Wait, stop, they forgot to count my votes!
Okay, for all that I like a multitude of different kinds of stuff, one thing I always disavow any authority on is music. All the same, after watching some of the show and YouTubing the rest, here's how I'm distributing my points:
12 - Moldova
10 - Italy
8 - Germany
7 - Bosnia and Herzgovina
6 - Sweden
5 - Georgia
4 - Hungary
3 - Iceland
2 - Estonia
1 - France
Based on the music videos, you can swap Germany and Italy around, but on the night Raphael Gulazzi pulled out a fantastic live jazz performance, while Lena Meyer-Landrut seemed a bit lost amidst all the light and noise. Hungary has a similar deal - the song itself is a bit mediocre, but Kati Wolf sung her heart out and really sold me on it.
Anyway, here's the hats - I mean, song that got my douze points.
Showing posts with label Politics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Politics. Show all posts
17.2.11
Oh Yes He Can
Thatcher claimed there was no such thing as society. Now the next generation of Tories is along to smother society with a pillow and retroactively prove her right.
10.11.10
Your Guide to US Political Concepts
President A detains people without due process and readily admits torturing them. He also implements social policies that place the vulnerable and marginalised at risk of increased hardships and mortality.
This president is a GOOD, CHRISTIAN MAN.
President B attempts to expand healthcare to reach more vulnerable and marginalised people. At every turn he is sure to defer to those who are vociferously opposed to his plans, scaling them back.
This president is a FASCIST.
This president is a GOOD, CHRISTIAN MAN.
President B attempts to expand healthcare to reach more vulnerable and marginalised people. At every turn he is sure to defer to those who are vociferously opposed to his plans, scaling them back.
This president is a FASCIST.
7.5.10
Not Over Yet
I'm willing to bet everyone in the UK had election burnout even before the polls opened, and it's not over yet. The Liberal Democrat's share of the vote increased slightly over the last general election, but because their support is spread over the whole country they actually lost a few seats in parliament. And yet, they're also the only party to emerge from the election with any power - not the power to rule, but the power to choose who does.
Given the huge gains made by the Conservatives, I think you could argue a Lib/Con coalition is 'the right thing' from a democratic perspective. Much as I hate David Cameron, I wouldn't hold it against the Lib Dems to take a piece of his government. What I would worry about is the longer term effect of the only truly progressive mainstream party getting in bed with the party of toffs and Daily Mail readers. In the next general election, might people then feel like the Lib Dems had nothing to offer anyone?
On a happier note, although I've stated before why I won't vote for the Greens myself, I think more left wing minority parties in parliament can only be a good thing, and I'm glad to see Caroline Lucas become the Green Party's first ever member of Parliament.
Given the huge gains made by the Conservatives, I think you could argue a Lib/Con coalition is 'the right thing' from a democratic perspective. Much as I hate David Cameron, I wouldn't hold it against the Lib Dems to take a piece of his government. What I would worry about is the longer term effect of the only truly progressive mainstream party getting in bed with the party of toffs and Daily Mail readers. In the next general election, might people then feel like the Lib Dems had nothing to offer anyone?
On a happier note, although I've stated before why I won't vote for the Greens myself, I think more left wing minority parties in parliament can only be a good thing, and I'm glad to see Caroline Lucas become the Green Party's first ever member of Parliament.
6.5.10
POTILICKS
The polls close for the UK general election in a couple of hours. It should be no surprise who I voted for, but whatever the results, I'd be happy just to keep David Cameron out of Number 10.
I don't trust him with my rights. I don't trust him with healthcare, education or public transport. I know not to trust him with the nation's most vulnerable - who he's already attacked for knee-jerk votes. And I generally think he's a bigoted traditionalist who's succeeded at making other bigoted traditionalists feel like they're progressive and accepting.
Meanwhile, across the Channel, someone in my blogroll has something to say about what's happening in Athens.
