Election Special Extra

Just in case, by some chance or unfortunate technical error, this doesn't make the mainstream news channels, all is not lost, even in London.......

http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2015/05/09/410239/Protesters--London-Conservatives

UK election & cognitive dissonance

Whilst the rest of Europe has been confronting the consequences of the 1939-45 world war with varying degrees of insight and self-awareness, Britain has been more focussed on its own current internal conflict, in a general election which has led to (at least) another 5 years of capitalist conservatism for the UK as a whole and, conversely, a massive victory for the progressive Scottish National Party. There are now more Trident nuclear submarines (4) based in Scotland than there are MPs who want them (3). And the same number of polar bears (3).

Cameron and his band of elitist greed-monkeys shouldn't feel too smug about their mandate though. Whilst 37% of voters (who were 65% of the electorate) did vote for them, that leaves 76% of the electorate who didn't. And just maybe maybe maybe, the forthcoming referendum about EU membership will lead to a similar political re-awakening in the rest of the UK as is happening in Scotland. 

UK general election May 2015

This is on Thursday. Probably not of great interest to anyone outside the UK, but it does seem to be heralding a real shake-up of the binary and pendular politics which have prevailed here for several hundred years. The catalyst for that change is Scotland, where a political renaissance and re-engagement has been growing steadily since the Scottish parliament was reconvened in 1999. Whilst being demonised and wilfully misrepresented by the two main UK political parties, and by most of the UK media, this "Scottish Spring" seems likely to spread. Here's hoping !

Shame

Modern myths #2

Pre-election broadcast

Back to basics

25 runs in 25 days as an antidote to the annual consumption-fest and as a sanity protection in these challenging political times. Bring it on !

http://www.adventrunning.com/ 







#AdventRunning

We may have lost in Afghanistan but.....

State of the nation

The British political system is broken. Stable democracy has evolved into empty posturing, as the 3 major parties seek to hold off the far right and to slow down their own relentless decay with the sticking plasters of sound bites and special offers. Whether the system can be patched up & kept going, like a clapped out motor car, or whether it needs to be replaced, will probably become obvious over the next year or two.

For clues, we should pay more attention to what is happening elsewhere in Europe, and to remember that the so-called United Kingdom is not so very different.

Replacement could bring a much needed opportunity for a system which is fair and representative, no longer playing the submissive bitch[1] to free market capitalism, looking with humility to the future rather than with arrogance to the past. Or it could create a vacuum to be filled with chaos and the diseased politics of the far right.

Interesting times. No doubt bringing some entertainment to those wearied by Britain's pantomime stomping about on the world stage, but a source of real anxiety to anyone who cares about its political future.

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[1] That is a canine analogy, not a term of disrespect to half the world's human population, just to be clear

Posturing & smokescreens