Duck Ass Dynasty

When I was a lad, the local barbers used to have posters up advertising the cuts available .... these included an old Brylcreem poster with an ex-footballer / cricketer (who I didn't know) called Denis Compton ... 

 

Denis Compton - Brylcreem

 

.... you could point at him and get the same hair cut (and presumably use the same Brylcreem).

What Passes For European Values

You can often go a whole ten minutes without a story from the Islamic world that pulls you up short ... this time, its that 'European minded, Freedom of Speech loving, Demagogue', Prime Minister of Turkey - Recep Tayyip Erdogan. His vitriolic and rabble rousing manner of language in speeches, now ever increasingly reminding one of the rhetoric of Bin laden, or President Assad, or even Ex President Gaddafi.

In Turkey, The Internet Is Not Always Uncensored ...

So its perhaps not too unexpected in that part of the world, that he's now enmeshed in a web of financial corruption stories, that are not only dragging in his cabinet and political allies, but also his immediate family .... so what does this paragon of financial and political probity do? Why he opts to gag the messenger ....

 

Justice Is Not Blind

I have noted before that there is a bias against being a right winger in the UK, that is not evident in being a left winger  ... this is more evident in the UK, than in Europe or the USA. In the UK there are around nine right-wing parties outside of the Conservative or UKIP parties, while there are around twenty nine left wing political parties outside of the Labour, Liberals and SNP. On both the far right and far left are supporters of extreme views .... that's a fact that by their nature they can't avoid.

However supporters of Stalinist or the Maoist creeds in the UK are not vilified to the point that they are banned or physically attacked when standing for office .... When Stalin killed millions upon millions in Russia in the 1930's, and again in the 1950's, we didn't purge the Communist party of Great Britain or vilify the supporters of this creed, in fact they actually thrived in our seats of learning and academia to the point that in the UK at least, the best spies the Soviets had, were recruited at Oxford or Cambridge universities by Communist lecturers ... to whit, Philby, Burgess, Blunt, and Maclean and others.

Now why am I rehashing this part of an earlier posting?

Well most of us can recall the case of Gary McKinnon, the UFO Pentagon hacker with Asperger's Syndrome, who when threatened with extradition to the US to stand trial for his crimes, was suddenly defended by every Left-wing lawyer, and millionaire socialist in the country - ranging from 'Sting' to 'Stephen Fry', and eventually the UK refused to extradite him. We also backed this up by saying that he wouldn't be prosecuted in the UK, for what the US had described the "biggest military computer hack of all time".

Only there is another 'Asperger Syndrome' criminal, I doubt you will have heard of him, his name is Michael Piggin, and he was arrested for allegedly planning to attack his old school in a Columbine style attack, as well as a Mosque and oddly, a cinema. He also has been diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome, and so one would expect that this diagnosis would be treated in the same way, and that the UK Crown Prosecution Service and Home Secretary would treat him in a similar manner to Gary McKinnon. But no, he is on trial, his mental condition not withstanding ....

So to recap, we have two men, both with the same mental condition, one, who has hacked the US military, but is deemed to be unable to be extradited, or stand trial for his alleged crimes due to the mental condition. The other man is on trial as I write this piece, despite his mental condition, and can expect a lengthy prison sentence if he (and his two co-defendents), are found guilty in the next few weeks.

Justice Not As Unbiased As We Thought?

It appears that his politics are a major factor, he is a supporter of far right politics and holds extreme views (with Swastikas adorning his bedroom), and he also supports the English Defence League .... now you might think that this would be taken as additional proof that his mental illness had affected his judgement, but that is seemingly not the case for Mr Piggin, who has no 'human rights' lawyers, nor any celebrity supporters batting on his behalf ..... not even any mental health campaigners.

Don't get me wrong, I am not suggesting that Mr Piggin not be tried, but rather so should Mr McKinnon, or it seems as though justice is not politically blind in the UK.

UPDATE 30/05/2014: Well I have to hold my hands up .... the Jury, who it seems, at least a third of  whom, may well have been thinking like me, that there was something wrong with this case coming to trial, failed to reach a verdict on the terrorism charges, although he was found guilty of possessing a knife (I assume that we can all get arrested for that .... just look in any kitchen), and perhaps more damningly, having parts for an improvised explosive device, for which he will be sentenced.

I repeat that personally, I think that Mr McKinnon should have been tried as well.

Two Sided Arguments

Self-determination seems to be a funny old thing .... in the Falklands and Gibraltar, Britain respects it .... while Argentina and Spain don't. However, in Georgia and Ukraine, some Russians have wanted 'mistakes of history' corrected and have returned to mother Russia (without a vote in one case, but with an overwhelming one in another) and the GB government doesn't respect the changes.

It’s this lack of coherent and logical policy thinking which has allowed the USA (with the GB government in tow), to invade and ignore the boundaries and integrity of a number of sovereign nations, while at the same time screaming 'foul' when the Russians or others (remember Iraq's invasion of Kuwait? ... seems so long ago), do exactly the same thing.

At least the Chinese foreign policy of 'not interfering in the internal affairs of others', no matter what the regimes internal politics are like (especially those who have natural resources), has some consistency ..... except of course, that they have interfered in Taiwan and Hong Kong, as well a war with Vietnam, and defended North Korea. Oh, and you also have to ignore those territorial claims on an entire sea, that they have lodged. So in a fact, they are all as hypocritical as each other and none have any fig leaves to hide their shames behind.

In the meant time, the 'self-determination' as the driver of boundary change, has spread far and wide, to such an extent, that an environmentally challenged old mining town in the Russian part of the Ukraine, the city of Donetsk, has launched a spoof campaign on the 'Novosti Donbassa' web site, to re-join the UK 'Cups of tea and God Save the Queen' and all that.

Donetsk Wants To Be British Like Its Founder.

The claim is based upon the fact, that its a dirt poor town, which is not able to re-join 'Mother Russia' but which crucially, and its this that they claim is the driving force of their claim to be part of blighty, the town was founded by a Welshman. Apparently, the 'Hughes the Town Founder' in this case was, John Hughes, a native of Wales whom the locals called 'John Yuz' (phonetic, gettit!), so the town was initially named 'Yuzovka' ... he was the founder of foundry.

John James Hughes (Yuz) - Founder Of Donetsk

But before the GB government decides to back this 'self-determination' as way of getting a foot hold inside Russia ... they may wish to consider that:

• Although Donetsk is the Ukraine's fifth-largest city, it is also a hotbed of pro-Moscow sentiment inside the Ukraine and the home of ousted President Viktor Yanukovych.
• It has also seen violent clashes over Ukraine's loosening of the ties with Russia, in which at least one person has died.
• The new Government in Kiev claims that the pro-Moscow rallies in eastern Ukraine involve "provocateurs" from Russia, and even members of Russian secret services.

So maybe not an ideal candidate for our 'new garden city in the East' ......

The Future Here Today

Like most people, when I think of mechanical exoskeletons (which I admit isn't all that often), I picture 'Ripley' fighting the Alien Queen (aka 'C'mon Bitch'), in the film 'Aliens' ...

Ripley - Sexy and Fighting Fit - C'mon Bitch

..... a thrilling mix of robot and android machine, but still human inside .... and I might add, something to fire up the imagination of the most jaded of Sci-Fi loving cinema goers.