‘I have been excited and flattered by the extent of interest and enthusiasm’ said Michael Gove talking about his new free schools plan, where members of the public have the power to start their own schools. He went onto say that the number of free schools being set up at the start of the next academic year was ‘well in excess of my hopes’. 16 free schools are being set up over the next year. 16. Mr Gove, with respect, there’s been about as much ‘interest and enthusiasm’ as you’d get from a middle aged man from Newcastle seeing an advert for the release of High School Musical 4. Instead of spending the last 4 months twiddling his thumbs waiting for a morsel of interest in his ‘flagship’ free schools programme why didn’t Mr Gove actually do his job and improve the education of our children rather than push through this ridiculous idea of some bloke down the road opening up his own school. Moreover these schools will pop up in affluent areas, run by a couple of pushy parents with too much time on their hands and will result in money being drained from normal schools by this ideologically driven nonsense. But the worst bit is that no one really cares. Well 16 people do.
This whole free schools business is a lot like David Cameron’s ‘big society’ it’s a lovely little idea, people skipping around, opening up youth centres for gangs, hostels for the homeless and perhaps a library or two; all of course, out of the goodness of their hearts with not a dime for their troubles. Now of course, it would be wonderful if all this were to happen, but is this in anyway realistic? Popping down to do some free work at the local post office. I may sound cynical or lazy, but the fact is this, people don’t work for free, and only a small minority have the time or the willpower to spend hours sorting post for nothing other than self-satisfaction. I have huge respect for those who do, and the rest of us should learn from them, but I highly doubt the ‘big society’ will the phenomenon of the decade that Dave is hoping it will be. I think this is best summed up in the words of Tim Canterbury from ‘The Office’:
‘It's a title someone's given you to get you to do something they don't want to do for free - it's like making the div kid at school milk monitor’
Tuesday 7 September 2010
Saturday 4 September 2010
Miliband gets a boost with latest poll - but which one?
As the Labour Leadership election hots up it’s all getting rather confusing.
The Guardian led with ‘Return to politics of New Labour would put off voters – poll’. It also informed us that ‘Blairite stance would deter 72% of undecided voters’. It read ‘A survey for YouGov found that 72% of undecided voters said they would be less likely to vote Labour at the next election if the new leader adopts the New Labour philosophy advocated by the former prime minister this week as he was promoting his memoirs’. Well that’s done and dusted then, Ed’s the man and Dave’s done for surely? I mean after all, political polls proved to be remarkably successful in the last general election, with Cleggmania after the televised debates and a huge surge for the Lib-Dems in the polls resulting in them romping ahead resulting in them…. Losing 5 seats. But wait! Whilst browsing the web I’ve realised that the people who partook in that poll were wrong. Another guardian headline announced that ‘David Miliband is voters’ choice for Labour leader – says poll’. But Dave didn’t just edge this one, he powered home, as the article proclaimed that ‘It [the YouGov poll] found 47% of respondents who had a view believe the shadow foreign secretary is the most effective alternative to Cameron — a 28 point lead over his nearest rival, his brother Ed, who scored 19%. Ed Balls trailed on 13%, with Diane Abbott and Andy Burnham on 11% and 10% respectively.’ It struck me as odd that two sets of results, so polar opposites, could come out within days of each other.
Then it dawned on me. The first poll was commissioned by Ed, the second was commissioned by David. Now it begins to fit into place. Once you remove the spin and the headlines a very different story is told. In Ed’s poll, respondents were asked whether they would be more or less likely to vote Labour if the new leader were to pledge ‘not to move a millimetre from the New Labour approach followed by Tony Blair’. Unless you work in inches, you’ll know that a millimetre is a very small measurement, so even strong New Labour advocates may be open to the idea of the party shifting one millimetre along the political spectrum. Though it has some use, it’s not the most… informative of polls. A poll asked by an independent source whether respondents were in favour of the party moving to the left might be of more use, but then Ed may have not done as well so that simply will not do. It’s difficult to pick holes in David’s poll as respondents were simply asked who would make the best PM. However in his poll Diane Abbott came out as a better leader than Ed Miliband and the others among respondents…which is, ehem, odd.
