After undercover reporting from the Daily Telegraph, an inquiry has been launched by the Department of Health into disturbing claims that some doctors in Britain are carrying out abortions on the grounds of sex selection. Obviously, this inquiry is necessary; an abortion based solely on whether the unborn child is a boy or a girl is grossly unethical and drifts into the dangerous territory of eugenics.
However, what was uncalled for after the inquiry had been announced, was input from the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (Spuc). Its communications manager, Anthony Ozimic, said: “This investigation confirms the reality of eugenics in modern British medicine … Sex-selective abortion is an inevitable consequence of easy access to abortion, a situation to which the pro-abortion lobby has no convincing answer.” Well then I’ll give you an answer, Mr Ozimic! All this investigation confirms is that some doctors (almost certainly a small minority) have broken the rules and will soon be accordingly punished. A minority of rule breakers does not confirm the reality of eugenics because most doctors take a very ethical stance towards abortion and follow the law. Very few things in this world are inevitable, and tight regulation of pregnancy terminations (such as two doctors having to agree that an abortion is necessary before it can be carried out) will ensure that sex-selective abortion never becomes widespread in Britain.
The reactionary Mr Ozimic went on to say: “The government needs to cut its ties to … abortion rights organisations, as they are complicit in sex-selective abortion domestically and internationally." The reason that the government has ties to abortion rights organisations is because women need rights to abortion in order to prevent unwanted childbirth that could be damaging to both mother and baby. And as long as an organisation is not condoning sex-selective abortion in any way, then it is not complicit in anything! So I suggest that the protection of unborn children is left to medical experts, politicians and mothers.
Sunday, 26 February 2012
Sunday, 19 February 2012
Nuclear Proliferation ... And Religious!
The UK has signed a deal with France regarding the progression of nuclear energy, i.e. more of our energy demands will be realised through nuclear power. It apparently strengthens co-operation between the two countries. However, putting aside the problems that Britain and France are currently having over Europe, this is still a bad idea. Eleven months ago, a tsunami swept into Japan and reached the Daiichi nuclear plant in Fukushima. The result was radioactive material being leaked into the air and sea; a twenty kilometre exclusion zone was necessary - can you imagine having to evacuate your home because something twenty kilometres away had blown a gasket?! Yet that could soon be the reality. Germany has become the example of nuclear correctness: they are going to decommission all of their plants in the coming years. But Britain and France don’t care about what other countries have been through. Please simply acknowledge this point: if a nuclear power plant is severely disturbed, it can cause inestimable results. The Chernobyl disaster created problems that lasted for years, if not decades. And as much as there is obviously no chance of a tsunami happening in Britain, the Japanese government didn’t see it as a likely threat either; any random event could possibly afflict us. Nuclear power just isn’t worth the risk - randomness can fuck us up too readily!
Addendum: last week, I wrote about Bideford Council’s right not to have to witness Christian prayer. Unfortunately, this week Eric Pickles, the communities secretary, has arbitrarily decided that the High Court made an “illiberal ruling”. He stated that the ruling was “striking a blow for localism over central interference”, but surely if he is now introducing a law opposing the High Court’s judgement, that is the epitome of central interference! Pickles said that “freedom to worship” was more important than “intolerant secularism”, but forcing councillors to pray to a god that they don’t believe in at the beginning of every council meeting is intolerant by definition and opposes freedom. The communities secretary is basically worried about losing Christian voters, rather than preserving liberty.
P.S. Don’t mess with David Haye, he’ll bottle ya!
Addendum: last week, I wrote about Bideford Council’s right not to have to witness Christian prayer. Unfortunately, this week Eric Pickles, the communities secretary, has arbitrarily decided that the High Court made an “illiberal ruling”. He stated that the ruling was “striking a blow for localism over central interference”, but surely if he is now introducing a law opposing the High Court’s judgement, that is the epitome of central interference! Pickles said that “freedom to worship” was more important than “intolerant secularism”, but forcing councillors to pray to a god that they don’t believe in at the beginning of every council meeting is intolerant by definition and opposes freedom. The communities secretary is basically worried about losing Christian voters, rather than preserving liberty.
