Parliament must fix it - by Richard... Sunday, July 18, 2010

Parliament must fix it - by Richard... Sunday, July 18, 2010

How did we ever get ourselves into a situation where Social Services can steal kids from their parents and put them up for forced adoption, and it becomes a criminal offence to report the details or even the grounds for the action?

Booker takes a look at an utterly bizarre situation. He's told me a lot about the cases and now I can't even publish the details – the parents and the kids will be the ones to suffer. The law that muzzles the media, that prevents the parents even telling their own kids why they can't take them home is one that has to be changed. And it's down to our MPs to do it. Parliament made this obscene law. Parliament must fix it.

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Day 8 – Battle of Britain - by Richard... Saturday, July 17, 2010

The photograph above was issued by the Germans with a press release on 17 July, 1940, exactly 70 years ago. The caption read: "The British even shot at the Red Cross! The Red Crosses at the fuselage and wings can be seen from a large distance. Despite this the British again shot a German rescue seaplane while trying to rescue British crewmembers who made an emergency landing at (sic) high seas."

Herein lies a long story, even if it stemmed more immediately from events on 11 July when there had been a vicious little fight off the coast at Deal when one of these aircraft, a Heinkel 59, escorted by a dozen or so Me 109s had been intercepted on its way to pick up a downed Me 109 pilot. On that occasion, the He-59 had been forced down and captured.

The presence of these aircraft was viewed with the deepest suspicion by the British government, not least because it was convinced that, as well as their air-sea rescue role, they were being used to report the movements of shipping convoys. Thus, despite their Red Crosses, from 14 July, British pilots were ordered to shoot them down when they were encountered.

Needless to say, the Germans attempted to make propaganda capital out of the situation, hence the press release. However, even then it was operating some of the aircraft in war camouflage, with Luftwaffe call-signs and, very shortly afterwards, the He 59s in white garb disappeared.

The broader issue here was the early recognition by the Germans of the value of effective rescue services, in recovering downed pilots and returning them to the battle. To that effect, some 30 rescue seaplanes were operated in the Channel zone. Luftwaffe crews were issued with inflatable dinghies as well as their life jackets, and had fluorescent dye to stain the water and make them more visible.

In those early days, the British were by no means as well organised. Fighter crews had neither dinghies nor dye, and nor was there any dedicated air-sea rescue service. A Directorate was not set up until February 1941, well after the Battle of Britain had ended.

Oddly enough, the RAF had pre-empted the need, developing its 200 Class Seaplane Tender, a 37½ foot vessel capable of 27 knots, into the 100 Class high speed rescue launch (HSL) - pictured below right. Deliveries had commenced in 1932 and the RAF began to organise its ASR services in May 1940, these launches being based around flying boat bases and at a number of overseas locations.

Bizarrely, however – given the premium on aircrew and the shortage of experienced pilots - RAF planners believed that the amount of cross-Channel traffic meant that there was no need for a rescue service to cover this very busy stretch of water. This was an omission which undoubtedly contributed to the loss of over 200 airmen killed or missing in the seas around England during the Battle, not a few of their deaths completely avoidable.

Park, as AOC 11 Group, was forced to make ad-hoc arrangements, relying on the Royal Navy the RNLI and others, plus Army Co-operation Lysanders, and later Walrus amphibians, plus other aircraft. As the service developed, the fleet of launches eventually expanded to over 600, including those located overseas.

Back on 17 July, however, when the Germans were seeking their propaganda advantage, it was again relatively quiet. With dull weather and occasional rain, the focus again was primarily on shipping. In the early afternoon, 20 aircraft, including Me 110s and Do 17s took part in an attack on shipping off Portland.

A mixed formation of Ju 87s and Me 109s attacked Dover Harbour and a convoy running south of Dover in the early evening, followed shortly afterwards by an engagement between 56 Sqn Hurricanes and a mixed force of 6 Ju 87s and 12 Me 110s about 15 miles off Dover.

The early morning had seen two raids approach the Isle of Wight, crossing the Hampshire and Dorset coasts, eight raids off the East Coast, two of which attacked convoys, and raiders bombing Dundee and Warmwell, four miles NE of Lulworth Cove.

There was little enemy activity that night, although minelaying was suspected in the Thames Estuary and between Middlesborough and The Wash. On the day, Fighter Command flew 253 sorties, losing one fighter. The Luftwaffe lost one He 111 and a Ju 88 shot down.

Aircraft from Fighter Command were not the only RAF aircraft out and about. Since 5 July, there had been an active programme by Bomber Command to disrupt the Nazi invasion preparations. This day, amongst other sorties, six Blenheim IVs of 53 Sqn and 4 of 59 Sqn made an attack on oil and petrol storage tanks on the Ghent-Selzaette Canal. Six failed to find a target and four bombed targets of opportunity. One 59 Sqn Blenheim was lost, with all crew killed.

That is part of the less well told story of the Battle of Britain. Although the "few", rightly, were to receive accolades, Bomber Command played a vital role as well. And it lost more men than Dowding's Command. We will look at some of its activities is detail shortly.

Battle of Britain

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Cannon fodder - by Richard...

