Why Is A Soft-Porn Model In a BDSM Outfit A Role Model For Young Girls?
No disrespect to the victims and survivors of the diabolical Manchester attack. Neither do I wish to undermine the courage and generosity of Ariana Grande returning so soon to Manchester for a benefit concert. But what are the parents of her teenage and pre-pubescent fans up to? How has this phenomena happened in a world that is one minute sex-obsessed and the next overly-protective of children?
I’m not too old (yet) for my immediate reaction to images of Ms Grande to be “…phwooar!” but then I check myself because she’s hardly past childhood herself. What is going on? On the one hand we have the handwringing and pious condemnation of our highly sexualised society, on the other we have kids wearing ‘Porn Star’ t-shirts, thigh-high boots and all sorts of PVC, leather and even ‘chained’ fashion accessories. We have the righteous prosecution of more and more sex offenders but also the terrible persecution of a small number of innocent men who are pursued by both media and prosecutors with a mixture of prurience and blind, injudicious revenge.
I don’t even know whether Ms Grande can sing but she certainly can dance and flaunt herself in very sexy, provocative fashion. Surely more suitable for a night out in Amsterdam or Berlin rather than a children’s pop concert?
My Spoiled Ballot Paper. What Other Choice Is There?
In case you can’t read my dreadful handwriting, here’s what I have written on my postal ballot paper:
Canning, Andy. Liberal Democrats – “An illiberal and undemocratic party”
Clayton, Kelvin Charles. Green – “Irrelevant”
Letwin, Oliver. Conservative – “I could vote for Letwin but this is a presidential election. I cannot vote for May.”
Rhodes, Lee. Labour – “Socialism is a delusion”
I remain a member of the Conservative Party but Theresa May is not a true Tory. It is she who has made this a presidential election, against all the principles of British democracy and I cannot possibly support her. She betrays all fundamental Tory values. She doesn’t believe in individual liberty and responsibility, she is a repressive, nanny-state authoritarian. She doesn’t believe in small government, she is a bureaucrat who wants an ever-larger state encroaching into every aspect of our lives. She is not a true Tory.
Please review my previous articles about Mrs May.
22-01-17 – Theresa May Is Not A Tory, She’s An Authoritarian Bureaucrat.
29-03-17 – Thank You Ms May, Your Work is Now Done.
07-05-17 – Theresa May Isn’t Strong, She’s Cowardly, Evasive And Weak – And I’m A Tory!
22-05-17 – The Best Election Outcome Is A Tory Government With A Weakened Theresa May.
A Significant Day For Cannabis Law Reform In The UK.
This Thursday past, 25th May 2017, was the inaugural general meeting of the Cannabis Trades Association UK (CTAUK).
While this may not excite your average cannabis consumer too much, it represents a very important, even momentous occasion in our progress towards a regulated cannabis market. Anyone spotting our meeting room would have seen it as just another group of business people in a day long meeting with Powerpoint presentations, flipcharts and gallons of coffee and mineral water. GSK were just down the corridor, an insurance company was next door, it all looked very corporate and pretty boring.
This is exactly the point. We are bringing cannabis into the mainstream, overcoming the stigma, making it respectable. The idea that the Holiday Inn at Gatwick would have signs pointing to a ‘cannabis’ meeting would have been unthinkable until very recently.
Of course, CTAUK is concerned only with the legal cannabis trade so, in the main, that means CBD products but membership has started to expand rapidly. In the coming weeks we anticipate we will be joined by UK hemp growers and a very important new medical cannabis research consortium. Within the next few months we expect almost every significant player in all aspects of the UK cannabis market to be part of the association.
So, although at first glance, this boring business meeting may not excite CLEAR members and followers, it heralds the dawn of a new age. Cannabis is coming out of the shadows. Reform is just round the corner.
Twenty years ago similar meetings took place in California, fifteen years ago similar meetings were held in Canada, Israel, the Netherlands and other US states. Just three or four years ago they were happening in Colorado, Washington, Oregon, etc. The UK’s time has come. Not a joint was rolled, not a bong was lit, there wasn’t a vapouriser or a hash cookie to be seen. No longer are we playing at this, it’s now become serious.
Theresa May Grandstands On The Manchester Tragedy.
I’m sorry to make this point but every second of airtime that Mrs May gains from this, every image of her visiting victims and encouraging the emergency services is more votes in the ballot box.
