The Housing Benefit Bill Will Be Higher After Bedroom Tax

Frank Field recently pointed out, that the bedroom tax will ultimately cost the government more in housing benefit than at present.
Because of the shortage of suitable council properties, families who need to downsize in order to receive full housing benefit, will be forced to rent privately.
As private rents are usually much higher than for council properties, the overall housing benefit bill will ultimately rise, despite an initial saving.

The great council house sell off has resulted in (according to the Daily Mirror last week) 70% of ex-council homes ending up in the hands of private landlords. We are now reaping the consequences in welfare terms.

There can be no way to allow aggressive capitalism to bring suffering and deprivation to the population, unless there is still the underlying belief in "Social Darwinism"
This philosophy is ingrained into the subconscious of western thought due to its excessive promotion by the Royal Society and those merchants who were offered a degree of scientific legitimacy through its precepts.

We need to astablish a code of common decency. If business adopted a fair appproach to social issues, the government would not have to stump up to redress the inequalities that result from it.

It reads like a page from the humanist manifesto doesnt it?
Strange that, because my personal understanding is that there is a sinister side to humanism.

Carbon Tax Will Double UK Electricity Bills

This article is from the Telegraph today.

There's a nasty shock in store for the British householder when a new 'carbon' tax comes into force

By Christopher Booker

Fast approaching, if largely unnoticed, is yet another massive shock the Government has in store for us with its weirdly distorted energy policy. It is surprising to see what an abnormally high proportion of the electricity needed to keep our lights on has lately been coming from coal-fired power stations. Last Wednesday evening, for instance, this was over 50 per cent, with only 1.3 per cent coming from wind power. Yet by next March, we learn, five of our largest coal-fired plants, capable of supplying a fifth of our average power needs, are to be shut down, much earlier than expected, under an EU anti-pollution directive.

One reason why these plants are being hammered through their remaining quota of hours allowed by the EU is that a new UK tax comes into force next April, which aims to make fossil-fuel power significantly more expensive. In 2010, George Osborne announced his intention to impose, from April 2013, a “carbon floor price” of £16 on every tonne of CO2 emitted by British industry, rising to £30 a tonne by 2020 and £70 a tonne by 2030.

An explicit purpose of this tax is to make the cost of electricity from fossil fuels so uncompetitive compared with “renewables” that it will, in the Treasury’s words, “drive £30‑£40 billion” of investment into “low carbon” sources such as wind and nuclear. On paper, the effect of Osborne’s new tax on our electricity bills looks devastating.

Using the latest figures from the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC), our power plants burnt 40 million tonnes of coal in 2011, emitting 116 million tonnes of CO2. They also generated 175,000 gigawatt hours from gas, at just over half a tonne of CO2 per gigawatt. At £16 a tonne, this CO2 would cost £3.5 billion – on top of our total current wholesale electricity cost of some £19 billion. Thus the new impost would represent nearly 20 per cent added to our electricity bills next year, and would almost double them by 2030.

Some of this, however, we already pay through the EU’s Emissions Trading System (ETS), which counts towards our £16 floor price. Osborne’s calculation in 2010 was that, initially, we would have to chip in less than an additional £2 per tonne to make up the £16 price. (The ETS price at that time was predicted to continue rising towards £40.) Since then, however, with falling demand due to the EU’s recession, the price of EU carbon permits has fallen dramatically. To reach the initial £16 level, the Treasury says we will now have to pay nearly another £5, making our electricity significantly more expensive. But since it made that guess the EU price has slipped still further, to well under £6 – leaving a gap of £10 a tonne to be made up by Osborne’s tax, rapidly rising every year thereafter.

Read the rest HERE

Do you know who lives in your neigbourhood?

Cyber terrorism is on the increase. Recent hacks have proved that the systems we rely on for our daily surf, e-mail etc are highly vulnerable.
We are fools if we believe that access to the Internet will still be available, in the midst of serious civil unrest.
So who are your on line buddies? do you have their names and addresses? Phone numbers? Probably not.
You are going to feel awful lonely when the net gets turned off. Nothing is designed to cause widespread confusion more than a shut down of communication channels. Apart from not knowing how your friends and family are, you will lose touch with the common consensus (to the extent that we are able to know it via the web) The mainstream media will be our only source of news. How frightening! but do not worry, it matters little what they want you to know as long as you don't believe it.
For example, need to know the weather? Look outside. How high is inflation? Go shopping, you will find out soon enough. The problem is that we have stopped (or never learnt in the first place) thinking for ourselves. We have become conditioned to roll over to the collective knowledge of society, without realising that, society doesn't really know anything apart from what it is told is the truth. This is invariably not the truth at all.
Mostly, what we are told in place of truth, results in someone, or some organisation, making profit. Look at the way that government think tanks have industry insiders insinuated into them so that they and up preferring the profitable course of business rather than that which is best for the public.
Its shameful that government have allowed this state of affairs to come about while, all along, pretending to represent the people.