P.S. Don’t mess with David Haye, he’ll bottle ya!
Sunday, 12 February 2012
Important Principles
Two issues have caught my attention this week.
First, Fabio Capello has walked out of his role as England football manager. I admit that I’m not the biggest football fan - there’s too much dissent to the referee and deliberate foul play for my liking. But an important principle is at stake here: innocent until proven guilty. After John Terry had been accused of racist conduct, the first mistake that the Football Association (F.A.) made was to postpone the trial until after the Euro 2012 championships. My understanding (and again I’m no expert in football) is that part of this postponement happened due the urging of Chelsea football club. But we need to know whether Terry is a racist before he plays for England again; at which point did the F.A. think it was wise to put club politics before the issues of prejudice and discrimination? Then the F.A. made the further mistake of stripping Terry of his England captaincy even though he’s legally innocent. No wonder Capello felt the need to resign.
The second issue I noticed this week was that of Councillor Clive Bone of Bideford Town Council, who won a legal battle to prevent other councillors from conducting Christian prayer before meetings. My first instinct was to think that Mr Bone was being a little petty in taking legal action in the first place against what seemed to be freedom of conscience, but then I realised that ‘Prayer’ was actually on the formal agenda for each meeting meaning that every councillor was obliged to witness it. This kind of enforced worship is a good example of how religious rights can impose themselves too much onto parts of society that should remain secular (i.e. neutral). So well done to Mr Bone for standing up for the rights of secularists, and well done to the court for acknowledging them.
Finally however, let’s not get too carried away with these issues, important as they may be. Perspective is still required when you consider that genocide is currently being carried out in Syria, while Russia and China refuse to do anything about it. Bastards.
First, Fabio Capello has walked out of his role as England football manager. I admit that I’m not the biggest football fan - there’s too much dissent to the referee and deliberate foul play for my liking. But an important principle is at stake here: innocent until proven guilty. After John Terry had been accused of racist conduct, the first mistake that the Football Association (F.A.) made was to postpone the trial until after the Euro 2012 championships. My understanding (and again I’m no expert in football) is that part of this postponement happened due the urging of Chelsea football club. But we need to know whether Terry is a racist before he plays for England again; at which point did the F.A. think it was wise to put club politics before the issues of prejudice and discrimination? Then the F.A. made the further mistake of stripping Terry of his England captaincy even though he’s legally innocent. No wonder Capello felt the need to resign.
The second issue I noticed this week was that of Councillor Clive Bone of Bideford Town Council, who won a legal battle to prevent other councillors from conducting Christian prayer before meetings. My first instinct was to think that Mr Bone was being a little petty in taking legal action in the first place against what seemed to be freedom of conscience, but then I realised that ‘Prayer’ was actually on the formal agenda for each meeting meaning that every councillor was obliged to witness it. This kind of enforced worship is a good example of how religious rights can impose themselves too much onto parts of society that should remain secular (i.e. neutral). So well done to Mr Bone for standing up for the rights of secularists, and well done to the court for acknowledging them.
Finally however, let’s not get too carried away with these issues, important as they may be. Perspective is still required when you consider that genocide is currently being carried out in Syria, while Russia and China refuse to do anything about it. Bastards.
Monday, 6 February 2012
Undeserved Bonuses ... Again!
It’s rare that I write about the same topic two weeks in a row, but greedy capitalism and the immoral principles of large bonuses have pissed me off again. Network Rail is set this week to award payouts of hundreds of thousands of pounds to its bosses. Just bear one thing in mind …
In 2005, Olivia Bazlinton, aged 14, and Charlotte Thompson, 13, were hit by a train and killed as they crossed a station footpath in Essex. It took Network Rail six years to admit that their own health and safety failings had been responsible for the two teenage deaths. Imagine the emotional torment that the families of the victims must have gone through during this time. Yet Network Rail will simply receive a large fine; no other punishment will be meted out. So nobody there deserves a bonus. Simple as that.
