The Critical Aye

Lebanese thoughts...

2006-07-27T22:41:00.000+01:00

This is my response to a Message Board debate on the situation. I wrote it and though, should stick it on the blog, so here it is.....

Lebanon is a democracy. Hezbollah are a political party. They often deliver better healthcare and education than the Lebanese state. They want an Islamic state in Lebanon but are prepared to try and acheive it at the ballot box in a free society. They don't disguise this. It irks me that the even a free democracy is not protected by the US after all the bleating over Iraqi freedom. Not too mention Hamas's stake in Palestinian democracy.
The language of freedom, democracy and terror has been hypocritically warped.

The lebanese state will not fight back but the people will.Hezbollah are also an aggressive military organisation. They have no right to attack Israel and Israel does have a right to defend itself. However the manner in which they are choosing to do so is very over the top. There is no excuse for the shelling of UN bases. Israel may have issues warnings to leave but then proceeded to blow up the vehicles leaving if they were big enough to conceal rockets.

Hezbollahs grievances, like those of Palestine, come from the fact that Israel is in control of land it should not be. Israel has continually flouted UN resolutions in both Lebanon and Palestine. At the conference in Rome only three out of scores of countries blocked a move to call for an unconditional ceasefire.

The idea of not calling for a ceasfire until a plan is in place to uphold it is rubbish. No satisfactory conclusion will be reached until the powers that be start recognising genuine greivances and bully all parties concerned. All the bloodshed that will continue with our permission is pointless if we are so hellbent on finding a solution.

I think it is very likely that Iran will become involved. It is only a matter of time before Iranian oil ( which we are very happy to buy from them to fund their nuclear programs) is not traded in dollars. Causing a fall in dollar demand and a few problems with the delicate global finance system. In short such a move by Iran would be an attack on American interests, proviking war. It was what lead to the Iraq war.

As for conspriacies, I am sure that there are powerplays at work. Not sure if its anything to do with North Korea though. Speculation is enjoyable but not too productive.

The UN can't do anything. Like the League of Nations before it. The set up of the security council with permanent member veto ensures its pointless at times of crises, although still important for mopping up. Unless we work towards a global democratic structure of government the most powerful states will always ride roughshod.

I realise I am getting into ranting territory. No doubt this thread will get deleted soon anyway! I accept everyone will have a different opinion on the matter.I just wish that there was a genuine desire to see a peaceful and prosperous middle east whose economies were not almost solely dependant on finite resources.

For this to happen I believe we need to see our governments prepared to admit that we have behaved openly and covertly in a way which has caused genuine greivance amongst people of many religions and ethnicitys. There is no absolutely no excuse for terrorism and although some people will always find one we should endeavour to limit theit options in anyway we can.

Getting back to the original point, this means taking a consistently firm stance with Israel. Which seems pretty unliekly sadly. The barrel of a gun does not discrimate between a terrorist and an israeli soldier and not do the cries of a mother.

Just a point for the cynics. It can never be this easy. Once power and money come into the equation the real world takes hold. You can but dream though....

Cash for honours rumbles on....

2006-07-14T13:52:00.000+01:00

Just on my lunch break during my last ever shift at the library so this will have to be a quick one.... I have only got halfway through the almight rumpus created by the ever controversial Polly Toynbee on Comment is free.

She argues, as I have done ( see 'an honous that should be earnt not bought), that some state funding of elections is the lesser of the available evils. Although I would not want to see the money go to the parties but towards 'democratic platforms'.

We should get our problems into perspective. The current scandal is hardly evidence of endemic corruption within the Labour Party. All the parties have been doing it, since, well, like ever.

The problem is that running elections is so expensive. With all the media costs and such an increasingly presedential style, campaigning is less about doorbells and more about dollars. political parties simply cannot raise the funds to fight this type of election by traditional means.

Introducing a capped donation system would hugely benefit the tories as they have no shortage of potential 50k donors. The British electoral system is, as Toynbee points out, full of bias which swings both ways.

It would be good to see a recognition that we need to take electioneering down a peg or two. Success on the streets should be built from the bottom up. To do this would mean that substance might regain its rightful place over style. More importantly though it woule require political parties increasingly severed from their local lifeblood to renengage the grassroots. Encouraging a new focus on providing a party of the people, with a desire to see change for the better would reinvigorate Labour.

Again these are not drafted comments but more off the cuff outbursts, opinions, comments and questions as ever, appreciated.

Dear Anonymous....

2006-07-13T11:57:00.000+01:00

An anonymous poster provoked a muddled rant from me last night. I have decided to use the consequent outburst as today's post. Hopefully it may provoke some opinion.

Anonymous wrote:

"Hello,

Don't the media just sell what everyone WANTS to buy - factually inaccurate though it may be? Everyone knows that 'you shouldn't beleive everything you read', just as everyone knows 'you shouldn't trust a politician'.

The problem then seems to be:What's in the Sun is easier to talk about (and act on generally) during your lunch break, than what's on newsnight."

I want to thank anonymous for this question, although I could have written for hours. Following a conversation with my youngest brother I also have an inkling you might not be all that anonymous?

Anyway, here is my reply....
Hi,
Thanks for your comment.
There is a fractious relationship between what the media sell and what people want.Where on one hand the Sun's 'white van man' might want tits and football he ends up with more than that. Even the Sun's 'funnies' usually have a clever slant of cynicism or dogma.

Whilst the selling point of tabloids may not be their political framework it inevitably impacts on the reader. Although you are right that everyone knows not to beleive what they read in the paper, the fact reamins that to some extent everyone does. They just believe different papers!

This does not change the fact that media can never truly represent political processes. For example see my post about ' the paedofinder general' and the politics behind that story.

Also there are more philosophical questions about what shapes wants. No time for that here but it seems safe to say that celebrity gossip on paper leads, to celebrity gossip on your lunch break, lunch breaks being social occassions no one wants to be out of the loop so they buy a paper for the gossip. The paper adds more celebrity gossip to increase readership and so continues the cycle - driven by the free market nature of our media.

If the media sells what everyone wants to buy then looking at the print media in the UK everyone wants fairly different things. Despite this the media as one , still frame and shape our understanding of events such as 7/7. I would not think people want '7/7' but such is the way the modern terror threat has been built in the media 7/7 is what they get, not 'the london bombings'. Above all, and this reveals my side of right/left divide, i feel that on issues of national and political importance we need a stronger code of editorial democratic responsibility. People cannot want what is not available. Do people really talk about the collapse of a mothers life thansk to al qaeida over coffee? I'm not advocating censorship , just a more subtle understanding of the role the media, in pursuance of profit, play in developing the politics of terror.

Moving on to the idea that everyone knows ' you shouldn't trust a politician'. I get the feeling you are trying to play devils advocate!Politicians would find things much easier if there was a cross party admission that you cannot please all of the people all of the time! Democracy is not a science.

The way that changes in media technology have led to us seeing politicians (via tv/internet) more often than our best friends has meant that politicans have had to personalise themselves. Gone is the distant voice of churchill, portraying wisdom and bravery over the airwaves.

Instead we have the now cliched chumminess of Blair and the everydayness of Cameron. In a political environment increasingly led by presidential style candidates, this personal approach to the electorate can backfire. I feel this has given rise to the politics of scandal, where a PM can get away with a breach of international law no problem but if he shagged his secretary that would be the end of his career.

Again though, my youth still shows in that I believe the media as businesses reliant on corporate sponsors (BBC excepted) would rather criticise government than corporate failings. To scruntise the corporate sector ( over for example environmental issues) would risk advertising revenue.Really though, politicians should not promise wha they cannot deliver. Only a cross party consensus acknowledging the harm done by elaborate promises can pave the way for this.

Finally to the idea of the Sun and lunch breaks.I agree the red top content makes better small talk. I don't think you need to read a red top to be able to hold your own over lunch, a general awareness does this. Buying a newspaper remains a market choice, much of the internet for example is free. People will always want to talk shite. God knows I do (see last few paragraphs). The time for putting the political world to rights is not on your lunch break and nor should it be.

I read the Mirror (only red top provided) on my breaks because I don't have the time or desire to get involved in complex comment.

