Category: Politics

Home rule for everyone

I pop up to North Britain now and then, cybernautically speaking, to see what The Scotsman has to say. And today I see that some denizens of the Northern Isles would prefer to go it alone, perhaps as a Crown Dependency à la Isle of Man, rather than remain part of an independent Scotland. That would scupper the new Scotland’s financial plans which are based on oil galore, much of which is in the ‘territorial waters’ of the Northern Isles.

Which set me wondering whether this modern fad for home rule shouldn’t be allowed to benefit any community with enough wonga ‘of its own’. Knotty Ash, awash with treacle. Cornwall, replete with pasties. You get the idea. What about Knightsbridge and its resident billionaires? There could be hundreds of little Liechtensteins all over the country, independent in all but reality. Slackey Bottom would ally itself to Monaco and have the best casino ever.

Just a thought.

Easter poetry competition

Yes, it’s a special Easter this year, with a new man at the Italian Head Office n’ all. Such stuff that poets’ dreams are made on indeed!

But let’s not confine our flights of fancy to an Argentinian supernaturalist or those nibbled chocolate animals – however much we feel for them.

Continue reading “Easter poetry competition”

The church – as she is known

The Beeb continues to amuse us with the outpourings of a holy ‘professor of ethics’: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-21658218

Pinch yourself, to ensure you are not dreaming this drivel – which culminates with a cracker: “accountable to a board of directors: God Himself…the Blessed Trinity”. As with most analogies, the Rev’s attempt to explain the RC biz as a huge corporation runs out of rational, if not supernatural road.

Continue reading “The church – as she is known”

Ethnic minorities and community tensions?

Hackney Planning Watch, which opposes the Stamford Hill Neighbourhood Forum, has posted a flyer warning “Act now! Your neighbourhood is in danger!”

In a London borough there are tensions between the indigenous residents and a group whose religious and cultural values clash. The birthrate for this group is high. It is estimated the average family has eight children and these children are predominantly educated at faith schools. They need more accommodation and more schools, as the population is estimated to double over the next twenty years. The men, many are bearded, often wear very distinctive, traditional clothing and their women dress modestly and cover their hair in public.

Does this all sound familiar?

Full article is here

Blinding flash

Sometimes (or is it often?) I despair at the ‘insights’ offfered us by journalists. Or am I missing something vital here? http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-21633960 – all about wars being unwinnable.

Ever since the Trojan Horse episode, clever tacticians have managed to thwart the efforts of mere generals by the use of informal methods of warfare. And of course that really gets up the generals’ disrespected noses. They of course always liked it to be predictable – in serried ranks with breaks for tea and unseasonal showers. A favourite tactic was to settle the whole thing with the help of Sir Knight and his trusty lance, while the cannon fodder waited in the wings with their Woodbines, cakes and ale (anachronistically speaking). In more modern times they have been particularly offended by human shields and enemies who refuse to wear uniforms and keep hiding in caves; downright un-British, what? Continue reading “Blinding flash”

Stand up

Five Star Movement leader and comedian Beppe Grillo (R) speaks during a rally in Rome February 22, 2013.

Maybe I shouldn’t tell you, but I’m an ordinary person from an ordinary background; the sort of chap (allegedly) Cameron should be appealing to, if he is to hold on to the high immoral ground he inherited from the Blair/Brown tendency. In that case, then, let me say that he should take a leaf out of Beppe Grillo’s book and talk turkey, so to speak. The Italian has the advantage is that he is a comedian by profession rather than by accident, unlike Cameron, and can speak from the heart without risking his reputation. He says Italy’s disastrous economic plight may have to be solved by leaving the Euro and starting again with the Lira. Such honesty is unheard of in the gilded committee rooms of Brussels. Greece should have admitted it years ago. So Cameron should simply tell it like it is. Tell Beppe he’s right. Tell Hollande he’s pathetic. Tell the Scottish nationalists to go ahead and leave and see where it gets them. Tell Rebekka he fancies her rotten. Tell Cleggover to get a life or a party or both. And ask Boris to take over the Tories. Sorted.

Politicisation of Crime

There is an article in today’s Business Day informing us that South Africa’s National Prosecuting Authority plans to investigate historical allegations of mass rape by members of ZANU-PF during the build up tp Zimbabwe’s 2008 elections. Although Zimbabwe has not done so, South Africa has ratified the Rome Statute that created the International Criminal Court. As such, the NPA has been ordered by a high court here in SA to investigate what amounts to ‘crimes against humanity’. Continue reading “Politicisation of Crime”

I am no lawyer but….

I have just been sent a copy of Zimbabwe’s new constitution which is due to go before a referendum sometime next month. I have not read more than a small part of it, but one element caught my eye, that which relates to ‘War Veterans’ and the ‘Liberation Struggle’. It seems that anybody who fought in the Liberation Struggle must be honoured and protected and receive some sort of pension. (The fact that it was the awarding of vast ad-hoc pensions in 1999 which precipitated the collapse of the local currency and brought about the country’s economic ruin, seems to have been overlooked.) What my quick perusal has not uncovered, though it may be there, is that there does not seem to be any distinction with regards to the opposing factions of the war. I fought in the Liberation Struggle, albeit on the losing side, and am therefore a War Veteran. Is there any reason why I should not be awarded the same benefits that those against whom I fought? Would a constitutional lawyer be able to make a case?

It does seem to me to be very ill-thought out document. I note that women must be afforded equal rights and that all government commissions etc. must comprise at least 50% women. Thus technically, there can be more women than men on a commission, though not the other way round. Not exactly equal. Of course, I don’t suppose any of that really matters. The purpose of this, as with so many African constitutions, is to determine the powers of the President and the number of terms he can serve and the protection from prosecution he can expect.

Here is a site from which the Constitution can be downloaded.

http://www.copac.org.zw/index.php?option=com_phocadownload&view=category&id=10&Itemid=157