A lot of websites, magazines, bloggers, and indeed everyone else under the sun appears to be doing some sort of “celebrity death list 2009″ where we are all given the opportunity to laud Michael Jackson’s musical achievements whilst conveniently glossing over the accusations which dogged him for a number of years.

And now 2009 has come to a close, there’s a few things that I’d like to bring back to the public attention and ask, in a sort of a semi-polite but jabbing finger kind of a way, what the fuck is going on?

So here’s my shit-list for 2009…

• How come Trafigura and Carter-Ruck haven’t been more publicly hauled over the coals for attempting to silence debate about what is being discussed in parliament? If they’ve done nothing wrong, let them provide their side of the story.
• Does anyone know what — if any — disciplinary or criminal action has been taken against any of those police officers in the G20 who — to my untrained eyes at least — certainly appeared to have done something which I would have taken to be assault?
• Does anyone know what — if any — disciplinary action has been taken against those police officers who misled the media about the conditions under which Ian Tomlinson was first encountered, was treated, and so on?
• Does anyone know what — if any — action has been taken to prevent similar police tactics — that’s the kettling as well as the lying — being used in the future?
• Can anyone explain to me why no-one seems to be able to draw a line between MPs claiming perfectly reasonable expenses (“look at this cheeky fucker — wants to have a chair in his house, does he?”) and the slightly more outrageous ones (duck islands, moat cleaning, home-flipping). Can anyone explain to me why no MPs are yet facing criminal prosecution when Joe or Jane Muggins on a council estate who had lied for their benefits would already have seen the inside of a courtroom?
• Can anyone explain to me why the taxpayers should have bailed out the banks? I don’t recall the banks propping up the public sector when times were better for them. I don’t recall the banks telling taxpayers not to worry about their mortgages — they’d bail them out if needs be. So why should the taxpayer look after them? (Yes, I know we need a banking system: but I don’t see why it needs to be in private ownership)
• The fact that Tony Blair no longer seems to even care that the flimsy excuse for a war only his mate Dubya wanted hasn’t held up to even the faintest of scrutiny — and he’s still living the high life despite all the people that have died as a direct result of his actions. Scum.

These stories have been allowed to die. It has been in the interests of various parties to allow these stories to die. Do not forget. We will have a general election in 2010, and it’s in the interests of the great british public (whether washed or unwashed) to show that we’re sick of being pissed about and we’re not going to stand and have this shit.

And we’ve proved with the Christmas number one that when the British Public take a stand against something, we can actually achieve something. So let’s take a stand as a nation and do the same thing with our political system. Let’s vote in Rage Against The Machine for Government! (unless anyone has any better ideas…?)

But, on a lighter note, my award for the biggest cock-up of the year goes here. Although I would give my second place vote to that slightly surreal clown they had on question time, who was pretending to be a real politician but didn’t really fool anyone.