Disgusted of Somers Town December 8, 2008
Posted by CamdenKiwi in : Politics , trackbackCan a liberal, Guardian reading resident of inner North London be tempted to the ‘Disgusted of Tunbridge Wells’ reaction to the papers? It seems my neighbour Philobiblion can, and if its good enough for her, then its good enough for me!
This morning’s Guardian got me into a right (or indeed left) old spleenish state.
Ed Milliband says that “popular mobilisation” is needed to combat climate change. That’s the Ed Milliband who is a member of the government that sent a huge police army in to quash the Climate Camp at Kingsnorth over the summer, confiscating such dangerous items as board games, which makes it almost impossible to protest anywhere near parliament. And what does he think events like Live Earth are anyway. Take some responsibility, Mr Milliband. Stop pontificating and get on with it. And that goes for your boss, Gordon Brown as well. What is the world coming to?
And as for that pack of freeloaders, the Church of England, ruining honest, hardworking, tax-paying folk to subsidise their pretty churches with an archaic Chancel Tax. Left over from feudal times, ordinary people can be forced to pay church repair bills. How about getting the people who actually want to attend church to pay for it? Small problem there, of course. Disestablishment is long overdue.
Finally (and we’ve not gone beyond page 3, but I only have so much spleen), who do you think makes surgical instruments? If I’d ever thought about it, I’d have guessed some sort of high-tech manufacturer, probably in Germany. Like good kitchen knives. But no, it turns out they’re made by little kids in Pakistan, and the supply chain is so long and convoluted, the NHS didn’t even realise. And now they do, they’re still not obliged to do anything about it. How much money gets lost in over-complex procurement and supply, and what does it take to get a government organisation like the NHS to behave decently? We should be told.
The wierdly innumerate illustration on page 10 got me going as well but isn’t on their website.
Comments»
no comments yet - be the first?