In general though I think you are saying that people would rather not deal with the tougher questions facing our society.I fear this will always be the case. There is no hidden plethora of Athenian citizens waiting to be awoken. However people do have opinions on more that just Big Brother and the World Cup, they just don't think their opinion is listened to by anyone who can act on it.

Changing this attitude requires more than Editorial democratic responsibility or politicians bleating on the telly about how hard it is to deliver, although both might help.

There is a need to work towards creating a democracy which is accessible, where what people think matters and what people want counts. This requires constant scrutiny,commitment and campaigning and almost evangelism from those of us fortunate enough to be engaged and aware of the political fabric of our society.

Then people might still talk tabloid at lunch, but they might choose to spend their evenings more wisely.

Apologies for the lengthy and muddled answer and thanks again for your question, I hope that made some sense! A real answer would be far longer than my dissertation, although I would rather answer that question than my dissertation question!

An opportunist tory step too far?

2006-07-12T22:26:00.000+01:00

Did David Davis REALLY call identity cards a 'plastic poll tax'? The tories may be trying to rebrand but surely they can't try and turn that historical bone of contention into political capital? I dare you to disagree!

The aye's parliamentary sojourn...

2006-07-09T13:59:00.000+01:00

Well, the aye has spent the last fortnight working in Westminster.

It has been fantastic and the aye is certainly refocused.

Something of a blog renewal will be undergone with the aye becoming more clearly a Labour Party supporter. This will not stop criticism and the aye will still speak its mind. I hope to be able to start working on my links to other bloggers and to come under the labour bloggers banner. I also wish to draw your attention to Labour Friends of Iraq , in the hope that something good can come out of Iraq. I will discuss the Euston Manifesto too at some point soon.

During my time in the corridors of power I have seen a few news stories evolve. The biggest of which has been the ongoing Prescott saga. Firstly the news breaks of his further extra marital misdemeanours, news which was broken by another (Tory) blogger. Then the news about about the weekend on Anschutz's cattle ranch broke. It was the evening after this that I met Prescott and it was strange to spend time wondering what knot he had used on his tie, then seeing the very same tie on the front of all the next mornings papers.

The current call for Prescotts head though, as we all know could have serious repurcussions. There is no doubt it would be a boon for Cameron's mob. It seems he may have survived for now now but it is safe to assume that if anything goes wrong whilst Blair is on holiday we may see the creation of a rather large, pugnacious scapegoat. I hope Prescott can survive for now because I think it would do real damage to rush into any sort of leadership election. The Labour MP'S considering running in a contest need time to work out amongst the PLP who stands the best chance and their own platforms so as to avoid unnecessary internal bickering.

Now may be an untimely ocassion to choose to do so but I would like to express my concern at the way in which the anniversary of the July bombings has been dealt with. There has long been a debate about the symbiotic relationship between terrorism and the media. I feel the media needs to look at how it can weaken this trend and make terrorist acts, less and not more of a political issue. The suffering and devastation caused to everyday people through terrorism is a large part of its terroristic makeup. The perpetual focus seen in the media does nothing to alleviate this fear.

I also dislike the way in which the London bombings have become'7/7' during previous terror campaigns waged on the capital this was never the case. It seems the new threat of fundamentalist terror is being painted with a new brushstroke. If the media examined their role in this then maybe there would be less room for terrorist ideology and fear to be peddled.

I have much more to write about including the West Lothian Question and extremism in the coming days. Although it will not all be serious political rantings. I will also aim to keep Cameron watch updated though perhaps more sporadically then this site. For now though I am off to watch the World Cup final.....

The lazy aye opens.....

2006-06-20T22:50:00.000+01:00

Hello ether,

I have not blogged for a while but I do intend to get back on it soon. I see things daily I would like to humourously infrom you of.

Tonight whilst researching my penultimate ever essay I found this quote by an American called Walter Lippman, writing about public opinion in 1923:-

It is not enough to say that our side is more right than the enemy's, that our victory will help democracy more than his. One must insist that our victory will end war forever, and make the world safe for democracy. And when the war is over, though we have thwarted a greater evil than those which still afflict us, the relativity of the result fades out, the absoluteness of the present evil overcomes our spirit, and we feel that we are helpless because we have not been irresistible. Between omnipotence and impotence the pendulum swings."

Not bad I thought. I know we all like to forget about Iraq but what with Iran looking increasingly likely....

back soon, I promise!

Animal folk....

2006-04-20T10:28:00.000+01:00

Following Labours portrayal of Dave the Chameleon I thought it might be a laugh to think of more famous folk who could be animals....

I'll stick some on here tonight after a full days presentation creation at the uni library.

Please add your own...

Giant Easter eggs and other confectionary....

2006-04-17T19:39:00.000+01:00

Happy Easter!!

Continuing the ocassional food theme of The Critical Aye for some chocolate related fun have a look at Pimp My Snack. For those who have not yet seen it.

TCA will be back tommorow.

It's not all bad!

2006-04-15T21:40:00.000+01:00

This post was half written on saturday and completed on Tuesday morning.

Well here I am on the eve of the Triduum. I am pretty tired having spent last night in my local and all of today in the library. You would be surprised how many people want a good book for easter. The complaints of my colleagues also mean that a decent proportion of our air conditioning does not work. Thanks goodness for the water cooler.

Things were a little different in the pub last night. After a rather nasty incident involving a bottle and an angry scotsman the previous week we had the rarity of bouncers on the door. Proper out to cause aggro type bouncers they were too.

I will move swiftly to the matter in hand. I had a political argument with a colleague at work on Saturday. She was trawelling through the age old tory argument that all high taxes achieve is an underclass of recipients with a rabbit like penchant for procreation. Now whilst this view is peddled in popular comedy (see Little Britain, Catherine Tate or The league of Gentlemen to name but a few...) is it actually the case?

Well in some cases yes. I do not agree though with her argument that Labour since 1997 have perpetuated this problem. For all the criticisms of Labour their redistributive efforts have not benefitted the unemployed. Cutting numbers on long term disability benefit, a minimum wage, working family tax credits, slashing youth unemployment and extra childcare support for working parents. I can't see many incentives to stay on the sofa there.

With a return to Uni pending I can't spare the time to work out whether Labour provide an incentive to have more kids. I don't really see how an extra 10 quid a week can logically compensate for the cost of an additional child. I just don't buy the argument that high taxes encourages breeding! The line of argument used by my colleague was that because these finincial support such as the WFTC was not around when she started a family (under a tory government) childbearing is now better for your benefits. The fact these benefits are available for young parents nowadays is not something which should be bemoaned but celebrated. A fact it is easy to forget when you have set down roots in a comfortable middle england town with a top state school for your children. The baby funds now available, again thanks to Labour, are a tremendous idea which will give all children, regardless of their quality of upbringing, a small help in moving towards financial independence.

It seems that the political wind is changing in the much coveted Middle England. I just hope that people can stop and think about what this government has done for society. It has helped the individual tremendously by providing a stable, growing economy. We have never had it so good.
Whilst the left/right distinction is unfashionable these days it is not irrelevant.

There is such a thing as society and those who ignore it have forgotten what it means to need help in securing a sustainable lifestyle. Of course some people push the boundaries and take the piss but most people claiming benefits are ordinary hard working Britains. It is the sort of attitude shown by middle class snobs that drives the main parties to ignore the working class to such an extent that 25% would consider voting BNP.

What I don't like is the sort of pious, pompous arrogance on display at bloggers4labour. It is one thing to know which side your bread is buttered and quite another to be so blindly ignorant of the democratic failings of your party in government. A truly progressive party needs to constantly examine, not praise itself.

On a different note, has anyone else noticed the product placement in The Apprentice? The phones being a prime example. Also the prominence of TopShop in last weeks episode. Check out other placments at Product Invasion.

Elsewhere we see the emergence of Dave the Chameleon onto the political scene. A matter of course for Cameron Watch.

Also just to prove even I am not impervious to the oddities of our less educated and well mannered countrymen and women here is a link to ChavScum - your guide to the asbo generation

fuku fukuyama

2006-04-10T20:51:00.000+01:00

Francis Fukuyama. Americas most notorious repentent neocon. Fuk u.

