Archive for June, 2009
Ayatollah Brown
June 30th, 2009 | 
Author: 
As I have watched the events in Iran, it becomes ever clearer to me that what we are witnessing is a simple power struggle within the Iranian Establishment with the crowds on the streets little better than cannon fodder. What one is witnessing is one group determined to cling to power set against another who want to take it from them, in the end what will be the outcome ? Probably not a lot of difference to the outside world, pretty much the same old stuff in the end.
In this Country too we have an Ayatollah who is desperate to cling to power by any means possible, by fair means or foul.
Posted in 
And So to Death…
As individuals, there are some things we never think of and yet, for others those same topics are virtually all consuming. I was reminded of this the other week reading someone writing on the web about death and saying that his Father who appeared to have died in his early 70’s telling him that he would have liked perhaps 5 more years. Why I asked silently…as I contemplated my childhood.
As a RC boy who served on the altar in the 1950s, I loved funerals with a simplicity of view that nowadays is long forgotten, an acceptance of reality and a natural leaning to what works best for you personally. As a 7 year old junior altar boy, weddings where the “MC” altar boy copped the cash from the Best Man, the “trickle down” was little short of disgusting.
Keeping the Monarchy
I’m not quite sure what point Matthew Norman was trying to make in today’s Independent because he did seem to wander all over the place, you can judge for yourself: http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/matthew-norman/matthew-norman-a-prince-and-his-indulgent-public-1717971.html
I think the starting point was the “extra £3 million that the Prince of Wales cost the taxpayer last year simply because the Government wanted him to carry out a number of overseas visits on their behalf, which therefore seems reasonable that they should cough up for the expenses incurred.
Rachel Delivers Sense….
The following link is just far too good but, totally correct :
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/rachel_sylvester/article6557730.ece
You may have to cut and paste this into your browser.
Happy Holidays !
A Presidential System
Following the election of Bercow as Speaker, Steve Richards writing in the Independent today was speculating about “real reform” and the Separation of Powers.
“A few years ago the Labour MP and ardent constitutional reformer, Graham Allen, put forward a proposal for a presidential system in Britain. I thought at the time he was living in a fantasy world, but we are almost there in terms of our preoccupation with leaders, the decline of parties and the growing demand for Prime Ministers to be held to account.”
I Don’t Think They Have Learned…
I may be proved wrong and hope I am but my gut feeling is that Bercow is a mistake that will need to be rectified after the next General Election, the man just does not look right, just another politician on the make. Replacing Michael Martin seems to have produced yet another dud which reflects a very dull House of Commons in dire need of a cull.
It was interesting watching the brou ha ha going on and it struck me strongly that these MPs had still learned nothing from the events of these past few months, if they had, Widdercombe would have been the public choice by a clear margin. The Commons really needed to show that it was serious about reform and transition and a Speaker prepared to take the job on a tempoary basis, to the next election, would have set the right tone.
Other Things To Do…
Whilst I will no doubt feel inclined to comment on the election of a new Speaker which will I am sure, be a total cock-up with the bookies putting Margaret Becket as the current favourite – “You Really Cannot be Serious…” on that one, as politics crawls uneasily towards the Summer Recess, there is not that much to comment upon.
I have been writing this blog since November of 2007 and have published over 300 articles. For various reasons because I am working on a new project running in a development environment, I needed to feed some data in so copied over essays from this blog to there. I was quite amused looking back over some earlier stuff just how there are really very few themes or major topics in ‘play’ in the political arena over that time.
Goodbye Speaker Martin
Matthew Parris in the Times commented upon the departure of Speaker Martin And ended with the following words: “A decade hence, when we look back on this weird season in British politics, we will struggle to remember how it was that everyone decided to make the Speaker the villain of the piece.”
It is a fair minded thing to write and yet within that it does need to be understood that whilst as Martin indicated in his rather bitter parting words, although not the only ’sinner’, he does stand for more than just a sacrificial lamb, he is not innocent.
Having a Laugh With PR
First Past the Post or a form of Proportional Representation ? This came up following an article in yesterdays Independent on Constitutional Reforms and various readers wrote in extolling the virtues and necessity of an immediate introduction of PR which was quite amusing as it is the very last thing we need.
The principle of Democracy is that we the citizens give our power to elected representatives to run the Country for a period of time, maximum 5 years. Any Government could depart on a course of action we don’t like but as Ancient Athens demonstrated, total democracy is inefficient, you have to give any Government the power for a period of time after which, if you don’t like them, boot them out of Office.
Politics Goes Flat…
I suppose after all the high drama of the “Expenses Scandal” and the Local and European Elections, there was bound to be a hiatus and “tears before bedtime” and it shows up in the press. Reading across the broadsheets, politics has reached a hiatus and it shows in the journalism, struggling for something to write about with only the Speaker’s Election to look forward to.
Fear not scribes, soon the silly season will be under way, Henley, Wimbledon and so forth but just as sunny days are punctuated with sunshine and showers, you can rely on one thing – Gordon Brown will be dealt yet another blow. What it will be and over what issue, I have not the slightest idea but this man is just so unlucky that you don’t have to be ‘Mystic Meg’ to work that one out.