Voluntary Government?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-22327335

Iain Duncan Smith continues to illustrate how out of touch he is with the people that his policies affect. As it it wasn't enough to make rash claims about how easily he could adapt to life on the poverty line (sign the petition at https://www.change.org/en-GB if you disagree!) he has now claimed that rich pensioners should voluntarily surrender benefits they don't need without any intervention from the government.

You can see why the Works and Pensions Secretary would want to avoid annoying the growing numbers of pensioners in this country. They tend to have long memories and, unlike other potential interest groups, actually turn up at the voting booths. However, somebody should probably point out to him that this is the sort of rhetoric that only flourishes in fantasy land and tends to spontaneously combust in the real world.

When it comes to money we can't rely on the better natures of the rich. Just look at how many rich individuals and businesses have refrained from dodging taxes because it could be seen as ungrateful and unethical to do so. Alternatively consider the lack of restraint that banks showed as they cooked their own books and sold ever more risky financial products for a quick profit. Smith's decision not to take action is especially two-faced at a time when the disabled are being stripped of benefits and council house residents are being penalised for a few underused rooms.

It is up to the government to ensure that those who need support can get it and that those who may be able to abuse the system do not selfishly do so. If he disagrees then what will he suggest next? Scrap the international aid budget and rely on private philanthropy? Or maybe get rid of the armed forces and trust conscientious citizens to spend their savings on assault rifles and battleships?

Perhaps the eminent Secretary should just stop prevaricating and take some responsibility for his actions.  

Another funny story from Drox Operative

.... assuming you have the requisite geeky sense of humour of course!

So I'm now up to approximately level 49 and am theoretically half way through the game. Of course if I continue to have as much fun as I have had so far there are always the other race ships (I've tried Hive and Human and much preferred Hive) along with the Ironman mode to experiment with.

The previous system provided me with the slenderest of victories. The randomly generated sector was large, thinly populated and extremely hostile to space-faring races. I shared a starting system with Cortex and basically ended up running their colonisation programme. Due to some unlucky colony destructions I ended up taking on missions to transport colony modules to each of their three planets at one point or another.

Eventually I managed to navigate through the inhospitable border sectors and found Human. At approximately the same time I was informed that Brunt had been obliterated by Overlord without my ever having met them.

I subsequently switched allegiance to Human and ran a barrage of anti-monster missions in their home system and an adjoining infested system. Eventually I built up enough reputation for an alliance with them and promptly exterminated their enemy, Cortex (although I did feel a bit guilty about it).

I continued to run missions for Human although it seemed that economic, fear or legend victories remained distant. However, the pressure was ratcheted up when I returned from a run and found that the two Human planets had, through some unknown cause, ended up utterly wrecked and would almost certainly be wiped out in the near future. One was destroyed even as I ran the next mission.

Needing to do something drastic I sped into the next sector. I knew that Overlord was there somewhere but had previously been deterred by the legions of surrounding monsters. However, my luck held and I discovered their planet just as it was hit by a large comet. A few shots from my guns and I had my Military victory.

The saga didn't end there, however. I arrived back and barely had time to refuel before the other Human planet was destroyed by monsters. To add insult to injury it was replaced by another Overlord colony. If I had thought about it I might have sensibly shrugged this off and flown away. However, instead I promptly declared war on Overlord and purged the last race from the sector.

This might have merely been a moment of pique but it triggered the lose timer. I had to rush around and use consumables to restore some of my ship's health and do my exchanges with my stash in record time. Worse, I was left with no friendly planet to repair at or trade with.

On the plus side, of course, I did get rewarded and promoted despite leaving a smoking and lifeless system in my wake! Unethical methods but they got the job done.

War within a war (within a submarine)

So 'The Cold War' is the first Doctor Who episode of the new series that I have unequivocally enjoyed. Kalashnikovs, a ruthless and implacable villain and (excuse the misogyny) Oswin on a flooded submarine in a fairly skimpy dress made for great viewing.

It was tightly scripted and there were no jarring deus ex machines or especially noticeable logic errors. The lack of Russian accents was a shame but was suitably lampshaded by the usual appeal to Tardis translation. If only they could have resisted the temptation to give a covert Western agent on a Russian submarine an obviously American revolver (exposure risk anyone?) it would have been perfect.

