Friday 23 February 2007

Nepotism

The petition is entitled look into nepotism in all branches of British Society and the explanatory notes read
"Specifically: The BBC, the city, politics. To include the awarding of honours and contracts to friends and relatives."

Very, er, clear. Again, it's probably unfair of me to mock - perhaps nepotism is rife, and I just haven't noticed.

(Incidentally, I have recently read some excellent SF novels which have a tangential reference to "nepotism" in the broad sense of favouritism based not only on family but also friendship and so on. The "hero" of David Drake's RCN Series of novels rather approves of "interest" and expresses that he wouldn't wish to be part of a society that didn't have it. I don't entirely agree with him, and certainly there are characters in the novels who deserve better than they are getting, when all they lack is the "interest" of a more senior figure, but he makes a compelling case in some ways. The first two novels are available, incidentally, as ebooks in the Baen Free Library, and the subsequent novels are also available as ebooks from Baen's Webscriptions service. The books are good classic "hard" SF, with strong characters and interesting political plots interspersed, of course, with space battles.)

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I've now wasted an hour reading numerous blogs you have written in the last two months. You undoubtedly were raised here in England, and are undoubtedly young, based on the factors that you believe that just because you are "entitled to an opinion" that your opinion is valuable. It is most often, in most cases I read, not. Just asking questions, or expressing skepticism, is a curious exercise in self-psychotherapy but it is not by itself of value to others. Please spend more time evaluating each issue on the basis of what it may mean to society, not you. That you put words behind your opinions does not garner respect for you... nor does it enhance anything except your own listings. Please think twice. In Frank Herbert's Dune an important principle was to "speak only the deepest truth you can sense". Please. Thanks. Anonymous only because I like most others have litle time and now I won't waste further time reading your rantings. But good luck anyway. Cheers, a real person