Worried Obama

President Obama is deeply troubled

He has changed the 18 year old policy of George Bush   and allowed the media to film the arrival home of America's dead from Afghanistan.  Even more significantly, he today greeted and saluted the fallen.

It has been the bloodiest month so far in the past eight years for US troops in Afghanistan - with at least 53 killed. On Monday, Mr Obama told troops at a Florida naval base he would not rush any decision about boosting the number of troops in Afghanistan. He said he would not risk their lives unless it was "absolutely necessary". 

Obama is a good politician and  keenly sensitive to the power of American public opinion. Previously Americans have been shielded from the bloody tragic futility of America's involvement in Afghanistan.

Will angry public opinion bring the USA to their senses and force a repeat of the Vietnam withdrawal?. If so, we will meekly follow. For the second time in a decade our conduct in war will be determined in Washington.

Advice blind

Why have advisory bodies, if the Government ignore them?

The row over the reclassification of cannabis has been re-ignited after the government's chief drug adviser accused ministers of "distorting" the evidence.

The head of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs accused ex-home secretary Jacqui Smith, of "devaluing" scientific research. The Home Office said : "Prof Nutt's views are his own." No, more than that, they are the views and evidence of science.

The professor is revealing on the  "skunk scare". He cited research which "estimates that, to prevent one episode of schizophrenia, we would need to stop about 5,000 men aged 20 to 25 years from ever using the drug".

He said skunk has been in wide usage for about 10 years but, he claims, there has been no upswing in schizophrenia.

Very convincing, except to this and the next Government hooked on immediate political gratification from evidence free polices.

I mentioned the Government's disdain for scientific advice in the Commons today. The Speaker's campaign for briefer, sharper more pithy questions is working. There were 28 MPs seeking to ask Business Questions. So short were the exchanges he called all of us in just over 40 minutes. That includes a response from Harriet Harman to all of them. As the 28th to be called, I was especillay grateful.

As the Speaker's greatest fan I asked  two more tweeter length questions today. 

Can we debate EDM 2180 and the conclusion of the Government's Sustainability Commission that the cost and problems of New Nuclear power far outweigh any benefits?.(132 characters)

"Shouldn't we have virement of subsidies from farmers whose income has increased to those who income has not as  the income of grain farmers  more than doubled from 2006-08?". (139)

It's an interesting exercise staying below 140 characters while still making the essential point. But I believe I have failed to count the spaces which I did not know is one of the tweeter rules. A new rule is enunciated - parliamentary tweets do not count spaces.

Comments

[Kay Tie]

"Nutt's sacking is yet another fantastic reason not to vote for this right wing dictatorship."

Wicked behaviour isn't the sole preserve of the Right. Plenty on the Left are totalitarian bastards too. Anyway, you can't call the dregs of New Labour "Left" or "Right" any more, just authoritarian without a sense of purpose other than continued self-enrichment.

[John]

The government by pandering to the moral outrage of the red tops and reclassifying cannabis now has to face the results of their actions

A Knighthood for Professor Nutt the man of truth has arrived.

The truth shall set us free

[patrick]

Nutt's sacking is yet another fantastic reason not to vote for this right wing dictatorship.

Starting illegal wars is fine but say what you believe to be true about drug classification and your out.

[John]

So professor Nutt has been sacked for telling the truth and exposing the hypocrisy of the Government over drugs a really shameful and low point in British politics has been reached today.

I wouldn't trust those in power furthur than I could throw them.

THis is outrageous wake up Politicians we don't like being lied too

[Kay Tie]

Rabbi Schudrich was on the Today programme this morning. For a man who has been nobbled by an evil far-right thinktank he sounded very sure of his words.

Of course, Huw's cognitive dissonance means he's going to find it even harder to justify the lefty smears of an innocent man. I expect with an audio editing studio he can cut out the damning bits.

[Paul Flynn]

Thanks John for the text. It's very illuminating. I will passed on your support. Professor Nutt does visit he Commons frequently.

[Paul Flynn]

The debate on Question Time last night had only one sensible panel voice, Lembit Opik. The reaction on the other MPs was dire. The audience was not much better. It illustrates how deep public ignorance is.

[Adam]

Like Vietnam and Iraq Afghanistan is an avoidable war. The evidence is there that this war is unnecessary and inexcusable. But the policy to continue this war has already been decided. The British government has adopted a policy of following America.

America has a military presence in 150 countries. The aims are stated as bringing stability or preventing security threats or fostering democratic governments but the real idea is one of American geo-political dominance.

Good sense and objectivity in this war are not really present. It might be opportune to ignore it or support it, but the fact is that this will result in consequences for real people. It is ugly. People are killed, burned, limbs blown off, orphaned and widowed.

Since 911, America can supposedly do no wrong according to its military. The fact is that before 911 and its subsequent wars, Palestine was an obvious problem due to the horrific intifada of the time. I say this because 911 was the pretext for this war in Afghanistan. And Palestine was Al-Qaeda’s main justification for 911. I thought at the time that there would surely be an aggressive and urgent resolution to the situation in Palestine which seemed so obviously important. Instead, it was ‘bring it on’ from the American government. Look what that approach has brought us to. Do any of its fanatics count the dead bodies or look at the burnt victims? Tony Blair was said to have brought a peace resolution to Northern Ireland, but he automatically fell in to step with George W Bush. He sold a lie on Iraq, did he do it deliberately?

I cannot support the troops in this war. There is no exception of following the Americans to justify this. It is without justification. It is unnecessary and there is no truth in it. We should recognise the true nature of the NATO presence in Afghanistan.

[Kay Tie]

"shame on the labour Government for furthur criminalising millions of its own citizens for using a drug less harmful than alcohol and tobacco"

They're working on resolving that contradiction: by slowly outlawing tobacco and alcohol.

[John]

re Cannabis it was hilarious seeing the Government and media ruunig around like headless chickens trying to stifle Prof Nutts views.

We had "what sort of message will this give to our kids" it as though they are scared of telling our children the truth about drugs they have believed the lies so long they cannnot have them questioned.

I got onto the 5 live debate this morning and made the point what sort of message does it give our kids that magic mushrooms and ecstasy are in the same clas as Heroin and Cocaine. This lieig to our population is so counterproductive.

I noticed that by lunchtime the news had stifled any mention of prof Nutts speech available here for any one interested.The Government must dislike him immensely for exposing the whole fiasco over the upgrading of cannnabis...shame on the labour Government for furthur criminalising millions of its own citizens for using a drug less harmful than alcohol and tobacco

http://www.crimeandjustice.org.uk/opus1714/Estimating_drug_harms.pdf

I hope Paul that if you meet Prof Nutt you shake his hand and congratuulate him for telling the truth.