Bollocktics

Being the multi-talented guy that I am I'm veering away from sport because I feel like kicking off.

This week has seen a lot of political controversies and I'm fed up of some of the rubbish I've heard. So let's get it going in full rant mode.

Ok, so the Mail posted a horrendous article on Ed Miliband's Dad which even its own readers were appalled by. And then instead of letting it just quietly fade away they brazenly tried to defend themselves and only made things worse. Coming after the Philpott 'a vile product of welfare UK' front page, it's fair to say they have no defence.

I understand why people dislike/hate the Mail for the same reasons that people hate the Guardian. But there needs to be some perspective here. All newspapers do a lot of good, I mean just look at the amount of scrutiny they put every institution under and some of the campaigns they run. They put pressure on every major institution in this country and think about some of the scandals which would not be brought to our attention if not for them (think expenses scandal).

So while slating the Mail or any other paper just remember if the press is neutered by bitter politicians then we will be much worse.

Also, as poor as the Mail were, think about some of the stuff we heard when Thatcher died. Things like celebration parties and Union members wearing t-shirts about dancing on her grave. You can't criticise one and not the other.

And even worse, we are now getting questioned on morality by Alastair Campbell. Bloody hell what next? Maybe Sepp Blatter will claim he can clean up corruption in football (ok one sporting mention).

How he could say that he 'respected politics and politicians?' As spiteful and petty as the Mail were, I don't remember them helping us go into a meaningless and unjustifiable war.

As for Mehdi Hasan, it wasn't too long ago that he was pleading the Mail to become a columnist with them and saying how much he respected their stance in many issues. So his rant on Question Time about how the paper hates Britain etc which I kind of enjoyed (I do like a good rant) is pretty much bogus.

It was pretty, pretty, pretty apt that QT was staged at the University of Birmingham this week considering today they followed other unis in banning Robin Thicke's 'Blurred Lines.'

In the history of populist gimmicks this is without doubt the worst I've ever witnessed going alongside Cameron's 'hug a hoodie stuff' while he was riding a bike to work with his own driver behind him or whatever.

Before I address the point, have even just a quick glance at this article http://ukfeminista.org.uk/take-action/facts-and-statistics-on-gender-inequality/

Now, tell me what banning a chart song which plays on the radio all day is going to do? It's just a ridiculous and pointless decision. Maybe if people stopped wasting everyone's time with stupid gestures like this they could start addressing real issues surrounding rape, sexual abuse, gender pay etc.

And another thing, if you're banning one song then what about every other sexually suggestive song? You'd be banning a lot of songs and not just from male artists either. You might as well ban Rihanna while you're at it and Britney Spears etc. And I suppose Miley Cyrus' twerking is acceptable...

Another case in point: instead of spending time trying to ban lads' mags why not put more pressure on photoshopping of models which make many young girls (not that I'm an expert) feel pressurised about their appearance. And I'd like to add I don't remember seeing many bald male models, but that's unimportant right now.

I hate these gimmicky, attention-seeking campaigns. Correct me if I'm wrong, but spending a while debating whether to ban a chart song does not seem like a useful way to spend time.

I am glad to be away from student politics and into the real world. And where I can start twerking to Robin Thicke right now and nobody care.

Now let us all relax and prepare for the Ashes. It's less than 50 days now until I can stay up at night sipping on some G&Ts watching Jimmy snick them off.