Since Governments are the truly big players in creating the World as it is, reforming Government has to be a major step in creating a fair and just World for all her inhabitants.
I have great hopes for many of the uprisings in the Middle East because they are fueled by the recognition of the people themselves that they can change how they are ruled. That is a phenomenon, not seen too often around the globe. My dream is that, over the next 10 years, these people will whittle away the corrupt from their seats of power and create for themselves Governments that reflect high ideals for fair and just societies.
Of course we cannot expect the corrupt Governments around them to be happy with this as it will undoubtedly spread to their own nations. The front runners in the revolution will need to be prepared to defend themselves from every attack. This will be spearheaded by the media who will lie about every facet of this new form of Government. Why? Because the media is owned by the very same people who benefit the most from corrupt unjust systems of government.
Unfortunately, the attacks will not be limited to verbal media accusations and lies. The same people who control the media also control most of the military around the World. They decide which country is in the wrong, ie not falling in line with the World domination they have set up. They set their media puppets to work to create monsters where there are none. Then it is a very simple task to have their puppet Governments take military action against innocent countries who refuse to tow the line.
The faith shown by the Egyptian people in their military may well be the key to their being able to stand up for themselves when this happens. There is no doubt in my mind that it will take great courage to do so. The might of NATO makes even strong nations look puny by comparison so I am not at all confident that the emerging people's democracies will be able to grow unless we in the West can reclaim our own Governments at the same time. Given the complacency of the majority of the UK and US people, I am not optimistic on that front but given current economic issues and the tendency of recent UK Governments to erode our civil rights, this may change more quickly than I envisage.
If the uprisings spreading around Middle East and Africa can defeat despots along the way and, at the same time, do their best to ensure religious and racial differences are not excuses for victimization on any level, we could, in the next 50 years, see a united African League that would be strong enough to stand up to any rogue challengers. At last precious resources would be owned by the people of the country. Any exploitation would be done with care and awareness of the longterm needs of the population and of the earth from which it comes. Again my skin is pricked by the realization that the current beneficiaries of the wealth of these nations will not relinquish their booty without a fight. Self-defense will need to be a priority for these nations from the very start. The wealthy will take everything they can before abandoning their victims when they have nothing of perceivable value left.
If, given all these pitfalls, a United African States comes into being with Governments that shine a light for the rest of the World, the West will surely wake up to claim their independence from their current wealthy despotic rulers. For one thing they won't be quite so wealthy once the pillage of other countries is denied them and their own population has already been stripped to the bone. As they have no ideals to offer, their wealth gone, I think their control will die either a natural death or by the uprising of a population with nothing left to lose.
China is an unknown factor in all this. The sleeping giant for centuries is currently tasting the wealth that the West has enjoyed since the war of 1939 to 1945. The population of China is docile and is kept that way by fear, indoctrination and the media's influence. Can the people's uprisings happen there? They have happened before so it is possible. However the population will remain very easy to manipulate especially given the military force that leaders of the government have at their command. I think China will most likely stay as it is for a very long time unless it should be suckered in to a global war on the side of the elitist run countries.
In conclusion, My hopes for the World lie in a strongly people-led democracy sweeping Africa and the Middle east leading them to Unite in defense of their natural wealth and freedom from oppression. In two or three decades, I believe the European and American people will also take back the reins of power from the corrupt elite that is currently in charge. This will happen as a matter of course as a new philosophy of democracy emerges and as the elite lose the power held through their incredible wealth.
Eventually,left to their own devices, China itself will come to accept that despotism is no longer acceptable and will recreate democracy in time for the World to be a truly fair and just place to live.
Sunday 25 September 2011
Monday 6 June 2011
Has the Job Centre a Quota to Fill?
I was shocked last week when my job seekers allowance was unceremoniously stopped without any notice or warning. I had done nothing wrong that I knew of and had jumped through every hoop since I lost my job in January after breaking my arm.
On investigation, it seems that these stops of payments known as sanctions have increased dramatically this year and there is a whistle blower on Youtube who claims that there are secret quotas given to our govt employees to encourage them to sanction unsuspecting clients for very dubious reasons.
http://tinyurl.com/3n7o7ht
I have been very lucky, I had citizen advice behind me and I have a good education. I was able to sort it all out after only 10 days. But can you imagine 10 days on no cash when you have nothing else to fall back on; many have learning difficulties or are battling depression, dependency or other problems.
Some claimants are forced to depend on food parcels or loans to tide them over. That one is always good for a laugh. Who needs more loans when they have nothing to start with?
Like myself, taking away the money we need to live on also takes away our ability to find work. I would certainly have had to give up my car if this wasn't sorted out and in turn that would have led to me losing the job I am waiting to start.
Most people who suddenly find themselves unemployed are keeping up all sorts of debt repayments and weekly and monthly bills. Given the best of intentions, £65 doesn't cut it. To take that small income away without reason is criminal in my view. It is deliberately harming other human beings through taking food out of their mouths and causing considerable anxiety.
If this is the way the powers that be are behaving, you can bet that a wave of criminality will follow in its wake. The anger many feel would be enough to push some to this without further hardship and real need adding to the mix.
