Cameron vs Facebook

I’ve commented recently on the sick and absurd dedications to Raoul Moat that have appeared on Facebook and elsewhere.

Cameron was asked about these tributes in PMQs yesterday. He pledged to have words with Facebook about it. They told him to take a running jump.

Eminent Tellygiraffe commentator Ed West has posted on the matter:

 

Now, as much as I’ve already expressed my despair at the mongiferous outpourings of sympathy and support for Moat, I do not support any effort to shutdown or otherwise censor, or ban, these sort of pages.

Apparently, Voltaire never actually said “I disagree with what you have to say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.”

This disappoints me, but the sentiment is no less fundamentally sound for it.

AJ

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Power of speech vanishing

… must breathe.

I could just about cope with yesterday’s Facebook stupidity vis. Raoul Moat.

Via @RantinRab though, I see things have escalated.

First though, you’ll need an emollient. Allow me:

 

Ready? Here we go:

Raoul was one of a kind, a very caring man who worshiped the ground his kids walked on … they were his life and without them he didnt feel like he could carry on

For all those who dont agree with this page Raoul may have done things wrong but he was still human
and a really kind one, you would never dream he could hurt a fly he was the gentle giant, true what
they say never judge a book by its cover and people shouldnt judge till they’ve heard all the FACTS
because they will be revealed one day and then people might understand why someone felt the need to do the things he did
xx ♥ ♥ xx R.I.P. Raoul xx ♥ ♥ xx

Light a Candle
Light a candle for those we mourn.
Into a new life they will be born.
Do not look for them at the gravesite.
They are somewhere else radiating their beautiful light.
They have gone to a new world where there is no darkness, no pain.
Their light and essence will always remain.
Light a candle for those who have left this mortal place.
They are free to travel through time and space.
When we think of them, they are near.
When we sit in a beautiful garden. Their voices we hear.
When we listen to a divine symphony,
We close our eyes, their faces we see.
Light a candle for they have not really gone.
With each flickering flame, in your hearts they will always belong.

If you’re thinking of having your say, all comments on the page are subject to approval.

Please remember this is a tribute page for the friends and family of Raoul, although he did wrong in
his life they should still be able to grieve for their loss ALL ACTIVITY on this page requires
approval …. negative tributes will be blocked

Well, since ‘negative tributes’ will be blocked, I’ll turn to the Daily Mail for some.. ahem… balance.

And:

Mr Moulding said in one instance Moat had shown officers where some stolen number plates were hidden.

Moat first became known to the police in 2000 when he was held for conspiracy to murder. He was freed without charge.

In 2005 he was charged over possessing a knuckle-duster and a samurai sword.

Despite admitting having an offensive weapon he walked away with an absolute discharge, a sentence usually reserved for defendants who get a tougher sentence at the same time for another crime.

Moat was also involved in minor scams such as driving away from petrol stations without paying for fuel.

A source who knew of Moat’s history said: ‘You would expect a man capable of shooting and killing to have a series of convictions. Moat was detained onmany occasions yet was barely touched by the courts. He had a charmed life.’

Another source close to the case said: ‘He was arrogant whenever court officials dealt with him. He thought he was above the law.’

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1293951/Gunman-Raoul-Moat-police-informant-years.html#ixzz0tT6CV2zy

So, back to the ‘tributes’:

Oh yeah – words are coming back to me now:

YOU SICK, THICK CUNTS. ROT IN HELL.

That should cover it.

AJ

Facebook: Deterring alien contact since 2004

I don’t use Facebook, for reasons that should be self-evident to any sentient being.

But I read this:

Outside Raoul Moat’s home were beginning to accumulate candles, cards, flowers and messages. "Dear Raoul Thomas Moat, may you rest in peace. Our thoughts are with you and your close friends. We were on your side even though we didn’t know you that well," read one, and another: "To Raoul, Always a good friend. Always happy to help a mate. Hope now you’ve found some peace. Gone but never forgotten." One said Moat was "misunderstood".

He killed a man he didn’t know, seriously wounded a woman and a police officer, and assaulted a little girl. But well-wishers wanted to grant him the sentimentalising gestures normally reserved for the victims of crime and accidents.

.. and knew there must be one of those imbeclic and mawkish ‘wall of remembrance’ pages for Moat on Facebook.

Lo and behold:

As you might imagine, there are some legendary messages on there:

 

By way of some relief, there are plenty of common-sense comments on the wall too. The one that most accords with my own view, though, is this one:

 

13 years of Labour education, eh? Result.

Also, his ‘pals’ are threatening revenge on the coppers for tasering him.

They should have used a nuclear strike on day 2.

AJ

This must never be allowed to happen again

It’s the clarion call that follows every tragic incident and leads to the eternal ratcheting up of state control.

Safety notices, health and safety laws, regulatory requirements on manufacturers and suppliers, monitoring QUANGOs, consultative bodies, risk management professionals, kneejerk bans and swivelling of exopthalmic eyes.

Take this fine and pertinent example:

Oh dear kiddies died. Oh noes! Poor ikkle angels :o(

SOMETHING MUST BE DONE!!!!1111!!!!

The family of a Bridgend girl who died after becoming trapped in a sliding electric gate are supporting a campaign to ban them in residential areas.

