This Blog!

Absolutely everybody is welcome to express comments on this blog – so long as you truly believe them to be the truth! I am fully aware that this, I’m afraid, will mean that almost all politicians will be excluded. Tough. Try telling the truth, then! My other blog is Dickiebo.

Who The Hell Did He Fight For?

We hear about it all the time; the Homeowner’s Association tells somebody to take down their flagpole, right? Well, here we go again:

In December 2009, the HomeOwners’ Association (HOA) of Sussex Square, where 90-year-old Van T. Barfoot lives in Henrico County, Virginia, ordered him to remove the flagpole from which he flies the American flag. The HOA retained a lawyer to help enforce their order. The Association’s bylaws do not forbid flagpoles, but the HOA ruled Barfoot should not be allowed to use his “for aesthetic reasons”. Mr. Barfoot is contesting the order.
OH BY THE WAY here’s who they decided to f–k with:

Van T. Barfoot, Colonel, United States Army (Retired) Medal of Honor (for his actions in World War II) Silver Star, Bronze Star, Purple Heart. In addition to his service in the Second World War, COL Barfoot went on to serve in Korea and Vietnam.
Barfoot is one of the country’s last living World War II veterans who received the Medal of Honor. He also served in the Korean War and the Vietnam War and earned a Purple Heart. He reached the rank of colonel before retiring from the Army. He currently lives in Richmond, Virginia, near his daughter. On October 9, 2009, the portion of Mississippi Highway 16 which runs from Carthage through his hometown of Edinburg to the border between Leake and Neshoba counties was named the “Van T. Barfoot Medal Of Honor Highway”.

World War II service:
After enlisting in the Army from Carthage, Mississippi, in 1940 and completing his training, Barfoot served with the 1st Infantry Division in Louisiana and Puerto Rico. In December 1941, he was promoted to sergeant and re-assigned to the Headquarters Amphibious Force Atlantic Fleet in Quantico, Virginia, where he served until the unit was deactivated in 1943. He next joined the 157th Infantry Regiment, 45th Infantry Division, and was shipped to Europe.
During the Italian Campaign, Barfoot participated in a series of amphibious landings: Sicily, July 1943; mainland Italy at Salerno, September 1943; and Anzio, January 1944. His unit pushed inland from Anzio, and by May 1944 reached the town of Carano where they set up defensive positions. A Technical Sergeant, Barfoot conducted several patrols in the vicinity of Carano to scout the German lines. When his company was ordered to attack on the morning of May 23, Sgt. Barfoot asked for permission to lead a squad. Because of his patrol activity, Sgt. Barfoot knew the terrain and the minefield which lay in front of the German position. He advanced alone through the minefield, following ditches and depressions, until he came within a few yards of a machine gun on the German flank. After taking out the gun with a hand grenade, he entered the German trench and advanced on a second machine gun, killing two soldiers and capturing three others. When he reached a third gun, the entire crew surrendered to him. Others also surrendered; Sgt. Barfoot captured a total of seventeen German soldiers. He had killed 8.
When the Germans launched an armored counterattack later in the day, Barfoot disabled one tank with a bazooka, then advanced into enemy-held territory and destroyed an abandoned German artillery piece. He returned to his own lines and helped two wounded soldiers from his squad to the rear.
Barfoot was subsequently commissioned as a second lieutenant. His division moved into France and by September was serving in the Rhone valley. Barfoot learned he would be awarded the Medal of Honor and chose to have the presentation ceremony in the field, so that his soldiers could attend. He was formally presented with the medal on September 28, 1944, in Épinal, France, by Lieutenant General Alexander Patch.

