Ferrocene derivatives

Cameron & Blair: Anecdotes and Change

“Last week, I met a devout Muslim Chelsea supporter, who told me that the Green Party was no substitute for a proper married relationship.”

The online backlash against cynical anecdotism of the form used by the three major UK party leaders in the recent TV debates has been wonderfully captured by The David Cameron Anecdote Generator, available HERE.

Cameron’s anecdotes in particular have come under fire in the media for being factually inaccurate and often, blatantly ridiculous, as, for example, was the case with his story about the 40 year old ‘black man’ who’d already served 30 years in the army (making him a 10 year old recruit). For more, see the Guardian’s article HERE.

Science and the UK General Election 2010

The Royal Society of Chemistry have held a debate concerning the three main parties’ commitment to science and science investment. The debate may be watched here. There is a related BBC Newsnight article by Susan Watts here.

Beware of Opinion Polls

There is widespread fascination with the few percentage points swaying between Labour and Lib Dems recently, and the great advances made by the Lib Dems since Nick Clegg’s strong performance in the first of the television debates. The media are awash with analysis, spin and anti-spin.  But as with all opinion polls, caution is advisable, as this germane clip from Yes, Minister reminds us:

The BNP, Churchill and Mainstream Opportunism

Doubtlessly, British National Party rhetoric meets the media’s sensationalism requirements. Having for a long time lain dormant and taboo, the BNP now share the limelight’s penumbra with the Other parties, all this bolstered by the voting public’s widespread disenchantment with the ‘mainsteam’. In response, quite an effort has been made by detractors to publicly denounce the BNP’s racist attitudes. However, that as much of this is driven by concern for racial equality as one would like naively to assume. In fact, much of the reaction to the BNP in general does at least as much to reveal maintream ideological bias as it does to expose the irrationality of racists.