Daily Telegraph - Saturday highlights

Nanny State to put health warnings on wine bottles. Because, you see, binge drinking lads and ladettes often have a glance at the label before downing the next bottle of Pinot Gris. The European Commission is in favour, adding to its reputation as one of the great statist forces in the world today. So incredibly absurd, the imagination of bureaucrats so totally removed from the culture of everyday Brits, from any understanding of why people drink to excess – thinking adding bureaucratic requirements to wine makers (and a cost to wine drinkers) will make a difference, and justifying it because “a little more regulation can’t hurt”. They think that people who drink a lot don't know it is bad for them, or don't know they can get drunk.

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£10,000 and 12 months to investigate who said "baa". Havering Council has spent £10,000 on a 12 month investigation, including a 300 page report on identifying the man who kept saying “baa” during a planning meeting. Clearly someone was having a joke, but the joke is on the taxpayers of the council district, because a councillor complained to the Standards Board, who ordered an investigation be carried out by the council. Local government is a haven for petty fascists – and everywhere should be put on a leash to stop such nonsense. The list of suspects is now down to four – so the council hasn’t yet figured it out. Such competence, compulsorily funded.

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Ryan Stupples: victim of Health Nazi Headmaster. A 10yo boy was banned from his school dining hall because his packed lunch “broke the government’s healthy eating guidelines” . His lunch consisted of a sandwich, fruit, fromage frais, cake, mini cheese biscuits and a bottle of water. Naturally, he would get heart disease and become the Michelin man on that diet! So what was wrong? The cake AND the mini cheese biscuits broke. The little pig, how outrageous!! He was made to eat his lunch in the head teacher’s office! The headmaster of Lunsford Primary School, Larkfield in Kent - an authoritarian prick called Malcolm Goddard said “We take healthy eating very seriously and everyone is aware of our new policies”. Zeig Heil would be appropriate except that Germany wouldn’t put up with such nonsense today. What sort of mindless little order followers does Goddard want kids to be? How rebellious are they going to be when they start thinking on their own? And what sort of joyless little fucktard is Malcolm Goddard? Getting off ordering kids about when they have more than zee allowed quota of schnacks! Or perhaps it is better to humiliate the child, as if it is his fault! As if this has anything to do with being healthy. Ryan Stupples may well be fit as can be and active. Frankly, unless he is clinically obese or suffering clearly from dietary related diseases that are of serious concern, it is none of Malcolm Goddard’s fucking business!! If I was Stupples’ dad I would have wanted to punch Goddard in the face for interfering in my decisions about my son and for humiliating him, but would have found a better way to humiliate the evil prick. And you wonder how hard it is for authoritarian governments to find people willing to carry out orders? They are the likes of Goddard.

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Bush signs legislation banning another form of fun. Little more be said of this. It has destroyed US$8.8 billion in property as share prices for online gambling companies plummeted, with one firm World Gaming, entering administration. It is an absolute disgrace, and should be reversed by the next Congress and President. It simply shows that Conservatism, as Not PC has been blogging extensively about recently – is a philosophy corrupt when it comes to regard of individual freedom, or indeed joy. The addictions and weaknesses of the few are the excuse for prohibiting the joy of the many, and destroying the property of business people. It will fail – Americans will still gamble and many will gamble online, through operators who illegally will find ways around this legislation – some of which will, because gamblers will have no legal protection against fraud with illegal contracts, rip them off.

More on North Korea from one in Seoul

Stef has been Ranting about the ROK (Republic of Korea - the free one) for a while, and has some excellent posts about North Korea.

My favourite is the link to the video about the Mass Games, which if you have not heard about is an enormous waste of human resources in order to entertain Kim Jong Il. It is chilling to watch.

Others worth reading are:

Stef’s guide to the North Korean nuclear test

A view of North Korea from the south

Fisking the NZ apologists for the North Korean slave state

True to form, Trevor Loudon has done an excellent job of outing the band of NZers who stick their philosophical tongues up the arse of a regime that keeps millions in slavery while its leaders live in luxury - North Korea was Nicolae Ceausescu's role model - he visited it and went back to transform Romania into a similar system - the difference is that North Korea has a far tighter grip on information.

