Out of interest I would be grateful to hear from loyal readers in the USA as to whether they have noticed any negative effects on their lives brought about by the government shutdown over there?
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Oh dear it seems that Nanny has reverted to the 1940's, and is working on the assumption that she can control our food rations.
A leaked report by the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition is going to recommend to Nanny that we must not eat more than 500g (1.1lb) of red or processed meat each week (70g a day - that's 3 rashers of bacon a day folks!), if we are to avoid bowel cancer.
A Coalition (we had a coalition government during the War) source told the media:
"It is important that people are not put off eating red meat entirely – but it would be irresponsible to ignore the potential health risks.
The advice is very clear."
We will be seeing these new small sized portions served in Westminster's dining rooms then, will we???
No, I thought not!
Nanny would do well to remember that we will eat what we wish, and should also remember that just because she calls herself a "coalition" does not mean that she has the stature, competence, ability or turst of the people of the war time coalition government.
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I am gemused to see that Cameron has been seduced by the idea (laudable) of cutting back on government legalisation that is designed to force us to behave in ways that the government wants us to, but has instead decided to replace it with a concept known as "behavioural insight" (aka "nudge theory") which attempts to manipulate us into behaving in ways that the government approves of (eg giving more to charity, paying more taxes and drinking less)...not so laudable.
How does it do this?
Via a combination of subliminal messages and appealing to the innate human desire to be part of the social "norm" (ie "decent people like to pay more taxes", "the majority of people don't drink to excess" etc).
The theory is that people will comply with whatever "group norms" the government tells us are in play. This technique is used by dictatorships to control their populations, in extremis the state uses the "group norm" approach to encourage the population to spy on and bully those who do not comply with "approved group norm" behaviour and indeed to alienate and ostracise certain social/ethnic groups.
So enamoured is Cameron with this theory, that he has set up a secret group of "experts" who are advising him on how to apply it across government departments (see yesterday's HMRC Is Shite for one such example). Indeed so secret is the work of this group that
Nanny won't tell anyone who is in it, or what they are doing.
Anyhoo, whilst Nanny tries to play mind games with us (latest advice from the "nudge theory think tank", abolish rounds and adopt a tab system instead for paying for drinks in pubs) it is worthwhile remembering what governments are actually meant to do.
Governments are meant to provide us with a "plug in and play" environment in which we are able to live our lives freely, without hindrance, and to conduct our business with as little bureaucratic interference as possible.
Has the government provided us with a "plug in and play" environment?
No, it has not!
1 The train services treat their customers as prostrate milch cows, ripping them off with ever higher fares in return for a substandard cattle truck service.
2 Heathrow airport (the alleged hub of our airport network) regularly turns into a poorly managed refugee camp at the slightest hint of inclement weather.
3 Refuse piles high on the streets thanks to the incompetence of our overpaid unelected council officials.
4 The police store data on victims of crimes who dial 999.
5 The UK is £4.8 Trillion in debt etc.
In short we have become a third world country where the government chooses to play mind games, rather than get down to the business of fixing the shite infrastructure and broken local "democracy".
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Given the fact that there has been sufficient and well publicised warnings about the snow I assume that Nanny (eg councils, the Highways Agency etc) and "quasi state" bodies (eg Network Rail, BAA, BA, train companies etc) were ready for it, and have responded professionally and efficiently ensuring that our transport system continues to function during the snow.
What's that you say?
Really, the transport system has ground to a halt again?
Surely not?
Surely these bodies were prepared and ready this time?
Funny that isn't it, the state and "quasi state" bodies are always rather good at telling us how to live our lives (eg "don't travel", "check your flight details before leaving home", "no liquids", "check in at least two hours before departure" etc) and are more than happy to rob us blind (eg taxes, train fares etc) in return for providing us with "services" that fail?
Rather a one way "relationship" isn't it?
Looks like I will be using a lot of cat litter over the coming days!
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Fresh on the heels of the recent announcement by the Tory led coalition to ban all branding of fags, our "beloved" government is now planning to up the minimum price of booze.
Nanny's Health Secretary, Andrew Lansley, will publish a white paper this week that will outline plans to ban cheap alcohol sales.
Supermarkets will be banned from selling wine, beer and spirits below the cost of duty on the product plus VAT.
There are also plans to raise the duty paid on super-strength beer, as part of the Police and Social Responsibility Bill that is also due to be published.
