The arrogance of small nation in Europe

Of course for decades, Britain was the one and only real super power in the world. We had a sprawling empire and any of the planet's resources at our beck and call. An advantage of this domination was the ability to control any situation, in pretty much any country in the world. Over the past century, this physical status had quickly diminished. But rather arrogantly, the mental thinking that Britain still has such power has continued. We are far from what we once were and the sooner many realise this, the healthier our foreign relations will become.

The British Government's appalling handling of the current situation in Libya is only one of many examples of this arrogance. David Cameron et al really took to this very offensive plan to halt Colonel Gaddafi's attack on his people and remove him from power. Almost out of nowhere. I don't think Cameron had even mentioned Gaddafi while Prime Minister before this. Although Cameron fairly began by simply 'deploring' Gaddafi's actions,   the tirade of orders that followed was embarrassing for Britain. Most notably, in Prime Minister's Questions was Cameron's announcement that he "does not rule out the use of military assets" and that he had asked military chiefs to work on a 'no fly zone' over Libya. This is just the UK government making judgments and decisions alone. The United States nor any European nation had been consulted about such plans. Although Cameron had to play down these ideas after being rebuffed by the US, he would of very much liked to have carried them out. Britain are no longer in a position were we can dictate global diplomatic issues, we are an active part of a wider continent. Europe has to be the channel in which the UK voices its opinion, the EU has very strong ties with Libya and we should be making decisions multi-laterally and in cohesion. If we don't, we are only setting ourselves up for costly blunders. The idea of a no fly zone, I think could be effective, however, it must have American support.

The recent WikiLeaks scandal revealed what the parts of the world, notably Hillary Clinton, really thinks of Britain. It's time to stand up and get counted for the country we are today, not act alone in the corpse of the country we used to be. It's time we as a country are realistic about our standing globally, continue to lead on the things we do well but begin to cohere on things we are just not man enough for anymore.

The Good Of A Storm

11:53 local time, 12th January 2010, just south-westerly of the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince. An earthquake measuring 7.0 on the Richter scale blitzed through the land form of the small Caribbean island. It is two weeks since hell quite literally broke loose and since then the UK alone has raised £40 million from public generosity. This is why I feel there is always good of the storm. After every recent world disaster; be it Hurricane Katrina or the Boxing Day tsunami; they always see a huge humanitarian response.

However, Haiti has seemed different. I'm not sure why; but I think the strong celebrity following that it has attracted has had some impact. George Clooney set up a telethon, similar to that of Children in Need, for his newly found campaign, 'Hope for Haiti Now', and although I totally support his movement to give a helping to those in Haiti, I believe that for some celebrities, it may have become a case of self-promotion for their respective careers. I would call it jumping on the band wagon. But, again, that telethon broadcast in over 32 nations globally raised an additional $61 million and that doesn't include the 'Help for Haiti Now' album which has now been released. So, whether the 'storm' in the title of this post is referring to the actual quake or the celebrities pouncing on it, great good came from it.

But, of course, this 'good' doesn't quite measure up to pain and affliction being felt within in many in Haiti. But if any good can be brought from such a dire affair, that is success.

You can still help the afflicted in Haiti by doanting to the DEC appeal below.
DEC Haiti Earthquake Appeal

UK, US close their embassies in Yemen

Full story on NPR

A bold and decisive move is how I would describe this action against the recent revelations of terrorism in Yemen. Gordon Brown has clearly, already taken the leading stance out of all the major world leaders on how to deal with the Yemen threat. It is clear to see that the government of Yemen have very little control of what is happening. All westerners should be glad that this hazard has been confronted in the aftermath of the 'Detroit Bomber' case and not when a recent major attack has been successful.

Gordon Brown's decision to host a meeting on the Yemen threat, later this month in London, is another sign of his expert statesmanship and ability to lead the world on the big issues that face us. Personally, I can't even begin to imagine David Cameron and a Conservative government taking such definitive and bold movement on these matters. Again, I hope, for the sake of the UK's global reputation, that the Conservative's take no part in our next Government.

The Worst Storm of the Year

Overnight, last night, the UK was battered and bruised by what was officially the worst storm of the year. With flooding, gales and gusts still widespread across Southern England it could be set to carry on and at this pace it may even look like the scenes of the summer two yaers ago could be back with a vengeance. Then, of course, you can mix that in with the Swine Flu epidemic worsening once more and it does look like it's going to be a cosy Christmas for Britain....not

On the brighter side however, the FTSE closed UP on around 5,000 points yesterday and the signs of recovery in Europe should allow us to declare ourselves out of recession early next year. By that time, we will probably ahve our newly formed Briberia or Iberish Airways as a part of the merger deal (In fact, the names are staying seperate). i am jsut worried that good old BA won't lose their truly British identity, we've already sold the BAA airports to the Spanish let alone our flagship airline aswell...

Hope you like my blog's new look, it's a bit more alien like...

From DFID to UKAid...

The Department for International Developement has had a bit of a movearound and is now known as UKAid from The Department for International Development. Personally, despite how much this rebranding may have cost, I like it. It gives the UK a bit more of a contemporary while patriotic look to the rest of the world. Not that the millions dying in 3rd World countries actually care where, who or what it has come from let alone the pretty new logo plastered on the side of all aid. Nevertheless, UK Aid is a bit less of a mouthful than The Department for International Development. There are many other real reasons why this may of been changed, maybe Douglas Alexander, the Secretaty of State for the department, can't spell it as it is so he has decided to shorten it or the government like this new 'corporate look'. The possibilities are endless; maybe the government will soon be known as UKGov.com and the Ministry of Defence, UKBomb? Ok, ok, on reflection perhaps I don't like it very much. But judging on previous rebrandings (Department of Trade and Industry to the Department for Productivity, Energy and Industry in 2005, then back again) it should be back as the Department for International Development by Monday...

Sorry about the delay...

Apologies for the lack of posting of the last month and what a past month it has been! Since my last post; Wimbledon has been and pretty much gone, The US have announced they are leaving Iraq (Probably for a quick rest, then straight into Iran!), Sarah Palin has resigned as Governor and the King of Pop is dead. But it is bad times for UK-Iran relations, today even as I speak the BBC are reporting that "British diplomats are trying to establish whether Iran intends to act on its threats to prosecute staff from the UK's embassy in Tehran." Basically, it seems to me like Iran are trying to take the world's eyes off of Iran's obvious democratic problems and blame their own insecurities on the UK.Well, quite frankly, I don't think it is going to work if David Miliband has anything to do with it. David is currently standing defiant on al issues Iran related and hopefully is going to budge on the issue. In an ideal world, Iran should realise their misatkes, apologise and let their citizens have Facebook back, but really we all know that in a few months time, this will all fizzle out, and we will all forget about another country who are defying human rights, just like Zimbabwe. Well, That's What I Think...