...and were out and about in Canterbury. Weird creatures arriving from all corners of the galaxy for some utterly unfathomable exercise in introspection. Since nobody agreed with anyone else and there was no prospect of them ever doing so they ended up just forming small groups round the Archbishop for their souvenir snapshots before they all headed off back into outer space.
Dr Rowan Williams expression was in turns confused and anxious, until he finally settled for solemnity, rounding on those left behind and blaming them because the party hadn't been quite the resounding success he had intended.
Still, at least we now know why he's so attracted to the certainties offered by Sharia Law.
Tuesday, 5 August 2008
Normal service resumes
I've not posted here for some time. Given my ironic interest in the Bishopric, I'd like to be able to say that it was because I was so gripped by the excitement of the Lambeth Conference, but in reality it was more mundane, I simply had other things that required my attention for a while. Anyway I'm back now, and in full working order again.
Saturday, 28 June 2008
Ignoring a red light.
Another interesting story from the Daily Telegraph.
It's difficult to see what possible rationale there can possibly be behind the Cycle Touring Club's claim that the Highway Code forces cyclists to break the law. Cyclists these days seem to regard the highway code (let alone the law) as an entirely optional extra without any official sanction anyway.
The only justification there could possibly be for legalising the crossing of red lights on pedestrian crossings by cyclists (I was knocked down in such circumstances last year) is that the law is so little observed as to be meaningless, and anyway it would free up the police to devote more time to catching real criminals. No doubt Jacqui will share her thoughts, along with whoever the Minister of Transport happens to be at the moment, before too long.
It's difficult to see what possible rationale there can possibly be behind the Cycle Touring Club's claim that the Highway Code forces cyclists to break the law. Cyclists these days seem to regard the highway code (let alone the law) as an entirely optional extra without any official sanction anyway.
The only justification there could possibly be for legalising the crossing of red lights on pedestrian crossings by cyclists (I was knocked down in such circumstances last year) is that the law is so little observed as to be meaningless, and anyway it would free up the police to devote more time to catching real criminals. No doubt Jacqui will share her thoughts, along with whoever the Minister of Transport happens to be at the moment, before too long.
Rattled Tories feel the heat at last
The prospect of Harriet as the next Prime Minister has obviously got the Tories worried; they're having to resort to publishing stories like this in the Daily Telegraph.
Lets pay women more to do less.
And lets make employers give them the jobs. I'm not really sure who could have come up with such a vote-winning suggestion and persuaded the Cabinet to back it.
They'll obviously be a front runner in the upcoming Labour leadership election though.
They'll obviously be a front runner in the upcoming Labour leadership election though.
Friday, 27 June 2008
Putting right the injustices of the past.
Over on Fora I have (unusually) been having a difference of opinion with the Political Umpire over the rights and wrongs of pardoning the soldiers who were executed for cowardice during the Great War (I think the decision was right, he begs to differ). I will post on this here in due course, offering my views at greater length.
There is another injustice that demands correction though, and I suspect that the Umpire will agree with me on this one. Probably the most shameful act of Harold Wilson's premiership was his forced evacuation of the Chagos Islands in order to allow the US to take out a fifty year lease on Diego Garcia for a military base. The Islanders have been conducting a campaign through the courts against the UK Government for some years now, seeking the return of their home. At every stage the courts have upheld their right to return, and every time the Government has done its very best to thwart that right.
Next week the Government is appealing the decision to the Law Lords, and it is to be hoped that their appeal will be rejected and that they finally accept defeat. Even then there will still be the matter of the US lease on Diego Garcia. When the US took out that lease, I very much doubt that they ever intended to hand the island back. So lets hope that we have a Foreign Secretary who's prepared to tell them that their tenancy (due to finish within the next ten years) is not up for renewal, and that they should make sure that the place is clean and tidy before they leave.
There is another injustice that demands correction though, and I suspect that the Umpire will agree with me on this one. Probably the most shameful act of Harold Wilson's premiership was his forced evacuation of the Chagos Islands in order to allow the US to take out a fifty year lease on Diego Garcia for a military base. The Islanders have been conducting a campaign through the courts against the UK Government for some years now, seeking the return of their home. At every stage the courts have upheld their right to return, and every time the Government has done its very best to thwart that right.
Next week the Government is appealing the decision to the Law Lords, and it is to be hoped that their appeal will be rejected and that they finally accept defeat. Even then there will still be the matter of the US lease on Diego Garcia. When the US took out that lease, I very much doubt that they ever intended to hand the island back. So lets hope that we have a Foreign Secretary who's prepared to tell them that their tenancy (due to finish within the next ten years) is not up for renewal, and that they should make sure that the place is clean and tidy before they leave.
