Rambling thoughts about the news

[dc]

The Independent has a way with striking front pages, but today’s was exceptional. Under the headline Middle East: Who backs immediate ceasefire? were two boxes. One, Yes, contains the flags of 189 countries. The other, No, has only three flags surrounded by white space: Israel, USA, and... us.

It is enough to make you weep with rage.

Yesterday I was talking to a friend with whom I do not always agree on political matters. He thinks, for example, that the US Supreme Court’s decision regarding Guantanamo Bay was the wrong decision. He has consistently tended to be more critical of the Palestinians than the Israelis. Even he, though, thinks the behaviour of Israel at the moment is egregious.

Why can’t our government see that? Why does our government think that now, the time when Israel is bombing a country with nothing like the ability to stand up to them, is not an appropriate time to criticise them?

There is, apparently, an anti-war march tomorrow in London, Glasgow and Edinburgh. I gather fjm is planning to go on the London one, and I can certainly understand the impulse...

But what is the point? We have seen enormous numbers on the street protesting against the Iraq invasion, both before and after the assault on Iraq started. It made no difference whatever. Short of Knacker of the Yard arresting him for corruption regarding the honours system, he is secure in power until he chooses to go. While he is secure, he shows no inclination to listen to anyone he does not want to listen to. As the marchers are not rich Americans, media tycoons, etc., why should he pay attention to them? The news reports will underestimate the turnout, if they report it much at all. The only good thing is that people can say: We were not for this. Perhaps that is enough. But aside from that the futility of it all is depressing.

On a different matter: Wyatt Twerp was given a specially made cowboy outfit?

What?

Oh, for satire to be back... or at least Spitting Image.

There is a headline of a story in today’s Independent which caught my eye: Why are fewer students from poor backgrounds going to university?

It seems to me the answer is bloody obvious: the junking of the grant system. The words grant and grants are nowhere to be found in the piece.

Well, if I were at school now, I probably would not be going to university. Educationally, I am a product of a comprehensive school (a good one) and a university which I got to by means of the student grant. Without it, my parents could not have afforded to send me to university (although they might have tried to find the money, I have no doubt). When I was at school, we knew that if we had the intellectual ability, we could get to university. We did not have to think about accrueing thousands of pounds of debt in order to do it.

That was all a bit ranty, sorry.

Comments

[burkesworks.livejournal.com]

While I won't have anything to do with the Stop The War Coalition as a matter of principle, the actions of the Israeli forces this week have been beyond the pale. Feel free to sign the "Save The Lebanese Civilians" petition which is now linked from my info page, and please pass the address on to all interested parties.

[tanngrisnir.livejournal.com]

There seems to be a problem with the petition: This Account Has Been Suspended.

[burkesworks.livejournal.com]

Working again now, though running very slowly on its server, which is based in Belgium.

[highstone.livejournal.com]

Ah yes, grants. This is another reason why I will be holding a *big* party when the blessed Margaret finally gets deleted by the big Cyberman in the sky... Come to think of it, I might already be the subject of an Asbo preventing me from carrying a stake within five miles of her funeral. Vindictive - moi?

[burkesworks.livejournal.com]

Ah yes, grants. This is another reason why I will be holding a *big* party when the blessed Margaret finally gets deleted by the big Cyberman in the sky...

While I too will be "dancing on the grave and tramping the dirt down" as Mr. Costello put it, this is not one you can blame on the Leaderene. While Thatcher was hell-bent on the abolition of student grants, it was never enacted in her period of office, nor in Major's for that matter. It was Mr. Tony and his first Secretary of State for Education, the odious Blunkett, who abolished grants and imposed loans, eventually with the support of the increasingly supine NUS.

[tanngrisnir.livejournal.com]

Yes, it was the Glorious Leader rather than the Blessed Leaderene who did that particular bit of vandalism. You beat me to it. It is, though, easy to forget that, so well has T.B. modelled himself on her.

I can remember when Blunkett was seen as being a straightforward, man-of-the-people bloke (I recall seeing him at a Question Time recording when he was the guy the audience warmed to as he heckled whichever Tory minister was waffling on). Who would have believed he would turned out to be such an obnoxious, odious tit.

Where Thatcher deserves to have her grave danced upon, ideally before she is actually dead, is for her insisting on ramming the metaphor of the market on to any institution, however inappropriate the market was to it. Education only mattered if it prepared you for work, the NHS needed competition...

When Tony Blair (who, if the new Private Eye is to be believed, never encounters the slightest dissent from his cabinet ministers) oversaw the abolition of the grant system, which did more to widen the horizons of kids from a porr background than anything else, he was merely carrying on his role model's work.

[tanngrisnir.livejournal.com]

Remember, you have to cut the head off too. ;o)

Perhaps we should have a celebratory Morris Dance down there when she pops her clogs. (I can't do the dance, but I am happy to be provided with a bladder with which I will wallop people.)