Is it Me??

Saw Leland today. Here are some photos Jan took last night.

There is some thing sinister about a treaty which, dispite needing all 27 nations to sign and ratify, is pushed through by the remaining 25 states. The vote by Ireland and the refusal to ratify the treaty by the Czech President are to be ignored. The will of the people who had the chance to vote and voted no is dismissed, the recognition of the legal implications of that no vote, dismissed. The Soviet Socialist European Federation will not be stopped by the law or by democratic process.

To cap it all, yesterday, in secret, Brown had the gall to hand over the soverignty of the UK to the EU by having Her Majesty sign the treaty.

Why in secret? There was no pomp or celebration for this "momentous step" which is supposed to be the best thing to happen to Britain since sliced bread. Even after the event, the newpapers and media did not report what has happened. I myself only found out by reading an Irish website! Is there a media black out????

UK ratifies treaty

As I have ranted in the past, the Lisbon Treaty has a profound constitutional effect on the nations signing up to it, so why are the people denied a vote and why all the cloak and dagger antics of the ministers involved?

The EU will now make our laws, run our courts, have powers over our foreign and domestic policy. The armed forces and police are to be controlled by Brussells. The EGF (EuroGenFor) is a paramilitary police force which will act across borders in civil emergencies. Yeah right! It's an internal army, not a police force. They will not be performing investigation of crime but will suppress uprising and civil disturbance. They'll have military grade weapons, armoured vehicles and have a command structure like an army with generals and colonels!

Police force with a flaming hand grenade as it's emblem!!!

Gordon Brown, Tony B Liar and the rest of the snivelling commie Labour scum are traitors! They should be hung, drawn (preferably while still alive), quartered and their heads should be tarred and put on a pike at the Tower of London.

My dear old gran is 90 today and I have been thinking about the changes that she has witnessed through out her life.

Born just before the first world war ended, she entered a society almost completely run by women as most of the male population was dead. Only the top tier of institutions were still dominated by men and the girls we busy nipping at their heels wanting equality. She saw the rise of communism and fascism and the austerity of the great depression.

Another world war. My grandparents lived on the outskirts of London less than a mile from a factory, Mullards, who made components for aircraft and was a regular target for German bombers. Thanks to the accuracy of the Luftwaffe bombardiers, very few bombs fell too far from their targets and grans end of the street suffered only a couple of 500lb and incendiary hits.

Nuclear weapons and power arrived, rock and roll, electronics, space travel, and we now live in a very condensed world. Intercontinental communication is something we carry around in our pockets and take for granted. We can (at the moment) speak freely and socialise with anyone on the planet, even while waiting for a bus.

So Happy birthday Gran, heres to the next 90 years!

This Thursday the Irish have a vote on acceptance of the Lisbon Treaty. This vote is the last defence in the fight to preserve democracy and freedom in Europe and it is most important that the Irish People say NO!

Even if a person is in favor of a European Superstate, I personally am not, they should still vote NO and try and force the treaty/EU Constitution to be withdrawn in it's current form for it is the most freightening treat to democracy since the Fascists and Communists took control of Europe in the 20's and 30's.

The treaty is constitutional dispite it's re branding and creates the EU as a country in it's own right and removes souverignty of the member states, reducing them to regions or cantons.

At the moment people in Europe vote for their representatives in their respective governments and have the ability to lobby them. The treaty removes that representation in the new EU country and laws are made by un elected clerks.

Voting on the laws and policies in the new EU country will depend on the population of a member state so that those with higher population densities will have more say on what goes on in the EU so Germany, France and Britain will dominate the EU. Ireland will be a very small voice indeed. As all the laws for the whole of the EU will be made in Brussells and dominated by a few states, I cannot see a true democracy for all EU citizens being created.

The Irish have fought for centuries to establish their freedom and gained independence (except for Ulster) only 86 years ago. I think it would be a shame to see the Irish Constitution torn up and the country surrendered to un elected beaurocrats so I urge all the Irish to vote NO to Lisbon. The people of Ireland have an opportunity to have a say. That opportunity is denied to the rest of us and our governments have accepted the treaty without even reading it so please don't waste this chance.

Troid ar son na síoc ...