I stumbled across this article whilst I was browsing the Huffington Post. When I stumbled across this article. Which despite initially making me a bit angry ended on quite a sensible point.

For those not in the know. Fukuyama wrote a book called 'The End of History and The Last Man'. In this book Fukuyama argued that in mature liberal democracies we have reached the end of our ideological development. The current blend of liberalism/individualism with a free market capitalism will spread and beyond that ideologies will do battle no more.

A load of claptrap ( ones hopes), but a reasonable read and enough to endear him to the Bush administration. No doubt because it gives credibility to Bush's creed of ideological interventionism.

I don't really see much point in arguing the toss over who was for and against the war. For my part I feel guilty for letting it wash over me and not doing more to voice my disapproval. I was working for Labour at the time and did mention misgivings over the lack of a proper plan for the aftermath.

It seems that the US and ourselves glaringly misread the situation. Given that we are now told Iranian hostility to the west is outright, why did we not anticipate the level of the insurgency. Bush and Blair do seem blind to the degree of moderate folk that reserve high levels of antipathy for their actions.

Given that elsewhere today we have seen the publication of well reserched articles highlighting the level of consideration given by the US administration to a Nuclear option in Iran. The previous track record is a worrying one.

I wanted though to point a pertinent point made by Fukuyama. It regards the way that polarised parties tend to create an atmosphere where agreeing with the majority of the opposition makes you a traitor to your own party. Of course, agreeing with your own party makes a traitor to yourself. This problem of course afflicts British politics too and is exactly the sort of 'Punch and Judy politics' David Cameron seeks to avoid.

This is why I am a big supporter of allowing MP's to organise themselves into interest alliances which cross party boundaries. If this practice which ocassionally takes place informally could be seen to take place more publically it might help restore some faith in the public that politicians don't just want to chuck dirt at each other.

In the meantime on a day where I got tickets for Dirty Pretty Things as well as copies of Snow patrol, raconteurs and DPT forthcoming albums I am a happy man. I will be even happier if Prodi pips Berlusconi to the post in Italy but it seems the result is too close to call (The Guardian alomost called if for Prodi earlier but has since changed tack!)

Popworld, music and E4.....

2006-04-09T10:56:00.000+01:00

A few articles have surfaced bemoaning the end of Simon and Miquita's reign as king and Queen of Popworld. The articles must have been taken from the very same interview and you can find them here and here. I did look in both the Times and the Telegraph for something but to no avail. They obviously get their cool from mojito's not miquita's! Or maybe the idea of Sunday morning S&M conjours up very different ideas....

I have long enjoyed Popworld. It tends to be on a bit too early for me to watch it regularly but there is no doubt there is something about the program which makes you feel at home with it. The sort of cameraderie displayed by Simon and Miquita is something any observer would want a piece of. Not to mention the possibility of seeing beneath the shiny surface of an unfortunate pop star.

Whilst these article heap praise on Popworld, I will go further and applaud ( not for the first time) the whole of Sunday morning E4. The hollyoaks ominbus provides a multitude of reasons to stay in bed on a Sunday morning. Although it is usually the case that saturday night provides more! I can't miss another opportunity to lament the loss from our screens a few years back of the gorgeous Anna (played by Lisa Kay).

I do sometimes wish that E4 could have slightly more cerebral content of the type disguised in Popworld. Do people think this is possible?

There has also been an increasing amount of column inches devoted to the growth of download sales. Following the success of Gnarls Barkley in becoming the first ever Number 1 from download sales alone. Does this spell the end for CD's?

CD's do not have the same nostalgic value as their long threatened vinyl counterparts. Why go into town to buy CD'S when you can download them? Quite often for free.

I don't think the end is nigh just yet. Cd's still offer the buyer something tangible. Special editions allow for artwork and extra media features not available to download. Plus the download market is very much geared towards the pop industry. The music afficianado must still be prepared to spend hours flicking through the racks of many a music store.

With prices of cd's coming down, thanks in no small part to the tremendous FOPP buliding a cd collection will take less time and less money. Most quality stereos still run best off of physical and not digtal music.

However, in honour of the power of new media and it's influence on the music industry I have joined last.fm. As you can see on my sidebar there is a music chart which will be updated weekly with my most listened songs. last.fm works by giving you music recommendations and putting you in touch with people with similar tastes. You don't have to go through the bother of typing in your tastes. A program called 'audioscrobbler' does it for you. You can find me there under the username 'thecriticalaye'. Check it out.

The death of the pub quiz?

2006-04-04T13:11:00.000+01:00

Fresh from last nights pub quiz The Critical Aye is wondering if it is time to lament the death of the good old fashioned pub quiz?

Walking into my local last night it seemed that the birds had come home to roost. There were teams of brightly coloured, smartly coifurred young folk everywhere. It could only mean the fledgling students of Southwell had returned. And that I could not get a seat.

Much is made of the affiliation of youth to all things modern technology, not least mobile phones. There is now an established number, which you can text message for the answer to any quiz question. (Like I'm going to give it to you...)

Cheating in quizzes is nothing new. Since the dawn of the mobile era, many a suspicious eyebrow has been raised towards those who dash for the loo phone in hand. Not to mention the odd slightly less than impartial quizmaster. Where there is money and free beer at stake you expect some competition. I come from the school of quizzers who take great offence at even a momentary furtive glance towards my answer sheet.

The last few weeks the winning quiz team has got full marks. This has never happened once before. Now the problem is spreding to the 'snowball' question whose answer is so improbable the correct answer will ensure the winner 100 pounds.

*How can you stop the mobile phone cheats?

There is a discussion here, but I think there attempts are rubbish so I'm asking you too.

In the meantime if you need any help either swotting or creating your own quiz, try quizhelp.

ooopss.....

2006-04-01T16:38:00.000+01:00

Check out the 'Fact of the Day' in the Guardian. Apparently smokers have a 50% chance of dying. Having not had a cigarette since january, I am gutted. Us non smokers as far asI am aware still have a fat 100% chance of dying.

Smoking ban? It's about time they made it compulsory!

Cyberbullying??

2006-03-30T16:09:00.000+01:00

The critical aye was alerted to the front page of todays Daily Mirror by an old school friend.

The article produced a bit of friendly banter as in days gone by the aforementioned friend constructed a similar website, the star of which was yours truly The Critical Aye. I can't help but get the feeling this headline is rather behind the times. My bullying site was online in 1998!

Featuring less than flattering photographs from Duke of Edinburgh expeditions and early teenage parties I would perhaps have been more appropriately monikered 'The Critical Pie' in those days.

I am surprised that this sort of bullying, along with other forms of cyberbullying, has failed to make the news sooner. Then I am always surprised in the Library when 30 somethings come in asking me to find out something for them which they could have done in 0.01 seconds on google. This headline goes to show how out of touch with the capabilities of new media the general public really are.

It is difficult to gauge how shocked one should feel reading the article. Whilst I shed a few tears over being bullied at school I was also lucky enough to be good natured and perhaps slightly over confident. Schoolboy pranks frustrated me and false rumours wound me up but all in all the experience probably helped me laugh at myself.

Different people deal with such things in different ways and I do not wish to belittle the suffering of the cyberbullied, merely highlight how out of date the press are.

On a very seperate note there is more worrying news on ID cards. If the best argument the Home Secretary can muster in their support is a saving of 485 million for the private sector then I am certainly against them. Other carrots such as easier banking and less benefit fraud also fail to convince.

I am not usually one to harbing doom however I have to agree that being forced to show your ID card on demand or face a 2000 pound fine, is rather Orwellian. It seems the counter terrorism argument has slipped into the background and that was the most convincing line as far as I was concerned.

All in all it seems that the growth of consumer profiles lends itself to an metaphorical panoptican.

Penultimately, check out my new blog Cameron Watch , I'll be keeping an aye on him for the years ahead so he doesn't pull the wool over your eyes.

Finally, and just for the boy who used to bully me, check out this staple free stapler. The mind boggles!

An honour which should be earnt not bought....

