Blogging would have been non existent today. A very dear friend is in need of some help and support and I'm going to do what I can. It's strange that amongst all of the mess that seems to be overwhelming us, there are pockets of humanity going on, especially as we approach Christmas. It puts everything into perspective. I thought I would therefore wander off topic with some music and a favourite of mine. I hope you enjoy it:
Sunday, 4 December 2011
Friday, 18 November 2011
Buy it. Fly It!
I still find myself almost overwhelmed by the stuff that needs blogging about. Some days I feel very fired up to have my go, only to crash when it feels like shouting at a hurricane. Fortunately, many of my fellow bloggers are made of sterner stuff and more ready for the fight. I wonder to what end I am blogging and who is listening. It is one thing to want to save a nation, but it is another thing entirely for a nation to want to save itself. Blogs in this niche has lost one of its champions this week as Captain Ranty. Ranty will be a loss to the cause but he is very much like Gene Hackman's preacher character in The Poseidon Adventure - sick of shouting his message of salvation to deaf ears and I understand the idea that he should focus his energies on himself and his kin in such circumstances.
For all of that, there is still a flicker inside of me and this week a little air was added to that small flame with a few things that came up.
First I had a real head shaking moment when I saw this video (h/t Vlad Tepes)
The story is utter nonsense when you hear the underlying logic as to why the flag shouldn't be flying year round. The story is even more odd if you know anything about the village itself in terms of its demographics and where it sits geographically. It sits right on the edge of one of Nottinghamshire's most prosperous suburbs - West Bridgford. I'm not here to debate the whys and wherefores of this except to say someone is making mischief here.
What it does show is how far we have slipped when a story such as this can gain traction and present with a degree of seriousness that any flying of the Union Flag is act of racism and hatred. In all seriousness, when the BBC first got this story the response should have been along the lines of "oh do p*ss off" or at least the interviewer should have asked if the offended man was out of his tiny mind with such a conclusion. They didn't however because it is a notion that has been given credence of the years and is an embedded part of the narrative and I'll explain why.
First, however I want to contrast that with a documentary I watched this week on the construction of the Ground Zero 9/11 memorial. The programme touched me in so many ways but the parts that particularly stood out, was the reverence for the people lost there on that fateful day and the dedication and care it inspired in those constructing it. Everything it seemed, mattered. Even making as much effort as possible not to break branches on the trees that were being transported to the site from their nursery.
There was however something else and it was flags. The US flag was everywhere and was flown with pride. It was swinging off cranes and even around the memorial, flags were added to anywhere that could take one. Furthermore, pretty much every hard hat I could see on the site workers had a stars and stripes on the back. They don't wear or fly their flag as tokenism in the US, they believe in it and all it symbolises and it is stirring stuff to see it in its host country
Flags have meaning. Regardless of the oft suggested idea that they are mere pieces of cloth I find flags have real meaning and symbolism. Flags are rallying points which call on individual and collective effort to keep them flying and send a signal to those behind it. They are a distress signal when flown upside down. They are also a signal to those who identify with it as their stronghold and their place of safety. When lost or in need of help, head towards the flag because that is where your own are. Like the US demonstrates also, they area symbol of pride in who you are and your nation.
It is for all of those reasons that I think it is part of the narrative to degrade the flag in this country and to ascribe the notions of evil and hatred to it. For me, flags are potent and uniting symbols. If I were part of group or ideology that wished to collapse a nation and its identity from within, including its social fabric, I would recognise that a key part of that would involve creating a toxicity to the symbolism of the flag so that people would be afraid of uniting behind that. Deny a point where like minded people could come together to stand behind their nation and its values and you keep them on the run. They remain weak and vulnerable to attack. Let them rally behind the flag and things begin to change. From that strong point they can begin to take back the argument and collapse the lies on which the propaganda stands. Not only that, more start to find their voice also putting to bed the falsehood that they are in the minority.
The flag doesn't belong to the BNP and any suggestion to the contrary is an out and out lie. The flag belongs to everyone who ascribes to the values of this nation and spends every day contributing to it. It does not belong to the BNP. If it was theirs, it would be because an ideology and movement has handed it to them by denying its true owners of it by creating a false narrative around it to suit their own ideological ends in order to make it toxic.