The Guardian led with ‘Return to politics of New Labour would put off voters – poll’. It also informed us that ‘Blairite stance would deter 72% of undecided voters’. It read ‘A survey for YouGov found that 72% of undecided voters said they would be less likely to vote Labour at the next election if the new leader adopts the New Labour philosophy advocated by the former prime minister this week as he was promoting his memoirs’. Well that’s done and dusted then, Ed’s the man and Dave’s done for surely? I mean after all, political polls proved to be remarkably successful in the last general election, with Cleggmania after the televised debates and a huge surge for the Lib-Dems in the polls resulting in them romping ahead resulting in them…. Losing 5 seats. But wait! Whilst browsing the web I’ve realised that the people who partook in that poll were wrong. Another guardian headline announced that ‘David Miliband is voters’ choice for Labour leader – says poll’. But Dave didn’t just edge this one, he powered home, as the article proclaimed that ‘It [the YouGov poll] found 47% of respondents who had a view believe the shadow foreign secretary is the most effective alternative to Cameron — a 28 point lead over his nearest rival, his brother Ed, who scored 19%. Ed Balls trailed on 13%, with Diane Abbott and Andy Burnham on 11% and 10% respectively.’ It struck me as odd that two sets of results, so polar opposites, could come out within days of each other.
Then it dawned on me. The first poll was commissioned by Ed, the second was commissioned by David. Now it begins to fit into place. Once you remove the spin and the headlines a very different story is told. In Ed’s poll, respondents were asked whether they would be more or less likely to vote Labour if the new leader were to pledge ‘not to move a millimetre from the New Labour approach followed by Tony Blair’. Unless you work in inches, you’ll know that a millimetre is a very small measurement, so even strong New Labour advocates may be open to the idea of the party shifting one millimetre along the political spectrum. Though it has some use, it’s not the most… informative of polls. A poll asked by an independent source whether respondents were in favour of the party moving to the left might be of more use, but then Ed may have not done as well so that simply will not do. It’s difficult to pick holes in David’s poll as respondents were simply asked who would make the best PM. However in his poll Diane Abbott came out as a better leader than Ed Miliband and the others among respondents…which is, ehem, odd.
Wednesday 1 September 2010
A Bitter Aftertaste
Cricket, a gentleman’s game. A game where one can enjoy a summer’s afternoon playing a sport with fellow lovers of the sport with portly wives watching from the pavilion with tea in hand. The game where one can drink pints of lager in between innings and still get away with fielding in the slips. The game where one can enjoy light hearted (or very much heavy hearted as I found this year) tomfoolery with the opposition.
But very much not a game where one may bet obscene amounts of money on one of the great game’s most talented young fast bowlers overstepping the crucial white line.
Young Mohammed Amir, the youngest ever bowler in world cricketing history to reach fifty test wickets, at the tender age of 18. People already comparing him to Wasim Akram, the great left arm Pakistani swing bowler, and how much temperament he has for such a young man, I think about just how young he is, and realise that I’m only two and a half years younger than he is and that if he was English, he may have just done his A levels.
I found myself with mixed emotions this week over whether this young, exciting, refreshing Pakistani paceman should be axed or given a second chance to play the world’s greatest game. As a young pace bowler myself, I admire firsthand what the young man can do, out crafting the world’s greatest batsman with a flick of the wrist and the shine of the ball on the right side, the way he can make the England captain look like a fish out of water. The absolute elation that comes onto his face when he finds the outside edge of Kevin Pietersen’s fluorescent yellow bat, a batsman who has scored over five thousand runs at the pinnacle of international cricket, shown to be floundering against a man twelve years his junior.
So as you can imagine I was very much discontent when these allegations came out into the public spotlight and wondered why this star of the future would possibly get involved in such ridiculous betting scandals stretching far into back rooms of shady apartment blocks on the outskirts of Lahore. Then, the commodity of money came into it and I shook my head and sighed: money conquers all in the end.
I find myself in despair over whether he should be banned for life for shaming the sport, or whether the ICC will show sympathy and recognise the pure talent that this young man has, it would be a tragic loss to the game to see a talent this early go so quickly. But perhaps he should go? If he was given a cash incentive to overstep the white line then in my opinion he has to go, if one has the arrogance to shame one’s country in the way that he did (if he was bribed) then he should be handed a life ban. Under any other circumstances perhaps a lighter view should be taken.
There a number of other scenarios that could have taken place:
1) The Captain’s Role – As a cricket captain myself, I ask players to do what I say with the minimum of fuss and accept a decision that they perhaps aren’t entirely happy with, it’ll be repaid in due course I promise them. Now, if Pakistani captain Salman Butt asked him specifically to bowl a no ball, then perhaps young Amir thought it was another tactic, and not a notorious betting scandal, I know I listen to my senior captain, and don’t dare to question his authority, this may have been the case.
2) The Dressing Room – Equally similar to the captain’s role, if there’s sustained pressure from the coach, backroom staff, and other players, then it would have been very hard for the young man to do anything about it. He wouldn’t have turned a blind eye, and would probably have backed down into doing it, but still a dire misjudgement.