2006-03-29T20:41:00.000+01:00

The Critical Aye has unearthed a new honours for sale scandal..... The great history of these honours can be viewed here. Details of existing privileges can be seen here.
Given the greath history of The Blue Peter Badge, its sale on ebay is a national outrage. My friend simon the saxophone player practised for 3 months to play on Blue Peter. The Critical Aye once saw a bearded cocaine ravaged Richard Bacon weeping into his christmas eve ale at the injustice of his badge being withdrawn.

Critical updates on the other honours scandal are found below the badge.

A very clear article by Simon Jenkins on the Guardian website. We now all know that both major parties were in clear breach of the law. The cash for honours scandal could just as easily be a cash for policy scandal. As I have written before I believe it is vitally important that the funding of political parties remains distanced from corporate cash.

So I am a bit taken aback by the size of the backlash at the idea of state funding. Simon Jenkin's view that funding should come solely from a parties membership has great strength for it places an onus on the major parties to rengage and reinvigorate their grassroots membership. There are also clear reasons why a state electoral warchest might not be a boon for our democracy. The tendency towards American style media driven elections would not be curtailed by party access to public funds. Most of this money would also be pushed into marginal seats thereby making the distributed benefits of the tax uneven.

Some state funding of elections could be beneficial for the democratic process. Funds could be earmarked for local hustings and other debates. Manifestoes could be better promoted, maybe included in national newspaper supplements rather than only available for sale or in public libraries.

My point is that we should not be so instantly dismissive of some state funding for elections. It will help to rule out avenues for corruption and if harnessed correctly could even enrich our democracy.

Something smells oily....

2006-03-26T20:30:00.000+01:00

A few critical musings on a worrying theory....

Firstly, as I mentioned a few weeks back, I am intrigued by the whispered argument that the real reason behind the increasing hostility towards Iran is to do with 'Petro Euros'. I was hoping to have a word with someone in London about the plausibility of this before explaining it but I think it warrants a mention as it is not in any of the press.

Having come back to this post to update it, I did a google image search on 'euro oil' and low and behold a few more articles have popped up, one from as credible a source as The Observer. An article on Iraqs move to the Euro also appears on the CNN website. Most interestingly is this article from a Russian website detailing the opening of Irans oil exchange and the potential effects of this.

Before the invasion of Iraq. Saddam had changed the way in which Iraqi oil was traded. Namely changing the currency in which it was traded from Dollars to Euros. Now Iran threatens to do the same thing. Iran has the worlds second largest oil reserves so the effects would be significant.

Following basic economics. As oil commands huge volumes of currency to be exchanged and the current petro currency is the Dollar, this means that demand for the Dollar is kept high.
If oil is traded in Euro's then the demand for the Dollar, and therefore its value, will fall.

Given the threat to the Dollar of not only the Euro but also the growing power of the Yuan and the Rupee. This potential fall in Dollar value could undermine the complex credit arrangements of the US (and global) economies.

Whether the potential threat to the dollar from losing oil currency status is as great as this theory suggests I really do not know. I do believe it is worth a mention and possibly gives a reason to Irans statements that they could 'do real damage' to the west. Any comments would be appreciated.

Ona more humourous side note - I read an article by Joel Morris in the Guardian about his book 'Bollocks to Alton Towers'. Apparently radio shows have been unable to give the title the coverage they would like. This humourous anecdote in G2 washed over me until the next morning. I started my shift in the library and a very old granny came in to ask about a book she had heard about on radio 4 that morning. I searched the R4 website to find the book title for her. Now I don't know bout radio editors but how should a librarian approach telling a little old dear that the book she was after was called Bollocks to Alton Towers!

Library corner

2006-03-17T19:46:00.000Z

Southwell has sought a new library for 30 years and now, thanks to government funding, it has one. The public response has been incredible with 800 new members at the last count, this in a town of 8000. So todays question from The Critical Aye is to ask whether you use your library? Is it any good? Are the librarians friendly or do they act to reinforce stereotypes?

Having been busy today and with more of the same tommorow I am resisting the lure of pub. Much I would love to do otherwise, the prospect of going near the junior section with even a sniff of a hangover is too much to bare.

I have been browsing the Channel4 website. I really like their content, however I do wish more of it was available in text. Watching a 5 minute report which you could read in 2 defeats the notion of 'browsing'. Jon Snow must be pleased at becoming a brand though....

The Party Coffers...

2006-03-16T12:02:00.000Z

The Critical Aye recieved a letter this morning from the Labour Party. We will be taking 36 pounds from your account on the 21st May to renew your student membership it said. I munched my way through my cornflakes wondering if this donation would accrue me any legislative favours... free postgraduate eduaction with 2005/6 students refunded perhaps
??

We are of course embroiled in another Labour loans scandal. Despite this not being the first time A significant donation has found its way into the Labour coffers it does seem the time has come for the S word to emerge.
Nick Robinson, political supremo of the BBC has decided that this (off the back of Mrs, sorry,ms, or should that be miss? Jowells shenanigans) is the first time New labour and sleaze have been linked.
It would seem that Messrs Robinson (Geoffery), Mandelson, Ecclestone and Hinjuda all conducted,covert but not perhaps sleazy, financial transactions. Maybe they were more legitimate because the Party knew about them? This time it seems they did not.

So the Government has accepted a loan from Mr Chai Patel. Mr Patel has recieved a nomination for a peerage. Is there a direct link, conceivably not. Though one might suggest such a loan would not be ignored when assessing the worthiness of a man to sit in the upper house.

What is more worrying is that this is another sign of an increasing independence of the government from the Labour Party itself. This sort of large cash donation is of the type usually seen in America. The growing resemblance of our political system to to America's has been commented on by The Critical Aye before.

Blair has responded with his usual measured gusto. Proposing a shake up of the way in which Party funding is managed. This sets my alarm bells ringing. This shake up under New Labour could well lead to much larger sums being openly used to gain influence. Will current electoral spending restrictions be removed for example? We should, I believe, be wary.

On another note. I have discovered dentists might well be being greedy in answer to my query in 'you can't handle the tooth'. An admitedly biased source suggests they would be getting 80k a year under the new NHS deal.

Lastly. The Guardian has launched a new blog for its newspaper columists and other social commentators deemed worthy. A link to Comment is Free is provided for you. Should be good.

Great Foods of the past...

2006-03-15T12:47:00.000Z

A great article in The Independent about the longevity of certain British brands. You know the sort, Spam, Marmite etc. My personal favourite has to be Gold Bars. Although I would love to know if anyone remember the potato croquets with tomato ketchup in the middle? Maybe I dreamt them....

A foray into football....

2006-03-12T19:55:00.000Z

The Critical Aye is a massive football fan, though he tries not to let this passion stray into his blog because the blog is meant to deal with matters more pressing. However an afternoon in a local hostelry has prompted me to place my beer soaked fingers to the keyboard....

Firstly, I would like to express my disgust at armchair supporters of any team in the top ten of the Premiership. You feign delight and disgust from the comfort of your local pub at each televised game. It is fair to say that most of the time you see your team win. This costs you about a tenner for 3 pints, some crisps and a cheeky pound in the fruity. Having watched the smattering of televised games (held at irregular times for your convenience) you feel qualified to wax lyrical about trophies past and ocassionally present. You favourite players change in line with the sports pages of your choice of tabloid.

This does not make you a FOOTBALL supporter. I will not tell you what does make you a football supporter for fear a potential lady friend might one day read this (she would after all expect commitment...)

Secondly, How do you, my phantom readers, feel about the idea that each english team should field at least 2/3 english players? A question which is after all relevant to both the european and globaliation debates....

Notts County FC

Ps - The Critical Aye promises at least a month shall pass before he next breaks forth with football from his tongue)

Securitas break into tupperware market....

2006-03-10T19:37:00.000Z

Just a quick one. Has anyone come across these tupperware boxes that have locks on the lid. You have to open the box four times to take the lid off. It's ridiculous. Still it helps me cut down on the biscuits on my one full day in the library. Infuraiting when your trying to get the teabags out though. It's tamper proof gone mad.

Looking at the strength of the 'petro euros' argument ( your preliminary thoughts?), should post over the weekend, in the meantime enjoy, I've an appointment with The Constant Gardener as I'm babysitting for a favour...