So...  get to know your neighbours. Help them out with their garden if you can, Fill in a form for them if you are good with that type of stuff.
Just talk to them. You may find that they can sew up your son's school trousers or have some other amazing skill.
It may transpire that you and they, will be working together to overcome some serious obstacles one day. Its good to know who they are in advance.

Zeitgeist - The Spirit of The Age or Dangerous Void?

I decided to review "Zeitgist the Movie" as it had become apparent  recently, that sections of the on line "Alternative Media", had become "infused" with film's mindset.
Ten minutes was all I could manage before I decided to stop watching but I did see enough to draw a conclusion.

Zeitgeist is a clever promotion of "Chaos Magic"

According to the rules of chaos magic, I don't need to qualify that statement.
The rule is that there are no rules, but since the world, and more specifically, society, relies on rules, and most of us require some semblance of logical thought to draw conclusions on matters of religion or spirituality, I will.

The film primarily uses "Deconstructionism" although the Wiki entry for chaos magic, terms the process, "Discordianism".
Christianity is deconstructed while Eastern philosophy is introduced as the central or default belief system upon which the opinion of the film maker is based.
The opening sequence is a quote from eastern mystic, Rinpoche, and the "Christ myth Theory" is derived from the writings of DM Murdoch, better known as Acharya, which refers to spiritual teacher in Hinduism.

The fact that these claims are presented under the guise of a new kind of truth, along with 911 and NWO conspiracy theory, may be enough to convince some people of the use of magical techniques, but the very concept of "Zeitgeist", meaning "Spirit of the Age" denotes the state of flux that is typical of Chaos magic.

Vicar, Kevin Logan writes on chaos magic: "The very essence of chaos magic is a strong dislike of the doctrines and dogmas of the past, a freedom from any restraints, and a magic securely grounded in "what feels right"" (Paganism and the Occult p72)

There are lots of occult connections in Zeitgeist, either through the makers of the film or relating to the concept itself.

Believe it, or take it with a pinch of salt. I'm long past feeling the need to be apologetic about this stuff.

I got a Saab 9-3 Yesterday

No fresh postings yesterday as I was looking for a new car, after my Honda Accord was written off last month.
I ended up getting a Saab 9-3 2.2 TiD like this one.



 

I have heard much about the build quality of these cars and I have to say, my first impressions are that the reputation is well deserved. Even for a 2001 model it seems solid. I like it.

Its nice to be driving again after a break of five weeks of walking and cycling. Its a great way to keep fit but everything takes longer, you have to slow your lifestyle down accordingly. I don't mind that, but I like to live in the fast lane as well sometimes.

 

I haven't felt a burning desire to post anything up this last few days anyway. There is a limit to how many times per week, I want to write about the economy, or nonces in government. I will get back to writing about those things soon enough but I feel its OK to fiddle while Rome burns. I used to think Nero was a bit of a prat for that, but I'm beginning to understand now. I doubt there was much else he could have done in reality.

I have been helping to get our community recording studio up and running. It might just provide a helpful distraction to the evils of the world around us.

 

 

Summer Installation Failed

 

Dont you know it.

Financial Cannibalism

Ty Andross writes about "Something for nothing societies", where we become unwilling, or unable, to produce more than we consume.

"Unwilling to support themselves, they set off to consume those that do, to feed on and support themselves. The takers of wealth eat the  makers of wealth, Cannibalism of the worst sort"

He goes on to say:

Once they have achieved voting majorities, the economies they inhabit, are much like a farmer's field. They eat everything down to the roots and next years seed corn. Nothing is left to create future wealth and total destruction of production of wealth is the result. "Something for Nothing" societies are a  product of a number of factors which combine to destroy the lives and future prospects of the majority of its citizens. Creating desperate mobs of citizens easily manipulated by fear. It drives the final descent into economic and societal collapse.

I have been reading similar things.

James Delingpole wrote much the same recently. Historian and conspiracy theorist, WebsterTarpley calls it "Internal Looting", describing it as the natural progression of aggressive expansion.
In this case, western capitalism has reached its geo-political boundaries of China and Russia. With nowhere left to loot, the elites turn inward, devouring the very source of future production.

Deterring The Already Dead

This article by Laurent Murawiec, Senior Fellow, Hudson Institute, Washington, D.C. Illustrates why the fight against all kinds of religious fanaticism is impossible.
It also helps to explain why Christians believe in "taking up their cross daily", 

 

Deterrence works because one is able credibly to threaten the center of gravity of the

enemy: the threat of inflicting unacceptable losses upon him, whether in a bar brawl or in
nuclear escalation. The calculus deterrence relies upon is:

is it worth it?