3) A Threat – Perhaps an unlikely scenario, but if the betting thugs had his parents or siblings locked up until he overstepped, then I reckon he would have done most things to make sure they were safe. Who wouldn’t?
4) Money – Or does he simply want more money on top of his match fee? And sponsorships. And endorsements.
I leave this one open so one may form their own opinion.
But very much not a game where one may bet obscene amounts of money on one of the great game’s most talented young fast bowlers overstepping the crucial white line.
Young Mohammed Amir, the youngest ever bowler in world cricketing history to reach fifty test wickets, at the tender age of 18. People already comparing him to Wasim Akram, the great left arm Pakistani swing bowler, and how much temperament he has for such a young man, I think about just how young he is, and realise that I’m only two and a half years younger than he is and that if he was English, he may have just done his A levels.
I found myself with mixed emotions this week over whether this young, exciting, refreshing Pakistani paceman should be axed or given a second chance to play the world’s greatest game. As a young pace bowler myself, I admire firsthand what the young man can do, out crafting the world’s greatest batsman with a flick of the wrist and the shine of the ball on the right side, the way he can make the England captain look like a fish out of water. The absolute elation that comes onto his face when he finds the outside edge of Kevin Pietersen’s fluorescent yellow bat, a batsman who has scored over five thousand runs at the pinnacle of international cricket, shown to be floundering against a man twelve years his junior.
So as you can imagine I was very much discontent when these allegations came out into the public spotlight and wondered why this star of the future would possibly get involved in such ridiculous betting scandals stretching far into back rooms of shady apartment blocks on the outskirts of Lahore. Then, the commodity of money came into it and I shook my head and sighed: money conquers all in the end.
I find myself in despair over whether he should be banned for life for shaming the sport, or whether the ICC will show sympathy and recognise the pure talent that this young man has, it would be a tragic loss to the game to see a talent this early go so quickly. But perhaps he should go? If he was given a cash incentive to overstep the white line then in my opinion he has to go, if one has the arrogance to shame one’s country in the way that he did (if he was bribed) then he should be handed a life ban. Under any other circumstances perhaps a lighter view should be taken.
There a number of other scenarios that could have taken place:
1) The Captain’s Role – As a cricket captain myself, I ask players to do what I say with the minimum of fuss and accept a decision that they perhaps aren’t entirely happy with, it’ll be repaid in due course I promise them. Now, if Pakistani captain Salman Butt asked him specifically to bowl a no ball, then perhaps young Amir thought it was another tactic, and not a notorious betting scandal, I know I listen to my senior captain, and don’t dare to question his authority, this may have been the case.
2) The Dressing Room – Equally similar to the captain’s role, if there’s sustained pressure from the coach, backroom staff, and other players, then it would have been very hard for the young man to do anything about it. He wouldn’t have turned a blind eye, and would probably have backed down into doing it, but still a dire misjudgement.
3) A Threat – Perhaps an unlikely scenario, but if the betting thugs had his parents or siblings locked up until he overstepped, then I reckon he would have done most things to make sure they were safe. Who wouldn’t?
4) Money – Or does he simply want more money on top of his match fee? And sponsorships. And endorsements.
I leave this one open so one may form their own opinion.
Monday 30 August 2010
Why Stewart Jackson is wrong by a 'leftie wierdo'
Tory MP Stewart Jackson went on a vendetta against Sex Education with a remarkable rant on social networking site Twitter. It occurred following figures announcing that there had been a 3% rise in new STI cases in the UK last year. He tweeted ‘Very disappointing new on STD rates in Peterborough. No doubt our Liberal friends will tell us we need more sex education – as it’s worked so well!’ Lowest form of wit Stewey boy but highest form of ignorance. He makes a strong argument, I mean, who can propose a better solution than telling our kids nothing, crossing our fingers and hoping that they don’t stumble upon anyone of the opposite sex. Oh please Stewart, sex education is there to ensure kids are as safe as possible and it shows the importance of protection. I doubt all those pictures they’re shown of mangled and infected genitalia are a great advocate for unprotected sex? But wait, Stewarts got an ace up his sleeve, through incredibly sophisticated language and a strong argument Stewart hits back at those who question his views with a tweet slamming them as ‘sad, tedious sex-obsessed leftie wierdos’. Progressive politics ladies and gentlemen. In another tweet the MP for Peterborough claimed his opponents were ‘unable to debate issues without personal abuse and vicious shrill denunciation’ perhaps because your argument centres around your opinion that those who oppose your views are ‘wierdos’.
No one can get hold of Stewart at the moment as he is away on holiday however his office is aware of his comments. In light of the STI statistics health ministers have said they want to increase young people’s awareness of STIs which contradicts Stewart’s brush-it-under-the-carpet approach, he won’t be too happy.
