The ThunderDragon

Today is the centenary jamboree of the Scouting Movement, celebrating one hundred years since Robert Baden Powell first took 20 boys to Brownsea Island on a camp. He then published his book, Scouting for Boys, and the movement took off. It now has a worldwide membership of more than 28 million, making it the world’s largest youth organisation.

Scouting is an activity at odds with much of the modern health and safety obsessed world. In Scouts, the children and young adults get to do things that they almost certainly otherwise would not be able to do - camping, fire-making, backwoods cooking, knot-tying, ad infinitum. It also teaches morals, teaching that people have duties as well as “rights” in society.

Although Scouting has changed much from the original movement of Baden Powell - and even since I have been at uni [and on a break from Scouting, even though I still help out on the occasional camp with my old group]- it still has the same core aims. It is about teaching kids skills, self respect, and respect for others. These are never more evident than on a jamboree, where there are Scouts from all over the world.

Scouting is an extremely interesting, fun, and rewarding activity to do. And at 8am on 1 August, Scouts all over the world will mark the centenary of the movement, and look forward to another great century of Scouting.

Under new proposals, the legal basis of government actions could have to be explained to Parliament:

“The Attorney-General could in future have to explain before Parliament the legal basis for going to war, under reforms proposed yesterday. He or she could also give up any role in deciding prosecutions…
Legal advice from the Attorney-General is not generally disclosed to Parliament or the public, even if it relates to such significant questions as whether Britain should go to war. But the paper asks whether there is a case for more routine publication of the advice on the basis that Parliament and the people should be informed of the legal ground on which the Government is acting.” (The Times)

The legal basis for all government actions should be presented - or able to be presented - to Parliament. Whether the decision is as significant as the basis for war or as insignificant as can be imagined, the legal advice from the Attorney-General should be available - either as a written report or verbal statement.

In a democracy, the government is answerable to the people. When the government makes a decision, we should at the very least be able to see the legal basis for it, whatever it may be. The government and Parliament get their authority from the electorate. We should be able to see the reasonings behind any and all decisions they make.

Sources: The Times, Daily Mail

Three Lib Dem councillors have quit the party because one of their fellow Lib Dem councillors is a strip-o-gram. “Jessica” advertises herself on her website as “a very sexy auburn professional multi-talented adult & non-adult entertainer…” and will dress up as a “Wedding Bride, French Maid/ Sexy Waitress, Schoolgirl, Sexy Biker, Sexy Nurse, Headmistress, Devil Lady, Catwoman, Jungle Jane, Sexy Secretary, Miss Whiplash, Cowgirl, Miss Santa, Sexy Horseriding lady, Vampiress, Witch, Army Girl, Bunny Girl, Sexy Gypsy Lady etc…” She also runs a £1.50-per-minute sex line.

I can’t see anything all that wrong with it, really. It’s how she earns a living, and we should not begrudge her that.

The worst thing about it just has to be that she is really unattractive.

Sources: The Telegraph, BBC

A sacred cow has been slain - a real one. Shambo the bull had TB and, despite a three month legal dispute, he has finally taken away and killed.

Shando was the scared cow at a Hindu temple. The monks said that the police would have to “physically desecrate a temple to get him,” but eventually let the bull be led away to be killed.

To prevent the spread of the infection, it had to be slaughtered. Whilst I feel for the community who lost their sacred animal, if the infection spread it could cause a huge amount of damage.

It should not matter to the courts whether the cow was considered “sacred” or not by the community. It was infected, ergo it had to be killed. Religious beliefs are not a sufficient basis to prevent the necessary extermination of a infected animal. Letting it live on the basis of religious beliefs would have been a travesty of justice - no religion can or should be above the law.

Sources: The Telegraph, BBC

Yet another fine is proposed to be added to the motorists financing of the police, as more cameras are to monitor us in our daily lives. This plan is to increase the fine for motorists driving in a cycle lane from £30 - which is rarely given by police - to £120 to be awarded by cameras.

“Drivers will be fined £120 for straying into cycle lanes under plans to give local authorities powers to install yet another set of roadside enforcement cameras.
Even minor infringements, such as moving briefly into a cycle lane to pass a vehicle turning right, will result in a fixed penalty. Drivers will not know that they have been caught until the penalty notice arrives in the post a few days later.
The powers are initially being proposed for use by authorities in London but would be introduced later across the rest of the country.
The cameras would also monitor cycle boxes at traffic lights, known as “advanced stop lines”.” (The Times)

Why are more bloody cameras needed? The level of surveillance in our society is already excessive, and this is aimed quite obviously at both punishing those to continue to “dare” to drive cars and to increase revenue.

The problem with cycle lanes is that they are usually shit. They are often in the wrong places, badly marked, poorly maintained, often pointless, and rarely linked up with one another. I rarely use cycle lanes for the simple reason that they are not in the right place. Councils often place them on pavements, which makes them both out of the way and potentially dangerous. Putting a cycle lane on the pavement when they are absurdly short - such as literally around a corner - is pointless. If I were to use it, I would not be able to get back onto the road safely at all.

Cycle lanes are all well and good, but not unless they are in the right place. Painting a few lines and calling it a “cycle lane” to fill up the quota isn’t good enough. They need to be somewhere where they actually make a difference, and few of them are.

The draconian manner in which the fines are proposed to be applied is ridiculous. If it does not endanger any cyclist and is done briefly in order to keep traffic moving - such as moving briefly into a cycle lane to pass a vehicle turning right - shouldn’t earn the driver a fine of any amount. Common sense has to prevail at some point, though considering the sort of people who think this crap up, I doubt it ever actually will.

On the other side of the coin, however, this is being proposed in order to “make cycling safer by sending a strong message to drivers that they cannot ignore the white bicycle symbols painted on the road.” It does have a slight point, but not any extent that warrants this idea. But cycling would be made safer by having cycle lanes in useful areas, following well though out routes, and actually joined up. Also by stressing the responsibility of motorists to pay attention to cyclists. Even so, some cyclists are just terrible at following the road rules themselves, such as ignoring red lights, and thus put themselves in danger and deserve no sympathy.

Source: The Times

With your hands on your hips
You bring your knees in tight
But it’s the pelvic thrust that really drives you insane
Let’s do the Time Warp again!

It’s just a great song. Although it could be used to refer to various political manoeuvrings, I just can’t be bothered to do it.