Quick European Election Update
Posted by David on Jun 08 2009 | 6 Comments »
The results being out, it seems that Labour have unsurprisingly done very badly and have lost five seats, Conservatives having gained one of those and the rest going to smaller parties. The disappointment for me though is that the racist BNP have gained their first two European seats, and Greens, while increasing their share of the public vote in the UK substantially, have remained with their two seats like last time. Generally I’m not too disappointed when I look at the European wide results however, where the left wing haven’t been hurt as badly as I thought they might be, and Greens have increased their share of the seats to 7% (50 seats).
It’s funny how when an economic crisis arrives, people turn to the right wing. This should be the time when socialists mark the failure of free market economies and the left wing beefs up its position, but for some reason it never works out that way. Talk of belt tightening from right-wing parties wins out and we continue the capitalist cycle of boom and bust, because the poor don’t know enough to see why they should support the left, and the rich who do know enough take the selfish route and hope for low taxes. I remain frustrated by the whole thing, but at least Greens are doing better.
The MP Expenses “Scandal”
Posted by David on May 12 2009 | Comment now »
President Obama spoke at the Correspondents Dinner recently, in what was practically a stand-up routine by presidential standards. Watching this filled me with delight, contrasted against George Bush’s previously awkward exchanges, and brought me to the point of liking Obama even more than I did before I watched it. Yet one particular note jarred with me a little, and that was the time at the end of the speech where he complimented the press and stressed their importance to democracy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YB1olxLwBWI
Technically speaking, Obama is of course correct. A free press is absolutely vital to democracy and we should all be thankful for that. However we must all remember that this press, while free, is far from neutral and far from reflective of true public opinion. The press (both here and in America) are controlled by large companies, and each of them have agendas. Right now in the UK we’re heading towards an election where The Labour Party is going to be decimated due to the lack of populatity of their leader Gordon Brown, and that’s largely because the press don’t like him. Where as under Tony Blair they used to report Conservative comments in a negative light and Labour retorts as factual, now they do the opposite with no substantial reason whatsoever. They blame Labour for a global economic crisis, because the government did what every other western government did and spent money when times were good. Apparently Gordon Brown should have had more foresight and stood up to Tony Blair as he championed his plans to improve public services.
That doesn’t bother me too much, because I’m pretty used to it by now. Politics has a consistent cycle, and though I was too young to realise it in 1997, I imagine they were saying some very unfair things about the Conservative party back in those days too.
However the latest obsession of the Britsh press really makes my blood boil, and as such I’ve barely watched the news since the start of the weekend. I’ve read articles today because I wanted to comment on this and understand what the latest is, but that is all.
I can’t watch the news for long right now. Why? Because all they talk about is the so-called MP expenses “scandal” and nothing that really matters.
Nevermind that people are dying in Africa. Nevermind that terrorists are gaining in strength in Pakistan. Nevermind that the world’s environmental situation could reach the point of no return at any given moment. Nevermind the UK budget which amounts to several hundred billion pounds.
Nope, we’re going to talk about the handful of MPs who claim too much on expenses, sometimes by as much as £20,000 on top of their £60,000 salary!
Dear God! Those monsters are wasting a tenth of a penny for every person in the UK! Those 7 days-a-week, 12 hours-a-day monsters! How can these people be running our country?
What baffles me most is that people sit by and let the press continue in the way they are. I sometimes wonder where the brains of the Brittish public are, and how there aren’t huge numbers of complaints directed at media outlets. I’ve send mine into Sky News and BBC News… where are all the rest?
An older Labour peer, Lord Foulkes made me laugh out loud at lunch today as I watched Sky News. He was being interviewed and said some scathing, very true, and hilarious things about the media, but apparently I missed his appearance on the BBC which was even better (if less eloquent). A video of it can be found at this link:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8045414.stm
That’s right, those news presenters who are criticising MPs are getting a salary of one and a half times what the MPs are getting. £90,000! I laughed a lot.
