Monday, October 15, 2007

Why I Boycott Blog Action Days and Number Ten Petitions

Like Dizzy, I too received an email asking me to take part in Blog Action Day on the Environment. This entails writing nothing but environmental stories for the day. The organisers ask...
What would happen if every blog published posts discussing the same issue, on
the same day?
I think the answer is fairly predictable. Few would bother reading this blog or any other. This follows another Blog Action Day where were asked not to blog for 24 hours in protest at what is going on in Burma. As if that would have made a blind bit of difference. And while we are on the subject, would people please desist from emailing me to ask me to highlight a particular Number 10 petition. Save yourselves the effort. I boycott them as they are totally worthless. The day I know that the Prime Minister is actually told which ones have the highest number of signatures, or that one results in a parliamentary debate is the day I take them seriously. Until then, no.

Actually, I will write something about the environment. Al Gore could help save the planet by not flying to Oslo to receive his Nobel Peace prize. There. Done it.

43 comments:

Man in a Shed said...

I kind of think he might get told about the 13k + signatures on his 26 sig last week petition on Weds, don't you ?

Also note the change in road taxation announced today.

Now it would be good if the petition weren't held by the Labour government, but they have had an impact. ( Just not the one the wee socialists were hoping ).

Anonymous said...

Iain, how many flights did you take last year?

Didn't you spend some time out in Africa recently? How did you get there?

Anonymous said...

Iain,

Pray tell, how would you like him to arrive in Oslo. Jealously is a nasty trait.

Anonymous said...

Oh Verity, how I dream all night of making sweet beautiful love to you. Won't you marry me?

Anonymous said...

Dizzy made a fool of himself with his blog. Glad you did not do the same.

Anonymous said...

You eyes seem a little greener this morning Iain!

Anonymous said...

Verity @ 10:22

F*** off and stop using my name. Bloody pathetic left-wing internet idiot.

Anonymous said...

Oh Verity, I do have the most <naughty thoughts about you. This strictness you display will be well represented in them.

Anonymous said...

I also hate the way in which celebs and politicians preach to us about the environment whilst continuing with their wasteful lifestyles and pointless jaunts across the globe.
It's not, for me at least, a case of jealousy. I baulk at being told what to do by hypocrites.

Anonymous said...

Whilst I agree that the e-petitions scam is just that - a scam to make the public believe government is actually bothered about what they think this is probably the only way people think they can register a protest on a range of matters given the total lack of parliamentary democracy at present.

But:-

1. The e-petition on the calling of a General Election is worth signing for one reason and that is to show Brown he is talking total **** and people have rumbled him
2. The 1.8 million sigs against the road charging policy has made the government defer the decision for the next 2 years at least as 1.8 million disgruntled voters might make an impact if legislation was being introduced in Parliament during the intervening period with the resultant local protests just prior to an election. As an example the West Midlands, one of the areas that the government was proposing for a pilot scheme has several key marginals with Ministers defending slim majorities )

So in essence people should continue to sign them and give the "lie" to Brown or other Government Ministers arrogantly claiming to know what the electorate think about this or that policy/topic

Anonymous said...

Err...can we get back to the subject in hand?

I'm pretty sure Dave won't be happy at your lack of green credentials Iain. I'm sure he will be blogging about trees and sh*t today.

In other news, care of the Coventry Evening Telegraph

Man behind Tory election campaign is sacked

A TORY election campaign boss has been sacked following revelations in last week’s Coventry Times that he believes “global warming is good”.


Allan Andrews’ views are completely at odds with the Conservatives’ green agenda and those of Cllr Gary Ridley – the city’s first council cabinet member for climate change.


Yet Mr Andrews was to lead the next general election campaign for Tory Cllr Ridley, who aims to oust long-standing Labour MP Geoffrey Robinson in Coventry North-west.


Last week we exclusively reported Mr Andrews’ views – recorded on his own website – that global warming is “a perfectly natural phenomenon” and a good thing that was “not man’s fault”.


He also questioned whether the public was being “taken for a ride with unnecessary green taxes”, adding the climate change debate had been “hijacked by hippies”.

Among a raft of green measures on the Conservative agenda is a controversial tax on air travel.



Cllr Ridley last week defended his colleague, saying Mr Andrews was entitled to his view and it would not effect his election campaign.



But this week he told us the pair had mutually agreed Mr Andrews would no longer be political director for his campaign.



Cllr Ridley, who is heading a new climate change strategy for Coventry, said: “I really didn’t want the climate change debate to be overtaken by what one individual may or may not have said.