Shamelessly, she is exploiting this diabolical act for her own self-interest. The election campaign may be suspended but the media spotlight is now far more tightly focused on her. Just as it’s probably true the Jo Cox murder affected the leave vote in the EU referendum and the Falklands War helped Margaret Thatcher through a difficult political period, so Mrs May will gain immeasurably from this horrifying, terrible, heartbreaking event.
We should return to the election campaign as soon as possible. That is the best way to pay respect to the victims and their families by not allowing terror to win. Our democracy, poor inadequate version that it is, must go on.
The Best Election Outcome Is A Tory Government With A Weakened Theresa May.
I cannot vote to support Theresa May. I could vote for my local Conservative candidate but Mrs May has made this election all about herself and she is not a true Tory.
Although I shall remain a member of the Conservative Party, I shall not vote for it. If voting tactically was relevant in my constituency I would have no difficulty in voting Labour or Liberal Democrat in order to weaken Mrs May but it would make no difference, so I shall abstain by spoiling my ballot paper.
Theresa May is not a true Tory. the most important, fundamental Conservative principles are individual liberty, individual responsibility and small government. Mrs May is in opposition to these values, she is an Authoritarian Bureaucrat. All her polices are about a bigger state, interfering more and more with our freedoms, micro-managing every aspect of our lives, just as she did at the Home Office. Yet every single one of her policies has been a failure.
Immigration has been a disaster. Since 2010 she has failed entirely to control this most divisive of issues. It is at the root of Brexit and behind a large part of the conflict in our society. Mrs May has simultaneously allowed us to be ‘swamped’ by economic migrants and implemented some of the most horrific human rights violations against genuine refugees. Her failure to provide sanctuary for those fleeing Syria brings everlasting shame on Britain.
Policing is such a disaster that it is impossible to get any attention to a burglary, car theft, online fraud or harassment. Almost any crime short of being stabbed in the street is ignored. Meanwhile the division between police and the community grows ever wider. We never see policemen except speeding by in a car. The police canteen culture and a corrupt complaints system has encouraged terrible negligence, failing to protect children against grooming, failing to create a safe environment where young people do not feel they have to carry knives.
Drugs policy is a scandal with the highest ever rate of deaths by overdoses, stupid legislation like the Psychoactive Substances Act which has massively increased the harm of Spice. The ban on khat promoting crime and racial division for a policy that has nothing to do with evidence. The deeply cruel and anti-science policy of denying access to medicinal cannabis and the idiocy of gifting the wider £6 billion cannabis market to organised crime.
Remember the Passport Office chaos? Remember the racist billboard vans telling migrants to go home? Remember the deal advising Saudi Arabia, a brutal, oppressive, medieval regime, on policing? Remember Mrs May banning the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women from visiting Yarl’s Wood Detention Centre? The appalling rejection of asylum claims from Afghan heroes who had acted as interpreters for British troops? The proliferation of CCTV, making us the most snooped-on people in a so-called democracy in the world? The repeated, insistent bullying and intolerant imposition of the Snooper’s Charter despite opposition from all sections of our society? The exclusion of controversial speakers from entering the UK on no grounds except that Mrs May disagrees with them? The total, unmitigated, inexcusable disaster that is everything to do with the Border Force?
The triggering of Article 5o is the only successful policy that Theresa May has had anything to do with. It made best use of her talents: we needed someone stubborn, obstinate, pig-headed, intransigent and incapable of listening to get that job done in the face of the anti-democratic Remainers.
If the Liberal Democrats didn’t have this stupid, illiberal, anti-democratic policy on Brexit I’d be voting for them on 8th June. However, there is no party other than the Conservatives with a credible set of policies to govern Britain – but Mrs May is the weakest link. She needs to step aside after the election and make way for a real leader, someone who actually believes in Brexit, in Britain as a world leader in liberty, justice and freedom.
Lord Monson and CLEAR to Campaign for a Regulated Cannabis Market.
Lord Nicholas Monson, Peter Reynolds
Lord Nicholas Monson, whose son Rupert committed suicide after he had become psychotic from ‘skunk’, has teamed up with CLEAR Cannabis Law Reform to campaign for a safer, regulated cannabis market.
‘Skunk’ is a form of cannabis with zero or very little CBD that can be harmful to young people and the vulnerable. The criminal market has driven the production of ‘skunk’ with high levels of THC, the psychoactive compound and low levels of CBD, the protective, anti-psychotic compound. The absence of regulation and control has also led to sales of highly dangerous products such as ‘Spice’ which contain an extremely potent, synthetic form of THC without any balancing CBD.