 

Is the Price/Earning Ratio of the contemplated action so hugely negative that it would wipe out

the capital? Deterrence works if the price to be paid by the party to be deterred hugely
exceeds his expected earnings. But deterrence only works if the enemy is able and willing
to enter the same calculus. Read More here...


 

Abu Qatada's Bail Conditions

This is from a few days ago. How dangerous do we consider this guy to be?

I imagine that even with these conditions imposed upon him, he is happy to still be in this country and not extradited to Jordan.

 

 

 

 

Abu Qatada is being released under some of the strictest bail restrictions possible under English law.

The full conditions, published by the Special Immigration Appeals Commission, are as follows:

• Electronic tagging and reporting to a monitoring company
• Fixed address
• 22-hour curfew, with permission to leave home for a maximum of one hour twice a day
• Police and others permitted to enter and search his home
• No travel ticket or papers
• Ban on leaving a small area in his neighbourhood, set out on a map that he has been given
• Banned from attending a mosque
• Banned from leading prayers, other than those in his own family
• He must not publish any statement
• Nobody can enter home other than family, his lawyers and Home Office officials or children under 14
• Any other visitor must be vetted by the Home Office
• He cannot make any arrangements to meet anyone outside the home without permission
• If he meets an acquaintance by chance, he must make his excuses and leave
• No meeting with 27 named individuals, some of whom are in prison
• No meeting with anyone who is held on the new form of control orders known as TPims (Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measures)
• No mobile phone
• No internet connection
• No computer kit that can be connected to the net
• Visitors may not use a mobile in his home
• He may only have one bank account
• He may not hold any bank or credit card not connected to that account
• He may not transfer money out of the UK
• He may not help others buy, sell or obtain computer equipment
• Any educational course or training must be approved by the home secretary
• Any job must be similarly approved

Adam Smith's Invisible Hand

Economist, Adam Smith's "Invisible hand of God" wasn't just invisible, it was never there in the first place.
As famous quotations go, it is as appropriate as, "Just like That" or ,"Now you see it, now you don't",  sayings which could easily sum up the sentiments of those who's wealth "disappeared", as if by magic at the sleight hands of Smith's Laissez Faire economic theory.

Smith did espouse altruism but it appears to have been discarded in the rush to own everything in the world.
Some reports, like this one, which suggests that those who died in the Irish potato famine, were a result of the British government's strict adherence to Laissez faire policy, rather than crop failure which was widespread throughout Europe at the time, do not convey any sense of compassion whatsoever.

I'm not knocking free enterprise but rather, the absence of responsibility whereby the less fortunate, suffer as a consequence of commerce. It is a lack of personal accountability that is the problem.
The irony is that those who benefit most from free market economics are also the most tax efficient, leaving the burden of taxation, squarely on the shoulders of the working class.

Socialism is an evil, made necessary by the greed of unscrupulous merchants, many of whom, would in any other walk of life be possibly regarded as sociopaths.

The existence of these two systems of government side by side, has created a false dichotomy, a dialectic through which "Big Business" has been able to strengthen and consolidate it's position in  government and society.

E.U. Debt: Default the Only Solution?

Her is an excerpt from an article by Graham Summers for Market Oracle:

"At the end of the day, there is really only one solution to this whole mess: DEFAULT… both by the banks and by EU nations as a whole.

What happened to Wall Street in 2008? Banks that were over leveraged (meaning they borrowed far more money than they actually had on hand) went bust because the assets they bought with the borrowed money fell in value to the point that it erased the actual money they had on hand

Think of it this way, if you borrow $30 for every $1 you actually own, and you invest that $30 in various assets, you only need those assets to fall 3% (0.03 * 30 = 0.9) before you’ve wiped out almost all of your actual money (the $1 you owned and which you borrowed the $30 against).
This is what took down Lehman. And it’s what is taking down Europe today. The entire European banking system is leveraged at 26 to 1. Lehman was 30 to 1, Europe as a whole is only slightly below that,

And where did they invest the $26 in borrowed money?
EU sovereign bonds… (as well as garbage mortgages in the various EU housing bubbles).
When you are leveraged at $26 to 1, you only need the assets you’ve invested in to fall 4% before you are totally bankrupt.

This 4% drop in asset prices has already happened across Europe, the only reason that we haven’t seen a systemic collapse there is because Mario Draghi, the head of the ECB, said he’d buy unlimited amounts of EU bonds.

Note, Draghi said he would buy these bonds, he hasn’t actually bought anything since he said this.
So why did Draghi’s statement matter?
Because the primary assets owned by EU banks are EU sovereign bonds. And if EU bonds keep falling, it results in the dreaded 4% drop in asset prices that would wipe out all the EU banks’ capital.
So Draghi stepped in last summer, promised to buy EU bonds, EU bonds went up, and EU banks could breathe a sigh of relief… for a while.