So what's my point?
We're not alone though and we need to send a signal to that effect. We need to start taking back our nation for all the good things that it is and ever was. We need to start sending a signal that all those who think likewise are not alone so that we can start finding each other, because as we do, more will stand. We need to create our rallying points so that we can start to push back the decades of decay.
How do we start? With our flag.
We start by taking back our flag by flying it wherever we can. Buy it and fly it! We prepare our argument to shoot down the notion that its a symbol of hate so we can explain politely and firmly that it is the flag of a fair place and a fair people and that it belongs to anyone of regardless of their colour or place of birth who comes here, contributes assumes our way of life and stands behind the values of this country.
For all of that, there is still a flicker inside of me and this week a little air was added to that small flame with a few things that came up.
First I had a real head shaking moment when I saw this video (h/t Vlad Tepes)
The story is utter nonsense when you hear the underlying logic as to why the flag shouldn't be flying year round. The story is even more odd if you know anything about the village itself in terms of its demographics and where it sits geographically. It sits right on the edge of one of Nottinghamshire's most prosperous suburbs - West Bridgford. I'm not here to debate the whys and wherefores of this except to say someone is making mischief here.
What it does show is how far we have slipped when a story such as this can gain traction and present with a degree of seriousness that any flying of the Union Flag is act of racism and hatred. In all seriousness, when the BBC first got this story the response should have been along the lines of "oh do p*ss off" or at least the interviewer should have asked if the offended man was out of his tiny mind with such a conclusion. They didn't however because it is a notion that has been given credence of the years and is an embedded part of the narrative and I'll explain why.
First, however I want to contrast that with a documentary I watched this week on the construction of the Ground Zero 9/11 memorial. The programme touched me in so many ways but the parts that particularly stood out, was the reverence for the people lost there on that fateful day and the dedication and care it inspired in those constructing it. Everything it seemed, mattered. Even making as much effort as possible not to break branches on the trees that were being transported to the site from their nursery.
There was however something else and it was flags. The US flag was everywhere and was flown with pride. It was swinging off cranes and even around the memorial, flags were added to anywhere that could take one. Furthermore, pretty much every hard hat I could see on the site workers had a stars and stripes on the back. They don't wear or fly their flag as tokenism in the US, they believe in it and all it symbolises and it is stirring stuff to see it in its host country
Flags have meaning. Regardless of the oft suggested idea that they are mere pieces of cloth I find flags have real meaning and symbolism. Flags are rallying points which call on individual and collective effort to keep them flying and send a signal to those behind it. They are a distress signal when flown upside down. They are also a signal to those who identify with it as their stronghold and their place of safety. When lost or in need of help, head towards the flag because that is where your own are. Like the US demonstrates also, they area symbol of pride in who you are and your nation.
It is for all of those reasons that I think it is part of the narrative to degrade the flag in this country and to ascribe the notions of evil and hatred to it. For me, flags are potent and uniting symbols. If I were part of group or ideology that wished to collapse a nation and its identity from within, including its social fabric, I would recognise that a key part of that would involve creating a toxicity to the symbolism of the flag so that people would be afraid of uniting behind that. Deny a point where like minded people could come together to stand behind their nation and its values and you keep them on the run. They remain weak and vulnerable to attack. Let them rally behind the flag and things begin to change. From that strong point they can begin to take back the argument and collapse the lies on which the propaganda stands. Not only that, more start to find their voice also putting to bed the falsehood that they are in the minority.
The flag doesn't belong to the BNP and any suggestion to the contrary is an out and out lie. The flag belongs to everyone who ascribes to the values of this nation and spends every day contributing to it. It does not belong to the BNP. If it was theirs, it would be because an ideology and movement has handed it to them by denying its true owners of it by creating a false narrative around it to suit their own ideological ends in order to make it toxic.
So what's my point?
We're not alone though and we need to send a signal to that effect. We need to start taking back our nation for all the good things that it is and ever was. We need to start sending a signal that all those who think likewise are not alone so that we can start finding each other, because as we do, more will stand. We need to create our rallying points so that we can start to push back the decades of decay.