“Both as a council and as a party the Conservatives have a strong view on climate change and are making considerable steps to tackle it.



“This does involve individuals taking on a responsibility for not sending out mixed messages that are not helpful for anyone.



“Given my commitments it was incompatible to have individuals on the campaign team making these statements. Allan is a talented man and he will be back.”



A statement issued to us by Cllr Ridley’s campaign manager, Cllr Chris Cliffe, read: “It is with much regret that we have had to consider Allan’s position on the team.



“Although we welcome freedom of speech, Gary is a keen supporter of climate change issues and it has been agreed that the views expressed by Allan are incompatible with those of Gary and his team.”



He continued: “The Conservative Party is committed to tackling climate change issues, and both the party and Gary’s campaign team wish to distance themselves from the views of Allan. The campaign team wishes Allan well for the future.”



Cllr Cliffe say he would now be taking on the duties of the political director on a temporary basis.


From: http://iccoventry.icnetwork.co.uk/coventrytimes/news/tm_headline=man-behind-tory-election-campaign-is-sacked%26method=full%26objectid=19937180%26siteid=50003-name_page.html

Anonymous said...

Time to book a skiing holiday in Norway for early December, I think - the Gore Effect will guarantee plenty of snow and cold weather....

Anonymous said...

Is that an admission that human activity causes climate change, Iain? :¬)

dizzy said...

Howard says....
Dizzy made a fool of himself with his blog. Glad you did not do the same.


Actually Dizzy took the piss out of an absurd concept that was steeped in a political agenda.

Anonymous said...

It's the same as those waste of time campaign cards that only 'green' charities send.... WASTE OF TIME!

Anonymous said...

Iain, suck my balls.

Anonymous said...

I am looking forward to the politicians telling us that one of the symptoms of global warming will be that things get cooler as a means of explaining the next particularly cold winter. Since the collapse of Christianity Climate change has become the new religion. We will even have to pay indulgences before we can go on our annual summer pilgrimages.

Anonymous said...

No. 10's E-petition site is the biggest spamming machine in the UK. I gave up signing those petitions after having to filter out spam mail from Tony Bliar.

Other people can sign them if they want, and I don't mind encouraging them, so long as they are aware of the consequences.

dizzy said...

The best thing about Number 10 petitions is that it reminds you of the idiocy of some people.

Gareth said...

It does look as though the Scottish Raj have decided to scrap the road pricing that Alistair Darling wanted to to imtroduce in England (but not Scotland where he is elected).

Do you suppose that had anything to do with the petition.

Anonymous said...

How many millions were wasted in investigating the feasibilityof the road pricing scheme.

Another knee jerk attempt to avoid irritating "middle England"....

Hey Gordon, give me a million quid or I'll never vote for you...

Anonymous said...

I'm not sure whether there is a connection, but I only started getting Labour Party literature by post, after I signed an on-line petition. First one was from a Mr G Brown.

Johnny Norfolk said...

Its just more PC. well done Iain for resisting it.


John T Leave Verity alone.

This is not some sleezy site for pond lofe like you so **** off

Anonymous said...

I did do the 24 hour one blog post thing for Burma. Only I did it days before anyone else had thought of it, I didn't ask anyone else to, and it was a rugby world cup saturday anyway.

I didnt sign the Avaaz petition because I had previously signed a different avaaz petition earlier this year and they have been badgering me with a variety of petitions ever since, something I don't recall signing up to, so they all get flushed down the spam hole.

Anonymous said...

I'm the real John T, and, similar to Verity, I'm not prepared to prevent the illiterate cake-for-brains usurp me by bagging an identity.
I have an alibi, as I was engaging in an informative debate with Newmania on another part of the site, but I don't care who you think you are.
Johnny Norfolk, my sentiiments precisely.

Anonymous said...

Downing Street have made clear in parliamentary answers on a number of occasions that the PM receives a report on the performance of the No 10 website every month. This includes, amongst other things, a table of the most popular petitions. This was most certainly the case when I worked in No 10 and I have no reason to believe this has changed.

As ever, this blog seems to take pleasure in looking down its nose innovation, rather than recognising that whilst the e-petitions system is far from perfect, it is start and will no doubt be developed further in the future.

Ben W-P

Anonymous said...

Ben -
On the contrary, most posts on teh subject I've read are all for signing the latest one, just probably frustrated that only 13K have signed.

