The INTERNATIONAL story I picked out is the furore Donald Trump has caused this week with his suggestion that America should ban entry to Muslims. This has not gone down well here. So much so that the petition organised to ban Donald Trump from the UK has reached and exceeded the number of signatures required to trigger a debate in parliament. Although that is no guarantee the matter will be debated. There seems to be hesitation on the part of some politicians based on the possibility that Trump could end up being President of the USA and wouldn’t that put us in an awkward position.
There is precedent for banning him and I don’t think the fact that he MIGHT end up being President should be taken into consideration. If he has exceeded acceptable limits he should be treated the same as previous people. IF he subsequently becomes President and wants to visit the UK then the powers that be need to work out how that can happen but that would clearly need a retraction of his comments.
The LOCAL news item I noticed was about proposed plans to make it easier for London cabbies to become London cabbies. At present they have to show that they have an extensive knowledge of London roads and places of interest. For many this involves travelling routes, often on mopeds or scooters learning “the knowledge”. This can take up to 3 years to do.
Given the introduction of SAT NAV it seems to make sense to me to make this less intensive for drivers. We all need to move with the times and as long as it doesn’t result in a reduction in standards having knowledge on where A & B are but using a SAT NAV to get there shouldn’t be dismissed out of hand. Although, given that cabbies often take what might seem less than direct routes but ones which usually get you there quicker, they might want to have a navigation system that reflects that.
Moving on to SPORT: Someone else in the news this week for comments he has made was Tyson Fury, the new world heavyweight boxing champion. Amongst other things, he has been reported as saying "I'm not sexist. I believe a woman's best place is in the kitchen and on her back. That's my personal belief. Making me a good cup of tea, that's what I believe."
Tyson is also the subject of a petition – this one to have him removed from the list of sportsmen and women shortlisted for the BBC’s Sport Personality of the Year Award which is a televised event to be shown on 20th December. Well he certainly has a personality, just not one that’s very popular. I don’t think the BBC will remove him and it will make for a very interesting programme! The winner is decided by the voting public so I’m sure common sense will prevail and Tyson Fury will not be added to the boxing prizes he has won.
Looking at the ENTERTAINMENT news had me checking out the meaning of celebrity after it was announced that the Prime Minister’s wife, Samantha Cameron, would be taking part in the next celebrity series of Great British Bake Off.
It seems that celebrity is not only “a famous person especially in entertainment and sport,” but also covers “the state of being well known”. I’m glad I checked that out because most of us wouldn’t have a clue who Samantha Cameron was if she wasn’t married to the PM. (Some of the other participants also only just about warrant the label celebrity.)
All links are courtesy of the BBC website. Opinions are my own.
We don't want Donald Trump either. But we are stuck with him.
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