Saturday, March 08, 2008

The Daley Dozen: Saturday

1. LibDems defend Clegg's use of the word 'sclerotic'. Jeez, I was only joshin'!
2. Excellent coverage of the LibDems' Liverpool Spring Conference on LibDem Voice.
3. EU Referendum warns that renegotiating our membership is now impossible.
4. Donal Blaney wants to reform the law on rape.
5. LabourHome on how to attract young people back to the Labour Party.
6. Guido on Labour's unfunded spending commitments.
7. Norfolk Blogger reckons George Osborne was eaten alive on Alcopops.
8. Dizzy takes Tom Watson MP to task on safeguards to the DNA database.
9. Phil Willis may have taken on more than he bargained for with his attack on Nadine.
10. Stephen Pollard accuses Denis MacShane of mendacity.
11. Joe Jackson (yes, that one) wonders why Britain is so mean on the smoking ban.
12. Fraser Nelson on the meaning of 'off the record'.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

that Joe Jackson is a strange cove. I remember buying his albums in the 80s after the subtley pro-gay "real men" single. Always more of a jazz than pop guy. Smoking has been banned in serious jazz joints in US for years, along with talking. But frankly if the singer wants to smoke I dont care. Nick Cave was doing it recently.

Anonymous said...

Re Donal's excellent plea for equality under the law, I find it baffling that the man can be named but not his accuser, although I suppose it comes - however unfairly - from the days when young women had reputations to protect.

I would agree that it is unjust to name the accused, but not his accuser. And as we know, there are serial accusers who get away not just with wasting the time of the police and the courts and taxpayers' money, but having their identities revealed despite the wicked damage they do to an innocent man's life - and the life of his family, too.

If the identities of both were made public, that may frighten off many false accusers (like this recent slag who has now cried rape five times). On the other hand, it might provide a platform for people with grudges against the woman to go to the police with false information.

I therefore think that, given the nature of the accusation, the identities of both parties should be protected during the trial. If the man is found innocent, his accuser should be named and her photograph made available to the media, and the man's identity should remain protected.

If the court finds for the woman, her identity should be protected and the guilty defendant's identity should be made known.

One law for women and another law for men is repulsive because it goes not just against our sense of justice, but what we know of human nature.

What a nightmare!

Anonymous said...

MacShane has an unfortunate problem with his voice; his nasal passages seem to be severely restricted.
As a Labour politician, he's obviously a member of BUPA. So why doesn't he get his nose fixed?
Maybe he's unaware that his voice is so unattractive.

Anonymous said...

To be fair to Norfolk Blogger, it isn't that surprising to come to the conclusion that Gidders is absolutely hopeless in the Shadow Chancellor's position. I expect there to be an extensive reshuffle before the GenElec; why leave it until after a potential victory to reposition people out of roles they are unsuited for?