HAPPY 50TH BIRTHDAY, POLITIC BLUNDER!

Yes, this is Politic Blunder's 50th post, and celebrates approximately four months of giving it to you straight (platonically). No one said we'd make it this far, and now that we have, no one is commenting on the fact, so I'm officially declaring all the critics SILENCED. 

This issue we're bringing you four stories and a birthday present. The birthday present is this fantastic video, which you should all definitely watch (link here). It's about the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, how much sense it makes, and how little that sense is actually listened to. It's also got some flashy Flash effects and a bit at the end about Aung San Suu Kyi that nearly ruins it. But that bit's only a few seconds long, so seriously, watch the video.

Everyone in Britain will remember this picture of Charles de Menezes, a Brazilian civilian who was shot seven times in the head by the police while sitting on the tube, suspected of being a July 21 bomber. The picture was revolutionary because Menezes looked like a nice guy, a guy possibly contemplating a shoulder or bicep-tattoo, but a nice guy nonetheless. The inquest which was launched following his killing revealed a disastrous failure of intelligence, a tragic incompetence on the part of the police, and as it just emerged today, an open verdict.

The open verdict means that the jury was not allowed to reach a verdict of "unlawful killing" because of the coroner's report on the shooting, and thus had a choice between "lawful killing" and "open verdict". By choosing "open verdict", the jury is affirming that a shooting did take place, but is abstaining from passing judgment on anything else, officially making this a cock-up from beginning to end. 

Following in the theme of "people the police were not supposed to kill but killed anyway" is the

 issue of the Greek 15 year-old who was shot by policemen after pelting a police car with stones with his friends. The killing, which has not yet been confirmed as intentional (There's a persuasive ricochet theory floating around) has nonetheless sparked a week of intense rioting and destruction across the country. Athens has been ground to a standstill on more than on

e occasion. This doesn't look nearly as bad as the de Menezes shooting, as even if it was intentional, the killing looks to have been a matter of imprudence and unprofessionalism, rather than seven bullets fired into the head. Still, the anger of the Greek mobs is thought to be relating to more than just the shooting, as Greece isn't doing so well economically. Let's hope the situation cools down.

Rome, meanwhile, is seeing the beginning of the apocalypse. Torrential downpours amounting in one night to the entire average rainfall of December, one of Rome's rainiest months, have completely flooded parts of the city, with officials predicting that the banks of the river Tiber will overflow by the end of the week (the picture of Castel Sant'Angelo to the left should have a lot more land and people in it.). The fascist mayor, Alemanno, unnecessarily characterised

 the flooding as "like an earthquake", when in fact it was a lot more like flooding. As far as intelligence reports show, former-SBR headquarters on Via Stresa have been undamaged, with no comment from the six Jamaican women living there. 

Also in Italy is president-elect Barack Obama... in plastic form! Yes, Barack Obama plastic figurines are now adorning the nativity scenes of Italians in the South. The tradition of the nativity scene is important to Italians, being somewhat of a surrogate for the pagan ritual of Christmas trees. Barack Obama's meteoric rise to celebrity must have had enough parallels with Jesus to warrant his place in the manger. Let's just hope he's not pictured cleaning the place up and serving drinks. 

And that concludes Politic Blunder's 50th birthday. Remember to check out the blogs linked to on the right of the page, they're most excellent, especially the Osu! Tatakae! Nippon!, which recently reached the lofty heights of fifty posts itself. 

Also, a shout out to my lovely girlfriend, who had her wisdom teeth carved out of her jaw a few days ago. I know you can't eat solid foods yet, but hopefully this blog has given you something to digest. Eh?