Some Random Thoughts
Also See: http://GregLanceWatkins.blogspot.com for full contact details & http://www.Leave-the-EU.org.UK for The Political Future & http://UKIP-vs-EUkip.com for Yesterdays Politics Today!
WELCOME
Hi, The aim of this blog is to accrue information that may be of help to you & links to other sites I have found of help, including sites run or managed by friends and associates. Do send me a message of anything you feel would help. Regards, Greg L-W. Greg_L-W@BTconnect.com
#G372* - WIND POWER ENSURES ENRICHMENT FOR INSTALATION & NO POWER FOR THE PEOPLE!
"In politics, stupidity is not a handicap." Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821),
Regards,
Greg L-W.
for all my contact details & Blogs: CLICK HERE
British Politicians with pens and treachery, in pursuit of their own agenda and greed, have done more damage to the liberty, freedoms, rights and democracy of the British peoples than any army in over 1,000 years.
The disastrous effects of British politicians selling Britain into the thrall of foreign rule by the EU for their own personal rewards has damaged the well-being of Britain more than the armies of Hitler and the Franco - German - Italian axis of 1939 - 1945.
#G0371* - ISLAMAPHOBIA IN AN UNDERSTANDABLE CONTEXT BUT
IT SEEMS CHRISTIANS HAVE LOST THEIR WAY & OFFER NO CREDIBLE LEADERSHIP OR EXAMPLE WORTH FOLLOWING!.
. "In politics, stupidity is not a handicap." Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821), Regards, Greg L-W. for all my contact details & Blogs: CLICK HEREBritish Politicians with pens and treachery, in pursuit of their own agenda and greed, have done more damage to the liberty, freedoms, rights and democracy of the British peoples than any army in over 1,000 years. The disastrous effects of British politicians selling Britain into the thrall of foreign rule by the EU for their own personal rewards has damaged the well-being of Britain more than the armies of Hitler and the Franco - German - Italian axis of 1939 - 1945.
#G370* - Sorry Mate - 'YOU OWE £300,000' JUST THOUGHT YOU SHOULD KNOW! Sorry - actually it is worse than that - I no longer have an income so my £300,000 os going to be down to someone else to pay! Well we saw THE START of the concentration of minds earlier today - but that will be unlikely to cover the interest at today and as interest rates rise another round of similar cuts will be needed to keep pace!
Soon someone is going to have to address the capital sum YOU owe!
Don't forget to thank 13 unlucky years of economic illiteracy and numerous anti Patriotic schemes and scams - how else could Blair & Brown and many many of their chums become multi millionaires?
Just think - I'm sure it is just a coincidence but of the 7 donors of £1M or more to New Labour 6 are now members of The House of Lords!
I'm sure The French will be pleased with their two new Aircraft Carriers when Britain has finished building them!
We could of course cancel our membership of The EU and save £48 Million each and every day!
"In politics, stupidity is not a handicap." Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821),
British Politicians with pens and treachery, in pursuit of their own agenda and greed, have done more damage to the liberty, freedoms, rights and democracy of the British peoples than any army in over 1,000 years.
The disastrous effects of British politicians selling Britain into the thrall of foreign rule by the EU for their own personal rewards has damaged the well-being of Britain more than the armies of Hitler and the Franco - German - Italian axis of 1939 - 1945.
Hi,
Mr. Cameron plans to save some money this afternoon – just consider how much he thinks he will save relative to some other aspects of life LIKE FACTS!
Astonishingly the figures The Spectator shows the Debt in Britain based upon National debt: Taken from public sector net debt figures (PSND) in Table B13 of Pre-Budget 2009. PSND rising from £618.8 billion on 5 April 2009 to £798.9 billion a year later. This is the most conservative of the available debt indices as it excludes liabilities for PFI deals, public sector pensions and bank bailouts.
Family share: Calculated by dividing the national debt figure by the number of households in the UK. Number of households taken as 25.7 million, as per the written answer to a Parliamentary question in March 2009.
I find this a quite scarey enough figure, but when New Labour and the economically illiterate Gordon Brown and the neo Communists of Common Purpose, Fabianism and the Communist Party itself, that was the mentor and partner of New Labour, were thrown out of office - to repackage and represent their largely Marxist ideals suitable to the clearly Marxist control mechanisms of the malevollent EU, a more real figure of debt was apparent!
Taking into consideration the actual debt and presenting that with the debt by forward commitment and such hidden debt as faux pensions for the parasitic and kleptocratic QUANGOcracy that burgeoned to support the clearly Marxist aspirations of Labour, together with the largest privatisation of industry and assets in history during the unlucky 13 years of their misrule and abuse of PFI - We find the real debt that lands upon the Nation's doormat is more accurately portrayed as £3 Trillion.
In the last 2 weeks of Labour's abuse of power their actions in linkage with the debt and easment of the EU and such profligate failed Nations as Greece, Portugal, Spain Italy & Eire amounted to a devaluation of 8% of our Nation's total wealth!
Let us stick with figures a little more comprehendible (relatively!!) and let us stick with the PSNB of the clock above and realise that the £800+ Billion, as shown, means that if the Government could negotiate an interest free status for this debt and they commenced paying it off on 01-January-2011 at the rate of £820 per SECOND the debt would be settled by July 2042.
That would be a repayment of £1,152,000 per day - A huge number until you realise the Institute of Directors estimated some 10 years ago, and it has risen hugely since, that membership of the EU cost these United Kingdoms £1.8 Million per hour 24/7!
That is £15.8 Billion per annum yet Labour handed over £14 Bn. after they had been voted out of office to their Communist chums in the EU ostensibly to fund Greece's profligate life style and outright lies but it did look like buying positions for their personal futures! Be minded that Tony Blair has amassed a fortune approaching £100 Million since he was dumped!
ONE Billion is in itself a VERY large number!
1Bn. seconds ago it was 1963
1Bn. Minutes ago The Christian era had not begun as Christ had not been born!
1Bn. Hours ago bi pedal mammals did not exist!
Politicians speak glibly of £Billions of OUR money but I have every doubt that they haven't a clue what a Billion is!
