Penny falls?

I have expressed concern on here in the past that CAMRA seemed to be adopting an ostrich-like attitude to the threat from the anti-drink lobby, failing to see the parallels with the anti-tobacco movement and somehow believing that the tide of neo-Prohibitionism would wash over real ale and traditional pubs. Even worse, on some issues it was tempted to make common cause with the antis, naïvely believing that a combined assault on the off-trade would somehow benefit pubs.

Now, it seems the penny has finally started to drop. First came the online petition to oppose the BMA’s anti-drink proposals, which at the time of writing has garnered over 700 signatures.

Now the October issue of What’s Brewing has a front-page headline “Doctors push for tough new curbs on alcohol” and the editorial is entitled “Anti-drink lobby must be stopped”:

The catch-all approach currently being suggested by the BMA seems draconian – penalising the many for the actions of the few.

It seems naïve to claim that those who drink alcohol irresponsibly do so because the pub is open a few hours later, or it is a certain price, or indeed that they’ve seen an advert that day. Responsible drinkers experience the same adverts, are charged the same prices and visit the same pubs with the same opening hours – but don’t abuse alcohol.

Over the coming years this must become CAMRA’s core campaign as, make no mistake, if the anti-drink lobby have their way, there will be precious little left worth campaigning for.

And please don’t give any space or time to the absurd myth that “responsible drinkers don’t exceed 3-4 units a day”!

NHS VIDEO COMPLAINT - UPDATE

My complaint about the latest anti-smoking video made by the Birmingham EN PCT has been taken a stage further today.

I spoke with someone from the health authority's complaints' department who is arranging a meeting with the chief executive so that I can outline my concerns face to face. I said I felt so strongly about this violent piece of propaganda that nothing else would do.

As soon as I get the date of this meeting in writing, I'll update this blog again.

LIES, FALSEHOODS AND FEAR - THE NULAB CONFERENCE

I thought I might as well add my reactions to the NuLabour conference speeches and happenings for what they are worth from someone who was culturally a Labour supporter because my dad used to tell me that it was the party for the broken the beaten and the damned.

You can imagine my response, therefore, to Gordon Brown's suggested policy of locking up young pregnant mums because he believes them to be children having children. ... and I thought the days of the Magdalene Homes were long gone!

GB said that it was quite wrong for these young pregnant "children" to be given council homes and then left without support. Let me just address that myth. Pregnant teens these days DO NOT get council homes and I know because of having a pregnant teen myself three years ago. The council's view on homeless pregnant teens is quite simple - "live on the streets and we'll have your child off you thank you very much and give it to someone we think is more worthy of being a parent"

I'd also like to add that if I had a pregnant teen, and the jackboot gestapo NuLab jobsworths came to my house to get her and my grandchild, then they would get a lot more than they bargained for and I might just end up in court!

This is all knee-jerk reaction to the Baby P case. These sort of cases are very much in the minority. Most young, skint, unsupported, single mums on benefit do a damn good job but when do they ever get praise? One Baby P case and suddenly they are all potential child abusers. This issue really does need to be put in context.

I wasn't impressed by NuLab's roll of policies which Gordon thinks have improved this country. Most of them he reeled off made me cringe and most of them are the reason I have turned away from the party for good. There is nothing NuLab can do to get my vote back. I am too angry but at least now that the Sun has stabbed NuLab in the back, at least I can get some comfort in knowing that they now know how it feels.

Strange that there was no mention of their pet project to save the lives of miiiiiilllions of people - the blanket smoking ban. For half a second I wondered if it would be among the U Turns Gordon announced but then immediately thought "of course not". Those middle class bunch of twerps are just too sanctimonious and arrogant to even realise what a huge mistake that legislation is.

I did spot quite a lot of people walking about in the background during TV interviews with various politicians who could only be described as "obese" and I wondered why on earth they would support a party that if elected again would probably sign their death warrants if they don't slim down to a perfect 10 - for their own good, of course!

I was hugely disappointed to hear that the Old Labour stalwart Dennis Skinner has also lost his roots. He voted moderately for the blanket smoking ban but when he was approached at the NuLabour conference by the Amendthesmokingban campaigners, and told of the devastation the ban is causing the pub industry, his response was, apparently : "I don't go into pubs". I think this is a view many Nu and Old Lab people have. Now I see that "I'm alright, Jack" has always been their ideology.

Finally, the other issue that came out of conference chilled me to the bone. Was it the Balls person who said BNP teachers should be rooted out of schools, and presumably flogged, beaten, executed, and locked up for not preaching NuLab ideology instead?

Don't get me wrong. I DO NOT support the BNP in any way because of the racist aspect of their party membership, although I do understand where they are coming from in terms of the "indigenous" people of Britain often getting a raw deal. I believe in free speech as long as it doesn't slag people off for who they are or what culture they come from, and I despair that we can't all be united Britons no matter what colour or creed we are. Discrimination is encouraged by this Govt which is too self absorbed to know the true meaning of the word. Blanket Smoking Ban - need I say more?

I think NuLab's fear that our schools are overflowing with BNP activists is rather paranoid in any event. But what really concerns me is that I honestly, and probably naively, believed that we had a law in this country that protected people from losing their jobs because of their political beliefs. What if NuLab gets elected again? Will it make a new law preventing UKIP, or even Conservatives or LibDems from being teachers? The rise in support for the BNP may be a problem but I don't think outing alleged BNP teachers is the way to address it.

The only way to overcome this problem is for the three main parties to get their heads out of their arses and start listening to those white voters who feel abandoned, disenfranchised and discriminated against. Debating with the BNP and showing that party up for what it is will, in my opinion, be the better way of beating it and outing its racist ideology. Silencing the party, or making it's members and supporters feel victimised, will only give credence to the BNP's political stance and make its members martyrs. Better that its views are aired so that people can see exactly why they should not vote BNP now or in the future. If the three main parties play their cards right, there should be no need for the BNP in Britain.