Karolina Golabek, five, died on Saturday, less than a week after another young girl was killed in similar circumstances in Manchester.

The relatives of Semelia Campbell have told BBC Wales that both deaths were “pointless”.

Tragic as it is, their deaths were indeed pointless. As are most deaths. It’s nature. Life. Deal with it. Preferably not by turning this tragic but hugely unlikely accident into a crusade to interfere with other people’s lives and choices.

I mean, really. Get over yourselves, grieve your loss in private and have some dignity for pity’s sake.

I despair.

AJ

Mature debate

Love this:

Councillor McKay compared the latest controversy with the SNP’s criticism of the £1 million spent by the then Labour administration on converting the former James Hamilton Academy in London Road into the council HQ.

She said: “Some of those outraged supporters are the self-same people who have now spent an equivalent sum on the council debating chamber alone. They plan to watch themselves perform on You Tube. In the West of Scotland this is a phrase that has another meaning and it certainly applies to this coalition.”

That’s right. Labour councillor called the SNP & Tory councillors dicks.

The more I see and hear, the more I’m convinced Labour is the party of the emotionally stunted and terminally immature.

S’not fair!

AJ

H/T Rab

A question I’ve not seen asked about #bullygate

How do the anti-bullying hotline know that the calls came from people working in Brown’s office?

Do they (and if so, should they) ask callers who they work for and where?

And if you are a caller and victim, would you tell some anonymong on the end of the phone that you worked in the office of the Prime Minister? Would you tell them where you work in any case?

A smell of fish is emanating from this in all directions.

AJ

Dead-baby joke not for Cameron

In the last week or two, a couple of bloggists have made a valid point regarding Gordon Brown’s imminent appearance on the Piers Morgan wankathon.

Originally pointed out by the whiny yellows at Liberal Vision and later echoed by Tory Bear.

Specifically the observation was then Gordon Brown would be getting lots of lovely lovely footage and coverage, where is the other party leaders would have no such opportunity.

Although frankly, why any of the other leaders would have the desired to sob despairingly in front of Piers Morgan, I have no idea.

Cameron has obviously heard the message and seized the opportunity to make quite clear that he had no intention of following Gordon Brown in his emotional incontinence and theatrical gayness.

Looking forward to reading Nick Clegg’s pious pronouncement that he would have no part in any interview were he to be invited.

AJ

Words fail him

Dungeekin, that is. Which makes me wonder who wrote the 800 commendable word following his confession.

Reproduced in full, as it speaks perfectly to my opinion on Broon’s much touted TV skriking this coming weekend.

Words Fail Me

My thesaurus is going to get a serious workout here.

Cynical. Loathsome. Detestable. Vile. Despicable. Disgraceful. Nauseating. Abhorrent. Reprehensible.
I haven’t really been angry about the political machinations of ‘Colostomy’ Brown for a while – there’s a General Election coming and I’ve sustained myself with the dream that this incompetent buffoon will be ejected from the office he doesn’t deserve and cast into the political wasteland he so richly does.
But this…this…THIS repellent display has brought the rage back in glorious Technicolor.

Firstly, allow me to quote something:

Some people have been asking why I haven’t served my children up for spreads in the papers. And my answer is simple. My children aren’t props; they’re people.

Clearly after his lachrymose performance with the almost-as-odious Piers Morgan, the above only applies if the child in question is alive.

To lose a child is a heart-rending tragedy that I wouldn’t wish on any person, no matter what colour their rosette or how contemptible a human they are.

To USE that loss, though, in a carefully-timed and packaged interview in the run-up to a General Election – the sort of person who would do such a thing is not even contemptible. And not even human. To decide and agree to do such an interview proves that Gordon Brown has only one interest – to retain his grip on power, by any means, by any method.

You cannot tell me that this wasn’t carefully prepared. There is no way that the Cabinet Office and Brown’s spin-doctorate wouldn’t have gone through the questions list with a fine-tooth comb, ensuring that it portrayed Colostomy Brown in a sympathetic light. You cannot convince me that this wasn’t exquisitely planned, timed and leaked for a bounce in the opinion polls.

You will not convince the rest of the Electorate, either.

This is one of the most sickening, revolting pieces of political posturing I have ever, ever seen. I simply can’t find the words to express just how repugnant this is, and how contemptible a ‘man’ Brown has become in his desperate scrabble to maintain his position.

There’s only one word left that I can use.

Twat.

Nothing. To. Add.

AJ

The crying game

WTF is going on?

 

Forgive my cynicism. Ahem.

AJ

How does this work then?

Current sidebar on the Times frontpage.

 

That’ll pretty much cure heart disease, I’m sure. Oh and get a bunch of kids sent home from school for breaking uniform policy.

Just another episode of the same brainless bullshit highlighted by Sluggy the other day.

AJ

Emotional Incontinence 2: This time it’s Dorking…

The squirrel ‘fell foul of a “hit and run driver”’ eh? Well I’ve been driving for 20 years and I never knew there was a duty to report running over a fucking tree-rat. Was the driver expected to leave his insurance details, perhaps?

Citizens of Dorking. You’ve lived up to your poxy town’s name in fine style, you complete and utter cretins.

AJ