But anyone with a modicum of common sense can look at this situation and say, “but wait, nothing was actually fixed, all that happened was Draghi promised something and the markets reacted.”
PRECISELY. And that is what Cyprus just proved: that the ENTIRE EU “fix” was a huge lie. Nothing changed. Nothing was fixed. The banks are still leveraged at 26 to 1 and sitting on loads of garbage debts. And the EU countries are all still totally bankrupt.

So what happens when EU bonds start rolling over again… and what happens when EU banks start seeing their asset prices falling… falling… falling to -4% or even more?

SYSTEMIC FAILURE IN EUROPE."
 

Arthur C Clarke and Isaac Newton

Here's a thought!

"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." Arthur C Clarke

 

"Nah, that's a rubbish quote", I hear you say.

OK how about this one:

 "If I have seen further it is by standing on ye sholders of Giants" Isaac Newton. The most influential scientist in history. Alchemist, Kabbalist, and all round general "kook"

Henri Le Chat Noir

Need to come back to earth after the economic news of the last few days?

Meet Henri The Black Cat.

My New Job: Crime Scene Photographer



Here is some of the work I have been involved in as my role as a freelance forensic photographer

 



 

 

As you can imagine, the police were able to get to the bottom of this incident quickly thanks to me.

Bedroom Tax in Chaos?

According to saturday's Mirror, the Bedroom Tax is in trouble.

A judge had ordered that two severely disabled children should not have to sleep in the same room. The same is true if one of the children requires through the night care. It might transpire that many families with disabled children may be eligible for FULL housing benefit and council tax benefit, including the repayment of any arrears.
Families with children who may fall into this category, will have to present their case to the local authority, who at this point in time, have no idea of how to make the assessments needed.

This system, which has cost millions to implement, is showing signs of being unworkable.

The new Universal Tax Credit system is the same. It may prove an expensive mistake, in that the cost of implementation, including social costs, may exceed the savings made.

The system appears to be "Hamstrung" by political correctness. It all comes down to who is deemed to have the greater right.
In the case of the Bedroom Tax. The disabled children were considered to have more rights to a decent nights sleep, than the government's rights to deprive them of benefit.

Every one has rights, some more than others, but what of the right to be right? As Phillip E Johnson points out, that's when we hear the grand, Sez who?"

Will the truth come out about Ted Heath?

They say, "Never judge a book by it's cover"
It's just as well because from the looks of him, Ted Heath (pic) is one of the most evil, scumbags, ever to walk the earth.

 

The Internet is awash with suggestions of Heath's sexual deviancy. If true, to even consider this man for the job of Prime Minister is sheer lunacy. Isn't it? Do you need evidence to suspect something on the balance of probability?

Even with thirty years experience of investigation into "Human Compromise" operations and organised paedophile rings, legendary NYPD cop, Jim Rothstein couldn't have busted this one open.
This is England, where institutionalised corruption is ..er....an Institution.

Some of these sordid cabals, are just too influential to be brought to justice and that is why so many of the investigations into child abuse by senior politicians are never satisfactorily resolved.

Jimmy Savile was one such person, who knew peoples dirty secrets and that guaranteed his immunity while he was alive.
Why after so many years abusing, has this finally been allowed into the open?
One answer is, our changing attitudes to sexual abuse. We care about human rights much more than ever before.

It doesn't change the fact that seriously sick individuals have been allowed to damage and destroy the lives of countless children, and yet walk away, "scott free".

The Cyprus "bail in"

The debacle in Cyprus would more accurately be called a "Bail in".

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financialcrisis/9937343/Cyprus-bailout-deal-to-tax-savers-wins-support-in-Germany.html

What are the Cypriot government thinking of? Do they want to start a run? That's what will happen and I'm absolutely convinced that they know the likely outcome.

I'm too tired to comment more on this, lets just say, keep close to what is dear to you.

Best Portrait Photographer in Cambridge

Now taking on new commissions.

Just e-mail me...



57 Bedroom Tax protests this Saturday throughout the UK



A series of protests against the "bedroom Tax"were organised via Facebook yesterday.

Its remarkable how social networks play a part in mobilising protests. We all saw how Facebook and Twitter were instrumental in the Arab Spring uprisings, particularly in Egypt, where the networks were closed down in an effort to thwart demonstrators.

While the people of Egypt, have a right to dislike, even detest, the tyranny under which they live, that discontent was very effectively harnessed by NGOs which were connected with western intelligence services.
Probably the most obvious of these organisations was "Freedom House", which ran courses designed to equip young Egyptian activists in the effective use of social networks to organise demonstrations.

In a Freedom House article entitled, “New Generation of Advocates: Empowering Civil Society in Egypt,” It stated that:

Egyptian visiting fellows from all civil society groups received unprecedented attention and recognition, including meetings in Washington with U.S. Secretary of State, the National Security Advisor and prominent members of Congress. In the words of Condoleezza Rice, the fellows represent the “hope for the future of Egypt.”

