Rantings via Weblog (Click here to go to the Home Page!)

Charles Kennedy, former Liberal Democrat leader, dies aged 55. Read the BBC news story
here.

This news came as an unwelcome surprise this morning. I'm no Lib-Dem fanboy and I did not follow the man's career particularly. But he seemed to me to be one of the decent politicians and 55 is too young to go. When he was the Lib-Dem leader Charles Kennedy made a mark and he was an entertaining TV personality.

I noticed how the tributes were pouring in, out of every crevice, on the news this morning. The newsmen referred, of course, to his problem with booze, which was one of his "demons".

But I noted that the tone was much more forgiving than it was back in 2006, when Kennedy was effectively ousted from leadership, not by the party en masse but by his colleagues; and quite brutally. I wrote about it at the time:-

My article: not so liberal and certainly not democratic

I appreciate that his interview is a couple of years old but with the UK General Election 2015 (#ge2015) coming up I felt it was worth sharing this to remind people of the attitudes prevalent amongst some of our "betters".

I used to think Iain Duncan-Smith was a basically decent type but the more I hear from him the last few years the less highly I think of him. In this interview the interviewer is quite robust, but he does stay on track and exposes the duplicitousness in IDS's thinking.

Iain Duncan-Smith's Explosive Row With James O'Brien:-

Fame! I have made it to the Top Comments spot on YouTube, with a comment I made about a video of Nigel Farage's performance at the EU.



And here is the YouTube page. Whatever you think of Farage, he is entertaining.

FROM THE VATICAN:-



Franky suspended bishop Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst of Limburg because he was spending too much money on his residence and other church buildings. Pope Francis acted swiftly, apparently sending a clear message that he is serious about the principles of humility and modesty.

Yet Bishop Finn of Kansas remains in office and without disciplinary measures after being found guilty of failure to report suspected child abuse in 2012.

When something does not seem right or ring true, I find that the old adage, "Follow the money!" leads me closer to an understanding.

I think Pope Francis has more work to do if he is to show that he is serious about cracking down on perverts in the church and those who turn a blind eye to molestations by priests.

References:-

1. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/24/world/europe/vatican-suspends-german-bishop-known-for-spending.html

2. http://www.kansascity.com/2014/02/16/4828951/call-for-vatican-to-discipline.html

Mars and Snickers shrink but prices stay the same.

A public Relations Fail. Or "Why my nine-year-old is more savvy than a confectionery company."

My nine-year-old lad was watching this news story on BBC's Newsround. When the presenter reported that the company's stated motivation was not to make more money but rather to encourage people to eat more healthily, I heard him scoff disparagingly: "Yeah right!"

That's my boy...!

It seems to me that Mars are naïve to think that people will believe this, even were it true. Wouldn't it be more savvy to simply state something like this? -

"We're obligated to meet certain regulatory standards and, at the same time, keeping the great taste of the product is a real priority to us. In order to achieve those aims while containing costs, we had to reduce the size of the chocolate bar a little bit.

And it would be honest, too.

Suddenly there would be nothing for my nine-year-old to be cynical about.

Public Relations Fail.

** Sources **

For the BBC Newsround story, Click here.



For the Telegraph Online story, click here.