Saturday, November 02, 2002
Natalie Solent is shamelessly trolling for birthday greetings. Happy birhtday Natalie...
Tuesday, October 29, 2002
Here's what amuses me about proposed changes in the rape laws:
'We do not expect everyone to sign a contract before they get into bed with someone - that is a complete nonsense - but date rape is not about any kind of consensual sex,' said one Home Office source."
What proportion do they expect to sign a contract?
(The real scandal is that it ought to be possible to come to some reasonable redrafting (if the problems cited in the article are real) without reversing the burden of proof. A "reasonable person" standard should surely apply, as the trouble seems to be instances of mostly agreed facts. If the basic facts of what were said, etc, are not agreed, then that is a more fundamental difficulty than could be overcome by much less than a "contract". If they are, then it seems the objection is to unreasonable constructions claiming to have been placed on those facts...)
'We do not expect everyone to sign a contract before they get into bed with someone - that is a complete nonsense - but date rape is not about any kind of consensual sex,' said one Home Office source."
What proportion do they expect to sign a contract?
(The real scandal is that it ought to be possible to come to some reasonable redrafting (if the problems cited in the article are real) without reversing the burden of proof. A "reasonable person" standard should surely apply, as the trouble seems to be instances of mostly agreed facts. If the basic facts of what were said, etc, are not agreed, then that is a more fundamental difficulty than could be overcome by much less than a "contract". If they are, then it seems the objection is to unreasonable constructions claiming to have been placed on those facts...)
For those of you interested (including me, as I've just finished rereading The Two Towers):
Wow. So the BBC made a programme advocating Diana, Princess of Wales (1961 - 1997) as one of, and potentially the, greatest Briton(s) of all time. And the heavy drinking I was compelled to by the simple rules "drink every time a fairy tale is mentioned" and "drink every time there's a long panning shot to fill time" has nothing to do with my reaction: what tripe. Among the most damning responses available to me is the conclusion that the programme's presenter used to rally support:
'Diana didn't have great abilities and she certainly had no towering intellect. Yet she knew that we all yearn to be loved, that we mourn for a world where gentleness rules over aggression and power should always be a force for good.'
Diana: Rosie Boycott's Greatest Briton
I'd have prefered a five-year-old, to be honest, but I suppose Rosie needed someone well-known.
What's most worrying is the voting pattern during the show. There was a huge swing to Diana during the programme and, unsurprisingly, a lot of the votes came from women, among whom she is now number one, as I understand it. I wasn't the first to bring up the topic of the suffragettes....
Hopefully, a Churchill programme will save things...
Apparently the Beeb has the audience rate the characters (out of ten?) on the following criteria: Legacy Genius Leadership Bravery Compassion
The ones rated so far (in that order) come out:
Brunel
7 7 5 5 4
Diana
5 4 4 6 7
Darwin
7 7 3 5 5
You'll notice "Compassion" looks lined up solely for Diana to score on. Heavens preserve us...
'Diana didn't have great abilities and she certainly had no towering intellect. Yet she knew that we all yearn to be loved, that we mourn for a world where gentleness rules over aggression and power should always be a force for good.'
Diana: Rosie Boycott's Greatest Briton
I'd have prefered a five-year-old, to be honest, but I suppose Rosie needed someone well-known.
What's most worrying is the voting pattern during the show. There was a huge swing to Diana during the programme and, unsurprisingly, a lot of the votes came from women, among whom she is now number one, as I understand it. I wasn't the first to bring up the topic of the suffragettes....
Hopefully, a Churchill programme will save things...
Apparently the Beeb has the audience rate the characters (out of ten?) on the following criteria: Legacy Genius Leadership Bravery Compassion
The ones rated so far (in that order) come out:
Brunel
7 7 5 5 4
Diana
5 4 4 6 7
Darwin
7 7 3 5 5
You'll notice "Compassion" looks lined up solely for Diana to score on. Heavens preserve us...