Licences could be removed from sellers that breach the rules.
I had been labouring under the misunderstanding that we were now being governed by a Tory led government, with an agenda to lessen the burden of state control on the individual, not a socialist administration intent on encroaching ever further into our daily lives.
Clearly I was wrong.
I find it hypocritical, to say the least, that our "respected" MPs (hereafter referred to as useless gobshites) are striving to increase the price of booze; given that these useless gobshites have unfettered access to subsidised bars and restaurants (open until the wee small hours) courtesy of the long suffering taxpayer.
Why do they allow themselves the option of being able to drink cheap booze, but deny the voters that same option?
My thanks to the Irish Daily Star for coming up with a headline (albeit intended for the Irish cabinet) that so ably describes our government.
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I am gemused to see that our coalition government has announced that it will spend around £2M a year measuring our "happiness".
A fascinating idea yet, somehow, I suspect deeply flawed.
Let us start with the basics, ie what exactly is "happiness"?
There are some basic theories that state that humans have several levels of "needs" that have to be satisfied before they achieve "nirvana".
The basic "needs" are:
- Food - Shelter - Safety/warmth - Sex
Once these have been sated, the human "id" (or ego) takes over, and mankind (so the theory goes) looks for fulfillment (or his/her destiny) via intellectual pursuits and "leisure activities that boost the ego and give rise to feeling of self satisfaction/contentment.
Hmmmm, all well and good, yet measuring these key performance indicators (KPI's) is all but impossible.
1 As each new generation is born in the "First World", their aspirations are higher than the previous generation.
Economic, political, technological and social advancement means that each generation expects growth and improvement in their basic conditions. Our grandfathers would have been more than content with a roof over their heads and an indoor privy. The current generation expects nothing less than a 42 inch plasma TV with internet access etc.
2 One person's view of "enough" wrt eg food or sex, is not the same as another's. There are some who can make do with sex once a month whilst there are others, eg certain "celebrities", who cannot get a "boner" unless it's at least 3 in a bed twice a day with half a kilo of coke.
3 It is fair to say that many in the UK are more than sated wrt their food intake, one only has to watch people stuff their faces with all manner of shit from takeaways etc to see that.
Yet, take a close look at many of these face stuffers and ask yourselves are they really happy?
To my view they look terribly unhappy, and are in fact using food to take their minds off their own self perceived misery and self pity.
4 Despite all our social and economic advances, there are still people in this country who do not have a roof over their heads, who live in cold damp rooms and who do not have enough to eat.
Unless their basic needs are met there can be no effective measure of the country's happiness, because they have yet to get to the next level (where "happiness" is meant to kick in).
5 The Orifice of National Statistics will be the organ of the state assigned the task of measuring "happiness". As we know from its lamentable record wrt providing economic statistics whatever numbers it reports are unreliable, out of date and subject to revision.
Having proven that measuring "happiness" is all but impossible, the question that also needs to be asked is whether this really is any of the government's business?
Traditional political models work on the assumption that if the government stimulates the economy, and ensures that there is a reasonable level of "full" employment, then people will be happy. As demonstrated above, "happiness" is a little but more complicated than that.
For sure, money alone cannot buy you happiness. However, abject poverty in the face of conspicuous abundance is miserable.
The real key to "happiness" is a subjective mixture of:
- "wealth", - "freedom", and - the expectation/"hope" of self improvement.
These three "keys" to happiness can only come about when a government runs a "plug in and play" environment, whereby the individual can safely go about his/her business (without harming others) in the expectation that the government will not keep changing the rules of the game or stifle initiative and self growth via excessive rules, regulations and taxes.
This means that governments need to focus on downsizing their role in society, and individuals need to become (and be allowed to become) more responsible for their own lives.
Wasting money on measuring "happiness" will not achieve anything tangible, other than a "feelgood" buzz for Nanny.
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I see that Nanny, despite claiming that she wishes to simplify taxes (wrt her Orifice For Tax Simplification), is planning to increase stamp duty on homes that she deems to be energy inefficient.
Snort!
In the old days people were taxed on the number of windows they had, as glass was considered a luxury.
The solution?
They bricked them up.
Now it is the reverse, a tax on "poverty".
I understand that, at one stage, the Nanny had considered banning the sale of energy inefficient homes.
Even she realised that this would be a tad too stupid!
The new tax, which will most assuredly negatively impact the housing market, will theoretically come into force in 2012.
