Not exactly something to be proud of, but maybe you will do better than Right For Scotland and myself have at the What Famous Leader Are You? test?!?Friday, October 26, 2007
I Am Saddam Hussein
Not exactly something to be proud of, but maybe you will do better than Right For Scotland and myself have at the What Famous Leader Are You? test?!?
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Will America Declare War On Terry Kelly?
AMERICANS ON ALERT OVER KELLY RANT
Oct 22 2007
A CONTROVERSIAL councillor has sparked a Transatlantic tiff after branding American President George W Bush a “draft-dodging coward.”
Terry Kelly, who is also a leading aid to Scottish Labour leader Wendy Alexander, has sparked outrage by posting a blistering rant against President Bush on his own website.
The Paisley North West councillor has dubbed the American a “dishonourable, pathetic excuse of a President” and claims he used “his family’s wealth and connections” to avoid serving in the US Armed Forces during the Vietnam War.
It is understood staff at the American Consulate General in Edinburgh have been alerted to the comments and are now considering their response.
Paisley man Dave McCartney is among those who have condemned Mr Kelly’s remarks.
He said: “At a time when relations with President Bush have cooled with Prime Minister Brown, is it too much to ask for Mr Kelly to keep his opinions to himself? After all, he is a senior Labour councillor now.
“I think that comments like ‘draft- dodging coward’ will not assist in helping to thaw Labour and Republican relations.
“I feel personally that our relations with America are of the highest priority.”
Writing in his controversial web-log, Mr Kelly highlights Mr Bush’s recent comments on the Vietnam and Iraq wars.
The Labour man comments: “His insult to Americans this time was not Iraq or illegal torture or even the highest number in the world of people in jail, no this was an insult to savour as he spoke about America’s failures in Vietnam.
“Some 50,000 American lives lost and he chose to use the Vietnam war to bolster his stance on Iraq.
“So, why is this so bad? Well, many of you will be well ahead of me now. Yes, that’s right, the President of the USA, George W Bush, is a draft-dodging coward.”
Mr Kelly goes on to say: “The Republican right attacked Clinton for missing Vietnam and elected Bush, conveniently avoiding a slight difference between them which is that Clinton opposed the war. The coward Bush was happy to support it with the proviso that someone else would do the fighting.
“He was all for fighting those pesky commies, as long as he didn’t get shot at. I truly despair at what this great nation has become.
“This dreadful President Bush makes Nixon look cuddly. He’s a coward, a liar and a crook.”
This is not the first time Mr Kelly’s web-log has courted controversy.
On a previous occasion, he described the Mormon Church as “the Moron Church.”
Yesterday, Mr Kelly insisted he stands by his comments about President Bush.
He added: “If the person who reported me to the American Consulate would like to get in touch, I will gladly have a debate with him about the matter.”
A spokesman for Ms Alexander said the Labour leader did not agree with Mr Kelly’s views.
He added: “Terry Kelly is a hard- working local councillor. The homepage of his website makes it abundantly clear that the views expressed in his blogs are his own.”
Source: icRenfrewshire
Dubya VS Terry
Whoever wins, we lose!
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Happy Birthday "Bob"
No, "Bob" is not that cretin Peter Mandelson, but an old acquaintance from university who I had a bad falling out with over the company they kept at the time. I won't write anymore about that because it's not fair to talk about "Bob Dole" behind their back without their prior consent. Regardless of the past (and although I was right about the pitfalls I warned "Bob" to avoid), I still regret both the falling out and my own stridency, which though well-meaning was a violation of Bob's right to make their own decisions, whether they be good or bad. All I can do about that is apologise.
If you read this "Bob", happy birthday kid and I hope you enjoy the image below, it should right up your street.
Monday, October 22, 2007
China unveils likely successors to top posts
BEIJING (Reuters) - China's ruling Communist Party unveiled a new leadership line-up on Monday, including two men positioned to eventually succeed President Hu Jintao and government head Premier Wen Jiabao.
Xi Jinping, who has been chief of Shanghai, and Li Keqiang, who has headed the northeast province of Liaoning, were lifted into the new nine-member Politburo Standing Committee -- the innermost ring of power in this top-down state.
While Xi, 54, and Li, 52, have not been openly designated to replace Hu and Wen five years hence, their age and status leave no doubt they are favoured to reach the apex of power with Xi the frontrunner for now to take Hu's top job.
They will inherit a nation of about 1.4 billion people, including restive peasants and a maturing middle class, an increasingly open and market-driven economy likely be the world's third largest and a one-party state that claims loyalty to Marx while it embraces capitalism.
