Meanwhile, On The Other Side Of The Pond

One can either be appalled by the clown show that is now British politics, or one can cultivate and embrace a wry sense of humour.

M.G. Duggan chooses the latter:

A new door has been fitted at number ten.

UPDATED: They Just Can't Help Themselves

Every time they speak, they show their absolute contempt for 'the people'. Who am I referring to? The British Conservation government. As a companion to yesterday's post about the hapless Dominic Cummings, please enjoy, or bear witness to, the witless Cabinet Minister Michael Gove's 'defense' of Cummings:



UPDATE: Is it just my imagination, or is Boris looking a bit more harried these days? But maybe showing such open contempt for public accountability will do that to a person.

The Village Idiot

I suspect few regard British Prime Minister Boris Johnson as anything other than a village idiot. If you have been following the scandal surrounding his Chief Adviser, Dominic Cummings, you will also see that like attracts like.

Boris has been twisting himself out of shape defending the hypocritical Cummings; after the grilling he has been facing from fearless British journalists, he may well need the services of a good chiropractor, when such is once again permitted (or not, given that the rules don't seem to apply to the likes of him and Cummings):

A Creeping And Very Real Threat

I am currently reading Linda McQuaig's latest book, The Sport & Prey of Capitalists: How the Rich Are Stealing Canada's Public Wealth. As with most of her books, despite her very clear, accessible writing style, I am having a hard time with it, disturbing as it is in so many ways. While I am not prepared to discuss it at this point, its thesis, not exactly startling, is that our government is ceding more and more of our formerly proud public institutions to the depredations of rampant capitalism.

I came across the following video on The Guardian today, about threats to the British National Health Service by Boris Johnson as he prepares to negotiate bilateral trade deals, perhaps the most impactful one being with the U.S. It addresses the sort of mentality that McQuaig talks about in her book. You can read the article here, and watch the disturbing claims being made by Labour's Jermeemy Corbyn below:

This Is What Real Protest Looks Like

All Canadians could learn a lot from the Brits:

London, United Kingdom - Activists and trade union leaders have called for a general strike and a mass campaign of civil disobedience to bring down the country's new right-wing government as hundreds of thousands took to the streets of London and other cities to protest against austerity and public service cuts.

Organisers said a quarter of a million people had joined Saturday's march from the Bank of England to the Houses of Parliament, with smaller protests also taking place in Glasgow, Liverpool, and Bristol, and pledged the event was only a beginning.

"We've got to get rid of this government quicker than five years. This government cannot last the full term," Sam Fairbairn, national secretary of the People's Assembly, the anti-austerity campaign group that organised the march, told a rally in Parliament Square.

"Today is just the start of a campaign of protests, of strikes, of direct action and civil disobedience up and down the country. We are going to organise the biggest mass movement this country has ever seen, and it is that mass movement that is going to kick David Cameron out of office."

There is similar anger in Canada over the Harper regime's many abuses of the country's citizens. How can we best mobilize that anger?

A Sign I Would Love To See In Canada

This is how a politically disgruntled Brit is dealing with his frustration over the Tories.



Anyone in Canada up for a little creative protest?

Must Be His Eton Background

In the lead-up the May 7 British election, Prime Minister David Cameron, I guess, thought it was time to masquerade as 'one of the people.' He was photographed at a barbecue eating a hot dog:



His mode of consumption elicited a flurry of responses from some Twitter wags:

Hahhaa, David Cameron eating a hot dog with a knife and fork. Silver service only for the privileged!" was typical of the comments on Twitter Tuesday, 30 days ahead of Britain's general election.

"What kind of monster eats a hot dog with a knife and fork?" asked another.

Cameron eating a hot dog with knife & fork has echoes of when rich Mr Pitt did same with a Snickers bar in Seinfeld:

Unlike Mr. Pitt, I somehow doubt that Mr. Cameron will be establishing any new consumption trends in the foreseeable future.

Appeasement at the BBC

Whenever I travel, especially when a Canadian television station is not available, I tend to tune into the BBC, which generally practises the kind of hard-hitting journalism that the CBC was once known for, before embarking upon a policy of trying to appease the right-wing. Sadly, that virus of appeasement now seems to have been caught by the British national broadcaster, reflected in its decision to air only a five-second clip of Ding Dong! The Witch is Dead, the song which, in the wake of Margaret Thatcher's death, is likely to rise to number three on Sunday, in time for BBC Radio One's The Official Chart show.

The BBC has apparently been influenced in its decision by the howls of outrage from the British right-wing, upset by the implied disrespect of their patron, St. Margaret, that airing the full song, the usual practice of the show for rising songs, would demonstrate.

Compounding the craven capitulation is this disingenuous and self-serving remark by Tony Hall, the BBC's director general (italics mine):

"I understand the concerns about this campaign (the massive purchasing of the song to celebrate the week's major event). I personally believe it is distasteful and inappropriate.

"However, I do believe it would be wrong to ban the song outright as free speech is an important principle and a ban would only give it more publicity."

So in Mr. Hall's world, a little betrayal of public trust and integrity is okay. Hmm, sounds like just another politician ascending the ladder to me.

For those who cannot muster any sorrow for Maggie's passing, enjoy the following video which, I think, rather effectively captures the animus the Iron Lady was so adept at fostering: