Latest news with #OliverCromwell
Irish Times
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Irish Times
The culling of wolves in the EU
Sir, – I'm disappointed to learn that Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael MEPs have voted to downgrade the protected status of wolves in the EU. Despite all the evidence indicating a severe threat to the conservation status of wolves in Europe, the EU parliament has opted to allow these animals to be legally culled. Political interests and pressure from powerful lobby groups have trumped logic, science, and the increasingly urgent need to preserve biodiversity. The vote amounts to an abandonment of the hard-won protection for wolves under the EU Habitats Directive and could potentially lead to the wolf's extinction Europe-wide. This retrograde step weakens the EU's flagship conservation law that was supposed to be a beacon to the world in the battle to conserve endangered species. But perhaps I shouldn't be too surprised at the stance taken by FF and FG in Brussels. These two parties have refused to back a ban on hare coursing or fox hunting here in Ireland, or even to allow a free vote on them in the Dáil. READ MORE Maybe it's just as well that there are no wolves in Ireland, because if we still had these wonderful creatures, clubs would undoubtedly be set up to torment and kill them for sport. We might even see them running for their lives in parks, with fans cheering or placing bets. Oliver Cromwell, one of Ireland's deadliest foes, played a prominent role in the disappearance of wolves from this island. In 1652 he set bounties on them that resulted in widespread killing of the animals. They survived, just about, for another century, and the last recorded sighting of a grey wolf here was in 1786. FF and FG have followed in Cromwell's draconian footsteps in giving the wolf a bad name. They should hang their heads in shame for joining in the attack on this much-maligned creature. It's depicted in fairy tale lore as the 'Big Bad Wolf' and is the bugbear of many a horror movie, but in reality it plays a vital conservationist role in maintaining healthy ecosystems in the terrain it inhabits. Unfortunately, party animals who put political self-interest before ecology are not yet on the endangered list! – Yours, etc, JOHN FITZGERALD, Callan, Co Kilkenny
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Power, Peace, and Knowing When To Shift Gears
Our Disruptor-in-Chief has grabbed the bloated federal corpus in his teeth and given it a good hard shake for 100 days. Many Americans have welcomed this forceful reassessment. I count myself among them. My service as chief domestic policy adviser in the George W. Bush administration left me appalled at how truculently the federal blob resists reform. Bureaucratic inertia and managerial arrogance make even the most sensible improvements exhaustingly difficult. In my new book My West Wing, I describe how doggedly the "permanent state" in places like the FAA, VA, Education Department, and Fish & Wildlife Service obstructs efforts to revamp governance. Thats how we ended up with a runaway federal train. When I left the White House in 2009, the national budget was less than $3 trillion. It was hardly lean and clean then. So consider that just 15 years later, federal spending and coercive power reached $7 trillion. In addition to being profligate with the common funds, federal authorities have often been hostile to common sense. Destructive magical thinking has been promoted with increasing force: "A trillion-dollar spending spree wont cause inflation." "A persons sex is assigned, not intrinsic." "Locking up criminals is wrong." "Non-citizens should have the same rights as citizens to a drivers license, housing, EBT cards, due process, even voting." If the bull now occupying our national china closet can jolt the federal apparatus in different directions, millions of Americans will be grateful. However: Right after giving thanks, many of those same folks will begin to pray that Washington, D.C., can soon become a quieter and more boring place. As happy as they are to say goodbye to the go-with-the-flow timidity that so many pre-Trump politicians exhibited, the public will soon be looking for less overbearing, more temperate, more lasting leadership from the White House. Progressive arrogance got us into todays mess; some conservative humility will be necessary to get us into a better spot. High-handed modes of governing are not a sustainable way to run a representative republic. Over a longer haul, our levers of power need to be operated in prudent ways that are respectful of evolved traditions, human weaknesses, and continuous rule of law. Once our state organs have been brought back under the control of sane citizens, finding consensus, building alliances, and getting away from a wartime footing will be