I don't trust him with my rights. I don't trust him with healthcare, education or public transport. I know not to trust him with the nation's most vulnerable - who he's already attacked for knee-jerk votes. And I generally think he's a bigoted traditionalist who's succeeded at making other bigoted traditionalists feel like they're progressive and accepting.
Meanwhile, across the Channel, someone in my blogroll has something to say about what's happening in Athens.
16.4.10
26.3.10
Friday News Blogging
I've always admired Channel 4 news, a feeling validated by this segment demonstrating the duplicity of the man who will, in all likelihood, be our next prime minister.
David Cameron is keen to present the Conservatives as a changed party, willing to embrace diversity in their mission to change things for the better. But when confronted with the actual voting record of his MEPs on gay rights issues, he initially chokes, and then later flat out lies.
Via The F Word
4.6.09
Green to Yellow
I really wanted to vote Green. Following this expenses scandal, there's great potential for parties outside the main three to make gains. And I'm very much left wing and pro-science, so Green seems like a good fit. I bet many people with the same leanings voted Green today without even bothering to check out their policies.
Because when I checked their policies, I found that although they're certainly left wing, they're also rather anti-science - the only non-religious party to oppose embryonic stem cell research, for example, because 'it's not clear where it might lead' - something that's applicable to any scientific research. And then they want 'alternative medicine' available on the NHS and to reduce their regulation.
Although I'm sure their PR machine would try and spin it the other way, I get the real impression that their science policy is generally about a woolly fear of anything that strikes them the wrong way, while blindly embracing pseudo-scientific notions that chime with their ideals, regardless of actual merit. And this is a considerable concern: the European parliament has regulatory powers that can easily disrupt research throughout the continent.
And then there's the simple fact that their environmental policies aren't actually much more far ranging than those of the Lib Dems, the party I reluctantly voted for yet again. Surely there's got to be room for some radical party that's all about stimulating scientific research, promoting social justice and protecting the environment?
Because when I checked their policies, I found that although they're certainly left wing, they're also rather anti-science - the only non-religious party to oppose embryonic stem cell research, for example, because 'it's not clear where it might lead' - something that's applicable to any scientific research. And then they want 'alternative medicine' available on the NHS and to reduce their regulation.
Although I'm sure their PR machine would try and spin it the other way, I get the real impression that their science policy is generally about a woolly fear of anything that strikes them the wrong way, while blindly embracing pseudo-scientific notions that chime with their ideals, regardless of actual merit. And this is a considerable concern: the European parliament has regulatory powers that can easily disrupt research throughout the continent.
And then there's the simple fact that their environmental policies aren't actually much more far ranging than those of the Lib Dems, the party I reluctantly voted for yet again. Surely there's got to be room for some radical party that's all about stimulating scientific research, promoting social justice and protecting the environment?
22.4.09
20.1.09
4.11.08
Let's Prognosticate!
So has McCain won yet or what?
Then again, my last prediction about the 2008 US election doesn't seem to have come to pass. Yet.
Then again, my last prediction about the 2008 US election doesn't seem to have come to pass. Yet.
25.6.08
"Some of my best friends are Warner Brothers"
What happened when Groucho Marx got a cease and desist letter from Warner Brothers? Find out here.
19.5.08
I am not my DNA
I have to breathe a sigh of relief that religious distaste for mixing human DNA and animal cells has failed to result in a ban on promising medical research - by a huge margin of votes.
Lots of pompous orators have been keen to go on about how this is 'plainly immoral', 'tampering with life' and 'Frankenstein science'. Fortunately, it seems that our MPs understand that mixing unfeeling chemicals and cell structures in a petri dish hurts no-one (except vein-popping anthropocentrists) and may potentially ease the suffering of living, breathing human beings.
Lots of pompous orators have been keen to go on about how this is 'plainly immoral', 'tampering with life' and 'Frankenstein science'. Fortunately, it seems that our MPs understand that mixing unfeeling chemicals and cell structures in a petri dish hurts no-one (except vein-popping anthropocentrists) and may potentially ease the suffering of living, breathing human beings.
