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Posts Tagged ‘Within the UK’

It often seems that the basic requirement for a politician is to be totally stupid as is clearly demonstrated by the uttering s of both Lynne Featherstone and Nick Herbert on the question of gay marriage who are displaying the same degree of arrogance over this issue as Gordon Brown did over the Lisbon Treaty. It seems the biggest problem with the average MP once they get a red dispatch box is that they think they can walk on water and become bullies to the rest of us.

I have often fought David Cameron’s corner with the awful denizens of the Telegraph’s comments section because my view was that he was a decent fellow and a “One Nation Tory” but sadly, I am coming to the view that I may be wrong he seems constantly “behind the curve” on so many things, he will need a lot luck to get a second term, is for sure, he is starting to look wobbly.

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I was quite amused to read an article today about two people who are “camping” outside the Apple Store in London, a week ahead of the sale date of the iPad 3 tablet just so that they could be the “First to get one…” Whilst rather sad and a bit pathetic too it is also quite thought provoking in an entirely different way when thinking about the wider world economy.

The iPad itself is a device for “consuming” material with limited data input potential rather than the “creative space” fully fledged computers offer. However, this probably more properly reflects the limited use that the vast majority of people have in terms of computing power. However, I suspect that whether we look at smart phones, iPads, Facebook, Twitter and all the rest, what we are really seeing is the start of a major decline in the current business model they all represent…

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My Father used to joke: “When I was 16, I thought that my Father was the most ignorant man on the planet. By the time I was 20, I found it amazing just how much he had learned in 4 years.” We all as teenagers think we know it all, that we have “discovered sex” and our parents could not possibly understand anything about it…

It is in this sense that the furore about “Gay Marriage” totally mirrors the idiocy of politicians ever keen “to do something” and blind to reality and a proper appreciation of the past. Miss Featherstone says the Government has a right to change the definition of marriage and pledges to challenge those who “want to leave tradition alone”, which amounts to one of the silliest things any politician could say because, “It is not in your gift either Madam, the definition belongs to our culture, not Parliament !”

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I knew that it had to happen, it was a racing certainty once they stopped distributing the local free weekly newspaper because it became uneconomic to keep publishing it. Inevitably the day would dawn when for the first time in almost 5 years, I would have to go out and buy a newspaper and on the basis of my ‘needs’, it was obvious that only The Sunday Times would do.

As is most often the case in these things, there were several factors at work which combined to force my hand. Of course losing the ‘freebie newspaper’ was crucial but, it was most certainly exasperated by the amount of print making and framing that I had been doing of late, without the latter, I could have put off the evil day for some months I suspect.

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There was a most extraordinary article in the Press the other day which was headlined as follows:

“Killing babies no different from abortion, experts say. Parents should be allowed to have their newborn babies killed because they are “morally irrelevant” and ending their lives is no different to abortion, a group of medical ethicists linked to Oxford University has argued.”

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/9113394/Killing-babies-no-different-from-abortion-experts-say.html

The article, entitled “After-birth abortion: Why should the baby live?”, was written by two Professors who have apparently since decamped to live in Australia, Alberto Giubilini and Francesca Minerva.

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Although I find the “reader’s comments” on the Telegraph these days, increasingly shrill and stupid, apart from the sheer ‘fun’ of BoJo’s Monday column, Benedict Brogan is also a wonderful “fresh breath” in the dens of the “Right Wing Nutters of the Telegraph”.

He wrote an interesting piece the other day in which he asked, “Where will the voters come from in order to get Cameron re-elected as PM ?” It is an excellent piece which you can read here: http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/benedictbrogan/100140226/where-are-the-voters-who-will-turn-david-cameron-into-a-winner-in-2015/ But more than that, he raised a series of interesting questions too…

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Given all the current “noise” over the Governments NHS ‘Reforms’, one cannot but have a sneaking feeling that the very loud opposition from the medical people who work inside the NHS and have been given ample opportunities to present their case through the various consultation periods, has all the signs of people resisting change at any price and smacks of “their self interests” rather than anything else.

The real issue though, extends beyond the NHS and reaches into every major spending department that any government has. The critical element or the question to be answered is: “How can any government get sound and unbiased technical advice, what kind of ‘system’ could throw that advice up in a way that the public can accept as being sound and unbiased ?” In reality, the NHS Bill shines a light on this issue so, it is worth looking at…

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For one of the funniest exercises in “something that people can’t be bothered with” was an Editorial in the Independent the other day on gay marriages along the lines of “…repealing an injustice…” Frankly only some dullard from the ‘Indy’ could write such tripe, check it out for yourself: http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/leading-articles/leading-article-gay-marriage-will-lift-the-last-barrier-to-equality-7237440.html

What was laughable about it all was the complete lack of response from the readership on the subject. Whilst the ‘Indy’ never gets the volume of responses that the Telegraph does, at least on the various ‘religious topics’ that have been going the rounds recently, even the Indy managed 500 responses, on this, less than 40 so, not a burning issue then ?

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A journalist I like John Rentoul writes a regular piece for The Independent on Sunday and normally he is of a high standard but this week, whilst the execution was poor, some of the ideas and themes behind it were quite good and thought provoking. Read it for yourself here: http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/john-rentoul/john-rentoul-the-jelly-pm-may-wobble-yet-7174366.html

The essence of what John Rentoul was writing about is trying to “define” David Cameron in terms of what he stands for and in this, describes him as a jelly that is yet to set which would go down quite well with the average ‘Lefty reader’ of the Independent but I suspect, rather misses the whole point concerning the current political scene where political dogma is not welcome. In this sense and like all good politicians, David Cameron is a man of his times.

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Whether Scotland chooses to stay in the Union or leave has fairly rapidly become one of those issues that to the average inhabitant of the UK, likely seems both self indulgent and parochial to the deluded wishes of the politicians of Scotland. Even if I were Scottish and given the current economic circumstances, would this seem the most pressing issue to be dealt with right now ? I rather suspect not.

From the perspective of the rest of the UK, Scotland holding a referendum on the issue tomorrow would be a good idea but, from the perspective of the SNP, they want to string it out as long as possible to ensure the best possible outcome for the SNP. I must say that if I were a Scot that believed in independent Scotland, I would want the vote right now not, later because I would see it as a national rather than a party political issue. Either we are ready to go or, we are not and if not, why not ?

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