**It's still early afternoon here in Honoululu but I know that 2008 is being ushered in across the world so let me take this opportuinity to wish all ATW writers and readers a very Happy and prosperous New Year. I shall return soon. **

At this special time of the year, the t.v. screens are flooded with adverts for sales of furniture, electronics, clothing. Fair enough, if the marketing people want to pull the punters in, they reduce the prices from inflated levels to more acceptable numbers, and after all, that's what it's all about. But have you noticed a slightly sinister message in adverts for one type of product? Booze, in all it's many forms is the target of a slightly twisted message; at least that's what seems to be happening as far as I can tell.

The message, on screens all over the United Kingdom is seemingly simple, when they all say the same thing:-

Drink XXXXXXXX responsibly!

Has anyone ever thought to go behind this message, which is carried by all types of alcoholic beverage, from wines both fine and not-so-fine, through various beers and lagers to the blended and malt whiskies of Scotland. Let's be honest, apart from the very few connoisseurs of spirits or wines around, who can tell a vintage, a label or a distillery by the merest sniff of a cork, the vast majority of drinkers drink for effect; in other words, to feel a buzz, to get merry, or even to get smashed!

So our political overlords must have sent the word out to all the booze makers, and the message must have said, "Our strategy of twenty-four hour drinking hasn't worked, Britain is still getting drunk, so you must rein your customers in before we ban all booze adverts!"

Drink Responsibly! To any Englishman, Scots, Welsh or Northern Irishman, the message says only one thing,

The Labour Party must be p***ed already! 

 

Property Law throughout the civilised world has been seen as fairly uniform. If you make something, pay for something, or inherit something, it’s usually accepted as belonging to you! No one can take it from you without buying it, and not suffer the penalties listed under the varying Laws regarding property. If you give it to someone, or bequeath it as part of your estate, the worst which may happen is that you may be required to pay either a ‘gift’ tax or ‘death duties’ if part of an estate.

When the worst excesses of the Nazis had been covered by the Nuremburg Tribunals, which resulted in the executions of some of the leaders of that truly evil movement, the eyes of the world turned elsewhere, and it was only much later that the full extent of the Continental plunder of art both public and private was realised by the West; and attempts made to restore these items, paintings, sculpture, objets’ d’art to their lawful owners, or in most cases their decendants, as the owners had perished in the gas chambers of Auschwitz and other Nazi death-camps.

The only Government which opposed the searchers in their efforts to restore private property was that of the Soviet Union, but it was always assumed that this was the ‘Reds’ being their normal obstinate, distrustful selves, and not much notice was therefore taken of their stubborn refusals.

Click to read more ...

I believe that the sales department of the Telegraph advertisement, not normally known for an ironic attitude, has surpassed itself in the dying days of this year.  They ran a 2/3 page advert on Page 18 of the Saturday Telegraoh which purports to be a message from a whole bunch of Islamic scholars and 'wise men' (where did I read that before?) which wishes, amongst other things, that "the coming year be one in which the sanctity and dignity of human life is upheld by all...etc., etc., etc.."

It also quotes from the "Chapter of Mary" in their koran, as well as a link to 'A Common Word' which you may or may not wish to visit; as well as another link to further islamic writings, and a prayer that everyone should get along together, as Christmas this year coincides with the 'haj' or pilgrimage.

The statements which do not appear in this smug slushy garbage are any sign of repentance for deeds and words in the past, such as the deaths of the 2996 in the Twin Towers, or the 4,335 American servicemen and women who have perished at the hands, bombs or bullets of Islamic muslim terrorists in Iraq. It does not repudiate the filth which was preached in the mosques in Birmingham so graphically pictured in the Channel 4 Documentary 'Undercover Mosque', not does it explain why there are absolutely no Christian places of worship, or Synagogues for that matter, in Saudi Arabia, for example.

The text of this advert, which appears at a cost of many thousands of pounds, doesn't repudiate the well-known Islamic hatred of homosexuals, of women in general and any woman who dares to show her face uncovered in particular; it certainly does not repudiate the executions in Iran of those same homosexuals just for being homosexual. We are supposed to ignore reports such as this, we're supposed to forget images like this, and accept that all is sweetness and light.

