We have a new young chancellor and it was his first budget this week. He made at least one schoolboy error. Did you spot it?
He forgot that profit = revenue – costs.
This is an important accounting concept often used when making accounts, financial plans, and budgets.
A while back I wrote to my MP. A few days ago, he wrote back. This is only the third time I have written to my MP and the first time I’ve had any reply whatsoever. It was negative but at least I got a response.
Many of my friends consider writing to their MP a waste of time. And they have statistically significant reasons for thinking that way. But is this a self fulfilling prophecy? I am coming around to the idea that in the system we pass off as a democracy many things stagnate through plain stupor.
During the Blair wars I petitioned for impeachment of the PM on the grounds of lying to the house. And sure enough, 3 years and countless pointless deaths later, he voluntarily stood down to a standing ovation from his peers. (And let that be a lesson to you!)
Facebook is the latest craze at work. It’s another social networking site. This one connects people by tagging faces in photos. I’ve been meaning to scan in some photos for a long time and this was as good an excuse as any. In filling out my profile, I was forced to choose my politics and religion. It’s not something I’ve put much thought into before.
A mere three and a half years after voting to invade Iraq, MPs got their first chance to debate the wisdom of their decision. It is also the first time I’ve watched a parliamentary debate since that vote. It is time to review my opinion of our form of government.
Democracy, if it’s done right, is mob rule. It’s easy to forget but we get the odd reminder. Recently the local elections provided the slumbering British media with a horror story in the form of the BNP. The press love this kind of story, but only because they can spin it as the rise of the British Nazi.
I may not remember exactly why I installed a blog; not yet anyway. But I’m beginning to see why blogs are so popular. I think they will significantly contribute to the future of individual expression in a way that I simply hadn’t considered before.