"Comrades Xi Jinping and Li Keqiang are two quite young comrades," was all carefully spoken Hu said of them when presenting them before hundreds of reporters and flashing cameras.
Their rise marked Hu's growing grip on power as he shed the residual influence of his predecessor, Jiang Zemin. But the next five years will test Hu's power to secure an untroubled succession in an era when no leader commands absolute loyalty.
"Hu's power has emerged greatly consolidated," said Li Datong, a former editor at a Party paper. "He has his own line-up now; Jiang's out of the picture."
The nine men in dark suits emerged after a tightly controlled vote by the 204-member Party Central Committee, installed at the end of the Party's five-yearly Congress on Sunday.
Xi filed into the chamber at the Great Hall of the People directly ahead of Li, but there was no definitive sign of which man was favoured for which top job.
"Xi came out ranked first, so that suggests that he has a bigger chance of becoming Party general secretary, but there are a lot of factors that can change in five years," said Zhang Zuhua, a former official.
Hu was widely believed to favour Li, who worked under him in the Communist Youth League, and Xi's rise might reflect officials' reluctance to allow the Party boss to hand-pick his successor.
But both men would be acceptable to Hu, said the ex-editor Li, and state media have stressed that Hu expects the new leadership to work together and avoid damaging rivalry.
"To fulfil the Party's mission in power it must have a staunchly unified collective leadership," says an editorial to appear in the People's Daily that Xinhua news agency released late on Monday. It urges the country to unite around Hu.
Hu stays as Party boss, as well as President and head of the Central Military Commission, for five more years, while Wen will continuing managing the government and its ministries.
The Standing Committee retained parliament chief Wu Bangguo and two leaders installed under the previous Party chief, Jiang Zemin -- Li Changchun, who has been propaganda boss, and Jia Qinglin, head of the advisory council attached to the parliament.
The line-up also includes He Guoqiang, set to take control of Party organisation and fighting corruption, and Zhou Yongkang, whose background in policing puts him in line to replace Luo Gan, the previous domestic security boss.
The three members of the outgoing Standing Committee who stepped down included Vice-President Zeng Qinghong, a powerful figure installed by Jiang. Both He Guoqiang and Zhou have past work ties to Zeng, who appears to have promoted their rise.
The death of Vice-Premier Huang Ju in June left a fourth vacancy.
BALANCING INTERESTS
Analysts said the mixture of recruits -- some personally close to Hu, others not -- reflected his bid to balance regions and interests and also limits his power to dictate outcomes.
Li Keqiang worked under Hu in the 1980s, before postings in Henan, a poor and unruly rural province in central China, and Liaoning, a rustbelt province striving to attract investment and emerge as a modern manufacturing base.
Before taking over as party boss of Shanghai earlier this year, Xi Jinping steered two of the country's fastest-growing provinces, Fujian and Zhejiang -- attractive credentials in a government where economic modernisation dominates priorities.
"We must certainly grasp development as the top task of this Party in governing and reviving the country," Hu said.
But the retention of Jia, a protege of Jiang's, was a reminder that the new leadership was not Hu's to choose at will. Jia has long been dogged by claims he let corruption run rampant in coastal Fujian province in the 1990s.
At 67, Jia was young enough to escape an informal retirement rule forcing out leaders born before 1940 -- a demand that apparently claimed Zeng.
Xi Jinping, who has been chief of Shanghai, and Li Keqiang, who has headed the northeast province of Liaoning, were lifted into the new nine-member Politburo Standing Committee -- the innermost ring of power in this top-down state.
While Xi, 54, and Li, 52, have not been openly designated to replace Hu and Wen five years hence, their age and status leave no doubt they are favoured to reach the apex of power with Xi the frontrunner for now to take Hu's top job.
They will inherit a nation of about 1.4 billion people, including restive peasants and a maturing middle class, an increasingly open and market-driven economy likely be the world's third largest and a one-party state that claims loyalty to Marx while it embraces capitalism.
"Comrades Xi Jinping and Li Keqiang are two quite young comrades," was all carefully spoken Hu said of them when presenting them before hundreds of reporters and flashing cameras.
Their rise marked Hu's growing grip on power as he shed the residual influence of his predecessor, Jiang Zemin. But the next five years will test Hu's power to secure an untroubled succession in an era when no leader commands absolute loyalty.
"Hu's power has emerged greatly consolidated," said Li Datong, a former editor at a Party paper. "He has his own line-up now; Jiang's out of the picture."
The nine men in dark suits emerged after a tightly controlled vote by the 204-member Party Central Committee, installed at the end of the Party's five-yearly Congress on Sunday.