Freedom House fellows acquired skills in civic mobilization, leadership, and strategic planning, and benefit from networking opportunities through interaction with Washington-based donors, International organizations and the media. After returning to Egypt, the fellows received small grants to implement innovative initiatives such as advocating for political reform through Facebook and SMS messaging.

It seems that this article is no longer available. They were found out. Egypt court adjourns trial of 'US spies' to April

The Bedroom Tax demonstrations share a common element with the Egyptian revolt. It is the discontent of the people, being harnessed or even hijacked by big organisations with an agenda.

So what do we do? If we sit and do nothing, we are walked all over by self serving politicians, if we protest, we fulfil the agenda of another set of self serving politicians. They may even be the same lot.

Here is a suggestion. The real battle is for your attitude. This is the key area in which it is determined where you stand on everything.
I say that part of the answer is to ease off, on the concept that, "Freedom" is a licence to live in utter selfishness.

Red Nose Day: The Caring face of Communitarianism

I can't take Red Nose Day seriously any more. Here is why.

In relation to projects in Britain, people are giving money to help socially disadvantaged individuals who should be supported through the taxation system. instead of out tax pennies going into the bottomless pit of failed bank's balance sheets.
The gradual removal of the welfare system causes more domestic hardship, particularly those who are seriously ill, having benefits stopped by ATOS, than can ever be cured by buying red noses. And we are meant to feel guilty that we should be helping  more, when in reality, our government is "rolling us over".

The other side of Red Nose Day which deals with the plight of people in the "Third world", really hits the "guilt button" because was are mostly sitting in comfortable houses watching extreme poverty on flat screen TVs while we enjoy tea and biscuits.

As individuals, we are not responsible for the plight of the starving nations.
Collectively, we have a responsibility, but when our government decides to spend the aid budget on "peacekeeping", IE tanks and soldiers, I get the impression that those who really need the help, are unlikely to get it.

The ones who are able to fix this mess, are the ones who caused it. Criminals from the worlds of business and government. I say criminals because they lie and cheat, they steal, and even kill, by their actions.

The way I see it, this farce is one of the caring faces of Communitarianism,  Big Society, Political Correctness, Transformational Marxism, Common Purpose. or whatever you wish to call it.

Madeleine Hunt Continues

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/4842474/New-Madeleine-McCann-lead-as-police-hunt-for-six-Brit-cleaners.html

There is surely no missing child that has been headline news so often, and for so long, as Madeleine McCann.
As tragic as her disappearance was, and still is. The media has made a circus of it with the papers running headlines such as "Madeleine is alive", and then, just as our hopes were raised, we read in the smaller print, that there is no evidence of this, just that Kate McCann, "believes it".

Now, as Madeleine's picture, makes it onto the front page again, the tragedy is firmly established in the annals of conspiracy theory, mainly based on the principal that dogs don't tell lies,

Whatever happened in Praia da Luz, the McCanns have to live with it.

The point here, is that while the media indulges us in fantasy, real stuff is happening, but who does the average man trust to tell it to him straight?

Ben Howard: Wolves



Ben Howard won Best Breakthrough Artist at this years Brit awards..
This song is from his album "Every Kingdom" which is well worth a listen. There are some excellent parts on it.

A Recent Visit

 

I just had a call from the Blog Mafia.

Its ok, Im fine. I can't talk too much about it, but they made me an offer I couldn't refuse.

Who Said The Banks Were Too Big To Fail?

Mine failed  a few weeks ago when the balance showed as zero and I couldn't make any transactions.
My wife's failed more recently, for the third or fourth time.

Too much is at stake for the banks to fail, but they do, and they will.

A widespread failure of the banking system would lead to complete chaos, in a very short space of time.

It is very difficult to prepare (at least physically) against this. It is similar to having to buy another car because you realise that, at some point, yours is going to stop working. Most people can't realistically afford to have another car sitting on the drive, just in case.

One suggestion to offset the effect of bank failure calamity, is Co-operation. The idea that we help each other out to the benefit of the community. Sounds strange to our self centred ideals, but it will become more appealing.

Here is the danger. What if government gets there before you do?
What if they steer you into a community lifestyle by leaving you no alternative?
What if... the collapse of the economy was engineered, solely to bring about a communitarian agenda, where we sacrifice our individual rights for the greater common good?

OK that's just my imagination running wild again.

Behave Pete.

Ovenden Facing Justice, Whatever That Is

 

The naked child photographer, who poses as an artist, Graham Ovenden is in court accused of child sex offences.
According to one article this morning, Ovenden has been accused before, but has somehow managed to beat the charges.

How much influence do you need, to beat the rap? And what type of influence? I suspect I know.