Clearly in financial and moral terms there is absolutely no justification for Britain's membership of the anti democratic EU! "In politics, stupidity is not a handicap." Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821),
Regards,
Greg L-W.
for all my contact details & Blogs: CLICK HERE British Politicians with pens and treachery, in pursuit of their own agenda and greed, have done more damage to the liberty, freedoms, rights and democracy of the British peoples than any army in over 1,000 years.
The disastrous effects of British politicians selling Britain into the thrall of foreign rule by the EU for their own personal rewards has damaged the well-being of Britain more than the armies of Hitler and the Franco - German - Italian axis of 1939 - 1945.
#G368* - WHY TEENAGERS JUST GRUNT - COMMUNICATIONS SKILLS DIMINISHING! Image via Wikipedia
The number of texts being sent is on the rise, especially among teenagers age 13 to 17. According to Nielsen, the average teenager now sends 3,339 texts per month.
There's more, though: teen females send an incredible 4,050 text per month, while teen males send an average of 2,539 texts. Teens are sending 8 percent more texts than they were this time last year.
Other age groups don't even come close, either; the average 18 to 24-year-old sends "only" 1,630 texts per month. The average only drops with other age groups. However, in every age bracket, the number of texts sent has increased when compared to last year. Texting is a more important means of communication than ever.
In 2008, the main reason anybody got a phone was for safety, even among teenagers. That's not true anymore. 43 percent of teenagers now say texting is the #1 reason they get a cell phone. Safety is #2 with 35 percent, while 34 percent of teenagers say they get cell phones to keep in touch with friends.
Texting is also supplanting voice calls -- 22 percent say SMS is easier than a phone call and another 20 percent say it's faster. Voice usage has decreased by 14 percent among teens and is decreasing in all age groups under 55. 18 to 24 year olds use the most minutes, but every age group between 18 and 55 talks on the phone more than the average teenager.
While voice may be on the decline, data and app usage is on the rise. According to Nielsen, data usage among teens has quadrupled, from 14 MB to 62 MB per month.
In a role reversal, teen males use more data than their female counterparts: 75 MB vs. 53 MB of data. App and software downloads also increased by 12 percent among teens in the last year.
These stats are eye-popping, but what's even more amazing is that these numbers only keep rising. Texting, data usage and app downloads are nowhere near their peak, but one has to wonder: how many texts is the average teenager actually capable of sending? What's the limit?
"In politics, stupidity is not a handicap." Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821),
Regards, Greg L-W. for all my contact details & Blogs: CLICK HERE
British Politicians with pens and treachery, in pursuit of their own agenda and greed, have done more damage to the liberty, freedoms, rights and democracy of the British peoples than any army in over 1,000 years.
The disastrous effects of British politicians selling Britain into the thrall of foreign rule by the EU for their own personal rewards has damaged the well-being of Britain more than the armies of Hitler and the Franco - German - Italian axis of 1939 - 1945.
#G367* - Marie LE PEN MEP to EU PRESIDENT - 90 Seconds EU (So Called) Parliament
Mister President,
You are currently in charge for 6 months, in this rotating and short-lived position, as President of the European Union.
Contrary to the majority of French voters, you have revealed yourself as a zealous europeist, even daring to reintroduce under the hardly changed format of the Lisbon Treaty, the Constitution the Dutch and the French rejected in 2005. Alas, the Irish people's will has foiled your scheme.
Therefore, the Lisbon treaty is null and void despite all the maneuvers trying to impose upon the European peoples the will of the reigning euro-internationalist cabal. As a member of parliament, I voted in 1957 against the Treaty of Rome, the first stage of a process which would lead, according to its promoters, Monnet and Coudenhove-Kalergi among others, to the United States of Europe.
Since this Tower of Babel could only be built upon the ruins of nations, first of all of France, my fatherland, I've been its determined adversary ever since. We are told that globalization involves fundamental changes everywhere to which we must subdue ourselves.
But in truth, throughout the world, nations are growing stronger, supported by enthusiastic patriotisms, except within a unique area, Europe, where nations and fatherlands are sold off, dismantled, demoralized to the benefit of a project without power or identity, while foreign migratory waves gradually invade it and while the opening of our economic borders and while the opening of our economic borders surrenders it to the unrestrained competition of the rest of the world.
The promises made to Europeans so that they'd accept to lose their independence, sovereignty, identity, and culture, all failed to be kept. Neither economic growth, full employment, prosperity, nor safety. Only anguish prevails at the dawn of the coming systemic crisis: an energy, food and financial meltdown. Meanwhile, of course, the media wheel keeps spinning.
The European soccer tournament yesterday, the Roland Garros Tennis Open, tomorrow the Beijing Olympic Games, and today the miraculous saga of an icon: Ingrid who laughs, cries, prays, and wanders supported by your brotherly arm. In your desire... In your desire to be the libertador, you strayed into accepting negotiations with the FARC terrorists.
But neither you nor Mr Chavez released Colombian senator Mrs Betancourt.
It was President Uribe who, facing the mobilization of worldwide progressivism, gained a decisive victory over criminal terrorism.
You multiplied fruitless approaches, even going so far as to invite repentant FARC communist terrorists to benefit from asylum in France, but to protect them from whom? From Uribe the democrat ?
While you were at it, why not the Taliban, Hezbollah, or the Tamil Tigers? You are like the amphisbaena monster, dear to the poet CÈsaire.
Without a doubt, Mr. President, your media director talents won't be enough to avert the brewing threats you will have to face before the end of the year.
Your Europe is a drifting vessel, windswept and beaten by the waves.
It's the only region in the world which deliberately dismantled its political and moral structures. Without borders, gradually invaded by a mass immigration which is just beginning, economically ruined by free-market fanaticism, socially impoverished, weakened demographically, lacking spirit and defensive strength. it will become at best an American protectorate. At worst, it will fall under the slavery of dhimmitude.
It is long overdue to give up on the deadly illusion of federalism, and to build a Europe of nations, united in real alliances, more modest maybe, but more effective. The Constitution and the Treaty failures must be considered as warnings.
The peoples of Europe do not want this project. They won't allow it to be forced upon them, they don't want to die.
Make of Msr. Le Pen's speech what you will - I thought it was rather good though areas of his racism I find as reprehensible as The BNP & The EFD.