When it comes to these MPs expenses, I agree that there is a lot going on that shouldn’t be, and the regulations need to be tightened to stop these kinds of bogus claims. But I don’t want to live in a world where a story like this is the main item on the news for nearly a week. For someone doing a job as stressful and important as that of MPs, we’re not talking about a lot of money, and in the context of the UK budget we’re talking about penny change. Please, British people, get some perspective on life and the world in which you’re living.
Or perhaps just listen to the words of Stephen Fry who puts it far better that I ever could:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/newsnight/8045040.stm
Oh how I love Stephen Fry.
Star Trek
Posted by David on May 11 2009 | 5 Comments »
(Spoilers present.)
Going to see the first Star Trek film since 2002 filled me with trepidation, because with this franchise being as important as it is to me, there was a sense that beyond a failed film and a failed series, this really is make-or-break time. I could be about to witness the end of the Star Trek franchise for the foreseeable future, should this film tank at the box office. Thankfully I didn’t witness that at all.
As a way to kick-start Star Trek again, it served every purpose it needed to; it was fast-paced and exciting, humourous and cute, referenced the past while being new and fresh, and had all the hallmarks of a typical summer blockbuster. I enjoyed it very much.
On the other side of the coin, there were things and I didn’t like as a fan; gripes and worries. While it got a very impressive 96% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, to me it failed to beat those action Blockbusters at their own game- did it really strike me as the quality and emotional pitch of the original Spiderman or other similar films that began a trilogy? No, not really. Yet a second is announced and I look forward to it.
The concern is that it did things of which I didn’t approve to grab viewers, yet wasn’t as good a film as some others in that style. Sad, but perhaps with it being Star Trek that was never going to happen, especially when it comes to emotional impact.
Technically I was very impressed. The cinematography really reflected the big budget (more than three times what it was Star Trek: Nemesis), and the action style of frenetic camera moves and regular flares seemed to work very well for the most part. That said, I’m seriously going to miss the grander, slower-moving and honest camera style of the previous films and I hope if they ever do another Next Generation (or even DS9/Voyager) movie, that they make it closer to that style even if they have a larger budget for it.
It was well made in nearly every respect and most of my gripes stood with plot and breaks with canon. As much as I understand the idea that a parallel universe has been created and so anything they do is justified, I really don’t like some of the things they did even so. Seeing a Romulan’s face for the first time for example; I’d rather maintain the enigma that they were during the time of The Original Series, or having Spock’s mother die, or other things that completely threw asunder the canon and original timeline. Then there’s the plot, which like a lot of time-travel plots seemed at times a little contrived and goofy. I love that Leonard Nimoy was involved in the film and his presence was very welcome, but having him face off with his past self is to me a bit much, just as him saying the exact words, “I have and always shall be, your friend,” with so similar an intonation to how he did it in the old films, made it seem a little like a cameo instead of a genuine part. Having him not come back as a character at the end, or just some reference to how he got home, along with a rewording of that line would have been much preferred.
That said, part of me did love all the fan references to the old series and delighted in most of them. But as with Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix that did it so well, the trick is to make references subtlety, because the fans will pick them up perfectly well, but it won’t make the film feel like a chain of amusing cliches.
By far the biggest compliment I have for the film is focused on the actors, who were great and at times remarkable. The main trio of Kirk, Spock and McCoy were particularly impressive, and everyone else did a very respectable job, though Chekov and Scotty less so than the others. The actor who played McCoy in particular blew my mind with his performance: in his introduction scene it seemed as though he was channelling the spirit of DeForest Kelley, because every phrase was perfect, every intonation said this was a younger McCoy. I didn’t have to wonder who he was, I knew from his very first line that was so hilariously executed. I really can’t compliment Karl Urban enough.
Star Trek has had wonderful reviews and seems to be doing well at the box office, so a sequel is on it’s way already, and deservedly so as far as I’m concerned. It’s a great relief to know that they’ve finally done something that’s fresh and new and is being well received, and I hope it leads to a long term continuation of one of my favourite franchises.