What's 2 plus 2

Now this is a pet hate of mine - the media's view of (in this case) maths but it also at some level applies to science.

I was listening to 'You and yours' on Radio 4 today and they had a piece about the sub-prime problem and a study that had (apparently) shown that those who are mathematically challenged were more likely to default on their mortgage.

Now I have no problem with the idea that some people are bad at maths - hey I'm crap at languages - but WHAT REALLY FUCKS ME OFF is the way that most of the media, but in particular the BBC, find it funny if you can't add 2 and 2 and 'really weird' if you can.

At lease ten minutes of the program including teasing trailers was around how difficult it might be to calculate 20% of 2M dollars - do what?

Ok - if you can't do it I am sorry for you but it's not something to be proud of - conversely don't 'dis' people who can do it.

Hip Hop

So we are a week or so in and already the MFs are house trained by the civil service.

I'm sure there are other examples but this one came past me today.

HIPS.

Yes I know - on the scale of things not hugely important, but I think it may show an early trend.

The ONLY people who thought HIPS were a good idea were New Labour.

The industry didn't - the Cons didn't, and correct me if I'm wrong but neither did the LDems.

In the manifesto it said - cancel HIPS - hooray (sorry).

And as it turns out they don't need legislation to suspend HIPS - could be done by the Minister.
Legislation could be done later to permanently remove them.

But instead they announce consultation

ConsulFuckingTation on what - a bad idea that nobody important ever wanted.

Just get rid of them - but 'no Minister, that would be rash/brave/precipitous/stupid' - lets pay a few people to tell us what we already know'.

Less than 2 weeks - house trained.

Makes you want to cry.

I never thought I'd say these words

I admire the Russians.

There you go - said it.

We are talking pirates here - Somalian Pirates - evil fuckers who are really really only in it to win it.

So what do we do - we send Da Royal Navee - and with orders to say boo very loudly but not to do anything else.

Sigh - it's the Human Rights you see - the pirates have Human Rights under
article whatsit of the European Convention of Giving in to Everything

DO THEY FUCKING BOLLOCKS

ahem - sorry - got carried away.

The Ruskies on the other hand shoot a couple of them - sink their boat - and take the survivors for trial in Russia

Hmnnn .

So far so good?

Well here we go - the great ConLib government is here. Rejoice rejoice as someone once said. And - both parties have been able to ditch ahem 'extremist policies' - perhaps not a bad thing. And we have all signed up to the cuts.

Problem is when you - the public - get taken roughly from behind you tend to blame the perp - as they both know.

So undoubtably the plan is - do it fast in the honeymoon period and blame the other lot.

And there is the rub (it seems to me).

The are gonna blame Gordon and his sock puppet AlistairD with a sprinkling of Tony B Liar.

But in three months there's going be David Balls or whatever his name
is leading the New New Labour Party - which of course has nothing to
do with what went before.

Beware of Teflon Socialists Dave.