How do we start? With our flag.
We start by taking back our flag by flying it wherever we can. Buy it and fly it! We prepare our argument to shoot down the notion that its a symbol of hate so we can explain politely and firmly that it is the flag of a fair place and a fair people and that it belongs to anyone of regardless of their colour or place of birth who comes here, contributes assumes our way of life and stands behind the values of this country.
Saturday, 5 November 2011
Move First - Move Now
I am a little bit fatigued by the whole Europe thing. The mess in Greece which is always seemingly going to bring things to a head only to then pull back from the brink too is tiring as it seems that the main thing at play here is Papandreou seemingly contorting every possible way to hang on to power. Why he would want to do that escapes me. I still think it is all likely to go horribly wrong and all he seems to be doing is making himself a key target for those who will come hunting for the politicians who abandoned the Greeks to a stark future. Back in Europe, the leaders demonstrate that they too are not really willing to solve the problem because their dream must succeed at all costs.
We need to be out of Europe for our own good, based on its current model. Europe seems to be heading for collapse and staying there hoping it won't do so is folly. The most promising future will fall to those who get out and set a different course as quickly as possible. The term first mover advantage was never truer than it is now and we need to make sure that is us. Over at The Devils kitchen some thought has been given to this.
The argument that we need to stay in to trade with them is another poor argument. If it collapses what exactly will be the size of the market to trade with? Banks with serious asset write downs combined with tax payers hocked up the eyeballs will not exactly be awash with cash. The reality is that it isn't a market but an incestuous welfare programme in which the cronies both corporate and political draw down on the incessant remortgaging of the future of its working people. All of this made worse by a growing population of wealth takers.
Our future lies not in this model but in other models. We need to re find our ambition as a nation as well as the energy to take ourselves on a different path. There is plenty of evidence of what works. The Germans have a strong economy based on their work ethic and their ability to make good strong things that people buy. India, China and other Far East countries demonstrate a similar ethic and a similar belief in themselves and the essential ambition to take a nation forward, underpinned by a commitment to education.
But that requires a sea change. Right now, the malaise in Britain is obvious to pretty much anyone who cares to look hard. One only has to visit blogs such as Winston Smith or to ride shotgun with Inspector Gadget around Ruralshire and observe the antics of Wayne & Shaznay to see that we need a change. But its not just down there with what have become our underclass, it runs right through like our nation choking everything it wraps around, in the same way Japanese knotweed does in the plant world.
At heart of this is thinking. What we have in front of us is a manifestation of a cocktail of sinister and flabby thinking. This thinking has dried our ambition up and I'll explain more in future posting (although I have alluded to it in the past). Some of it is deliberate and we've fallen for it. Some of it as appealed to our instincts because it has promised something for nothing, an idea which becomes ever more appealing as we are dumbed down to worship celeb culture. Right now we are in a mess and we need to lift out of it.
But of course if it was thinking backed up by influence that got us here, it is counter thinking and influence that will get us out. We need to start demonstrating new thinking on all fronts in order to move the change forward. It will not happen overnight and I believe it is one of the mistakes we make. We did not get in this mess overnight. Those that put us here will not give it up easily either. They've worked too hard to get us here. We must push back against them.
I believe however that there are more of us than them. There are more of us that want great things for this nation and its people than there are that want to collapse it. Even among those who are seemingly lost and are on the receiving end of our criticism are people who want what we want. They are only lost through demoralisation. We can get them back.
There are more of us than them and they know that. In our nation is an inherent good and an inherent strength. It just needs firming up and deploying. Those who would have it otherwise know that too. That is their fear. That is why they shout down and shoot down every attempt at to forge this new path. I believe, however that we must keep going forward towards a notion of British excellence.
That starts with each and every one of us.
We need to be out of Europe for our own good, based on its current model. Europe seems to be heading for collapse and staying there hoping it won't do so is folly. The most promising future will fall to those who get out and set a different course as quickly as possible. The term first mover advantage was never truer than it is now and we need to make sure that is us. Over at The Devils kitchen some thought has been given to this.
