European Backlash

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There is no doubt that the smug, complacent grandees of the European Union took a big hit earlier this week when the electorate in virtually all member states voted against their policies.

In Britain, the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) won more seats than any other political party, leaving the big two parties shell-shocked and the pro-Europe Liberal Democrats on the verge of extinction.

Democracy doesn’t always work but the message sent out loud and clear by the people of Europe to the European Union is this; we don’t like your policies, we have had enough of being patronised and are tired of being told what is good for us by clueless and corrupt politicians. We are sick of policies based on idealism rather than common sense and if you don’t listen to us and give us what we want we will vote for those who will.

The unfortunate downside to all of this however is that people, almost in desperation, are turning towards extremist political parties, such as the far right in France, and that has to be a cause for concern. For example, control of mass immigration is acceptable and logical but racism and violence are not.

The pendulum needs to swing away from the idealistic and out of touch liberals who run the European Union but it must not swing too far the other way. Europe requires positive action, not reaction. There is a difference, as students of pre-war German history know only too well.

Happy?

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Over the last few months or so a craze has been sweeping social media sites where people, irrespective of age, nationality or sex, have posted footage of themselves joyfully singing and dancing along to the smash hit “Happy” by the American singer Pharrell Williams.

This song, as its name implies, is a celebration of the good things in life. It does exactly what it says on the packet and as well as being a catchy, cheerful little ditty it is one of the best-selling songs of the last year or so..

The video footage accompanying the release of the song inspired what can only be called a phenomenon as people the world over compete to show their happiness and exuberance whilst cavorting along to the song in a huge variety of locations.

The whole thing is no more than an innocent display of harmless fun, except in the view of the easy going and tolerant Iranian government which last week arrested and locked up six of its citizens for daring to join in that fun and enjoy themselves.

As this blog has stated on more than one occasion, how lucky we are to live in the West. Islam fundamentalism, freedom and fun for all? I don’t think so.

Be Careful What You Say

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Two stories this week demonstrate the wisdom of being careful what you say or, more pertinently, being careful where you say it.

The first concerned some private emails sent by the chief of football’s Premier League, Richard Scudamore, in which he made some derogatory comments about women. I won’t repeat them here but they were the sort of comments you would associate with schoolboys or immature adult males. I think they are also referred to as “locker-room” comments and since this man is the head of top level football in this country I don’t suppose we could expect anything different.

However, what the idiot, sexist or not, failed to appreciate is that when you are in the public eye anything you say or write is fair game for the snoopers and private doesn’t exist anymore. In fairness to the man, I’m sure we’ve all said things in private that wouldn’t look too good if pronounced in public but then most of us aren’t in such a position of power or influence.

The second story concerned Prince Charles who got in trouble for comparing (in a private conversation) the recent actions of Russia’s Vladimir Putin to those of Adolf Hitler. Of course, many people will sympathise with this viewpoint since Putin’s action s in Crimea and Ukraine do bear a certain similarity to those of Hitler in Czechoslovakia and Austria in the 1930s.

The problem is that Prince Charles is the heir to the throne and as such is not supposed to involve himself in politics whether of the national or international variety. It is unfortunate that his, clearly private, utterances were overheard and reported but he, more than anybody, should surely be aware that virtually everything he says or does is fair game for the media.

All of this takes me back to when I was training to be a solicitor more than a few years ago! I was always told by my principal to be very careful how I made up my case notes and to be aware that any file was liable to be produced before the court should the judge see fit. As such the instructions were simple, do not write down anything that you would not like to be read out in a court of law. Sound advice for all in the public eye, I think.

Please Sir!

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Last week, it was claimed by a leading academic that the terms “Sir” and “Miss” are both depressing and sexist  and in addition addressing a female teacher as “Miss” gives her lower status than her male counterparts.

Really? I would have thought that both titles are a sign of respect for the teachers and are necessary to help create an attitude of discipline in the classroom enabling pupils to work hard, acquire knowledge and prepare for life in the adult world.

As for the term “Miss” being sexist, that’s absurd. It may well be a long time since I was at school but I certainly don’t remember having any less respect for my female teachers simply because they were addressed differently than male teachers. There may have been  more fear of male teachers because they could throw a piece of chalk harder and could cuff you round the back of the head more painfully but that was probably the only difference!

This is just more politically correct nonsense from the same sort of people who refer to a chairman as a “chair” because the word “chair” doesn’t offend or exclude women. I’ve often wondered, do these “chair” lovers still refer to people as human or merely hu? What a crazy world we live in!

A Step in the Right Direction

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The European Commission has submitted proposals to ban drift nets on vessels fishing in European Union waters. The aim is to protect the lives of dolphins, turtles and other marine creatures killed as a by product of this hugely indiscriminate method of fishing.

These drift nets, stretching for miles and known by conservationists as “walls of death” are responsible for the agonising deaths of thousands of animals which are of no commercial value to man but are of immeasurable importance to the ecosystems of our oceans.

This blog has been a consistent critic of the EU and much of what  it stands for but credit must be given where credit is due. These proposals are certainly a step in the right direction and should be applauded as such.

However, those who rule us must never be allowed to forget that further steps are still required (not least the whole scale reform of the fishing quota system) if we are to safeguard the future of our oceans and the animals within them.

Political Poseurs

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I don’t doubt for a minute that our Prime Minister and the US President are as concerned as any of us by the abduction of the Nigerian schoolgirls. However, the release of photographs of a sad looking Michelle Obama and, a couple of days later, a similar one of David Cameron holding placards stating “Bring back our girls” is somewhat cheesy to say the least.