"In politics, stupidity is not a handicap." Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821),
Regards,
Greg L-W.
for all my contact details & Blogs: CLICK HERE
British Politicians with pens and treachery, in pursuit of their own agenda and greed, have done more damage to the liberty, freedoms, rights and democracy of the British peoples than any army in over 1,000 years.
The disastrous effects of British politicians selling Britain into the thrall of foreign rule by the EU for their own personal rewards has damaged the well-being of Britain more than the armies of Hitler and the Franco - German - Italian axis of 1939 - 1945.
OurAmazingPlanet Staff LiveScience.com
Thu Oct 7, 10:06 am ET
A tiny, little-understood shark species that lives off the coast of Ireland has garnered more attention lately from a scientist who spent four years getting to know the wee creatures.
As part of his Ph.D. project, Edward Farrell, a recent graduate from University College Dublin School of Biology & Environmental Science successfully investigated the age, growth, reproduction and identification of these animals.
"It's amazing how little was known about this species considering their size and abundance on the East Coast," Farrell said. "Until recently we weren't even sure what species we were dealing with, but we developed a genetic method which allowed us to confirm that it is the starry smooth-hound which occurs in Irish waters and not the related common smooth-hound."
Starry smooth-hounds were previously considered to be a fast-growing and early-maturing species. However, the results of the four-year project have revealed that starry smooth-hounds in Irish waters actually grow twice as slowly as previously estimated and only reproduce every two years rather than annually as is the case for their counterparts in the Mediterranean.
With such a slow reproductive rate, unregulated commercial fishing could have a serious impact on the species in a short time.
Starry smooth-hounds are not a valuable commercial species in Ireland, but in Europe they are highly sought after and the landings from French boats, currently about 2,640 tons annually, are increasing. The previous lack of knowledge of their basic life history in the Northeast Atlantic Ocean has prevented the development of management and conservation strategies.
Once abundant in the Mediterranean Sea and Southern European waters, years of overfishing have caused their disappearance from much of their former range. In Irish waters though, starry smooth-hounds seem to be increasing in abundance, for reasons that are currently unknown.
"There are currently no management measures for this species in European waters mainly due to the lack of biological information," Farrell said. "So our main aim was to gather the necessary data. Hopefully this can be used now to ensure their sustainability and prevent a repeat of the overexploitation seen in Mediterranean waters."
"In politics, stupidity is not a handicap." Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821),
Regards,
Greg L-W.
for all my contact details & Blogs: CLICK HERE British Politicians with pens and treachery, in pursuit of their own agenda and greed, have done more damage to the liberty, freedoms, rights and democracy of the British peoples than any army in over 1,000 years.
The disastrous effects of British politicians selling Britain into the thrall of foreign rule by the EU for their own personal rewards has damaged the well-being of Britain more than the armies of Hitler and the Franco - German - Italian axis of 1939 - 1945.
(This version is claimed to have been written by a rig worker in the North Sea - What he says makes a lot of sense!)
I work, they pay me. I pay my taxes and the government distributes my taxes as it sees fit. In order to earn that pay cheque, I work on a rig for a drilling contractor. I am required to pass a random urine test for drugs and alcohol, with which I have no problem.
What I do have a problem with is the distribution of my taxes to people who don't have to pass a urine test.
Shouldn't one have to pass a urine test to get a benefits cheque because I have to pass one to earn it for them?
Please understand that I have no problem with helping people get back on their feet. I do on the other hand have a problem with helping someone sit on their arse drinking beer and smoking dope.
Could you imagine how much money the government would save if people had to pass the same urine tests I have to pass to get my pay for the work I do to get their benefit cheque?
Please pass this along if you agree.
Hope you will pass it along though, because something has to change in the UK , and soon!
"In politics, stupidity is not a handicap." Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821),
Regards,
Greg L-W.
for all my contact details & Blogs: CLICK HERE
British Politicians with pens and treachery, in pursuit of their own agenda and greed, have done more damage to the liberty, freedoms, rights and democracy of the British peoples than any army in over 1,000 years.
The disastrous effects of British politicians selling Britain into the thrall of foreign rule by the EU for their own personal rewards has damaged the well-being of Britain more than the armies of Hitler and the Franco - German - Italian axis of 1939 - 1945.
#G364* - WHY SCIENTISTS DON'T FEAR HELL! "In politics, stupidity is not a handicap." Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821),
Regards,
Greg L-W.
for all my contact details & Blogs: CLICK HERE
British Politicians with pens and treachery, in pursuit of their own agenda and greed, have done more damage to the liberty, freedoms, rights and democracy of the British peoples than any army in over 1,000 years.
The disastrous effects of British politicians selling Britain into the thrall of foreign rule by the EU for their own personal rewards has damaged the well-being of Britain more than the armies of Hitler and the Franco - German - Italian axis of 1939 - 1945.
I know some people own fire arms but this is something less final to think about If you don't have a pistol, revolver, shotgun or rifle, here's a more humane way to wreck someone's evil plans for you.
Wasp Spray: The wasp spray, they told her, can shoot up to 5 to 12 feet away and is a lot more accurate, while with the pepper spray, they have to get too close to you and could overpower you. The wasp spray temporarily blinds an attacker until they get to the hospital for an antidote. Keep a can on the desk in the office and it doesn't attract attention from people as a can of pepper spray would. Also keep one nearby at home for home protection.
I thought this was interesting and might be of use.
Look to the spray. "That's going to give you a chance to call the police; maybe get out." Maybe even save a life.
Please share this with all the people who are precious to your life.
Good to take on walks, will take care of dogs.
Did you also know that wasp spray will kill a snake? And a mouse!
It will!
Good to know?
If you have a problem with wasps I'm told it will kill them too!
"In politics, stupidity is not a handicap." Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821),
Regards,
Greg L-W.
for all my contact details & Blogs: CLICK HERE
British Politicians with pens and treachery, in pursuit of their own agenda and greed, have done more damage to the liberty, freedoms, rights and democracy of the British peoples than any army in over 1,000 years.
The disastrous effects of British politicians selling Britain into the thrall of foreign rule by the EU for their own personal rewards has damaged the well-being of Britain more than the armies of Hitler and the Franco - German - Italian axis of 1939 - 1945.
#G362* - A young woman was about to finish her first year of college
A young woman was about to finish her first year of college. Like so many others her age, she considered herself to be very liberal, and among other liberal ideals, was very much in favor of higher taxes to support more government programs, in other words redistribution of wealth.
