Sadly I've never been asked to contribute to Comment is Free - they've probably got enough lefties at the Guardian already - but if I had taken part in yesterday's What would you change? opinion-fest to mark the first birthday of the site, here's what I would have listed as the things I want to see change in the year ahead.* to see Gordon Brown as Prime Minister reaching out in a radical new, policy-rich direction which genuinely seeks to fulfil Labour's mission to serve the many, not the few.
* to see people starting to take personal responsibility for tackling climate change, including changing their travel patterns, and for acquaintances of mine who refuse to do anything about recycling to realise how stupid and short-sighted they are being.
* to see a growing awareness of the futility of military action in Iraq and other Middle East countries where the West is already viewed as the enemy, and a growing recognition of the need to tackle the Israel-Palestine conflict ahead of anything else.
* to see an end to the absurd micromanagement by Whitehall of housebuilding targets, leading to the production line of uniform boxes with tiny or non-existent gardens coupled with increasing encroachement onto green belt land.
* to see people taking faith and spirituality more seriously, realising there is more to life than money and material possessions.
Oh well, I can but dream....
7 comments:
I think Gordon is going to be a sad disappointment to you.Most of us who had any illusions in him have sadly realised this already.
You may be right, but I'd still rather have him than any of Blair's little disciples.
Paul you say:
"to see Gordon Brown as Prime Minister reaching out in a radical new, policy-rich direction which genuinely seeks to fulfil Labour's mission to serve the many, not the few."
What exactly does this mean? For all the problems of the last 10 years, I fail to see how Labour hasn't served the many!
As self-seeking a piece of Hwyll that ever rose from the bottom of a pint of pasteurised nitr-kegged real ale as I ever heard; Kinnock would be proud of you...
You want to see a scotsman with a chip on his shoulder running England with a spreadsheet... you must be nuts! He will be handed the poison chalice by Blair before being ousted by a leadership challenge that will make Stalin look like a nun! Prescott will re-emerge, etc.
Palestine/Israel is basically a cathartic exercise to keep the Islamo/Judeo conflict localised in one area; a sort of extremist religious boxing ring; its got nothing to do with Iraq which is to do with oil reserves and having a military platform in the middle of the Arab states (handy for missile lauch sites,etc.".
PS Global warming doesn't exist; the climate is warming, but its nowhere near as warm as it was for the later part of the dark ages 600-1000AD, etc, etc. Has no-one realised that the eco-activists are the same nutters that turned up at every single march or protest simply to kick the hell out of all and sundry?
Isn't it time you started doing some REAL journalism (and research) rather than being a "repeater" for drunk and drug-sozzled hacks regurgitate to fill those white spaces between the advertisements.
As for home-building and the green belt, well do we want "the Beast to inherit the Earth" by protecting wildlife, or do we want decent houses with large gardens? We can't have both the green belt and bigger gardens....
As ever, Honey.
I'll give you your five things to change the world:
1) Gordon Brown reverses his catastrophic 1997 decision to remove Advanced Corporation tax relief on share dividends, a move that sucked more than £5 billion a year out of pension funds ever since, causing lasting damage to a retirement benefits system that had been the envy of the world and landing hard-working people with inadequate cashpots fo their retirement.
2) Ditto
3) Ditto
4) Ditto
5) Ditto
Choosing the right perfume can be difficult and because it is also considered an intimate gift buying the wrong perfume
can backfire on you and get you the opposite result of that which you hoped for.
The first thing you need to do is do some homework, meaning research. Look at your lady's perfume bottles, the ones that
are nearly empty will be her favorites. If there is one there that is nearly full chances are she doesn't wear it often
or doesn't like it. Hint around and ask her what types of fragrances she likes and dislikes.
Humans are very sensory oriented and our sense of smell is no different. Certain perfumes can elicit strong reactions in
both the wearer and the person reacting to the scent. Perfumes are made not only to attract but to also relax someone. If
you aren't totally sure what kind of perfume to buy you can always play it safe and get something in the aromatherapy
line. If you go this route, bear in mind that vanilla scents are considered to relax and a peppermint or lemon scent will
be more stimulating.
Paul
I agree with all those items plus people realising that: speaking loudly in the company of others, whether on mobiles, in a pub or on the street, is just rude and anti-social; leaving litter and especially chewing gum on pavements is very much ditto; plus a Victor Meldrew list of other things.
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