I've signed a couple, and I think it's an excellent idea. Have any of them led to the implimentation of their suject's aim yet?

Anonymous said...

Ben -
On the contrary, most posts on teh subject I've read are all for signing the latest one, just probably frustrated that only 13K have signed.

I've signed a couple, and I think it's an excellent idea. Have any of them led to the implimentation of their suject's aim yet?

Anonymous said...

Dear Mr Wegg-Prosser - given that there are over 100k signatures on the EU referendum petition apparently, what notice is the PM taking of it?

Anonymous said...

Iain, I agree. I won't sign petitions either, because I do not wish to give the appearance of being placated by someone giving me a sweetie.

Obviously, only the socialist One Worlders would blog anything about "the environment" (whatever that is) and no one would read their posts anyway, given that everyone skips what they write on normal blogging days,too.

This, by the way, is another impersonation by me and I'm getting sick of it:

verity said...
Iain,

Pray tell, how would you like him to arrive in Oslo. Jealously is a nasty trait.

October 15, 2007 10:22 AM

By an eerie coincidence, it was followed, one minute later, by a vomit-inducing post referring to me by John T.

There follows another fake post from me followed, one minute later by another contribution by the moron John T. If you can't ban him, couldn't you just automatically delete his village idiot posts? Whenever this insipid, witless individual creeps onto the site, he chases people away.

Johnny Norfolk, thank you.

Anonymous said...

Strangely, enough Verity, I have already e-mailed Iain separately asking him to find a way of preventing imbeciles from impersonating people.

If however, you see consistency between my genuine posts and the ones by the un-educated twerps, I think that reflects on you not me.

I think many of your opinions are hopelessly out of date, and I don't like your dismissals of anything you disagree with, but I think any intelligent person should be able to tell what's going on here.

I haven't chased away Newmania, or Henry, Vienna Woods, Ed and a few others I could mention if I looked them up.

I'm quite happy to ignore your irrelevant and sometimes distateful remarks in future, and I suggest that's the best way of denying the imposters any ridiculous pleasure they get.

Anonymous said...

And here is the text ofwhat i said.


Sent: 15 October 2007 14:21:51
To: iain@iaindale.com


Hi Iain

Although I'm clearly centre-left rather than centre-right, i enjoy very much the cut and thrust of most of the debate on your blog. it can be brutal at times, though I'm sure I give as good as i get, and I in no way disrespect anyone I have a go at, and I think the reverse is true in most cases.

However, I must say I may not be able to continue logging in, because of what I see as a fault in the way people are identified. i don't want to fill in a form and "join" anything in order to acquire a unique identity (I think someone called "Verity" is of the same mind), and yet I have found to-day that some-one (or more) has been identifying themselves as "John T" and making childish comments in my name.

Is there no way of combatting this? Is it not possible to moderate out those comments which are so out of line with normality?

I regularly contribute to Anthony Wells' blog on UKPolling Report, and everyone there has to submit an e-mail address to the site (but not to fellow posters) in order to have their posts read. Is there any way you could introduce soomething like that?

Kind Regards

John T

Anonymous said...

JohnT - in all his New World Order glory, writes of me: "I think many of your opinions are hopelessly out of date,".

Well of course you do! You think the world has moved irrevocably into default socialist mode that the New World Order acolytes are busy trying to impose on the inventive, creative, organised West.

Individual responsibility, a legal system trusted by the citizenry, capitalism and a strong nation state form the bedrock of mankind. There would have been no progress without them. All the third worlders tapping out messages on their keyboards would still be tapping out their messages on stone with a hammer and chisel had it not been for our drive to invention.

Kumbaya, my lord doesn't cut it.

Unknown said...

Wouldn't it be greener if nobody wrote a blog and just turned their computer off instead?

Anonymous said...

Verity, I'm not a socialist, but I am a christian (of Indian descent!).

Have you ever come across ancient Chinese inventions like deep pneumatic drilling, astronomy , refrigeration, explosives, etc. ?
Ever heard of Joseph Needham's research?

We'd all be speaking their language now, if they had enjoyed a system of Government that would have allowed The Industrial Revolution to take place over there many hundreds of years before it happened here.

Of course it's our governmental system that has enabled us to lead the way, but there's no putting the cat back in the bag. The world is ours to share, and i speak as a humkan being, not as one of your normal victims, to be beaten away with a faux-pithy dismissal.

Again, ask Cameron what he thinks.

Anonymous said...

sorry about the extraneous k, and I'm now following spredsheet's advice, but not becasue I'm "green".

