Sunday 5 September 2010

Papal visit security breach: can we have a refund?

Unlike some, I have no particular animus against Pope Benedict and the Catholic Church, indeed I find the stock, anti-Christian tirade about 'sky-pixies' etc. as tiresome as it is unoriginal. It's not really rebellious to attack the Church any more. The Inquisition's shut up shop. Still, knock yourselves out, atheists, it's a free country and you have free will (although you may view this latter as just another 'Bronze-Age superstition').

That aside, a bundle of tax-payers' cash is being spent on Benedict's visit, and it seems, true to form, the state is proving that we might as well take our hard-earned money and set fire to it, for all the good the state will use it for - at least we'd get some value this way (calorific value, that is).

So, millions of quid is diverted to pay for security, and then someone goes and leaves the plans behind after a liquid lunch. That's the government for you: price is no guarantee of quality.

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