Xi filed into the chamber at the Great Hall of the People directly ahead of Li, but there was no definitive sign of which man was favoured for which top job.
"Xi came out ranked first, so that suggests that he has a bigger chance of becoming Party general secretary, but there are a lot of factors that can change in five years," said Zhang Zuhua, a former official.
Hu was widely believed to favour Li, who worked under him in the Communist Youth League, and Xi's rise might reflect officials' reluctance to allow the Party boss to hand-pick his successor.
But both men would be acceptable to Hu, said the ex-editor Li, and state media have stressed that Hu expects the new leadership to work together and avoid damaging rivalry.
"To fulfil the Party's mission in power it must have a staunchly unified collective leadership," says an editorial to appear in the People's Daily that Xinhua news agency released late on Monday. It urges the country to unite around Hu.
Hu stays as Party boss, as well as President and head of the Central Military Commission, for five more years, while Wen will continuing managing the government and its ministries.
The Standing Committee retained parliament chief Wu Bangguo and two leaders installed under the previous Party chief, Jiang Zemin -- Li Changchun, who has been propaganda boss, and Jia Qinglin, head of the advisory council attached to the parliament.
The line-up also includes He Guoqiang, set to take control of Party organisation and fighting corruption, and Zhou Yongkang, whose background in policing puts him in line to replace Luo Gan, the previous domestic security boss.
The three members of the outgoing Standing Committee who stepped down included Vice-President Zeng Qinghong, a powerful figure installed by Jiang. Both He Guoqiang and Zhou have past work ties to Zeng, who appears to have promoted their rise.
The death of Vice-Premier Huang Ju in June left a fourth vacancy.
BALANCING INTERESTS
Analysts said the mixture of recruits -- some personally close to Hu, others not -- reflected his bid to balance regions and interests and also limits his power to dictate outcomes.
Li Keqiang worked under Hu in the 1980s, before postings in Henan, a poor and unruly rural province in central China, and Liaoning, a rustbelt province striving to attract investment and emerge as a modern manufacturing base.
Before taking over as party boss of Shanghai earlier this year, Xi Jinping steered two of the country's fastest-growing provinces, Fujian and Zhejiang -- attractive credentials in a government where economic modernisation dominates priorities.
"We must certainly grasp development as the top task of this Party in governing and reviving the country," Hu said.
But the retention of Jia, a protege of Jiang's, was a reminder that the new leadership was not Hu's to choose at will. Jia has long been dogged by claims he let corruption run rampant in coastal Fujian province in the 1990s.
At 67, Jia was young enough to escape an informal retirement rule forcing out leaders born before 1940 -- a demand that apparently claimed Zeng.
Congratulations To South Africa & Kimi Raikkonen
Both the South African rugby union squad and Raikkonen thoroughly deserve their respective world championships, which were earned through hard work and ability. Well done men!
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Quote of the Day 20.10.2007: Why America Won The Cold War
"Here's my strategy on the Cold War: We win, they lose." - Ronald Reagan
Many of Reagan's critics accused this late great hero of being simple. To be fair to these left-wing scumbags, they were right (for once) - Reagan was a simple man with a very simple plan....
....and it worked!!!
Iran's atomic negotiator resigns
TEHRAN (Reuters) - Chief nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani, Iran's main contact with the West over Tehran's atomic programme, has resigned, the government said on Saturday.
His shock decision exposed a rift over tactics with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who accepted his resignation and has taken a hard-line approach in Iran's long-running stand-off with the West, analysts said.
A government spokesman said there would be no change in nuclear policy. Saeed Jalili, deputy foreign minister for European and American affairs, was expected to replace Larijani, the official IRNA news agency said.
"Larijani has resigned due to personal reasons, but this does not mean changes in policies and programmes," said government spokesman Gholamhossein Elham.
The West fears Tehran wants to build atomic bombs and has imposed two sets of sanctions through the United Nations. Tehran insists it wants only to produce electricity.
Larijani, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council and chief nuclear negotiator since 2005, had been set to meet EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana in Rome on Tuesday for more discussions about Iran's nuclear ambitions.
The European Union said the talks would go ahead. "We have just spoken to the Iranians. Solana is keeping to his plan to travel to Rome on Tuesday and will meet whatever senior negotiator the Iranians send," an EU spokeswoman said.
EU diplomats said the Iranian negotiator would be Jalili but it was unclear whether he had yet been formally appointed.
European officials say Larijani has long had difficulty in getting the Iranian establishment to support his negotiating strategy.
Iranian analysts have said Larijani had differences with Ahmadinejad over tactics although both oppose halting the nuclear programme in the face of increasing Western concern and threats of more sanctions.
