Et Tu Biden - With friends like this, Israel needs no enemies

In response to Joe Biden's visit to Israel and Ramallah, March 2010

Biden and Obama’s administration continue to insist that that they are some of the best friends of Israel, yet little is further from the truth, or more dangerous to Israel. Biden’s Senate voting record includes voting against US sanctions designed to hinder Iran’s quest for nuclear weapons. He voted against designating the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization, even though it is currently the biggest direct sponsor of global terror. Biden is on record as stating that he wants to deal with Iran in the same manner that the US dealt with North Korea. That diplomacy resulted in totalitarian North Korea building nuclear weapons.

If Jews were to be denied planning permission in the USA on land that they have legally purchased simply because they are Jews, then the US government would be dismayed by such discrimination and take action. Sadly, Joseph Biden, the self-proclaimed friend of Israel who voted in the US Senate against sanctions designed to hinder Iran’s quest for nuclear weapons, has launched an international outcry because Jews wanted planning permission for their property in Jerusalem, the capital of their historic homeland.

Obama has had the current US administration adopt a “narrative” to the Mid-East that is at odds with the actual events we have lived through in the past 40 years. The acts of Biden and Obama encouraging the development of real existential threats to Israel, and ultimately the Jewish people, by tyrannical regimes cannot be considered friendly. Caesar was murdered by Senators led by his avowed close friend, Brutus. If Israel’s leaders choose to listen to a warped ex-Senator, they too may soon be saying, “et tu Biden”.

Joe Pants' record speaks for itself. It surely does.

This one is for residents of Toronto, and those that laugh at Torontonians from its suburbs. It is also for those who don't believe that micro-governmental ideological parameters should be strictly enforced when they diminish the quality of life in a city.

Deputy Mayor of Toronto, Joe Pantalone, has launched his bid to become Mayor of the City by saying "my record speaks for itself” and I agree with him. During the years of the Deputy's “Miller Time” we have seen spending like drunken sailors. They brought Toronto residents huge property tax increases, payments for a garbage collection service that becomes ever more reduced, intermittent and bureaucratic, and which was previously paid for in the property tax. they gave us Land Transfer Tax taking 2% of the proceeds of home sales in Toronto which was an act that stopped property sales and values dead in their tracks, and drove purchasers into the suburbs beyond the City thus resulting in a static taxable population. A tax on plastic bags in stores, a tax on billboards and many many more indirect taxes...

Traffic flow in the City was decimated, along with the destruction of a number of businesses to accommodate the building of a tram/streetcar right-of-way on a major artery. That project was returned over-budget and over-time, with some of the tram tracks being unusable because they were too crooked. The City’s planners have been instructed to create congestion in order to force the bad citizens of Toronto off the roads and onto public transport. However, the subway system removed parking for monthly subscribers who now have to pay twice the price of the monthly pass to park in the same spaces. There have also been fare increases on the subway at more than quadruple the rate of inflation. The City's councillors have been unable to reach deals with unions that are fair both to Toronto’s employees and to taxpayers, leading to a strike and no public service, for absolutely no apparent purpose.

Joe Pants has been Deputy Mayor as Toronto’s debt has more than doubled in a mere 6 years to $2.8 Billion.

During this period the City has accomplished…er… Nuit Blanche (an all night modern art festival), appointing the radical Dionne Brand as Toronto’s poet laureate, Pan-Am Games in 2015 (not the Olympics), Winterlicious (restaurants give cheap deals to fill spaces),…

Oh yes, Mr. Pantalone, your record does indeed speak for itself.

The Evil of Photo Radar - Smile for the Speed Camera

The pervasive nature of photo radar/speed cameras in British society has had a terribly adverse effect on the quality of life in the UK.

It harms traffic flow, not only in London, but in all provincial cities, and even many villages across the UK. Photo radar has led to constant gridlock and higher pollution levels from crawling traffic, which includes public transport belching out heavy diesel fumes. The UK public transport system is dirty, dangerous and expensive, and in all cities but the central areas of London, it is inconveniently situated. Photo radar also leads to many accidents because drivers slam their brakes on at the last second to avoid breaching the archaic artificially low limits.

There are myriad stories in the UK of people receiving multiple tickets several weeks after the time of the alleged crimes for travelling back and forth on the same stretch of road in good conditions and which they know well. Often the reports involve being a mere 4 mph over the speed limits which are in effect but which were mandated in the 1950s, when cars had less adequate brakes, control, vision and protection than today. These “crimes” have led to immediate bans from driving, and with the tickets being received several weeks after the alleged crimes, the drivers have had no opportunity to adjust their habits to avoid penalty. Increased insurance premiums then go in the pockets of insurance companies for these victimized drivers. It

A large percentage of the police force in the UK have retreated to being bureaucrats sending out paperwork from offices, rather than being out on the streets. Thus, stolen car crime, drink driving and joy riding continue unabated. Never mind all the other crime which cannot be adequately policed.

It is simply wrong to say that speed alone kills. Bad driving kills, and there are campaigns that governments would be better advised to mount, such as teaching drivers to signal before turning, leave a bigger space between moving vehicles and absolutely no alcohol or drugs permitted. A zero tolerance response to ancient speed limits is a cash grab.

Until you have experienced the grind of taking at least 45 minutes to travel 3 miles every day, and the impact it has on all society and terms of lost time, stress and road rage, you cannot begin to realize the decline in lifestyle that accompanies photo radar.

Once again, all drivers and environmentalists should act to prevent the implementation of these pernicious machines.

May Saab rest in pieces. And a warning to Spyker.