In 2005, Olivia Bazlinton, aged 14, and Charlotte Thompson, 13, were hit by a train and killed as they crossed a station footpath in Essex. It took Network Rail six years to admit that their own health and safety failings had been responsible for the two teenage deaths. Imagine the emotional torment that the families of the victims must have gone through during this time. Yet Network Rail will simply receive a large fine; no other punishment will be meted out. So nobody there deserves a bonus. Simple as that.
Monday, 30 January 2012
Labour Beats Hester
Stephen Hester, chief executive of the Royal Bank of Scotland, has finally refused to accept his bonus of £963,000. But let’s not give him much applause. The only reason he’s backed down is because Labour were going to put the issue to a vote in the House of Commons, which they almost certainly would have won as the Liberal Democrats would have remembered at last that they were meant to be a party with a conscience! If it had been left to the Conservatives, Hester would have received the bonus (which, believe it or not, was only 60% of what he’d received in previous payouts - imagine how much he already has!) because the government did not want bank executives to think about going elsewhere to ply their trade. Let them go, as far as I’m concerned. In these days of austerity, we’ll find a way to manage without the greedy fat cats; economic advancement isn’t the only thing worth caring about.
Monday, 23 January 2012
South Carolina Nutcases
The Republican Party in the USA is, in my opinion, basically a party for rich people. When the Presidential elections take place in November, I will be staunchly hoping for a re-election of Barack Obama; even though I’m English and will not have a say in American politics, I know that the Democrats are better for the world, i.e. more peaceful. But it is still important to monitor the process of deciding who will represent the Republicans. On Saturday, South Carolina voted for Newt Gingrich (that’s right, he’s named after an amphibian!). Although this is the first state to declare him their favourite, it is still a disconcerting phenomenon. He is the most socially conservative of the remaining contenders. In the United States, socially conservative is often viewed in high esteem, but what it actually means is that abortion will not be funded even in the most extreme of cases, and the teaching of creationism will probably be given priority in schools rather than evolution. If Newt actually became President at the end of this year, the world may very well be in just as much trouble as when George W. Bush decided that invading Iraq was generally risk-free. Mitt Romney is still the most likely contender to win the race, but there are still some genuine concerns about his past tax returns (he’s only releasing details of the previous two years; what’s hiding before that?). Personally, I would love to see Ron Paul represent the Republican Party; eccentric as he is, he’s the most honest and trustworthy politician that I’ve seen in a long time. But he was sadly in fourth place in South Carolina. They must be mad.
Monday, 16 January 2012
Gervais Is Quality
Ricky Gervais impressed the masses - though probably not the celebrities - again last night as he hosted the Golden Globes awards ceremony. Although he was only invited back because of last year’s great ratings (rather than because his excellent comedy deserves it!), it was still cool that he got to host for the third year in a row, regardless of controversy.
This year he wasn’t quite as offensive to most people, but still cutting edge. He focused more on institutions than individuals, saying: “…the Golden Globes are just like the Oscars, but without all that esteem.” When a host can slate the ceremony he’s hosting and get a positive reaction, then you know he’s comedy genius. But there were thankfully still some pretentious celebs in the firing line. When introducing Madonna, Gervais said: “Our next presenter is the queen of pop - not you Elton, sit down.” And my favourite quip of all was when the iconoclastic comedian ironically tried to make the ever-lovable Colin Firth seem evil: “What you don’t know about Colin Firth is he’s very racist. I’ve also seen him punch a little blind kitten.”
Keep up the good work, Ricky; I’m already looking forward to next year!
This year he wasn’t quite as offensive to most people, but still cutting edge. He focused more on institutions than individuals, saying: “…the Golden Globes are just like the Oscars, but without all that esteem.” When a host can slate the ceremony he’s hosting and get a positive reaction, then you know he’s comedy genius. But there were thankfully still some pretentious celebs in the firing line. When introducing Madonna, Gervais said: “Our next presenter is the queen of pop - not you Elton, sit down.” And my favourite quip of all was when the iconoclastic comedian ironically tried to make the ever-lovable Colin Firth seem evil: “What you don’t know about Colin Firth is he’s very racist. I’ve also seen him punch a little blind kitten.”
Keep up the good work, Ricky; I’m already looking forward to next year!
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