Sunday, September 24, 2006

Interviewing

Was watching an interview today of Gordon Brown, the British Chancellor (equivalent to Finance Minister) and apparent heir to Tony Blair. And it brought to mind what really irritates me about some aspects of political journalism.

The journalist kept asking various versions of the same question - basically he wanted Gordon to either embarrass the PM and the administration or speak on behalf of the PM re his intentions. Now the questions he was asking, it was obvious the Chancellor could and would not answer them, yet he kept on at it.

I am finding more and more that this type of journalism really annoys me. It does nothing for me as a taxpayer - it only hopes to evoke or draw out a scandal. I wish they'd ask probing questions about policies that affect me as a (heavy) taxpayer. Sometmes it seems that the British media and politicians live in their own little mutually beneficial world where the objective is fame. I exclude from this the Independent which I find to be an excellent paper, giving pertinent and relevant facts regardless of what the useless scandal of the day is.

Anyway, later.

Sunday, September 17, 2006

Tornado in Leeds

There was a tordano here last week. A terrible storm. I looked at some of the pictures on the web and in many places there was some serious flooding and trees that were uprooted completely! It looked awful.

There was also major disruption at the train station - apparently lightening struck Leeds train station and caused a lot of delays.

In fact the weather here in jolly old England had been going haywire the last few years. For instance, in the past, when it rained you usually got a half hearted drizzle that might get a little heavier later and would peter out. Nowadays we get sudden torrential downpours and equally sudden stops. Also, when it rained in the past it was almost always cold, now it rains and stays hot. Global warming in action mate!

At least it's still relatively warm - I hate the cold so I hope the heat stays around for a while - but I shudder to see what the effects of global warming is going to produce in the winter - especially come Februaruy March when it is the coldest.

Later.

Tuesday, September 12, 2006

Remembrances

Today has been nothing but remebrances of September 11.

I hate it.

Why on earth do they have to constantly rehash it? Not out of any feelings for the victims. And you should see the terrible programmes TV has come up with. There's been the 911 milionare widows, the Man Who Predicted 911 and my personal favourite, the 911 liars - a group of people who apparently lie about having a loved one die in the attacks.

Enough already - let the people dem rest in peace.

One thing all of this reminds me of though - the fact that every day thousands of people are killed in horrible circumstances - but the world doesn't care.

Things will only collectively get better when we all feel that EVERY life lost in brutal circumstances counts. There's a part of me that is disgusted with all the grief over 911. I'm not saying that we shouldn't feel grief and anger - but at the same time, is the extent of the grief and anger because the people that died were of a certain world?

This isn't splitting hairs - it's something humanity has to seriously look at. All over the world there are different groups of people who place life of a certain background and colour in a higher value category than others. Perhaps if we didn't there'd be more room for us wanting to prevent attacks and more room for helping the victims of them.

I wish the survivors of the attacks well. I also pray for peace of mind and ongoing safety, which most of them will have (the safety that is). But I also would like to take the anniversary of 911 and remember the millions of people throughout the world who have died in similar circmstances, for whom the world does not weep and who probably have no peace of mind whatsoever because the threat of atrocities re-occuring is high and ever present.

God bless.

Sunday, September 10, 2006

Delusional People

I've been watching the audition rounds of the X-Factor and His Royal Highness and I are amazed at how delusional some of the people are.

We love to watch this show at this stage because many of the people are so cringingly bad - we laugh until we are weak!.

But I can't believe that some of them seem to genuinely believe that they have a chance! Have they no friends? Have they ever listened to themselves? Clearly not.

I would love to be in the room when they are auditioning - it's one of the few ocasions I get to really laugh hard.

I haven't had the chance to see the Jamaican talent search type show - missed it when I was on the rock in July. Is it just as funny as watching say American Idol? Let me know. Also, if anyone has any clips or can point me in the right direction (if they are funny) drop me a line.

Later.

Wednesday, September 06, 2006

Tony to leave according to papers

So Tony Blair is to leave next year according to the papers here tonight. We'll see what they all say in the morning but it looks like he's finally getting the message. I do hope that Gordon Brown can clean up the party and take it back to Old Labour. I must tell you it's a pretty depressing time when I go to vote right now. There's no way I'm voting Tory, and the Lib Dems have gone crazy since they chucked Charles Kennedy out. In my district there's no independent candidate and I'm sure as hell not voting for the BNP candidate! I've been unhappy with Labour for a while but have felt there's been no option. Let's see if I can feel confident in voting for them again after Blair has gone on to earn his millions on the lecture circuit.

It's a crying shame you know, he started off well and just got into bad company with the Jackass from Texas. He's really cocked up what could have been a great legacy. Three terms you know, three terms! Why oh why would you want to cock that legacy up?

Later.