Bits and bobs
It looks possible that two Cabinet Ministers might resign on the same day. When was the last time this happened? The PM might not be far behind, particularly with the opinion polls suggesting a meltdown might be close to.I was thinking some more about Stephen Pollard (I've lost, I know). Perhaps it's because he is not taken seriously be either left or right, but he appears to have been given a rather easy ride over his astonishing claim in his "The Maida Vale Manifesto" that:
The mainstream Left has demonstrated clearly which side of the battle to preserve Western civilisation and freedom it is on. The Left, in any recognisable form, is now the enemy.
It is not entirely clear what he is trying to say. It would appear from this quote an accurate rendition is:
The Left, in any recognisable form, is now the enemy. In the battle to save Western civilisation and freedom it is on the other side.
So a lot hinges on what he means by 'any recognisable form' and 'enemy'. The former one might assume means anyone who describes themselves as being on the 'left', but earlier in the piece he says there are good leftists, of which Tony Blair is one. 'Enemy' and on the 'other side' is language that you might expect to us to describe Al Qaeda. Indeed enemies on the other side of a battle to save your civilisation are usually arrested.
Maybe I am at risk of taking him too seriously. His Maida Vale Manifesto appears to have got about 7 signatories, 1/160th of the Euston Manifesto, and only 1/7mn of the adult population of this country. Think of London - if you drove through it and spoke to every person only one would have signed Pollard's manifesto.
But he is a senior columnist with our oldest daily newspaper, and I think it important that we know a) what does he mean by 'any recognisable form' if it doesn't include Tony Blair and b) what does he believe should be done about people he sees apparently working on Al Qaeda's side to destroy our civilisation. Does he think they should be arrested and jailed? If not, why not?
A final note - Pollard signed the Unite Against Terror statement, and quoted this excerpt "In the face of such an enemy, we believe it is vital that democratic political forces in all countries unite".
posted by Matthew @ 4/30/2006 11:00:00 PM
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