Homosexuality in India

Hat tip to Iain Dale and Shane Greer for reminding me of this situation. It amazes me (although why I don't know) that its only now that India has done this. What embarrasses and shames me is that, not only is this ruling for Delhi only, but that some Christian groups there are opposed to the move. Especially because, for me this goes beyond theological arguments, this is to do with human dignity, loving ones neighbour as oneself, and protecting the individual (whoever he or she may be) from bullying and hatred.
I have touched on the Christian side of this argument before (inevitable given my faith I suppose), but one thought I would like to leave with any Indian Christian brethren is this. Lets leave the theology aside for a moment. Imagine you were caught lusting over a girl and were threatened with prison. Do you think thats right? Do you think it's a disproportionate response? Perhaps there is another question you may ought to consider, namely do you have any friends you know to be gay?
Something to ponder.

Karl Malden 1912-2009

One of the Hollywood greats and under-appreciated in my view :-/

(Associated Press)

Palin Qutting As Governor

Her allies may well deny it, but to do this for any other political reason than to make a bid for the Presidency seems bizzare. Whether she will win considering that Palin has been seen by many as part of the cause of the Republicans defeat in 2008 remains to be seen

George Osborne Under Investigation

I have to say that I am not surprised, esp given the £487.000 donation to his office last year. That said, in spite of the low opinion I hold of him as a politician and as a person, I hope that he is not guilty as a) It will, yet again, reflect badly on all politicians and b) Be a nasty and painful experience for the good people of Tatton when you consider the situation with it's previous Conservative MP. Plus this will also be a test on whether Cameron is prepared to ditch his friend for the good of the country.
(Hat tip to Stephen Tall and Paul Waugh)

Michael Martin's Peerage

I can see their point, but when a Speaker is made a Peer it is usually made as the result of a recommendation from the House of Commons following a vote. Perhaps the thing to do here was to write to John Bercow and for MP's on all sides of the House to explain why they did not contest the motion. They may well have a good argument for Michael Martin to be made a Peer, but it is they who the Commission need to ask, not the Prime Minister

Twenty Questions to a Fellow Blogger Part CXXIX: Graham Whitham

(Graham Whitham)

Graham Whitham runs the Greater Manchester Fabian Society (GMFS) which involves moderating the society’s blog: http://gtrmancfabians.blogspot.com/

Graham was born and raised in Wigan and has studied at both Liverpool and Manchester universities. After brief spells in Coventry and London, Graham returned to the North West and now lives in Manchester. GMFS is run voluntarily and aims to put on events for local Fabians, Labour Party members and anyone else on the left and centre left who might be interested!

In the real world Graham works for a major NGO in Manchester as a Policy Advisor. Previously he carried out policy and research work in the private sector, working on public sector contracts. Graham has also worked as a Parliamentary Researcher to a Labour MP.

What made you decide to start blogging?

I wanted to develop a way of advertising our events and encouraging interaction amongst people interested in politics and policy in Greater Manchester and the wider North West.

Therefore, the GMFS blog serves a slightly different purpose to other blogs in that we use it to advertise our events as much as present opinion pieces. The great thing about a blog is that it is cheaper and easier to maintain, update and make interactive than a website.

What is your best blogging experience?

One of the most enjoyable things has been encouraging people to write guest articles for our blog. We’ve been able to get MPs, academics and Labour party activists to write for the blog. We don’t take a narrow view on who can write and what they can write about so we’ve had some quite interesting and well developed articles on a wide range of subjects.
For me personally, the best experience was going over to Liverpool to interview Joe Anderson, leader of the Labour group on Liverpool City Council last year ahead of the local elections: http://gtrmancfabians.blogspot.com/2008/04/joe-anderson-meets-bloggers.html

And your worst?

Keeping the site updated is the hardest thing, especially given work and other pressures. But I’m working on this and I’ve increasingly got other people involved in updating the site.

What do you regard as your best blog entry?

Rather than my own posts some of the guest articles we’ve had have been really enjoyable. In particular I liked ‘Rise like Lions’ written by Louise Selisny back in February: http://gtrmancfabians.blogspot.com/2009/02/rise-like-lions.html

Favourite blogs?

The right does seem to dominate the ‘blogosphere’ so I do often find myself on ConsevativeHome and Iain Dale’s site. However the left is starting to catch up. The national Fabian Society blog – Next Left (http://www.nextleft.org/) is a good one and LabourList (http://www.labourlist.org/)is increasingly important.
But my favourite blog has to be Grimmer up North - http://grimmerupnorth.blogspot.com/. Susan Press has a constructive and proactive way of articulating the hopes and despair of Labour Party activists.

What inspired you to go into politics?

I’ve always been fascinated by politics, I can remember drawing pictures of the main party leaders during the 1987 general election campaign….I was only 6 ! Besides that general interest in politics I am driven by the idea that people should be much more heavily involved in making and understanding policy.

