You are currently browsing the category archive for the 'government' category.
I posted this in my.telegraph blog.
I have just been viewing a report on BBC 24 about the forthcoming review of the civic response to the recents floods in Yorkshire. In it the reporter repeated that the floods were unpredictable and extraordinary. The changing patterns of weather in this country make this trite remark sound very complacent. He also mentioned the flood defences or lack of them.
We would not need flood defences if we stopped building on flood plains, stopped paving and tarmacing every available surface, planted more trees and stopped clearing mature trees and finally where there are existing towns at risk they were protected by adequate flood drains under roads and pavements. Forty years ago when I lived in Johannesburg, SA, there were regular storms when an inch or more of rain fell in a an hour or so. The huge drains allowed the water to run off roadways almost as fast as it fell and there was never any risk of flooding to properties of any sort. We have to accept that the recent heavy rain is likely to be repeated on more or less regularly in the future and that building defensive wall to prevent floods will be a waste of time and money.
There were two more hopeful news items recently. Gordon Brown inserted the word economic before the Israeli/ Palestinian roadmap. That does make sense. Until the Palestinians are given a chance economically there will never be peace. But we will have to wait and see.
Then I heard that the BBC will be looking to create better balance in all its output. Let’s hope that this means a balanced view of world news, not the present total preoccupation with what really amount to neighbourhood gossip. It would appear that first thing in the morning the newsroom chooses 3 or 4 pieces of tittle tattle and they become the news stories of the day on every BBC news channel. You have in the UK to wait for the World Service at 1.00 am to hear what has happened in the rest of the world.
Alex Salmond is going round propogating the myth that it is the will of the people that he should form the government and that he has a mandate to hold a referendum on independence. That is exactly what he does not have as far more people voted against him than for.
He should be challenged on this at every opportunity because if he says it often enough it may become a received fact.
The whole point about PR is that the government should be a compromise and a consensus.
This government with its awful handling of the 15 sailors held briefly by the Iranians and now released has actually dragged the United Kingdom into utter disrepute. I can only assume that ministers were once again incapable of revealing simple truths. It presumably never occurred to anyone to just let the sailors tell their stories openly to all the press. No, every single piece of information has to be twisted and spun to cover up the truth or create some false impression.
How low can the Royal Navy sink? In Nelson’s day the despatches of commanding officers were published so there was no chance of a cover-up. Nowadays that would seem to simple. And as a result the Navy becomes the laughing stock of world opinion.
The ship is now flying a flag….Wow did somebody important read my previous post?
Madeira suits us a holiday destination, a timeshare in the Royal Savoy Vacation Club, right at the sea, yet close by the amenities of Funchal itself. The weather at this time of year is balmy rather than hot, and so far there has been no rain. There is enough activity to be interesting without the crowds of young boisterous youngsters to make us oldies irritated.
An excursion on a large catamaran during which we saw pilot whales and dolphins was a memorable morning. The food has been good and the scenery is magnificent.
Anchored out in the bay is a sinister ship, an American military support vessel, its deck cargo shrouded in white canvas. There is little sign of life on board and there appears to be no traffic with the shore, although at night it is brightly lit. The locals say that similar ships are fairly regular visitors which often stay several weeks. Presumably there is some strategic significance in its presence here off out-of-the-way Madeira. What makes it sinister in my eyes is that it flies no flag. The smallest pleasure craft flies its national flag and navies have always gone into battle with ensigns aloft. In fact the lack of an ensign is regarded as a dubious ruse de guerre. But here we have an US Navy auxiliary ship reduced to skulking in friendly waters. Failure to reveal its true colours is not I think a matter of economic necessity for a cash-strapped Defense Department but rather some tactic in the War on Terror. Surely a great nation should not have to adopt the tactics of stealth and subterfuge practised by its enemies?
war on terror
I have now got to the point where I cannot bear to watch the TV news. In a sense the nightly reporting from the frontline is an intrusion and a trivialisation of the suffering.
Man’s inhumanity to man.
I have been trying to think of any major program or initiative which this government has proposed which has come to a successful conclusion and so far I have failed.
Education, the NHS, Law and Order, police reform, welfare and benefits. None of these have really shown the improvements we were told would happen. And on top of that, we are involved in the disasters of Iraq and possibly Afghanistan with now an unpopular stance vis-a-vis Israel. The Daily Telegraph yougov poll must make dismal reading for our government, that is if Tony reads the papers on holiday, and the Israelis.
And many things are unravelling. The target of 50% of school leavers going to university has not been reached as young people have realised that many degrees are not worth the paper they are printed on. Far from guaranteeing better jobs, they are only guaranteed a large debt. For all the money poured in, education standards have improved only slightly.
The NHS was at one time underfunded by comparison with other countries, but with massive extra money it still does not compare for service with some European neighbours. By fudging the true cost of capital spending in PPP deals and the like, Gordon Brown has actually diverted those extra funds into paying the private partners’ dividends.
And recently it would seem that all sorts of government plans are being rolled back.
