Trump’s offensive and misogynistic attitudes to women, his tax avoidance, his accumulation of obscene amounts of wealth, are on one side of the ledger. On the other side, Clinton’s association with illegitimate invasions of Middle Eastern states means there’s wet blood on her hands that’s still running in the streets of Iraq, Yemen, Afghanistan, Aleppo and elsewhere in Syria.
Those of us interested in the marine environment either as fishers or as conservationists, have known for a long time that in general, current commercial fishing practices stink.
Election papers have been issued to decide representatives for local government, health boards, and liquor licensing trusts. Among the candidates some eccentricities shine through making the candidates’ book quite entertaining reading. There are some good people and policies too.
How much oppression is justified to enforce liberty? That’s a question arising from the ban on Burkhas and ‘Burkhinis’ in France and Spain. And when does mandatory secularism become an excuse for bigotry, racism and sexism? We’ve also seen some answers to that.
The importance of local government is usually overlooked, except in complaint. Conservative voters moan they get nothing for their rates. That the council should do more with less, that there’s no accountability, that councils take money for nothing and rates are too high.
As horrific and barbaric as the highly publicised and recent acts of violence are, let’s put things in perspective.
Democracy continues to contain its own contradictions around the world. In spite of the ‘Democratic Peace Theory’, it’s questionable whether democracies fight less with each other, or others generally, or whether they just export their conflicts more elsewhere.
The Brexit vote is being read as a victory of racist rhetoric and anti-immigrant dissent. By preying on fears of Britain losing its Britishness, and harking back to nostalgic nationalist pride, ‘Leave’ voters, it’s suggested, have been manipulated into believing it’s the EU and immigrants and refugees, that are responsible for joblessness, homelessness and reduced state services.
He’s famous only for being the son of someone famous, laying claims to authenticity because his parents both once lived in state houses (lucky them), and using the same inane comments as his dad “at the end of the day”; this week, mainstream media’s focus on celebrity went to new lows. And that’s saying something!
This budget and this government were never going to provide the structural tools and address the structural challenges of a deregulated, speculative, unequal society. Addressing the chasm of income disparity would require the removal of privileges, the redistribution of advantage.