What would you say are the current main aims of the Manchester Fabians?

We want to encourage political and policy discussion amongst people on the left and centre left in Greater Manchester beyond the sort of engagement you get with mainstream party activism. People seem to want to engage in policy discussion and to hear informed opinions and that doesn’t seem to be catered for outside London. So that is what we try to offer in our own small way!

There is recent talk of new ways and means of doing Labour Politics. You blogged on this yourself recently, quoting John Healey. How would you like to see this happen in terms of everyday politics?

There are two strands to this. Firstly I think for the Labour Party it is about engaging people in genuine policy discussion. Secondly all political parties need to move towards a ‘supporters network’ approach rather than engage solely with a hardcore of party members/activists. Open primaries for council and parliamentary seat candidate selection might be one practical way of doing this.

Is there anywhere abroad which you haven't been to, that you would like to visit?

Too many places to mention!

Is there anywhere abroad you have visited, that you would love to revisit?

I’ve been to Australia and wouldn’t say now to going again, particularly Sydney which seemed almost the perfect city! I’ve only been to the west of the United States so could really do with taking in places like Washington DC and Boston.

Who, excluding the present leader and Prime Minister, do you regard as the best British Prime Minister, and if different, the best Labour leader?

Clement Attlee, without doubt. He did a lot in a relatively short space of time and much of what he did has been maintained and sustained. If you could take Blair’s first term in isolation then you might actually say he was a great PM, but his legacy will always be saddled with the Iraq War, tuition fees and a failure to truly halt/reverse Thatcherism. Electorally Blair is clearly the best leader the Party has had, as opposed to the best PM.

Which political figure has been your greatest inspiration?

I’m a bit of a history buff so I tend to draw inspiration from historical figures as opposed to contemporary politicians but Robin Cook is someone from recent times that many in the Labour Party can rightly cite as an inspiration.

Favourite Bond movie?

The World is Not Enough and not just because Denise Richards is in it !

Favorite Doctor Who?

Has to be Manchester’s very own Christopher Eccleston, ok Salford’s.

Chocolate, vanilla, or mint?

Mint

Which Band, past or present, would you most like to see in concert?

Easy – The Smiths

In terms of visiting for the weekend, Oxford, Cambridge, or Barsby, Leics..?

Hmmm…Cambridge is nice this time of year.

Favourite national newspaper?

The Guardian

What would you say your hobbies were?

Music, sport and politics.

And what would you say were your three favourite songs and three favourite books (Bar the Bible and The Complete Works of Shakespeare)?

Favourite songs: This changes on a daily basis but I would say History by the Verve, Still Ill by The Smiths and Made of Stone by the Stone Roses

Favourite books: Far to difficult to think of a top three. My girlfriend bought me Dinner with Mugabe by Heidi Holland earlier in the year and I found that extremely well written and interesting – certainly the best book I’ve read so far this year. Some of those English sci-fi classics like Day of the Triffids, War of the Worlds are excellent so they might make it onto a top three list. I’d like to include an Orwell book, but although his stuff is brilliant it doesn’t exactly fall into the category of an ‘enjoyable read’. The Vote by the late Paul Foot is brilliant but like Orwell, not an easy read.

The Conservatives and Personality Politics

Nearly four years ago David Cameron was elected leader of the Conservative Party. For some who have no intention of ever getting involved with the Conservatives, David Cameron's election was welcomed as the appearance of an opponent one would not just like as a person, but respect, even if they were wrong and misguided. Somewhat naively I was one of those people.
Like many I welcomed Cameron's comments about Punch and Judy politics (an admirable aim which I wouldn't dare make myself, but which I wanted to hear from others), and yet, time, and time, and time again, we see Cameron, his Shadow Cabinet, and some others, make vicious and snide and personal comments about Brown and other senior Labour figures to the point where you know they don't just do it out of frustration and inhability to control ones temper, one suspects they also do it for kicks.
Tom Harris has noticed this which is why he made the statement he did recently. It opens one up for further attacks but I see his point. The Tories will argue that they get pushed into it. Given the McBride debacle I will reluctantly concede that point and understand the anger of senior Conservatives, but two wrongs do not make a right and half the Tories who vent their spleen on comments pages on blogs are the sort of people who would behave just as McBride did if Cameron were in Downing Street and they were senior figures there. The very same people who enjoy getting angry and finger pointing at every fault Labour has made with regards to presentation and personality politics.
Its come further to a head today with Cameron making a comment that there will be riots if Labour win the next election. That sounds like a threat to me and, combined with the way some Tories are behaving over the election of the new Speaker, the consistent personal abuse, the lack of proper discipline over MP's expenses, it seems that the Conservatives are not just conforming to the accusation of them being the Nasty Party, they are being hypocritical as well.
And even if their attacks on Labour figures being decceitful liars, chancers, bullies etc.. were true, it doesn't make their case clean, it just means that they are making feeble excuses for their bad behaviour, i.e. "They do it, so we'll do it as well!"
Sadly what all of this does do is turn the electorate off politics. If the viciousness between the main parties continues to deteriorate, one wonders what the percentage turnout will be come the next election. Probably less than 60%

Trailers To My Favourite Films. No 9: Sleuth

Its a brilliant suspense film which, in an earlier era, would have been directed by Alfred Hitchcock, and for a film which has only two characters in throughout, is one that keeps you on the edge of your seat. In fact both Laurence Olivier and Michael Caine got Oscar nominations for their performances here.

