Jun 172007
 

The UK government has done something sensible for once and given the right to breast feed in public without harassment … it is admittedly a sad comment on the state of Britain that such a law is necessary. It seems that some people think it is “disgusting” or something and object to it in public. Personally I find people eating decaying corpses in public disgusting, but I don’t make a big song and dance over it … because once someone has made the decision to eat meat it is none of my business (although a bit of gentle campaigning is not wrong … when they are not eating!).

If you are one of those odd people who find breast feeding disgusting, don’t look! After all it’s hardly polite to stare at someone eating anyway, and if you don’t look it won’t bother you. If you are in a restaurant and someone breast feeding is putting you off your food, go and eat in the toilet (which is where these nutters think breast feeding belongs).

This is a symptom of a more general problem … that people somehow feel they have the right to restrict the actions of other people, because they might be offended. In many cases these people just need to be told mind your own business; whilst we do have to have restrictions on what we can do such as when we cause (or potentially) direct harm to others, we should not be restricted because somebody might be offended.

I find the act of people eating meat offensive, but I don’t expect the law to stop them. I accept the fact that other people have different ideas. I dare say some people find the fact that I grow my hair long offensive, but just because there are a few who do doesn’t mean it should be illegal. It is not even something where the majority can rule the minority.

Jun 072007
 

Just seen a BBC news report about the attack on the pope today, claiming that the attacker had gotten through the security cordon surrounding the pope. Quite obviously hype as during that claim, they were playing footage of the attack which clearly shows the attacker being pulled to the ground by the second to last and last line of defence.

So the attacker did not get through the security cordon at all! Not that this was not an important incident that the Vatican needs to investigate, but it is an example of how the media frequently seems to like making the news more serious than it really is.

Jun 052007
 

There has been a great outcry of the poor quality of the new Olympics London 2012 logo, and the BBC has a huge number of comments about it. Well, probably whatever they came up with would have resulted in tons of complaints.

However it turns out that the animated logo breaches guidelines on avoiding provoking epileptic fits caused by flashing images. And has caused some fits. Perhaps it is time the Olympics committee returned the logo and demanded their money back, and pick a logo selected by popular vote.

After all a professional media company that manages to produce a logo that causes fits just was not doing their job properly and have come up with something that is “unfit for purpose”.

Jun 032007
 

The BBC had a news item about the city of Portsmouth introducing a 20mph speed limit on most roads in the city. Interestingly whilst the web site does say that it is most roads with the limit, the TV story claimed it was all roads in the city. Another example of deceptive media reporting.

Whilst Portsmouth has introduced a 20mph limit on most roads, what was not mentioned is that the main arterial routes within the city are not affected … the 20mph limited roads are principally built-up residential areas. In fact the kind of roads you find at the beginning or end of your journey (unless you are a rat-runner) where such a terribly slow limit (at least 5 times quicker than most people walk) is going to have a relatively small effect on the motorists convenience. And hopefully will have a dramatic effect on the fatality of accidents on these roads.

It would be nice if they had introduced a slightly higher limit on the main routes through the city too … say 30mph. After all there are no real “through routes” in the island that Portsmouth is, so again it would only really be at the beginning or end of a motorist’s journey.

Back to the TV story: Rather than cover the details of the story accurately, the BBC chose to dig up some drivers who were insistent that the 20mph limit was unacceptable and would cause more accidents (and glossing over the fact that even if there were more accidents there would probably still be fewer deaths). Perhaps. But there again it would be less of an interesting story if the BBC hadn’t dug up the lunatic fringe of motorists who believe that it is their right to drive as fast as they wish whatever the effect on anyone else.

Jun 012007
 

A UK Member of Parliament named Anthony Steen has hit the news headlines for leaving his car in a disabled parking bay for three days. He has come out with some sort of excuse for this blaming disabled people somehow. Probably not quite like that, but I don’t care.

Come out with some genuine argument about how there are too many disabled parking bays and I might pay attention.

But pay attention to some drongo who came out with some sort of argument after he has been caught parking illegally ? Not a chance. This is an example of behaviour that gives politicians a bad name. He’d be far better off by saying “Oops! I shouldn’t have done that”, paid his parking fine, and keep his mouth shut about any criticism of disabled parking.

Funnily enough he’s a member of the political party that used to bang on so much about their being the party of “law and order”. Breaking the parking laws is funny sort of behaviour for an MP from that party isn’t it ?

I guess this little rant makes me one of those “whingers and whiners” that he’s now going on about.