Sunset on Brittania

With the tragedy of oncoming events rapidly unfolding, it will be said that this is not the time to raise delicate matters. When is the right time? Later, when those wonderful defenders of democracy can ignore every sensible syllable uttered?
Admiral Sir Alan West praises the restraint and discipline of the unfortunate 15 taken into captivity in Iran. But what a strange message it is sending to he Iranian nation. If the contention is that the sailors were within Iraqi territorial waters is correct, then what use is there in issuing them with weapons? What use is a helicopter if it cannot protect two patrol boats and their crews?

And where is the BBC film of the incident? Was the BBC crew on board the chopper or with the parties on the boats? It has been two days and no-one is asking these questions. It has been two days and not a single government spokesman has made a rational appearance within the media.

And what is a female doing in the party? According to one of the last party to be taken into custody in Iran..."it changes the mindset having a female along?"

An oppo of mine recently finished 22years in the Andrew and was muting his intention of going back in. He committed suicide instead. Another desperate soul that the politicians ignored and Navy failed to monitor.

The picture above is the Cornwall in sunset. Say No More!!!

Tragedy in the System.

IF

Written by Rudyard Kipling

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you
But make allowance for their doubting too,
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream — and not make dreams your master,
If you can think — and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much,
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more — you'll be a Man, my son!

BOTB says: Little wonder this is still the most read poem of our times. I placed this poem as a tribute to Sally Clark and with deepest sympathy to her husband and family. This tragic event is the result of system failure and the attitudes of those within the system not to be able to admit they are wrong. Parliament take heed! These are the words of one parent who lost a child under awful circumstances and it eventually destroyed him. What torment must Sally and her husband endure?

You just do what we want you to...

I asked BT one simple question. What gives them the right to impose a surcharge on my account when I have always paid promptly, just because I will not give you 'carte blanche' to my bank account?
Two hours later the third manager was still reading off the same prepared script. They even had the nerve to tell me I am wrong and BT do not dictate to their clients and there is no contract!!! Ten minutes after that I quoted Alan Sugan..."BT. You are sacked!"

clipped from forums.moneysavingexpert.com Warning! BT increase charges for non direct debit payers What's happened You may have read in the papers, that BT is going to charge those who don't pay by Direct Debit more than others. Actually it already does that, the gap is just getting bigger. The Details. Currently line rental costs £11 for those that pay via direct debit and £12 for those that pay by any other means. Now those who pay without direct debit will pay £12.50 Why use BT? While BT itself isn't competitive, using it for line rental means you can access override providers such as those detailed in the Callchecker (always worth making six cheap calls a quarter via BT itself though, so you don't have to pay for its voicemail). This means if you can, switch your payment to direct debit before 1 May. More details on telephone costs see the cheapest home phones article. Martin

Robbing Peter?

When London first applied to host the Olympics I raised the funding questions and was told to wind my neck in. When i told both the major services charities that it would inevitably inflict upon them I was again told to shut up. Now let everyone tell me where the extra billions are to come from if it is not charity fundings?

clipped from news.bbc.co.uk Olympics budget rises to £9.3bn Ms Jowell was accused of raiding the lottery good causes to pay for the overspend, but she said the Lottery would benefit from profit sharing based on rises in land values in the Olympic park area.

Opinions

clipped from www.stuff.co.nz Charles' principal private secretary Michael Peat issued a detailed rebuttal of accusations made in a Channel 4 Dispatches documentary titled Charles: The Meddling Prince, highlighting how sensitive the king-in-waiting is to charges of meddling. "The investigation has been carefully researched over a period of six months. All the claims made in the film will be substantiated and we will fairly reflect the response of (Prince Charles' office at) Clarence House," a spokeswoman said.

Notareargunner adds: The denial of opinion and free speech is endemic. So what if Charlie bombards the mandarins of Westminster with 'food for thought'? As Rogue Gunner is trying to do, those who have knowledge of certain matters and have grave concerns for certain detail have no access to those who control matters. Letters to MP's are universally ignored. I even had an MP tell me he knows all about terrorism because he was within 200 yards of a London bomb. "Try running across roof-tops armed only with a stick of wood to apprehend gunmen firing down on soldiers in the street." That was in part of my country, the terrorist were British and British soldiers were defending other Britons. Or being out on a freezingly cold, wet autumnal night, bombs and bullets all around you and you have to huddle in soaked crevices because the powers that be will not give you the order to take out the gunmen...your friend and Commanding Officer lying a few feet from you with shrapnel in his brain, for him to survive as a vegetable while the pompous politicians had beer and sandwiches with the gunmen. This year they will call me a veteran for that and give me a Veterans Badge...I DON'T THINK SO! They can stick it with the Borneo and Aden ones.