Sorry Stewart but your wrong on this one; I guess I’m just one of those ‘sad, tedious sex-obsessed leftie wierdos’.
No one can get hold of Stewart at the moment as he is away on holiday however his office is aware of his comments. In light of the STI statistics health ministers have said they want to increase young people’s awareness of STIs which contradicts Stewart’s brush-it-under-the-carpet approach, he won’t be too happy.
Sorry Stewart but your wrong on this one; I guess I’m just one of those ‘sad, tedious sex-obsessed leftie wierdos’.
Friday 27 August 2010
Our friends at the Mail
I looked up and down my blog, now just 48 hours old and realised something was missing. It was almost as if there was a black hole in the middle of my blog that needed filling. Then I realised what it was, not one blog thanking the cultural heavyweights that are the daily mail. How can we let a paper so rich with information and philosophy have no mention, no its time to give the daily mail its shot in the limelight. This was recently brought to my attention when I read in the mail: 'Big Brother: a Jordan wannabe, two bisexuals, a minister who believes in UFOs... thank god this is the last ever series'. Yes big brother isn't the most thought provoking of programmes and I had to agree with the Mail on this one, they were clearly very pleased that this was the final series and wished to celebrate that fact by by giving it maximum coverage; filling their paper with profiles of each of the contestants, as well as pages of big brother related news and a special daily mail banner dedicated to the new series. Taking into account it's self confessed hatred of big brother it was giving it a mighty fine send off.
However this recent article gives me a nice little excuse to bring up an old story... swine flu (which left us for a summer break last year and doesn't seem to have returned). Oh it was a scary time, when swine flu was in its prime killing people here there and everywhere.....well only people who were already terminally ill, but it was still terrifying. This was not helped with daily mail headlines such as 'swine flu: now its getting serious' and 'swine flu now the battle to contain it' however the headline 'killer flu is here' takes the biscuit for me. so you can imagine by surprise when I read an article in the mail which said 'after this awful fiasco over swine flu, we should never believe the state scare machine again!' wow, just wow. It is quite remarkable that less than a year before the mail had written that '65,000 could die [from swine flu]'. Yes its awful isn't it this scaremongering culture we live in eh Paul Dacre? At least the mail can rise above it with headlines such as 'how using facebook could raise your risk of cancer' and 'food watchdog warning over peanut butter brand containing cancer-causing fungus' and 'artificial light increases breast cancer risk' and 'big headed babies more prone to cancer'. Oh i could go on and on and on....but I won't, because that would be rather tedious and I feel that I've made my point
However this recent article gives me a nice little excuse to bring up an old story... swine flu (which left us for a summer break last year and doesn't seem to have returned). Oh it was a scary time, when swine flu was in its prime killing people here there and everywhere.....well only people who were already terminally ill, but it was still terrifying. This was not helped with daily mail headlines such as 'swine flu: now its getting serious' and 'swine flu now the battle to contain it' however the headline 'killer flu is here' takes the biscuit for me. so you can imagine by surprise when I read an article in the mail which said 'after this awful fiasco over swine flu, we should never believe the state scare machine again!' wow, just wow. It is quite remarkable that less than a year before the mail had written that '65,000 could die [from swine flu]'. Yes its awful isn't it this scaremongering culture we live in eh Paul Dacre? At least the mail can rise above it with headlines such as 'how using facebook could raise your risk of cancer' and 'food watchdog warning over peanut butter brand containing cancer-causing fungus' and 'artificial light increases breast cancer risk' and 'big headed babies more prone to cancer'. Oh i could go on and on and on....but I won't, because that would be rather tedious and I feel that I've made my point
Thursday 26 August 2010
Oh I do like to be beside the seaside
You guessed it; it’s that time of year again: the summer holidays! The time when everyone jets off somewhere hot in search of sun, away from dreary middle England, where it rains in august and there’s a Lib Dem in charge. This year I’ve finally seen the attraction of going away for two weeks in search of some peace and quiet, I’ll briefly outline why.
I’d become so frustrated with Britain and its conventions that I was counting down the hours until I could be set free into the world of the French. I’ve always loved France, and always will. I’ve looked into higher education over there, and it is starting to become a serious possibility for my future to live there. “Why France you madman!” you may cry “It’s full of frogs and snails!” I love France because it has common sense. Sure they simply can’t negotiate roundabouts and don’t stick around in a war, but I love it all the same.
