Well, we have our ConDemNation (I didn’t coin the term, don’t blame me) and most people seem to have reacted with cautious optimism. Not the press, of course, they’re doing their best to tear it apart already but, hey, waddya expect? This article from the usually exemplary Guardian annoyed me more than most, suggesting, as it does, that the LibDem position on nuclear power stations represents a U-turn and implying that this is a dramatic climb down since Wednesday.
The truth is that the Lib Dems very early on in negotiations secured an abstention clause in the agreement that means they don’t have to support the government on nuclear power but, as part of the deal, they won’t vote it down either. Not ideal, but in the interests of getting along, and considering the other pretty significant concessions made, it seems like a reasonable compromise to me.
We also shouldn’t forget that it has already been agreed by the Conservatives that no government subsidies will be given for the building of new nuclear power stations. As they are virtually impossible to fund without subsidies that alone pretty much kills any new builds. Then the minister for energy and climate change is Chris Huhne; a Lib Dem. All in all, at the moment this looks more like a win for the Lib Dems than a loss.
It is a truism that the press never let the truth get in the way of a good story.
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Yesterday I had the TV on in the background and, as sometimes happens when you are occupied with something else, the show ended and an infomercial started up without my noticing.
When I did look, I realised it was an advert for electric cigarettes. They are called Spa-Spa Health E-cigarettes (nice branding!) and are promoted as healthier alternative to smoking real cigarettes. Here’s a picture, it isn’t quite the right brand, and the ones I saw came in a very realistic looking cigarette pack with a plug on the bottom for charging, but they illustrate the point:
As the camera zoomed in onto a close up of the presenter’s apparently ecstatic face* and as fake smoke curled around his lips and out of his nose one thing was abundantly clear; in Japan cigarettes are COOL! The designers of thee things have gone to extreme lengths to make these look like real cigarettes; they are about the right colour and shape, have a tip that glows red when you inhale and they produce fake smoke. The camera work was all about showing how realistic the smoking looked, and how enjoyable it was and what I could understand of the speech (very little) was emphasizing their health benefits.
This product is not about weaning you off an unpleasant and dangerous addiction as painlessly as possible, this is about hooking you on a new (slightly less bad) one and it is about fitting in with everyone around you who smokes. As I stared in open mouthed horror at the TV, I almost couldn’t believe what I was seeing.
* I’m not convinced, his look of bliss didn’t quite reach his eyes