Considering the general outlook for society, it's not looking very good, and there are no heroes to save us.

We are on our own. And with such degenerate rabble as we have, supposedly leading the country, we're better off that way.

Anyway pressure brings out the hero in some people.

Extreme Papping!

 

This photo had me in stitches this morning.

Making a Documentary Film

I decided this year, that I should be producing documentary videos. Exactly how to do this, I am still trying to figure out.
Video is a much more dynamic format than written words or even audio, because it can utilise all three, or four formats if you include, background music, narration, images and subtitles.
It can draw people into your subject in a way that standard blogs can't.

 Of course, like every other blogger in the universe, I think that I have something uniquely worthwhile to say.
In fact I do (I can hear the "Yawn, they all say that don't they?") No I really do!

So to the details of how to make film.
I'm OK with audio, being a musician of many years now. I'm also reasonable with a camera, so two of the boxes are ticked already. It just seems as though my approach to this needs to be consolidated. Something which does not sit well with my standard way of doing things, IE randomly.

A lot of time can be wasted forever by not having a structured approach to a project so I'm determined that it must be planned to some degree.
How do you plan a video project?
Maybe I need to learn the very basics. Yep that sounds about right.
I might even keep a journal of the process for my own coherence.

The Chalybeate at Knappwell

I was delighted to find recently that Ordinance Survey maps were available on line.
I was looking for a particular footpath that ran adjacent to some woods that were filled with old cars from the 1930s (see pic).

While looking at the map for my area, I was amazed to see how much local history there was within a five mile radius.
One interesting discovery was the mention of an ancient well in woods near the Cambridgeshire village of Knapwell. The well is said to have healing properties and its water is reddish in colour. Modern day technology would ascribe this to the nitrates within the ground that the water springs up from. They didnt know that 1000 years ago, they just knew it made you better if you were ill. Such well often were termed "Holywells"
I decided to find it out of interest. Could I? No! I must have spent a good two hours wandering round the woods in vain. It was a bit like the Blair Witch project as well.

Here is a quote from Wiki:

"Early in the 17th century, chalybeate water was said to have health-giving properties and many people have promoted its qualities. Dudley North, 3rd Baron North discovered the chalybeate spring at Tunbridge Wells in 1606. Dudley North’s physician claimed that the waters contained ‘vitriol’ and the waters of Tunbridge Wells could cure:

"the colic, the melancholy, and the vapours; it made the lean fat, the fat lean; it killed flat worms in the belly, loosened the clammy humours of the body, and dried the over-moist brain."

He also apparently said, in verse:

"These waters youth in age renew

Strength to the weak and sickly add

Give the pale cheek a rosy hue

And cheerful spirits to the sad."

The English physician Thomas Sydenham prescribed chalybeate waters for hysteria"

Here is the Blair Witch's house:

 

Unilever, And The Stain That No Soap Can Remove

The "Lever brothers" soap manufacturing company was started in 1885 by William and James Lever Using a process invented by early business partner, William Watson, whereby glycerin was mixed with vegetable oil such as palm oil, rather than tallow, to create a free lathering soap.

This early product became known as "Sunlight soap", and soon after, the brands, "Lifebouy", "Lux", and "Vim" were also established.

By 1888, "Sunlight soap" production was around 450 tonnes per week and the company moved to new premises on the Wirral peninsular in Merseyside, England. The plant was named, "Port Sunlight", and expanded to include a "model village", to accommodate the company's staff, in good quality housing with high architectural standards and many community facilities.

Lever Brothers was one of the first companies to take an interest in the welfare of its workers and the masonic influences of founder, William, (who was initiated into the craft in 1902), were to be applied, not just in the workplace, but also in the village, where conformity to certain strict standards, and participation in community life, was to be expected.

William was to become the founder of several Lodges during his lifetime, especially as, growing business forced many of his workers to migrate to London and participation in their "mother" lodge, became impractical.

William Lever eventually became 1st Viscount Leverhulme and is remembered as a great philanthropist.

Four years after he died in 1925, Lever Brothers Ltd, (which was already the biggest company in Britain), merged with Dutch margarine producer, "Margarine Unie" to form "Unilever", one of the first ever multinational corporations. Unilever today,  is the world's third-largest consumer goods company, owning more than 400 brands. (the most famous of which are, Aviance, Axe/Lynx, Ben & Jerry's, Dove, Flora/Becel, Heartbrand, Hellmann's, Knorr, Lipton, Lux/Radox, Omo/Surf, Rexona/Sure, Sunsilk, Toni & Guy, TRESemmé, VO5 and Wish-Bone)

Around the same time as the founding of the Lever brothers company, Welsh explorer Henry Stanley, (The one who allegedly uttered the famous phrase, "Dr Livingstone I presume", after finally discovering the Scottish missionary and explorer, David Livingstone in Tanzania), had helped King Leopold II, of Belgium stake the claim of his organisation, "The International Association for the Exploration and Civilization of Central Africa", in the Lower Congo.