 

 

Visited Pearl Harbor today, a fascinating but sombre trip.

It's 66 years since the place I was at earlier today was ablaze with death and destruction wrought by the Japanese on an unsuspecting American navy. I was at the Arizona Memorial - the last resting place for 1177 sailors killed when the ship literallt tore inself apart as a result of Japanese bombing. Reading the names of all those killed, including many from the SAME family, was a sad business.

Pearl Harbor is now a peaceful place - the dead rest where they fell. But it struck me that the reason why so many casualties happened was because of a series of human errors. 

It was with mounting anger, but without much surprise, that I read of yet another instance of state-sponsored anti-white discrimination. This time, it's taking place in the education system.

Among the various sources of funding available to schools, is the "Black Pupils Achievement Programme" (BPAP - not to be confused with the similar but much more expensive "Ethnic Minority Achievement Grant" (EMAG)), funded by the government, and therefore the (generally white) taxpayer, to the tune of £1.3million a year. The BPAP, to which over a hundred schools have so far signed up, was instituted in order to rectify the supposed under-achievement of non-white schoolchildren. As part of the programme, schools are given money to send all their pupils on regular trips to art galleries, museums, and the offices of local companies, in order to inspire them to work hard. All their pupils, that is, except those who happen to be white. They are excluded.

Other aspects of the BPAP include altering the school curriculum to ensure that it reflects the "experiences of African-Caribbean and Muslim pupils". As such, children at those schools that have signed up to the programme will now be studying the topography of Caribbean islands in their Geography classes, and will be analysing rap music during their English classes. Will the lyrics studied include those by performers such as Ice Cube and Public Enemy, who openly advocate hatred of, and sometimes violence against, whites, I wonder?

Click to read more ...

We report. You decide.


And don't miss part two

Well, that didn't take long.

Maybe Janet Reno and her crack team of super-sleuths are available.

 

Democrat Hillary Clinton called on Friday for an international probe of Benazir Bhutto's killing and candidates in both parties sparred over foreign policy six days before Iowa kicks off a close presidential nominating race.

Clinton, battling rivals Barack Obama and John Edwards for the lead in Iowa, questioned the reliability of Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf's government after opposition leader Bhutto's assassination.

"I don't think the Pakistani government at this time under President Musharraf has any credibility at all," Clinton said in an interview with CNN as she campaigned across Iowa. "Therefore I am calling for a full independent international investigation."

Considering Obama threatened to invade Pakistan a couple of months ago, calling for an investigation may be a no-lose proposition.

But seriously, Pantsuit, everyone wants to know what happened.

It's not as if you're going out on a limb here.

And tell us, how exactly would this independent international investigation take place and under whose jurisdiction?

Bhutto's killing on Thursday prompted candidates to flex their foreign policy muscles and, in the case of Clinton and Edwards, tout their experience. Several other Democrats leveled harsh criticism at Musharraf.

Muscles?

Huh?

I suffered through a couple of Democrat debates and cannot honestly recall Pervez Musharraf's name ever coming up.

Now we're supposed to take these Democrats seriously when it comes to foreign policy and the dire situation in Pakistan and the region?

Please.

At least one sober adult weighed in.

Republican Fred Thompson, a former Tennessee senator who is lagging in Iowa polls and trying to make up ground, warned against rushing to a conclusion on Musharraf and said candidates should be more "deliberate" on Pakistan.

"I don't think it would be a good idea to call for him to step down now," Thompson told CNN. "I hope that we as candidates out here don't start lobbing these ideas that get plenty of attention but are not very sound."

At this point when we have several different accounts of what happened Thursday in Pakistan, it's wholly irresponsible for presidential candidates to start sticking their noses into an investigation.

It's to be assumed the White House and State Department are fully informed of developments. Should they choose to brief top candidates, it's their choice.

At this time, however, Mrs. Clinton and the rest of the shameless Democrats ought to step back and stop being so reckless with our foreign policy.

After all, she and her husband's first and foremost priority is to "repair our image" with the rest of the world, no? How exactly will that be accomplished by making reckless statements and proposing absurd ideas as a full independent international investigation?