Anonymous said...

I wasn't aware of refrigeration, but I am a big fan of the Chinese (having lived amongst them) and am well aware of many of their other inventions - as in the compass invented 2,000 years ago.

I have cats and putting them back in the bag, or cat carrier isn't particularly onerous. In fact, you just pick the cat up by the scruff of the neck and put it in. Done.

The world is not ours to share. People can purchase what we produce, but I am opposed to sharing it. Britain does not belong to you to share. You only own your house (or not even that if the mortgage company owns it). You can agree to share your house. You cannot agree to share territory that does not belong to you. That means, all the parts of Britain that are not your house.

Capitalism works. No other system works.

Before you quote the Chinese again, once the Chinese take to capitalism and flush socialism down the pan, they will take off like a rocket. Viz Hong Kong and Singapore.

In your own ancestral part of the world, the sub-Continent, the Indians and the Sri Lankans are very similar ethnically. Individual Indians are now the biggest spenders in Asia, and Indian companies apply for more technological patents than any other country in the world save the United States and Germany. Indians are motivated by profit, and they are very good at it.

Sri Lanka is a socialist republic and is going nowhere.

India stalled after Freedom at Midnight due to the imposition of the dead hand of Mahatama Gandhi-esque socialism on the country and the country failed to thrive. Import substitution failed. Everything failed. Now they've got freewheeling capitalism and they are taking off like a rocket.

China is similarily switching over from communism to capitalism.

The Soviet Union is no more.

You, John T, are the one who is outmoded and outfoxed by people who run the capitalistic world. And they feel under no obligation to "share it", by the way. We are talking of 2.4bn people who are keen converts to capitalism in Asia alone.

You creaking old socialist One Worlders are passé. So last century. The winners are running on the fuel of capitalism and free enterprise and private property rights. Not "sharing".

Anonymous said...

Breaking news - Lib Dems making an announcement in the next half hour re Ming.

I don't creak, Verity, I make a lot of money, and I'm happy to have it taxed.

6bn all together, vast majority od $1 a day , and they all know what we have.

The "cat " I refer to is "knowledge".

However,
Best post I've read from you so far Verity, though I don't agree. The Chinese are taking off like a rocket (1000 yrs after they would have with a proper system) but with a "one-party" twist.

You might have added East Germany's experience to your examples.

It's the middle East that worries me and their attitude to their own people (who know what they're missing and yet are subjugated by their leaders). I don't want us to sleep-walk into war.

India emancipated its women and allowed them to work.

One thing I absolutely agree with you about is that I'm too voluble,and will (perhaps apart from week-ends) now restrict myself to reading this site, not banging on about things so much.

It's been fun for me (though not for most of you I suppose, and thanks (to ALL of you for your forbearance)
John T

Anonymous said...

I don't creak, Verity, I make a lot of money, and I'm happy to have it taxed.

More fool you.

The "cat " I refer to is "knowledge". NSS. There is no "knowledge" that would militate against capitalism.

You might have added East Germany's experience to your examples. I said the Soviet Union is dead. E Germany was part of the Soviet Union. Duh.

India emancipated its women and allowed them to work. And this is pertinent to the discussion of the dead hand of socialism and the sparkle and allure of capitalism how?

The argument that cannot be credibly advanced is that socialism works. It's dead in the water.

Anonymous said...

I've never advanced an argument that socialism was successfully alive, but there's more than one alternative to your opinion.

I'm a HAPPY fool!!

You can't de-educate people. They want the nice Western ways, despite being told they're unislamic, for example.

What do you think Cameron should say about Brown's ambition to make London the Islamic Banking capital of the world?

Increase the workforce by 75% and you'll prosper - that's why India has, and why Iran has not as much as it should have.


Systems other than the no-welfare system you espouse most certainly can sparkle.

HAve the last word, and I'll shut up, but don't pleas eask me any quwestions, as I'll have to reply!

Anonymous said...

verity said:

Capitalism works. No other system works.

Piss myself laughing. Oh verity, you are such a fool.

Anonymous said...

Just to be clear, East Germany was never part of the Soviet Union, although it was part of what could be described as the socialist Russian empire.

Anonymous said...

Then why did they have the Berlin Wall? The East was in Soviet territory, was it not? If not, then how did it manage to be its own little separate Soviet Union?

How did it support itself, given it had no industry and no agriculture? It had to be an appendage of the USSR to survive -and also to be forbidden to trade with the West, surely?