For example, the culture of alcohol is a different universe across the channel, kids as young as ten sit up at the table sipping red wine and socialising with their extended families. If this happened in the UK there would be public uproar, and no doubt, an enquiry, and not to mention a 4 page spread in the Mail. There may even be a prosecution. This is simply irrational from the British system; yes we hear stories of groups of teenagers getting severely drunk in fields, and behind closed doors. This only happens because we haven’t been introduced to alcohol in moderation, and see it as a commodity when we get our hands on it without an adult in sight, the French youth however, think it ridiculous to drink until you’re paralytic, and the excuse I seem to get from all my close friends is “it’s well fun, something to do”. I always laugh in their faces when they say this, and walk off.
I come back to the point about common sense; the French simply don’t care if you have a quiet beer while the sun is setting with your parents, because they know that responsible adults aren’t going to fuel their pride and joy with alcohol until they collapse in a heap, and put the snaps taken of the night on Facebook. They won’t however, serve a group of teenagers late at night; they know where to draw the line between responsible and irresponsible.
The other thing I love about France is that on the whole, people are friendly, civil, and nice to you. If you don’t look like you don’t know where you’re going, they’ll offer you a word of advice, and if you ask them very nicely, they may even speak a bit of English to you. Only if you ask very nicely though. Over here, people walk with their heads down, headphones on and bury their faces in their coats. They don’t go out of their way to acknowledge someone’s smiling face, and don’t put in a friendly “Comment ça va?” even if they really don’t expect an answer. It’s the gesture that counts.
So when I returned to this great nation in the early hours of a Saturday morning, I felt a certain anticlimax to the whole affair, I came home expecting messages saying I’d been missed, and acquaintances asking after me when I was away; none of this was present when I got back, and I immediately yearned to return to the land of the French, where people appreciated your existence, and always smiled at if you walked past, if you look someone in the eye and smile over here they look at you like you just said “hey mate do you mind if I just have a little play with your bollock?”
Paris looks an exciting prospect for higher education.
I’d become so frustrated with Britain and its conventions that I was counting down the hours until I could be set free into the world of the French. I’ve always loved France, and always will. I’ve looked into higher education over there, and it is starting to become a serious possibility for my future to live there. “Why France you madman!” you may cry “It’s full of frogs and snails!” I love France because it has common sense. Sure they simply can’t negotiate roundabouts and don’t stick around in a war, but I love it all the same.
For example, the culture of alcohol is a different universe across the channel, kids as young as ten sit up at the table sipping red wine and socialising with their extended families. If this happened in the UK there would be public uproar, and no doubt, an enquiry, and not to mention a 4 page spread in the Mail. There may even be a prosecution. This is simply irrational from the British system; yes we hear stories of groups of teenagers getting severely drunk in fields, and behind closed doors. This only happens because we haven’t been introduced to alcohol in moderation, and see it as a commodity when we get our hands on it without an adult in sight, the French youth however, think it ridiculous to drink until you’re paralytic, and the excuse I seem to get from all my close friends is “it’s well fun, something to do”. I always laugh in their faces when they say this, and walk off.
I come back to the point about common sense; the French simply don’t care if you have a quiet beer while the sun is setting with your parents, because they know that responsible adults aren’t going to fuel their pride and joy with alcohol until they collapse in a heap, and put the snaps taken of the night on Facebook. They won’t however, serve a group of teenagers late at night; they know where to draw the line between responsible and irresponsible.
The other thing I love about France is that on the whole, people are friendly, civil, and nice to you. If you don’t look like you don’t know where you’re going, they’ll offer you a word of advice, and if you ask them very nicely, they may even speak a bit of English to you. Only if you ask very nicely though. Over here, people walk with their heads down, headphones on and bury their faces in their coats. They don’t go out of their way to acknowledge someone’s smiling face, and don’t put in a friendly “Comment ça va?” even if they really don’t expect an answer. It’s the gesture that counts.
So when I returned to this great nation in the early hours of a Saturday morning, I felt a certain anticlimax to the whole affair, I came home expecting messages saying I’d been missed, and acquaintances asking after me when I was away; none of this was present when I got back, and I immediately yearned to return to the land of the French, where people appreciated your existence, and always smiled at if you walked past, if you look someone in the eye and smile over here they look at you like you just said “hey mate do you mind if I just have a little play with your bollock?”
Paris looks an exciting prospect for higher education.
Wednesday 25 August 2010
Pointing the finger
Everyone likes a good rant. There’s no denying it, be it the weather, our parents, food prices or the unfairness of life. We have a thirst for deploring, complaining and blaming that we quench by offloading our built up emotions at the nearest acquaintance whether they have a morsel of interest or not. That’s just the way we are. However in philosophical and political sense, it’s just got out of hand. What we would usually gripe about in private is splashed over the papers. As a result we have this culture of endless bemoaning, blaming and ridiculing where such phrases as ‘society’s going to the dogs’ and ‘broken Britain’ pop up here and there. As a result we have endless scaremongering with no backbone and a culture where it is mundane to castigate the police and other services at every opportunity.