I'll assume some reporter might flesh this out, but word is she's not taking any questions.

 

 

Also at JWF. 

 

It's interesting what you can learn from an elderly coach driver.

We were on an Island tour a few days back, and we had the pleasure of listening to the commentary from a reasonably elderly Hawaiian coach driver. He talked about his life, his love of the island. He said how much he enjoyed working and how there was enough jobs here for all who want to work. I got the impression most people chose work over doing nothing and it got me thinking about what it is that distinguishes the work ethic here in the USA from that of the UK. There is a simple answer - the absence of socialism.

People here like to work. they seem pleased to serve, to facilitate, to earn their livelihood. Now I am sure this is not 100% perfect for EVERYONE but we do not live in utopia. However socialists of the sort that infest the UK (AND Europe) do not let this reality get in their way. They have determined that the work ethic is of limited importance. Statism is the name of the game in Euroweenie land and hence we see large swathes of the population with no interest or need in gaining useful employment. They can leach off the State care off the Welfare System and the State can find this by taxing those poor suckers who do work  "until the pips squeak". It's a vicious system but once people get hooked on the idea that they do not have to work, it becomes like a drug to them, they demand more benefits and politicians line up to offer such.

I happen to believe there is a nobility in doing an honest day's work. (One more reason why I detest politicians) Be it blue collar or otherwise, earning a living is a good thing for the human spirit. Socialism sees it differently. It's hatred of meritocracy, its' contempt for the human will to achieve guarantees it will poison any society that embraces it. Alas the UK has embraced socialism and it is destroying the work ethic for millions of people. The US has not YET fully supped from this poison chalice but if Hillary Clinton gets into the White House, fundamental damage to the work ethic will be done and so I hope this will not happen.

When I reflect on my Hawaiian coach driver who was proud to turn up for a day's work, and then I think of all those millions of British people too indolent to do the same, I see the sickness of socialism manifest and warn my American friends that this way disaster lies.

We are told by Brendan Barber, the head of the Trades Union Congress, that the 'Soar-away Super-rich' are becoming 'cut off from the rest' of us, and simmering resentment is caused by continuous low pay rises in the Public Sector. In plain English, what he is calling for is a massive tax burden to be placed on those who are talented or lucky enough to be earning super money, and that this tax revenue be then spread amongst all his low-paid 'Public Sector' workers, (most of whom, strangely enough, are union members)  But Mr. Barber isn't being entirely truthful with either his statements, his union members or his mathematics.

The super-sized pay-packets of the few are untouchable, primarily because of arrangements made with the Treasury. The philosophy being that if these people bring their talents and entrepeneurial skills to Britain, the work and jobs which result more than balances the miniscule taxes which these people pay. As you might know, any British person is taxed not only on his U.K. earnings, but also on any income which he or she drives from sources overseas, and most people who come to live in the U.K. do likewise; that's the rules! If you don't like it, go somewhere else! But a few are given these tax breaks  on the basis that if they come, we'll get the extra tax from those they employ, and if they don't come here, they'll go elsewhere! It's not very pretty, but, hey, who said everything in Britain was fair or nice?

Anyway, back to our Mr. Barber, the champion of the poorly-paid. If the Chancellor had a brainstorm, and slapped a windfall tax, and worked out a way to give all the Union members a hike in pay with the proceeds, they'd end up with about thirty-five pence each. Very shortly afterwards, our uber-rich foreign friends would pack their sleeping bags and depart for friendlier climates, and the jobs would disappear as well!

Just as a final thought, anyone know what Brendan Barber makes each year? Anyone heard of his plea to be paid less so his staff can get a little more? You'd have to be the owner of a really good pair of ears to hear that little gem! 