Colonel Barfoot’s Medal of Honor citation:
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of life above and beyond the call of duty on 23 May 1944, near Carano, Italy. With his platoon heavily engaged during an assault against forces well entrenched on commanding ground, 2d Lt. Barfoot (then Tech. Sgt.) moved off alone upon the enemy left flank. He crawled to the proximity of 1 machinegun nest and made a direct hit on it with a hand grenade, killing 2 and wounding 3 Germans. He continued along the German defense line to another machinegun emplacement, and with his tommygun killed 2 and captured 3 soldiers. Members of another enemy machinegun crew then abandoned their position and gave themselves up to Sgt. Barfoot. Leaving the prisoners for his support squad to pick up, he proceeded to mop up positions in the immediate area, capturing more prisoners and bringing his total count to 17. Later that day, after he had reorganized his men and consolidated the newly captured ground, the enemy launched a fierce armored counterattack directly at his platoon positions. Securing a bazooka, Sgt. Barfoot took up an exposed position directly in front of 3 advancing Mark VI tanks. From a distance of 75 yards his first shot destroyed the track of the leading tank, effectively disabling it, while the other 2 changed direction toward the flank. As the crew of the disabled tank dismounted, Sgt. Barfoot killed 3 of them with his tommygun. He continued onward into enemy terrain and destroyed a recently abandoned German fieldpiece with a demolition charge placed in the breech. While returning to his platoon position, Sgt. Barfoot, though greatly fatigued by his Herculean efforts, assisted 2 of his seriously wounded men 1,700 yards to a position of safety. Sgt. Barfoot’s extraordinary heroism, demonstration of magnificent valor, and aggressive determination in the face of pointblank fire are a perpetual inspiration to his fellow soldiers.
Click here for the TV news report.

Who are the Communists they have running these HomeOwner’s Associations, anyway??? I can’t believe this is happening in Virginia, of all places . . .

I love the beautiful flag of this great country, and guys like Colonel Barfoot are part & parcel of everything that is good and worthy in America. We are proud of you, Colonel! Your fight is now OUR fight! This worthless HomeOwners Association has no idea the can of worms they just opened: “Cry Havoc! And Unleash the Dogs of War!!!”
Readers please feel free to email me or comment (below) – I’m looking for support & suggestions how we can lay siege to the mindless idiots at the HomeOwners’ Association (HOA) of Sussex Square . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . S.L

Dickiebo; The above is a direct re-production from the blog of Sean Linnane – himself a former Special Forces Senior NCO, who has kindly given me permission to print this item. Thanks, Sean.

H.M.S. Amethyst

I remember going to school one day in 1949 when the whole village was buzzing. A Royal Navy ship, HMS Amethyst, was trapped in a river in China, very heavily damaged, most of her crew dead, and little hope of any escape. We watched with bated breath for months on end – newspapers headlining the graphic saga – until the end of the ‘Yangtse Incident’! Do you remember this?

Yangtze Incident

On 20 April 1949, HMS Amethyst was on her way from Shanghai to Nanking on the Yangtze River to replace HMS Consort, which was standing as guard ship for the British Embassy there due to the Chinese Civil War between the Kuomintang (KMT) and the Chinese Communists. At around 08:31, after a burst of small arms fire, a People’s Liberation Army (PLA) field gun battery on the north bank of the river fired a salvo of ten shells, which fell well short of the ship, and was assumed to be part of a regular bombardment of Nationalist forces on the south bank. Speed was increased, and large Union flags were unfurled on either side of the ship, after which there was no more firing.

At 09:30, as the frigate approached Jiangyin (Kiangyin) further up the river, she came under sustained fire from a second PLA battery. The first shell passed over the ship, but the second hit the wheelhouse, and the injured coxswain grounded Amethyst on Rose Island. The bridge was also hit, mortally wounding Lieutenant Commander B. M. Skinner and injuring First-Lieutenant Geoffrey Weston, before he could pass on the captain’s order to return fire. Other PLA shells exploded in the sick bay, the port engine room, and finally the generator, just after the injured Weston’s last transmission: “Under heavy fire. Am aground in approx position 31.10′ North 119.50′ East. Large number of casualties.” The loss of power also disabled the gyrocompass, and electrically controlled firing circuits. Amethyst was now a helpless target.