She was deeply ashamed that her father was a rather staunch conservative, a feeling she openly expressed. Based on the lectures that she had participated in, and the occasional chat with a professor, she felt that her father had for years harbored an evil, selfish desire to keep what he thought should be his.
One day she was challenging her father on his opposition to higher taxes on the rich and the need for more government programs.
The self-professed objectivity proclaimed by her professors had to be the truth and she indicated so to her father. He responded by asking how she was doing in school.
Taken aback, she answered rather haughtily that she had a 4.0 GPA, and let him know that it was tough to maintain, insisting that she was taking a very difficult course load and was constantly studying, which left her no time to go out and party like other people she knew.
She didn't even have time for a boyfriend, and didn't really have many college friends because she spent all her time studying.
Her father listened and then asked, “How is your friend Audrey doing"?
She replied, “Audrey is barely getting by. All she takes are easy classes, she never studies and she barely has a 2.0 GPA. She is so popular on campus; college for her is a blast. She's always invited to all the parties and lots of times she doesn't even show up for classes because she's too hung over.”
Her wise father asked his daughter, “Why don't you go to the Dean's office and ask him to deduct 1.0 off your GPA and give it to your friend who only has a 2.0. That way you will both have a 3.0 GPA and certainly that would be a fair and equal distribution of GPA.”
The daughter, visibly shocked by her father's suggestion, angrily fired back, “That's a crazy idea, how would that be fair! I've worked really hard for my grades! I've invested a lot of time, and a lot of hard work! Audrey has done next to nothing toward her degree. She played while I worked my tail off!”
The father slowly smiled, winked and said gently, “Welcome to the conservative side of the fence.”
If anyone has a better explanation of the difference between conservative and liberal or progressive or neocon I'm all ears.
"In politics, stupidity is not a handicap." Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821),
Regards,
Greg L-W.
for all my contact details & Blogs: CLICK HERE
British Politicians with pens and treachery, in pursuit of their own agenda and greed, have done more damage to the liberty, freedoms, rights and democracy of the British peoples than any army in over 1,000 years.
The disastrous effects of British politicians selling Britain into the thrall of foreign rule by the EU for their own personal rewards has damaged the well-being of Britain more than the armies of Hitler and the Franco - German - Italian axis of 1939 - 1945.
Liberal? Conservative, Communist/Socialist? FIGURE IT OUT!
Hi,
If you ever wondered what side of the fence you sit on, this is a great test!
If a conservative doesn't like guns, he doesn't buy one.
If a liberal doesn't like guns, he wants all guns outlawed.
If a conservative is a vegetarian, he doesn't eat meat.
If a liberal is a vegetarian, he wants all meat products banned for everyone.
If a conservative is homosexual, he quietly leads his life.
If a liberal is homosexual, he demands legislated respect.
If a conservative is down-and-out, he thinks about how to better his situation.
A liberal wonders who is going to take care of him.
If a conservative doesn't like a talk show host, he switches channels.
Liberals demand that those they don't like be shut down.
If a conservative is a non-believer, he doesn't go to church.
A liberal non-believer wants any mention of God and religion silenced. (Unless it's a foreign religion, of course!)
If a conservative decides he needs health care, he goes about shopping for it, or may choose a job that provides it.
A liberal demands that the rest of us pay for his.
If a conservative reads this, he'll forward it so his friends can have a good laugh.
A liberal will delete it because he's "offended."
What do YOU think a Communist would do?
.
"In politics, stupidity is not a handicap." Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821),
Regards,
Greg L-W.
for all my contact details & Blogs: CLICK HERE
British Politicians with pens and treachery, in pursuit of their own agenda and greed, have done more damage to the liberty, freedoms, rights and democracy of the British peoples than any army in over 1,000 years.
The disastrous effects of British politicians selling Britain into the thrall of foreign rule by the EU for their own personal rewards has damaged the well-being of Britain more than the armies of Hitler and the Franco - German - Italian axis of 1939 - 1945.
#G360* - NASTY BLACK RULE IS WORSE THAN THOSE NASTY WHITE RULERS!
Hi,
Postcard From Zimbabwe
By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF
Published: April 7, 2010
HWANGE, Zimbabwe
Here’s a measure of how President Robert Mugabe is destroying this once lush nation of Zimbabwe:
In a week of surreptitious reporting here (committing journalism can be a criminal offense in Zimbabwe), ordinary people said time and again that life had been better under the old, racist, white regime of what was then called Rhodesia.
“When the country changed from Rhodesia to Zimbabwe, we were very excited,” one man, Kizita, told me in a village of mud-walled huts near this town in western Zimbabwe. “But we didn’t realize the ones we chased away were better and the ones we put in power would oppress us.”
“It would have been better if whites had continued to rule because the money would have continued to come,” added a neighbor, a 58-year-old farmer named Isaac. “It was better under Rhodesia. Then we could get jobs. Things were cheaper in stores. Now we have no money, no food.”
Over and over, I cringed as I heard Africans wax nostalgic about a nasty, oppressive regime run by a tiny white elite. Black Zimbabweans responded that at least that regime was more competent than today’s nasty, oppressive regime run by the tiny black elite that surrounds Mr. Mugabe.
A Times colleague, Barry Bearak, was jailed here in 2008 for reporting, so I used a fresh passport to enter the country as a tourist. Partly for my own safety, I avoided interviewing people with ties to the government, so I can’t be sure that my glimpse of the public mood was representative.
People I talked to were terrified for their personal safety if quoted — much more scared than in the past. That’s why I’m being vague about locations and agreed to omit full names.
But what is clear is that Zimbabwe has come very far downhill over the last few decades (although it has risen a bit since its trough two years ago). An impressive health and education system is in tatters, and life expectancy has tumbled from about 60 years in 1990 to somewhere between 36 and 44, depending on which statistics you believe.
Western countries have made the mistake of focusing their denunciations on the seizures of white farms by Mr. Mugabe’s cronies. That’s tribalism by whites; by far the greatest suffering has been endured by Zimbabwe’s blacks.