 

I was sorry to read about the brutal assassination of Benazir Bhutto in Pakistan today. I see that my fellow writers here already have covered it but there were a few points that I wanted to make;

Firstly, her death is shocking but not entirely unexpected. Pakistan is a seething volatile state and  Musharraf has held back from firmly prosecuting the war on terror on the Al Queda terrorists that reside within his own borders. This carries severe consequences since Al Queda has been allowed to regroup and its murderous intent remains the same - with the extra caveat that Pakistans' nuclear resources must present the Jihadi with even more motivation to destabilise that country. The lesson here is that the Pakistan MUST now move to eradicate Al Queda. Wazirstan has been handed over to the uber fanatics and this must now be firmly reversed. Elsewhere. in those border towns with Afghanistan where Jihadi plan their suicide missions on US forces, action must also be taken. Pakistan CANNOT be with us and against us. Period. Tokenism will not suffice in any meaningful way. 

Second, I think we must salute the courage of Ms Bhutto. I remember thinking that her return to her homeland some months ago was incredibly brave, or tremendously foolhardy. Maybe both. But for her to be lose her life as she tried to bring about a more democratic society was a high price to pay for a noble ideal.

Third, the actual nature of the act of murder that has taken place reminds us all just how craven, how EVIL, the Islamic Jihadi are. It strikes me that when one contemplates their profound wickedness, then surely we must all unite in seeking to defeat them. From where I stand, the best way to defeat them is to wipe them out, without mercy. They must be given no sanctuary, no hope, no nothing. Al Queda love death as we love life. Let them be given their wish.

He may not be much, but Musharraf is the best we’ve got.

That’s the message that must come from today’s saddening events in Pakistan, where Benazir Bhutto was assassinated by an Al-Qaeda fanatic who shot her several times and then blew himself up. Her supporters, Pakistan’s theoretical democrats, are reportedly following the typically Liberal line of perversely blaming Musharraf for not providing her with proper security rather than, say, blaming the Islamic extremists who have been threatening her and have claimed responsibility for actually murdering her. I guess the more ‘moderate’ and Liberal you get, the less inclined you get to directly blame Islamists for anything - no matter where you come from.

People are already concocting elaborate JFK-style conspiracy theories that because she was shot as well as blown up, there must have been a grassy knoll involved somewhere. And, with weary predictability and wonderful political acumen, the opposition are already talking about 'Civil War'.

From JWF's more in-depth update: 

“Riaz Malik, of the opposition Pakistan Movement for Justice party (Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf), warned: "The impact will be that Pakistan is in more turmoil - it will be the start of civil war in Pakistan.

"There is a very real danger of civil war in Pakistan. "

Charming. There’s no one quite like a politician for trying to get a short-term bit of power at the expense of long-term benefit to their country. If the ‘Civil War’ being talked about were to actually erupt, who would win if both anti-Islamist groups were fighting each other? Anyone?

This is precisely the reaction that Al-Qaeda is banking on – the reaction it calculates it will always get every single time it manages to succeed in yet another atrocity, commit another murder. Their opposition always manages to be so weak, so determined not to blame those who have committed the atrocities and the ideology of conquest and chaos which drives them, that they can always gain from their actions. Always.

In a sane world, this murder (and that of a score of innocent civilians doing nothing more than attending a political rally) would have united Pakistan against the evil which has infested it, from the ‘fighters’ in the border zones to the Islamist-controlled judiciary which has spent the past few years doing everything it can to undermine the daily workings of the Musharraf regime in what has turned out to be a very successful attempt to destabilise it (just as it continues to do in Afghanistan). But wherever the great democrats of the West stick our noses in to try and arrogantly turn wholly different cultures into carbon copies of our own regardless of the consequences, the weakness of excuses, of trying to blame murder and mayhem on everyone and everything but those responsible for it, creeps in and takes hold. Those who once would have simply campaigned for freedom now perversely try to abuse a democratic system they see only as something to be used as a path to their own personal power.

Musharraf is a dictator. There’s no denying it. But I’d rather have an honest dictatorship, led by a man who holds his people together by the skin of his teeth against an implacable foe like Al-Qaeda, than a bunch of ‘democrats’ so obsessed with winning the illusion of short-term power that they are prepared to see their country perish to do it.

A terrible day in Pakistan as former PM Benazir Bhutto has been murdered, with Al Qaeda claiming credit, although that is still yet to be determined.

A roundup with assorted links and reaction at JWF.

An update with worldwide reaction. 

