December 12th, 2021.
It is said that the demise of a politician or a political party starts when the citizens start laughing AT the political classes and not WITH them. With the events of the last week, with Boris Johnson denying that there had been a party, in breach of Covid rules, in 10 Downing Street, that tipping point grew closer. Johnson then admitted at Prime Minister’s Question time last Wednesday that such an event had taken place and apologised.
After then, it transpired that more parties “gatherings” had taken place involving the government and the Conservative party, all of which had been denied. Then today’s Sunday Mirror published a photo of the Prime Minister, seated next to two aides in breach of the regulations, conducting a quiz last year. He was linked via Zoom to groups of participants in other offices in Downing Street, again in contradiction of regulations. OOPS!!! Egg on face time.
Meanwhile, the Attorney General from Theresa May’s government stated on TV that Johnson is a confirmed liar and untrustworthy. Dominic Grieves said that Johnson’s first line of defence was to bluster, waffle and lie, and pick up the pieces later.
The whole country is laughing at Johnson, and they have lost trust in the government. This is going to make the new Covid regulations almost impossible to enforce. Indeed, one Chief Constable has said that these actions have put his force in an impossible position, implementing laws (regulations?) that the country doesn’t accept.
This seems to have crept into the UK public’s perception of New Xi-Land and its Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern. Indeed. The leading UK commentator on YouTube, Alex Belfield has been especially scathing in his treatment of Ardern. His YouTube channel has a following of over 350,000: more than Sky News UK and GB News. He is well worth a look.
Then in today’s Sunday Times, Rod Liddle devoted most of his column to excoriating New Xi-Land academics. Rod used to be the editor of the BBC’s prestigious radio 4’s morning Today programme. He is also a regular contributor to the Spectator weekly.
He outlined the Maori version of the creation of New Xi-Land and questioned if the Maoris have an explanation for how Jacinda Ardern was brought into existence. To quote Rod Liddle “perhaps one of those demigods put some puppies in a blender”.
He describes the current thinking, that this theory should be given equal emphasis when children are taught the origins of the world, as an example of the De-Enlightenment that is now happening in the world. He continues by discussing the treatment of Professor Gareth Cooper and suggests that it is an example of the “burgeoning madness and stupidity, condescension and racism that are propelling us towards the De-Enlightenment”.
He points out that the letter attacking Professor Cooper was got up by two other academics – “Siouxsie Wiles, a pink haired woman whose hobby is playing with Lego, despite her objections to the gender stereotypes inherent within Lego figurines”, and Shaun Hendy, “the mathematical modeller behind New Xi-Land’s policy of remaining in lockdown forever in case someone dies”.
This has produced little response in the UK media, but the famous Richard Dawkins has written to the Royal Society of New Xi-Land voicing his incredulity.
According to Rod, all these academics know full well that the Maori version of the creation of New Xi-Land is not correct, and yet “hypocritically and patronisingly, they pretend otherwise”. Dawkins points out that science is not white, nor racist nor imperialist. It is simply a beautiful tool for discerning the truth. The final quote from Liddle is that this treatment of Professor Cooper (and others) is “an indulgence that, with every fatuous genuflection towards political correctness, is dragging us all backwards”.
The above quotes are from his article in yesterday’s Sunday Times.
My comments are – how on earth has it come to this? On the one hand, our prime minister is now a subject of ridicule overseas (Alex Belfield) and our scientists and academics are becoming objects of disbelief. What this will do to the perception of the quality of our output of postgraduate students is a worry.
I have been away from New Xi-Land for 3 years and the change in my favourite country in the world is remarkable. Its image on the world stage has been diminished and there is now a lack of respect and trust for New Zealand politicians.