We want all your data....

...and we're going to leave it lying around somewhere.

Secret Government documents which detail Britain's policies on fighting global terrorist funding, drugs trafficking and money laundering have been found on a London-bound train.

Just so we're clear, this is different to the load of secret data they lost last week.

Some people are still seriously asking what the problem with ID cards is. Incredible, isn't it?

All the other places are shut

As people try to size up the implications of David Davis's bolt from the blue, it's already clear that the civil libertarians are dangerously divided. That's not to say that the authoritarians aren't divided too, but as the control freaks run both government and official opposition parties, it matters rather less to them.

One of the main sources of difference is the theory that Davis's credentials to lead a civil liberties backlash are compromised by his support for, well, any number of issues - the death penalty, section 28, abortion are chief among them. This seems to me to mistake "issues that are sometimes supported by civil libertarians" with civil liberties per se. It's quite possible to make the liberal case for supporting any or all of these issues - here's Chris Dillow on corporal punishment (yes, I know it's corporal not capital, but similar arguments apply). And even if you don't accept these arguments, at the end of the day, there's only one show in town and that's Davis. Civil libertarians could wait for the perfect candidate to lead the movement to Nirvana, but they have to face the fact that it's a pretty demanding set of criteria to make the grade - we're probably looking for  an MP, and moreover one with perfect liberal credentials. They should have no significant personal peccadillos (not usually a feature found among MPs), and they should be ready to risk their career; to throw away their secure income and bloated pension to make a stand for the cause. Shall we say that this person would be a bit far-fetched in a story book, let alone in real life?

Meanwhile, whereever you look, there are people of impeccable civil liberties credentials arguing about what other issues they'd like to roll up with the ones David Davis has outlined already, namely ID cards, CCTV, habeas corpus and free speech. UKIP want Europe added to the slate, this chap wants the anti-smoking legislation repealed. 

The similarity between this and the Life of Brian is both amusing and depressing. The People's Front for the Liberation of Britain says anyone who doesn't include put the EU on the slate is a traitor. The British League for Liberty says only fools think such nonsense and it's smoking we want.

There is no way in a thousand years a coherent platform can be built around all these issues. Nobody would support it at all. Strange as it might seem to myself and UKIP, lots of people who are against internment think that the EU is a smashing idea, and that if we just tweak it here and there, everyone will end up rich, free and good-looking. Yes, it's bizarre, but there it is. Now't as queer as folk. Sorry UKIP, we need these people on board - without them we're sunk. We can't have the EU on the ticket.

And there it is. There's one guy with a set menu. Don't walk out of the restaurant because he doesn't offer a la carte. All the other places are shut.

Irish eyes are smiling

It looks like it's in the bag and the Irish have saved the nations of Europe to fight again another day. That's not to say that the EU vampire won't rise from the dead again, but for the minute, let's just be grateful our friends over the water have spoken up for all the people around Europe who have been denied a voice.

And in honour of this victory, here's a blast of a bunch of Irish musicians who can probably lay a fair claim to being the best there ever was - the Bothy Band.

Can Labour afford to run against DD?

Interesting theory doing the rounds about the upshot of the Davis resignation - Labour are bust already - they just can't afford to fight another major by-election campaign.

So come on MPs, start following Davis's example! 

David Davis resigns

The news that "Basher" Davis has resigned was a bit of a bolt from the blue wasn't it? Amazing to find someone acting on principle over something like this, although those of us who cheered on Davis in the Tory leadership contest are perhaps less surprised than others

What is now needed is for other MPs of principle to do the same thing - this will keep the pressure on the government as high as possible. John Redwood has applauded Davis's actions, and I've left a comment on his blog in which I ask whether he will follow suit. I wonder what the reaction will be? And what about the Labour rebels and the LibDems?

Update:

I've just written to Diane Abbott along the same lines.

Update:

Redwood says no. 

Quote of the day

Good news for those who support ethanol production as a means to reduce greenhouse gasses. You can get a beautiful mahogany table and chairs set, made from rainforest land converted to farmland to grow crops for ethanol.

 Jason Jones at the ASI.

A "close them down" week

Last week it was "failing schools will be taken over". This week, it's "failing schools will be closed".

Almost one in five secondary schools in England are to be given a warning to improve exam results or face closure.

Just keep alternating the headlines Mr Brown, nobody will notice that you're not actually doing either. 

Next week: Failing schools will be taken over

W/C 16 June: Failing schools will be closed

W/C 23 June:  Failing schools will be taken over

W/C 30 June: Failing schools will be closed

...repeat to fade.... 