31.3.08
26.9.07
Burmese Protesters Face Tear Gas, Gunfire
Security forces fired warning shots and tear gas into swollen crowds of demonstrators in Burma's biggest city today, while dragging away defiant Buddhist monks into waiting trucks - the first mass arrests since protests in this military dictatorship erupted last month.
[...]
As the ninth consecutive day of unrest began, about 10,000 monks and students along with members of Suu Kyi's pro-democracy party set off from Shwedagon to the Sule Pagoda in the heart of Rangoon, but were blocked by military trucks along the route.
Other blocs of marchers fanned out into downtown streets with armed security forces attempting to disperse them.
Full article at the Independent.
There are concerns that further protests will be met with outright violence. The protesters show no signs of backing down.
25.9.07
Protests in Burma/Myanmar
Tens of thousands of monks and civilians around Burma have held the biggest protest marches against the military government yet.
Eyewitnesses say up to 100,000 people marched peacefully through Rangoon with monks demanding better living conditions and national reconciliation.
The military government has so far showed restraint over the protests.
Monks are highly revered in Burma and any move by the junta to crush their demonstrations would spark an outcry.
The military suppressed the last democracy uprising in 1988, killing some 3,000 people, correspondents say.
[...]
On Saturday, monks marched to greet Aung San Suu Kyi, who is under house arrest, but access to her home was barred on Sunday, and again on Monday.
[...]
The organisation that has emerged to lead the protests, the Alliance of All Burmese Buddhist Monks, has vowed to continue marches until it has "wiped the military dictatorship from the land".
The protests were triggered by the government's decision to double the price of fuel last month, hitting people hard in the impoverished nation. [Full article at the Beeb]
It's interesting to note that if Burma/Myanmar is impoverished, it's probably in large part because of sanctions against the junta. Naturally, the nation's dictators avoid the sanctions themselves by passing its effects on to the citizens they oppress. There seems to be something of a rift in the 'free Burma' movement about the morality (or lack thereof) of deliberately increasing injustice in a nation in order to provoke a revolution against its repressive government.
In any case, I can only hope these monks and activists succeed in their aim of peacefully installing democracy in a troubled nation.
15.7.07
yo wassup d
Dear David Cameron,
As a young man raised by a single mother, I just thought I'd shoot up on drugs, put away my graffiti spray-paints and write you a remorseful blog post on this stolen computer. I must say that I have been very distressed to learn that my mother and I are responsible for the breakdown of British society. I would like to take this opportunity to apologise, and also to thank you for raising awareness of our guilt.
I am so glad that you have discovered that money is the solution to everything, and that giving married couples money will stop them from falling out of love, arguing, having affairs or experiencing domestic violence. If only all those star-crossed lovers throughout history had known!
And what a cool idea to help one married parent stay home, while forcing lone parents out to work - that way, the kids of married parents will get extra care and attention, while those of lone parents will get even less. It's like forcing a whole category of British children to sit in the corner and think about what they've done (i.e. destroy society). Drastic crimes call for drastic punishments.
You know, in general, it just makes me feel all warm inside to see you identify single parent families as uniquely troubled and disadvantaged, and then decide that married parents need extra support. That'll teach us!
Yours masochistically,
Pacian Space-Cat
As a young man raised by a single mother, I just thought I'd shoot up on drugs, put away my graffiti spray-paints and write you a remorseful blog post on this stolen computer. I must say that I have been very distressed to learn that my mother and I are responsible for the breakdown of British society. I would like to take this opportunity to apologise, and also to thank you for raising awareness of our guilt.
I am so glad that you have discovered that money is the solution to everything, and that giving married couples money will stop them from falling out of love, arguing, having affairs or experiencing domestic violence. If only all those star-crossed lovers throughout history had known!