Although this blog may not be a formal consumer bashing forum, when the spectre of government ownership of GM first arose, I felt that it had become a politicial issue. GM entered the political arena by its search for direct government funding. So, now I feel free to explain why I hope Saab rests in pieces.

I will be delighted if the manufacturer of the worst car that I have ever owned goes out of business. In fact, the Saab was the worst car that I have ever experienced, whether owning, renting or taking rides from others, and it was also the worst car experience of one of my friends. I say this, even as one who had the misfortune to own a British Leyland monstrosity that a GM built Saab was my worst ever. I have vowed never to buy a GM again and to spread the word. Please note that I have also owned a Talbot Horizon which is equivalent to a Dodge Omni, and the aforementioned Austin Maestro, so it had some unhealthy competition.

The Saab that I owned was shockingly dreadful and things broke simply by people looking at the car. I hope Saab go back to concentrating on fighter planes, although I hope that Sweden never have to rely on them in battle. They will lose. It is a good job that the Saab 900 SE convertible that I unfortunately owned did not have an ejector seat, otherwise I would have used it.

My Saab had all sorts of failures which cost me thousands of dollars just to keep it on the road. The final straw came when it suddenly stopped working altogether, and I had it towed to a GM dealership. After 2 weeks of the dealership promising me everyday it would be ready and was being fixed as we spoke, I called a lovely lady called Heather at GM's HQ. She tried to find out from the dealer what was taking so long but also had no joy. In the end, she reported to me that my car was old because it was nearly 7 years of age and therefore I should replace it with the new model. I said that the car had cost over $60,000 when new, and she was telling me that it will not last 7 years. Heather confirmed that this was correct and I could not expect it to last forever. I replied that I hoped GM go out of business, because I had a 17 year old Toyota MR2 that was running just fine, and which cost me a pittance to keep running. Heather told me "fat chance, we are bigger than Toyota". Hmm, today I think, fat chance indeed, even though Heather is probably having the last laugh as my taxes are keeping her in a job.

As soon as possible after that conversation, I got rid of the GM car in a trade in and I must truly apologize to Mazda at this point. 

Car reporters neglect to tell us when a car is an absolute waste of time and money because of their need for relationships with manufacturers. Well, I am here to tell you now that such terrible cars are primarily made by GM now. Not only Saab, but the whole of GM deserves to be out of business. And their cars are and for that reason alone, I still hope that they ultimately collapse. The Aztec even "out-uglied" the Ford Granada Frog Face, which is a monstrous sight that I never thought I would live to see.
Instead of buying GM and Chrsyler, it would have been cheaper for governments to set up a single new car maufacturer with appropriate union contracts, and a clean slate when designing for the future. $100 Billion would go a good way to this new project. We should save our tax dollars, and not support a company that produces shoddy inferior goods, and one which will just need another handout in a few months.

Good riddance to Saab.
 
Spyker, don't do it!!!

Abdul Baset Ali al-Megrahi lives long and prospers

When that Libyan terrorist who blew up the PanAm flight over Lockerbie, Abdul Baset Ali al-Megrahi, was released by Scotland on August 20, 2009, was it not because he had less than 3 months to live?

The 270 murdered innocents had no such luxury of dying at home with their loved ones, merely moments of abject terror as they were blown from the sky and fell to earth from five miles high. He is an unrepentant terrorist, who failed to divulge full knowledge of his heinous act in order to protect the Libyan government. To cap it all, the Libyan dictator, Colonel Gadaffi, sent his luxury private jet to pick up this murderer and then threw him a party. Kenny MacAskill should henceforth be known as the Scottish Injustice Secretary.

Well, it is now nearly 4 months on. When is he going to die? Does he have to go back to Scotland now? You just can’t trust terrorists to live up to their promises.

Broken Britain #2

Several stories have defined the demise of Britain in the past week. Two men were jailed for defending their family against masked intruders who had threatened the lives of the family. This was accompanied by the story of a 30 year old single mother of 8 children who refuses to work, because her earnings would only repay the welfare funds she has leached from taxpayers. Meanwhile, she and her brood are housed in a 2.5 million pound mansion. Yet, she is not alone, as similar social welfare abuse occurs throughout the whole country.

We also had further evidence of the crumbling of the morality of the UK. The British judicial system was usurped by terrorist enablers and an arrest warrant was issued versus the erstwhile Foreign Minister of Israel, because Israel finally responded to 8 years of missile attacks on its civilians by a terrorist theocracy, even though, as Colonel Richard Kemp said, no “army has made more efforts to reduce civilian casualties and deaths of innocent people than the IDF … in Gaza”. Meanwhile, wannabe terrorists were caught scouting out locations for attack in London. Obviously, siding with terrorists does not exempt one from their aim, it just demonstrates moral deficiency.

Why Iran should not have nukes

Why shouldn't Iran have nukes seems to be a question being asked by NGOs today? Is nuclear technology not a given right of every society?

Actually, that's not a hard question to answer and I pose a few questions in response.

Why should democratic societies be opposed to a theocratic jihadi supporting tyranny whose leaders ascribe to a doomsday ideology in order to bring about the return of a long dead prophet? Clearly, even with its huge oil reserves, the death loving muftis of Iran that comprise their leaders must only want nukes for peaceful purposes.
Surely, it has never crossed their minds to develop nuclear weapons and stick them on the end of their missiles, or hand them out to terrorist groups for plausible deniability?
By the way, although those missiles are now pointed at Israel, they are going to be pointed at Europe and the USA after the first launches.