Gail Cartmail blog

Less spin, more opposition

During the Christmas holidays I watched the box set of ‘In the Thick of It”, a TV series parodying media spin as practised by the last Labour government.

Towards the end of it the Tory ‘spin doctor’ equivalent was introduced to the cast who was, not surprisingly, equally awful.

Surprised? I'm not

If I kept a diary it would go something like this.

Arrived in Crete and met by family. Tourists around me are stranded at the airport due to nationwide taxi drivers strike.

Later at in-laws' village, family members and friends favour a revolution. It’s a commonly held view as the austerity measures harm the least able to afford cuts in pay and pensions. This sounds familiar.

Shameful extremes

As the news broke of Friday’s bombing of central government buildings in Oslo we now know another tragedy was taking place on the island of Utoya.

Young people attending a youth camp were targeted by a man dressed as a policeman and over 90 people are reported dead with many also injured. 

Women united

I never cease to marvel at the tenacity, creativity, humour and downright courage of women faced with the most desperate situations and March 8, International Women’s Day (IWD) is the opportunity for women worldwide to celebrate and stand in solidarity.