Listened with interest to the discussion regarding the proposal to 'tag' or 'track' sufferers from Alzheimers' or Dementia. It was an illuminating discussion, made even better by the high standard of the participants. My own mother-in-law was, by default, a carer for a neigbour who was otherwise alone in this world; her own relatives having either died or deserted her. So, at the age of seventy herself, she had to restrain this otherwise healthy person from wandering off alone into London, and believe me it was no picnic! I have the greatest admiration for that multitude of family carers who shoulder their burden without complaint.

But while listening to this illuminating broadcast, I suddenly had a revelation, and developed a new use for the 'tag' or 'tracker' which would be instantly more useful than even the proposed purpose of establishing the position of a sick person! My 'tracker' would be compulsory wear for any and all politicians; both present and future, and the signal would be a short  but loud broadcast warning any in the vicinity that the approaching entity was either a) a politician or an embryo of that class, or b) a do-gooder who thinks that they know best in terms of health, wealth or education for us and our children. The automatic and compulsory reaction would be the raising and levelling of a shotgun, the only variation would be whether to pull the trigger or not!

My elderly Aunt, who resides in a religious community in South Africa, was speaking to me on Christmas morning, and mentioned how delighted the community was on the conversion of Tony Blair to Catholicism, and seemed taken aback by my strident denunciation of both the the man and the politician. She still seemed to believe in the esential goodness of the man, and obviously hadn't read much apart from the laudatory tributes to Blair. She didn't even know about the results of the so-called Equality Act, or at least those which resulted in the closure of the Catholic Adoption agencies, whose staff and policies were not given any leeway by the so-called caring Christian Blair!

What any Church does with regard to those who seek to join is of course up to that Church, but shouldn't a quick trawl of the headlines, never mind Google, resulted in an instant negative response to one who has done so much damage to that Church's structure and character, from his voting record on abortion to his denial of 'special circumstances' for the Adoption Agencies' of that Church. THe leader of the Catholics in England & Wales, one Cormac Murphy O'Connor, himself suspect for the silent removal of a predatory priestly pervert from parish to parish, welcomed Blair into the fold. Sooner he should have questioned our good friend 'Tony' as to his ultimate motives, instead of welcoming the scheming fox into the sheepfold!

Middle Eastern Negotiator and prospect for sainthood? More like just another grubby politician,  albeit one with slightly more blood on his hands than the usual! 

 

Mind the wicketOFF TO the Boxing Day Hunt meet this morning, and what a fine turn out it was too. Old England has taken a real hammering from politicoes over the last century, no doubt about it, but when the sun's shining and the fillies are squeezed into their jodphurs, there's no finer spot on Earth.

At least a couple of thousand hunt followers boozers were in attendance on the village green in a wonderful display of defiance - so much for the ban, class warrior scum! Our Hunt being relatively close to that den of perversity known as London, you can usually rely on a few sabs to arrive and provide some sport, but so many fine Englishmen and women were up that the sabs didn't dare come close. A few stood back from the fringes in their Che t-shirts, waving rolled up copies of the Guardian, but the rest found it a little too hot for their liking and shipped off, the cowards.

Once the quality had ridden out to ...erm ... exercise the hounds, well it would have been rude not to squeeze into the local for a couple of liveners. I honestly intended to take it easy for a few days, the message being received and understood after waking up at 8.00pm on Christmas Day, attempting to put on my shoes and failing miserably to reach my feet. It's lettuce and water for me for the rest of the week.

The queue for the barBut that's tomorrow and today was glorious. Hundreds of thousands of us, the backbone of the country, came out and stuck two fingers up to the modern world. It's enough to make a liberal, metropolitan ponce gag.

I'd like to take this opportunity to wish the ATW folks in Europe and elsewhere a Happy Boxing Day and Happy St. Stepen's Day.  Due to the high level of Yank interest in the site, I thought it would also be helpful to explain the holiday to my compatriots here in the USA.