Another two Brits have been killed in Helmand. One was a Royal Marine and the other was a trooper from the Royal Dragoon Guards.

The Marine was on foot patrol in the Sangin district, while the Trooper was a member of the Brigade Reconnaissance Force, part of a dismounted patrol that was providing security to enable new roads and security bases to be constructed to the north-east of Gereshk. Both succumbed to IEDs.

This brings total British military deaths in Afghanistan to 320, less than a month after the three-century milestone had been reached. That puts the current annual death rate at close to 280 and makes it highly probable that the figure of 400 will be reached before the end of the year – unless there in a dramatic change in operational tempo.

In due course, there will be another street exhibition in Wooton Basset, and we are not alone in wondering whether the displays here are getting out of hand. What happened, for instance, to quiet dignity and the famous British "stiff upper lip"?

Moreover, while it is always tragic to see lives cut short, the campaign in Afghanistan has been going on long enough for soldiers to know what they are letting themselves in for. They either joined the armed forces in that knowledge or have not sought to remove themselves from harm's way.

Either way, the Army and the top brass do not seem to be mightily concerned about the losses, otherwise they might be doing something to prevent them, instead of indulging in back-covering propaganda. One does wish, therefore, that the Army spokesman would learn some new lines to go on the press releases when fatalities are announced.

Of the latest casualty, "... tragically he was struck by an explosion," says Lt-Col James Carr-Smith. "His courage, sacrifice and selfless commitment will never be forgotten." But of course it will. If he has any next of kin in Army quarters, the papers for eviction are already being prepared. The pay termination notice applied before even the body was cool.

We need to be a little bit more honest here, and call these men what they are – cannon fodder. Whatever their personal delusions, they are only dying to provide Mr Cameron and Dr Fox with the time to work out a suitable face-saving formula to cover their political embarrassment at announcing a defeat. That honesty might focus a few minds and get us out a little faster.

The pic shows soldiers en route to Afghanistan on the last roulement, in the belly of a C-17. More than three times the number visible will have returned in coffins by the end of the year. At least they get a little more space on the way back, and a car to meet them at the airport.

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Why don't they just admit it? - by Richard...

Selfish, lazy, arrogant? So why doesn't Stephen Glover just come out and admit it? He doesn't likeBoris Johnson. You also sort of get the impression that Dellers isn't that keen on wunderkindDaniel Hannan. Perhaps he ought to come out and make his views clear as well.

What they have in common is also quite interesting – Boris and Hannan that is. They are both male ... they are both politicians ... they are both Tories ... can that be what makes them what they are? Or is it that not one but both are selfish, lazy and arrogant? Nah ... can't be that. I'd go for the Tory thingie.

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A goad of lollocks - by Richard...

A headline in the nation's favourite newspaper is gaily trilling: "World's hottest year on record expected." The copy tells us that "forecasters have said" the world is on course to record the hottest year on record, "threatening droughts worldwide".

Then we find out that, for the first six months of the year, 2010 has been warmer than the first half of 1998, the previous record holder, "by 0.03 degree Fahrenheit," according to Jay Lawrimore, chief of climate analysis at the federal National Climatic Data Center.

Frankly, this is risible – or a goad of lollocks if you prefer. The very concept of a global temperature is highly dubious but, even if you accept that it could or should be measured, the idea that you can get to two places of decimals is tosh. This is what is known as false precision.

A period of a El Nino weather pattern is being blamed for the hot temperatures globally, which means we are talking about "weather" rather than climate, and abnormally warm temperatures have been registered in large parts of Canada, Africa, tropical oceans and parts of the Middle East.

But just as false as the idea that there can be a single global temperature that actually means anything, is the idea that "elevated" temperatures necessarily mean drought. You can certainly see the association in the dismal minds of the hack – hot equals dry equals drought ... doh!
To reinforce this narrative, we thus have the cuts trawled for examples: Northern Thailand is struggling through the worst drought in 20 years, while Israel is in the middle of the longest and most severe drought since 1920s.
In Britain, this year has been the driest since 1929.

Set against that, though, are the massive floods in China. Currently, 146 are reported dead in the latest spate of rainstorms and floods.

China is ravaged every summer by heavy rains and deadly flooding but the weather has been especially severe this year. Rains and flooding have reportedly caused economic losses totalling $17 billion dollars since the start of the year. Rain-triggered floods have affected some 38.2 million people and 1.3 million had been evacuated.

Authorities in the Philippines are also bracing for damage caused by Typhoon Conson, which killed 39 people and left 84 missing, and Vietnam is threatened. Meanwhile, at least eight dead are reported as heavy rains lash Japan. In the city of Kani in Gifu, flood water from a river washed away 28 trucks, and 20 privately owned cars from the parking lot of a transport company.


Nine heavy-duty trucks were seen piling up against an elevated railway bridge (pictured) with total damage estimated at 300 million yen (3.4 million dollars). Said Ryuji Sakai, a spokesman for the company, Tougi Transport: "We didn't expect such a flood and there were no warnings at all."

Singapore has also been hit by recent flash flooding and parts of India have been badly affected. The flood toll in Punjab and Haryana provinces has reached 40, with the situation reported as"grim" in some districts.

