CALEDONIAN COMMENT

The UN climate negotiations in Copenhagen (above) were suspended yesterday after developing countries staged a walk-out in protest over lack of progress on their key demand for legally binding emissions targets from rich nations (not to mention handouts). With only 4 days remaining before world leaders are due to sign a deal, the walk-out is an ominous sign that the summit is going to fail to deliver. The talks will resume but there is now much more distrust between rich and poor countries than there was at the start of the 2 week junket for eco-bleaters, politicians on the make and all their attendant hangers-on and camp followers.

 A source close to the UN secretariat running the talks said: “We have already lost half a day and we can’t afford that at this stage. The big fear is that we end up with nothing firm emerging from Copenhagen from either of the negotiating tracks.” But wait. News has just come in that UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown (pictured above), in his nauseating “save the planet mode”, has decided to go to Copenhagen 2 days early to provide a fresh stimulus for the faltering talks. That should ensure that climatic disaster will be upon us even quicker than (some) scientists (allegedly) predict. Or maybe he’s going early to inform developing countries that Britain’s no longer a rich country and therefore we’re walking out too until we get a handout.

In the UK the new Bishop for the Armed Forces said yesterday that he was deeply grieved to have caused offence by suggesting that the Taliban could be admired for their religious conviction and loyalty. The Right Rev Stephen Venner (pictured above) acknowledged that his comments in a newspaper interview appeared “incredibly insensitive” and emphasised his support for British troops in Afghanistan. In the interview the bishop warned against demonising the Taliban, arguing that the attitude towards insurgents in the conflict-ravaged country had been “too simplistic”. He reportedly said :  ”There’s a large number of things that the Taliban say and stand for which none of us in the West could approve, but simply to say therefore that everything they do is bad is not helping the situation. The Taliban can perhaps be admired for their conviction to their faith and their sense of loyalty to each other.” So OK, the bloke’s a complete tosser – but when you consider that his boss, the Archbishop of Canterbury, supports the introduction of Sharia Law in the UK – well his remarks are hardly surprising.

And in that connection regarding Sharia Law, if the Archbishop has his way then in the UK presumably we’ll soon be witnessing scenes like the one pictured above from Somalia yesterday, where a group of Islamic militants forced villagers to watch as they stoned a man to death for adultery. Mohammed Abukar Ibrahim was buried in a hole up to his chest, then pelted with rocks until he died. A militant group, Hizbul Islam, organised the execution in the village of Afgoye, 20 miles north of the capital Mogadishu. Now with the greatest respect to the Archbishop of Canterbury, it has to be said most people in Britain aren’t entirely convinced that this kind of  barbarity as espoused by “the religion of peace” will enrich our lives. 

The ongoing troubles of British Airways (BA, above). The holiday plans of nearly 1 million of its passengers have been thrown into chaos after cabin crew voted for a 12-day strike over Christmas and the New Year. The proposed walkout by 12,500 cabin crew between 22nd December and 2nd January will ground the airline and spark an almightly scramble for tickets on rival airlines as well over 910,000 passengers are forced to find alternative means of completing their journeys. The cabin crew announced the strike dates at a meeting of the UNITE trade union at Sandown racecourse yesterday following a ballot of staff over changes to staff numbers and budgets. Good to see that the management and staff of British Airways are following the shining example of the Post Office in how to destroy one’s own industry.

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi (pictured above, looking not unlike Dr Hannibal Lecter) lost nearly a pint of blood after he was attacked in Milan by a protestor who threw a metal model of the city’s cathedral in his face. The 73-year-old PM, famed for his right-wing views and his alleged sexual exploits, had a second night in hospital after doctors admitted his injuries were worse than they had first thought. Mr Berlusconi also suffered a broken nose and lost two teeth during the assault as he signed autographs at the end of a stormy political rally. And there wasn’t even a single outraged husband (or his wife) in sight !

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 15th, 2009 at 12:17 am and is filed under Daily Posts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.