YP Comment: Guns '“ and why USA must act as Obama praises values off Jo Cox
As details emerge of a terrifying armed incident at a cinema near Frankfurt, Germany, Ministers and MPs would be betraying the memory and legacy of Jo Cox if they did not undertake such a review after the Batley & Spen MP was shot and stabbed to death in Birstall last week.
Yet, while Britain has, thankfully, been spared of much of the gun violence that has become so endemic in the United States, Hungerford, Dunblane and Cumbria have, tragically, all witnessed mass murders in the past three decades, while the massacre of 49 revellers at a gay nightclub in Orlando shocked the world just days before the death of Mrs Cox.
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Hide AdIndeed this latest tragedy provided the bleakest of backdrops to President Barack Obama’s heartfelt tribute to the Yorkshire politician as Democrats staged a dramatic sit-in in the lower house of the US Congress to demand greater scrutiny, and character checks, of individuals applying to purchase firearms in America.
Even though President Obama is the most powerful politician on the planet, he is, arguably, the most powerless when it comes to this issue because so many Americans believe that the right to bare arms is sacrosanct in the Land of the Free. On at least 16 occasions after national tragedies, he has promised tighter laws. And, on 16 occasions, his hands have been tied by Congress. Perhaps he should have heeded this tweet from Michael Moore who produced the acclaimed film Bowling for Columbine after a school massacre in 1999: “It is time, Mr. President, to get in the car, drive up Pennsylvania Ave, walk into the House chamber, sit down on the floor & make history.”
Caustic words of exasperation, even desperation, Mr Moore’s grand gesture call followed reports that one million Americans have been killed from gun violence since John Lennon’s death in 1980. The most sobering of statistics as America comes under pressure to catch up with the rest of the civilised world, complacency is not an option on either side of the Atlantic, or anywhere in the world, if the values of “human dignity and peace” – highlighted by President Obama in his appreciation of Jo Cox – are to prevail.
In very bad taste: Dentist bemoans ‘cake culture’ at work
PROFESSOR Nigel Hunt, the dental boss who is now attributing a workplace “cake culture” to the increased prevalence of obesity and tooth decay, has obviously not worked in an office environment.
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Hide AdThough his comments are well-meaning, they do smack of the ‘nanny state’ and they fail to recognise that dunking a biscuit in a cup of piping hot Yorkshire Tea remains one of the timeless pleasures of the working day. After all, the prospect of the health police inspecting the workplace, and making sure that fruit platters, nuts, or cheese replace confectionery products when people want some afternoon sustenance, will leave a sour taste in the mouths of many.