It's just not cricket
One day cricket scarcely qualifies for the name, but even that doesn't excuse Paul Collingwood's decision to confirm the appeal for 'run out'. It should not even have required time for thought, and his subsequent apology (welcome as that is) doesn't alter the perception that sportsmanship has long since been replaced by gamesmanship.
The big cricket story though rests with our Government, and the question of what to do about the Zimbabwe team. We know that the home series has already been cancelled by the ECB in response to a government request but there is still the thorny issue of the 20/20 World Cup, due to be held here later next year. That is organised by the ICC and since Zimbabwe are currently a member of the ICC they are entitled to attend - pretty much on the same basis as Robert Mugabe attending that UN conference in Italy a few weeks ago.
Those who follow cricket know that the ICC will shortly be holding a meeting where there is a good chance that Zimbabwe's membership will be suspended, thus solving the problem. But why wait? It would be far more satisfactory if the Government showed a bit of leadership rather than continuing to evade responsibility in the hope that others will get it out of a hole. Ahead of the ICC meeting they should state plainly that they are not prepared to admit sporting teams from Zimbabwe, and that their position is not negotiable. If that means that the ICC relocate or cancel the 20/20 World Cup, so be it.
It is quite conceivable that the next Government will face the same dilemma in 2012; how much better if our position is clear now.
The big cricket story though rests with our Government, and the question of what to do about the Zimbabwe team. We know that the home series has already been cancelled by the ECB in response to a government request but there is still the thorny issue of the 20/20 World Cup, due to be held here later next year. That is organised by the ICC and since Zimbabwe are currently a member of the ICC they are entitled to attend - pretty much on the same basis as Robert Mugabe attending that UN conference in Italy a few weeks ago.
Those who follow cricket know that the ICC will shortly be holding a meeting where there is a good chance that Zimbabwe's membership will be suspended, thus solving the problem. But why wait? It would be far more satisfactory if the Government showed a bit of leadership rather than continuing to evade responsibility in the hope that others will get it out of a hole. Ahead of the ICC meeting they should state plainly that they are not prepared to admit sporting teams from Zimbabwe, and that their position is not negotiable. If that means that the ICC relocate or cancel the 20/20 World Cup, so be it.
It is quite conceivable that the next Government will face the same dilemma in 2012; how much better if our position is clear now.
Tuesday, 17 June 2008
The dangers the police face
I had an email complaining about my last post, suggesting I was trying to score cheap political points from a policeman's death. The writer didn't understand what it was in Ms Smith's remarks I took exception to, so perhaps I'd better comment further.
The police face many dangers on our behalf and I readily acknowledge that. But it is not a danger that they face every day, nor should they ever have to face, that they are unwittingly killed by a colleague in a training exercise with a weapon that has been adjudged safe for use by the Home Office. Maybe Ms Smith is now approving weapons whose safety level is marginal as part of her campaign of increased toughness in going after those she considers villains, but more likely she's just too stupid to realise that the blame for this tragedy lies squarely at her own door.
There were two victims in this incident, and one has to feel for the officer who fired the shot. Police officers are entitled to rely implicitly on the Home Office in its judgement on issues of safety in such matters. On this occasion that trust was shown to have been seriously abused not by a criminal but by lax complacency in a Government Department overseen by Ms Smith. Since our Home Secretary is a lady who has made clear for some time that she doesn't even consider the police worthy of a reasonable pay rise, her sanctimonious remarks seem all the more contemptible.
The police face many dangers on our behalf and I readily acknowledge that. But it is not a danger that they face every day, nor should they ever have to face, that they are unwittingly killed by a colleague in a training exercise with a weapon that has been adjudged safe for use by the Home Office. Maybe Ms Smith is now approving weapons whose safety level is marginal as part of her campaign of increased toughness in going after those she considers villains, but more likely she's just too stupid to realise that the blame for this tragedy lies squarely at her own door.
There were two victims in this incident, and one has to feel for the officer who fired the shot. Police officers are entitled to rely implicitly on the Home Office in its judgement on issues of safety in such matters. On this occasion that trust was shown to have been seriously abused not by a criminal but by lax complacency in a Government Department overseen by Ms Smith. Since our Home Secretary is a lady who has made clear for some time that she doesn't even consider the police worthy of a reasonable pay rise, her sanctimonious remarks seem all the more contemptible.
Tuesday, 10 June 2008
Jacqui Smith again.
I wouldn't have posted on this sad accident were it not for the nonsensical comment from our Home Secretary. In making it she insults not only our intelligence but also the memory of those police officers who have given their lives facing danger on our behalf.
Of course none of this takes away from the unnecessary death of Ian Terry or the grief of his family. I doubt that grief has in any way been assuaged by Ms. Smith's trite comment.
Of course none of this takes away from the unnecessary death of Ian Terry or the grief of his family. I doubt that grief has in any way been assuaged by Ms. Smith's trite comment.
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