When will we stop hearing about Egypt?

I can't be the only person who is fed up with seeing endless coverage of the demonstrations in Egypt. In fact, I know I am not alone. I haven't spoken with anyone who really gives a damn any more about what is going on. Thank you, 24 hour news coverage; you've managed to kill yet another major news event with constant and meaningless blanket reporting.

That, however, is not the point of this post. What concerns me is that we are assuming that the majority of the population agrees with the demonstrators, and that the only course of action is for Mubarak to stand aside NOW, as though this kind of mob rule is an acceptable form of democracy. It is apparent that there are supporters of the President; there may be a huge majority that are happy with him, and have no interest in free and fair elections. And even if an election is the best way to go, these will come in September, not before.

I wonder how Americans would feel if the Tea Party held a large demonstration in Washington, calling for Obama to leave office now, and the rest of the world started to put pressure on them to hold an election there and then. I know it is not the same, as Obama was elected under a democratic system, but the principle is the same. We cannot dictate to other countries how they handle these situations.

And we don't need to have it on our news all day long.

Why is this not news?

On Friday Sky News reported the story of Flight Lieutenant Ian Fortune, who whilst flying a Chinook helicopter during a fire fight in Helmand Province was shot between the eyes, then carried on flying the helicopter and successfully rescued 20 fellow soldiers. The fighting was so intense he had to circle several times before he could land.

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/World-News/Chinoook-Pilot-Shot-Between-The-Eyes-Manages-To-Fly-Casualties-To-Safety-Ian-Fortune-Afghanistan/Article/201003115567655?lpos=World_News_News_Your_Way_Region_8&lid=NewsYourWay_ARTICLE_15567655_Chinoook_Pilot_Shot_Between_The_Eyes_Manages_To_Fly_Casualties_To_Safety:_Ian_Fortune_Afghanistan

When I first heard this story Friday lunchtime, I was bowled over with this man's bravery. He had been shot between the eyes, and blood was streaming down his face, yet he carried on and flew his comrades to safety. This man would be a national hero. But apart from Sky News, the only other news outlet IN THE WORLD to pick this up, if Google is any indication, is the New York Post. I know John Venables has been the dominant news story of the last few days, but surely this act of bravery should be recognised somewhere in the news.

In these modern days of giving honours to any actor or athlete that breathes, I hope this soldier will get some kind of recognition. It's sad to think that he would have got a mention if he had died, but saving the lives of others in this way does not seem to be of interest.

Evolution/Creation - The thoughts of an Atheist

I have just been browsing Facebook (an activity I am rarely involved in, truth be told). I came across a campaign that is hoping to find 1 million people that believe in evolution. I wouldn't have though this was a difficult thing to do, but I guess you are reliant on Facebook users being that interested in such debates. I know I shouldn't sound like too much of a snob, but...

Anyway, something I do feel strongly about is Creation. I do not believe in it at all - I am an Atheist. However, if you are going to believe in the Abrahamic god of the Old Testament, then you do not have an option - in my opinion you must believe in Creation. You can't pick and choose the bits you want to believe in, it's got to be all or nothing. I'm sick of hearing Christians saying "they didn't really know, it was just their interpretation". What crap! If God was appearing to Moses et al, then he would have told them how he had done it.

However, more important than that is that therefore, the Young Earth Creationists are not as dumb as they first seem. They believe that the Earth is no more than 10,000 years old - something that all scientific evidence points to being wrong. However, let's look at the alternative, which is that the entire universe was made for the benefit of a god who then put life on one tiny planet in one relatively small galaxy. He had to wait for the earth to cool down, over several million years, create amoeba and algae, wait for them to evolve into animal and plant life, leave the dinosaurs to rule the planet for 100 million years, then wait another 65 million years to create Man in his own image.

When you stop and think about it, the Young Earth Creationists make more sense than Christians who believe in Evolution. I just wish they would stop and give it some thought themselves.

First Post

Well, after weeks of thinking about setting up a website so that I can spout my views about all things that are important (to me, at least) I realise that I can just use a blog. Modern technology is not my strong point. The problem is, now that I have this tool available, I'm struggling for something to say. Every day I am ranting about something that is going on - usually Gordon Brown and his "fair society", global warming (deliberate use of lower case there - those who may become regular readers will soon realise why), why the 80s were the best decade - politically, at least. Not so sure about the music or fashion. But we can discuss that later.

Well, it's Sunday lunchtime. I'm bound to get upset about something in the next twelve hours, so watch this space.