Load.... Aim..... Shoot Self in Foot.

Today has the news services full of David Cameron handwringing and apologising for the late intervention of the government in extracting UK nationals caught up in the Libyan crisis.

Not one New Outlet as far as I can see has picked up on the idea that if we had a an aircraft carrier at our disposal, we could have pointed it and its complement of helicopters at the Libyan coast in order to extract our people.

Instead, thanks to the ill-conceived and rushed defence cuts, we have to rely on those rare civillian airlines who will rush into trouble spots and help extract refugees. This, understandably takes time as airlines are contacted, insurance companies are briefed, costs and contracts are negotiated and the plan eventually made.

I said many months ago before the election that the cuts government were about to embark on needed to be micromanaged, in such a way that primary assets and front-line services weren't adversely affected.

Instead we got the top-down rhetoric of old, the clunking fist of the MOD causing mayhem among defence assets, removing whole swathes of front-line capability with absolutely no regard for the consequences. We have local councils allowed to react to cuts in funding in the most politically devastating and costly way, rather than forced to cut non-essential and frivolous pet projects. In fact the government has done exactly the wrong thing in its first months of tenure and has left itself exposed to the machinations of the leftist spin machine. Its a weakness that will be exploited ruthlessly: that the coalition government is incompetent and unfit to govern.

And to be honest, given the government's track record so far and their apparent inability to learn from mistakes, I totally agree.

The Arab Uprising.

As absorbing as it is to see the people of various Middle-Eastern nations revolting against their respective regimes and as horrifying as it is to see the bloodshed in Libya, I do wonder how so many people could so suddenly become so organised and revolt in such numbers.

I just wonder what the back story is, who the organiser is and to what purpose they are plunging the Middle East into turmoil.

Only now, a decade on is the true story of our military interventions coming to light. We now know the WMD claims were a hoax, we know that the invasion of Iraq was essentially illegal, we know that the UK cabinet was hardly consulted at all on the policy that has cost so many military and civillian lives.

I would hope that if there is some organising force, some ulterior motive behind these numerous uprisings, the mainstream media will dig it out and display it for all to see, rather than it be left to the blogoshpere and whistleblower internet sites to provide the truth.

Whats the Big Deal About Allowing Sex Offenders to Appeal?

The press is full of how nasty rapists and paedophiles will be allowed to appeal against their being on the sex offender's register and yes, I can understand that the option to be removed for serious and repeated sex offenders is a hot political potato.

But what about those who have been put on the register for minor sex offences?

Should the teenager who sends or receives naked pictures to their teenage partner be condemned to sign the register for life?

Should the man prosecuted for having a stash of hardcore porn be condemned likewise?

As with all things, there is a broad spectrum of people on the sex offender's register, some are a menace to society, some quite clearly not. Some should stay on the register for life (and really should face tougher sanctions), some should quite clearly not.

As in other areas, its the heavy hand of the Police, CPS and the criminal justice system that has brought about injustices and has now led to the ruling by the ECHR. Thats the problem with ill-thought-out "one-size-fits-all" legislation, literally a legal sledgehammer to crack the toughest of nuts: there is no proportionality.

Hopefully this will bring some common sense into a legal framework that has more to do with tabloid headlines than justice.