TOPIC: The Pryce War

'Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.' (William Congreve 1697)  

Chris Huhne and Vicky Pryce are each now serving an 8 month gaol sentence for perverting the course of justice. There are those who feel that Vicky Pryce should not have been given same sentence as Chris Huhne. There are also those who regarded the judge's comments on Vicky Pryce - 'having demonstrated a controlling, manipulative and devious side to your character' - as being excessively harsh. How will these two very high profile people emerge from this experience?

Well, there’s going to be a book, isn’t there? A couple of best sellers for next Christmas shopping list. ‘The Pryce War’. ‘Points unmake Pryces’.  The magazine articles: ‘Marital coercion. How to fight back.’  And then there are the talk shows. I can see Piers Morgan rubbing his hands with glee as we speak. Like Jeffrey Archer and Jonathan Aitken before them, Chris and Vicky will survive.

Ok so they have to serve a prison sentence. By all accounts they are already in an open prison so it’s not exactly the horrors of Holloway, is it? And it’s not as if they’ll never work again, is it? So they have ruined their careers but when they get out you can bet your bottom dollar they’ll be looked after by their own. Like Fred the Shred from the Bank of Scotland. It took him all of 6 months to get a new job after his unseemly dismissal.

Of course what’s ironic is that the inmates in the place where Chris is incarcerated are known for running a little cottage industry. They take penalty points for money. A great wee business idea. What’s a few penalty points to someone who’s locked up most of the week? So next time he speeds through a red light he’ll have no need to coerce Vicky or her replacement. A quick phone call to one of his new BFF and Chris will be free to speed another day.

TOPIC: Free Press?

Free Press?   Give us a Responsible Press!

The government has finally come up with a formal response (or deal) to the Leveson report.  It proposes a Royal Charter to underpin regulation of the press.  An all party deal seems to have been struck between David Cameron's man, Oliver Letwin, Nick Clegg and Ed Milliband late last Sunday night. The regulator (whoever he or she will be) will have a statutory underpin, the press can't veto who sits on the regulatory body and the regulatory body can impose fat fines and direct apologies as prominent as the original offending article. To date a number of the 'big guns' of the press have expressed grave doubts and talked about press freedom and walking away from the new regulator. However, the Financial Times, the Independent and the Guardian who supported the original findings and recommendations of Leveson have held out against fearful pressure from the rest of the press. Can the new deal protect the public and keep the press on side?

Everyone aspires to have a free press. And for the past 150 years or so our press has served us well. But in recent years some players have changed tactics and now the Press Association has been well and truly discredited. With freedom comes responsibility but this was largely ignored by some of the ‘big guns’ in the press. What other organisation is so immune to the law? A policy of self-governance is only effective when every partner buys into a notion of responsibility and this was clearly not an option. The Guardian was the first to blow the whistle on the discreditable activities of other parties and the whole system imploded. The Press is clearly no longer capable of policing itself. Just like the Banks, the Press became too powerful.

Ireland now has a statutory system of governance of the press but it took them 4 years to establish it. Why the Leveson recommendations were not adopted in their entirety is a point of contention. Cameron had initially promised that this would be the case and Milliband and Clegg were also happy enough to buy into the proposals. But now we await the adoption of the Royal Charter which still requires a majority of 2/3 in Parliament.  Do you ever wonder who exactly is pulling the strings?

TOPIC: Is there a danger that justice becomes a political football?

What right has he?

Peter Robinson, aided and abetted by Sammy Wilson, has recently criticised the judiciary for what he claims is the perception in Unionist circles of unfair policing and bail decisions and anti-unionist bias. The Lord Chief Justice, Sir Declan Morgan has responded, 'Now that the issue has arisen it is important that I do what I can to bring as much information to bear on this issue as possible, so as to reassure people.' Is there a danger that justice becomes a political football? Do we forget the enormous personal price our judges and magistrates have paid during the recent conflict? Should Peter Robinson have made his views known privately to Sir Declan rather than express them publicly?

A step too far! Politicians cannot and should not comment on decisions of the judicial system. And with good reason. In a democratic society we have established a legal system which we deem fair and just. A judge’s role is to implement that system. Peter Robinson and Sammy Wilson know diddly squat about the law. We don’t expect them to. That is not their role.

You cannot help but think that they are both just looking for some publicity. They shamefully stayed well clear of any comments when the whole flag issue was at its peak around Christmas and now they are seeking a little glory on the backs of the protesters who have recently been sentenced.

When are we ever going to get some proper statesmanship in this country? But then if we continue to vote on party grounds, we’re never going to get our home grown Nelson Mandela, are we?

TOPIC: British Legacy

What have the British ever done for us?

British soldiers are already leaving Afghanistan although the official date is sometime in 2014. What will be their legacy?  Will the Afghan army be able to cope?

‘Will Afghanistan be any better off when the British soldiers leave? When the Romans left Britain all those years ago they left behind them a legacy. Remember Monty Python?

‘So what have the Romans ever done for us then?

Stan: The aqueduct.

Voices from public: Oh yeah, yeah they gave us that. Yeah. That's true.

Francis: And the sanitation!

Matthias: The aqueduct.