And what a cool idea to help one married parent stay home, while forcing lone parents out to work - that way, the kids of married parents will get extra care and attention, while those of lone parents will get even less. It's like forcing a whole category of British children to sit in the corner and think about what they've done (i.e. destroy society). Drastic crimes call for drastic punishments.
You know, in general, it just makes me feel all warm inside to see you identify single parent families as uniquely troubled and disadvantaged, and then decide that married parents need extra support. That'll teach us!
Yours masochistically,
Pacian Space-Cat
27.6.07
Is Brown the New Blairck?
Did you see what I did there? I should be writing the headlines.
When Tony Blair became Prime Minister, he was surrounded by labour party members waving placards and pretending to be exuberant members of the public. It's a breath of fresh air to see Gordon Brown just give a speech, pose awkwardly on the doorstep of Number 10 with his wife, and then go inside.
Still, I have my reservations. To start with, the part of me that shrivelled up and died during the Blair years whispers to me in a hoarse voice, saying that Brown's brazen lack of care for image is in fact a calculated image in itself - the image of caring about substance more than presentation. And in any case, even if Brown does dismantle the Blair spin machine, it may only be a matter of time before David Cameron steps into Number 10 as an even more vacuous, even more right-wing 'Tory Blair'.
Even with positive changes on the horizon, such as the restoration of the right to protest outside parliament, it's tempting to fall into another trap. Why should we credit those we give power to for not abusing us? It should be the minimum we expect. It's bad enough that we can't seem to punish them when they do abuse us. Tony Blair's 'punishment' for supporting the deaths and torture of thousands of Arabs and Muslims (to say nothing of what he's done to the people who elected him), is to be made a peace envoy to the Middle East.
It's like sentencing an armed robber to become a bank manager.
When Tony Blair became Prime Minister, he was surrounded by labour party members waving placards and pretending to be exuberant members of the public. It's a breath of fresh air to see Gordon Brown just give a speech, pose awkwardly on the doorstep of Number 10 with his wife, and then go inside.
Still, I have my reservations. To start with, the part of me that shrivelled up and died during the Blair years whispers to me in a hoarse voice, saying that Brown's brazen lack of care for image is in fact a calculated image in itself - the image of caring about substance more than presentation. And in any case, even if Brown does dismantle the Blair spin machine, it may only be a matter of time before David Cameron steps into Number 10 as an even more vacuous, even more right-wing 'Tory Blair'.
Even with positive changes on the horizon, such as the restoration of the right to protest outside parliament, it's tempting to fall into another trap. Why should we credit those we give power to for not abusing us? It should be the minimum we expect. It's bad enough that we can't seem to punish them when they do abuse us. Tony Blair's 'punishment' for supporting the deaths and torture of thousands of Arabs and Muslims (to say nothing of what he's done to the people who elected him), is to be made a peace envoy to the Middle East.
It's like sentencing an armed robber to become a bank manager.
10.5.07
So Long, Thanks for All the Fallout
Mr Blair, soon to be former prime minister of the United Kingdom, thank you for your ten years of dedicated service to our nation. In particular, thank you for:
- taking us into the quagmire in Iraq and Afghanistan.
- remaining passive while our 'closest ally' tortured our citizens.
- talking big on climate change while our emissions rose.
- overseeing unprecedented surveillance of your own citizens.
- overturning our notions of freedom of speech and habeas corpus.
- making us seem hypocrites when criticising repressive regimes.
- making us the target of another group of terrorists, just as Northern Ireland struggles towards peace.
- ignoring the measures of accountability necessary for democracy.
- widening the gap between rich and poor, and reducing social mobility.
- taking us still closer to an American-style healthcare system.
- constantly saying one liberal, compassionate thing and doing exactly the conservative, selfish opposite.
- espousing the ideals of democracy while ignoring your own people.
Goodbye, Mr Blair. You will be sorely missed.
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