Monday, August 25, 2008

The week's news round-up

The International Olympic Committee? Off-cheese inside their heads

The 153 victims of the Madrid plane crash are posing questions related to the usual dilemma profit vs safety. In the days prior to the accident, the technicians' Union had warned Spanair that excessive cutbacks may reflect negatively on safety procedures. Prophetic. On another level, the entire world must have wondered what kind of cheese the International Olympic Comittee have inside their heads as they decided to turn down Spain's request for a minute's silence in honour of the victims.

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Tony Parsons: "the Chinese don't look very oppressed, do they?"

Still on the Olympics. On Saturday, uber-opinionated Mirror columnist Tony Parsons missed an excellent opportunity to keep quiet. Parsons is one of those from the club of stopped clocks. Twice a day he may point the right time (and in fact, on the same page he strikes it right about Tories, class and immigration), but very often he talks utter shite for the sake of being controversial for effect.

Normally happy to dish dirt on anything he writes about (with the European Union, for instance, a typical pet-hate of his), Parsons has decided instead that the Chinese regime will do. Perhaps happy that Team GB clocked up a record 19 gold medals at the Bejing Olympics, Parsons got carried away and suddenly decided to dismiss those petty issues, you know, like human rights and the Chinese regime. "The Chinese", he wrote, "are not the brain-washed fanatics of Hitler's shindig. And they don't look very oppressed, do they? They look like they're having the time of their lives", pontificates Parsons. Trouble is, without the slightest hint of irony.

Therefore Parsons-land is one where if one of the most ruthless regimes in history are able to crack a dozens fireworks and get a decent turnout at a sporting event, that equates lack of oppression. You knock off good Olympics? Then it's Top Marks on human rights from Parsons. Let's just hope London 2012 crack it right and get good audiences or Parsons may start blabbering on about the English Third Reich. Perhaps The Mirror may want to send him reporting in Tibet for a year or two.

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Dangerous dogs? Dangerous owners, more like

Much has been written about "dangerous dogs" and the latest court case concerning the death of toddler Archie-Lee Hirst mauled to death by his grannie's rottweiler in West Yorkshire. It emerged that the old scumbag had kept the dog secluded and unwalked for five months, a lethal recipe for an animal's distorted interaction and overreaction to unusual situations. The dog was later put down by the police.

However, the press can go on as much as they like about banning dangerous dogs and introducing breeding controls, but if the owners are lowlife morons even a docile Labrador will be able to cause havoc. How about a compulsory licence for everyone who wants to own a dog - perhaps one that could be refused on the grounds of unsuitability? Many, many dogs would be grateful for that and will enjoy a better quality of life.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

As a victim myself of a dog attack I beleive they should all wear a muzzle when out and be always on a leash. Unfortunately, too many CHAVS walk them without caring in the slightest.