Month: May 2006

I notice from Cllr Bob Piper’s blog that one of his fellow councillors on Sandwell MBC has joined the blogosphere. Unremarkable in most cases, but this blog is by one of the four BNP councillors, one Cllr Simon Smith.

In a “know thine enemy” sort of way, his one entry so far is interesting. The most notable feature is Cllr Smith’s combination of paranoia and defensiveness – the latter not generally part of the BNP house style. For instance, here’s a section of his post entitled “The Big Picture”:

I don’t profess that either the BNP or myself are always right. I’m sure there are good people in other smaller parties. I reserve the right to respect good people in those parties – what ever they might think of me is irrelevant. I hope that the British National Party becomes more than a party, more than even a cultural movement.

But he can’t stop himself running off the edge of the cliff in the next sentence:

I hope it is in the Vanguard of a New Renaissance that can destroy the wicked, some would say satanic, Globalist-Materialist world order that keeps many new discoveries, inventions and knowledge undercover, ON PURPOSE in order to maintain control.

Perhaps the strongest sense you get from reading the blog is the extent to which Cllr Smith could be on the wilder fringe of a number of more ‘respectable’ parties – UKIP, RESPECT and the WRP, for example. Those parties at the macro level stand for different sorts of things, of course, but they all stand in opposition to the mainstream – I would say rational – parties, while feeling and promoting fear of foreign, external forces.

Adrift on a wide ocean, they are clinging to different bits of flotsam – the BNP to nativism, UKIP to a sort of Gaullist touchiness, and RESPECT to … well, George Galloway, mostly. Despite being a strong supporter of rationalism, I have some sympathy for the members of those parties personally – though they are wrong in their ideas, and wrong in their perception of the world, they presumably believe themselves to be right, and that must make the world a pretty scary place to be.

Update: The comments on the post are worth reading.

A year after the French “no”, almost two thirds of French voters think their decision weakened France’s standing in Europe. Not so sure myself, but then it depends what happens to the constitutional treaty now the “period of reflection” is coming to an end. Le Monde canvasses views in the French political class.

George Galloway (by claiming it’s OK to assassinate democratically elected leaders) shown his contempt for democracy. But, perhaps more importantly, he has surely jumped the shark.

I see that John Reid has a suitably sinister photograph on the BBC News website, to illustrate a story about victims being given more rights over what happens to offenders. Next up: Modern Lynchings.

Speaking to the BBC, David Beckham says:

“It’s impossible to trust people for me. And I don’t like it being like that, I’m not that sort of person. But I’ve been made into that sort of person because there’s been so many things and so many people, not let me down but just sold lies on me, and I think that’s the tough part to do.”

Say no more, David, say no more.