Welcome to the weekend edition of our new LDV feature rounding up some of the best/worst/most curious political videos doing the rounds.
First up, everyone’s seen that picture of Presidents Obama and Sarkozy, supposedly showing the two world leaders leering at a 17-year-old junior G8 delegate. In reality, the truth is a little less demeaning and dramatic. Here’s the video footage of the same incident:
(Hat-tip: The Times’s Comment Central).
Second up, here’s a brief clip of a couple of MPs engaging in what is known as Parliamentary wit. It’s not actually that funny a quip, nor is it that well-delivered – but it is quite brief:
(Hat-tip: Paul Waugh).
And finally for today, here’s Mitchell & Webb’s take on Homeopathic A&E, which is dedicated to the Green party and its ‘staggeringly extreme’ proposals:
(Hat-tip: Media Guardian’s viral video chart).
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6 Comments
The joke – and I do use that word in it’s widest possible definition – was originally made by William Hague when Tony Blair’s youngest sun was born.
It was quite funny then…
Hat tip to Hywel, Hague was far far funnier
“And finally for today, here’s Mitchell & Webb’s take on Homeopathic A&E, which is dedicated to the Green party and its ’staggeringly extreme’ proposals:”
Absolutely right.
But do any of the mainstream parties advocate a ban on NHS spending on this rubbish?
Placebo is a perfectly valid treatment, and can be extremely good value for money. People often misunderstand that placebo is frequently much more successful than doing nothing. Whilst it seems almost certain that bits of flowers diluted in water to the point of non-existence isn’t going to achieve anything through chemical means, it can achieve a great deal psychologically.
Darren Reynolds
Maybe prescribing water to people would have a beneficial psychological effect – and maybe it would be “good value” for the NHS – provided their doctors pretended that it wasn’t water, but a (chemically) effective medicine.
But surely you aren’t suggesting that patients should be deceived in such a way? I know I wouldn’t want to be!
Well, Herbert, it’s tricky isn’t it. You’re offered a choice between a 30% chance of being cured, or a 10% chance of curing yourself.
Which are you going to take?
The 30% chance involves you being deceived to the extent that you believe you’re being treated with something physical when in fact you’re not, and the improved outcome is entirely down to psychological effects. Trouble is, if they admit that to you, it won’t work.
So, which do you want, 30% chance or 10%?
I’m not saying which is better. I’m just pointing out that it’s not the open-and-shut case that the anti-homeopathic brigade would have you believe.