In Kizita’s village, for example, I met a 29-year-old woman, seven months pregnant, who had malaria. She and her husband had walked more than four miles to the nearest clinic, where she tested positive for malaria. But the clinic refused to give her some life-saving antimalaria medicine unless she paid $2 — and she had no money at all in her house. So, dizzy and feverish, she stumbled home for another four miles, empty-handed.
As it happened, the clinic that turned her down was one that I had already visited. Nurses there had complained that they were desperately short of bandages, antibiotics and beds. They said that to survive, they impose fees for seeing patients, for family planning, for safe childbirth — and the upshot is that impoverished villagers die because they can’t pay.
I also spent time at an elementary school where the number of students had dropped sharply because so few parents today can afford $36 in annual school fees.
“We don’t have desks. We don’t have chairs. We don’t have books,” explained the principal, who was terrified of being named. The school also lacks electricity and water, and the first grade doesn’t have a classroom and meets under a tree.
This particular school had been founded by Rhodesians more than 70 years ago, and the principal mused that it must have served black pupils far better in Rhodesian days than today.
At another school 100 miles away, the deputy headmaster lamented that students can’t even afford pens. “One child has to finish his work, and then he lends his pen to another child,” he explained.
Zimbabwe is one of my favorite countries, blessed with friendly people, extraordinary wildlife and little crime. I took my family along with me on this trip (my kids accuse me of using them as camouflage), and they found the scenery, people and wild animals quite magical.
At a couple of villages we visited, farmers were driving away elephants that were trampling their crops — and they were blaming Mr. Mugabe for the elephants. That struck even me as unfair.
The tragedy that has unfolded here can be reversed if Mr. Mugabe is obliged by international pressure, particularly from South Africa, to hold free elections. Worldwide pressure forced the oppressive Rhodesian regime to give up power three decades ago. Now we need similar pressure, from African countries as well as Western powers, to pry Mr. Mugabe’s fingers from his chokehold on a lovely country.
Much of Africa has suffered as a result of decolonisation which is a EUphemism for anti white racism. Many of the countries were all but empty of people when the European travellers arrived.
Captain Cook careened in Table Bay for over 3 months and his departure log was:
'A green and verdant land totally uninhabited by man'!
The Southern Swazi were starting to emigrate south at the same time and it was largely constraint by realisation that the land south of the Tugella was occupied that gave rise to the consolidation of the Southern Swazi and the dispute of Nandi with Senzenakona that gave rise to the emergence of the Zulu who may never have arisen had Tchaka not been both illegitimate as a result of isifibi (sp?) and impotent with NO libido being in medical terms a 'picnic'.
The Xhosa were a reneged Impi that thrived under Mkilikatze and the failed impi that turned north to cross the Vaal were also Southern Swazi who failed to assimilate or assimilated as Zulu but failed and were driven out in Tchaka's expansionist rule of terror.
Having been an active campaigner, to some extent, against apartheid and in SOWETO 9the SOuth WEst TOwnships) during the 1976 confrontation it is clear to me that the Nats. made the same error as the Rhodesians - they failed to create a middle class amongst the blacks - there were families like the Dlamini who were very wealthy but still they were denied any form of integrationary middle class status and rigging of elections by the Nats. and the verkramters was clear with the railway HQ being moved to Durban to unseat the more verlighter like von Keyserling etc.
There was no buffer zone and thus the underclass was easily inspired to uprising by Communist trained or inspired indigenous terrorists. Walter Sitole, Nelson Mandella, Robert Mugabe and their murderous henchmen.
Much of the problem was the deliberate sabotage of the British Empire influence by US inspired jealousy after WWII to which can be attributed the whole of the problems in the Middle East, and much of the problems of Africa in a US backed corporate expansionism that has proved a failure in term s of sociology.
That the Bantu are the main victim of the departure of the white Africans driven back to largely alien lands like Britain and Australia - where those of Dutch origin were so distanced that they found return nigh impossible. The two Portugese colonies were run by peasant peoples from Portugal and were both fairly disasterous under Portugals control and the Salazarri tenure led to collapse.
Jimmy Carter's pucillanimity gave rise to the demise of Angola when having instigated invasion he pulled out leaving General Hertzog high and dry outside Luanda with only withdrawal across The Caprivi as his only option.
Now the only competent intervention would be America and they have absolutely no idea how to fight any kind of war that isn't crassly amateur - war is NOT about destroying the enemy it is about imobilising the enemy with minimum casualty and minimum damage or you end up with wasted territory and destroyed trust - so very American!
France is utterly useless militarily hence they are depende3nt on Mercenaries of Legion Etrangere, Germany IS a military power but teenage in its approach fearing its propensity for the enjoyment of aggression & Britain has been emasculated even before the last 13 unlucky years of communist rule fronted by the crippling ineptitude of Labour.
I do rather think the outlook for Africa is Black!
However it is increasingly becoming obvious that the future may well be even worse as China takes over! It has now reached the stage where no Western intervention is possible for fear of confrontation with China as they now OWN so many African Countries and within 10 years will OWN South Africa.
There is no value to SA in nationalising the mines other than as the hidden hand of China where IGoldi will be the cost of solvency keeping the government in power - China is making moves to increase Gold holdings over the next 5 to 10 years by 10,000 physical tons to underpin The Yuan - this is the main reason why Gold has risen in price to $1,200 and will continue rising with a figure of $4-5,000 realistic within a relatively short time.
Investment? I suggest a chain of fully equipped Chinese takaways across Africa now that Chinese labour is being imported to undercut the local blacks in terms of wages and output!
Afghanistan is little different as the Chinese watch America and their allies make fools of themselves and play the long game for the copper. Survival into the future has blow all to do with oil with which we are awash but everything to do with CLEAN water, SAFE sewage and the means to transmit power which is dependent on COPPER which is very much a finite resource and has underpinned Chinas interest in certain countries in Africa and also Afghanistan which has THE largest unmined reserves known on the planet.
The idiocy of some of the Green Schemes for power generation are quite staggering - be that wind, tide or solar - already Britain is looking at a bill of £780+ per household per annum until we have built the network for Green Power not to mention the means of hoped for production.
We note the simpering Alex Salmond posturing about The Hydro and Green Power from wind being the bulk of electricity in Scotland by 2025 - can we all have some of what he is smoking AND his art COLLECTION, - Scotland can't even afford the copper for the new gridding! Why do you think The French, on a subsidy from The EU, has laid a cable the whole length of Britain all the way from France to Scotland - The French know what will happen!!!
