Let them have their say

Posted on Monday, 7 September 2009, 01:25 p.m.

Everyone seems to be getting their knickers in a twist at the moment as the BNP are to be allowed a spot on the BBC flagship political debate programme Question Time.
Let me state here, I am not a fan of the BNP in any way shape or form and would be horrified if they ever made significant gains but whether we like it or not people do vote for them and they do hold seats here and at the EU.
We claim to live in a democracy and to have freedom of speech, therefore they must be allowed to put their views across and compete with the other parties on the programme. They will need to stay within the law and should they break them be subject to the same punishment as the ordinary citizen.
Some people seem worried there will be a mass swath of support for them, or that they will say such hideous things that they will tarnish the reputation of the country, frankly the release of Lockerbie bomber Meghari on what increasingly looks like flimisy medical evidence has done that for us already. Letting them have their day may also prove how little meat they have on their political bones, allowing all of us to witness first hand what they have to say, how they put themselves across and indeed if they add any value to a genuine political debate.
All sorts of rubbish gets aired these days and if you really cannot stand it, press the off button!

Lockerbie and other news

Posted on Tuesday, 25 August 2009, 11:33 a.m.

It is hard to believe that now in many ways Westminster has devolved itself of so much power that decisions made by other parts of the UK can tarnish the country as a whole. When Scotland decided to release the man convicted of being an integral part of the Lockerbie bomb which killed 270 people and affected many more it damaged far more than the trust of the people who expected the man to die in prison for the crime. The US is outraged and has protested, the true extent of the damage may only be known when the Barack Obama and Gordon Brown come face to face at the next G20 summit hosted in the US!

What has made matters worse is the welcome received in Libya, true it is a different culture but even so the media coverage of such a return is not going to make foreign relations any better. A royal visit has now been cancelled but isn't this too little too late, after all the royal family are the heads of the UK, and it was the UK that released him, complaining about the welcome home however undiplomatic we feel it is, is shutting the gate after the horse has bolted!

Perhaps more damning is Gordon Browns silence. He has found time to pen a congratulatory letter to Andrew Strauss but where there is no glory to be had, there is no Gordon Brown. Did he have anything to do with the decision? If he didn't why hasn't he moved to distance himself from the decision?

It is true that there was an appeal lodged, a second one! If that had succeeded then it would have been embarrassing for Scotland to have to release him, there is of course no guarantee of this and of course with Megrahi's ill health he may not have survive to see the end of the trial. I for one however do not believe in letting out people convicted of mass murder on compassionate grounds, just because an appeal had been launched does not mean it would have been successful. In prison visits are still allowed and for those that are dying extra concessions can be made, this however should not be extended to releasing criminals from prison. Whilst I agree that people should be allowed to die in dignity with their loved ones around them I have no reason to assume that they are prevented from doing this in prison, it may not be as nice as being in a hospital or a familial home but then killing 270 people removes this privilege.

In other news, A levels are on the up again and to say that today's teenagers do not work hard would be a disservice to them. The fact that many of the teenagers gain the same grade however does devalue their achievements, it is high time we returned to the system where the top 10% of people gained an A and so on. When this happens the grades will be a true reflection of ability and the grades rush will stop, of course the government don't want to do this as it would reflect a fall in the grades. What really needs to happen is that we come clean with our teenagers and reward the a fair grade that means something to universities and so on.

Well done to the England cricket team who managed to win the Ashes this weekend, an entertaining series and good wishes for Andrew Flintoff as he undergoes knee surgery.

Well done as well to Federer who secured his sixteenth masters series title on Sunday ahead of the US open on the 31st.

Extradition and the MoD

Posted on Monday, 3 August 2009, 01:16 p.m.

It seems at the moment that there is anti extradition movement, particularly concerning a case where the accused has admitted the crimes, namely hacking into the US defence computers. Gasp, shock, horror, let the world stop turning, surely this man is a dangerous mastermind who can bring us all down. Sadly not, he was looking for evidence about aliens and Roswell and the cover ups! If anything as Boris Johnson says in the Telegraph today he has done them a favour. If a man can do this from home with no malice intended, surely he has highlighted the flaws in the system, alerted them to the dangers they could face from darker minds and all for nothing, except it seems his liberty. It is widely acknowledged that the treaty the UK signed with the US concerning extradition is lopsided, why this comes as a surprise I have no idea, I have nothing against the US but it seems inevitable these days that they come out of all of these things better off than other signatories. Common sense should prevail, a man with asbergers syndrome who poses no threat to anyone does not deserve to be incarcerated in a US prison for up to 60 years. Yes he has committed a crime, that much has been proven, but even here in the UK would there be any sense in him spending a considerable amount of time behind bars?

This is not a victimless crime, the defendant is at risk of being the biggest loser, fair enough you may think, after all he did commit the crime, another reason was extradition in this case may be a farce but as we seem to be engaging former burglars as security consultant wouldn't his talents be out to better use as an adviser, helping to create codes for top secret computer systems that actually work and protect them. Sadly I feel justice in the true sense of the word will not prevail in this instance.

This brings us to the Ministry of Defence. They are trying to scale back damages to servicemen, many who have returned to duty after they have been injured. We all know that money is tight at the moment but denying people money when they have lost limbs, suffered psychological and physical trauma, doing a dangerous job is not good enough. I hate to say it but I hope that none of my children choose to join up, the lack of respect and funding that is shown to members of our armed forces is appalling. We should remember that without those who fought so valiantly in the past the world would be a very different place, perhaps it is just as well that the last remaining WW1 veteran passed before the shame of this case! True those signing up for duty have a good idea what to expect, it is not advertised as an easy option but in this culture where we award thousands of pounds damages to those who have suffered whiplash in a car accident or fallen down a pothole, surely we can award our veterans a sensible amount of money for the actual life changing injuries they suffer in honour of their country!