My Thinkin' Blog

The news that eight servicemen have been killed in Afghanistan within a 24 hour period has given the opposition something else to batter the Government with. The charge.. that they are not sending the troops out with proper equipment (but I wonder would they have done any better)? If any Government is going to send its troops out to war the least they can do is provide them with proper equipment. One of the problems is apparently that soldiers are apparently using land rovers that where designed to be used in the Northern Ireland troubles. (a totally different sort of military campaign). I believe in Afghanistan troops on the ground say they need more tanks and helicopters. However if you look at this from a historical perspective, roughly 20,000 men died on the first day of the Battle of the Somme in the 1st World war. So from an numerical point of view eight people does not seem to be an awful lot. In fact, you could say that we are getting much better at protecting the people who

In 'Two Concepts of Liberty' Isaiah Berlin states "To coerce a man is to deprive him of freedom". A week or two ago the European parliament was voting on taking the anti smoking ban a step further by banning smoking outside the workplace, pubs, beer gardens and such places. The fact is that they are doing everything possible to penalise the smoker short of outlawing it altogether. it is understandable enough that it has not been outlawed after-all it is still a lucrative source of income for Government and what Government wants to be responsible for criminalising a sizable proportion of its citizens. Read More

"Of this Word's being forever do men prove to be uncomprehending, both before they hear and once they have heard it. For although all things happen according to this Word they are like the unexperienced experiencing words and deeds such as I explain when I distinguish each thing according to its nature and declare how it is. Other men are unaware of what they do when they are awake just as they are forgetful of what they do when they are asleep" (Most of us sleepwalk through life)

In light of the recent expenses scandal in the British Parliament it would be no surprise if we thought of our politicians as Machiavellian. Politicians have traditionally been viewed with a healthyamount of distrust and cynicism by the more discerning electorate. Where politicians are concerned I believe the rationale is that if they have Machiavellian traits that is only to be expected because that is the nature of politics and politicians. But are the British politicianstruly Machiavellian and therefore good politicians in the way that Machiavelli suggests what would make a good prince (or politician)? Read More

“The Fact is that a man who wants to act virtuously in every way necessarily comes to grief among so many who are not virtuous. Therefore if a prince wants to maintain his rule he must learn how not to be virtuous, and to make use of this or not according to need.” Machiavelli 'The Prince'