The Shrinking Shield

In another throat-slitting cost-cutting measure, the government plans to decommission a quarter of the RAF's frontline bomber forces, leaving only SIX squadrons to carry the can.

When will they learn that it's supposed to be a defence budget, not a suicide pact?

1984

Why I keep the Ingsoc logo around.

From Church to Sect

Clergymen in Britain are targeted for violence. Do you,

1. Demand the government hunt down the barbarians who would do such a thing and bang them in prison for as long as the law allows.
2. Tell the clergy to ditch the dog collars and skulk about in fear as if Nero was still in power.

If you answered 2, then congratulations. You are now the head of Churchwatch.

Quatermass and the Pit (Part 2)

What is the thing is the pit? Find out in Quatermass and the Pit, Part 2.

Tune in tomorrow for Part 3.

Quatermass and the Pit (Part 1)

And now your Saturday classic: Quatermass and the Pit (1959) Part 1.

Archaeology, science fiction and Martians; what more could one want?

Tune in tomorrow for Part 2.

Vending Machines: Not Just For Condoms

Another look at the far-off future of 1980 courtesy of the infamous 1930 sci-fi musical comedy Just Imagine.

Be Afraid; Be Very Afriad

As chilling a bit of news as a Spandau Ballet reunion concert, contactmusic.com reports that Billie Piper will be returning to Rose the Dalek Slayer Doctor Who in a feature-length film.

I said that when they "killed" her character off nothing less than lots of blood and a head rolling in the gutter would prevent this from happening, but did anyone listen?

Of course not.


Now this is how to kill a character off.

The Eternal Question

Star Trek versus Star Wars.

Or deal with the matter first hand by joining the Imperial Forces.

Culinary Milestone

A chilli sauce so spicy that it closed down Soho with a bioterrorism alert.

But what makes this story a corker is that the report includes the recipe!

Swing & Roundabouts

The Royal Navy doesn't know whether its coming or going. It's forever being praised for doing sterling service, yet never gets anything but budget cuts from the Treasury. On the one hand, the Labour government is threatening it with secret cuts that would reduce its fighting strength by half, and on the other we see BAE systems studying how to provide the Navy with a technological marvel of a warship so advanced that it can command fleets of unmanned combat units and carry out a full-scale invasion practically on its own. At this rate, we'll probably end up with a fleet consisting of a single hull, but it will be a dilly-- provided the MOD bothers to include fuel, maintenance, spare parts, manpower and munitions in its operating budget.

I wish the powers that be would make up their minds about whether Britain is worth protecting or not. Maybe someone should show them the fine print where it specifies that the first and foremost duty of government is defence of the realm and not making sure that the proles don't smoke in the pub.

The Day of the Triffids

I'm a bit busy today, so in the meantime I'm leaving you with this 1963 adaptation of John Wyndham's sci fi classic.

Ambiguity Omnibus

Hearts and flowers, check. Cute kid, check. Overkill, most definitely check.

Seen recenlty on a London bus.

My question is, who are they trying to convince and what are they trying to convince them of?

The Gander Gets Special Sauce

The Sainsbury supermarket chain is doing its bit in the battle against dhimmitude in Britain-- unfortunately, they're working for the other side.

Muslim supermarket checkout staff who refuse to sell alcohol are being allowed to opt out of handling customers’ bottles and cans of drink.

Islamic workers at Sainsbury’s who object to alcohol on religious grounds are told to raise their hands when encountering any drink at their till so that a colleague can temporarily take their place or scan items for them.

Other staff have refused to work stacking shelves with wine, beer and spirits and have been found alternative roles in the company.

Sainsbury’s said this weekend it was keen to accommodate the religious beliefs of all staff but some Islamic scholars condemned the practice, saying Muslims who refused to sell alcohol were reneging on their agreements with the store.

So even though Muslims themselves object to this special treatment, Sainsbury is going ahead with it anyway. Whatever happened to simply taking the employee aside and saying "It is perfectly legal and acceptable to sell alcohol in this country and it is part of your duties to do so. However, if you have a moral objection to working here, you can collect your things and leave. Now."

Par For The Course

A UN-African Union peacekeeper base in Darfur was overrun by "rebel forces", who grabbed every weapon and vehicle they could carry off and burned what they couldn't. At the end of the day the AU was down ten dead, seven severely injured and fifty missing-- which means that they ran like the clappers the moment the shooting started.

If it wasn't so horrifying it would be comic.

Spines of Jello

In an effort to be "inclusive", Oak Lawn school district in Chicago, Illinois tried, unsuccessfully, banning Jello from the lunch menu and are now abolishing Christmas and Halloween celebrations because they might (all together now!) offend Muslims.

Parents expect that the announcement is going to add to the tension that has been building since officials agreed earlier this month to change the lunch menu to exclude items containing pork to accommodate Muslim students. News that Jell-O was struck from the menu caused such a stir that officials have agreed to bring it back. Gelatin is often made with tissue or bones of pigs or other animals.

That controversy now appears to have been been dwarfed by the holiday debate, which became so acrimonious Wednesday that police were called to Columbus Manor School to intervene in a shouting match among parents.

"It's difficult when you change the school's culture," said Columbus Manor Principal Sandy Robertson.

True, Principal Robertson-- especially when there's no justification for doing so other than political prejudice.

In normal circumstances, this sort of multicultural groveling would be merely offensive, but in a time of war it goes well beyond a mere eye-rolling moment. If we are going to win this battle against the Jihadists, then we must show confidence in our own institutions and traditions rather than dropping them like a live hand grenade at the first opportunity. Acts of preemptive dhimmitude such as this not only make the civilised world look weak before the barbarians who wish to kill and enslave us, but it also sends entirely the wrong message to moderate Muslims, who are equally threatened, by making it appear as if it is we who are suspect and that it is we who must justify ourselves to the Muslims rather than vice versa.

Gog

A vintage bit of Cold War sci fi with flame-throwing robots: Gog.

Nowhere to Hide

So fed up with the nanny state that you want to go for a quiet ride in your car and get away from it all for a bit?

Don't light up, though. The Party has declared it a thoughtcrime "distraction".

Maybe If He Had a Goatee

The speech that David Cameron should make-- if he were somehow replaced by a doppelganger from a parallel universe.

Party Hints

Next time you're at a party, jump in and say,

Did you know there are more wild pigs than people in Australia?

It's guaranteed to stop the conversation dead in its tracks.

Dhimmitude in Canada

Vancouver, Canada is introducing strict new anti-smoking laws that will prohibit lighting up in almost all public places-- unless you're a Muslim having a go at the old hookah:

Vancouver's hookah-parlour owners are celebrating after winning an exemption Thursday from a proposed new bylaw that will ban smoking on most sidewalks in commercial districts, in bus shelters and even in taxis passing through Vancouver.

In giving the bylaw unanimous approval-in-principle, Vancouver city council members bowed to arguments that hookah lounges provide an important cultural space for the city's Muslims and granted them a temporary exemption.

So, can I claim that the pub is "an important cultural space" or is that line of argument off limits for dhimmis?