The UK is Sicker than Italy

July 1, 2008 · Filed Under UK · 17 Comments 

Over on Man of Roma’s thoughtful blog, I made a bold statement. What I said is that the UK is in a greater state of decline than Italy.

Now, I can’t go around saying things like this without giving some evidence, so here it is.

  • Senseless violence - stories of knifings and shootings seem to be an almost daily occurrence, and the culprits, more often than not, come from cultures which are not strictly English. This leads to the second piece of evidence.
  • Appalling levels of integration. Britain opened the flood gates to immigrants many years ago, but did little else. Now there are Islamic terror cells springing up all over the place. I mean, was it a good idea to encourage people with such diverse religious beliefs to come to the UK? Or are we just seeing the results of yet more politicians who simply stay in power and do little else?
  • State education quality is dire. The politically correct bunch have managed to achieve their dubious aim. This aim was to eliminate competition and make it easy for anyone with less than half a brain to obtain some qualifications. And just about anyone can get degrees now, and good ones too. Why? Simple, the universities receive greater funding if more people pass, especially if they pass with better grades. Even secondary education has become so performance oriented that quality is at rock bottom levels.
  • Many English people want to leave the UK. English TV is full of programs about finding a dream home in any number of locations around the world. You can find more than a few Brits dotted all over the world, including quite a number in Italy. People are proud to be British, but pleased to escape.
  • The formerly venerable House of Lords has become full of government cronies who are politically correct to the point of insanity. They seem to take respect for human rights to extreme lengths. In the UK now, if you come from some country with a crackpot regime, murder a few people, and are caught, you need have no fear of being deported. All because the lovie dovies fear that you may come to a sticky end in your country of origin. Really those who continue to practice their wicked ways need to be kicked out and face the consequences of their actions, then at least others would think twice about coming to the UK and wrecking lives.
  • The great British bobbie has been legislated out of existence, just about. Would you believe that British policemen are actually leaving the country to find work in countries where their services are better appreciated? You can read more about the former English policeman behind the Copper’s Blog who is now in Canada in my ‘The Dark Side of the UK and the Free Press‘ post.

I’m sure others can give more examples as to why post-Blair Britain is no longer great. Do I think Blair did great things for Britain. No. If anything, the man dragged the place down even faster.

At the end of the day though, it’s not too much of a surprise that the UK should be spiralling downwards even faster than Italy. The UK is ten years ahead of Italy in many respects, which means it hit a trough more recently. And the UK suffers, in the same way as Italy, from that bane of modern society - the career politician.

Remember Neil Kinnock - former head of the Labour party? He hated people with posh accents, but with his knighthood, and all the dosh he makes from the European Parliament, this good socialist is laughing all the way to the champagne bar, as many career politicos do. They would make, sorry, are great actors.

You can say what you like about Italy, but at least the place has not become politically correct to the point of self destruction.

Does the UK have equivalents of Di Pietro and Beppe Grillo, or, even better Clementina Forleo? I’m a bit out of touch, so enlighten me. If the UK does not, it sure as heck needs them.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Bribery, corruption, and blackmail

December 17, 2007 · Filed Under Life in Italy · Comment 

Yes, alas, I have to admit that both my other half and myself are guilty.  Everyday, often several times a day, we find ourselves having to use bribes, corruption and blackmail to get things done.  It’s our own fault, although I believe my Italian other half may have started us down this slippery slope.  Well, she will do anything for a quiet life.

As with many of these situations, things start out in a small way, but then the occasional bribe becomes more regular, and the blackmail becomes something of a way of life. Still, resorting to these heinous techniques becomes a necessity, especially in our household. Only today I found myself having to offer several bribes and use a small dose of blackmail to get my way. It was tough, but at least things went a lot smoother as a result, and, there really was no alternative, I can tell you. The precedent has been well and truly set, and there is no going back. Read more

Tags: , , , , , ,

Why has nobody since Marx and Trotsky come up with an alternative socio-political philosophy?

September 21, 2007 · Filed Under Thoughts · 2 Comments 

This is a question I have put to myself on the odd occasion. The odd occasion that provoked this question once again was that of V-day in Italy and what appears to be an attempt to introduce a new, freer form of democracy in Italy, maybe. Grillo has stirred up a considerable furore as a result of the use of mass communication - a form of mass communcation, perhaps the last, that cannot easily be stifled.

The positive and negative effects of mass communication are very much governed by those who control it. Maybe this is something Marx and Trotsky saw coming, and this was one of the reasons why they proposed alternative forms of democracy. Or, more possibly, they just did not like the fact that the few so often dictate to the many. They must have believed that the societies in which they lived were not really functioning, and simply not representing the wishes of the masses.

I believe that today we live in a society similar to, if not much worse, the society that provoked Marx and Trotsky into proposing alternatives. But, I have not heard of any present day equivalents of these two great thinkers. Why is this so? Is there nobody out there that can come up with a workable truely democratic model for world society? This is something I cannot believe. Someone, somewhere must have learnt something from the predominantly failed attempts to implement Marx and Trotsky’s alternatives, so why can’t anyone come up with a decent alternative?

I wish I knew. And if anyone can tell me, I’m all ears.

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,