Lord Monson says:
“It is urgent that the government takes the historic step of legalising and regulating more traditional forms of cannabis and puts severe penalties in place for those dealing in skunk.”
CLEAR Cannabis Law Reform is the UK’s largest and longest established drugs policy reform group. It campaigns for medicinal cannabis on prescription by doctors and a regulated market for adults.
Peter Reynolds, president of CLEAR, says:
“We are honoured to work alongside Lord Monson towards a safer cannabis market that will reduce harm instead of the present policy that maximises all harms. Just like the policy that President Trudeau is introducing in Canada and already exists across much of the USA, we must rigorously restrict access by children and those with developing brains and ensure that safe, properly regulated cannabis with a good proportion of CBD is available for adults.”
Another Magnificent Masterpiece From Masterchef.
Giovanna Ryan, Steve Kielty, Saliha Mahmood-Ahmed
For year, after year, after year it is my favourite telly. The perfect antidote to days full of stress and idiots. Nothing but nothing enables me to turn off and immerses me as completely as Masterchef in all its variants but this one, the main one, that turns amateur cooks into professional chefs is the best.
As usual I’ll stick my neck out and pick the winner. I’m usually wrong but my controversial choice this year is Saliha.
Theresa May Isn’t Strong, She’s Cowardly, Evasive And Weak – And I’m A Tory!
As a member of the Conservative Party, I am horrified with the dishonest and manipulative way in which Theresa May is running her election campaign.
She was a terrible Home Secretary with an appalling record of failure in every policy area. However, I accept that she was the inevitable choice for leader when both Boris and Michael Gove bottled out. Also, as I’ve written before, we needed someone stubborn, obstinate, pig-headed, intransigent and incapable of listening to get Article 50 triggered in the face of the anti-democratic Remaniacs. She did a good job of that but now we need a real leader, someone who can actually implement her empty words about a “country that works for everyone” – which Ms May neither really means nor is she even capable of achieving.
Her refusal to engage in any proper debate is pathetic and brings shame on the Conservative Party. Her bluster, barking and abusive style at PMQs is nothing to do with debate and not only is she refusing to take part in any TV debates but she’s avoiding any contact at all with real voters. It’s quite clear why – she’s an intolerant, abrasive and charmless person who really can’t deal with any dissent or disagreement. Her conduct in the Home Office where she ruled with an iron fist and micro-managed everything demonstrates this. It’s not ‘strong’ to evade debate, to silence your opponents and to use government authority, power and facilities to undermine them. In fact, on this last point, it’s probably unlawful as a misuse of government resources.
It’s ironic but also prescient that it was Ms May who named the Tories “the nasty party”, for that is exactly what she has achieved. I’m also reminded of Ann Widdecombe’s remark about Michael Howard, “there is something of the night about him”. This catches the spirit of Ms May very well. I find her sinister, threatening and spiteful.
She’s clearly had intensive media training as Margaret Thatcher did but it hasn’t made her more appealing. True she seems to have controlled that dreadful sideways movement of her jaw and some of her worst gurning but her recent pitches to camera are nauseating: patently insincere, contrived and awkward.
The entire basis for this election is dishonest. As PM, Ms May already has an indisputable mandate based on the EU referendum, endorsed by several votes in Parliament and by the European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Act 2017. It is utter nonsense to suggest that the result of this election will strengthen her hand. The only reason she has called it is political opportunism and why you can’t really blame her for that, as a Tory I object to her seeking to create a what is effectively a dictatorship. I even have concerns that the real reason she wants this personal mandate is so that she can start to reverse the UK towards her personal position as a Remainer. She may choose to accept a far softer Brexit than we voted for and with a big majority there is nothing we will be able to do about it.
Never forget, the political class, the Westminster ‘elite’ are in despair at losing their long-term retirement/second career/super pension plan arrangements. The EU offered them all a permanent role with a lavish, protected lifestyle funded by taxpayers. They desperately want it back.
I cannot vote to support Theresa May. I will remain a member of the Conservative Party because its fundamental principles of individual liberty, responsibility and small government are what I believe in. I may well be on the liberal, even libertarian wing of the party but it is Theresa May who is out of step, not me. Her leadership is cowardly, evasive and weak. I shall either be abstaining or voting tactically and that could even mean that I vote Labour for the first time in my life.
Peter Reynolds 