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I have, for those of you with long memories, warned that Nanny's attempts to ban "legal highs" (eg Miaow Miaow) and her entire drugs policy is a recipe for disaster.
As sure as eggs are eggs, chickens and "cats" have come home to roost. The BBC report that despite being banned, Miaow Miaow is still widely available on the net.
Additionally, as predicted, The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs have said that many new legal highs have flooded the market since mephedrone (Miaow Miaow) and naphyrone were banned this year.
As soon as one compound is outlawed, another slightly different one takes its place.
Nanny's drugs policy is a shambles, and is destined to fail. Using the law to enforce certain people's views on "morality" never works in the long run.
Do remember loyal readers that our government, that continues to advocate the current drugs policy, is made up of a number of highly placed people who have used (and maybe continue to use) several illegal drugs (not "just" whacky backy).
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Another week crashes down upon us and strafes our buttocks.
With all the inevitability and the tedium of an unloved season we face another general election, in which the politicians would have us believe that they actually care what we think.
The "big decision", "big ideas" and "time for change" appear to be the phrases that will be rammed down our throats.
True to form, MORI rang me last night to garner (or is it garnish?) my opinion. I put the phone down.
The sad and depressing reality is that whoever wins the next election the British public will see precious little meaningful change, aside from some tinkering with tax rates.
-We will face months of industrial unrest -The public sector pension black hole will not be addressed -Taxes will remain high -Hospitals will continue to be mismanaged -Governemtn IT projects will waste ever more billions -Schools will continue to turn out people who are unfit for the real world -Politicians will continue to treat us as prostrate milch cows -The Nanny state will continue to do all it can to increase surveillance and control over the minutiae of our lives
Therefore vote for whoever claims to stand against all of the above, even if they wear a plastic bucket on their head.
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Why not really indulge yourself, by doing all the things that Nanny really hates? Click on the relevant link to indulge yourselves; Food, Bonking, Toys, Gifts and Flowers, Groceries
I see that Nanny is having another go at "fat" again.
This time she has set her sights on butter. Her "good practice" guidelines, as per one of her quangos the School Food Trust, states:
"When making sandwiches, try not using any butter or spread if the filling is moist enough. If using fat spread, choose a reduced-fat variety and spread thinly.".
Why not just dip the bread in water and be done with it?
Nanny's scare mongering about the dangers of butter is complete bollocks. Natural fats such as butter, cheese, milk and lard are far better for you than the artificial shit that is packaged as spreadable slurry.
As I have noted many times before, the body is like a car engine; it needs oil in it to prevent it seizing up.
Hence fat in the veins will of course aid the flow of blood!
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As we know, Nanny is dead keen to start wars in foreign countries on the pretext of introducing "democracy".
A "noble" thought I suppose, if it weren't for a few inconvenient issues eg:
- people get maimed and killed
- you cannot impose democracy with the barrel of a gun
- not every country in the world wants our version of "democracy"
- the financial cost of these wars is crippling
- these wars are suffering from mission creep, as a result of lousy/dishonest political "leadership" from Brown and his toadies
- wrt Afghanistan, if we really are to stand a chance of "democratising" this country (and by the way, I don't think we have a cat's chance in hell - we got our arses kicked in Victorian times there, and the Russians suffered a similar fate at the hands of the US funded Taliban in the 1980's), then we are going to be there for 40 years or more
- once maimed our soldiers don't even get decent treatment, viz Nanny's recent attempt to reduce compensation payments
- the loyalty of our troops is being severely tested, as an unthinking uncaring and thoroughly despicable government sends them on missions without adequate support/kit/equipment etc
In view of the above I heartily endorse the "Send In Your Uniform To Brown" Campaign as per ARRSE:
"This is a protest, driven by the constant betrayals of this government, including ignoring the pleas of Service chiefs for life-saving resources, sending personnel to battle with inadequate or unsafe equipment and vehicles, and this latest kick in the teeth for injured veterans."
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Listening to our "walking dead" Prime Minister the other day, prattling on about how "the system" (wrt MPs' expenses) was at fault for the claims for floating duck islands, fake mortgages, moats etc I was struck by how what the PM said exemplifies the very heart of the problem of the Nanny state.
The PM ignored the fundamental issue, it is not the system that is at fault but the people. It was not compulsory for our MPs to claim for duck islands and moats, they did so voluntarily and with gusto!