Talking of crime, did you all know that in order to take a holiday and keep your payments you have to tell the Centre exactly where you are going and give them a telephone number at your holiday destination.
I thought only criminals under the jurisdiction of a court order had to be treated this way for the good of society. Now it seems as if you are to be treated as a criminal just because you lost your job.
On investigation, it seems that these stops of payments known as sanctions have increased dramatically this year and there is a whistle blower on Youtube who claims that there are secret quotas given to our govt employees to encourage them to sanction unsuspecting clients for very dubious reasons.
http://tinyurl.com/3n7o7ht
I have been very lucky, I had citizen advice behind me and I have a good education. I was able to sort it all out after only 10 days. But can you imagine 10 days on no cash when you have nothing else to fall back on; many have learning difficulties or are battling depression, dependency or other problems.
Some claimants are forced to depend on food parcels or loans to tide them over. That one is always good for a laugh. Who needs more loans when they have nothing to start with?
Like myself, taking away the money we need to live on also takes away our ability to find work. I would certainly have had to give up my car if this wasn't sorted out and in turn that would have led to me losing the job I am waiting to start.
Most people who suddenly find themselves unemployed are keeping up all sorts of debt repayments and weekly and monthly bills. Given the best of intentions, £65 doesn't cut it. To take that small income away without reason is criminal in my view. It is deliberately harming other human beings through taking food out of their mouths and causing considerable anxiety.
If this is the way the powers that be are behaving, you can bet that a wave of criminality will follow in its wake. The anger many feel would be enough to push some to this without further hardship and real need adding to the mix.
Talking of crime, did you all know that in order to take a holiday and keep your payments you have to tell the Centre exactly where you are going and give them a telephone number at your holiday destination.
I thought only criminals under the jurisdiction of a court order had to be treated this way for the good of society. Now it seems as if you are to be treated as a criminal just because you lost your job.
Friday 27 May 2011
Netanyahu Speech to US Congress
It isn’t this arrogant criminal’s speech that is shocking the World. We all recognize his brand of violent sectarianism and aggressive racism. The shock comes from seeing the US lawmakers, elected by a free nation where every adult has a vote, applauding this criminal’s open declarations of every aggressive stance he claimed and standing ovation after standing ovation for his deplorable lack of humanity towards his fellow countrymen in Palestine.
Professor of Journalism, Peter Beinart, watched this disgraceful behaviour with Fadi Quran, a young Palestinian who is helping to coordinate Palestinian youth organization in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria; all united around one goal: to create a Palestinian Tahrir Square. They organized the unity march that helped pressure Fatah and Hamas to reconcile. Ten days ago, they organized the Nakba Day protests in which refugees marched on Israel’s borders resulting in a number of deaths. The protestors unarmed while the Israeli army fired live bullets.
Quran and his associates have been studying the Civil Rights movement and Gandhi’s struggle against the British and the movement that peacefully brought down Slobodan Milosevic in Serbia. No one wants a second intifada, he insisted. “It hurt us much more than the Israelis.” Events in Egypt and Tunisia made Quran and his colleagues realize that nonviolence was possible on a much larger scale.
Beinhart claims that “anyone who has spent any time around Congress knows that many of the people who applauded Netanyahu—the Jewish Democrats in particular—don’t actually support his policies. Privately, many consider settlement expansion a catastrophe and the occupation a disgrace.” The excuse he offers for this extraordinary behaviour is that “they don’t want to create headaches for themselves”. “Could they say what they really believe and get reelected? Probably—after all, incumbents are very hard to beat. But who needs the hassle?”
I would suggest the people of Palestine who have suffered for decades do!
“What we want to do next,” Fadi added, “is freedom rides, like in the South. We’ll board settler-only buses and make them arrest us or beat us up.” He mentioned that many American Jews had participated in the civil rights movement. “So how will American Jews react if we do this,” he asked? “Do you think we’ll get any support, given your history?”
Professor Beinhart has little faith in the hearts and minds of his nation. I think stranger things have happened, who would have believed the fall of Mubarak et al when we were enjoying our Christmas dinners this year? It is a time of change and it has been too long coming.
Article adapted from Peter Beinart, senior political writer for The Daily Beast, who is associate professor of journalism and political science at City University of New York and a senior fellow at the New America Foundation.
http://tinyurl.com/3n4ja9z
On Monday night, May 23, five brave activists disrupted Netanyahu's speech at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) Gala and were also met with assaults. The young women who had spoken out were subjected not only to assault, but to sexual groping by male AIPAC attendees. But these activists felt compelled to speak out against Netanyahu's claim that returning to the 1967 borders would be "indefensible," when it is Israeli policies that are really indefensible: starving Gaza, occupying and stealing land, bulldozing homes, silencing dissent. The same day, at a press conference at the National Press Club about military aid to Israel and the dangerous role of the Israel Lobby, activist Allison Weir had her phone slugged out of her hand by an angry Zionist This sounds eerily similar to the alleged democracy in Israel where Palestinians and Israelis are routinely assaulted, arrested and jailed for speaking out against the Israeli occupation.