One analyst said Larijani's departure and the appointment of Jalili, viewed as close to the president, suggested the growing ascendancy of hard-line voices opposed to a more pragmatic line, which he said Larijani backed.
Major powers have agreed to delay new sanctions until November. They want to see if Iran's deal with U.N. inspectors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) about Tehran's intentions yields results and to await a report by Solana.
Washington has refused to rule out the use of force if diplomacy fails to resolve the dispute.
Russia supports "direct dialogue" with Tehran and President Vladimir Putin said this week he saw no evidence Iran's programme had military aims.
NO OBSTACLE
Elham, quoted by ISNA, said he did not rule out Larijani attending Tuesday's talks in Rome.
"Despite Larijani's resignation, there will be no change in the council's programme and the new secretary will meet Javier Solana," he said. "There is no obstacle for Mr Larijani's presence in the talks."
The final say in Iran in all matters of state, including nuclear policy, lies with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Analysts say he tends to look for a consensus among several different political camps to reach decisions.
"This (Larijani's resignation) will show that the hard-line position, the defiant position of Iran will continue and there will not be much chance of any change in the Iranian position," said one Iranian analyst who declined to be named.
Larijani may have felt he nothing more to offer in talks with Solana, the analyst said. "The president left no more room for Larijani to manoeuvre and negotiate."
Ahmadinejad, whose rhetoric about the nuclear issue has angered Western governments, has said Iran's nuclear file is closed, though Iran is ready to answer outstanding questions from the IAEA about its programme.
The United Nations has demanded Iran suspend uranium enrichment, a process which can be used to make fuel for power plants or, if Iran wanted, material for warheads.
Iran has repeatedly refused to comply. It has turned a cold shoulder to other mooted proposals such as a "timeout" where Iran would stop expanding its enrichment work in return for the West halting moves to impose more sanctions.
"The IAEA is working with a group of technical counterparts in Iran," a spokesperson for the International Atomic Energy Agency said on Saturday, declining to be named or to comment any further.
Note To George W. Bush: Attack Iran before it gets the bomb and uses it to nuke Israel!
Good Luck
Good luck to both the England rugby squard and Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton in their respective quests to become world champions this weekend.
If South Africa Win The Rugby World Cup Tonight....
Terry Kelly will go supernova, get drunk and violate a haggis he calls "Henry" in public!
Friday, October 19, 2007
Terry The Traitor?
I wonder if the Lionel Jospin of Scotland ever passed on any intelligence information to the KGB during the Cold War?
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Quote of the Day 18.10.2007
""I campaigned against the Vietnam War and Pol Pot"
What did you do? Write Lyndon and Pol a letter?"
Dear Pol,
How are you? Hope you are well. I read in the Guardian yesterday that the Khmer Rouge are murdering people. Please tell this is not so. This will make me look bad as I am a socialist. So can you do me a favour and expel all the journalists.
Many thanks
Terry Kelly
A Socialist from Scotland.
PS: Hope you like the haggis I sent."
Reply:
Dear Mr Kelly
Many thanks for your letter. What are we supposed to do with the haggis. It looks like some of the body parts my soldiers play football with.
I have noted your concerns and expelled all the journalists, I think. Please do not worry about looking bad anymore. I'm sure you will sleep much better knowing this.
Your friend
Pol"
LOL! Terry got PWN'D
"Nath" The Nitwit
Every once in a while, an idiot makes a comment on this blog that is so obviously barmy, stupid and misleading that the fool in question deservedly gets ridiculed by yours truly for all their ignorance. The latest such moron is someone called "Nath" who has argued that you cannot be a Christian if you reject socialism and that Jesus was a socialist. Not only is this blatantly false (since socialism is a form of Satanism), but Nath also demonstrates the same selective use of the Gospels that Islamofascists have employed with Al-Quran to justify suicide-bombings, terrorist attacks, mass-murder and hatred of the Jews.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Unprecedented Muslim call for peace with Christians
LONDON (Reuters) - More than 130 Muslim scholars from around the globe called on Thursday for peace and understanding between Islam and Christianity, saying "the very survival of the world itself is perhaps at stake".
In an unprecedented letter to Pope Benedict and other Christian leaders, 138 Muslim scholars said finding common ground between the world's biggest faiths was not simply a matter for polite dialogue between religious leaders.
"If Muslims and Christians are not at peace, the world cannot be at peace. With the terrible weaponry of the modern world; with Muslims and Christians intertwined everywhere as never before, no side can unilaterally win a conflict between more than half of the world's inhabitants," the scholars wrote.