essential. History is full of warnings that even the most necessary crusades can swing too far into purity campaigns, personality cults, self-indulgence, and tyrannizing. Think of the excesses of Oliver Cromwell at the end of the English Civil War. The bloodiness that followed the French Revolution. Andrew Jackson turning his egalitarian movement into a system of personal spoils. FDR bullying opponents to swing the country toward collectivism. Reformers can quickly create terrible mirror images of the wrongs they arrived to overturn. The guillotines in Paris sliced many innocent necks. The Bolsheviks became far more abusive than the Czars. Niccolo Machiavelli was a jaded political strategist in Renaissance Italy who prescribed manipulation, ruthlessness, and deceit to win political battles. He dismissed Christian ethics. His win-at-all-costs, might-makes-right philosophy has been attractive to strongmen like Henry VIII and Joseph Stalin. Machiavelli has never been an American favorite. That there is a spurt of interest in Machiavellian strategy in Washington today does not trouble me. Every political leader has to be more interested in results than theory, so even in idealistic nations like ours its not wrong to study Machiavelli for hints on how to get difficult things done against opposition. For years, a powerful progressive establishment closed ranks and pointed spears at anyone questioning their governing orthodoxies, so we ended up with the inmates running the asylum. You can see why sensible people tired of losing culture battles might rummage through Italian utilitarianism for new approaches. Yet I suggest that the men and women who govern America should never do more than dip occasionally into Machiavellis toolbox. He can help us understand how political war gets waged. But we must avoid being swept into the cynical power-grabbing that he and other autocrats have promoted throughout history. Abraham Lincoln is a fine example for leaders who want to win arguments without losing their souls. Lincoln had enough realism in his veins to recognize that there were points where he had to suspend habeas corpus, ram through a military draft, seize newspapers, defy the separation of powers to release an Emancipation Proclamation, and fire generals until he finally found a hellhound. He did all of those things - but he did them reluctantly, temporarily, carefully, with provisos. Even as Lincoln found his inner Machiavelli when essential, he drew much more often on a paragon who preached principles utterly inverse to those of the crafty Italian. Lincoln leaned on the precepts of Christ far more than any other body of wisdom. He used them to make sense of life, to inspire action, to show his citizens how to bear suffering and ultimately triumph. In our humane republic, the Christian virtues are ultimately superpowers, not weaknesses. Faith "directs the manners of the community" in America, observed Alexis de Tocqueville. "And by regulating domestic life it regulates the State." Many of us who worked in the White House after Lincoln have tried to find his golden balance of hard heads and soft hearts, his mix of battling and reconciling. Thats an extremely difficult synthesis. Its clear, though, that a political reformer who scorns self-control, humility, and neighborliness will find that his haughtiness eventually leads to defeat. Freedoms best leaders find ways to reconcile the requirements of power and peace. They offer the steely authority of a national father, who fiercely protects his charges at dangerous moments, and they mix this with the restraint, warmth, and patience of a national mother who plants seeds for enduring success. Yes, every head of state must periodically respond to hard threats with hard rebuffs. To keep a democracy healthy, however, you must sometimes trade martial triumphs for the advantages of mutuality. That insight often baffles, even inspires derision, in aggressive wielders of authority. But again and again the unremittingly bellicose have been humbled by the worlds most successful revolutionary creed: "Do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who mistreat you. … Do to others as you would have them do to you." In our self-governing nation, that is the path to sustained authority. Politicians whobuild upon Judeo-Christian virtues and acknowledge human frailties will be more effective at managing free people. They may lose some day-to-day skirmishes. But their solutions built on respect and empathy will eventually be preferred by ordinary people - who recognize that society is ultimately a compact, not a cage fight. Karl Zinsmeister was chief domestic policy adviser to the president from 2006 to 2009. This article is adapted from his new book 'My West Wing: A very personal account of work in the White House…and how to solve Washington's perpetual resistance to reform.'