Leopold II's stated intention was to bring "civilisation" to the Congo basin but his motivation was really, exploitation of rubber and ivory. Belgian colonial rule, was to become, and remains, one of the most brutal regimes in Africa, with its use of "Travail Force" (forced labour). Villages were wiped out, the land was expropriated and the communal society was destroyed. Workers were mutilated if they failed to gather their quota of rubber from the wild vines; women were tortured, murdered, raped, and driven into brothels for King Leopold's native soldiers or his white agents. It is estimated that the population had declined by six million in 1912.

Stanley was appalled, even though, it was estimated that he had been directly responsible for the death of 6 to 7 hundred natives. One of his critics, Richard Burton, (not the actor) declared, 'Stanley shoots Negroes as if they were monkeys". 

Partners in the Belgian expropriation of land, were some of the richest capitalists in the world at  the time, Guggenheim, J.P. Morgan, J.D. Rockerfeller (Jr),  Thomas Fortune Ryan, Aldrich, and of course, William Lever.
A typical deal would be similar to one offered to  Ryan's and Daniel Guggenheim's "American Congo Company", whereby they would be granted  a ninety-nine-year option to collect rubber "and other vegetable products", over 4,000 square miles, plus a ten-year option to buy 2,000 square miles of territory.
Similar concessions were given for rights to mining, and forestry, including the palm oil needed for the production of Lever Brothers soap.

Despite William Lever's good standing at home, he was not only aware of the conditions in the Congo, but relied upon "Travail Force", and helped to establish it. The history of Unilever is irreversibly stained by this vile system and no amount of soap can ever remove it.

Kelly Joe Phelps, The World's Greatest Living Bluesman?

Phew!

Bob Brozman - Nutcase but awsome guitar player

Nutcase but Awsome guitar player

The Illuminati Stole My Bicycle, Yeah Right.

There is conspiracy theory and then there is conspiracy fact. Often, in an attempt to establish the truth about a matter, we run into the extreme fringe which is spouted by nutcases who have spent too much time in the murky recesses, researching secret societies and occult movements.
I'm all in to research but there needs to be a healthy outlook or else it is all to easy to lose a grip on the real world.
I'm not suggesting that there is no truth at all in some of the fringe elements of conspiracy theory, but certain things need to be treated with a healthy scepticism.

Happily (or not) the idiots who rule over us, are getting very adept at exposing themselves. so there should be no need to launch off into wild and wacky imaginings.

Malkovich's Lennie Small

 

John Malkovich's portrayal of the half wit, Lennie Small in the 1992 film adaptation of John Steinbeck's classic novel, "Of Mice And Men" is superb. I know when a character is well played when it stays in mind for days afterwards.

Life would be so much simpler being "Lennie" but getting shot in the head by yer best mate would ruin it.

 

Who is Behind the Occupy Movement?

Google this and you'll get a variety of answers:

The Unions
Anarchists
Communists
George Soros
Stephane Hessel
No-one (i.e. It started as a grassroots movement)

The answer I would be least inclined to believe is the latter. Unless the Arab Spring was also a grassroots movement. Which it wasn't.
Its a confusing matter. What do you call a cross between a Paradigm shift, and a dialectical synthesis?

Hey it's Tard, The Grumpy Cat

Its nice to see him here as he is so famous now.

The Alternative Reason for Pope Benedict's Resignation

When I was young, I was always told, "Never get into arguments about politics or religion" That piece of advice turned out to be vaguely correct. However, this is the Internet where nothing is real so it doesn’t matter.

I am intrigued by some of the reports that were circulating from alternative news sources from the time of Pope Benedict's announcement to retire.The gist of the reports were that the Pope was forced to retire because of an international arrest warrant issued against him for sexual abuse.

I was shocked at the magnitude of the scandal and set about to find out more about it, only to discover that, despite page after page of Google results from websites like David Icke, Prison Planet and Beforeitsnews.com, none of the mainstream media outlets, were carrying the story. Not one.

After some investigation, it transpired that the "News" reports, had originated from a single source, the "International Tribunal against Crimes of Church and State" (ITCCS) which despite its official sounding title, actually comprises of only one man, Kevin D. Annett, who is a bit of a crackpot, given the fact that he intends to initiate a campaign of occupation and confiscation of Church property. I also discovered that renowned atheist, Richard Dawkins and the late Christopher Hitchens, had tried to find a way to have the pope arrested during his visit to the U.K.

Reuters revealed that because the resignation was unprecedented, the Pope would stay in the Vatican for for immunity, and security reasons, as there would be a likelihood of pilgrimages to his home. 