(FOX)


That said, those who have heard of the film may be more familiar with the 2007 version, which stars Jude Law and Michael Caine, but having seen both versions, they are really incomparable. Both have the same characters and plot, but both have different styles and a different air of suspense. But if you want to make a comparison of sorts yourself, below is the trailer to the 2007 version.

(SonyPicturesClassics)

Release of British staff

Whilst I am pleased this has happened, I wonder whether the Iranian Government knew they were innocent of the charges all along and are just using the current crisis as an excuse to flex muscles against the UK! They seem to be gunning for us and its not surprising given the history between our two countries.

Twenty Questions to a Fellow Blogger Part CXXVIII: Derek Thomas

Derek Thomas lives in St Buryan with his wife and son. He works as the Development Manager for a large voluntary organisation in Helston. He is also a Penwith District Councillor for Penzance and the Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for the St Ives Constituency. His blog is Derek for St Ives.

What made you decide to start blogging?

The local press seemed reluctant to cover my political activity so I chose to deal directly with the electorate. They have a right to be informed about the choice available to them to represent them in Westminster.



What is your best blogging experience?

Bumping into people in the street who compliment the blog and tell me they follow it closely.



And your worst?

Trying to set the thing up and stop it crashing!



What do you regard as your best blog entry?

I think I get better at it with each entry and so each new one is my best!



Favourite blogs?

I am entirely vain and rarely check out other people’s blog, sorry everyone!



What inspired you to go into politics?

As a young school boy the teachers chose to strike. I could not understand why they would so looked into it and have been more addicted as each day goes by.


Whats the best and the worst thing about St Ives?

The St Ives Constituency is the most beautiful of all with lovely people and fantastic landscape/coastline. I love it and feel privileged to grown up and live here. However, it is hundreds of square miles of rural countryside including off-islands 26 miles off shore. Time and money is soaked up travelling back and forth. I would not swop it though.


What do you make of the Cornish Nationalist movement and is there a case for Cornwall being a politically unique county within the UK?

The nationalist movement has important things to say and many of them sit comfortably with the Conservative commitment to reduce the size of government and return power to local communities. However, Cornwall has a wealth of things to offer the rest of the UK and can play a far greater role within the UK rather than being isolated. We have low crime, caring communities, creative industry and great hospitality skills. These are our strengths and we can share these qualities by seeking a greater profile within the UK. I believe I am a visionary politician.


Is there anywhere abroad which you haven't been to, that you would like to visit?

Africa. I’d love to see how social action works in places of extreme poverty and what makes such broken people so grateful for small mercies.


Is there anywhere abroad you have visited, that you would love to revisit?

Canada, I went there for a conference in 1995 and would love to spend more time there.


Who, excluding the present leader, do you regard as the best Conservative Party leader, and if different, the best Prime Minister?

William Hague, the best party leader in the making.

Which political figure has been your greatest inspiration?

Lord Shaftsbury. Conviction politics that reformed society, much of which we appreciate today. There is a need for similar no compromise politicians dedicated to real reform in society. Iain Duncan-Smith would be my modern-day inspiration.


Favourite Bond movie?

The world is not enough

Favourite Doctor Who?

Not bothered that much, sorry


Chocolate, vanilla, or mint?

Mint


Which Band, past or present, would you most like to see in concert?

Take That, Beyonce


In terms of visiting for the weekend, Oxford, Cambridge, or Barsby, Leics..?

London, Bath


Favourite national newspaper?

Telegraph and (The Week)


What would you say your hobbies were?

Sea kayaking, walking, furniture making, reading


And what would you say were your three favourite songs and three favourite books (Bar the Bible and The Complete Works of Shakespeare)?

Bohemian Rhapsody, (anything by Supertramp), Rock DJ (Robbie Williams)

William Wilberforce by William Hague

In His Steps (old book, can’t recall the author)

All the books by Arthur Ransom (childhood memories)

Beneath the mask of Conservative Future

Hat tip to Alex at Labourhome, this can be found at the Don't Panic site and makes you wonder if those who were interviewed feel whether the Tories made any mistakes prior to 1997! Which leads me to wonder if any Conservative readers of Mars Hill feel that the Tories made any major policy mistakes during the 1979-1997 government? If so, please share, because it seems like you guys are not making the same painful journey Labour had to make in order to get re-elected.