Powys County Times
22-04-2025
- Powys County Times
Visit Weobley: Tour historic Herefordshire village
WEOBLEY is known as a quaint village near the Powys border, famous for once being the site of a historic castle, its black and white timbered buildings, and countryside walks. The village was once hailed as one of Britain's most idyllic villages by the Daily Mail, with compliments paid to its well-preserved Tudor buildings. According to BritainExpress, the village's name comes from the Saxon words ' Wibba ' and ' ley '. "Wibba was a proper name, and ley means a clearing or glade in a woods, so Weobley means 'Wibba's woodland clearing'," the listing said. If you're looking to soak up some of the village's history, you can set off on a self-guided trail, which will take you on a "passage through time". The trail, which follows plaques based at points of interest in the area, gives walkers the chance to encounter some historical pit-stops, including where Charles I allegedly stayed after he released Hereford from Oliver Cromwell's troops during the Civil War. If you're interested in a walk that may test your physical abilities a bit more, the Weobley Circular Walk is based over three miles and takes in the surrounding countryside. ALSO READ: If you're looking for some refreshments after the walk, the Ye Olde Salutation Inn comes recommended from the official Weobley village website, described as being a "welcoming and informal atmosphere with a wealth of character and charm". If you're looking for a cafe, The Green Bean Cafe certainly has Tripadvisor reviewers' approval, having gained a 4.4-star rating based on 129 reviews. If you're still looking for something to do, a footpath at the end of Broad Street will lead you to the site of the village's medieval castle, which was built by the De Lacy family in the eleventh century. Sadly, there are no visible remains to the site, with earthworks now "much damaged", according to Herefordshire Council. Explorers will enter the site val inner bailey via an earthen causeway over the wide ditch, which once would have been filled by a nearby brook. The south of the site is home to a series of small mounds. There are no masonry remains and the alleged motte is now "nothing more than a grass-covered crescent with its centre quarried away".
The Independent
26-03-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Nigel Farage says ‘spirit of Cromwell alive and well' as he slams smoking ban
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said the 'spirit of Oliver Cromwell is alive and well' as MPs debated a ban on tobacco and vapes. The MP for Clacton said he 'likes a smoke' as he expressed his opposition to the Government's Tobacco and Vapes Bill that would prohibit smoking outside schools, children's playgrounds and hospitals. The Bill also aims to create a smoke-free generation with anyone born after January 1 2009 to be prevented from legally smoking, by gradually raising the age at which tobacco can be bought. During the Bill's report stage, Mr Farage told the Commons: 'I have to say, I find the tone of moral superiority in this chamber this afternoon almost unbearable. 'You clearly believe you are better human beings than those outside of here who choose to pursue activities that you perhaps would not. 'Well, it's a bit of a shock, I suppose, to some of you, but there are some of us that like a smoke. We do. We even go for a few pints at a pub. We have a punt on the horses. I even attempted to have the odd doughnut, I know that's really perhaps the naughtiest of all. 'Because we want to have fun. We want to make our own minds up. You can educate us. You can tell us. You can give us the facts. But the idea that this place should make those decisions for other people, well it sort of shows me that the spirit of Oliver Cromwell is alive and well.' Mr Farage said he is described 'the idea that from 2009 nobody could buy tobacco products, but those born in 2010 could' as 'just another aspect to two-tier Britain'. He said: 'I've been hearing for decades that there'll be a war on drugs. Where's it getting us? Drug use is rocketing, Class A drugs in particular, proliferating everywhere, with all the associated crime. 'And here's the danger. Here is the danger: an ounce of tobacco is now more expensive in a shop if purchased legally, believe it or not, than an ounce of silver. And so already we have a rocketing trade in illegal cigarettes and loose tobacco.' He went on to say: 'Do not drive tobacco into the hands of the criminals. Do not create a new black market. 'I totally agree with the minister. This is not an activity we should encourage. We're not keen for our kids to do it, but please treat us as grown ups. Educate us. Let us make our choices. Don't let the criminals win.' Before his contribution, Mr Farage declared an interest as the co-founder of Action on World Health, an organisation dedicated 'to reform or replace' the World Health Organisation (WHO). Speaking after the Reform leader, Labour MP for Worthing West, Dr Beccy Cooper, said she welcomed the Bill 'on behalf of public health consultants'. She said: 'The premise of public health is data and evidence and so opinions are interesting. Opinions can have great colour to a conversation. Opinions can have great characters, but data and evidence in public health will ultimately deliver better population health outcomes. 'And this public health bill is a public health bill that will stop people dying and will take away the addictive nature of a substance that is not a choice. Public health has been subject to conversations around, should we or shouldn't we impose things for many years, this conversation is not new.' Conservative MP for South Holland and The Deepings, Sir John Hayes, also objected to the Bill on the grounds it would lead to 'a huge surge in illegal tobacco'. He said: 'In our post spiritual, or at least post religious age, two phenomena are evident when God is forgotten and faith declines. It's not that people believe in nothing, as GK Chesterton said, they believe in anything, and they find new crusades. In the advocacy of this Bill I know they believe that, crusading in a noble cause. 'The second thing that occurs is as demons are regarded as purely mythical entities, things that were once regarded as normal, as regular, become demonised. 'And so the curious paradox is that whilst cocaine is widely available, and I am told de rigueur among certain elements of the urban liberal elite, smokers are now seen as heretics. 'And if this wasn't so alarming, the subject of comic satire, that's the kind of world we live in. We are simultaneously becoming more puerile and more puritanical.'