The PM and these greedy MPs are using the "procedures" argument as a defence, in exactly the same manner that a doctor, social worker, police officer, teacher, FSA CEO or council officer uses "rules and procedures" to justify what they do and to justify their mistakes.
How many times have we heard the phrase "we followed the procedures"?
That is meaningless if the end result is failure/death, or a cold hearted application of a petty rule.
Nanny's rules and procedures proactively encourage people to stop thinking for themselves and taking personal self responsibility for their own actions/mistakes.
The PM so eloquently highlighted (unintentionally) the very weakness at the heart of the Nanny state; namely, no one needs to ever take personal responsibility anymore, so long as they follow procedures.
Without personal responsibility, individuality, risk taking and thinking outside of the box we are most assuredly set on the path to our own self destruction; as we drown in bureaucracy and petty rules, all of which have been designed to suffocate initiative and growth.
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Poor old Nanny "Smiler" Brown hoisting herself by her own petard (shades of Mussolini spring to mind) by having her oft repeated, and nasty "Little Englander", phrase "British jobs for British workers" thrown back at her by the wildcat strikers.
The sure sign of a dictatorship is when a government plays the "race card" and pretends to "protect" its nationals from "foreigners".
Like it or not we live in a global economy, Nanny's attempts to pretend that she cares about us (wrt subjects that really matter, eg jobs etc) have been shown to be the hollow fallacies that they really are.
In truth that is often why she tries to divert our attention with her meaningless, yet dangerous) health and safety initiatives, and campaigns against conkers, hot water, door mats, salt, smoking, drinking etc.
She is a powerless old crone, intent on staying in orifice long past her sell by date.
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Research has led to the discovery of the heaviest element yet known to science. The new element, Governmentium (Gv), has one neutron, 25 assistant neutrons, 88 deputy neutrons, and 198 assistant deputy neutrons, giving it an atomic mass of 312.
These 312 particles are held together by forces called morons, which are surrounded by vast quantities of lepton-like particles called peons. Since Governmentium has no electrons, it is inert; however, it can be detected, because it impedes every reaction with which it comes into contact. A minute amount of Governmentium can cause a reaction that would normally take less than a second to take from four days to four years to complete.
Governmentium has a normal half-life of 2- 6 years; It does not decay, but instead undergoes a reorganization in which a portion of the assistant neutrons and deputy neutrons exchange places. In fact, Governmentium's mass will actually increase over time, since each reorganisation will cause more morons to become neutrons, forming isodopes. This characteristic of moron promotion leads some scientists to believe that Governmentium is formed whenever morons reach a critical concentration. This hypothetical quantity is referred to as critical morass.
When catalysed with money, Governmentium becomes Administratium, an element that radiates just as much energy as Governmentium since it has half as many peons but twice as many morons.
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Tomorrow our "respected" and "popular" Prime Minister will lead Nanny's campaign to impose a 42 day detention period without charge, on people that the state "believe" to be terrorists.
We are told that this is for our own protection, and that the law will only be used against terrorists.
Well, Nanny would say that wouldn't she?
Question: If the state really has the evidence to support their belief that an individual is a terrorist, why does it not charge that person within say 7 days, 14 days or 28 days?
Answer: the state does not have the evidence.
Sir John Major wrote in the Times recently that the proposal would aid the terrorists, and help them recruit more people to their cause. Major went on to say that Nanny's case is bogus, and little more than scaremongering.
He was quoted in The Times:
"If we are seen to defend our own values in a manner that does violence to them, then we run the risk of losing those values. Even worse, if our own standards fall it will serve to recruit terrorists more effectively than their own propaganda could ever hope to do.
The Government has introduced measures to protect against terror. These go beyond anything contemplated when Britain faced far more regular – and no less violent – assaults from the IRA. The justification of these has sometimes come close to scaremongering."
Sir John said that Labour was creating "an intrusive State with authoritarian tendencies.
This is not a United Kingdom I recognise and Parliament should not accept it."
Sir John should read the stories on this site over the last four years, an intrusive authoritarian state is exactly what Labour is all about!
Sir Ken Macdonald, QC, who as Director of Public Prosecutions would have a key role in authorising extended periods of detention, said that the 42 day power was not needed.
Lord Falconer has promised to lead a revolt in the Lords if the bill passes the Commons.