"In politics, stupidity is not a handicap." Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821),
Regards,
Greg L-W.
for all my contact details & Blogs: CLICK HERE
British Politicians with pens and treachery, in pursuit of their own agenda and greed, have done more damage to the liberty, freedoms, rights and democracy of the British peoples than any army in over 1,000 years.
The disastrous effects of British politicians selling Britain into the thrall of foreign rule by the EU for their own personal rewards has damaged the well-being of Britain more than the armies of Hitler and the Franco - German - Italian axis of 1939 - 1945.
#G359* - Harry BECKHOUGH STANDS HIS GROUND ON TV @ 97 @Tory Conference 2010.
.
Sadly there is something of a dirth of characters like Harry or we might not be in the sad position we now hold.
That said he was and is an honourable man a rare commodity amongst politicians nowadays as it has become a 'job' with minimum work and maximum pay and attracts some of the most loathsone oiks - one need only read UKIP members only Forum or Anthony Butcher's scrofulous followers who post with ignorant regularity.
May I commend other talks by Harry on You Tube for The Marlborough Research Group which he still runs with Robert Francis both friends who used to attend the political weekends I used to run (more like herding cats! and on that note not only have we lost Christopher Story but Michael Shrimpton is going back home to Oz at the end of this month!)
. "In politics, stupidity is not a handicap." Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821),
Regards,
Greg L-W.
for all my contact details & Blogs: CLICK HERE . British Politicians with pens and treachery, in pursuit of their own agenda and greed, have done more damage to the liberty, freedoms, rights and democracy of the British peoples than any army in over 1,000 years.
The disastrous effects of British politicians selling Britain into the thrall of foreign rule by the EU for their own personal rewards has damaged the well-being of Britain more than the armies of Hitler and the Franco - German - Italian axis of 1939 - 1945.
#G358* - ZIONIST TERRORISM IN PALESTINE BRINGS SHAME ON JUDAISM
Gaza
The Zionist attack on Gaza disgust me. Using the IDF with its massive firepower as a State backed and State controlled terrorist force is beyond ALL moral justification. The lies told by the MSM in general, and the BBC in particular, have left me incensed!
So it was more than refreshing to see this article by Avi Shlaim, on a friend's blog today taken from The Guardian, putting the record slightly more in balance.
You will appreciate that I am unhappy at the concept of States founded on single superstitions and in seeing the massive fire power of The IDF used against a largely unarmed peoples with a few rifles and some home made rocketry to defend themselves - an obscenity rendering The IDF as nothing more than a State sponsored terrorist gang of unprincipled murderous thugs with NO morality.
This is not about some Holy War this is a Zionist Land Grab and nothing more. For Millennia Judaism has co-existed with other superstitions in The Middle East: The evil nature of the struggle is not Jew versus any other it is Zionist abusing Judaism and bringing hatred on the Jewish diaspora Zionism has little to do with Judaism and underpins the fracture of Kabala, Ashkenazim and the Jewish people of the Torah. As distinct a separation between this group of Arabs as that which exists between the Sunni, Shiite and Wahhabi Arabs following Islam as their chosen god.
Read on and I hope it helps you with yet another perspective:
How Israel brought Gaza to the brink of humanitarian catastrophe
Oxford professor of international relations Avi Shlaim served in the Israeli army and has never questioned the state’s legitimacy. But its merciless assault on Gaza has led him to devastating conclusions
* Avi Shlaim
* The Guardian, Wednesday 7 January 2009
A wounded Palestinian policeman gestures while lying on the ground outside Hamas police headquarters following an Israeli air strike in Gaza City.
Photograph: Mohammed Abed/AFP/Getty Images
The only way to make sense of Israel’s senseless war in Gaza is through understanding the historical context. Establishing the state of Israel in May 1948 involved a monumental injustice to the Palestinians. British officials bitterly resented American partisanship on behalf of the infant state. On 2 June 1948, Sir John Troutbeck wrote to the foreign secretary, Ernest Bevin, that the Americans were responsible for the creation of a gangster state headed by “an utterly unscrupulous set of leaders”. I used to think that this judgment was too harsh but Israel’s vicious assault on the people of Gaza, and the Bush administration’s complicity in this assault, have reopened the question.
I write as someone who served loyally in the Israeli army in the mid-1960s and who has never questioned the legitimacy of the state of Israel within its pre-1967 borders. What I utterly reject is the Zionist colonial project beyond the Green Line. The Israeli occupation of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip in the aftermath of the June 1967 war had very little to do with security and everything to do with territorial expansionism. The aim was to establish Greater Israel through permanent political, economic and military control over the Palestinian territories. And the result has been one of the most prolonged and brutal military occupations of modern times.
Four decades of Israeli control did incalculable damage to the economy of the Gaza Strip. With a large population of 1948 refugees crammed into a tiny strip of land, with no infrastructure or natural resources, Gaza’s prospects were never bright. Gaza, however, is not simply a case of economic under-development but a uniquely cruel case of deliberate de-development. To use the Biblical phrase, Israel turned the people of Gaza into the hewers of wood and the drawers of water, into a source of cheap labour and a captive market for Israeli goods. The development of local industry was actively impeded so as to make it impossible for the Palestinians to end their subordination to Israel and to establish the economic underpinnings essential for real political independence.
Gaza is a classic case of colonial exploitation in the post-colonial era. Jewish settlements in occupied territories are immoral, illegal and an insurmountable obstacle to peace. They are at once the instrument of exploitation and the symbol of the hated occupation. In Gaza, the Jewish settlers numbered only 8,000 in 2005 compared with 1.4 million local residents. Yet the settlers controlled 25% of the territory, 40% of the arable land and the lion’s share of the scarce water resources. Cheek by jowl with these foreign intruders, the majority of the local population lived in abject poverty and unimaginable misery. Eighty per cent of them still subsist on less than $2 a day. The living conditions in the strip remain an affront to civilised values, a powerful precipitant to resistance and a fertile breeding ground for political extremism.
