As I Drift Off - Talking bollocks (sporadically) since 2008
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April 14, 2010
 

The Digital Economy Bill & Lobbying Transparency

One of the big issues that I was unable to write about during my recent internet disconnection was amusingly enough to do with internet disconnection. Unfortunately though it wasn't just some technical difficulty, this was instead the draconian measures proposed as part of the government's Digital Economy Bill, also known as the DEBill. Despite the lack of internet I was actively taking part in the protest against the fast tracking of the bill which was very well managed by the Open Rights Group and 38Degrees.

Despite the overwhelming protest against the contents of the bill, open letters and personal pleas to MP's to debate and scrutinise the flawed legislation in the House of Commons fully, I watched on as did so many as our so-called elected representatives passed the legislation in a mere 7.5 hours over two nights. Most MP's didn't even bother to show up. Only 40 did and in some sections of the "debate" as little as 15 could be seen in the chamber. Debillitated has the full stats for you. In the end a number of MP's could be bothered to turn up for the final vote and it was passed anyway.

What was quite clear is that the music industries lobbyists were all over this particular bill and I can only wonder how much they have spent to get this law passed. You'd quite right to therefore question whether any of the political parties do in fact represent the public and their concerns or whether corporate lobbying is just the next big scandal just waiting to bring British politics into disrepute yet again after the expenses saga.

It's quite clear that we have to demand greater transparency in politics and accountable decision-making. 38Degrees is now campaigning for lobbying transparency and I'd urge as many people as possible to support this campaign so that further repeats of this DEBill mess do not occur. Candidates are currently scrambling ahead of the general election on May 6th. Now is the time to make our thoughts known so I would encourage you to write to your local candidates through the 38Degrees page and ask them to sign the pledge for lobbying transparency.

At the moment, we don't have a right to know who is lobbying the government or how much money they're spending. That's why we need to make it compulsory for lobbyists to open up their activities by introducing a public, mandatory register of lobbyists. Labour and the Liberal Democrats have made commitments to tackle lobbying links in Westminster, but so far the Conservatives have said they will let lobbyists regulate themselves, which won't do enough to sort out the system. Let David Cameron know this isn't acceptable too.

~ SirFFW

Filed under  //   Internet   Politics  

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December 1, 2009
 

Dear Mandy...

Dan Bull is back after his recent Dear Lily video with another open letter song, this time to Pirate-Finder General himself Peter Mandelson.

You can download Dan's album for free or purchase a CD over at Freshnut Records.

~ SirFFW

Filed under  //   Music   Politics   War On Govt  

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November 29, 2009
 

Thoughts On Bank Overdraft Charges

So bank customers hoping to be refunded overdraft charges were dealt a blow by the Supreme Court this week when it overturned earlier court rulings that allowed the Office of Fair Trading to investigate the fairness of charges for unauthorised overdrafts. Many people and campaigners are upset as a result but I actually think it was the correct decision.

I'm not going to defend the banks for their recent actions that have made bail-out's necessary and brought our economies to the brink of depression. I can certainly understand and appreciate the anger and hostility towards banks over that because I share it. However on this subject I think charges are right to be made and there are two key reasons, which are closely linked, as to why I say that.

Firstly, if you correctly manage your finances you're not going to be charged. These charges are made for unauthorised borrowing on your account. Why should you expect that such borrowing be given to you for free? This is part of a bigger problem unfortunately that got us to this point in the first place. Credit was so cheap for so long people seem to think they can just spend above their means and worry about paying later. Spend only what you have and you'll receive no charges. If you're struggling financially then meet with your bank to discuss an authorised facility or to restructure your debts.

The second reason why I'm for unauthorised lending charges is because banks are businesses at the end of the day. If it gets ruled that they cannot make these charges to people who are using their accounts irresponsibly then what do you think that will that mean for us that are? I'll tell you what it will mean. It'll mean current account charges being reintroduced so we'll all be paying for the irresponsibility of the few. I'm sure most people won't want that either.

~ SirFFW

Filed under  //   Business   Politics  

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November 24, 2009
 

Stop The Pirate-Finder General!

As I briefly touched on at the weekend with my reading links the UK government released it's so-called Digital Economy bill last week. I had planned to write a post about this but I won't regurgitate what has already been put well already and instead just point you to here, here and here for more information on what this means (and potentially means in the future) to anyone living in the UK.

After you've read up on this please remember that Peter Mandelson is unelected. Nobody should be able to get this bill passed, let alone one that gives these kinds of powers to an unelected Secretary of State. To have this man given this power goes against the very nature of democracy. If you're in the UK, I'd urge you to call your MP now and tell them that no Secretary of State should be able to rewrite law on a whim. I would advise you to also go even further and let them know that your vote is at stake in next years general election id this bill is passed. It's time to take the country back from these crooked politicians.

Call your MP on 020 7219 3000. This is the switchboard number for the House of Commons and they will connect you to any MP you ask for. Alternatively (but less effective) you can e-mail them here.

After you've called your MP you can also leave a message for Mandelson here. 

This post also signals the start of my war on the current UK government. I've had enough of Brown and his goons. After 12 long years it's time to get those fuckers out of power. I'd urge you to vote for anyone but your current MP in the next General Election and show them who really has the power again. Remember if you don't vote, you have no right to complain!

More on this soon...

~ SirFFW

Filed under  //   Politics   War On Govt  

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November 22, 2009
 

Michael Moore Blasts The Health Care Bill

Not much more to say really.

~ SirFFW

Filed under  //   Politics  

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