Clinton declares she will reduce executive power
I was delighted to read on the Guardian America site that Hillary Clinton is going to
completely review the increased powers of the White House introduced under Bush and restore the integrity of the US government. Perhaps Cameron could do the same when he removes Brown, who according to the Telegraph, wants to introduce a
5% tax on school budgets at the end of every year, discouraging saving and promoting short term thinking. Still it does look as though with the changing leadership in the UK and US we might get some integrity back in politics...maybe.
Labels: Politics
07 Predictions review 2
At the end of 2006 I made some predictions about 2007 and earlier in the year I
reviewed the progress Lets see how many have come true so far:
In technology:
1) Several bugs and vulnerabilities will emerge in Windows Vista - see previous review, however the beta testing certainly helped and Microsoft certainly has done a better job than I expected.
2) Firefox and Linux market share will still rise, but by far less this year - see previous review and
here and
here3) Apple will released yet another Ipod variant - Iphone/see previous review
4) There will be new "unexpected" problems with the Identity Card scheme/database - aside from them not actually creating a new database, but simply drawing on old ones and the spiralling costs and the function creep and all the problems that NO2ID reports upon daily, the process seems to be rolling ahead - or at least it would be if the Conservative party hadn't declared it would scrap them and use the money for more police. Thank you David Cameron.
In business:
5) Oil prices will rise - yes, see
here6) The house market bubble will continue to grow - see previous review, although actually it is starting to fall back slightly.
7) More businesses will declare themselves eco-friendly and ethical in 2007 - yes, every company is trying to prove its green credentials.
In politics:
8) The Olympics will run over budget - see previous review
9) "Global warming" will get worse - ha. Every secondary school in the England and Wales has been sent a copy of Al Gore's An inconvenient truth - its just a shame how little is actually
fact.
10) The Labour party will learn a valuable lesson about integrity - Judging by the recent polls and news stories, I think this is another prediction that has come true.
So, depending on your opinion, between seven to ten of my predictions have come true. Now I must go and consult the crystal ball and find out who will win the football game tonight.
*blurry haze*
Ah perhaps there are some things we are not supposed to know eh?
Labels: My philosophy
Brown's strategy
Gordon Brown has taken a surprisingly active role in challenging the Junta in Burma and their abuse on human rights. The UK does have a responsibility to the rest of the world in showing how a democratic government should act and I think this is a positive position for brown to take and may help to restore the credibility of the UK in the eyes of the world following the foreign policy of the Blair government.
Despite this, Brown's actions could be regarded as electioneering and an attempt to prove himself a man of integrity, rather than the man responsible for the economic instability we now face. Over the past few months he has been incredibly active, however has dodged any questions on the date when he will call an election. This is understandable as a strategy because it unsettles the opposition and gives Brown time to think, but if he doesn't make a decision, then he risks appearing indecisive and this will give the media the ammunition it needs to speculate and spin his policies the wrong way.
Labels: Politics