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Trevor has written about 3 apologists for the regime that is closest to Orwell's nightmare. Go here to read about Don Borrie, a man who I once heard talking wistfully about the wonderful church in Pyongyang (he is a preacher himself), the great hospital, but how sad it was that they haven't "let him" visit a mental hospital - he's so stupid and evil at once to not explain why. Also Stuart Vogel and Tim Beal. I can understand wanting to reach out to individual North Koreans to explain the rest of the world, provide some way of getting them to understand that the world isn't the way they are told it is - but to defend the indefensible is disgusting. Pacific Empire also has more about the nature of this regime here.

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For example, Borrie says here "We can stand alongside those countries supportive of the Korean right to self-determination." Apparently self determination means a totalitarian slave state. Beal says "there is so much more to be said about this inspiring, depressing, fascinating and bewildering society". If he didn't say inspiring, I'd have left him off the list - what is inspiring about a society of Orwellian control?

Richard Worth - A man who can't let it go

In the 2005 general election, Rodney Hide received 3102 more votes than Richard Worth for the Epsom electorate - giving him a healthy majority and electing him MP for the people of Epsom. Having said that, National received 21 310 party votes against ACT's 1237, so Richard Worth in some ways "won" the party vote for National in that seat - comprehensively. Labour was a poor second with only 9 915 party votes, 40% less than Rodney Hide got as candidate. Epsom was a resounding success for the "centre-right" - it pulled in a 58.4% party vote for National - well above the 39% average - helping to bring in National list MPs, including Richard Worth. It also voted for Rodney Hide, who himself, plus given ACT failed to cross the 5% threshold, also brought in Heather Roy - two centre right candidates on top of National's vote. Had Hide lost, then those two seats would have been split under the St.Lague formula between Labour and National. In other words, a net gain of one for the centre right.

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However, Richard Worth has a major hangup about all of this - he can't get over losing, comprehensively, his electorate in the last election. He campaigned on the basis that a vote for him as local MP gave National an additional MP - which was bullshit - pure and simple. He was in already as the list vote was so overwhelmingly for National. ACT only got 3.4% of the party vote in Epsom, it couldn't even pull in 5% in its natural heartland. Worth was going to get in with the party vote. He was either stupid or a liar for pretending that winning an electorate seat gives a party extra seats when that party is both clearly above the 5% threshold, and also highly unlikely to win more electorate seats than its party vote (the latter is the Maori Party).

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Now lots of sitting MPs in electorates lost their seats in 2005 - most of them Labour and most of them have gotten over it, and moved on. Their newsletters may criticise the Opposition, but they don't harp on about the local MP hoodwinking everyone - or if they do, it isn't a surprise when it is Labour vs. National.

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Not Richard Worth - he is clearly bitter and can't let it go.

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Let's take his rather boring newsletter. I can understand why, before the election, he slagged off Rodney Hide and ACT again and again, and was completely and utterly inaccurate about the effects of voting for Rodney Hide as local MP - but it is over a year.

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Get over it Richard - life's too short. Get a fucking life and attack the REAL enemy - it isn't Rodney - you're just jealous that he is many times more interesting than you.

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In the latest edition of "Newsworthy" he makes one mistake and clutches at straws to put the boot into ACT - the only seriously viable coalition partner National has (United Future has kept Labour in power for two terms, NZ First is in a terminal state and the Maori Party? Don't make me laugh).

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Worth said:

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"ACT made the claim that if Epsom voted for an ACT MP that would put the “ACT team back in Parliament”. That was a nonsense because the Party Vote of ACT was too low to permit that possibility. "

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Um, so who are Rodney Hide and Heather Roy Richard? How stupid is that comment? Getting an ACT electorate MP when ACT is clearly below 5% helps guarantee that ACT party votes contribute towards getting between an additional 1 to 5 ACT MPs.

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Richard - Hide won the seat, you won a list seat - get on with your job, which is being Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition to this appalling Labour government. Have a drink, chill out and grow up. I'd be surprised if the people of Epsom ever give you a chance ever again with this incessant whining about the man THEY chose. 66% of Epsom voters didn't want you as their local electorate MP - why don't you swallow that figure and perform the job of a list Opposition MP - attack the government. 58% didn't vote National for you to attack ACT.

Redpeace - blaming the USA because anti-capitalism matters

There was once a time when Greenpeace could have been thought of as an organisation genuinely interested in highlighting environmental issues that have been part of the tragedy of the commons. A lot of good people with good intentions - albeit not the intentions and means that I agree with.

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However now, it just shows itself as a mouthpiece for the loony left.

