There are some repeat comedy programmes on television and my favourite is Fawlty Towers. I am also enjoying The Royle Family and in tonight's episode Denise was talking about Baby David. "He only tipped a full ashtray over himself". This isn't too funny but it is the attitude of the whole family that progresses the humour. Dave added that they took a photo and "it was a belter".
This made me think about the court case last week in which a man was sentenced to 18 months for allowing his child to smoke. I am not a smoking fan and his actions sound reckless rather than funny. He was caught because the child had been filmed smoking on a mobile phone. I don't know the details of this case but it made me consider the numbers of similar incidents that have not resulted in a prison sentence either because it wasn't filmed or because the film wasn't handed to the police.
The added complication is that the Royle family have made jokes about children and tobacco and because of that I am guessing that some people think imprisonment is a bit harsh. I am also guessing that in the past the sentence would not have involved prison. In the future I wonder if a photo of a child with an unlit cigarette could result in imprisonment.
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Thursday, 22 October 2009
Wednesday, 21 October 2009
Watch for the rebellion
David Cameron has changed his mind about all-women selection lists for parliamentary candidates. Now he thinks that they are a good thing and will impose them on some constituencies. There is nothing wrong with changing your mind. It may be seen as a sign of strength but it certainly needs a good explanation to convince anyone that it was bad then but is good now.
Positive discrimination is carried out all the time. Politics is about the redistribution of wealth because if the market is left to itself then the rich will get richer and the poor will get poorer. The welfare state is all about positive discrimination. So what is wrong with positive discrimination for selecting parliamentary candidates? Firstly this move says that women don't win because life is biased towards men. I think gender is not a factor in making good politicians and so needs no discrimination. If women don't choose to put themselves forward then they will not get selected but the best person should be selected regardless of gender. Secondly it is an imposition from central office. A liberal alternative is to devolve decision-making as per the Eric Pickles blog on Monday.
At the last general election it was heartening to see the result from Blaenau Gwent. Tell locals what they can and cannot do and rebellion occurs.
Change the world
Positive discrimination is carried out all the time. Politics is about the redistribution of wealth because if the market is left to itself then the rich will get richer and the poor will get poorer. The welfare state is all about positive discrimination. So what is wrong with positive discrimination for selecting parliamentary candidates? Firstly this move says that women don't win because life is biased towards men. I think gender is not a factor in making good politicians and so needs no discrimination. If women don't choose to put themselves forward then they will not get selected but the best person should be selected regardless of gender. Secondly it is an imposition from central office. A liberal alternative is to devolve decision-making as per the Eric Pickles blog on Monday.
At the last general election it was heartening to see the result from Blaenau Gwent. Tell locals what they can and cannot do and rebellion occurs.
Change the world
Tuesday, 20 October 2009
Football can learn from rugby
What does it take to bring respect back to football referees? Commonly football crowds will chant abuse at referees. Commentators will take a close look at replays from several camera angles and then say the referee was definitely wrong. Managers often feel justified in saying that the referee's decisions were awful, and now Alex Ferguson is in the news for criticising Alan Wiley's fitness.
What Alex really means is that he doesn't like decisions going against his team. You just don't hear about managers complaining when they have won. If you only hear complaints from the losers then you have to feel that these complaints are biased and then you have to question everything that is said by managers. Managers, supporters and footballers alike are obviously biased. Commentators appear unbiased but their search for the truth makes them forget that referees are fallible. I find it hard to distinguish the detailed explanation of errors from the referees from the abusive chants from the supporters or the high profile complaints of managers.
What it means is that we get Sunday footballers and even children who don't think twice about abusing referees. The answer is simple. Praise the good decisions and don't allow adverse criticism. The referee is always right in rugby and nobody complains.
What Alex really means is that he doesn't like decisions going against his team. You just don't hear about managers complaining when they have won. If you only hear complaints from the losers then you have to feel that these complaints are biased and then you have to question everything that is said by managers. Managers, supporters and footballers alike are obviously biased. Commentators appear unbiased but their search for the truth makes them forget that referees are fallible. I find it hard to distinguish the detailed explanation of errors from the referees from the abusive chants from the supporters or the high profile complaints of managers.
What it means is that we get Sunday footballers and even children who don't think twice about abusing referees. The answer is simple. Praise the good decisions and don't allow adverse criticism. The referee is always right in rugby and nobody complains.
Monday, 19 October 2009
Eric Pickles lets down the liberal vote
The people of Macclesfield now have a Tory candidate for the next election. The problem for the Conservatives is that according to the BBC’s Politics Show, their system did not allow for a local candidate and the blame lies firmly with Conservative Central Office. They interviewed Andy Lea, the ex-treasurer of the local party who had been involved in the selection process. According to Andy Eric Pickles told him that a local candidate would not be allowed because it would "disadvantage the other candidates"! Central Office claims that the Macclesfield members organised their own short-list. I know who I believe.
You may remember that Eric Pickles recently appealed to Liberal Democrats to vote Conservative by saying "give us your votes and we will never let you down". At the Macclesfield selection process according to Andy, he barred the local candidate with the words "I have the power to make this decision. My decision is final". Well Eric you just let the Liberal vote down. Your local members could not even be trusted to organise a short-list of candidates.