New Labour up to its old tricks.....

2006-03-08T14:20:00.000Z

The Critical Aye does not have a sufficient grasp of html to reinstate pictures so watch out for a potential site makeover. They might even put it on BBC on if i can unearth a parquet floor under that Make Poverty History logo....

Todays rant has been encouraged by this article in The Guardian. Written by Micheal Meacher the article draws our attention to the possible implications of Labour's Party Renewal Project.

Britains more democratic democrats are becoming increasingly concerned at the extent to which British politics is bending to American influence. Complaints about 'americanisation' are of course nothing new. Ever since the golden arches appeared in Moscow there has been a tendency to equate the growing web of monetary power with , perhaps unintentional, American cultural imperialism. There is of course, no reason why America seemingly acts as a global trendsetter other than the truth in that age old adage: money talks.

So why would people think British politics is becoming more American? Why should this concern me, I hear all of you non existant readers cry!

The core of the problem* lies in the the amount of control which the common folk can exercise over their politicians. Whilst already less than ideal this control is being diminished in the UK by two factors already common to America. The marginalisation of political parties and the ever increasing influence of the media in in presenting and judging politics. (* Blairs presidential style is ignored in this piece but could be the subject of its own book)

American politics like in most democracies, comes to life at election time. These elections are dominated by style over substance. The two main parties emerge from the woodwork to campaign for their presidential candidates. The two presidential candidates become the figureheads for the election. Businesses are allowed to make limitless financial donations to parties campaigns. Given the size of America the media oversee the whole affair. There is no limit on television or newspaper advertising by the candidates.

The emergence of New Labour saw the coming of age of a politics of style in the UK. The thwarted prospect of a Cameron vs Blair election would have been the most presidential yet.

The safeguards on British politics are that there are clear spending limits in place for parties and candidates during elections. This restricts product style advertising of a parties manifesto and stops the power of money being used to win political favours ( just ask Bernie..;-0 )

Secondly British political parties are not 'election only' insititions but actually have a far more significant role to play in British democracy. They gather up the opinions of the multi-farious instituions of civil society and transform them into policy with the held and discussion of their own members. Therefore if you want to influence a parties political agenda, you join the party and get involved in policy discussions.

This is now all changing, policy is increasingly formed in the lairs of Blairs advisors and approval sought in the media. The parties are no longer aggregations of interests and ideology but increasingly american style electoral machines. Just look at Labour and Conservative spending on communications at the last election.

To add to this, as Micheal Meachers article shows, there is no the prospect of New Labour changing the rules by which its leader is elected. New Labour have been working on a 'supporters network' which is a body of people who do not wish to join the party but express a willingness to support labour. The party renewal project suggests that this supporters network should be given the vote. This would do away with the last vestiges of strong trade union influence within the party, but more importantly would mean that policy would not be constructed within the party but only amongst the leadership. The party would only need the supporters network to legitmate it's choice of new leader and not to survive.

This is bad for democracy and even worse for the role of political parties in Britain.

(This piece will be edited soon - quite pushed for time. Your comments as ever are much appreciated.)

A handwritten letter in a green envelope

2006-02-20T19:30:00.000Z

My local church this week recieved a visit from the local MP Patrick Mercer .
I was not able to attend the service due to falling off of the post festive waggon is spectacular style on saturday night.

On the grapevine I have heard two of Mr Mercer's more intriguing comments. Firstly, and least surprisingly, he claims that Political Correctness is the biggest threat to this country at this moment in time. Secondly, an more surprisingly in the 21st century is the fact that he claims the best way to contact him is with a handwritten letter!

Some of the regular browsers of the critical aye (if they exist...) might be surprised that I wholeheartedly agree with my local tory mouthpiece that PC is a threat to our political environment. Perhaps not the biggest threat, given the existence of islamic terrorists, the proximity of bird flu and the appetite of John Prescott, but a threat non the less.

For PC provides a convenient veil behind which many an ignorant fool can hide. It stops people from having to justify their opinions. I use a football message board ocassionally and when i challenge racist remarks on there I am immediately accused of being 'the PC patrol'. Out comes a ludicrous list of PC motions from various foolish town council officials seen to be eroding our Great British culture. Challenging bigots would be a lot easier without these fools making life difficult.

It is undoubtedly a good thing that mainstream ignorance with regard to race, disability and gender issues has been marginalised but I think we are in danger of over egging the pudding. I know that (elements of) the national press seize upon moments of PC madness which exacerbates the problem. The fact remains that too much emphasis on being PC stagnates debate. It is symptomatic of the way modern politics clings to the centre ground and reinforces a downsian prediction. For PC pervades throughout debate, not just cloaking controversy but also ideology. If people in the public domain were less afraid of being 'un pc' then maybe we might be able to take them more seriously?

As a side note - Mercer completely in opposition to Cameron on PC as it's not months since Cameron's pro PC speech. I see more stories today magnifying the gravity of Camerons leftward leap. This is starting to seem like something of a conspiracy. You can't really tell me that the old school tories will not be happy with Cameron's plausible tactic of hugging the centre ground if gets them back into power. A right wing thinker writing in a left wing magazine that Cameron's move to the left will not guarantee him support amongst the right wing of his party. Who the hell else will they vote for? UKIP? I doubt it, their threat has been neutered by the manouveres of Hague in the European Parliament. Cameron is clearly a clever little bastard. Whats worse he might deliver to his core support what Blair failed to do - a revert to core party principles.

So how about I write a nice hand written letter to Mr Mercer? He said that emails and typed letters get overlooked in the huge amounts of correspondance he receives. He is obviously no enthusiast of E- democracy. Infact anyone would have thought that he didn't actaully want people to get in contact with him?

Enthusiasts of E- democracy are having a good media week though. The Guardian carries an article on the impact of technological change on political communications. It also has an article obviously spawned from a press release on the BBC's Action Network. The BBC has the action network as it's headline link box today. I very much doubt that is a suprise...

So the critical aye asks:-

* PC good or PC bad?

* Handwritten letters or technicoloured emails?

The American Dream...

2006-02-15T14:52:00.000Z

I am adding this disclaimer to my post... I realise it is a fairly ill though through rant, I am going to let it stand though because hopefully someone might take some of the points up. Namely that our democracies should be a guiding light - not enforcers.

The critical aye can report that fillings are pain free. A small amount of numbing jelly and drill way is the protocol it seems. I was feeling slightly uncomfortable with feeling like a newborn baby, a feeling that having two grown adults staring at you wildly for half an hour can induce.
Anyway lets move onto the matter in hand....

Today the critical aye ponders the new American Defence Strategy as delivered to congress by The Pentagon last week. The article from which these ponderings are drawn can be found here.
It begins thus:

"We are at a critical time in the history of this great country and find ourselves challenged in ways we did not expect. We face a ruthless enemy intent on destroying our way of life and an uncertain future."

This quote could possibly have come from Samri Chakrabarti or even Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Surprisingly though, it didn't. It comes from the Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff.

The delivery of the Quadrennial Defence Review (QDR) has raised eyebrows in both the US and abroad. Ex Clinton officials claimed the document 'fell far short of it's objectives'. Many have been surprised that the QDR has not scaled back expensive military production projects, especially given the significant costs incurred in both Afghanistan and Iraq.

Most worryingly though for the critical aye is the acknowledgement from The Pentagon is that ' The United States is engaged in what will be a long war'.

America does not seem to feel that its ideals of capitalism, liberty, freedom and democracy are capable of exisiting on their own strength but rather it seeks to define them against a common enemy. Since the collapse of communism and the end of the cold war the lack of a common enemy was starting to cause some consternation amongst those who profit from the ideological justification it gives.

From September 11th forward we have seen that common enemy reconstructed in the shape of Islam. We are , we are told, in great peril from the radicalised footsoldiers of the mad mullahs. It seems that we will now remain so until The Pentagon says otherwise.
Despite evidence that the threat from islamic terrorists exists as a result of America's destbilising influence in the Middle East since the 1960's, the new QDR outlines the planned continuation of this antagonism.