When you bring up a child they say that praise is as important and condemnation and the effects of the balance between the two are evident in the adult the child grows up to be. Well when the police service is old enough to leave home its going to have some self esteem issues to say the least. In the last year crime has decreased by 9% and in the last 15 years crime has almost halved. So I think a firm pat on the back for the police service is in order. However there’s still this ludicrous perception that crime is sky rocketing. A survey for the BCS in 2008/2009 shows that 3/4 Britons think crime has increased. This warped discernment is truly startling but what more should we expect when you have to dig into the depths of cyberspace to uncover such stats. Just imagine for a moment that crime had doubled in the last 15 years? We wouldn’t hear the end of it, uproar and anarchy would follow. I’m going to give the media a taste of their own medicine by placing the blame firmly on their doorsteps. What causes this allergy to praise? Is it ideologically driven by journalists or is that we just don’t like to hear good news? Whatever the reason, it’s deeply, deeply unfair.
I mentioned the police service as a victim of unjust admonishing in the introduction but that does not mean the service doesn’t have its faults. Efficiency can be improved as can punishments however these are not the areas where the weight of the criticism falls. The strain of it is balanced on the broad shoulders of individual police officers up and down the country. It is not the system that is criticised but individuals and events. There is not a better example than the Raoal Moat incident not so long ago. This man had murdered his ex-girlfriend’s partner and killed a police officer. The police were in pursuit of him as you may well remember when he turned the gun on himself shortly after being tasered. In true Britshness the uproar was imminent; an enquiry into how the police dealt with the incident was demanded. How awful that such a good honest man who was loved by everyone in the community should be tasered. Our friends the Daily Mail were at the forefront of this with a headline screaming ‘Raoul’s death was a public execution on live TV’. Ok, fair enough if it wasn’t coming from a paper which seems to demand criminals are hung drawn and quartered.
Don’t get me wrong, our society is far from perfect, and we can better ourselves significantly. There are pressing issues that need addressing; anti social behaviour, equality, racism and many more but if we are to achieve our goals then we need to work together and not against each other. We need to take our finger out of someone else’s face and raise it in the air, do our bit, help out, offer up ideas, and if not, well, then we need to learn to shut up.
When you bring up a child they say that praise is as important and condemnation and the effects of the balance between the two are evident in the adult the child grows up to be. Well when the police service is old enough to leave home its going to have some self esteem issues to say the least. In the last year crime has decreased by 9% and in the last 15 years crime has almost halved. So I think a firm pat on the back for the police service is in order. However there’s still this ludicrous perception that crime is sky rocketing. A survey for the BCS in 2008/2009 shows that 3/4 Britons think crime has increased. This warped discernment is truly startling but what more should we expect when you have to dig into the depths of cyberspace to uncover such stats. Just imagine for a moment that crime had doubled in the last 15 years? We wouldn’t hear the end of it, uproar and anarchy would follow. I’m going to give the media a taste of their own medicine by placing the blame firmly on their doorsteps. What causes this allergy to praise? Is it ideologically driven by journalists or is that we just don’t like to hear good news? Whatever the reason, it’s deeply, deeply unfair.
I mentioned the police service as a victim of unjust admonishing in the introduction but that does not mean the service doesn’t have its faults. Efficiency can be improved as can punishments however these are not the areas where the weight of the criticism falls. The strain of it is balanced on the broad shoulders of individual police officers up and down the country. It is not the system that is criticised but individuals and events. There is not a better example than the Raoal Moat incident not so long ago. This man had murdered his ex-girlfriend’s partner and killed a police officer. The police were in pursuit of him as you may well remember when he turned the gun on himself shortly after being tasered. In true Britshness the uproar was imminent; an enquiry into how the police dealt with the incident was demanded. How awful that such a good honest man who was loved by everyone in the community should be tasered. Our friends the Daily Mail were at the forefront of this with a headline screaming ‘Raoul’s death was a public execution on live TV’. Ok, fair enough if it wasn’t coming from a paper which seems to demand criminals are hung drawn and quartered.
Don’t get me wrong, our society is far from perfect, and we can better ourselves significantly. There are pressing issues that need addressing; anti social behaviour, equality, racism and many more but if we are to achieve our goals then we need to work together and not against each other. We need to take our finger out of someone else’s face and raise it in the air, do our bit, help out, offer up ideas, and if not, well, then we need to learn to shut up.