The frigate grounded in such a way that neither of the two gun turrets at the front of the ship could be brought to bear on the PLA batteries, leaving the single stern turret to return fire with some thirty shells before it was hit, knocking out one of its two guns. The remaining gun returned a few more shots until ordered by Weston to cease fire in the hope that this would cause the PLA to do likewise. The shore batteries, however, continued to fire both medium and heavy artillery, causing more damage and casualties to the ship. Weston ordered the uninjured crewmen to take up sniping positions with Lee-Enfield rifles and Bren guns, and prepare to repel boarders.

Some time between 10:00 and 10:30, Weston ordered the immediate evacuation of most of the crew. Everyone capable of swimming was ordered over the side, while the non-swimmers and walking wounded used the only one of the ship’s boats left undamaged. Fifty-nine ratings and four Chinese mess boys made it to the Kuomintang-controlled Southern bank, but several more were cut down in the water by PLA machine gun and artillery fire before reaching safety. Those that survived were taken to a nearby Nationalist Army hospital, and afterwards trucked back to Shanghai. Remaining on board were about 40 unwounded men, 12 wounded, and 15 dead. The shelling had stopped, but no one could move without drawing the attention of PLA snipers.

By the time the shelling stopped at about 11:00, 22 men had been killed and 31 wounded in all. Amethyst had received over 50 hits and holes below the waterline were plugged with hammocks and bedding. During this time HMS Consort was sighted, flying seven White Ensigns and three Union flags, steaming down from Nanking at 29 knots. Consort came under fire from the shore batteries and returned fire with 4.5 inch (114 mm) guns, destroying the enemy shore batteries before she attempted to take Amethyst in tow. HMS Consort turned about with all guns blazing at the north bank batteries, destroying an enemy position. However, Consort came under heavy fire, and the attempt was abandoned with 10 killed and three injured.

Lieutenant Geoffrey Weston re-floated Amethyst on 22 April and moved her out of range of the PLA’s artillery. The British Naval Attaché Lieutenant-Commander John Simon Kerans joined the ship later that day and assumed command.

On 26 April an attempt to free the Amethyst from the mud was successful, the ship then proceeded to move up river and anchored off Fu Te Wei. Later that day a signal was received: “HM ships London and Black Swan are moving up river to escort the Amethyst down stream. Be ready to move.” The cruiser London and the frigate (ex-sloop and Amethyst’s sister ship) Black Swan were heavily shelled as they attempted to help Amethyst and retreated with 3 killed and 14 wounded. In Chinese records this battle happened on 22 April. The PLA’s casualties were 252 in these artillery duels.

Amethyst remained under guard by the PLA for ten weeks, with vital supplies being withheld from the ship. Negotiations were stuck because Kerans would not accept Major Kung’s demand that the British admit that they had wrongly invaded Chinese national waters and had fired upon the PLA first. Because the communists (and later the People’s Republic of China) did not acknowledge any treaties between the previous Chinese government and British, they insisted that it was illegal for Amethyst to cruise in the Yangtze river. On 30 April, the PLA demanded that Britain, the United States, and France quickly withdraw their armed forces from any parts of China. One interesting fact is that the PLA commander Ye Fei admitted that it was his troops that fired first, but he didn’t reveal this until recent years. Therefore, during the negotiation, the communists kept insisting that the British ship fired first.

On 30 July 1949 Amethyst slipped her chain and headed down river in the dark, beginning a 104-mile dash for freedom running the gauntlet of Communist guns on both banks of the river. She followed the merchant ship Kiang Ling Liberation, which showed the way through the shoals and distracted the PLA. At 0500 hours of 31 July, Amethyst approached the PLA forts at Wusong (Woosung) and Par Shan with their searchlights sweeping the river. The Amethyst, at full speed ahead, broke through the boom at the mouth of the river and made contact with HMS Concord before arriving in Hong Kong on 11 August 1949, the signal transmitted: “Have rejoined the fleet off Woosung…God save the King.”

Chinese records state that the PLA warned the Amethyst to stop, “but she opened fire on, collided with, and sank a number of junks and escaped from the Yangtse River.”