What the hell is wrong with Eurovision? I used to love the contest. A cavalcade of madcap performers with daft, cringe worthy songs once entertained me and I looked forward to watching it every year. A tradition started by my parents and one I hoped to pass on to my children and grand children.

This year it was different. All but 3 countries produced a great song and only Bosnia-Herzogovinia, France and Spain gave us something to laugh at! To me, all the fun has gone. I never really care who wins and these days it tends to be political voting with blocs of countries voting for their buddies and neighbours. That is in itself a shame and will be the end of Eurovision IMHO but modern technology and a rapidly aligning global culture produced a slick contest with a very westernised musical style (Well done Serbia), but the wierd and the wonderful performances from far off lands are gone.

It just isn´t the same. No more strange outfits, no more grotty songs sung in foreign tongue, no more votes reported over hissing telephone lines and awkward silences as communications failed. Now Sir Terry is considering giving up commentry on Eurovision due to the jerry rigged voting and I think Eurovision is done. It all started to fall apart when Katie Boyle announced her last Norway, Nil Point.

No privacy any more

UK Gov to snoop on every thing

The UK government, like many around the globe, are waging a war on terror. Apparently... But the innocent victim of this war is freedom. Snip by snip we loose our right to privacy and we are expected to allow this colateral damage because it will help track down terrorists, paedophiles and criminals. What a load of bollox!

The criminal elements and terrorists are going to circumnavigate any legislation and technology designed to catch them. They will use encryption to hide communications and have no fear of the law. Let´s face it, these people blow themselves up for their cause so a couple of years in the clink is nothing.

The only people who will be effected are us. The 99.99999999999999999999% of the worlds population, who are no threat to our neighbours, who will be monitored and logged.

I believe that global terror is a great excuse for taking away just a little more freedom and having more control over the people.

I don't, as a rule, watch football but today Portsmouth are battling Cardiff for the cup at Wembly and is promising to be a good match.

I know a couple of people who are going up to see the game, one of which has tickets to the executive area no less. No mixing with the villany and commoners. He will be relaxing on a plush padded seat probably kept warm with an ermyn cloak and waited upon by comely wenches. Lucky sod!

I'll be routing for Pompey. They are almost a local team. Well more local than South Wales and we do have connections with the south coast so that will be where my loyalties will be this afternoon.

My heart goes out to the people of Burma. Any natural disaster which causes so much devastation and death makes anyone with an ounce of compassion and love for their fellow man sad. I am sure that my fellow Operatics are feeling as I am, helpless and sad but above all angry. Angry at the government of Burma, a brutal dictatorship with an odious record of human rights, who are refusing any help from foreigners. Blocking visas of volunteers and aid workers flocking to the Burma borders eager to help relieve the suffering in the areas effected.

They obviously have very little compassion and a contempt for the welfare of their people many of who are suffering needlessly.

For a couple of weeks I have been wrestling with the fact that I´m getting older. Apart from my eldest daughter is now 18 and daughter No2 is 17, I was told that my step daughter is pregnant!!

Not good news at all. Partly because of her age but mainly because of mine. I am having a hard time dealing with becoming a grandparent, all be it a step gramps, and had convinced myself that all six kids will travel the world, settle down with a career and husband/wife before popping out a sprog at around 35.

By that time I would have been close to retirement and will only have to suffer the little sods a few years before I start to smell of urine and they become reluctant to be around me too much.

This post was supposed to be therapeutic but I´m going to have a cup of tea and a lie down.

Call me daft but I'm so glad it's raining! On an island surrounded by sea, chock full of rivers and lakes and with a climate which has a pretty regular rainfall it might seem like an odd thing to want. Most are wishing for the summer to get started and for long hot sunny days, not long cold, damp, dark ones. No me! Not this week!!

Why? Well the wife has put me to task in constructing a new fence around the garden and as any one knows the posts have to be sunk by about a third which means, for my 1 meter high fence I will need to dig 1/2m. My garden, due to the very wet conditions this winter is water logged and the clay rich earth is as soft as butter. Digging, or more aptly, drilling into this will be a breeze (I hope!!)

Sorry everyone but if the weather changes and the sun decides to show its face I will be out in the yard in my loin cloth doing a rain dance. Not a pretty sight I can assure you but necessary.