In August 2005 a Likud government headed by Ariel Sharon staged a unilateral Israeli pullout from Gaza, withdrawing all 8,000 settlers and destroying the houses and farms they had left behind. Hamas, the Islamic resistance movement, conducted an effective campaign to drive the Israelis out of Gaza. The withdrawal was a humiliation for the Israeli Defence Forces. To the world, Sharon presented the withdrawal from Gaza as a contribution to peace based on a two-state solution. But in the year after, another 12,000 Israelis settled on the West Bank, further reducing the scope for an independent Palestinian state. Land-grabbing and peace-making are simply incompatible. Israel had a choice and it chose land over peace.
The real purpose behind the move was to redraw unilaterally the borders of Greater Israel by incorporating the main settlement blocs on the West Bank to the state of Israel. Withdrawal from Gaza was thus not a prelude to a peace deal with the Palestinian Authority but a prelude to further Zionist expansion on the West Bank. It was a unilateral Israeli move undertaken in what was seen, mistakenly in my view, as an Israeli national interest. Anchored in a fundamental rejection of the Palestinian national identity, the withdrawal from Gaza was part of a long-term effort to deny the Palestinian people any independent political existence on their land.
Israel’s settlers were withdrawn but Israeli soldiers continued to control all access to the Gaza Strip by land, sea and air. Gaza was converted overnight into an open-air prison. From this point on, the Israeli air force enjoyed unrestricted freedom to drop bombs, to make sonic booms by flying low and breaking the sound barrier, and to terrorise the hapless inhabitants of this prison.
Israel likes to portray itself as an island of democracy in a sea of authoritarianism. Yet Israel has never in its entire history done anything to promote democracy on the Arab side and has done a great deal to undermine it. Israel has a long history of secret collaboration with reactionary Arab regimes to suppress Palestinian nationalism. Despite all the handicaps, the Palestinian people succeeded in building the only genuine democracy in the Arab world with the possible exception of Lebanon. In January 2006, free and fair elections for the Legislative Council of the Palestinian Authority brought to power a Hamas-led government. Israel, however, refused to recognise the democratically elected government, claiming that Hamas is purely and simply a terrorist organisation.
America and the EU shamelessly joined Israel in ostracising and demonising the Hamas government and in trying to bring it down by withholding tax revenues and foreign aid. A surreal situation thus developed with a significant part of the international community imposing economic sanctions not against the occupier but against the occupied, not against the oppressor but against the oppressed.
As so often in the tragic history of Palestine, the victims were blamed for their own misfortunes. Israel’s propaganda machine persistently purveyed the notion that the Palestinians are terrorists, that they reject coexistence with the Jewish state, that their nationalism is little more than antisemitism, that Hamas is just a bunch of religious fanatics and that Islam is incompatible with democracy. But the simple truth is that the Palestinian people are a normal people with normal aspirations. They are no better but they are no worse than any other national group. What they aspire to, above all, is a piece of land to call their own on which to live in freedom and dignity.
Like other radical movements, Hamas began to moderate its political programme following its rise to power. From the ideological rejectionism of its charter, it began to move towards pragmatic accommodation of a two-state solution. In March 2007, Hamas and Fatah formed a national unity government that was ready to negotiate a long-term ceasefire with Israel. Israel, however, refused to negotiate with a government that included Hamas.
It continued to play the old game of divide and rule between rival Palestinian factions. In the late 1980s, Israel had supported the nascent Hamas in order to weaken Fatah, the secular nationalist movement led by Yasser Arafat. Now Israel began to encourage the corrupt and pliant Fatah leaders to overthrow their religious political rivals and recapture power. Aggressive American neoconservatives participated in the sinister plot to instigate a Palestinian civil war. Their meddling was a major factor in the collapse of the national unity government and in driving Hamas to seize power in Gaza in June 2007 to pre-empt a Fatah coup.
The war unleashed by Israel on Gaza on 27 December was the culmination of a series of clashes and confrontations with the Hamas government. In a broader sense, however, it is a war between Israel and the Palestinian people, because the people had elected the party to power. The declared aim of the war is to weaken Hamas and to intensify the pressure until its leaders agree to a new ceasefire on Israel’s terms. The undeclared aim is to ensure that the Palestinians in Gaza are seen by the world simply as a humanitarian problem and thus to derail their struggle for independence and statehood.
The timing of the war was determined by political expediency. A general election is scheduled for 10 February and, in the lead-up to the election, all the main contenders are looking for an opportunity to prove their toughness. The army top brass had been champing at the bit to deliver a crushing blow to Hamas in order to remove the stain left on their reputation by the failure of the war against Hezbollah in Lebanon in July 2006. Israel’s cynical leaders could also count on apathy and impotence of the pro-western Arab regimes and on blind support from President Bush in the twilight of his term in the White House. Bush readily obliged by putting all the blame for the crisis on Hamas, vetoing proposals at the UN Security Council for an immediate ceasefire and issuing Israel with a free pass to mount a ground invasion of Gaza.
As always, mighty Israel claims to be the victim of Palestinian aggression but the sheer asymmetry of power between the two sides leaves little room for doubt as to who is the real victim. This is indeed a conflict between David and Goliath but the Biblical image has been inverted – a small and defenceless Palestinian David faces a heavily armed, merciless and overbearing Israeli Goliath. The resort to brute military force is accompanied, as always, by the shrill rhetoric of victimhood and a farrago of self-pity overlaid with self-righteousness. In Hebrew this is known as the syndrome of bokhim ve-yorim, “crying and shooting”.
To be sure, Hamas is not an entirely innocent party in this conflict. Denied the fruit of its electoral victory and confronted with an unscrupulous adversary, it has resorted to the weapon of the weak – terror. Militants from Hamas and Islamic Jihad kept launching Qassam rocket attacks against Israeli settlements near the border with Gaza until Egypt brokered a six-month ceasefire last June. The damage caused by these primitive rockets is minimal but the psychological impact is immense, prompting the public to demand protection from its government. Under the circumstances, Israel had the right to act in self-defence but its response to the pinpricks of rocket attacks was totally disproportionate. The figures speak for themselves. In the three years after the withdrawal from Gaza, 11 Israelis were killed by rocket fire. On the other hand, in 2005-7 alone, the IDF killed 1,290 Palestinians in Gaza, including 222 children.