The argument that we need to stay in to trade with them is another poor argument. If it collapses what exactly will be the size of the market to trade with? Banks with serious asset write downs combined with tax payers hocked up the eyeballs will not exactly be awash with cash. The reality is that it isn't a market but an incestuous welfare programme in which the cronies both corporate and political draw down on the incessant remortgaging of the future of its working people. All of this made worse by a growing population of wealth takers.
Our future lies not in this model but in other models. We need to re find our ambition as a nation as well as the energy to take ourselves on a different path. There is plenty of evidence of what works. The Germans have a strong economy based on their work ethic and their ability to make good strong things that people buy. India, China and other Far East countries demonstrate a similar ethic and a similar belief in themselves and the essential ambition to take a nation forward, underpinned by a commitment to education.
But that requires a sea change. Right now, the malaise in Britain is obvious to pretty much anyone who cares to look hard. One only has to visit blogs such as Winston Smith or to ride shotgun with Inspector Gadget around Ruralshire and observe the antics of Wayne & Shaznay to see that we need a change. But its not just down there with what have become our underclass, it runs right through like our nation choking everything it wraps around, in the same way Japanese knotweed does in the plant world.
At heart of this is thinking. What we have in front of us is a manifestation of a cocktail of sinister and flabby thinking. This thinking has dried our ambition up and I'll explain more in future posting (although I have alluded to it in the past). Some of it is deliberate and we've fallen for it. Some of it as appealed to our instincts because it has promised something for nothing, an idea which becomes ever more appealing as we are dumbed down to worship celeb culture. Right now we are in a mess and we need to lift out of it.
But of course if it was thinking backed up by influence that got us here, it is counter thinking and influence that will get us out. We need to start demonstrating new thinking on all fronts in order to move the change forward. It will not happen overnight and I believe it is one of the mistakes we make. We did not get in this mess overnight. Those that put us here will not give it up easily either. They've worked too hard to get us here. We must push back against them.
I believe however that there are more of us than them. There are more of us that want great things for this nation and its people than there are that want to collapse it. Even among those who are seemingly lost and are on the receiving end of our criticism are people who want what we want. They are only lost through demoralisation. We can get them back.
There are more of us than them and they know that. In our nation is an inherent good and an inherent strength. It just needs firming up and deploying. Those who would have it otherwise know that too. That is their fear. That is why they shout down and shoot down every attempt at to forge this new path. I believe, however that we must keep going forward towards a notion of British excellence.
That starts with each and every one of us.
Saturday, 29 October 2011
Bystanders in history
One can't help but think Billy Joel should do a new version. There's plenty of material
Thursday, 27 October 2011
Am I Missing Something
Like Winnie the Pooh I am obviously a bear of very small brain. I come to this conclusion when I get a sense of fear running through our Government at the prospect of a two tier EU made up of those in the Eurozone, making big decisions and those outside the single currency relegated to a second tier role.
If the EU were thriving that might be of some concern, but a lot of the serious thinkers and commentators seem to think the opposite is true. Aside from a bit of market giddiness on the announcement at 4am (which The Slog sheds some light on), hyped up by the main news bulletins, there is a very dissenting counter opinion to that viewpoint. The message that is increasingly appearing in news bulletins from people looking hard at the problem is that what we have is smoke and mirrors. The view is that the Eurozone is in very real trouble and the politicos are playing for time by trying more of what has failed to this point. The result will be the same they feel.
If that is the case, what precisely will we be shut out of? If the hallmark of that zone will be a financial crisis, surely the results will be felt by anyone living it. We live in a society which grows based on credit and that includes both business and individual consumers. If that locks up, precisely who will be doing the buying that we consider a vital aspect of our relationship with Europe?
So what exactly is the fear here?
If the EU were thriving that might be of some concern, but a lot of the serious thinkers and commentators seem to think the opposite is true. Aside from a bit of market giddiness on the announcement at 4am (which The Slog sheds some light on), hyped up by the main news bulletins, there is a very dissenting counter opinion to that viewpoint. The message that is increasingly appearing in news bulletins from people looking hard at the problem is that what we have is smoke and mirrors. The view is that the Eurozone is in very real trouble and the politicos are playing for time by trying more of what has failed to this point. The result will be the same they feel.
