Wednesday, August 09, 2006

Tony Goes to Hollywood

He’s on his way to that secret destination in Barbados, but before he left, he had to leave the world crises on hold to go to California to attend the annual bunfight of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation, owners of our best and worst newspapers - which makes Rupert a pretty important person. Not that the which Blair project went all the way to CA just for Rupert: he also had to attend the party thrown by Adidas to celebrate its new contract to supply Chelsea’s football kit - not a gig to be treated lightly. AND, to ensure that the trip will be chargeable to the taxpayers, he dropped in on his California opposite number, that well-known socialist, Arnie Schwartzenegger, to discuss global warming.

As regulars will know, I have no grudge against Scots – only an objection to their increasing influence in the administration of the country from which they seceded because they wanted to control their own affairs. Especially as the system does not work in reverse: non-Scottish Britons have no say in what happens north of the border. Thus Scottish students get free college fees, and elderly Scots free home care – paid for by British taxpayers, who do not enjoy these privileges.
A certain SMP (Member of the Scottish Parliament) just sued one of our tabloid pooper-scoopers for libel because it said he made a habit of extramarital activities with ladies of dubious moral turpitude. He won his case and came out with an unblemished character and £300,000 damages – surprising in view of the fact that the News of the World had assembled 18 witnesses. Why did the jury decide that the SMP was innocent? Did he have an alibi? Did he prove that it was someone else? Or that all 18 sworn witnesses had perjured themselves? Well no, but one wonders if the fact that the NotW is English and the case was tried in Scotland might have been factors.

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