Ok back to blogging though it’s hard to know
where to begin this week with a motor way pile up of global nasties.
First I need to work out why when some countries
slaughter civilians in large numbers – there is more righteous indignation than
you could shake a stick at and a rush to prove humanitarian credentials. The
same behaviour elsewhere causes only the equivalent of international tutting.
Fracking is illegal in France but Britain
happily issues licences for French companies to frack us. (To see fracking
cartoon click on the orange Amanda Baker in right hand column and scroll down.)
Police still don’t get they aren't supposed to
shoot unarmed black kids?
We are happy to criticise countries with
dictatorships and yet the ruling elite have as tight a grip on power in Britain
as the barons of feudal times.
What is ‘the international community’ and why
can’t it stop elephants being wiped out? If these creatures are too small and
insignificant to protect isn't the planet screwed?
How come we are now chumming up to Assad when he
was the devil a few months ago?
How come
Sadam was the devil when, prior to invading, he was a chum of Bush?
And by the way the invasion of Iraq created the
environment for the rise of ISIS as surely as the Treaty of Versailles is
implicated in the rise of the Nazis. So why is Tony Blair not in prison?
Some global leaders attract our disdain rather
than approbation due to their lunacy or buffoonery but we are currently
entertaining the idea of Boris Johnson not just as a returning MP but possibly
a future leader of the party of that ruling elite. (see blog 62 Boris Johnson’s
IQ test). Why?
The West helps create refugees but then gets
pissed off when they try to escape to the West.
If you trip on a pavement in the developed world
there are lawyers beating down your door to get you compo. If you are a poor family
in India and your life and the lives of your children and theirs were blighted
or wiped out by the criminal negligence of an American chemical company –
tough.
We have Viagra but still not an effective cure
for Malaria, Ebola or Aids. Kids still die for want of clean water or a 2pence
re-hydration tablet. Is keeping more men shagging longer really a world priority?
I am revolted by these things but revolution is
not the answer. What happens after revolution anyway? Recent and ancient history tells us – worse
oppression. Also I am nauseated by privileged westerners verbally masturbating to their Che Guevara fantasies.
When we get the chance to change things we
don’t. A lot of people don’t even vote and I will eat my blog if Scotland votes
to release itself from the grip of Westminster/Eton on Sept 18th.
So what?
Crawl under the bed?
No – While I try and think it through, I will be
thankful that a couple of healthy foxes regularly visit the back gardens. I have nice neighbours on both sides and
below. I am lucky enough at my age to still have a grandmother. I am lucky
enough that my own domestic ‘problems’ are on a level of being ripped off by my
energy supplier and not on a par with having my home razed to the ground in
war.
This week's recommended blog from the archives - no. 12 Armageddon will not be
televised