Turgid bilge

The lady in charge of education in the Numptocracy^TM, Fiona Hyslop, is trumpeting her latest endless outpouring of pointless waffle in a press release posted on the Numptocracy Webpage.

Parents have a crucial role to play in supporting children's learning and the successful implementation of Curriculum for Excellence, Cabinet Secretary for Education Fiona Hyslop said today. 

I've written before about the refusal of my children's school to allow parents to see the curriculum that's being taught, so Ms Hyslop's turgid meanderings ring pretty hollow in these 'ere parts. Having refused me, the school informed the school council (that's the board of governors to you) that a summary of the curriculum would be prepared and released to parents. This was just after Christmas. Now, they have "changed their minds" and we are told to wait until the new term starts in the autumn.

And if you believe that you'll believe anything.

So if you'll excuse me, Ms Hyslop, I think you're not actually telling the truth. I think you don't want parents playing any role in their children's education at all. 

Management by spin

The Times republishes a government press release about failing schools.

Headteachers from grammar schools are to take over the management of failing schools in their area under plans for reform in England.

The author of the piece, Alexandra Frean, who rejoices in the title of education editor, doesn't see fit to ask any questions about this announcement at all, which is surprising because the government has been saying for some time that its intention is to close down failing schools altogether. Reasonable people might wonder whether this is a change in policy or spin, or something else altogether. Ms Frean however is happy just to parrot the government line.

She goes on: 

There are 638 such [failing] schools in the country and the Government hopes to team up a significant proportion of them with grammar and other successful types of state school.

Again, this is a bit strange because there are only around 160 grammar schools in the country, so even if every grammar school head was put in charge of a failing school, the majority of failing schools would still have to be run by the head of another non-failing bog-standard comp. In other words, the headline would be more representative if it said that failing schools are to be taken over by their successful colleagues. Unfortunately, this is a headline which has already been issued umpteen times already.

That's the problem with government by spin doctor: eventually you run out of new things to say. Perhaps they might actually try, you know, doing something about the problems in the education system? 

I've been censored

The Department for Schools, Children and Indoctrination has been spending freely on an ideas tree - a website where people can submit their ideas for how to help support parents in bringing up their children. My contribution was this:

Remove the state completely from any involvement with children or their education. Privatise all schools, and endow them with the proceeds so that they can provide education for the needy. Fire all educational bureaucrats, inspectors, and assorted busybodies and burn down the DSCF.

It's odd but I can't find it on the list of submitted ideas.

SNP politician in gross display of honesty

Take a look at this posting over on the BBC Editors' blog. There's a very funny video of SNP MSP Mike Russell ridiculing the debate he has just had to sit through.

Another day, another story of sleaze

It's remarkable how the story of an elected representative getting their comeuppance can cheer one up. And with this morning's news that Conservative chairman Caroline Spelman has been on the fiddle too, I have a positive spring in my step. That's now four Tories caught out.

The deafening silence from the other parties continues too, and I have no doubt they are as bad, if not worse. If you look at the results of the Open Europe survey of MEPs that started this run of sleaze stories off, it can be seen that Labour and LibDem MEPs were even more evasive about answering questions about their expenses than the Conservatives.

I don't think we've heard the last of this.

Zipedeedoodah, zipedeeay..... 

Is this too small?

One of my readers tells me that my blog's font size is too small. Does anyone else agree with this - should I up the size a bit?

Sleaze in Chichester and Dover

Guido has been doing great things in pushing the Giles Chichester sleaze story to the top of the news agenda, and it looks as though one of GC's colleagues will be following shortly.

There's an almost deafening silence from the other parties, which a cynic like me takes to mean that they're all at it. Gordon Brown did have this to say about his own MEPs though:

He said Labour MEPs had "insisted since 2000 on their being separate validated audits of their own expenses and they have a separate register about family employment".

What we should note about this is that none of these arrangements would have picked up the scam that Giles Chichester seems to have been operating. An audit would have noted valid invoices from a service provider company. Tick. The register of family employment would have correctly shown that he didn't employ any family members (they were employed by the service provider company, right?).

This is a classic case of saying something that looks like a denial, but which on closer inspection, isn't anything of the sort. 

Microgeneration

Climate Resistance crunches the numbers on the Guardian's claim that microgeneration is the future for our energy needs, and discovers, shock horror, that the Graun is once again talking tosh.

This is well worth a read, and lest anyone says that bloggers never produce anything original, includes some proper investigative journalism.

Link.