The Last Two Weeks: Chap. 1

Okaaaaayyyyy. I have a lot to say. So much that I'm dividing what's in my head into two posts. This is post one, on the last couple of weeks or so in the news. Post two will be on what's happening a bit closer to home.

So, in the news. The last week has been very exciting for a guy like me who loves the news. First it was Prince William and Catherine Middleton's (now the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge) wedding. I have to admit I watched most of it, and to be honest, it was great. The whole pomp and ceremony and screaming, excitable crowds: it was all just fantastic to watch. And people try to tell us that the monarchy is unpopular! I hope the couple have a long and happy marriage.

The excitement from that was hardly over when BOOM, Osama bin Laden was dead. Assassinated by a crack team of US SEALs that doesn't officially exist. To be honest, my first reaction was delight. But then, I started thinking about it from a Christian point of view, and I got a bit confused. I had no doubt that the actual act had a Biblical mandate. There are several examples of Israelites assassinating enemy kings. The most famous was probably Ehud's assassination of the (unarmed) King Og. But how was I to react to it? The wild celebrations on the streets in New York and other places I thought were probably not right. But, still, I think a measure of satisfaction and gladness at the death of an evil man was in order. Again, what I felt the most was thankfulness to God for the way in which he has dealt with me. "but by the grace of God I am what I am" 1 Corinthians 15:10.

Then, I had a day of peace, and it was election time! We had elections for the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish Parliament/Assemblies, elections for the English councils, and a referendum on whether to change our voting system. So much, so little time! At the risk of sounding very sad, I was up at 3:30am on Friday, just after the first results started coming in.

Alex Salmond, First Minister (SNP)

In Scotland, the Scottish National Party (SNP) made enormous gains from Labour and the Liberal Democrats, and even some from the Conservatives (Tories). They now have an overall majority in the Scottish Parliament, which was meant to be near impossible. The SNP's core principe is independence for Scotland. However, from what I read and see, and despite this...... landslide victory for the SNP, I don't think the Scottish people will vote for independence when the SNP get their referendum out.

Elsewhere, the LibDem's vote all over the place totally collapsed. They were crushed in England, reduced to a rump in Scotland and got a kicking (in their own words) in Wales. On top of that, they lost their referendum on voting, which was their pet policy. I think that:

a) they're not going to recover from this in their current state, and
b) the Conservatives can use this to their advantage.
The Tories are in coalition with a party that now has a very small support, and there is word of the Prime Minister calling a snap election in October, and he can use that threat to keep the LibDems in line. That's what he can do, and should do. Whether he's got the guts to do it is another matter. The Tories are the only party to come out of this without a battering anywhere, which is amazing. So, Scotland is yellow, England is blue and Wales is red.

Finally, there is all this fuss about super-injunctions (S.Is). Dozens of famous people have taken out thesecourt orders that mean that nobody in Britain (or, in one case, the world) can publish claims or photos that could be embarrassing to the person. Usually these are claims of immorality. My opinion? I think they are dangerous. While I am totally uninterested in celebreties' private lives, I am interested in my rulers' private lives, or the financial folks' dodgy dealing. For example, there is talk that Fred Goodwin, the banker who was in charge of RBS when it collapsed, took out an injunction that includes information that may have resulted in the collapse and cost the tax payer billions.

Allegedly.

Anyway, that's my opinion!

PS, This should have been posted a week ago. I only noticed it just now. Sorry!