Bish bash bosh! Rowan Williams speaks out!

Released today in the New Statesman, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams  has attacked the coalition government, warning that it is committing the country to “radical, long-term policies for which no one voted.”  With specific reference to the government’s health and education reforms, Williams says that the government’s approach has created “bafflement and indignation” among the public.

In the article- http://www.newstatesman.com/uk-politics/2011/06/long-term-government-democracy he also criticises the use of “seductive language of “deserving” and “undeserving” poor”,  and ”the steady pressure to increase what look like punitive responses to alleged abuses of the system.”

Then again speaking  out against perceived injustice in Christianity isn’t new, starting with the founder Jesus, and more recently Archbishop Runcie’s attack on the Thatcher government  in 1985′s  Faith In The City.  To those who criticise Williams today, I feel he has every right to speak out and speak up for those who are suffering under coalition policies.  With this he is not pontificating, not forcing religion down people’s throats but using his influence to speak up for those who who may not be able to and most importantly to start a debate. He also isnt partisan, with constructive criticism as well for Labour, stating that “equally, the task of opposition is not to collude in it, either, but to define some achievable alternatives. And, for that to happen, we need sharp-edged statements of where the disagreements lie.” So interfering in politics he isn’t, just airing people’s grievances and suggestions for a better future. He is free to do this and whether you listen or not is your own decision.

Yet can we really condemn a good samaritan who rather than walking on by, he tries to help?

In His footsteps, he speaks out,

Against notions of deserving and undeserving poor,

Against those who have no compassion for their fellow man,

In His footsteps he speaks out,

Not afraid of the tongues lash,

Not afraid of the mockery,

For those who cannot speak,

For empowerment, for hope,

As He in the dust of Judea did so long ago,

For a ‘green and pleasant land’

In His footsteps, he speaks out!

Reaping what you sow- Clegg get over it!

 

 

 

This week saw the cringeworthy interview in the New Statesman, where when asked about public attacks on him after joining the coalition with the Tories, he claimed media representations of him were outlandish “cardboard cut-outs”. He also came out with this line- "I’m a human being, I’m not a punchbag – I’ve got feelings."

What a turn around from this time a year ago when Clegg was the darling of the television debates and his call for an end to broken promises seemed like a breath of fresh air for many. Now for many, the name Clegg is synonymous with betrayer and Judas in especially student circles.

I for one have ABSOLUTELY NO SYMPATHY for him. He has brought public ire upon himself, with his betrayal of students by supporting a RAISE in tuition fees, standing idly by when EMA was scrapped. And with this whining outburst he doesn’t seem to get that people hate whiners especially when they bring their problems upon their selves. Even his plan for social mobility with plans to outlaw unpaid internships, a noble goal I must admit, were brought into disrepute when it was revealed he had an unpaid intern and as Harriet Harman rightly stated, he cannot “pontificate” about social mobility when his policies are doing much to worsen it.

Clegg you may not be a punchbag and you may be human, but so are WE! Why should we be punchbags for your policies that will rob many young people like me of aspiration, of hope? You made your bed, now lie in it!

Why Judas, why is it you cry?

You who charmed a nation with your lies,

You who kick away the ladder for us to climb,

You who sold yourself for power,

Yet you smile when the axe falls, you stand by,

When you rob us of hope do you hear our cry?

As the proverb goes, you reap just what you sow,

False messiah your lies have weighed you down to an all time low!

The left is divine!

 

An activist campaigning for social justice, free healthcare, distrustful of bankers- no these sentiments don’t just originate in our day and age, they were in place in 1st century Judea by a 30 year old activist, itinerent rabbi.

In a really interesting (in my opinion anyways! ) article in the New Statesman http://www.newstatesman.com/religion/2010/12/jesus-god-tax-christ-health , Mehdi Hasan poses the question asked throughout history- Was Jesus Christ a lefty, and through examining his teachings from a political angle, displays the evidence that the Nazarene was indeed left wing, and that his statement “render unto caesar what is caesar’s” implies that if he were alive today, his ideas would probably find affinity with UK Uncut, the newly formed group protesting against tax avoidance.

Whilst not confessing to be particularly religious, I still think that Jesus’ core message of love, forgiveness, and his ideas about social justice have resonance for me as someone also of the left wing persuasion. Maybe even for those not religious, its worth re-examining the ‘historical’ Jesus, and the teachings minus the miracles and possibly adopt his ideals which have fueled further campaigners such as Gandhi and Martin Luther King.

I always knew left-ism was heaven sent!

He marches, for social justice,

To create a new world, he marches,

Though people hit his cheek,

Turning to the right, he marches,

To make those render to Caesar what is Caesar’s,

To cleanse the dens of thieves,

For 2000 years he has walked,

To the same footprints, to the same beat,

With the same passion to fight corruption in his breast,

He marches on,

No longer alone, together WE MARCH ON!

Murdoch in the dock?

I was directed to a very interesting article today on the New Statesman site which in the light of the phone hacking scandal made very interesting reading- http://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/public-accounts/2010/09/rupert-murdoch-account-held

The article states that , “with the Standards and Privileges Committee launching another fresh inquiry into the affair, there are demands for Rupert Murdoch to be called to give evidence. The NotW has hit out today with a statement describing the saga as “intensely partisan” and the line is that this is Labour MPs having fun. But my sense is that at long last, and very slowly, Murdoch’s influence may be very slightly waning in Westminster. True or not, if Murdoch is called, this would be the first time any real accountability has been applied to Murdoch by a British body politic over which he enjoys such influence.”

When the News of the World states that this is becoming “partisan”, do they forget that this should be investigated as its a CRIMINAL offence? The stakes are greater now as Coulson, who may be responsible or have some culpabilty is in the heart of the government and as such, makes the investigation much more serious. I must agree with the author of the New Statesman blog that if true, this may signal that the malign influence of Murdoch on British politics may be coming to an end. I think it should be right that he be asked to testify whatever if anything, he knows. JUSTICE demands it!

Cast it out

Westminister is a blaze,

A fire bourne of injustice,

A fire raging, ready to consume,

A fire that will not be extinguished.

 

Bring him to justice,

Expose the truth, bring it into the light,

Expose his injustice, cast him off,

Expose his dark master’s malign influence and cast it out.

Good riddance Milburn!

Today on the New Statesman blog http://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/mehdi-hasan/2010/08/160-labour-blairites-myth , Mehdi Hasan has produced a really interesting article about the Milburn-gate affair. He goes on to say, and I agree with him “that Milburn, Frank Field, John Hutton et al are doing the exact same job for the coalition as the Liberal Democrats: they are providing ideological cover for a regressive budget and an all-out assault on the public sector.”

The article also features a quote from Ed Miliband stating that If Alan had asked my advice on whether he should be an advisor to the government social reform and mobility I would have said it was a bad idea,” and that now that he has accepted this role, “he better speak out against what they are doing on these issues.”

I think Milburn’s actions are a disgrace and I agree with Mehid that he is being used as a pawn r.e the budget. I think it so much of a disgrace that i posted another poem as a comment to the post. Here it is!

Traitor

Traitor,

You casually discard the red rose,

You casually set aside your principles,

You sell yourself like a whore with no shame!

Quisling,

You will be used to defend them,

Defend their actions, their injustice.

Good riddance, may you never darken our door, may you take your dishonour far from us!