This is why vigilance is essential?

clipped from www.blackpooltoday.co.uk Homes cash hope MILLIONS of pounds could be ploughed into upgrading Blackpool's council houses. The Almo board would be made up of councillors, tenants and independent members. Coun Sue Wright, portfolio holder for social services, health and housing, said: "The news that we might be able to create an Almo after all has come as a surprise, but we are really pleased about it. "The council would still own the housing stock, but it would be managed in an arm's length way. "It would bring in much more investment from government, which would run into millions of pounds.

American we are behind you! You fought the insidious Spanish Colonialist, the spicks and the daygoes or what ever you called them and acquired a massive stretch of oil rich land...does that sound familiar(rhetorical)? The education system in Britain is now so bad that Council officials cannot spell or have been told to ration their output of letters - they seldom reply to mine - and set up the Alamo. Davy Crocket, Col Travers and the one with the knife Major Jim...we have them aplenty. So when letters were sent to them about the homeless and the insidious Homelessness Act, why did they all suddenly do a Tony Blair and take a holiday? One in three homeless are former service personnel and to date the politicians have done nothing for them. What evidence is there that the Alamo will do anything for them now? None. Especially as theyhave elected a chairman who expected a member of his esteemed Service Organisation to do a 350 mile round trip just to inspect the minutes of meetings, an exercise that would have taken 5 seconds on a computer. How are the illiterate, ill-informer, sick and disabled of Blackpool going to get action when history shows a chairman having past difficulties in similar situations? What chance the former soldier, homeless soul, then?

Observer comes on board

clipped from observer.guardian.co.uk The complaints include an impassioned protest from the parents of Cooper, 18, the youngest British soldier injured in Iraq, detailing a series of alleged lapses in his care at Selly Oak. Their son, the letter concludes, had been 'sent to Iraq straight from training with no real military knowledge and [is] not receiving the care and attention that is needed for his recovery.' Scandal of treatment for wounded Iraq veterans

About Time TOO

The rumblings of discontent are getting louder. As demands for better services for former service personnel falls on deliberate deaf ears, a new party is proposed. Personally I would like an all night drinking party -it used to be called the Mess for those who have never lived in one.



NARG: remarks, had anyone watched last evenings Question Time and witnessed the unacceptable attacks on Patrick Mercer, the conclusion has to be drawn that it is time we eliminated the political mafia of the three major parties and educated the masses to think for themselves. If you look at my former regiments you will see I am not a racist and my campaigning for equality for Gurkhas has lasted years. What the PC brigade wants are soldier too afraid to soldier. They are too driven by personality culture and too stupid to accept that heroic actions are undertaken with more regularity than of the few that reporters manage to get hold. Fixing bayonets and charging machine guns is not the place for sensitive souls.

Empty Bottles

The language of Britain's sea-soldiers has been foreign to everyone except those who served in the 'Andrew'. I do not intend to produce a glossary of terms but hope that the reader has enough savvy to construct from the language used the correct meanings.
As a sprog it was drummed into us that we were empty-bottles and should shoulder the metaphor with pride. My pride is not reflected by officialdom- and I direct my remarks at the Royal Marines Associations as well as the MOD - who continue not to correct those in both media and propaganda who ought to be chastised for their ill-informed insults.
From one empty bottle I dedicate this collection of words to all the people serving in HM Forces, and especially to the BOOTNECKS.

A Royal Marine.

