsed a scrum.
Mears was the first to be sin-binned after he was caught with his hands in the ruck to slow down a New Zealand attack, but Carter missed his attempt.

Flood saw yellow for this challenge on Cowan in the second halfCarter did make the score 6-3 when Care went over the top of a ruck but he was wasteful again after Haskell saw yellow for a swinging arm to the head of Rodney So'oialo on 32 minutes.
Two more penalties at the end of the half were slotted over by Carter but it did not seem to affect the home side as they made a superb start to the second period.
Full-back Delon Armitage caught the restart and released number eight Nick Easter but the Harlequins forward was tapped by Carter just metres from the line.
Flood was the next to be sin-binned after being harshly penalised for a high tackle on Jimmy Cowan as the scrum-half broke from deep.
Armitage was given the kicking duties and he reduced the deficit to six points with a well-taken penalty but that was the last moment of joy for the home side.
New Zealand took control of the game when England were pushed off a scrum deep in their own half, the ball was spread wide quickly and Muliaina dived over in the corner.
Carter added another penalty on 62 minutes before Muliaina scored in the same corner after collecting a cheeky kick from his fly-half.
England's battling forwards were tiring by the minute and the All Blacks took full advantage, Nonu running in from halfway after a break and neat offload from hooker Keven Mealamu.
The game ended with Rees yellow-carded for another breakdown infringement but it did not matter - the game was over - and it leaves Johnson with plenty to think about ahead of the Six Nations.
England: Armitage; Sackey, Noon, Flutey, Monye; Flood, Care; Payne, Mears, Vickery, Borthwick, Kennedy, Haskell, Lipman, Easter.Replacements: Hipkiss for Sackey (73), Cipriani for Noon (75), Ellis for Care (60), Hartley for Mears (67), Stevens for Vickery (53), Rees for Lipman (58), Croft for Easter (67).
Sin Bin: Mears (24), Haskell (32), Flood (43), Rees (76).
New Zealand: Muliaina; Rokocoko, Smith, Nonu, Sivivatu; Carter, Cowan; Woodcock, Mealamu, Tialata, Thorn, Williams, Kaino, McCaw, So'oialo.Replacements: Toeava for Smith (69), Weepu for Cowan (70), Afoa for Tialata (56), Reid for Kaino (56).
Not Used: Elliot, Boric, Donald.
Att: 81,180
Referee: Alain Rolland (Ireland)