Whatever the numbers, killing civilians is wrong. This rule applies to Israel as much as it does to Hamas, but Israel’s entire record is one of unbridled and unremitting brutality towards the inhabitants of Gaza. Israel also maintained the blockade of Gaza after the ceasefire came into force which, in the view of the Hamas leaders, amounted to a violation of the agreement. During the ceasefire, Israel prevented any exports from leaving the strip in clear violation of a 2005 accord, leading to a sharp drop in employment opportunities. Officially, 49.1% of the population is unemployed. At the same time, Israel restricted drastically the number of trucks carrying food, fuel, cooking-gas canisters, spare parts for water and sanitation plants, and medical supplies to Gaza. It is difficult to see how starving and freezing the civilians of Gaza could protect the people on the Israeli side of the border. But even if it did, it would still be immoral, a form of collective punishment that is strictly forbidden by international humanitarian law.
The brutality of Israel’s soldiers is fully matched by the mendacity of its spokesmen. Eight months before launching the current war on Gaza, Israel established a National Information Directorate. The core messages of this directorate to the media are that Hamas broke the ceasefire agreements; that Israel’s objective is the defence of its population; and that Israel’s forces are taking the utmost care not to hurt innocent civilians. Israel’s spin doctors have been remarkably successful in getting this message across. But, in essence, their propaganda is a pack of lies.
A wide gap separates the reality of Israel’s actions from the rhetoric of its spokesmen. It was not Hamas but the IDF that broke the ceasefire. It di d so by a raid into Gaza on 4 November that killed six Hamas men. Israel’s objective is not just the defence of its population but the eventual overthrow of the Hamas government in Gaza by turning the people against their rulers. And far from taking care to spare civilians, Israel is guilty of indiscriminate bombing and of a three-year-old blockade that has brought the inhabitants of Gaza, now 1.5 million, to the brink of a humanitarian catastrophe.
The Biblical injunction of an eye for an eye is savage enough. But Israel’s insane offensive against Gaza seems to follow the logic of an eye for an eyelash. After eight days of bombing, with a death toll of more than 400 Palestinians and four Israelis, the gung-ho cabinet ordered a land invasion of Gaza the consequences of which are incalculable.
No amount of military escalation can buy Israel immunity from rocket attacks from the military wing of Hamas. Despite all the death and destruction that Israel has inflicted on them, they kept up their resistance and they kept firing their rockets. This is a movement that glorifies victimhood and martyrdom. There is simply no military solution to the conflict between the two communities. The problem with Israel’s concept of security is that it denies even the most elementary security to the other community. The only way for Israel to achieve security is not through shooting but through talks with Hamas, which has repeatedly declared its readiness to negotiate a long-term ceasefire with the Jewish state within its pre-1967 borders for 20, 30, or even 50 years. Israel has rejected this offer for the same reason it spurned the Arab League peace plan of 2002, which is still on the table: it involves concessions and compromises.
This brief review of Israel’s record over the past four decades makes it difficult to resist the conclusion that it has become a rogue state with “an utterly unscrupulous set of leaders”. A rogue state habitually violates international law, possesses weapons of mass destruction and practises terrorism – the use of violence against civilians for political purposes. Israel fulfils all of these three criteria; the cap fits and it must wear it. Israel’s real aim is not peaceful coexistence with its Palestinian neighbours but military domination. It keeps compounding the mistakes of the past with new and more disastrous ones. Politicians, like everyone else, are of course free to repeat the lies and mistakes of the past. But it is not mandatory to do so.
• Avi Shlaim is a professor of international relations at the University of Oxford and the author of The Iron Wall: Israel and the Arab World and of Lion of Jordan: King Hussein’s Life in War and Peace.
"In politics, stupidity is not a handicap." Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821), Regards,
Greg L-W.
for all my contact details & Blogs: CLICK HERE
British Politicians with pens and treachery, in pursuit of their own agenda and greed, have done more damage to the liberty, freedoms, rights and democracy of the British peoples than any army in over 1,000 years.
The disastrous effects of British politicians selling Britain into the thrall of foreign rule by the EU for their own personal rewards has damaged the well-being of Britain more than the armies of Hitler and the Franco - German - Italian axis of 1939 - 1945.
#000* - HERE IS A TEMPLATE. SHORT INDEX TITLE!
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#000* - HERE IS A TEMPLATE SHORT INDEX TITLE Clean EUkip up NOW & make UKIP
electable!The corruption of some of EUkip’s leadership& NEC is what gives
the r...
StolenKids - MARIE - GLASGOW
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Hi,
A new StolenKids blog has launched today in the sidebar.
Remember the aim of StolenKids is to give people an empowerment working
with others.
This yo...
2003-09-06 - D.J. WATKINS DFC, CdeG. Obit.
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*" Des " **WATKINS, D**esmond John*
(RAF n°188502)
*Distinguished Flying Cross, *
*Croix de Guerre with Palm + **Croix de Guerre with Crossed Pate,*
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AMERICAN DECLARATION of INDEPENDENCE
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*AMERICAN DECLARATION of INDEPENDENCE*
*& Signators. *
*The Declaration of Independence: A Transcription*
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IN CONGRESS, July ...
SC-B001 - THE CONCEPT
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*SC-B001 - THE CONCEPT*
*IF YOU need Help this is where you can help yourself whilst helping others
ENTIRELY FREE!*
IF you have been or are still are a vi...
WHO AM I & A BIT OF WHY!
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*From:*Greg Lance-Watkins
*Date:* 21/05/2008 18:43:18
*To:*EUroRealist - What IS Britain's Exit & Survival Strategy? List
*Subject:* & in The Year 1908
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Farage does well against AF Neil tonight
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Farage showed tonight what a good debater he is. He was only caught out on
not knowing the call for second referendum to revokearticle50 had attracted
over...
#000* - HERE IS A TEMPLATE. SHORT INDEX TITLE!
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#000* - HERE IS A TEMPLATE SHORT INDEX TITLE Clean EUkip up NOW & make UKIP
electable!The corruption of some of EUkip’s leadership& NEC is what gives
the r...
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*This blog has moved to here, where the name has been changed to Turbulent
Times. We are still publishing daily posts, covering a wide range of
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What role UKIP?
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Even in an uncertain world, certain predictions can be made with a high
possibility of them being correct. Thursday. May 5th, 2016, will be the
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