Quite a bit has happened in the past week or so since I last blogged.
There has been more talk about cuts. Schools budgets (in England at least) have been ring fenced, and the MoD isn’t taking as big a cut as it thought. So much for every department taking its share. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want to see schools losing money, but the MoD… Give up Trident and there is a lot of money saved.
As an International Politics student, I have thought a lot about Trident. I remember watching the Leaders debates before the election, and listening to Cameron and Brown saying that Trident is necessary for the safety of the country. The whole time I wanted to ask them one key question. ‘A country attacked the UK, would you really sign the death warrants of hundreds of thousand civilians, and press that red button?’ Because that is the ‘safety’ Trident offers. The Geneva Conventions forbid the deliberate targeting of non-combatants (civilians), so to use a nuclear weapon would be a war crime. And imagine having the deaths of hundreds of thousands on your conscious… I know I wouldn’t.
Also I have lost a lot of respect for the Liberal Democrats since the election. We had very similar views, or so I thought. Looking after students, scrap Trident, etc. They get a sniff of power, ally with the Conservatives and suddenly they are giving in to £7000 student fees, saying they won’t vote against Trident, and generally being the fall guy face of all the cuts. I hoped the Lib Dems would be the voice of reason in a tricky coalition, but instead they seem to be there just to make up the numbers. But oh well, only four and a half years to go.
But, I’m going to be positive to finish. Twice a week Methsoc, or a contingent of us at least, invade our local Weatherspoons, and usually end up chatting to one of the barmaids who’s shifts seem to match our visits. Last week she said she was interested in coming to church, so I persuaded her to try St Pauls. This Sunday she came, and really enjoyed it. So I feel Methodist visits to pubs, as it is a great place to witness.
And on that note, I’ll live you. Sorry for my rants.
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