Prince Harry and the naked pics: what's the big deal?

In the news this week, there is one member of the Royal Family who has been up to a bit of mischief.

It seems boys will be boys, and in the case of Prince Harry, there’s no exception. Whilst partying on a recent break in Las Vegas - before he is off on military duty - pictures of Harry in a compromising position of ‘naked billiards’ were taken and released to US entertainment website TMZ.

The two photos showed the Prince in a whole new light. The first photo showed the Prince covering his crown jewels (sorry, couldn’t resist) with his own hands, whereas the second photo showed the Prince hugging an unknown female from behind.

Immediately the photos took the viral world by storm, with media outlets across the world reporting on the Prince’s escapades. In Britain, the Royal Family remained quiet, although later confirmed the photos were of the Prince. It took nearly a week for The Sun to print the photos, the first paper to do so in Britain.

But why such a furore? Haven’t we all heard about Vegas? You know the saying, “what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.” Should Harry be criticised for his escapades?

Well no, frankly, he shouldn’t, and if anything, this will only make him more popular. The thing with the Prince is this. He is young, he is single, he is a red-blooded male; he wants to have fun and enjoy himself like many other young men would want to do too.

The public like Prince Harry, and of course his older brother - the Duke of Cambridge - because they’re modern. They are letting the public see the monarchy in a completely new light, a version where the Royal’s are more in-touch with British society. No more stuffiness.

In fact, many people see Prince Harry as a hero. People admire him, the girls love him and the boys, well the boys want to be him. Let us face it, he is not going to be King so it is hardly going to jeopardise his Royal future.

If I was to criticise the press handling of these photos, I would direct my anger at The Sun. The way they printed them seemed wrong. They claimed most people had already seen them online as a justifiable excuse to why they should be printed on page 1. They then claimed they were not making any moral judgement from printing the photos, apart from the obvious one being by printing these entertaining photos on the front cover means they will make more money.

So here’s to Prince Harry for those rather cheeky photos that have taught the British public, and indeed the monarchy, that a few naked snaps will only boost your popularity. I mean, if it worked for Tulisa and Kim Kardashian, it can work for Harry too!

Wikipedia

Is Vince Cable the only honest politician in Cabinet?

I feel rather sorry for Vince Cable. Throughout the recent Leveson inquiry, Mr Cable has remained quiet. A defeated champion of the people, he was one of the first people to criticise the Murdoch's, yet was hastily condemned by ministers and the newspapers over his actions.

It was way back in late 2010 that Cable's honesty got the better of him. Only six months into his role as Business Secretary for the coalition government, the Liberal Democrat was set up by journalists from The Daily Telegraph who posed as his constituents and arranged a meeting with Mr Cable. Undercover, the journalists asked questions which Mr Cable answered openly and honestly.

One of the questions Cable answered regarded the current bid by News Corporation, founded and chaired by Rupert Murdoch, to takeover the satellite broadcaster BSkyB, for which it has a stake in. Mr Cable's role as Business Secretary means that he is in charge of takeover's, including media affairs. Offering an un-bias review into the takeover, the Business Secretary is meant to examine all the evidence for/ against the takeover, with an objective stance.

Which is where Mr Cable's views got in the way, jeopardising his objectivity. Speaking to whom he thought were his constituents, Mr Cable told the undercover journalists that he had "declared war on Mr Murdoch", and that "I think we are going to win."

The resulting furore over his comments resulted in him losing his responsibility for media affairs, with the review into the BSkyB takeover being referred to Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt. There were even calls for him to be sacked from his position as Business Secretary.

Now fast-forward to April 2012 and it seems similar circumstances are occurring again, this time with Jeremy Hunt. Before the takeover was abandoned following revelations of phone hacking at News International (the owners of titles including The Sun and the now defunct News of the World), it was rumoured that Jeremy Hunt would accept the takeover. The Conservative party have always been firm friends with the Murdoch's, as the Leveson inquiry has revealed, and with Mr Hunt's strong stance against the BBC, it would seem appropriate to accept the takeover. After all, BSkyB is creating billions of pounds for the UK economy, whereas the government are pumping money into the BBC. If it wasn't for the phone hacking allegations and calls from Ofcom for the review to be delayed, he would probably have accepted the takeover.

So the revelations that Jeremy Hunt was said to have an 'improper realtionship' with News Corporation following a series of leaked emails between the Mr Hunt's adviser and a PR adviser for News Corp came at no surprise. This is the man who didn't bother sending the BSkyB bid to the Competition Commission or listen to the calls from Ofcom to abandon the bid. In fact, it wasn't until after the phone hacking scandal came to light that the bid was rejected by the government, despite many years of allegations surrounding phone hacking being public knowledge.

It's fair to say his incompetence and bias in favour of the Murdoch empire has significantly damaged his reputation, and yes calls have been made by the opposition for Mr Hunt to resign. Yet not to the same extent as when calls were made for the resignation of Mr Cable.

Now I don't tend to think that two wrongs make a right, but in this case, wasn't Vince Cable right all along? He was cornered into admitting what he really thought, which in a situation like a constituency meeting, is perfectly acceptable. It's the public's right to hear the truth, and that's exactly what Vince Cable gave them.

In fact, the Press Complaints Commission agreed. They found that the Daily Telegraph had not acted in the public interest. It later emerged that the two undercover journalist's had been links to News International. A coincidence perhaps?

Vince Cable merely told the truth. Maybe it did undermine his objectivity, but I commend him. He had the guts to speak the truth to stand up against Mr Murdoch. Fast forward to 2012, and now all the politicians are doing it.

So following an interview with Sky this weekend, where he said he feels 'vindicated by BSkyB', maybe we should be praising Mr Cable for being an honest politician. He was right all along.

Pictures courtesy of Wikipedia

Let it Snow!

It has been promised for the last few weeks, and with an overnight flurry of the white stuff descending on the majority of the UK, it looks like our prayers have been finally answered.

Yes, the snow has arrived. And with it, comes the flight cancellations, road accidents and numerous days off from school and work. A nightmare, some might say?

But honestly, every year the same thing happens. It snows, the nation goes crazy and we soon start to moan about the snow before it has even settled. Why? So it might cause a few problems here and there. It might mean you miss a concert, a train ride back home or mean you are stuck inside for the next few days, but does it really matter?

Personally, I love the sense of chaos the snow brings with it every year. You can guarantee, that by February, Britain is bracing itself for a coating of Snow, so thick it is going to ruin everything. Yet we never seem to truly grasp the snow by its horns. It still manages, without fail, to wipe us of our salt supplies, and ruin the public transport system.

But who cares! For kids, it is magnificent. No school, no work; just lots of snowball fights, snowangels and snowmen! And for even bigger kids, like myself, it is a chance to reminisce over your childhood, as you re-create the Spanish Civil War outside in the snow.

For everyone else though, it is a nightmare. Blocked roads, empty shops, a cold house, the prospect of spending 3 days stuck with your children. Damn you blasted weather! Every year is the same. On one side, you have those who love it. And on the other, you have those who despise it.

Which begs the question, what are the real benefits of the snow? According to a recent article in The Sun, the snow provides a £100 million boost to the High Street, as maniacal mums descend on the supermarkets. According to the paper, the amount of goods bought on the High Street last week was up 200% compared to other weeks. Marks & Spencers reported a 95% rise in coat sales, up on a year ago, and Debenhams reports a 40% rise in the number of high tog duvets being sold.

So as temperatures hit -11c, it seems the snow can bring benefits to the nation. And in these dire times of economic struggle, surely we all deserve a day off once in a blue moon, to enjoy mother nature and relive your youth. Let it snow Britain, let is snow!