The report speaks of an increase in covert operations. Covert operations by their nature being little reported in the media. Also an increase in 'psy-ops', who will take the litany of democracy into the heartlands of fundamentalist Islam, preaching the doctrine of individuality. The situation in both Iraq and Afghanistan does not provide much evidence that thse types of operations can succeed.

Other developments with increase the role of information in US defence. There will be an increase in unmanned surveillance and attack aircraft. America will also encourage its allies to share more of their information on a 'defence network'. This increase in surveillance and therefore power over sovereign states seems like the behaviour of an empire. Not a benevolent sage.

The countries in which these covert operations will take place could apparently be anywhere in the developing world. Which coincidentally remains rich in natural resources. Alongside Farsi and Arabic US forces will have lessons in Chinese. Which does seem odd considering that China has never been mentioned in relation to terror before. They are though looking increasingly likely to challenge the US for the position of world superpower before the century is out.

The critical aye is of course still young, naive and idealist. Of course America should be looking to protect its own interests. Maybe I am barking up the wrong tree. Maybe we are destined to witness the clash of civilizations which Samuel Huntington has prophesised. It is certainly true that Islam does not readily lend itself to democracy.

but when:

Briefing reporters in Washington, Ryan Henry, a Pentagon policy official, said: "When we refer to the long war, that is the war against terrorist extremists and the ideology that feeds it, and that is something that we do see going on for decades."

You do have to wonder whether it is a mix of two ideologies which feeds extremism. Fundamentalism and Neo-Liberal Capitalism.

It took the western world thousands of years to get to where we are now. Stains of the 1900's such as gender inequality, racism, homophobia are still evident in our societies. Maybe Islam wonders who we are to preach with such virtue against it. A better form of psy-ops might be found in concetrating on improving our own democracies and teaching our own citizens to engage and challenge the orthodoxy of their leaders. Rather than meddling in civilizations which just are not ready to change. History shows that it is people who have the power to change the world. Rulers can try all they might. If we concentrated on showing a better western world by being less greedy and more compassionate then those people might just start to listen.

The critical aye apologises for going off on such a rant and would like to thank anybody who has read this far. Here are a few questions. Feel free to strongly disagree with any of the above polemic!

* Is ideology or security the driving force of this war?

* Can Islam be forced to change?

* Is Britains role in 'the long war' a realistic way of maintaining it's own interests or does it just function to give legitimacy to the US?

* Who causes more pain and suffering through their action/ inaction: George W Bush or Osama Bin Laden?

* How should China feel about these developments?

Is Make Poverty History, history?

2006-02-02T10:32:00.000Z

Apologies that the critical aye has been shut for so long. This is a just a brief newsflash before returning to the the mound of university work before it.

Last night the critical aye went to a fair trade lecture given by Richard Bennett - Chairman of the Make Poverty History coalition.
Having read theis article in the Guardian, the critical aye was interested to know what the future of the Make Poverty History brand would be. Strategic decisions were finally made surrounding this on tuesday. The 40 or so people at the lecture were amongst the first to hear of them. The case is not so open and closed as to speak of 'disbanding make poverty history'.

The Critical Aye as ever wants to know what you think of the future plans for the make poverty history brand, which are: -

* To split campaigning along 6 lines of action. The trade justice charities will steer MPH on trade. The stop HIV/AIDS will steer MPH on the campaign to provide adequate resources to fight aids. And so on....
This decision was taken because 2005 was a critical mass for campaigning which covered, the G8 , Live8, The EU presidency and more. Organisation of such a broad group of NGO's into 2006 without such clear focus points meant that the steering of MPH had to become more issue driven and the coalition could not be maintained.

* The brand will continue to be used by MPH member charities. This means that the power of the MPH brand - achieving 87% brand recognition in 2005 will not be lost. There are copyright laws in place to stop the brand being abused for corporate profit. There is a possibility that this move will see individual charities putting their agenda highest, therefore greatly diluting the impact of the MPH brand.

* There will be 6 yearly forums and a bi annual campaigning newsletter from MPH, tying together the ongoing of efforts of its member charities. This is supposed to enable grassroots campaigners to feedback the impact and requirements of the MPH brand.

What will these changes mean for Make Poverty History? Is it a wasted opportunity for international development campaigners? Or will the adaption mean a more successful future for MPH in spreading awareness of the many diffuse issues in international development?

Tobin or not Tobin

2006-01-23T19:26:00.000Z

The critical aye has been wrestling with a beast of an essay over the last few days. It still is not satisfactory so the aye needs outrospective. The essay and todays thoughts are on The Tobin Tax.

The Tobin Tax is a currency transactions tax. The currency markets trade in hundreds of billions of dollars a day. At a rate of just 0.05% on every currency transaction the Tobin Tax could yield 24% of traded currency on everyday trades. This would be the ultimate redistributive tax. The revenue could stretch to over 1000 billion dollars a year. Campaigners for a Tobin Tax argue that not only will it benefit the economy but that it is an opportunity to democratise the building of supranational (global) governance. Let's face it the IMF, WTO and the World Bank have hardly given us a good start in global institution building. Paradoxically the Tobin Tax also promises to restore some of the autonomy which politicians keen on Neo-Liberal globalisation discourse are keen to tell us we have lost.

Although often promoted as a 'global tax' the Tobin Tax can be no such thing as only sovereign powers can levy taxes on their citizens. One idea put forward by some supporters of the Tobin Tax such as the NIGD that we should create a Tobin Tax Oragnisation for distributing tax revenue, this organisation would recieve 80% of the profits from the tax with the levying country recieving the additional 20%. The revenue should be used to protect countries from speculative financial attacks and to finance a rejuvenated attempt to realise an effective international development program. If we approach the Tobin Tax in this way then we risk creating another unaccountable supranational body with it's own ideological agenda.

The critical aye feels it is best first and foremost to 'sell' the Tobin Tax as a national economic policy designed to improve the free market 'floating' exchange rate system. A tax on short term currency transactions would mean less volatility in currency markets. This would enable government to address other areas of macroeconomic policy rather than having to tailor its needs to global financial markets. It would also enable business to predict market patterns more accurately meaning they were more likely to make long term investments in infrastructure and labour rather than seek short term gains on the currency market. It would help ordinary citizens by removing the 'individual profit, socialised risk' ethos which places national currencies in jeopardy. The consequences of financial crises can destroy small businesses, homeowners and exporters.

So why do the economic and political elites continue to oppose the Tobin Tax? The cynical aye might suggest it was because profit must come before all else. The official line however is 3 fold. Firstly tax avoidance and evasion would mean that predicted revenues of the tax were far less than expected. Secondly unless adopted universally the tax would see financial markets with a 'Tobin zone' losing out competitively to those in the US (sorry- i meant outside the Tobin zone). Thirdly, and perhaps most controverisally, is the claim that more financial aid will not help African or other developing countries development.

The critical aye think Tobin revenues that are not kept by nation states should go the UN. Quite frankly it needs as much help as it can get to stop John Boulton and his yankees cohorts from running it into a quagmire of pointless projects. To create a Tobin Tax and place its leverage in the hands of the UN would stick two fingers up to a hegemonic United States (who have constiutionally banned a tax to raise funds for the UN) and prove that it's economics do not have the global right to arbitration.

The Critical Aye as always asks your opinion on this? Tobin or not Tobin?

It's also frustrated that having written this his essay will need more redrafting. It's always easier when the pressures off.... If anyone wants to read academically surrounding this try Susan Strange ' Casino Capitalism, Heikki Patomaki (The leverage of the Tobin Tax), David Harvey (A brief history of Neo-Liberalism) and Hardt and Negri's 'Empire'.

You can't handle the tooth!

2006-01-17T10:13:00.000Z

The Critical Aye put weeks of sweaty nightmares behind it yesterday, finally making the first trip to the dentists in longer than it would care to reveal...

On arrival a queue was snaking about 15 metres out of the door. It seemed a bit late for people to still be recovering from biting the pound in their christmas pudding. So what was all the fuss?

The dentist, like a lot of dentists these days, has decided to go private. This leaves the nearest remaining NHS dentists over 10 miles away in the less salubrious estates of Nottinghamshire.

