April 26, 2006
Incompetence and Sleaze
So, Charles Clarke has presided over the release of over 1000 foreign prisoners into the community who should have been deported but were not and has the amazing astonishing incredible arrogance to say it is not a resigning matter.
Wow!
This is the same Home Secretary who wants to bring in ID cards, who wants to bring in the Legislative and Regulatory Reform Bill so ministers can change laws with immediate effect without the approval of parliament.
Remind me again, where are the Government who were meant to rid politics of the stench of sleaze and incompetence? Where are the Government who promised to be "whiter than white"? Where are the Government who promised to be "Tough on crime and tough on the causes of crime"?
Oh, that's right - they disappeared a long time ago.
This NuLabour Government is just as sleazy and incompetent as the Tories were, if not more so.
It is time we said to them (In the words of Oliver Cromwell):
"You have sat too long for any good you have been doing lately… Depart, I say; and let us have done with you. In the name of God, go!"
April 20, 2006
Its just not the same!
So, this week Chris Evans took over the Drivetime slot on Radio 2. I was determined to give the guy a chance so I've listened in for a couple of days as I've driven home.
I tried to like him, I wanted to like him, I really did... But...
I just don't. Sorry Chris. I was hoping for a continuation of the Johnnie Walker legacy (Johnnie did Drivetime for 7 years) but it's just not. Gone is the decent business news, the bonhomie between Johnnie and Boseman. He misses cues, plays wrong incidental music and on both occasions I've listened has gone to the news desparately late (like over a minute late). It just feels like amateur hour.
Why oh why oh why did the Beeb bring him into this slot? What were they thinking? Stuart Maconie or Richard Allinson would have been much much better choices. Even John Inverdale was pretty good when he did it.
The fact it's been leaked that he earns £540k per annum just makes me think he's terribly overpaid for what he does. Good on him for managing to con the beeb out of that much but remember - this is over 4000 license fees!!
I know Johnnie must have been tired, Cancer treatment would take it out of anyone. I just really wish the beeb would have not used Evans and got Maconie or Allinson to do it (they could have done it on a rota basis if they didn't want to do it full-time).
It'll certainly be interesting to find out what the listener figures are for this week and how fast they've tailed off after the first "lets see what he can do then" show that people will have tunes in to.
Radio 2 have still got me for the morning drive (there's no-one worth listening to except Wogan) but Wogan is playing music recently I feel is aimed at people much older than myself (to put it kindly). They're in real danger of losing me for the drive home though. I'll just stick a CD on instead of listing to Evans prattle on about complete inanities that don't interest me.