Jonny Nexus

Category: Current Events

  • Olympics: Men’s Gymnastics At The North Greenwhich Arena

    There’s a strong streak in the British psyche that believes we’re shit and enjoys it that way. Many people predicted disaster for the Olympics, talking of unfinished arenas, an embarrassing opening ceremony. and transport meltdowns. Well the arenas were finished, the opening ceremony was awesome, and I can report that for us, at least, today,…

  • Seven Years On

    Seven years ago, when Jacques Rogge announced in Singapore that London had been chosen to host the 2012 Olympic Games, I wrote an entry in my LiveJournal: It seems a long time ago. Things were very different then – we were all on LiveJournal rather than Facebook, for a start. I was also just thirty-nine…

  • The Citizenship Test: It’s Not About “Britishness” And It Never Was

    Some years back, the rules on becoming a citizen of the United Kingdom were changed. Where previously it was based purely on requirements such as residency and marriage, applicants now also had to pass a computerised multiple choice examination. The examination was supposedly about living in Britain, British culture, and British values, and supposedly ensured…

  • What The Titanic Can Tell Us About George Osborne

    On Sunday, it will be exactly one hundred years since the sinking of the Titanic. Certain, best not mentioned, persons on Twitter aside, it’s an event widely recollected, with many lessons that have gone into history. The main two of these are, of course: 1) Make sure your ship has enough lifeboats to rescue everyone…

  • Why I’m Switching From The Liberal Democrats To The Greens

    “Imagine two men, sitting in a car. The car is in London, and they wish to travel to Exeter. They’re starting at the same location, and going to the same place, but they are nonetheless arguing, because one is adamant that the best route to take is M4/M5, while the other is equally insistent that…

  • Just How Big A Cliff Did Fianna Fáil Fall Off?

    I’ve been following the recent Irish general election quite closely (those of you who’ve suffered through my various tweets and posts can feel free to put in a: “No shit! Really?” here). It’s not news that Fianna Fáil suffered a disaster of epic proportions. But I thought it might be nice to knock up a…

  • The “Problem” With STV

    Yesterday, I blogged that many in Ireland were calling for it to abandon its current Single Transferable Vote (STV) electoral system in favour of the Mixed Member Proportional Representation (MMP) system used for the Scottish Parliament, among others. This makes me sad. I love STV. It has a purity and elegance against which MMP looks…

  • Can An Electoral System Be Too Democratic?

    On 5th May 2011, the British people will be asked by referendum if they wish to change the way they elect the members of their parliament, from the existing First Past The Post (FPTP) system to a system of Alternative Vote (AV). The “Yes to Fairer Votes” campaign list the following as some of AV’s…

  • My Advice to Former Undercover PC Mark Kennedy

    The story of PC Mark Kennedy, a.k.a. eco-activist Mark “Flash” Stone, is like something out of a Hollywood movie: He turned up with long hair, tattoos and an insatiable appetite for climbing trees. Few people suspected anything odd of the man who introduced himself as Mark Stone on a dairy farm turned spiritual sanctuary in…

  • My Thoughts On The Cllr Compton / Alibhai-Brown Twitter Joke Controversy

    A Tory councillor has been arrested over claims he suggested on Twitter that Yasmin Alibai-Brown, a female newspaper columnist, should be stoned to death. You’ve probably read this in the news. If not, you can read about it on the above link, or here, here, or here. But basically, a Conservative councillor, Gareth Compton, was…