The decrease in the number of NHS dentists is old news. 5000 new dentists , is the figure touted to restore the BDA. With only 44% of adults registered with NHS dentists the problem shows no sign of improving. For further in depth statistics click here. To see graphic representation of dental coverage and other research from Bath University, click here.

The Critical Aye does not wish to dredge up old news. Most of the population around here can easily afford their Denplan package. The research suggests NHS dentists are more common in the north of the UK than the south. It seems that in areas where people would struggle to pay for dental insurance they don't have too. The quality of dental care in these areas is often regarded as second rate. There is also an

This seems to be a warning for the future of the NHS. It is almost like dentists are being slowly franchised. Quietly, more and more of the UK is starting to pay for health insurance. Whilst Blair and Cameron cosy up to each other around the 'choice agenda' a trial run of public heath privitisation is taking place.

As I have already said, many can afford this. What about those who can't? They will simply not go to the dentist. We should not let the quiet destruction of NHS dental care sink without trace. If we do then the day may come when people won't go to hospital, because they cannot afford to. Start your impassioned campaign to 'stop the rot' here, the Which? campaign website has several case studies and campaigning links.

The Critical Aye asks....

* Greedy dentists or tight politicians?

* Do fillings hurt!?

The Critical Aye is facing a large number of deadlines. It's optic nerve is frayed. Forthcoming splurge will include football bungs and profiles on the Lib Dem candidates. For now its back to the books...

The Paedofinder General

2006-01-13T20:19:00.000Z

Now before we start. Is everyone sitting comfortably? Do avid readers of red topped newspapers have their keyboard fingers stapled to the desk? The Critical Aye is treading controversial ground.

PAUL REEVE SHOULD HAVE BEEN ALLOWED TO KEEP HIS JOB!!!!!!

The media pressure cooker has been turned up on Ruth Kelly MP. The furore began when the police authorities took the opportunity to gain some revenge for the blame bestowed on them after the Soham murders. The Birchard Inquiry pointed the finger at the Police authorities for failing in it's task of Child protection. Now the Police are pointing the finger at the government.

The revelation which has caused this storm is that Hewett School in Norfolk allowed Paul Reeve, a man with a caution for 'incitement to download child pornography' to work as a PE teacher. Apparently Mr Reeve had been arrested after a tip off from the FBI working on Operation Ore.

Operation Ore produced thousands of credit card numbers which were handed over to British Police. The operation has been previously criticised in the British press for diverting Police resources AWAY from Child protection, placing undue strain on the whole judicial system. Most shocking of all however is an article in The Times July 3rd 2005. This article reveals that some of those arrested as a result of Operation Ore have been able to prove that they were the victims of credit card fraud. Others accused have commited suicide. One Merseyside Police Officer resigned over the 'Ore witch Hunt'. This news you will not be surprised to hear - has never hit the headlines.

So Ruth Kelly and Kim Howells , reviewed the situation of one young man who had taken a caution when faced with prosecution as a result of Operation Ore. This man protested his innocence throughout. They decided that it was safe for him to teach. In this case sufficient checks were in place to make sure the applicant for the post was vetted. The headteacher also agreed with the decision. Later stories have emerged suggesting a man in the North East with convictions for indecent assault was able to teach. This suggests the system is not perfect. You can read Ruth Kelly's defence of Child protection here. The particular problem stems from the fact that CRB checks have only been in place on all teaching applicants for less than a decade. Therefore investigation into teachers in their posts before their introduction could still unearth unsavoury pasts

Not many issues ignite the Redtops like paedophilia. They have run a long campaign for the sex offenders list to be available to all. This is hypocritical. The Sun had 16 year old page 3 girls not so long ago. They all salivated like Pavlov's dogs when Britney turned up in a school uniform. There have been some comic critiques of paedophile hysteria on both the excellent dark and dirty - Monkey Dust. Also in the banned episode of Chris Morris' moral-o-meter Brasseye.

Oh and fellow bloggers, you may feel morally righteous but be warned. Even we are not safe from the Paedofinder General

NB - In no way is the Critical Aye making light of Child Abuse.

Graffiti, Grafitas or Grositi?

2006-01-11T19:52:00.000Z

A quick question on graffiti...

A carefully staged picture of our great leader hosing down graffiti as part of his 'Respect agenda' *has caused The Critical Aye some irritation. Blair should really have been chasing the baseball cap adorned scallywag who was doubtless responsible for this tag, as seen on the right of your picture.
* - Not to be confused with this Respect Agenda and Galloways law!

Is removal of graffiti really a major part of tackling the Asbo culture which pervades in certain areas of Britain?

According to the Dictionary of Art, graffiti is an art form. Now admittedly, to call 90% of the rubbish scrawled on Britains walls art, is a stretching of the imagination perhaps only available to the artist. Graffiti by people such as Banksy and the more accepted David Shrigley is more akin to the level of creative input one expects from the artist. Even Ex - Eastender and Drum and Bass supremo Goldie started out with a spraycan. The mural musings of less reknowned vandals can be viewed at Pictures of Walls .

Much of this graffiti carries a subversive message. Designed if possible to make us question the norm. The norm does not like to be publicly questioned.

But what of other messages with designs on affecting our thinking? 10 x 12ft Billboards anyone? Double decker buses? Multimedia bus stops? All designed to fuel our desire for a better life, achieved of course through consumption.

The traditional argument of course is that advertising is placed on private property with the authority of the owner. Graffiti is vandalism because it is done without authority. I imagine most of the 'taggers' in Britain are the 'ASBO kids'. Most 0f their tags are quite frankly, shit. They look horrible and have no artistic merit at all. They are the visible territorial urine of the hooded youth.

Whilst we take this approach to ALL graffiti then it will continue. If we allow/encourage more astute graffiti (grafitas) then perhaps the amount of mindless tagging will drop. No one likes to look rubbish!

The Critical Aye simply asks your opinion on this.... Graffiti, Grafitas or Grossiti?

PS : For a bit of fun, try creating your own graffit here.

David Cameron MP

2006-01-04T14:29:00.000Z

Happy new year from The Critical Aye!

Under surveillance today is the new Conservative party leader, MP for Witney and cyclists champion, the Right Honourable David Cameron.

There has been a host of publicity surrounding David Cameron since the beginning of the Tory leadership contest. His media savvy, suave, meticulous and at times controversial campaign eventually seeing off the endlessly enigmatic competitor David Davis and his double D blondes.

Prior to becoming an MP, David Cameron studied at Eton College before moving on to Oxford University. From there he went into media becoming a Managing Director at Carlton Communications, a subsidiary company of ITVplc. Quite an illustrious CV so far. Cameron has successfully negotiated the potential hurdle that his Old Etonian status presents to modernising the Conservative Party.

One of the most interesting features of Cameron's leadership campaign was the furore surrounding whther or not he had used drugs, specifically cocaine, in the past. Pictures in the Sunday papers showed Cameron's shadow chancellor George Osborne with a prostitute, both of whom were sat infront of a table upon which were several neat lines of white powder. Pictures which no doubt left Angus Deayton welling up with teary eyed reminiscence.
Cameron has said that he is 'entitled to a private life before politics' and that he had 'a normal university experience'. Not everyone known to the critical aye took cocaine at university, however this has been universally regarded as a veiled yes!
This was a very clever move by Cameron, who whilst not admitting taking drugs managed to make himself seem knowledgeable and in touch with those that do. This was helped by a quickly withdrawn comment that he would reclassify ecstacy as a class B drug. Hopefully a belief echoed by the all party commitee on drugs upon which Cameron sat.

Now that we have Cameron's Conservative's what should we expect from them?

Cameron's Guardian Diaries cover topics of some diversity. From what Joey Ramone can do for William Hague to his support for the Iraq war. His constituency briefings also provide us with some insight. He has fought to keep the 400 year tradition of Morris Dancing in Bampton as well as pointedly stating his case for opposition to the Euro.

Despite this, we are still not sure of the answer. It seems likely that the environment and Global social justice will feature on Cameron's agenda. The appointment of Bob geldof to an action group on 'globalisation and world poverty' was major coup although perhaps not what it seems. We still have the twin Conservative hounds of lower taxes and euroscepticism. One of Cameron's only policy commitments so far was to remove the Conservatives from the centre right group of the European parliament.

