Political Comedy Week - Political Science

Todays video is not so much obvious comedy, but is definitely political, and very funny if you actually consider the message it is conveying. It's a song called "Political Science" by Randy Newman, which is a stinging critique on the Bush-era foriegn policy of America.

Anyway, see what you think. Please leave comments.

Hope Not Hate - Not In My Name

As you probably know, on Sunday the BNP were elected to two seats in the European Parliament. It was a terrible day for Britain - the idea that we are sending two fascists to Europe to represent us, doesn't bear thinking about.

However, we must think about it if we are to stand against this growing threat to British civil values and freedoms. We mustn't allow apathy to hold the door open for the BNP. On July 14th, the two elected BNP MEP's Griffin and Brons will be taking their seats in the first session of the European Parliament. To meet them will be the campaigners for the anti-fascist group, "Hope not hate," to hand them a petition from the British public with a simple message: not in my name.

I am therefore asking you all, as I have done, to sign the petition, and join the 40,000 who have already done so. We need to tell the BNP that they weren't elected in our names. They won due to a breakdown in the mainstream parties vote - not because of an influx of new voters. We need to tell Griffin that we, the people of Britian, don't support him, or his racist views.

Before the elections, it was predicted that the BNP may have won 4, 5 or even 6 seats. When the expenses scandal blew in, the BNP predicted that they would take 12. Hope not hate managed to stop that. Now, a new campaign begins, a campaign to stop the BNP before they get any further. The BNP have gained their first elected positions. It must be their last.

Please sign the petition, and tell the BNP that it's not in your name.

http://action.hopenothate.org.uk/page/s/notinmyname

Thank you,

Chairman Rose

The Other Side

Although this newsletter has an extremely anti BNP slant I think it is necessary to present both sides of the story so our readers can form a more balanced view on this topic. Although the BNP are viewed as vile fascists (and not wrongly) they are, however much it pains the moderate majority, representing very real grievances and prejudices. Many believe that to stop the BNP they should be banned and not be allowed to express their views. This is understandable but would be a big mistake.

Taking a look at their manifesto shows us some interesting points. One example is that they want “Britain to withdraw from the EU” also they state that there should be “British jobs for British workers”. Now although both of these are quite extreme points compared to the other parties do we really think the public don’t support these ideas, especially the working classes in times of recession? So what does this show? It could be argued on one hand that the public were misled into believing these promises but much more likely is that the BNP are actually giving those on the fringe of society a say, and it works. It is a triumph to democracy that the moderates have joined forces in some areas to stop the BNP by targeting the root cause of why people voted for the party. This means that voters are offered better solutions than simply blaming their problems on immigrants. In short the question is whether it is the party that makes the voters or the voters that make the party what it is. It is a bit of both but by tackling the BNP voters who aren’t total racists (which are many, lots of whom merely see no hope of finding a job, and account for much of it’s recent growth) the political system naturally takes people back to the central ground and leaves those left, isolated on the fringes.

In conclusion our democracy is built on debate, but we must first accept others views are not unfounded before they can be challenged. In this way our democratic process becomes more vibrant as parties in the centre fight to tackle the problems that caused voters to sway to the extreme right. It’s democracy in action. This is why we must accept that the system we have chosen can pick vile candidates but at the same time through debate and compromise and understanding they are diluted and challenged yet don’t leave a portion of society (however awful their views) feeling ignored and angry. That is the place in our system for the BNP. To give the extremists a view which can then be challenged and understood and tackled at the root, which is voter’s problems. We may not like it but the BNP should stay.

Comments Essential-What do you think?

Political Comedy Week - Day 1 - Tony Blair

Times in the world of politics are currently depressing, and demorilising, especially with the election of the BNP. So we, The Painter's Chronicle, for one week only will entertain our subscripients with the funniest political clips found on YouTube. We hope this is a consolation for the current dire state of affairs . . .

European Elections

Sunday night saw the counting and publishing of the EU results from across Europe. Across Europe there was a growth in support for the centre-right parties, many of which are in government in certain European countries. This growth was therefore opposed by a shrink in support for the main left wing European party, the Party of European Socialists.

These losses were from many countries, including Britian, where the Labour party suffered disasterous results, and therefore Labour sent less MEP's to the Party of European Socialists.

As well as a general gain for the centre right, and a loss for the socialists, there was also a significant gain in the Green bloc of the European party, which saw it's number of MEP increase from 41 in 2004, to 50 this time around. However in Britian there were no gains for the Green Party, despite a large vote increase in certain regions. High polling in Brighton and Norwich for the Green Party suggest that they may be on their way to sending their first MP to Westminister, come the General Election.

What was also apparant across many European countries, was the growth of the extremist and fringe parties. In the Netherlands, with the Party for Freedom coming second in the polls - a party who's leader was barred from entering Britain because of his comments on Islam, such as calling the Qu'ran as a "fascist book."

In Britian too, the BNP has made gains, with two BNP members being sent to Brussels to represent Britian. It is sad that the movement against the BNP wasn't successfull enough, and that now, as a result, Britian is sending two fascists to represent us in Europe. There needs to now be coordinated efforts by all the mainstream parties to combat the BNP, to prevent them making similar gains in a General Election.

However, there are hopes that this will not be the case. In the North West region, where Nick Griffin, the BNP leader won his seat, the number of BNP votes actually decreased from last election, yet their share of the vote increased due to the collapse of Labour support. Apathy plauges European elections, with this year's turnout being the lowest ever, at 43%. Were the European elections made more engaging to the people - if people knew more about what the European Parliament did, what they were voting for and why it mattered, then the turnout would probably be much higher.

Finally, I should like to put up a link to a petition that shall be handed to Nick Griffin the day he takes his seat in the European Parliament. Let the fascists know what you think, and tell them that their election is not in your name.

Click here to sign the petition.

Happy Birthday Joshua

Joshua Rushton-Crawshaw celebrates his 16th birthday, happy birthday Joshua, shame the weather has had a bearing on your camping trip!

Apologies

For those of you who regularly log on to the Painter's Chronicle website, you will have noticed that the amount of posts, news, updates etc have lacked a little over the last couple of weeks. We sincerely apologise to all subscripients and supporters out there for this, we miss uploading as much as I am sure you'll miss reading!

There is a reason however, the majority of the Painter's Chronicle team are currently revising and preparing for their GCSE examinations! We're sorry that we have to burden you too with our misfortune, but they will soon be over and we will be working on the thing that really does matter in life, The Painter's Chronicle summer edition!

As the famous quote says: "Patience is a virtue"

Happy Birthday Beth!

Loyal Painter's Chronicle supporter Beth(an) Paramor today celebrates her birthday. We here at the PC wish her the best and hope she has fun for the remainder of her trip around Europe!