The Nuremberg trials convicted some of the most evil people in history just 13 months after the end of World War II.
But Metropolitan Police reckons that it might struggle to complete its phone hacking INQUIRIES before the next general election in four years' time.
Modern efficiency is wonderful.
Showing posts with label War. Show all posts
Showing posts with label War. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Dark Humour
I received an email today that purported to be a true story from Campbeltown.
Apparently, a business in the town has the following poster in its window:
"We would rather do business with 1,000 Al Qaeda terrorists than with one single British soldier".
While on the face of things that would appear to be a fairly antagonistic message to display in the window of a British business, the email claims that the business in question is....
....a funeral parlour.
So, Argyll residents, is that a true story?
Apparently, a business in the town has the following poster in its window:
"We would rather do business with 1,000 Al Qaeda terrorists than with one single British soldier".
While on the face of things that would appear to be a fairly antagonistic message to display in the window of a British business, the email claims that the business in question is....
....a funeral parlour.
So, Argyll residents, is that a true story?
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Easy To Ignore
"The leaders of the free world are just little boys throwing stones
And it's easy to ignore until they're knocking on the door of your home"
Leaders of the Free World, Elbow
And it's easy to ignore until they're knocking on the door of your home"
Leaders of the Free World, Elbow
Watching this video of the Baker underwater nuclear test in 1946, which I discovered courtesy of Videosift, should be enough to prove to anyone that nuclear weapons really aren't all that great an invention.
Yeah, sure, man now has the ability to wipe out all traces of its own species at the push of a button. But maybe that's not such a fantastic power for people like George Bush, Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-il to have.
Chillingly beautiful? Yes it is. Although I'd imagine that if you were on one of the 90 vessels sitting around the blast zone to find out what would happen, you'd probably not be all that excited by the beauty, and just a tad concerned at the massive mushroom cloud enveloping everything in its path.
I'm no pinko lefty peacenik - if Iran has nuclear weapons, it's probably better that we do as well, if only to act as a discouragement. But maybe it'd just be better if all the little boys put their toys back in the cupboard, or - even better - dismantled them.
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Ta-Ta Tony
Finally, after 10 years of his gormless grin, sweaty shirts and smarmy style, Tony Blair has announced the date when he will resign as Prime Minister.
I am no fan of Blair. In fact, in my list of irritating people, he is probably second from the top behind Gillian McKeith (if you don't know who she is, you're lucky. But you can Google her.)
When Blair became Prime Minister, I was still at school, Princess Diana was still alive and Rangers were the champions of Scotland. I don't think that TB (how apt that his initials are the same as those of a fatal disease) was responsible for my aging, Diana's death or Rangers' decline, but he can be held accountable for a lot of things.
My student days were made a lot harder when Blair's government, all of whom enjoyed a free university education, decided to abolish student grants and replace them with loans.
On a very personal level, this is the Blair government's single biggest effect on my life. House prices and interest rates may have risen and the cost of living may be higher in general, but these things would probably have happened anyway. Blair and his cabinet made the decision to charge people for the privilege of enjoying higher education, and that is something I have never been able to forgive.
One of the joys of being British is that everyone is giving a chance to do the best they can, but stripping student grants added pitfalls to what was previously a level playing field.
Nonetheless, Blair is most likely to be remembered for his actions in peace and war. His time as Prime Minister has seen the unthinkable happen in Northern Ireland, with Unionists and Republicans sharing office, setting down their weapons and attempting to forge a better future in the province. A critic of Blair's I may be, but this development should rank as his greatest achievement.
However, his actions in leading Britain into Afghanistan and Iraq will serve as the permanent legacy of his time in charge. By throwing his hat in the ring with Bush, Tony lost a lot of friends, both at home and overseas, and a lot of voters. Even now, in polling booths across the country, voters who had previously backed Blair and his New Labour have deserted him in their thousands.
Whether the war was right or not is a debate that has been done to death. Stating that the war in Iraq was in response to proof that Saddam Hussein had, or was planning to build, weapons of mass destruction, was the wrong tack to take. Had Blair said from the outset: "Saddam's an asshole, he's killing people in Iraq and we want to free the Iraqis from his tyranny", he might have found more support coming his way.
The most disturbing aspect of Blair resigning as Prime Minister is that Gordon Brown is his replacement-in-waiting. Blair may be a smarmy, soundbite-driven snake, but he certainly has charisma. Brown, on the other hand, is as dour as can be imaginable. I don't for a minute think that politicians should be elected solely on their abilities in front of the camera, but what Brown makes up in political nous, he certainly lacks in flair.
Are we on the verge of a better time? Or will we look back on Blair's decade in charge as a comparitive golden era? Only hindsight will tell.
I am no fan of Blair. In fact, in my list of irritating people, he is probably second from the top behind Gillian McKeith (if you don't know who she is, you're lucky. But you can Google her.)
When Blair became Prime Minister, I was still at school, Princess Diana was still alive and Rangers were the champions of Scotland. I don't think that TB (how apt that his initials are the same as those of a fatal disease) was responsible for my aging, Diana's death or Rangers' decline, but he can be held accountable for a lot of things.
My student days were made a lot harder when Blair's government, all of whom enjoyed a free university education, decided to abolish student grants and replace them with loans.
On a very personal level, this is the Blair government's single biggest effect on my life. House prices and interest rates may have risen and the cost of living may be higher in general, but these things would probably have happened anyway. Blair and his cabinet made the decision to charge people for the privilege of enjoying higher education, and that is something I have never been able to forgive.
One of the joys of being British is that everyone is giving a chance to do the best they can, but stripping student grants added pitfalls to what was previously a level playing field.
Nonetheless, Blair is most likely to be remembered for his actions in peace and war. His time as Prime Minister has seen the unthinkable happen in Northern Ireland, with Unionists and Republicans sharing office, setting down their weapons and attempting to forge a better future in the province. A critic of Blair's I may be, but this development should rank as his greatest achievement.
However, his actions in leading Britain into Afghanistan and Iraq will serve as the permanent legacy of his time in charge. By throwing his hat in the ring with Bush, Tony lost a lot of friends, both at home and overseas, and a lot of voters. Even now, in polling booths across the country, voters who had previously backed Blair and his New Labour have deserted him in their thousands.
Whether the war was right or not is a debate that has been done to death. Stating that the war in Iraq was in response to proof that Saddam Hussein had, or was planning to build, weapons of mass destruction, was the wrong tack to take. Had Blair said from the outset: "Saddam's an asshole, he's killing people in Iraq and we want to free the Iraqis from his tyranny", he might have found more support coming his way.
The most disturbing aspect of Blair resigning as Prime Minister is that Gordon Brown is his replacement-in-waiting. Blair may be a smarmy, soundbite-driven snake, but he certainly has charisma. Brown, on the other hand, is as dour as can be imaginable. I don't for a minute think that politicians should be elected solely on their abilities in front of the camera, but what Brown makes up in political nous, he certainly lacks in flair.
Are we on the verge of a better time? Or will we look back on Blair's decade in charge as a comparitive golden era? Only hindsight will tell.
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