It seems to me that a clear pattern of anti-Christian or anti-church sentiment has become evident within the truth seeker/alternative news community. I suspect that this is largely due to the influence of the Zeitgeist films, which are described as, “Conspiracy theory meets the New Age”.

Since anyone who is familiar with the truth about Alice Baily’s New Age agenda and the work of the Lucis trust, will likely diverge from the Zeitgeist philosophy, there is some disagreement in store.

Buying Milk or Being Milked?

Lets get straight to the point. Supermarkets are just entities designed to separate you from your cash as efficiently as possible.
Take no notice of the slogans, "Every Little Helps", "That's why Mums go to Iceland", "Saving you money, every day" and so on..
Any real benefit to you, is purely coincidental and only serves as further PR for the supermarket.
Remember this next time you are in the milking trough.. err checkout.

The catch phrase is a lie, but its not all bad in Blighty. We could have the U.S. equivalent:

"Piggly Wiggly. Feeds your life.
It feels like home.
Down home. Down the street"

Which is just plain silly.

Or this one from Kroger stores, which sounds more akin to something you would do in a quiet lay by after dark:

"Let's go Krogering"

Delingpole's Despair Pt 2

I just couldn't leave it there since the posts of today, line up so superbly.

In the earlier blog post entitled, "Tragedy and Hope" Quigley's opening paragraphs, deal with the patterns that occur in the rise and fall of civilisations.

James Delingpole is right (about everything, according to his imagination). Quigley writes: Our civilisation is characterised by "A crisis of organisation", and is being, "racked by internal struggles of a social and constitutional character, weakened by loss of faith in its older ideologies and by the challenge of newer ideas".
However, Quigley remarks that rather than disappearing completely, western civilisation has managed to successfully re-invent itself.

It is how we will re-invent that I fear. Or I would if I was a fearful type, which I'm not.

Delingpole's Despair

I posted this snippet of an article up on FB last week and apart from a comment from Bill, it has been largely ignored so I thought I would post it here to be ignored as well.
The author is James Delingpole. James is well known for his Telegraph Blog in which he openly shares his views on climate change.

Here is his impassioned, frustrated, and despairing piece:

"I'll tell you what I fear. I think we have now reached that stage of last-days-of-the-Roman-Empire intellectual and moral depravity where almost no one in our dominant corporate/political/financier/lawyer class believes it's worthwhile or even possible to do the right thing any more. Some of them may be vaguely aware that, yes, the only way the world is ever going to recover from the economic mess we're in is through a radical agenda of cost-cutting, contraction of the state, sound money, and lower taxes. But they've made up their minds that none of this is a vote winner in our heavily socialised Western economies and that therefore the only hope is simply to grab what you can while you still can – and forget any fancy, idealistic notions you may have had about making the world a better place."

The reason I have returned to this article is because it has been resonating with me so strongly over the last few weeks. Every time I read a commentary or news item reporting on the dreadful state of affairs we find ourselves in, I mentally refer back to the piece. Not only that, but James' thesis can be expanded further, although sadly, the conclusion is still pretty miserable.

Time for some more pictures of kittens.

Tragedy and Hope

I just discovered that a new PDF version of Quigley's classic "Tragedy and Hope", is available for free download HERE Follow the link and be sure to download a copy to your computer in case it disappears again.

 

Here is an excerpt from the introduction by Michael L Chadwick.

 

 

"Tragedy and Hope: A History of the World in Our Time was published in 1966 and is

clearly one of the most important books ever written. Professor Quigley was an

extraordinarily gifted historian and geo-political analyst. The insights and information

contained in his massive study open the door to a true understanding of world history in

the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. In fact, if the scholar, student, businessman,

businesswoman, government official and general reader has not thoroughly studied

Tragedy and Hope there is no way they can understand the nineteenth and twentieth

centuries. It is a work of exceptional scholarship and is truly a classic. The author should

have received a Nobel Prize for his work".

Fluffy things

Since it has become an unfortunate habit of mine to discuss the nasty business of reality, I thought it would be appropriate to intersperse some of the more serious topics, with kittens and other fluffy things like this:

There, I'm feeling better already. Hope you are too.

The best thing about having a blog that no one reads

It's great that I can write whatever I want. For example, if I wanted to write a string of expletives, no one would care. However, it's inevitable that I would be dragged over hot coals if  I posted something negative about, Gays, Muslims, Women, Spectacle wearers, Rich child abusers, Gingers, The disabled, or even cyclists...

Hatred of cyclists should be treated as a crime, says Cambridge campaign group

Everyone should have rights but who has the upper hand? Cyclists in Cambridge are a nuisance anyw.... Oh dear, there is a knock at the door already.

One of my favourite pieces of music

 

 

Vaughan Williams Symphony No 5 in D

Written between 1938 and 1943, the serenity of the piece is in such sharp contrast with the conflict of WW2