Having not watched old Doctor Who I had no nostalgia for the Ice Warrior concept but it fitted well into the wider view of how war and the potential for mutually assured destruction fits into our ethical philosophies and can end up determining our behaviour. It was also interesting to see the series return to a perhaps less well known period of history even if it did require a bit more exposition than usual.

All in all, a definite return to form after the disappointing 'Rings of Akhaten' and the unremarkable 'Bells of Saint John'.

Hollywood-style prison escape in France

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-22136482

Sounds extremely dramatic. I wonder if anyone has picked up the movie rights yet?

Osborne responds badly to criticism

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-22059630

"Chancellor George Osborne has said he is "in tune" with "the great majority of the country" on changes to welfare." as the BBC summarises his comments on a political show.

Good for him I say. 36% of the population even voted for him, which surely gives him a mandate to roll back of much of our communal welfare state as he can lay his miserly hands on.

Cheap shots aside, his response shows little more than a continued focus on the lack of alternatives to suicide through austerity and an appeal to the anti-benefit prejudices of the right wing press.

The former argument is getting a bit stale at this stage. If the Coalition are incapable of producing economic growth the population may rightly decide to chance their hand with other parties even if they lack a concrete five-year-plan for economic renaissance.

As for his appeal to the experience and attitudes of the masses - we will just have to see what happens at the next elections. The coalition's attack on students, welfare, public sector employees and anyone who enjoys state supported cultural and artistic activities has alienated an awful lot of interest groups. I think we can safely say that Cameron and Osborne will not be re-elected on charisma alone and their economic policy looks weaker by the day.

On the joys of playing Drox Operative

Criminally, Drox Operative has not yet got a steam release and so may not yet yet have registered on the radars of every gamer. However, I'm not alone in loving this little gem of space exploration and combat. As usual the brilliant review at 'Rock Paper Shotgun'  encouraged me to try the game out properly.

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2012/12/21/wot-i-think-drox-operative/

I'm exceedingly glad I did. After dabbling my toes in the demo previously, I have completed my first sector in as close to a single session as I have clocked since completing Halo 1's Library on Legendary difficulty.

The gameplay can be a bit confusing at times. There are half a dozen buttons that I haven't dared to press yet and it can feel somewhat incongruous to be sitting in space after a furious battle comparing the energy output of different battery arrays. However, the vividly living universe and the quality of the narratives created more than make up for the slight learning curve.

I started the game and appeared in the sparsely populated home system of the brutish Brunt. I quickly became their favourite operative as I carried out quests and handed over nuclear technology with only slight ethical concerns. As I strayed out into the wider area I realised that this sector was unmistakably a dangerous place. Notifications came in that the plant-like Dryads and expansionist robot Utopians had been eliminated by more aggressive rivals.

However, I had little trouble in locating three stargates and meeting a few more races offering range of different missions. Initially this went fine and I managed to keep the Shadow, Talons, Brunt and Drakk happy. Even as their wars began I managed to stay on the sidelines and profit from the strife.

Then in the mid-game things hotted up. On a routine run into the most dangerous area I found myself fleeing  from monster ships and braved a surprise wormhole to the previously unexplored Sion system. This turned out to be crowded with more enemies and I made a wild last stand at the Hive home planet. I was quickly overwhelmed and may have accidentally blown up the colony and exterminated the Hive faction (I certainly got rewarded for doing so).

After this blip I had to work a bit harder to keep above board. The Talons declared war on me and I ruthlessly wiped out each of their colonies with nuclear missiles. This pleased everyone else and I kept the Brunt sweet by supplying them with every technology that the Talons had researched for a meager 34 credits. However, slowly relations with each faction started to sour.

This meant that my last wild ride and its unexpected ending was a welcome relief. I picked up all the 'kill enemy' missions I could find and set out for a border area where a power vacuum had developed with the extermination of the Talons.

Thus began a 15 minute battle as I nuked my way through legions of enemies. I made sure to collect rewards as I finished the various quests and after taking down an especially nippy boss craft that easily outpaced my nuclear warheads I was confronted with the 'economic victory' screen and a tidy reward.

Granted this was the first sector and was probably comparatively very easy but if such a fast-moving space game even slightly appeals to you then you should seriously consider giving the demo a try:

http://www.soldak.com/Drox-Operative/Overview.html