If that is the case, what precisely will we be shut out of? If the hallmark of that zone will be a financial crisis, surely the results will be felt by anyone living it. We live in a society which grows based on credit and that includes both business and individual consumers. If that locks up, precisely who will be doing the buying that we consider a vital aspect of our relationship with Europe?
So what exactly is the fear here?
Sunday, 23 October 2011
The Opportunity
I recall that in my school days I was always confused at the connection between the bungled, but successful assassination of Franz Ferdinand and how it led to the Great War. As I grew older I started to see how many other seemingly isolated and unrelated events start a chain reaction into something much larger. A more modern day example of this was the self immolation of a member of the public seemingly the precursor of the so called Arab Spring.
I have this in mind as I see the forthcoming debate and referendum vote on our presence in the EU. Understandably there seems something of a mixed bag of opinion on it. Daniel Finklestein used the word farce in one of his Tweets yesterday around the same time as the Peoples Pledge congress, although I'm not certain precisely what he was talking about. There have also been some excellent posts about the debate from Witterings from Witney and a particularly informative one which Autonomous Mind picks up. In addition Richard North's EU Referendum blog has also weighed in with some food for thought. All of these posts I would recommend to readers to help crystallise their own thinking as they have done for me.
My personal view is that in many ways the progress of the EU has moved beyond a referendum on in or out because so many of our problems as a nation stem from the structures and edicts from them. That said it should be put to the people and it is up to people who share my view to make a credible and cogent article around that case and their will abided by. I also agree with AM that the people of Britain probably aren't in a place where they are clear about what they would be voting for in such a referendum.
All that said, the debate and the vote presents an opportunity that should be capitalised on. I expect ultimately that the vote will be lost for a number of reasons, but it brings us something we can use and we should work on it. For me this is one of those seemingly innocuous events I mentioned at the top of this post. I believe this 'failure' can be turned into an opportunity on many fronts. For some bizarre reason I find myself agreeing with Kate Hoey who suggested that this might not turn out to be a victory but it presents a first chink in the armour.
What we have seen from the introduction of the debate is a palpable sense of fear in the top table of British politics. If there's one clever thing Cameron has done, it was bringing the debate forward. He has turned his metaphorical submarine towards the enemy torpedo in the hope of tackling it before it is able to explode. It is clever because it illustrates that those of us who want a referendum or who want us out of Europe haven't sold it to the electorate in a way that they properly understand and will take action on. Whilst Cameron's action might seem savvy, it has also exposed him and his ilk as terrified, especially with the introduction of the three line whip.
Something else that will come to the fore over this is that many so called Eurosceptics, many of whom are in reality Europlastics along with many other MPs will vote the way their parties tell them to. There will be no recognition of the will of the people.
In short, there will be no referendum offered on Europe but this time it will be glaringly obvious why. To this point we've seen it dressed up in the language of obfuscation and they're even trying it now as Hague tries to talk up the idea that it will distract efforts to fix the Eurozone economy.
Despite all that, the truth is that you can't have a referendum because they don't want you to have one.
What we will get is a no vote in which MPs will put self interest above the will of the people. They will maintain the status quo, hiding behind the illusion of a power base that is Westminster. As I've mentioned in previous posts, they hide there because the place they do not want the argument to take place where true balance of power lies - the local constituency. It his here that the illusion of their power is shattered because this is where they must seek your consent.
What I think we're presented with here is an opportunity and a starting point to lay the foundations of local voting blocs. This is where our MP's feel the real power in democracy, but that only exists where the people gather to exercise that power. Local is where it is at. We can call the MPs all we like for not being representative but it is us that have let them off their leads and it is us who must put them back on it. I believe this debate gives an opportunity for such a move to gain some traction.
No more "someone should do something" - go on and exercise your rights in a lawful and honest manner. Britain needs you, now more than ever.
I have this in mind as I see the forthcoming debate and referendum vote on our presence in the EU. Understandably there seems something of a mixed bag of opinion on it. Daniel Finklestein used the word farce in one of his Tweets yesterday around the same time as the Peoples Pledge congress, although I'm not certain precisely what he was talking about. There have also been some excellent posts about the debate from Witterings from Witney and a particularly informative one which Autonomous Mind picks up. In addition Richard North's EU Referendum blog has also weighed in with some food for thought. All of these posts I would recommend to readers to help crystallise their own thinking as they have done for me.