Other than that Cameron is currently policy thin. The setting up of action groups means he will have to make no clear policy commitments until 2007. These are likely to come in time to enter a battle with Blairs Labour heir.

The Critical Aye asks:

* Does David Cameron's arrival signal a genuinely 'compassionate conservatism'?

* Does the fact he has used drugs make him more OR less in touch with our country?

* Is a policy of lowering taxes playing only to traditional tory voters?

* Does Cameron's fairly extreme gesture towards the European Parliament highlight his inexeperience and therefore potential weaknesses as a statesman?

* Can he beat Brown?

Hong Kong 2005

2005-12-28T11:08:00.000Z

Today the critical aye looks at the latest round of WTO talks in Hong Kong, December 2005.

The conference followed on from earlier talks in Doha. It was the first in a round of talks aimed at helping developing countries achieve fairer global trade status.

As always the talks attracted anti-globalisation protestors. Including some particularly feisty Korean Farmers. Anti - Globalisation is not a brilliant term for a movement which encompasses so many different political opinions and agendas. For a better idea of the breadth of peoples protest see the World Social Forum.

The talks have been seen by the British Goverment perhaps hypoctically as at best 'disappointing' . Action Aid has branded the talks an insult. Oxfam described the rate of progress at 'an inch every 18 months'.

The Critical Aye asks whether it is unrealistic to expect rapid progress?

* Should the governments of developed countries be prepared to allow a potential fall in economic growth to level the playing field in world trade?

* Is there any point in protesting at the WTO talks?

* Does free trade or economic protection best guarentee that developing countries can continue to grow?

* Does the CAP hinder the EU as a political project?

The Critical Aye is suffering from a cumulative festive hangover. Bloodshot and blurry it is startled by how much of the seasonal pub bolotix focused on a particular old Etonian. He will be under the spotlight next....

Torturous Times...

2005-12-19T14:31:00.000Z

Today, The Critical Aye asks your opinions on torture.

Recent newspieces on the CIA practice of 'rendition' flights have further raised the already lofty eyebrows of civil rights movements. So what seems to be the problem?

The allegations, which began in February, are that America has been using European airports to transfer terrorist suspects to secret camps in Eastern Europe and the Middle East. Here the suspects are subjected to interrogation practices many would call torture .

The Amercian Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice has said that " "The US does not permit, tolerate or condone torture under any circumstances," This though, depends on your definition of torture. The US has adopted a less stringent definition of the term torture than that contained in the Geneva Convention . The US also claims that suspected terrorists are 'unlawful combatants' and are therefore not afforded the protections of the convention.

The British government has been very unsure of itself on this issue. Foreign Secretary Jack Straw claims there is no record of rendition flights in the UK. British planespotters disagree. The evidence suggests that Britain is complicit in shipping off terrorists for torture. 6 detainess tell the same story.

So, The Critical Aye asks you the following questions:

Are practices such as waterboarding, forced grooming and sensory deprivation actually torture?
Does the terrorist threat mean that we need to use torture to protect our citizens?
Are terrorist suspects 'unlawful combatants'?

The Critical Aye is always roving and is keen to engage. Its Lens is preparing questions on the WTO summit.

A note on terrorist detention....

2005-11-06T19:49:00.000Z

All this talk of Blair's possible 'compromise' over the Terror Bill. It's not really encouraging. The mood he is in a compromise will porbably consist of a maximum 89 day detention period with a 24 hour release procedure.
I may be being naive here but would it not be possible for a 28 day maximum detention before judicial verdict. We could have a select group of judges decide upon the evidence as it stands after 28 days. Whether further detention would yield any gain would then be a matter of judicial decision and not police optimism. Judges could grant continued detention on the understanding that there is a significant chance of progress in the period granted. If this progress does not materialise then the suspect should be released after a second 28 day holding period. If the evidence is growing then the process could be repeated one final time allowing a possible 80 daydetention period possible only with ongoing judicial supervision.
The possibilty of this leading to an unfair trial could be stopped by having a judge previously uninvolved sit on the final prosecution.

Or maybe I'm being naive?

Interview with a Bishop...

2005-11-02T12:00:00.000Z

Interview with the Bishop of Southwell, the Rt Revd George Cassidy: 10/10/05

The Bishop of Southwell will join forces with some of our most irreverent comedians including Rowan Atkinson and Stephen Fry when he speaks against the government’s Incitement to Religious Hatred Bill in the House of Lords tomorrow ( Tuesday, October 11th).
The Rt Revd George Cassidy is amongst a growing number of people in opposition to the new Bill, which has its second reading in the House of Lords on Tuesday. The Bishop’s greatest fear is that draconian use of the new measure by police could effectively stop passionate and controversial preaching from the pulpit. Calling the Bill ‘unnecessary and unwise’ the Bishop claims that existing legislation is sufficient to deal with any problem of racially or religiously motivated attacks. He believes it will put a strain on multi-faith relations by limiting freedom of speech and placing pressure on courts which are not equipped to deal with theology. If passed the Bishop claims the Bill will represent, “a serious spiritual and intellectual dumbing down of debate which is part of the nature of a healthy free society.”
The church is not united on this issue, on Tuesday two Bishops will speak in favour of the Bill with Bishop George speaking against it. He is not alone in his opposition, joined by a peculiar alliance of artists, writers, comics and other Christians.
Both the Runnymede Trust and the Muslim Council for Britain have campaigned for the Bill arguing that it will provide equal protection for all religions, where existing legislation affords protection only to Jews and Sikhs. This may have created a sense of false expectation according to Bishop George who fears that ordinary members of the Muslim community may see this new Bill as their blasphemy law, affording them protection from criticism of the Koran. He also thinks it is unlikely that this law can stop the BNP from finding another loophole through which to continue their less than palatable practices. “The only way to stop the BNP is to politically show them to be irrational and extremist and defeat them in debate.” Commenting on recent claims from Police Chiefs that previous race riots could have been prevented were this legislation in place the Bishop said the claims were “intellectually spurious and unprovable.” He explained: “If government gives the police everything they want we could end up with a police state. The police are there to enforce the law, not create it.”
Despite misgivings over whether the Bill will meet its expectations the greatest concerns remain over its impact on freedom of speech. Growing up in Northern Ireland has given Bishop George a strong belief in the need for open and robust debate to resolve conflict. He said: “One of the greatest problems was that there were not enough forums created for people to talk and debate their views, which lead to great frustrations, some of which found wicked outlet.” This clearly shapes the Bishop’s concern that the Bill will ‘lead to a stagnation and real inhibition to the British people’s capacity to practice the freedoms they believe they hold’.
There is much common ground between the secular and religious groups opposing the Bill; there is particular concern within the church that it will prevent people from making claims regarding the exclusivity of Christ. The government has said that the Bill will not stop people from preaching their gospel. This has not convinced Bishop George who notes that those are the claims of a politician and not the words of a theologian.
Much hangs on the legal ambiguity of the term ‘hatred’. Amongst the opposition to the bill there is concern that it will merely take someone to cause a religious group offence for that group to place pressure on the Attorney General to bring a prosecution. As well as politicizing the role of the Attorney General this could lead to a tit for tat battle between extremists religious groups. In Australia where similar legislation has been introduced there have been cases of religious groups sending watchdogs to monitor places of worship. It is this sort of practice, which is seen as potentially damaging to multi-faith relations, because inevitably the high profile of early cases would mean that scrutiny and mistrust would extend beyond the extremist fringes of religious organizations. ‘Instead of marginalizing extremism we would be placing it in the limelight’.
The government has said that it does not envisage this law being used and for many this adds to the feeling that it is unnecessary. Comedian Rowan Atkinson described the Bill as “a weapon of disproportionate power which can be deployed on their behalf at any time.” Fearing that, “Some political imperative (will) suddenly make it rather desirable for the government to prosecute a few writers or journalists or playwrights in their desire to ingratiate themselves with a particular religious community.”
Whilst there is general agreement that the cause of the bill is a noble one the breadth of opposition which has arisen will add to ongoing concerns about the number of restrictive Bills being passed in response to the terrorist threat.

2005-11-02T10:39:00.000Z

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