It’s quite astonishing when you think about it that the British people have not known where PM Gordon Brown stands on the issue of the War in Iraq. We have had his implicit support for the War but the PM has generally maintained a very low profile on the unpopular issue.
Until this week.
On Friday, during the Chilcott inquiry, Brown described the decision to go to war in Iraq as “the right decision for the right reasons”.
As chief cheque signer, he probably didn’t have much choice.
In my last post I wrote about the decline in personal freedom in the UK and cited the massive investment in and commitment to CCTV cameras. Well, as it turns out, the authorities can’t even get that right. The City of Westminster has been ordered to switch off its network of (new) CCTV cameras because they don’t meet regulatory requirements for minimum resolution and are therefore illegal!!
This has come to light on the eve of the G20 Summit in East London when there is – for once – a strong case for monitoring the comings and goings in the city. More from The Guardian on this story here.
It doesn’t exactly fill you with confidence now does it!
In other news, four political activists were arrested in the West Country for plotting to ‘disrupt’ the G20 Summit. God only knows why they thought it would be a good idea to hold the event in central London.
Just Another 24 Hours for the inside track
Things are tough back at home right now. It seems that the economy isn’t the only thing in UK in recession right now.
Personal freedoms seems to be taking a bit of a battering too.
Britain seems listless. It is struggling to find a new identity and the apparent politico-cultural transformation that has occurred in the US is in stark comparison to an arrogant, out of touch and un-elected leadership in Britain. We’re stuck with two political classes that are yet to truly modernise in a way that seems relevant and compelling to the community and more importantly to the wider world, within which Britain has traditionally enjoyed leadership and great respect.
Vee are vatching you!!
The financial services sector represented a relatively large chunk of the total economy in the UK and Britain is suffering more than others as a result of the current crisis. In October 2008, a bank rescue package totalling pounds500 billion was announced by the British Government. More recently, Gordon Brown’s Government announced plans to print money with a quantitative easing program while The Guardian newspaper investigates the tax gap.
This is rightly a BIG issue in the UK but for many observers the financial crisis is a diversion from a m0re worrying trend.
My Mother has complained about the increasing prevalance of rules and regulations in British society. I remember her citing the example of our local supermarket, which had started to restrict the sale of alcohol to over-30s only. The store had been caught out by a few under-18s and responded in this way to ensure that it would not be caught out again.
CCTV is another cause for concern for many in Britain – as is the British Government’s commitment to data collection. There are 4.2 million CCTV cameras in Britain – approximately one for every 14 people.
This is a theme that has been picked up in the No Agenda podcast. John C. Dvorak is tracking news stories that demonstrate the increasing pervasiveness of the UK Government and the rise of the Nanny state. Here are some headlines and links from the Dvorak Uncensored blog.
It’s laughable but scary. I am always promising more and never delivering but I do intend to pick up on this theme with some follow up posts this week. One will paint a picture relating to the future of technology and another will discuss the medium to long term impact of the Government bail outs on personal freedoms and information in UK and around the world.
Here are the headlines:
Are you concerned about a reduction in personal freedoms wrapped up as something else, e.g. anti-terrorist legislation?
The sad thing about this approach is that it doesn’t address real issues but instead attempts to deal with problems at a superficial or cosmetic level to give the impression that the Government is in control and relevant when in actual fact the opposite is true.
Tags: Britain, brown, control, Government, labour, nanny, state, UK
I spoke to a close friend out about this post and she didn’t agree with my point of view. I am not sure if that is a reason to continue or if its a reason to drop it altogether.
I’ve been thinking about it for two days so here goes…
I wanted to write about the calls for a boycott of the Olympics opening ceremony in Beijing in August, following the protests by monks in Lhasa, Tibet and the Chinese Government’s heavy handed response.
The boycott crew includes the Prime Minister of Poland, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown (although there seems to be some confusion about this) and Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany.
The US Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, said:
“I think boycotting the opening ceremony, which really gives respect to the Chinese government, is something that should be kept on the table.”
These calls feel very opportunistic to me, especially when you consider:
Lets be clear, these politicians are proposing a symbolic ‘gesture’ as opposed to a meaningful stand i.e. boycotting the games in totality. And this reserve is hardly suprising given China’s wealth and increasing global influence.
Trade would arguably be a more effective lever if our Western leaders genuinely wanted to drive change in China. China was officially announced as a member of the WTO in 2001, the same year that it was awarded the 2008 games.
I am not condoning Chinese treatment of the Tibetan Monks or their support for Sudan and related events in Darfur (show me a high profile politician who is calling for a boycott in relation to the latter). I am arguing that these calls have no real teeth and aren’t the right course of action. If people feel strongly enough – and maybe they should, maybe I should – then the call should be for non-attendance.
Concerns with Chinese human rights policy haven’t prevented years of trade, international collaboration and engagement. The Chinese still have the same attitude to human rights. China isn’t going to change policies over night in response to a few headlines involving Western leaders and spineless threats, especially since the West is complicit in China’s economic development and global advance since Chinese economic reform (including the Open Door policy) in 1978.
The main catalyst for the headlines has been the global torch relay and the associated protests on behalf of Tibet in many of the countries that the torch has passed through. The irony is that the torch itself has a rather dubious past. The idea for the torch relay came from Carl Diem, Adolf Hitler’s Olympic organiser. It first appeared in 1936 for the Berlin games.
What’s my point? My point is that I wish our political leaders were genuine, principled, strong – then we might actually see real change and it would be sooner rather than later.
Tags: beijing, boycott, brown, china, hitler, lhasa, protests, sarkozy, sudan, tibet, torch
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