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Greenpeace is now Redpeace - its press release on North Korea says it all:

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""Greenpeace says outrage by the United States over North Korea's underground testing of a nuclear weapon is hypocritical given that country's nuclear arsenal."Nobody wants yet another country to have nuclear weapons, but with over 5,000 nuclear weapons in the arsenal of the United States of America, the relative balance of power has to be kept in mind," says Cindy Baxter, Greenpeace Campaign manager"

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Relative balance of power? Yes Cindy, we need to accept a murderous warmongering dictatorship has the right to maintain a "balance of power" against its peaceful free neighbours.

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Ms Baxter obviously thinks that a brutal dictatorship, with one of the largest standing armies in the world, that spends more than any other country on arms as a proportion of GDP, that runs a state of almost total slavery, that launches missile tests over its neighbours, that sells arms to whoever is willing to pay, that sponsors terrorism, that abducts innocent civilians abroad to meet the tastes of the Dear Leader – when the US has nuclear weapons saying “the relative balance of power has to be kept in mind”. I guess if nuclear weapons had existed ten years before they did, Nazi Germany or the USSR undertaking a test would be granted a similar response.

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A world which resembled the political and economic system of the United State would be infinitely preferable to one resembling North Korea – North Korea is hell on earth. The USA may not be heaven, but it is free, prosperous and, by and large, the government does not operate an all pervasive state that directs, interferes with and punishes details of everyday life, and it does not control absolutely the flow of information or publication of information.
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Perhaps Redpeace members could go to North Korea, ask to visit industrial sites, ask to test rivers and lakes for pollution, local air quality, visit prisons, visit psychiatric hospitals, ask about how people engage in protest marches on government policies, and learn for themselves why North Korea having nuclear weapons is potentially frightening, whilst no one has much to fear from the USA owning them. If Redpeace can’t see that moral equivalency between the US and North Korea is like equating Nazi Germany to the Allies, then it cares little about peace either between states or within states, and more about pandering to a tired old leftist anti-American diatribe. It will prove, once more, than Redpeace is no longer an apolitical organisation interested in raising awareness of environmental issues – but an apologist for any murderous regime that is against the USA, capitalism and Western liberal democracy.

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So what about this Cindy Baxter, Greenpeace NZ campaign manager? I have two theories, given it is Friday the 13th and it is about time I rubbed people the wrong way. On the one hand she may be into her 30s or older, quite unattractive and craves the attention and socialisation that Redpeace gives her. She can "network" with like minded haters of success, technology and western civilisation - and feel better about herself by denigrating the USA - a country which is one of the pinnacles of human achievement, with an enormous number of bright, attractive, successful, creative people - while celebrating countries with oppressed, sad, "order-followers" made to be collective in thinking and terrified of doing anything that isn't politically correct (for good reason). She enjoys slagging off George Bush (so clever that) and saying how stupid so many Americans are, how they are selfish and different from everyone else - having known so few herself. She feeds on anti-American propaganda, secretly cheered on the 9/11 attacks (hey it was capitalists being attacked) and consumes Noam Chomsky and Michael Moore as her favourite Americans. The ones that hate freedom and capitalism, except when they themselves benefit from it. Her lack of astuteness in applied disciplines that would mean she could get a real job, and lack of physical attractiveness has meant that she has sought out attention with other losers who like to bring down the best and brightest, and increase the standing of those that crawl - kind of like what Christianity does. The armageddon view of the world inflames passions among these misfits and means they may end up shagging, but it doesn't bear thinking about too much - they enjoy sneering at those in expensive suits, hotels, business class and nice cars (cars bad remember - chant it fifty times) just as much.

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On the other hand she may be very young, stupid and attractive - naively enjoying being a campaign manager, saving the "wurld" and feeling better about herself by being serious and so caring and thoughtful, and not liking that big bad man George Bush who she knows is bad, because all her friends say so, so do the books she reads and they can't be wrong can they? After all, join a leftwing movement and you have a whole philosophy to follow that involves hating America.

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However I doubt it, the press releases are far too articulate. "Greenpeace condemned the test, saying that Pyongyang has underscored the dangerous connection between nuclear research, nuclear power and nuclear weapons." See, it is wrong - because dozens of countries have nuclear power and no nuclear weapons - but it is articulate. This suggests she is older and a more hardened anti-American ecologist. Stupid bitch. I suggest she goes to North Korea to protest about the nuclear test - seriously!