From a past member I want to give the pride of thought to his oppo's. His Company released the following:
"Ben's absence will be profoundly felt by all ranks within K Company. We have lost a vibrant, unique character with an irrepressible sense of loyalty to his comrades. But most of all we have lost a true friend."

clipped from www.royalnavy.mod.uk

Marine Benjamin Reddy killed in Afghanistan

Good soldier are always pawns of politicians.

http://www.thenewrbc.com/pages/music.html

Click on the above Web Page and listen to, in the Songs of Rhodesia, the RAR band (track 5). The 'song' you must hear is the Regimental March of the finest soldiers in Southern Africa, the Rhodesian African Rifles. Before it is completely forgotten, adjoined web pages give an independent account of the true history of the mass murder of these fine people. GUKARAHUNDI is the legacy of shame for all those African experts who read ficticous articles in British tabloids or spent a few nights having sex with practiced liars.
As a former Royal Marine I have enough angst to no longer care what those ignorant, biased liars who infest Westminster think. Soldiers die so that they can keep office.

Why the Freedom of Information Act must be strengthened

clipped from politics.guardian.co.uk

Cash for honours: key document names Levy

Police have been investigating whether Ruth Turner, the prime minister's director of external relations, was being asked by Lord Levy to modify information that might have been of interest to the inquiry. Officers have been trying to piece together details of a meeting they had last year. Ms Turner gave an account of it to her lawyers and this has been passed to police.

Sources have said the two had a difficult conversation. The police are attempting to establish whether this could be interpreted as Lord Levy having asked Ms Turner to adjust the evidence she was preparing to give the Metropolitan Police, whose inquiry has led to senior members of Downing Street staff - including the prime minister, Tony Blair - being questioned by detectives.

Former Bootneck leads the way

Dennis Shambley of Wigan in Prime Shire will soon be needing help in his effort to overtake the mandarins and bigots of his local area.

What price Democracy?

It is not just the physical prevention of access to Parliament that Labour has introduced, but the blatant double talk and double standards. How can any soft minded, self interested, self publicist ever understand what it is like to absolutely terrified but still perform one's duty? Do they know the difference between a fighting soldier and the rest? Do they care? History and the plethora of ill-thought out legislation suggests they do not. The picture shows Parliament and one of the many disabled heroes being denied access to justice, Mr Walter Hickling of Dudley, whose son-in-law is ignored because he is critically ill with Gulf War syndrome. Walter refused to be a front for the Back Slapping Brigade who wanted to herald his efforts in war bydoing a Poppy Day newsreel around him, but shirked away when Walter asked if the moment could be shared with his son-in-law.

clipped from www.politics.co.uk

Hansard Society - Fortress Westminster would be a blow for democracy

Friday, 17 Sep 2004 10:32

Declan McHugh, Director of the Hansard Society's Parliament and Government Programme, has warned of the detrimental impact on democracy that could result if restrictive security measures were introduced at Westminster in response to this week's security breaches.

He said: "The greatest strength of British democracy is its openness and accessibility. It would be a blow for our political system if this week's events provoked measures that would have the effect of turning the Westminster Parliament - the heart of our democracy - into a fortress. Security concerns must be balanced against the need to preserve our democratic system of government, which has withstood far greater assaults than this."

The Trough of Westminster

Not wanting to prejudice an inquiry into possible corruption, there is one overriding question being ignored by politicians. "Why is a Private Members Bill banning the publication of MP's expenses being speeded through Parliament when all politicians want open access to facts?"

clipped from www.sundaymirror.co.uk

'PANIC' AT NO10 OVER CASH FOR HONOURS

POLICE are on the brink of bringing prosecutions in the cash-for-honours scandal, Downing Street sources feared last night.

No 10 is "panic-stricken" after the Attorney General banned the BBC from broadcasting new allegations, according to insiders.

The move suggested the police have gathered crucial evidence they did not want to be made public in case it prejudiced any future prosecutions.

Royal Marine Scott Summers

Former 42 Commando veterans pay their respect.

clipped from http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/server/show/ConWebDoc.8211

Royal Marine Scott Summers dies of injuries sustained in Afghanistan

It is with deep regret that the Ministry of Defence has confirmed the death of Royal Marine Scott Summers, aged 23, of 42 Commando Royal Marines, on 21 February 2007 as a result of injuries sustained in a road traffic accident earlier this month in Afghanistan.

A Royal Marine

It is with deep regret that the Ministry of Defence must confirm the death of Royal Marine Jonathan "Dutchy" Holland, from 45 Commando, in Afghanistan on Wednesday 21 February 2007.