Tuesday 24 August 2010
The Youth of Today
I’m new to this whole blogging thing, so here it goes:
I know living as a teenager in the UK isn’t such an easy venture these days, everyone assumes you’re either:
• A Drug User
• A Smoker
• An alcoholic
• A criminal
• Or, if all else fails, you’re simply pregnant
Now, I’m sure every teenager (except the drug using, smoking, pregnant criminals of course) will agree with me in saying that they hate being seen in this way most of the time. A first class example of this is public transport, only yesterday I got on the bus, and an elderly lady (bless her heart) decides to put her shopping on her seat so I cannot sit there, as I’m sure you can imagine, this made me angry, so I pulled out my knife and killed her.
Even the BBC are in on this stereotype (the impartial broadcaster, who doesn’t take sides in ANYTHING), I sit here flicking through the channels on Sky (yes, I have sky television, call me upper class and we can continue the discussion), and I come across the trash that is “Young, Dumb, and Living off Mum”. For those of you not aware of this broadcasting genius, it is a group of early twenty year olds, with no job who simply live off their parents who provide their little darlings with cigarettes and alcohol in the hope they’ll end up in a high end job in Central London. The programme then gives the little pumpkins more money to spend on cigarettes and alcohol, and in exchange they work in a café for a couple of hours a day, hoping that they’ll grow up and learn something new in the process, I found it hard to watch and not laugh at a particular blond twenty something who struggled to work a coffee machine, damn caffeine these days, can’t it just be simple?! Then, after the STRUGGLE of a day’s work, they come home to the nice house that the license payer has provided for them in our nation’s capital, and settle down to get royally hammered and throw condoms out the window, and then refuse to clear them out of the neighbour’s garden; curse you condoms for not staying in the place you’re told. No fun for you.
As I can’t bear enough of this stereotypical, mocking programme of British youth, I flick over to the ten o’clock news to hear floods affection millions in Pakistan, and then mudslides in China affecting thousands, and suddenly feel a certain disgust for the western comforts that we, the British youth, are accustomed to. For example, in the past twenty minutes, I’ve complained that a burger is too dry, and that there is a lack of ketchup in the cupboard, now as I see a fifteen year old boy going on sixteen screaming of his mother’s death in floodwaters, and he is left to look after his four brothers and sisters, I wolf down my burger appreciating it to its full potential, and perhaps it’s not totally the end of the world if I go without an oversweet condiment. I feel the guilt plunge into my body like a knife and immediately wonder how the rest of the world can live with themselves after seeing the devastating trouble that mother nature has caused elsewhere, and yet I’m sure Mr Cameron, and Mr Obama will be concentrating more on slamming their opposition into the floor and making sure they cling onto power; that’ll show floodwater!
I decide I can’t bear anymore of the devastation on the ten o’clock news and boot up a new web browser to look for a donation website to the floods and landslides, and then realise that I spent the last of my money on topping up my iTunes library (Steve Jobs beats everyone ladies and gentlemen, even flood victims), and swiftly click away from the site to my Facebook page. Ah, Facebook, the joys. Where the youth of today can post where they’re going, what they’re up to, what a resource! I, for one, rarely post a so called “status” because I don’t care about anyone else’s. I apologise if you’re one of those people who goes “Just watched Inception, was awesome lol rofl :P” because I simply couldn’t care less, I don’t care that you’ve got a new dog or that you’re going to bed or that you had a good holiday. Call me grumpy, and maybe I’m using the thing wrong.
I’m sure by now you’ve realised I see the dark side of things, and are probably considering why I bother writing a blog, the truth is, I get frustrated with the world around us, I get frustrated that people don’t see cultural beauty, or don’t read great works of art. I get frustrated that people instantly call a lesson “boring” and don’t appreciate what they’re being taught and that their only concern is the phone under their desk texting their girlfriend that they “love” (at the age of 15, love is not a reality, it is a mask).
The message is, appreciate what’s around you, and be grateful for what you’ve got. Call me old fashioned, but that’s the way I see the world.
I know living as a teenager in the UK isn’t such an easy venture these days, everyone assumes you’re either:
• A Drug User
• A Smoker
• An alcoholic
• A criminal
• Or, if all else fails, you’re simply pregnant
Now, I’m sure every teenager (except the drug using, smoking, pregnant criminals of course) will agree with me in saying that they hate being seen in this way most of the time. A first class example of this is public transport, only yesterday I got on the bus, and an elderly lady (bless her heart) decides to put her shopping on her seat so I cannot sit there, as I’m sure you can imagine, this made me angry, so I pulled out my knife and killed her.