Further west, heavy floods are being experienced in the Yemen, with reports of around 20 people being kille, more than five people injured and others still missing. Heavy rains are covering wide areas.

Ghana, on which we reported earlier, is still having problems, with some 136 flood victims at Bosuso in Fanteakwa District in the Eastern Region appealing to government housing aid after the collapse of their homes. The victims comprise 55 children and 81 adults drawn from three communities. More than 14 houses, mostly made of clay, collapsed over the last weekend after a downpour which lasted for almost twenty–four hours. Three rivers have overflowed their banks.


And, in rain-soaked Brazil, flooding has continued. Late last month, at least 1,000 people were unaccounted for after had floods devastated a series of small towns and cities in Brazil's north-east – traditionally one of the drier areas.

Torrential rain had "hammered down" on the north-eastern states of Alagoas and Pernambuco, over 1,200 miles (2,000km) north-east of Rio de Janeiro, causing rivers to swell and at least one dam to burst. The resulting floods tore through dozens of towns with aerial images showing several areas that had been reduced to giant piles of rubble.

Reports then spoke of flooding killing 41 people, with officials scrambling to get food and medical aid to two flood-hit Brazilian states where "torrents of water ripped through towns, killing at least 41 people and driving 120,000 from their homes."

Further north currently, there is flooding near Monterrey, Mexico, caused by heavy rains from Hurricane Alex. This has been partly responsible for carmakers temporarily shutting about seven assembly plants. Throughout south Texas, there has also been heavy flooding.

Of course, all this don't mean nuffink. It's just weather. But it means a great deal more than garbage about a global 0.03 degree Fahrenheit rise in temperature, which has USA Todayreporting: "World sizzles to record for the year". The only thing sizzling though are their brains. They fried years ago.

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Not irony - by Richard...

A wind turbine at an Olympic sailing venue in Dorset, we are told, has blown over in high winds. The turbine, in the car park of the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy in Portland, collapsed early on Thursday as high winds hit the coast.

Dorset, it seems, is not having a happy time with its windmills. Not very long ago, Southwell Community Primary School in Portland was forced to turn off its machine after it developed birdicidal tendencies and slaughtered at least 14 birds in the past six months.

Installed at a cost of £20,000 with a grant from the Department of Energy and Climate Change, it was forcing headteacher Stuart McLeod to come into school early to clear up the bodies before his young pupils spotted them. School governors consulted seagull eyesight experts and investigated bringing in bird-scaring plastic owls to solve the problem, but to no avail.

McLeod said they had tried everything to stop the carnage but had no choice but to shut the turbine down. He said: "We've got the ideal location for wind power but unfortunately seagulls kept flying into it." And he can't even get rid of their bird chopper. Because of the grant conditions, it has to stay on site for five years or the school has to repay the money.

But this is not irony. Oh no! This, my dear readers, is much better. It is one-hundred percent, 26-carrot goldy. Absolutely brilliant.

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Day 7 – Battle of Britain - by Richard... Friday, July 16, 2010

In our world of 70 years ago, fog had straddled the north of France for most of the day, also covering the Straits of Dover and south-east England. There were also thunderstorms in many districts. Predictably, therefore, air activity was extremely light as the Luftwaffe stayed at home, some grounded until late in the afternoon – which meant an awful lot of waiting for British aircrews.

As the day went on, there were attacks on a convoy off the Norfolk-Suffolk coast, and on shipping off the Isle of Wight and Aberdeen, with night attacks again in the south Wales and Bristol areas. Off the Scottish Coast between 2332 hours and 0017 hours, 14 tracks were plotted. These crossed the Fife and Aberdeen coast and bombs were dropped on Cupar, Dunfermline and Helensburgh. No reports of damage were received.

The first successful interception of the day was in Scotland, with a He-111 of KG26 shot down (type pictured) by an aircraft from No. 603 Sqn. This was followed by a Ju-88 shot down in the Solent by a Spitfire from No. 601 Sqn from Tangmere. The surviving crew member took to an inflatable life raft.

All in all, the RAF flew 313 sorties and still, on this "quiet" day, lost two aircraft. German losses totalled five although, on the actual day in 1940, the RAF claimed ten bombers confirmed, two "probables" and two "unconfirmed" fighters shot down - 14 as against five.

Through the whole battle, each side consistently over-claimed the number of "kills" by a factor of about two, while under-reporting their own combat losses and ignoring accidental losses. These were high on both sides throughout the war. Ironically, each side accused the other of inflating their victories, also claiming that their own figures were accurate.

This was a war of words and images as well as of deeds, with propagandists "spinning" furiously. Blair and his New Labour pals might think they invented "spin", but the Ministry of Information was well practiced in the art by 1940. Rarely, in newsreels, for instance, was there ever a wreck shown of a Spitfire or Hurricane - but Luftwaffe wrecks there were aplenty.

Sharp-eyed observers might notice a considerable element of recycling, as the same wrecks cropped up in successive newsreels. But this was all part of keeping the Home Front on-side. It was a closer-run thing than many realise, and the propaganda war played a vital role.

Battle of Britain thread