What we want from our politicians is action not talk nor cheap posing for the cameras. These publicity shots were just that, all style (of a sort) and no substance.

What is it with our leaders?  I tried to imagine a Winston Churchill or a Franklin D. Roosevelt holding up placards and looking sad for the cameras and of course, I couldn’t.  They had rather more class and gravitas than that.

Cut the posing, take positive action and just get those girls back, whatever it takes. Leave the gimmicks to celebrity airheads and the social media.

 

Fighting Evil

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After three weeks the Western world has finally woken up and is now attempting to do something about the outrageous abduction of nearly three hundred, mostly adolescent, girls by the Islamic extremist group, Boko Haram. The name translates to “Western education is forbidden” and the prehistoric nutters behind it contend that the laws of Islam forbid the education of females – without exception. They have been conducting a campaign of terror in Nigeria for the last five years or so carrying out mass abductions and murdering thousands of innocent people in the process.

The corrupt and grossly incompetent government of Nigeria headed by President Goodluck Jonathan and his wife Patience (names like something out of a Monty Python film and hardly likely to inspire confidence) have done little or nothing to alleviate the problem. But there’s no surprise there.

One would have thought that the United Nations would have stepped in, particularly since many of its top officials come from backward third world countries sharing much in common with Nigeria, but of course nothing has been done. It therefore falls to the West yet again, namely America and her allies to do something about it and although the vacillating President Obama is now taking action it may well prove to be too little too late.

We in the so-called civilised world are sick of conflict having been duped into sending our young men and women to fight and die in conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan over alleged weapons of mass destruction and other spurious claims and our reluctance to become involved in further foreign adventures is understandable.

However, there are certain matters that cannot be ignored since they strike at the heart of all that humanity holds dear and sacred. The abduction and probable systematic rape of hundreds of schoolgirls, literally snatched from their classrooms, is one of those.

If the UK, alongside the USA, decides to send in troops to release those innocent young children from these savages I doubt that many of us would object. How could we?

Communication Breakdown

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Joseph Priestley, the 18th century historian, theologian and philosopher (among other things!), once said “The more elaborate our means of communication, the less we communicate”.

Nearly three hundred years on, we live in an age where at the press of a smartphone button we can communicate with virtually anybody anywhere in the world. We can send a text to the other side of the planet in seconds and via social media can, in an instant, post a video greeting to friends and family wherever they may be.

It could be argued that with all these means of communication we are actually communicating more rather than less but Priestley’s comment is deeper and more significant than that. We may well be able to communicate in an instant at the touch of an electronic button but this is an age where fewer and fewer people correspond face to face. People begin relationships online and often end them the same way. A job can be lost by email and marriage can be ended by text.

Is that communication? Well yes, of course it is but is that what we human beings, the most sociable and communicative animals on the planet, really want?

Priestley was right then and he’s right now. This is an age where more is less.

 

Break up?

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Last week the Council for Europe announced that Cornwall was being granted special “Minority Status” meaning that the region, for the last 1000 years a county of England, will now have a similar standing to Wales and Scotland.

Most people probably shrugged their shoulders and wondered briefly whether the change of status would really make that much of a difference, a response initially shared by me. Like many people, I like Cornwall and have a warm feeling towards the place with its ancient folklore, its beautiful scenery and delicious pasties! I have similar feelings about many other parts of England and have always felt that our regional differences are part of what makes us what we are.

I’m sure that people in Yorkshire, Kent and Cumbria, for example, feel that their counties are equally special and unique and they are. But should they strive for “Minority Status” and seek separate representation leaving the land as it was prior to King Alfred the Great and the creation of England in the 9th and 10th Centuries?

The more I thought about it the more I remembered something I read years ago by the author Vernon Coleman who warned that one of the primary aims of the European Union is to abolish the idea of nationhood and encourage, in its place, the creation of many smaller regions. These regions will offer less of a problem than nations and, because of their size, will become dependent upon the European government in Brussels. Coleman warned, nearly ten years ago, that ultimately Scotland and Wales would go their own way and that England would cease to exist and be broken into separate regions.

Of course, many people have dismissed Coleman as being a crank or a scaremonger and maybe he is. But when I think about Cornwall’s new status and the fact that later this year Scotland (as Coleman predicted) is going to vote on whether or not to remain a part of the United Kingdom I can’t help but feel a little uneasy.

A Christian Country?

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Last weekend, our Prime Minister was in trouble for daring to refer to the United Kingdom as a “Christian country”. A number of public figures were so upset that they signed a petition denouncing such an outrageous statement, no doubt concerned about offending the non-Christians living in the UK.

What is wrong with us, if we are not a “Christian country” then what are we? I appreciate that there are many non-believers in this country and plenty of citizens who have different religious beliefs. Good, it shows that we are a fair and tolerant society embracing many varied beliefs and cultures.

The fact remains however that this country was built on Christianity, the Queen is the head of the Church of England and both Parliament and the Judiciary were founded on Christian beliefs. I’m not in the least bit religious but I recognise how important Christianity has been to our development and culture.

Yes, it’s true that Christianity is in decline in the sense that fewer and fewer people attend church regularly but that doesn’t mean that we lack Christian principles. We struggle enough with our sense of identity and the fact that our society is still largely run on Christian values and morals is surely to our benefit.

How can anybody be offended by what David Cameron said? I’m afraid that the reaction to his comment is just another example of the trendy political correctness that is choking the life out of this country and it should be dismissed as such.