Even the BBC are in on this stereotype (the impartial broadcaster, who doesn’t take sides in ANYTHING), I sit here flicking through the channels on Sky (yes, I have sky television, call me upper class and we can continue the discussion), and I come across the trash that is “Young, Dumb, and Living off Mum”. For those of you not aware of this broadcasting genius, it is a group of early twenty year olds, with no job who simply live off their parents who provide their little darlings with cigarettes and alcohol in the hope they’ll end up in a high end job in Central London. The programme then gives the little pumpkins more money to spend on cigarettes and alcohol, and in exchange they work in a café for a couple of hours a day, hoping that they’ll grow up and learn something new in the process, I found it hard to watch and not laugh at a particular blond twenty something who struggled to work a coffee machine, damn caffeine these days, can’t it just be simple?! Then, after the STRUGGLE of a day’s work, they come home to the nice house that the license payer has provided for them in our nation’s capital, and settle down to get royally hammered and throw condoms out the window, and then refuse to clear them out of the neighbour’s garden; curse you condoms for not staying in the place you’re told. No fun for you.
As I can’t bear enough of this stereotypical, mocking programme of British youth, I flick over to the ten o’clock news to hear floods affection millions in Pakistan, and then mudslides in China affecting thousands, and suddenly feel a certain disgust for the western comforts that we, the British youth, are accustomed to. For example, in the past twenty minutes, I’ve complained that a burger is too dry, and that there is a lack of ketchup in the cupboard, now as I see a fifteen year old boy going on sixteen screaming of his mother’s death in floodwaters, and he is left to look after his four brothers and sisters, I wolf down my burger appreciating it to its full potential, and perhaps it’s not totally the end of the world if I go without an oversweet condiment. I feel the guilt plunge into my body like a knife and immediately wonder how the rest of the world can live with themselves after seeing the devastating trouble that mother nature has caused elsewhere, and yet I’m sure Mr Cameron, and Mr Obama will be concentrating more on slamming their opposition into the floor and making sure they cling onto power; that’ll show floodwater!
I decide I can’t bear anymore of the devastation on the ten o’clock news and boot up a new web browser to look for a donation website to the floods and landslides, and then realise that I spent the last of my money on topping up my iTunes library (Steve Jobs beats everyone ladies and gentlemen, even flood victims), and swiftly click away from the site to my Facebook page. Ah, Facebook, the joys. Where the youth of today can post where they’re going, what they’re up to, what a resource! I, for one, rarely post a so called “status” because I don’t care about anyone else’s. I apologise if you’re one of those people who goes “Just watched Inception, was awesome lol rofl :P” because I simply couldn’t care less, I don’t care that you’ve got a new dog or that you’re going to bed or that you had a good holiday. Call me grumpy, and maybe I’m using the thing wrong.
I’m sure by now you’ve realised I see the dark side of things, and are probably considering why I bother writing a blog, the truth is, I get frustrated with the world around us, I get frustrated that people don’t see cultural beauty, or don’t read great works of art. I get frustrated that people instantly call a lesson “boring” and don’t appreciate what they’re being taught and that their only concern is the phone under their desk texting their girlfriend that they “love” (at the age of 15, love is not a reality, it is a mask).
The message is, appreciate what’s around you, and be grateful for what you’ve got. Call me old fashioned, but that’s the way I see the world.
The Mystery of the Front Line Service
Now this is a tricky one. Obviously throughout the centuries the English language has changed greatly, meanings and spellings of words have changed a good deal. However I, as I’m sure you have, have noted a more rapid change to the term 'front line service’. This term first came to our attention in the build up to the general election if you remember back that far. All three leaders promised that there would be no cuts to front line services and only efficiency savings. I do not question the trustworthiness of the politicians of course, but am provoking the debate into the reason behind the rapid definition change of this term. At the general election the accepted definition for a front line service seemed to be a policeman or a teacher or the nice people who make soup in hospitals but after plans emerged to cut back on staff in these fields we were politely informed that these were, in fact, not frontline services. Hmm. I guess I then assumed that school buildings would be on the front line? I then felt very embarrassed when the 'Building schools for the future' project was axed which basically makes sure school walls and other school related debris doesn't fall on pupils. I felt this was pretty front line; however I had been corrected again and told by Education Michael Gove that it was most definitely not front line because it was 'wasteful'....whatever that means. I had a deep think and then thought that imprisoning criminals must have been kinda near the front? I was left red faced when Ken Clarke outlined his master plan to 'take action and shut off this revolving door of crime and reoffending' which involved, er......putting less criminals in prison...wow. Number 10 insisted, that this was, of course, not a front line service. So now I am very confused indeed...
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