The American Suspense radio series included an episode entitled Log of the Marne (22 October 1951), largely based on the events of the Yangtze incident.

In the 1957 film Yangtse Incident: The Story of HMS Amethyst (released as Battle Hell in the US, and also as Escape of the Amethyst and Their Greatest Glory) starring Richard Todd as Kerans, Amethyst re-enacted her role. As her engines were no longer operational, shots of the ship moving used her sister ship, Magpie.

Big Brother Watch Weekly Bulletin

This week we have seen several sad tales of our overbearing state in the media covering everything from stopping and searching amateur photographers; to requiring parents who volunteer with their local school this Christmas undergo a criminal record check. With tales of health and safety Christmas trees and carol singer restrictions, seems ‘tis the season for ill-judged Big Brother state interventions.

As always, if you hear of any similar cases - get in touch and Big Brother Watch will be happy to lend our services in shaming the offending authority.

Sandwell Council – are they the worst local authority in the county? Help us decide!

Just under a month ago, young mother Vanessa Kelly was fined by Sandwell Council for feeding the ducks in her local park. When we publicised this case on our blog and in the media we received several comments from people who said they were not surprised that the case involved Sandwell…little did we know.

In the past seven days Sandwell Council has been in the headlines twice more for disproportionate, officious acts of injustice. The first case involved a woman running for the bus whose tissue escaped from her pocket and blew across the road. Just as with Vanessa, a prying council litter warden immediately intervened and fined the woman with little regard to circumstances or common sense. A day later Sandwell was back in the papers having ordered a woman to remove the garden gnomes from her own front porch on the grounds of health and safety.

There is no doubt that these are disgraceful acts that typify our Big Brother state – but is there a worse local authority that doesn’t get the same media exposure? We have started a discussion on our facebook group or you can email us with your nominations (and a reason why). We need your help in finding the top 10 worst local authorities in Britain.

YouTube channel launches
This week the Big Brother Watch YouTube channel – ‘BigBrotherWatched’ – has launched with two clips of Alex Deane, Director of Big Brother Watch, being interviewed for various TV programmes.

In the future we hope to have all Big Brother Watch TV interviews and our own recorded footage available on this channel. So visit and subscribe today to be the first to find out when our new videos are uploaded.

Community Safety and CCTV

Last week Big Brother Watch was invited to speak at a Community Safety Workshop in Loughborough. The event was organised by the Prospective Conservative Candidate for Loughborough, Nicky Morgan, in the wake of the tragic deaths of Fiona Pilkington and her daughter who came from nearby Barwell in Leicestershire.

In a well-attended and lively session attended by, among others, a local police officer, the Lead Member for Community Safety from the Local Council and the ASBO co-ordinator; we were surprised by the storng desires of the residents of Loughborough and its environs ire to see more CCTV cameras in the fight against anti-social behaviour.

As a consequence, Big Brother Watch was moved to explain the many problems with CCTV, and found general agreement on its faults from the audience. The event has once again highlighted the problem of CCTV’s placebo effect and how it must be tackled if resources are to be properly used for community safety. Big Brother Watch will have a report out in the near future which brings these issues together, so look out for that.

Blogs of the Week

Smart Meters: coming to a boiler near you – Ed Miliband announces a £9bn scheme to get instant readings on our energy use. The savings are minimal, the data is heading for another government database, and who knows what the state can do when it has access our boilers…

Schmoozed hack pens fairytale ID card defence – tacky and shockingly inaccurate article from a Manchester Evening News columnist who equates getting her new ID card to the birth of her first child.

Fined for leaving the bin out – Salford has a problem with kids lighting fires in wheelie bins. Man leaves wheelie bin in the street. Salford fines man £550. Salford Council can’t stop the real criminals, so they create one from a man who has committed no greater crime than failing to move his wheelie bin 10 yards. Shocking.

A Time of Peace!

Dickiebo’s Tip O’ The Week!

DO NOT SHOP IN LONDON! OK?