Many Americans may be confused by Boxing Day Celebrations, after all, who was the last great heavyweight boxer produced in England?  However, is has nothing to do with individual pugilism, but rather is an old tradition dating back to the Middle Ages and derived from that most British of all sports - Class Warfare.  Essentially it has its origins in the time when the upper class would give out gifts (boxes) to the poor, employees and people of the lower social classes.  Even as I write this, David Vance is likely giving generous gifts to disadvantaged hula dancers on his vacation in Hawaii.  It is celebrated in many of the places the English found themselves back when THEY were the immigrant problem  (Canada, Australia etc).   

Of course, in Ireland, the day is known as St. Stephen's Day, named after the first Christian Martyr who was stoned to death (and not in a Jimmy Hendrix or Brian Jones way, gentle readers).  It is also known there as Wren Day, when the Wren Boys/Mummers/Strawboys come out.  The Wren Boys are generally children who roam their village from Pub to Pub (in a cross between Halloween and Spring Break) dressed as second-string scarecrows.  They sing a few songs to the denizens of the pub and are rewarded with small coins and the occasional bag of crisps.  It is a very beloved holiday in Ireland as the pubs are closed on Christmas Day and the citizenry, having been compelled to spend 24 hours in the company of their family, may break free and rejoin their loved ones at the bar when the pubs are reopened on the 26th. 

All kidding aside, I'd like to express my best wishes to those celebrating either holiday and enjoy your day.  Cheers and Slainte!!   

Visited my local Tesco supermarket this a.m. as I had run short on a couple of essentials, (chillies, booze).

Didn't recognise any of the check-out staff; enquired and found that they were all from other branches, as the locals had all preferred to stay at home for the second day of the holiday! I was also informed that these staff were, in payment for truly unsocial hours, being paid triple time, plus holiday bonus, plus transport to work and back at the end of their shift.

Now that's what I call the acceptable face of capitalism, with an acceptance that if the management wants people to do something they'd rather not, an alternative is searched for, and a premium paid for that alternative.

Good on Terry Leahy and his bunch of marketers! No wonder they are beating the pants off all other supermarket chains!

There has been wide-spread action in senior political circles in trying to prevent the expulsion of two "Diplomats" from Afghanistan. The two, one from the EU, the other from the UN, were allegedly talking to senior Taliban terror leaders in Musa Quala, and for this unforgiveable crime against the established Government of Hamid Kharzai, they are to be expelled from the country.

 The talks, which are described by the BBC as attempts to 'engage' tribal leaders, have the support of the Foreign Office, whose previous chats with these killers  resulted in Musa Quala being re-taken by the Taliban after the British Army's withdrawal last year during protestations about how the 'tribal elders' had 'guaranteed the safety of their townspeople, and the soldiers could depart in peace!

Frankly, I don't know what all the fuss is about, knowing the track record of those who are pulling the strings of power in Kabul! I mean, if the Labour Government can not only talk to the butchers of the I.R.A., but invite them into Government alongside the Quislings of the D.U.P. they'll easily swallow talking to the scum who were, and still are, attempting to kill British Service Personnel.

The true traitors are't the pair from the EU and the UN, they are the pin-striped brigade from the Foreign Office who willingly carry out the commands of the socialist thugs whose leaders reside in the soiled corridors of Whitehall and Downing Street.

 

Don't you just love the bizarro world of the BBC, where bloodthirsty terrorists are referred to as activists?

Seriously, how absurd can the media bias get?

Two members of the Palestinian militant group Hamas have been killed in an Israeli air strike in the Gaza Strip.

Hamas said the men were patrolling a border fence near Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza when they were hit. A third man was wounded in the attack.

The Israeli army confirmed it had launched an air strike in the area.

Israel has recently stepped up military action in Gaza, killing more than 20 Hamas activists as it tries to stop rockets being fired into Israel.

I recall activists were people who protested some real or perceived injustice.

How is it terrorists have been labeled as such? Does the BBC even realize how stupid this looks? 

I'd just like to wish everyone a very happy Christmas as we prepare to celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God and Saviour of Mankind.

Whatever you're doing, I wish everyone all the best. I think we can all be thankful that we're not bedding down at Heathrow after a bit of fog the other night.

Being a traditionalist, I'm having a Great British Christmas - feet up, let the women do all the work and eat and drink constantly until I nod off in front of the tv. I hope yours will be as joyful.