I'm the only gay in the village

You know, it rather pains me to admit it, but I seem to be quite into Celebrity Big Brother. I missed it for a few days between leaving the parents' house last week and getting TV working in the new place on Monday. I didn't miss any evictions it seems. What pains me slightly more is the fact that I have to say that George Galloway has gone up in my estimation since he appeared on the show.

I didn't know a lot about George over and above the fact that he is anti Iraq war to the point of being pro Muslim. That's not a bad thing in itself, but he has also upset muslim groups somehow in the process. He has been accused of syphoning off funds from Iraq that were meaent to help the needy there. I never believed that he did it, but the media made a good job of rubbishing him. The Telegraph accused him of receiving money from Saddam, whom he did meet, and was then sued by George. The Telegraph appealed and lost again. All this made me think that he probably wasn't a particulary nice man. He was buddying up with a tyranical dictator after all.

I never hated George however. One has to have some respect for anyone that managed to get expelled from the Labour party, then stand against them representing another party and win. George did just that and managed to displace Oona King. He also stood up in front of the American sennate and soundly thrashed them when they accused him of taking money in the oil for food scandal. You have to hand it to him, I was cheering him on when that happened.

It was Big Brother however that made me think that he probably isn't as bad as the media paints him. I have a problem with a paid MP taking 4 weeks off unannounced to play Big Brother. That said, I'm sure he isn't the only MP out there taking free lunches. He has been critisised very harshly for this his part in the show and the media is preparing for a field day when he gets out. But, over 8 million people watch that show, and he has shown himself to be intelligent, a strong leader, a diplomat, a problem solver, calm in stressful situations, and basically likeable. All the other housemates seem to look up to the guy. Those are surely all the qualities required of a politician and leader.

I'm waiting for the media and the Labour Party to attack George when he gets out. But the interesting thing is, that while he's always being trashed by the media and his old party, no one has ever managed to make anything stick. I can't help thinking he's going to turn this round to his advantage. I hope he wins. I never thought I'd hear myself say that about George Galloway.

Abby makes an interesting comment on the last entry. If we are told that DNA database records for juveniles not charged with anything were removed, would it really happen? I suppose we can't be sure, and I certainly wouldn't trust politicians. If however we are told the data is removed, it's difficult to see how the government could use it legally. It still leaves the problem of rougue authorities in the future abusing it of course, like the BNP for instance. The sensible thing is never to let them take DNA samples in the first place. Becasue, even when you know, you never know!

My windscreen washer bottle ran out of liquid as I drove here this morning. I hate when that happens.