My personal view is that in many ways the progress of the EU has moved beyond a referendum on in or out because so many of our problems as a nation stem from the structures and edicts from them. That said it should be put to the people and it is up to people who share my view to make a credible and cogent article around that case and their will abided by. I also agree with AM that the people of Britain probably aren't in a place where they are clear about what they would be voting for in such a referendum.
All that said, the debate and the vote presents an opportunity that should be capitalised on. I expect ultimately that the vote will be lost for a number of reasons, but it brings us something we can use and we should work on it. For me this is one of those seemingly innocuous events I mentioned at the top of this post. I believe this 'failure' can be turned into an opportunity on many fronts. For some bizarre reason I find myself agreeing with Kate Hoey who suggested that this might not turn out to be a victory but it presents a first chink in the armour.
What we have seen from the introduction of the debate is a palpable sense of fear in the top table of British politics. If there's one clever thing Cameron has done, it was bringing the debate forward. He has turned his metaphorical submarine towards the enemy torpedo in the hope of tackling it before it is able to explode. It is clever because it illustrates that those of us who want a referendum or who want us out of Europe haven't sold it to the electorate in a way that they properly understand and will take action on. Whilst Cameron's action might seem savvy, it has also exposed him and his ilk as terrified, especially with the introduction of the three line whip.
Something else that will come to the fore over this is that many so called Eurosceptics, many of whom are in reality Europlastics along with many other MPs will vote the way their parties tell them to. There will be no recognition of the will of the people.
In short, there will be no referendum offered on Europe but this time it will be glaringly obvious why. To this point we've seen it dressed up in the language of obfuscation and they're even trying it now as Hague tries to talk up the idea that it will distract efforts to fix the Eurozone economy.
Despite all that, the truth is that you can't have a referendum because they don't want you to have one.
What we will get is a no vote in which MPs will put self interest above the will of the people. They will maintain the status quo, hiding behind the illusion of a power base that is Westminster. As I've mentioned in previous posts, they hide there because the place they do not want the argument to take place where true balance of power lies - the local constituency. It his here that the illusion of their power is shattered because this is where they must seek your consent.
What I think we're presented with here is an opportunity and a starting point to lay the foundations of local voting blocs. This is where our MP's feel the real power in democracy, but that only exists where the people gather to exercise that power. Local is where it is at. We can call the MPs all we like for not being representative but it is us that have let them off their leads and it is us who must put them back on it. I believe this debate gives an opportunity for such a move to gain some traction.
No more "someone should do something" - go on and exercise your rights in a lawful and honest manner. Britain needs you, now more than ever.
Saturday, 22 October 2011
Weapons grade pillockery
Drop your trousers people and bend over as it seems the politicians are coming back for more:
Five days to save the economy
I'm sure the boy is not alone in what is clearly a massed display of weapons grade pillockery by a group of people who on past evidence couldn't run a bath.
As I read through the article, the first "You what?" point came with this quote from the Mail article.
Mr Cameron is set to agree to new rules affecting the banking sector at this weekend's summit, which will require those exposed to the debts of stricken states such as Greece to hold more cash to shield themselves against potential defaults.
Banks are expected to be given a deadline by which they must amass at least £70billion - though some put the figure as high as £110billion - from the markets.
.
If they fail to meet the deadline, public sector bailouts will be ordered
Five days to save the economy
I'm sure the boy is not alone in what is clearly a massed display of weapons grade pillockery by a group of people who on past evidence couldn't run a bath.
As I read through the article, the first "You what?" point came with this quote from the Mail article.
Mr Cameron is set to agree to new rules affecting the banking sector at this weekend's summit, which will require those exposed to the debts of stricken states such as Greece to hold more cash to shield themselves against potential defaults.
Banks are expected to be given a deadline by which they must amass at least £70billion - though some put the figure as high as £110billion - from the markets.
.
If they fail to meet the deadline, public sector bailouts will be ordered
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