Another Dickiebo Public Service !

Today’s Celeb!

Public Sector Fat Cats!

As politicians call for a pay freeze, public sector executives get a 5.4% pay rise

• In 2008-09 at least 806 people received remuneration packages of £150,000 or more a year
• 8 people in the public sector earned more than £1 million a year, compared with 4 people in 2007-08
  
• Gordon Brown is the 324th highest paid person in the public sector

All political parties are now publicly committed to tackling the problem of excessive pay for senior public sector staff, responding to taxpayers’ anger at public sector fat cats. In November 2006 the TaxPayers’ Alliance produced the first ever list of the most highly paid executives in the public sector. Now in its fourth edition, the Public Sector Rich List is not only more detailed and comprehensive, it also feeds into a public debate that has changed markedly over the past eighteen months.

Harriet Harman recently blocked a £185,000 salary for the new Chief Executive of the Equality and Human Rights Commission. George Osborne has said that “anyone who wishes to pay a public servant more than the Prime Minister will have to put it before the Chancellor”. Vince Cable has said that “pay restraint should start at the top”. It is important that this rheotric is matched with a serious crack down on inflated pay at the top of the public sector and rewards for failure, and that taxpayers can look forward to a new era of transparency, accountability and restraint.

Read the full report here

Key findings:

• At least 806 people receiving remuneration packages of £150,000 or more a year in 2008-09 across 358 government departments, quangos, public corporations, other public bodies and nationalised industries. For reference, there were 124 people earning more than £150,000 in this year’s Town Hall Rich List which covered 2007-08.
• A key difference with this year’s Rich List is that it includes the top employees from the state controlled banks. The most highly paid person in the public sector this year is therefore Mark Fisher of the Royal Bank of Scotland, whose remuneration was £1,388,000.
• Of the 806 people on this year’s list, 30 are bank employees.
• Adam Crozier of Royal Mail is the highest paid non-bank employee in the public sector, earning £1,309,000.
• Gordon Brown is the 324th highest paid person in the public sector.
• The average total remuneration of the 806 people on the list is almost £225,990 per annum. This works out at over £4,700 per week.
• By comparison, according to the Institute of Directors, a managing director of a private organisation with a turnover of between £50 million and £500 million could expect to earn £141,440 and an executive director £87,000.
• Even without the bankers, the average remuneration package on our list is £209,151.
• The BBC has at least 53 people on £150,000 or over. Transport for London has 50 members of staff on or above £150,000. In comparison, the Treasury, the main Government department responsible for tackling the recession, has a modest 3 people in the Rich List.
• There are 8 people in the public sector who earn more than £1 million a year, compared with 4 people last year.
• There are 35 people in the public sector earning above £500,000 a year compared with 21 last year.
• There are 120 people earning above £250,000 a year compared with 88 last year.
• The average pay rise of the people with remuneration for 2007-08 and 2008-09 is 5.4 per cent. This is compared to a pay rise of 2.7 per cent for a nurse and 2.3 per cent for a teacher.
• Because of extensive work in other areas of the public sector, the total number of people on the Public Sector Rich List 2009 is not comparable with previous editions. For a full explanation, please see key findings in the main report.

John O’Connell, Policy Analyst at the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said:

“Executive pay in the public sector is completely divorced from the reality of Britain’s fiscal crisis. Ordinary families, struggling to make ends meet in the recession, don’t pay their taxes to fund gold-plated deals for public sector fat cats. All parties now agree that excessive pay packages must be tackled but the time for action is now, not next year. Taxpayers want genuine transparency, accountability and restraint in setting top public sector pay.”

Toll Bridge Sells For £1.8 Million.

Traffic at the toll can be very heavy in the rush hour

A toll bridge in Oxfordshire used by nearly four million vehicles a year, has fetched £1.08m at auction.

The Swinford toll bridge was built across the River Thames at Eynsham in 1767 and is governed by its own Act of Parliament.

The buyer also gets a stone cottage. Car drivers using the bridge to get to Oxford pay 5p and lorry drivers 50p.

