Hard-Headed Publishing

I saw a newspaper headline today about someone being sacked for wearing a crucifix. Ain't that a joke!! Surely the same principle that allows a woman to wear a face-veil applies here. Who's offended by a cross anyway ?

Debates rage on about "lifting the veil". I'd like to see a few veils lifted. Like the veil that hides the carefully coordinated mass media campaign to demonise muslims, somewhat along the lines of the demonisation and dehumanisation of jews prior to Hitler's Holocaust. And we all know the result of that campaign. The general public gave tacit consent as jews were 'processed'. And the veil that hides the reality of eastern European girls kidnapped and sold into slavery so they can be exploited to satisfy the depraved sexual desires of Londoners. Or the veil that shrouds Cabinet decisions. Or the veil that hides the corporate control of television stations that allows them to edit the factual content of documentaries. And the veil of secrecy over the close links between secret service networks and Big Business that enables the likes of Bechtel and General Motors to decide which environmental protestor is labelled as a terrorist and henceforth persecuted as a threat to the state, our way of life, freedom etc. Or even the veil over the fact that many cancer-inducing food additives have been declared safe by the british government, while the same substances are banned in Germany and Malaysia. And the veil that clouds the patently obvious fact that date-rape drugs can only be designed and produced using some high-tech equipment and advanced pharmaceutical know-how. ( So where could that be ? ) How about the veil that buries the records of how many indigenous people were killed off when the Europeans conquered the Red Indians to found America ? ( read 20 billion minimum ) Or the veil that hides the truth about the 400 years of enslavement and oppression of the African tribes by 'upstanding Christian citizens' . ( It was approved by the Pope of the time, who basically decreed that anything goes with regards to non-christians because they're heathen. ) Or the veil that hides the ways in which ad agencies subtly manipulate children into nagging parents for new toys. Or the veil that hides the profit IBM made from the Nazi extermination of jews. Or the veil behind which american corporation United Fruit hid while they encouraged America to go to war with Cuba because Fidel Castro dispossessed them of their holdings on the island. Or the multiple veils of secrecy that hide the methods by which lawyers collaborate to financially shaft their clients. And the veil around stock markets and currency exchanges that obscures how the profiteering of a few can throw millions into poverty. And the veil that hides how the USA uses the World Bank to rob third world nations of their natural resources. Or the veil that British Police use to disguise the fact that they profit enormously from speed cameras while the actual improvement in road safety has been negligible. Or the veil that stands between the british taxpayer and the knowledge of what proportion of his tax pounds are used to subsidise the manufacture of guns, land mines, bombs etc. ( 10 per cent ) Or the veil that covers the shameful actions of British soldiers in Iraq. And the veil that hides the truth of 9/11 while thousands of people are murdered over that bullsh*t.

I saw yet another ridiculous consumer safety label today and it got me to thinking how the same warning labels could be applied to politicians........ Tony Blair Warning: May cause grief. John Prescott Warning: Do not drive or operate heavy machinery. George W Bush Warning: May start wars if left unattended. Labour Party Warning: May be vulnerable to bribery. George Galloway Warning: May cause irritation. Parliament Warning: May contain nuts. House of Lords Warning: Check sell-by date before use. Saddam Hussein Warning: May cause feelings of persecution and hostility.

Facts: * Pakistan suffered an earthquake this weekend. * George Bush recently visited Pakistan. * During this visit the Pakistani head of state was threatened with having his country reduced to rubble if he did not cooperate. Fiction: In the Hollywood film 'Conspiracy Theory' starring Mel Gibson and Julia Roberts, a paranoid conspiracy theorist notes that visits to other countries by the american president are followed by an earthquake in the region if the president doesn't get what he wants. Isn't this a wierd case of life imitating art ? CURIOUS FACT: It has been scientifically proven by seismologists that an earthquake can be artificially triggered by detonating a large explosion on a geological fault line. For example, a small nuclear bomb buried hundreds of metres below the ground. No one would be able to detect the radiation through the tonnes of earth hence no one would know what really happened.............

So Tony Blair is finally going ! Not soon enough. Not until he's made a right mess of the country. It doesn't look like flash Gordon could do much better. Meanwhile the Tories are busy investing in porn stars. So the conservative vision of the future is 'pretty much fu**ed'. So much for the state of the nation.

I got my free local newspaper through the door today. Along with a whole bundle of junk mail which goes straight into the bin. Here's the thing; How many trees are being chopped down to produce the paper that makes the flyers that are posted to every home, only to be instantly thrown away as junk mail and never even read ? It's a needless waste of good trees and an exercise in futility. Today I got flyers for Boots ( I never shop there ), Poundsaver's travel products ( ain't going on holiday anytime soon ), portable electric scooters ( ain't incapacitated yet, thank God ), Hillarys blinds ( don't need blinds ), Tesco bargains ( I rarely shop there ), Bryant Homes ( can't afford a new home ), Leeds Castle ( may possibly go there ) and Gala Bingo ( definitely not my sort of thing ). Why do shops do it ? To them its marketing. To me its annoying. These days the internet allows precise marketing to people who are actually interested in your product. Why do these stupid corporations persist with old methods that waste a lot of resources and produce for them a sales result of around 1 per cent. Isn't it time to say a 1 per cent return isn't good enough ? How can it be worth the effort ? If I had to do a task with a 1 per cent chance of a successful result I absolutely would not bother with it ! I think that its high time that environmental concerns take precedence over unfruitful marketing activities. With the availability of electronic communications and paperless offices, it would serve the environment to eliminate the use of paper wherever it is not needed ( junk mail being a prime example ).

Was that a frank discussion between Blair and Bush accidently recorded yesterday or was it a publicity stunt in disguise ? Not sure myself; * its odd that a camera happened to catch it at the same time * the sweater reeks of a PR guru's attempt to put something personal into the discussion * they don't seem to finish discussing a topic before moving on to something completely unrelated * key parts of the conversation are unheard * Bush uses out-of-date slang words. Does he actually talk like that or is he attempting to be hip ? Maybe I am just paranoid due to my profound distrust of this government. Opinions please.

£100 million cuts in the NHS announced today.
So that's where the £100 million to fight corruption in the Third World is coming from.
Clearly the concept of getting your own house in order before you help others is lost on Tony Blair.

Britain is to donate £100 million to help fight corruption in the Third World.
Ain't that a case of the pot calling the kettle black ?

Tony Blair's theatrical antics today have led psychologists to describe his behaviour as a new kind of paranoia. The salient features of the 'Blair Syndrome' are;
(a) delusions of being popular
(b) the misconception that the people who hate you are a vindictive, conspiring minority
(c) an inability to accept that the police may have legitimate reasons for investigating you
(d) the belief that anyone who wants you out of office is a fascist conspirator
(e) warmongering tendencies
(f) rampant dramatizing of fictional threats and enemies
(g) Inability to admit you made a mistake.