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Nigel Farage says ‘spirit of Cromwell alive and well' as he slams smoking ban
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said the 'spirit of Oliver Cromwell is alive and well' as MPs debated a ban on tobacco and vapes. The MP for Clacton said he 'likes a smoke' as he expressed his opposition to the Government's Tobacco and Vapes Bill that would prohibit smoking outside schools, children's playgrounds and hospitals. The Bill also aims to create a smoke-free generation with anyone born after January 1 2009 to be prevented from legally smoking, by gradually raising the age at which tobacco can be bought. During the Bill's report stage, Mr Farage told the Commons: 'I have to say, I find the tone of moral superiority in this chamber this afternoon almost unbearable. 'You clearly believe you are better human beings than those outside of here who choose to pursue activities that you perhaps would not. 'Well, it's a bit of a shock, I suppose, to some of you, but there are some of us that like a smoke. We do. We even go for a few pints at a pub. We have a punt on the horses. I even attempted to have the odd doughnut, I know that's really perhaps the naughtiest of all. 'Because we want to have fun. We want to make our own minds up. You can educate us. You can tell us. You can give us the facts. But the idea that this place should make those decisions for other people, well it sort of shows me that the spirit of Oliver Cromwell is alive and well.' Mr Farage said he is described 'the idea that from 2009 nobody could buy tobacco products, but those born in 2010 could' as 'just another aspect to two-tier Britain'. He said: 'I've been hearing for decades that there'll be a war on drugs. Where's it getting us? Drug use is rocketing, Class A drugs in particular, proliferating everywhere, with all the associated crime. 'And here's the danger. Here is the danger: an ounce of tobacco is now more expensive in a shop if purchased legally, believe it or not, than an ounce of silver. And so already we have a rocketing trade in illegal cigarettes and loose tobacco.' He went on to say: 'Do not drive tobacco into the hands of the criminals. Do not create a new black market. 'I totally agree with the minister. This is not an activity we should encourage. We're not keen for our kids to do it, but please treat us as grown ups. Educate us. Let us make our choices. Don't let the criminals win.' Before his contribution, Mr Farage declared an interest as the co-founder of Action on World Health, an organisation dedicated 'to reform or replace' the World Health Organisation (WHO). Speaking after the Reform leader, Labour MP for Worthing West, Dr Beccy Cooper, said she welcomed the Bill 'on behalf of public health consultants'. She said: 'The premise of public health is data and evidence and so opinions are interesting. Opinions can have great colour to a conversation. Opinions can have great characters, but data and evidence in public health will ultimately deliver better population health outcomes. 'And this public health bill is a public health bill that will stop people dying and will take away the addictive nature of a substance that is not a choice. Public health has been subject to conversations around, should we or shouldn't we impose things for many years, this conversation is not new.' Conservative MP for South Holland and The Deepings, Sir John Hayes, also objected to the Bill on the grounds it would lead to 'a huge surge in illegal tobacco'. He said: 'In our post spiritual, or at least post religious age, two phenomena are evident when God is forgotten and faith declines. It's not that people believe in nothing, as GK Chesterton said, they believe in anything, and they find new crusades. In the advocacy of this Bill I know they believe that, crusading in a noble cause. 'The second thing that occurs is as demons are regarded as purely mythical entities, things that were once regarded as normal, as regular, become demonised. 'And so the curious paradox is that whilst cocaine is widely available, and I am told de rigueur among certain elements of the urban liberal elite, smokers are now seen as heretics. 'And if this wasn't so alarming, the subject of comic satire, that's the kind of world we live in. We are simultaneously becoming more puerile and more puritanical.'