Reg: Oh yeah, yeah they gave us that. Yeah. That's true.

Activist: And the sanitation!

Stan: Oh yes... sanitation, Reg, you remember what the city used to be like.

Reg: All right, I'll grant you that the aqueduct and the sanitation are two things that the Romans have done...

Matthias: And the roads...

Reg:  (sharply) Well yes obviously the roads... the roads go without saying. But apart from the aqueduct, the sanitation and the roads..

Voices from public: Irrigation. Medicine, Education, Health

Reg: Alright. Fair enough.

Francis: And the wine

Reg: Oh yes true!

Francis: That’s something we’d really miss, Reg

Activist: Public baths!

Stan: And it’s safe to walk in the streets at night now

Francis: Yes, they certainly know how to keep order... (general nodding)... let's face it, they're the only ones who could in a place like this.

(more general murmurs of agreement)

Reg: All right... all right... but apart from better sanitation and medicine and education and irrigation and public health and roads and a freshwater system and baths and public order... what have the Romans done for us?

Xercis: Brought peace!’

Now can we say that about Afghanistan? Always a sorry place, Afghanistan remains a sorry place. Corruption is rife and democracy seems a long way off. Attempts at training up police have been met with scorn. Tribal law rules and the Taliban remains a powerful force. It would have been interesting to see what might have happened if we had taken all that money spent on arms and policing and put it into providing infrastructure. If we had built a few hospitals, a decent transport system, an education system fit for purpose and if we had established a number of viable, substantial businesses in the country, perhaps then Afghanistan might have had the potential for a brighter future. When are governments going to realize that there is no such thing as a military solution?  



TOPIC: Irish Rugby - The Real Winners

The Real Winners!

Ireland won the Grand Slam in rugby last Sunday by defeating Italy to take the RBS Six Nations Trophy. No, it wasn't the men!  It was the women of the Irish rugby team! 

The unknowns are finally making their mark. Women’s rugby is now big in Ireland. While the men’s team cracked under pressure the women ploughed through the competition and took the limelight. Well done ladies! Here’s hoping you get the publicity you deserve. (And the sponsorship!)

TOPIC: Il Papa

       Il Papa

 

The white smoke has drifted away from the roof of the Sistine Chapel. A new pope, Jorge Mario Bergoglio, has been announced and has caused something of a surprise as he was not one of those names on most commentators' short list.  He has chosen to be called Pope Francis after St Francis of Assisi and has been described as a humble man.  He made a very positive impression on television the night his papacy was announced.  He has already done away with some of the pomp and ceremony of his office - he declined to wear the mozzetta, the symbol of papal authority on his balcony appearance and he travelled back to his hotel in Rome with other cardinals by minibus.  However, Pope Francis faces a huge number of major issues at the beginning of his papacy: corruption in the Vatican and in the Vatican bank, tackling the major crisis of child abuse in the church in Europe, North America and beyond, gay marriage, abortion, priestly celibacy and falling numbers of members.  Furthermore, it could be argued that among the most important areas to be addressed is that of the place of women in the church. The Roman Catholic church is an all male institution - no women in any positions of authority even though they represent a large proportion of church members. Where can the church go from here? Can Pope Francis move things forward?

Il nuovo papa! Congratulazioni! Not a bad start, don’t you think? Even an old cynic like me is a tad impressed. Turning his back on the pomp and circumstance and declining photo shots with all the dignitaries? Refusing to live in the papal apartments in the Vatican? Could he possibly be someone who is ready and willing to stand up to the Vatican Mafia who surround him? I suppose when you come from Argentina life has been a bit different, a little less cosy than in mainland Europe. Growing up in that big old melting pot over there must make you more open to diversity for a start. And Argentina has bred a few revolutionaries in its time, hasn’t it? Che Guevara, simultaneously adored and reviled, was undeniably one of the most important men in the history of Latin America in the 20^th century. (And in my personal top ten of best lookers too! Those eyes!.... I digress….) And Eva Perón, our Evita, was the much loved heroine of  the ‘descamisados’ the ones without shirts, the poor, the needy, those on low incomes. Pope Francis spent his formative years growing up in a land of strong, revolutionary personalities, in an era of protests, mass demonstrations, revolutions and military coups. When he was a young boy his country suffered the San Juan earthquake, killing 10,000 people in one incident. He has known poverty, injustice, war, strife. More recently as a religious leader he has seen the breakdown of relations between state and the Church in his own country over the issue of abortion. He has also seen one of his fellow priests successfully charged with 7 murders and 42 kidnappings.  Perhaps he has learned a little from his role models: Evita, Che and all the other revolutionaries. Perhaps he will recognise the need for women to have a proper role in the Church. Maybe just he will set about tackling corruption in the Vatican. Perhaps his Argentinian background will enable him to bring in an end to celibacy for priests as has already happened to some extent in his own country. Perhaps too he will find a way to empower the poor.Throughout his life, both as an individual and a religious leader, he has been known for his humility, his concern for the poor, and his commitment to dialogue as a way to build bridges between people of all backgrounds, beliefs, and faiths. Here’s wishing il papa good health and a strong wind behind his back.