Alan Turing: The Tip Of The Iceberg

I was rather bugged by the furore in the lead up to the apology for Alan Turing from the Prime Minister. The campaign, to me, stunk of a personality cult. I was vocal in my desire to see an apology for everyone punished for their sexuality (and perhaps that should wait until we get equal rights, huh?).

So why did no one in the media call for this? Now, suddenly, it's hit the radar. Grr... see here and here

I understand the campaign was not started by someone who classes themselves as LGBT, so perhaps that perspective made it difficult to understand that this sort of treatment is not a rare occurrence. But then again surely anyone of a basic level of intelligence should understand that. But maybe I ask too much given that some gay guys nowadays don't even know about the past regressive laws.

This blogger works for nothing but the joy of writing but always appreciates things bought from his wishlist

Anti-Fascist Violence

It is quite obvious to me, as someone who happens to be white, that there is a very deep undertone of racism in this country. You go anywhere in the country and meet with white people, when there is nobody of a different race about, and there's a high chance somebody will start a conversation about how "things have gone too far" or "send the immigrants home". You only need to read the Sun or the Daily Mail to know this is something the media loves to tap in to.

So when the English Defence League does one of it's never-ending protests, it might be helpful if the supposedly rational, decent folk who oppose them DON'T BECOME VIOLENT! What the BBC's news story fails to reflect is that the violence came from the anti-fascist side. I hate fascists, racists and nationalists. I believe that those who support such creeds are unpatriotic (they need to read up on who we fought against in WWII) and indecent.

But I also hate violence and what I really hate is muppets causing violence against these bastards. Given that we live in a country with lots of "hidden" racism, the way to win those people round is not by attacking these sorts of organisations physically but by winning the arguments. The Nazi's weren't defeated by Communist's attacking them in the streets before 1933, it only made them stronger in the eyes of many who feared the Communists. We must stand strong against racism, but do it sensibly, peacefully and decently. If we don't then the nationalist scum win out!

This blogger works for nothing but the joy of writing but always appreciates things bought from his wishlist

More 999 Fun

Like last year's crop they make you lose faith in humanity!

This year we have more exciting cases of people losing things and having no phone credit.


Can't we just shoot them?

This blogger works for nothing but the joy of writing but always appreciates things bought from his wishlist

District 9

District 9 is one helluva good movie. The special effects were amazing considering this movie was made on a budget of "just" $30 million. The plot was touching, disturbing and insightful. And there was another action to keep the Transformers fans happy.



Don't get me wrong, this is not a "classic" movie. It was too "predictable" (I guessed Wikus' fate pretty much as soon as he started to get ill). But nevertheless it is a must see.

This blogger works for nothing but the joy of writing but always appreciates things bought from his wishlist

The Business Case For...

Good BBC Magazine article on the dangers of addressing every issue in terms of cost alone.

This blogger works for nothing but the joy of writing but always appreciates things bought from his wishlist

Some People Love The Mayor Of Doncaster

But I don't know why.

I've said before I have concerns over the values the English Democrats attach themselves to (such as the racist policies of the England First Party as per my post here).

Now my least favourite Mayor, Peter Davies (see my concerns about him here and here) of the English Democrats has come out with perhaps the most startlingly awful statement of the month.

"The one thing to be said about the Taliban is that they do have an ordered society of some sort and that they don't have hundreds of cases of children under threat of abuse from violent parents, as we have in Doncaster."

What on Earth is he talking about? The Taliban are INFAMOUS for their child abuse. Check out their abuse of boys (who they train to DIE). Oh and their wonderful ordered society:

In October 2001 Oxfam International reported that:

* Over 750,000 Afghans (including children) are disabled due to mines and high incidence of polio
* Clean water is available to less than 15 percent of the population
* The immunization rate among children is as low as 10 percent
* There is a high incidence of mental health problems, particularly among women Source

We do have social problems in this country, but suggesting that the Taliban would make a better job of things is an insult to decency, humanity and all that is good. Our troops are out there fighting these guys and he's back here suggesting they aren't all that bad. It's a bit like someone suggesting during the Second World War that "at least the Nazi's would make the trains run on time". Perhaps he might try to find examples of decent nations who have a better way of doing things, perhaps in Europe for instance? Oh sorry, no he'd rather suggest we all turn into fundamentalist Muslims than suggest something good might be found on our own Continent.

And worse he is no better than any other politician with his spinning. See this article from the Daily Mail in which it is claimed his anti-political correctness drive (which sounds just as pointless as any diversity drive would be) identified an "ethnic minorities welfare rights service " that could be culled. Actually that service was scrapped three years ago, as revealed by the Private Eye, well before Mr Davies came along and began his bizarre populist and reactionary stint as Mayor.

I just hope I'm wrong about the English nationalists liking this guy, because if I'm not then they really are screwed.

This blogger works for nothing but the joy of writing but always appreciates things bought from his wishlist

World War II

This month marks the 70th anniversary of the outbreak of the Second World War (at least in Europe). In this month in 1939 Germany invaded Poland. Then, two weeks later, the Soviets attack the Poles from the east. Despite this, the Polish held out for far longer than they were expected to. Sadly this was to be just the beginning of 60 years of pain for that poor nation.

Here is the announcement to the British public of the outbreak of war... little could they know that 6 years of Hell was about to descend upon this Earth...



This blogger works for nothing but the joy of writing but always appreciates things bought from his wishlist