"Our common future is at stake. The very survival of the world itself is perhaps at stake," they wrote, adding that Islam and Christianity already agreed that love of God and neighbour were the two most important commandments of their faiths.
Relations between Muslims and Christians have been strained as al Qaeda has struck around the world and as the United States and other Western countries intervened in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Such a joint letter is unprecedented in Islam, which has no central authority that speaks on behalf of all worshippers.
The list of signatories includes senior figures throughout the Middle East, Asia, Africa, Europe and North America. They represent Sunni, Shi'ite and Sufi schools of Islam.
Among them were the grand muftis of Egypt, Palestine, Oman, Jordan, Syria, Bosnia and Russia and many imams and scholars. War-torn Iraq was represented by both Shi'ites and Sunnis.
Mustafa Cagrici, the mufti who prayed with Benedict in Istanbul's Blue Mosque last year, was also on the list, as was the popular Egyptian television preacher Amr Khaled.
"MAINSTREAM VOICES DROWNED OUT"
The letter was addressed to the Pope, leaders of Orthodox Christian churches, Anglican leader Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams and the heads of the world alliances of the Lutheran, Methodist, Baptist and Reformed churches.
Williams said he welcomed it as "indicative of the kind of relationship for which we yearn in all parts of the world".
"The call to respect, peace and goodwill should now be taken up by Christians and Muslims at all levels and in all countries," he said.
A Vatican official in Rome said the Roman Catholic Church would not comment until it had time to read the letter.
Aref Ali Nayed, one of the signatories and a senior adviser to the Cambridge Interfaith Programme at Cambridge University in Britain, said the signatories represented the "99.9 percent of Muslims" who follow mainstream schools and oppose extremism.
"In Islam we have had a problem for some time now where the mainstream voices are drowned out by a minority that choose violence," he said.
Nayed said organisers of the letter had set up an ad hoc network among Muslim leaders that could lead to more cooperation in future.
"These people don't take their signatures lightly," he said. "We are trying to institutionalise this so we don't lose it."
The overture to Christians could be followed by similar letters addressed to Jews or secularists, he added.
Pope Benedict sparked Muslim protests last year with a speech hinting Islam was violent and irrational. It prompted 38 Muslim scholars to write a letter challenging his view of Islam and accepting his call for serious Christian-Muslim dialogue.
Benedict repeatedly expressed regret for the reaction to the speech, but stopped short of a clear apology sought by Muslims.
The new letter argues in theological terms, giving quotes from the Koran and the Bible that show both Christianity and Islam considered love of God as their greatest commandment and love of neighbour as the second greatest.
"The basis for this peace and understanding already exists," it said. "It is part of the very foundational principles of both faiths: love of the one God and love of the neighbour."
At last, an outbreak of common sense, decency and sanity in the world. I applaud this message from the Islamic world, but these fine words still needed to be reinforced by fine actions from both Muslims and Christians such as myself in our daily lives.
Bye Bye Ming!
As much as I despise the fascist so-called "Liberal Democrats", I am sad to see Sir Menzies Campbell resign as their party leader. To be fair to Ming, the opinion polls results that he received were no worse than those Paddy "Apocalypse" Pantsdown was getting in the run-up to the 1997 General Election (an election the Fib Dims have fond memories of due to the fact that they increased their House of Commons membership by 25 seats). Ming also did a good job of reuniting the party under his leadership following the fall of the previous leader "Chat Show Charlie" Kennedy. Unfortunately for Ming though, while he did reunited the party, the party was only reunited in opposition to his otherwise backward and feeble leadership.
As a Conservative, it might surprise you to know that I have more reason than most to miss Ming's leadership because he was the Tory party's greatest election-winning asset since Michael Foot-in-mouth during the early-1980s.
Saturday, October 13, 2007
Rhys Williams Is An Eco-Nazi
Here is my latest letter to the Western Mail newspaper:
SIR – As a climate change sceptic, I strongly object to my 10-year-old brother being brainwashed by either Al Gore’s scientifically flawed vanity project An Inconvenient Truth or President Bush’s friends in the oil industry. How dare Rhys Williams claim to be outraged by the High Court’s decision to prohibit Mr. Gore’s propaganda from schools without guidance notes to refute the flaws and errors in the climate change industry’s arguments? Is it not Mr. Williams himself who is behaving like Big Brother by demonising the High Court for disagreeing with his opinions?
Any school that shows this extremely dubious film should also be required by law to show Channel 4’s documentary The Great Global Warming Swindle so that children are able to make a more informed verdict of their own about this important subject. Mr. Williams and his supporters would be foolish to patronise those children who might disagree with their opinions.
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