But some people living in the area want the charge scrapped saying it adds to rush hour delays and congestion.

The bridge, in David Cameron’s constituency, enjoys tax-free status following an 1767 Act of Parliament.

This granted private ownership of the bridge and its tolls to the Earl of Abingdon and “to his heirs and assignees for ever”.

The buyer will be exempt from paying income tax, capital gains tax, inheritance tax or VAT on the bridge because of the Act.

The estimated gross annual income for the new owner is about £195,000.

Dickiebo; I gotta tell you! When I owned The Star Inn at Eynsham

one of our regulars was the chap who collected the tolls on the bridge. He was a small – about 5′4″ – slim, quietly-spoken beatnik, and when I drove across the bridge, he would say, “No charge for you!” The ‘charge’ was then 2 pence – one 50th of a pound! I took the hint, and gave him a free drink on his visits to the pub!!!!!! Cost? Then about 30 pence a pint!

I did wish that he would take my tuppence!

Big Brothers!

Police ‘misusing anti-terrorism powers to stop tourists taking photos’

Police are misusing their anti-terrorism powers to stop innocent photographers taking pictures of tourist attractions and even a chip shop, according to the Government’s anti-terrorism adviser.

By Chris Irvine

More than 100 Section 44 stop and search areas exist in London alone Photo: GETTY

Lord Carlile of Berriew has warned that officers, who are allowed to stop and search anyone in a designated “Section 44 authorisation zone” without giving a reason, need to be aware somebody taking a photograph is not a good enough reason to detain them.

“The police have to be very careful about stopping people who are taking what I would call leisure photographs, and indeed professional photographers,” he said. “The fact that someone is taking photographs is not prima facie a good reason for stop and search and is very far from raising suspicion. It is a matter of concern and the police will know that they have to look at this very carefully.”

The Section 44 power allows senior officers to designate entire areas of their police force regions as stop-and-search areas. More than 100 exist in London alone, while every British train station is covered by the order. But the exact location of the Section 44 areas is known only to the Home Office, due to fear the information could be used by terrorists.

A BBC journalist was stopped recently taking photographs of St Paul’s Cathedral, while Andrew White, 33, was stopped and asked to give his name and address after taking photographs of Christmas lights on his way to work in Brighton days earlier. In July, an amateur photographer from Kent was arrested after taking pictures of a chip shop.

Marc Vallee, a photojournalist who has set up a campaign group with more than 4,000 supporters called ‘I’m a photographer, not a terrorist’.

“Why is the act of taking a picture deemed by the state to be so potentially threatening? Photography is not a crime but it is being routinely criminalised,” he told The Independent. “Anti-terrorism legislation talks about creating a hostile environment for terrorists to operate but the reality is that it is creating a hostile environment for public photography. That has an incredibly detrimental effect on freedom of speech.”

Craig Mackey, from the Association of Chief Police Officers, said part of the problem was some officers were unaware how best to use the legislation.

“It goes back to the issue of briefing and training of staff and making sure they are clear around the legislation we are asking them to use. There is no power under Section 44 to stop people taking photographs and we are very clear about getting that message out to forces,” he said.

“In the past there has been a buildup around photographers and policing. That said, it is difficult to imagine a scenario where someone taking pictures of Christmas lights would be something we should be dealing with.”

Earlier this year the Conservatives said they would scrap stop and search powers, with David Cameron arguing that it had been used on 120,000 people in the last year, but only led to an arrest on one per cent of cases.

Extract from The Telegraph.

Dickiebo; Well now, it all seems to fit in very nicely with my claim that our police are running completely out of control. ACPO continually dictate policing policies, despite them being a private company, yet always ‘pass the buck’ down the line when they are caught out. IF they are to be believed (Hmmmmm…) then it is the coppers on the streets – you know, everybody’s friends!!!!! – who take it upon themselves to use this draconian power illegally, to harrass you and I. As I often say – WE used to police with the consent of our public, this lot nowadays, do not!

Russian Cops!