Wolf in a monk's robe
Cultural colonization
He said he wasn’t a God but it was still great to meet him.
Self-effacing, intelligent and determined the Dalai Lama delighted parliamentarians this morning. One of his main worries is one that we know well in Wales. In Inner Mongolia, there are now 4 million local people and 20 million Chinese.
They deny education in the Tibetan language and insist on monoglot Chinese only. ‘We will become an insignificant minority in our own country’ he said. Although his message is a serious, his impish humour kept breaking through. He was concerned that Chris Mullin had lost so much hair in their 30 year friendship. His audience accepted his reasonable call for discussions on the autonomy of Tibet as a region of China. He said he asked the Tibetans in San Francisco not to demonstrate against the Olympic Torch.
He said that he had been described as a "Wolf in monk's clothing''. He was asked whether recent events had damaged the case for non-violent resistance as practiced by Gandhi. He said the sad recent experience was that violent intervention appeared to be more efficient, whether by East or West.
The only point of disagreement was his final comment that he respected President Bush. Chairman Chris Mullin MP said ‘Perhaps we can talk about that later.’
Dependency culture
The Welsh Assembly farm minister is out to wreck the Governments long-overdue bid to reform the Common Agricultural Policy.
Elin Jones is ignoring the fact that farmers are enjoying a boom. Grain farmers have seen their income double in the past two years.
British shoppers are hit twice. First by the £540 per family annual farm tax to pay the subsidies. Secondly by higher food prices that are now 7% above world prices. There is no justification in continuing to pay huge subsidies to large farm businesses that are very profitable as a result of high prices and increases in land values.
The CAP is no longer paid for producing food. It's a reward for owning land. The CAP is a £61billion drain on the EU economy and it undermines markets in the developing world. This is the perfect time to reform a system that is an irrational and an unfair burden on taxpayers.
Elin Jones should remember that she has responsibilities not just for farmers but for all are suffering the effects of record food prices and support a thorough reform of the CAP.
Fraternal fracture
The collapse of party loyalties was vividly apparent and MPs split into two groups yesterday. One Tory mocked the exaggerated accusations against both side by directing MPs into the lobbies. “Spanish Inquisition on this side. Doctor Joseph Mengele on the other.” In my view the rational arguments triumphed in every vote.
It was arrant nonsense for the Tory woman MP Nadine Dorries to complain that Labour MPs had been dragooned into voting. It was an entirely free vote and no pressure was applied.
To get a flavour of the debate, the following is a less than fraternal exchange between two Tory MPs.
Mr. Vaizey: Given the logic of my hon. Friend’s case, if a mother and a father had treatment, the mother became pregnant and the father then left the mother, should the mother then be made to terminate the pregnancy?
Sir Patrick Cormack: That is a most fatuous intervention. I have never heard such a ridiculous intervention from a so-called intelligent man. Of course not, and the hon. Gentleman almost abuses himself by asking the question. It is a ridiculous question to ask.
Bless my constituents!
A colleague is sitting next to me in the Commons Library reading aloud his e-mails from constituents. One is asking why the rooks have disappeared from a local estate and demands action. Another complains that his life was ruined for making an honest mistake many years ago by going into the wrong cubicle in a swimming pool. Poverty is such for another constituent that he has been ‘forced to sell his late mother’s false teeth on e-bay. A person my colleague saw at a surgery four days ago is angrily demanding why he has not heard anything since from the Home Office. Yet another screams in an e-mail‘Marriage was created for and in honour of Heterosexual relationships = Fact! It wasn't created for some Herder and his goat. It wasn't created for some Farmer and his pig. It certainly wasn't created for gays. It was created for and in honour of heterosexual relationships because thanks to heterosexuals we even exist!”
Thanks goodness, Newport West constituents send me reasonable complaints.
"He said he wasn’t a God but it was still great to meet him."
Understand this is a quote from the Dalai Lama on meeting you - and that he was not fooled by the denial.
Posted by: Tonypandy Andy | May 22, 2008 at 06:07 PM