Lord Goldsmith, QC, (Bliar's Attorney General) has told The Times that he will oppose the measures if they reach the Lords.
"I remain of the view that no extension is necessary or justified."
MI5 have kept well out of it.
Even the police believe that the proposals are unworkable.
That isn't stopping Brown from trying to bribe people, with our money, to go along with his monstrous plan. Innocent detainees would be entitled to claim up to £3K for each day spent in jail; so that's alright then!
The man driving this proposal is an authoritarian control freak, who fears individuality and freedom of action.
His reputation, health, credibility and party have been destroyed by his own actions and delusions. He and the Labour party are nothing more than an animated corpse.
Britain is being sleepwalked into dictatorship by a corpse, Britain does not deserve to be run by a corpse.
Let us put this corpse out of our misery once and for all!
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The team at Nanny Knows Best would like to offer Boris Johnson, and the other victorious Tory candidates, hearty congratulations for giving Nanny's troglodytes a sound kicking in the local and mayoral elections.
One step further towards kicking the loathsome Nanny government, that for the last decade has been destroying the fabric of British society, out of office.
However, let the Tories and Boris not forget that they are mortal; let them also be aware that Tory councils can, on occasions, be as useless as Labour ones. I cite my own council of Croydon as a prime example.
In honour of Boris's victory I invite you all to read Nanny Bans Boris, which was published back in 2004 on this site.
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Why not really indulge yourself, by doing all the things that Nanny really hates? Click on the relevant link to indulge yourselves; Food, Bonking, Toys, Gifts and Flowers, Groceries
It should come as no surprise whatsoever to learn that Nanny likes to spy on us.
Knowledge is power, and Nanny gets high on power.
Such is her desire to poke her nose into the minutiae of our daily lives, that Nanny's chums in our "beloved" local councils have been recruiting a "secret army" of agents and informers to trap fly-tippers, tax cheats and other offenders.
Over 850 "covert human intelligence sources" (spies to you and I) have been recruited to spy on us over the past two years.
The informants, who can be paid, pass on information about associates and relatives.
Nice!
Nanny's official papers say that the covert human intelligence sources have a handler to watch over their safety.
That doesn't surprise me, were they to be found out they would receive a well deserved "talking to".
Seemingly their remit is vast and they can be used for; detecting crime, protecting public health and for "any tax, duty or levy".
One council's code of conduct says:
"Examples include the covert use of an officer to establish whether a particular person has been fly-tipping/or committing another relevant offence."
The definition of fly-tipping ranges from dumping large items such as a sofa or fridge on public land, to placing bin bags on the pavement on the wrong day.
Councils also have the power to access telephone or mobile records, although not the content of calls.
Sir Christopher Rose, the Chief Surveillance Commissioner, said 429 covert human intelligence sources were "recruited" by local authorities and Government departments in 2007.
In 2006, they recruited 437 agents and informers.
The way to stop this is to "out" the informants. Publicise their names, photos and addresses. That will kill this off stone dead.
Nanny's local councils, much like Nanny herself, are desperate to raise cash. Their bloated defined benefit pensions schemes and high payroll costs for their executive teams are bleeding the local taxpayers dry.
However, council tax alone is not enough to quench local councils' thirst for money, they need another source.
Enter stage left "Fines".
Fines are a brilliant way for local councils to raise extra cash, all they have to do is to make something illegal then watch as the money rolls in from the fines that their "enforcement" officers impose.
One of the latest new "illegal" activities invented by Nanny is that of overfilling your bin, as Gareth Corkhill of Copeland in Cumbria recently found to his cost.
Mr Corkhill has a wheelie bin which is only emptied once a fortnight by his local council, as such it gets rather full and the lid does not shut.
As we all know, in Nanny's Britain, a non shutting lid is a "no no" and exposes the offender to a fine.
Last summer two of Nanny's enforcement officers, wearing stab proof vests, arrived at his home. They issued him with a £110 on-the-spot fine for failure to close the lid of his wheelie bin.
Mr Corkhill did not pay that fine.
The result being that he has just been taken to court and ordered to pay £210 plus a £15 victim surcharge to help victims of violence (note there was no violence in this case), in addition to the fines he has also been given a criminal record.
His local council, Copeland in Cumbria, said that Mr Corkhill's family had caused problems for "the battle to reduce waste".
Nanny is using the criminal law to shore up her crumbling finances. Once the government/state goes down that path, you know the country's farked!
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