Ministry of Truth

This man was arrested and taken into police custody on August 1st 2005 during a protest in Parliament Square, London (the two arresting officers wore badges number KF705 and KF90). No one present at that protest has reported seeing him or hearing from him since he was bundled […]

What is history but a fable agreed upon? – Napoleon Bonaparte In thr past few weeks, Paul Anderson has twice had good cause to take Oliver ‘I’ve got a book out, y’know’ Kamm to task for his poor grasp of historical facts – here and here. Kamm, it […]

Apropos of my previous comments on bureaucracy, accountability and the Rochdale ‘Satanic Abuse’ case we come to an article in today’s Times by Camilla Cavendish, ‘Innocent but presumed guilty’, includes this quite staggering passage: A mother (I shall call her Sarah) entered this world voluntarily, when she began […]

Does the name Chris Huhne not remind you of Steve Martin’s character in the ‘The Man With Two Brains’; Dr. Michael Hfuhruhurr… and if so does that mean that he’ll be working closely with David ‘Two Brains’ Willetts. And as Charles Kennedy has again claimed that he’s a […]

I’ve spent much of my working life dealing with, and sometimes working in, bureaucratic institutions in the Public, Private and Voluntary Sectors and, if truth be told, there is often little to choose between them. Anyone who believes that the private sector is somehow the ultimate antidote to […]

This and no other is the root from which a tyrant springs; when he first appears he is a protector. Plato If Blair’s name-checking of Thomas Hobbes in launching the ‘Respect Agenda’ wasn’t unnerving enough, today’s round of deliveries to the in-box brings me an article by Sidney […]

The ‘story’ here, a term I use very loosely, is that the Express are claiming that Registry Offices have ‘banned’ the word ‘marriage’ out of political correctness and fear of offending gay and lesbian couples undergoing civil partnership ceremonies. What has actually happened is that some Registry Offices […]

In response to Tony Blair’s speech in launching the ‘Respect Agenda’. — The important thing about debating ASB, and the measures we are proposing, is not to debate it at the crude level of ‘tough’ or ‘not tough’; populist or not. But, instead, to regard it as a […]

…on the coral reefs and in the seaweed. You took an oath to defend our flag and our freedom, and you kept that oath underseas and under fire. George W Bush Shit! Did I miss the declaration of The War Against Plankton.

Tony Blair explains precisely why he has to go… This has, bluntly reversed the burden of proof. The person who spits at the old lady is given an £80 fine. If they want to challenge it, they have to appeal. The suspected drug dealer loses the cash. He […]