I've been watching The Hunt For Britain's Paedophiles on BBC Two - I missed the first part last week, and in some ways I'm pleased, because this evening's continuation was pretty grim viewing. The behaviour of the people responsible for these acts is unbelieveable - not only the sheer arrogant conviction that they haven't actually done any harm, but also the fact that they were willing to be filmed while being investigated. The man primarily focused on in this programme turned up for every interview with a photocopied manifesto to raise issues he felt 'ought' to be being investigated, like female circumcision. This was an issue involving 'real' cruelty, he claimed, unlike anything he'd done.
The final jail sentences these men receieved once the two year investigation was finished seemed laughable, with the six year sentence for primary man being the toughest. This man had been sexually assaulting young girls for years and years, but maintained that he wasn't a rapist, that he'd never intentionally hurt anyone, and that he was "the non-psycho kind of paedophile". He acted throughout like he was somehow being victimised (largely by the media). Quite incredible, and representative of the kind of in-depth journalism that the BBC is so rightly famous for. Next week's programme tells the story of a case that started with the discovery of a child pornography videotape and ended with the discovery of a body....I know it'll disturb me horribly, but I know I'll end up compelled to watch.
Cherie Booth/Blair gave a speech last night organised by the Institute of Contemporary History and the Wiener Library on the establishment of the International Criminal Court and the US's self-chosen exclusion from it.
The Guardian extracts it today.
Someone asked me how to find out which additional work individual MPs do - the online version of the Register of Members' Interests is where you need to look.
Also, (not that it's the middle of the night and I'm bored or anything), The Big List in this week's Big Issue pulls up some statistics arising from the World Food Summit in Rome - a few gems:
A shopping basket of healthy food in the UK costs 51% more than its unhealthy equivalent.
A single man living in the UK needs to spend between £25-30 per week on food to remain healthy - a figure which is impossible to achieve on benefits.
One in every five people in the developing world is chronically undernourished. That's 777 million people.
£55,110 per annum, not pro-rated, for a part-time job. Any takers?
This week's Big Issue contains a comment piece about the number of MPs who have other jobs besides looking after Parliamentary democracy in the UK. And it's a pretty shocking number.
66% of Conservatives, 28% of Liberal Democrats, and 8% of Labour MPs have at least one other paid job. Note that 'at least': Quite a few have more than one - Conservative Treasury Spokesman Howard Flight gets a salary from no fewer than sixteen privates companies.
Chris McLaughlin, the author of the piece, notes with an entirely appropriate tone of outrage that not only is the Government doing absolutely nothing about it, they actually allowed MP Peter Bradley's bill to put a stop to the practice to be sabotaged by the Conservatives (who, surprise surprise, have the most to lose).
So let's get this clear: These people earn well over twice the average salary for a job that this year will give them eighteen weeks off actual attendance at Westminster (a thirteen-week summer recess? WTF?), and yet can't fill their time with running the country and representing the needs of thousands of constituents? (Actually, they probably could if they paid their attention to it - moonlighting MPs take part in over 30% fewer parliamentary votes than those not on the make.) Oh, and we pay their theoretically main salary.
We're being taken for a ride.