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You may remember that Eric Pickles recently appealed to Liberal Democrats to vote Conservative by saying "give us your votes and we will never let you down". At the Macclesfield selection process according to Andy, he barred the local candidate with the words "I have the power to make this decision. My decision is final". Well Eric you just let the Liberal vote down. Your local members could not even be trusted to organise a short-list of candidates.
Change the world
Sunday, 18 October 2009
How are decisions made at county council?
I tried to comment on speed limits a couple of days ago and was sidetracked by the BNP so I'll try again. I decided a few years ago that a 40mph on Broadway in Morecambe was too high. This followed a survey of all the houses. Some people thought the 40mph limit was alright. Others told me it was too high. Some people told me that they regularly saw people breaking the speed limit and others told me that they never saw anything.
The crunch comment was when a policeman told me that he stopped a vehicle for speeding near Broadway and the driver's excuse was that he thought it was 40mph like Broadway. Not only have drivers lost their sense of breaking the law at 40mph but they use Broadway as an excuse on other roads.
So the police have agreed to lower the speed limit. The county council should be dealing with it but it has taken years to get anything done. I think the council agrees with the lowering of the limit. The council changed in June so maybe the decision will be reversed. It makes you wonder how any decsions are made at the county council.
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The crunch comment was when a policeman told me that he stopped a vehicle for speeding near Broadway and the driver's excuse was that he thought it was 40mph like Broadway. Not only have drivers lost their sense of breaking the law at 40mph but they use Broadway as an excuse on other roads.
So the police have agreed to lower the speed limit. The county council should be dealing with it but it has taken years to get anything done. I think the council agrees with the lowering of the limit. The council changed in June so maybe the decision will be reversed. It makes you wonder how any decsions are made at the county council.
Change the world
Saturday, 17 October 2009
Will the unions reciprocate?
Whilst commenting on the possibility of a strike from postal workers, Peter Mandelson described it as almost like a death wish by the unions. As far as I can see it is about communication (no pun intended) between Royal Mail management and the unions. I am not sure why Peter puts the blame fairly and squarely with the unions.
The unions are resisting change. That is what unions do, and they also fight for the best terms and conditions for their members. They don't want jobs lost and an attack on their integrity from Mr Mandelson will not go down well.
I thought that the Labour Party was the party of the unions. Does this union support the Labour Party? Will it do so again? Is there any difference between the Conservatives and New Labour? It will be interesting to see the reaction to his comments. We have seen the Labour Party reposition itself in relation to the unions. Now I wonder if the unions will reciprocate.
Change the world
The unions are resisting change. That is what unions do, and they also fight for the best terms and conditions for their members. They don't want jobs lost and an attack on their integrity from Mr Mandelson will not go down well.
I thought that the Labour Party was the party of the unions. Does this union support the Labour Party? Will it do so again? Is there any difference between the Conservatives and New Labour? It will be interesting to see the reaction to his comments. We have seen the Labour Party reposition itself in relation to the unions. Now I wonder if the unions will reciprocate.
Change the world
Friday, 16 October 2009
It sounds racist to me
I was going to write about my road in Morecambe and cars breaking the speed limit, but I have just seen the 6pm news (15th October) on the BBC. The BNP has been told to open its doors to non-whites and Chris Roberts, a spokesperson for the party was interviewed. He said "the fundamental beliefs of our party and our core beliefs will never change", to which the reporter asked "will it remain a racist party?" There was then a very strange reply. "If you can explain to me what racist means then I'll tell you if we are".
I don't think it is difficult to define racism. How about discrimination based on race? How about believing that one race is superior to another? How about abusive or aggressive behaviour towards members of another race? If you asked me to leave the country but did not ask my neighbour because of the colour of my skin then I would call that aggressive behaviour based on race. Why are the BNP shy of calling themselves racists?
If racism had been defined, the BNP spokesmen usually go on the offensive and list other organisations that may face this criticism. Please don't post any replies to say that other groups are racist. Let's stick to the BNP and save other groups for other posts. At the moment it is Nick Griffin who will have to recommend to his members that they support a new consitution that isn't racist. I agree with Chris Roberts but only in the sense that the constitution may change but racist beliefs will remain within his party.
The BNP's contitution has a section on membership that states that the party is only open to people from certain white ethnic groups with examples like the "Celtic Irish Folk Community" or the "Anglo-Saxon-Norse Community". It sounds racist to me.
Change the world
I don't think it is difficult to define racism. How about discrimination based on race? How about believing that one race is superior to another? How about abusive or aggressive behaviour towards members of another race? If you asked me to leave the country but did not ask my neighbour because of the colour of my skin then I would call that aggressive behaviour based on race. Why are the BNP shy of calling themselves racists?
If racism had been defined, the BNP spokesmen usually go on the offensive and list other organisations that may face this criticism. Please don't post any replies to say that other groups are racist. Let's stick to the BNP and save other groups for other posts. At the moment it is Nick Griffin who will have to recommend to his members that they support a new consitution that isn't racist. I agree with Chris Roberts but only in the sense that the constitution may change but racist beliefs will remain within his party.
The BNP's contitution has a section on membership that states that the party is only open to people from certain white ethnic groups with examples like the "Celtic Irish Folk Community" or the "Anglo-Saxon-Norse Community". It sounds racist to me.
Change the world
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