For the Palestinian people who live under Israel's 44-year-old military occupation, violence dominates everyday life. Zinad Samouni of Gaza is a living testament to this oppressive reality. She lost 48 family members during Israel's December 2008 bombardment of Gaza, and hers became yet another tragic story in a long history of home demolitions, land confiscation, and systematic violation of the Palestinians' basic human rights. After the massacre of the Samouni family, Israeli soldiers left behind racist graffiti such as "ARabs need 2 die'' and "1 is DOWN 999,999 TO GO."
http://tinyurl.com/3ulfd7t
Professor of Journalism, Peter Beinart, watched this disgraceful behaviour with Fadi Quran, a young Palestinian who is helping to coordinate Palestinian youth organization in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria; all united around one goal: to create a Palestinian Tahrir Square. They organized the unity march that helped pressure Fatah and Hamas to reconcile. Ten days ago, they organized the Nakba Day protests in which refugees marched on Israel’s borders resulting in a number of deaths. The protestors unarmed while the Israeli army fired live bullets.
Quran and his associates have been studying the Civil Rights movement and Gandhi’s struggle against the British and the movement that peacefully brought down Slobodan Milosevic in Serbia. No one wants a second intifada, he insisted. “It hurt us much more than the Israelis.” Events in Egypt and Tunisia made Quran and his colleagues realize that nonviolence was possible on a much larger scale.
Beinhart claims that “anyone who has spent any time around Congress knows that many of the people who applauded Netanyahu—the Jewish Democrats in particular—don’t actually support his policies. Privately, many consider settlement expansion a catastrophe and the occupation a disgrace.” The excuse he offers for this extraordinary behaviour is that “they don’t want to create headaches for themselves”. “Could they say what they really believe and get reelected? Probably—after all, incumbents are very hard to beat. But who needs the hassle?”
I would suggest the people of Palestine who have suffered for decades do!
“What we want to do next,” Fadi added, “is freedom rides, like in the South. We’ll board settler-only buses and make them arrest us or beat us up.” He mentioned that many American Jews had participated in the civil rights movement. “So how will American Jews react if we do this,” he asked? “Do you think we’ll get any support, given your history?”
Professor Beinhart has little faith in the hearts and minds of his nation. I think stranger things have happened, who would have believed the fall of Mubarak et al when we were enjoying our Christmas dinners this year? It is a time of change and it has been too long coming.
Article adapted from Peter Beinart, senior political writer for The Daily Beast, who is associate professor of journalism and political science at City University of New York and a senior fellow at the New America Foundation.
http://tinyurl.com/3n4ja9z
On Monday night, May 23, five brave activists disrupted Netanyahu's speech at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) Gala and were also met with assaults. The young women who had spoken out were subjected not only to assault, but to sexual groping by male AIPAC attendees. But these activists felt compelled to speak out against Netanyahu's claim that returning to the 1967 borders would be "indefensible," when it is Israeli policies that are really indefensible: starving Gaza, occupying and stealing land, bulldozing homes, silencing dissent. The same day, at a press conference at the National Press Club about military aid to Israel and the dangerous role of the Israel Lobby, activist Allison Weir had her phone slugged out of her hand by an angry Zionist This sounds eerily similar to the alleged democracy in Israel where Palestinians and Israelis are routinely assaulted, arrested and jailed for speaking out against the Israeli occupation.
For the Palestinian people who live under Israel's 44-year-old military occupation, violence dominates everyday life. Zinad Samouni of Gaza is a living testament to this oppressive reality. She lost 48 family members during Israel's December 2008 bombardment of Gaza, and hers became yet another tragic story in a long history of home demolitions, land confiscation, and systematic violation of the Palestinians' basic human rights. After the massacre of the Samouni family, Israeli soldiers left behind racist graffiti such as "ARabs need 2 die'' and "1 is DOWN 999,999 TO GO."
http://tinyurl.com/3ulfd7t
Saturday 14 May 2011
John Hill aka Muad’dib, creator of 7/7 Ripple Effect Not Guilty
A further blow has been dished out to the British Government attempts to get away with the 7/7 false flag terrorist event in London. I am really pleased to report that a jury has found Maud’dib aka John Hill not guilty of trying to pervert the course of justice.
The government has been besieged by truth seekers since the many different and conflicting reports came out. The final official story was released as a ‘narrative’ compiled by ‘a senior civil servant’ (so far unnamed) because Tony Blair claimed that an official enquiry would be a ‘ludicrous diversion’: An opinion that is not shared by the families of the victims or, indeed, by the great majority of thinking people in Britain.
John Hill, under the alias Muad’Dib, looked into the events in great depth and produced the film ‘ 7/7 Ripple Effect’ which is freely available on You tube. In the movie he discusses many of the anomalies found between the official report and the evidence.
Already reeling from internet criticism of their stance, the government had to suffer defeat by jury when three suspects, charged with being complicit in the bombing, were found not guilty. This led to increasing cries for a full enquiry from many sources.
In an effort to quieten these voices, an inquiry into the culpability of MI5 and the emergency departments for the deaths was held in 2011. It was not devised to look into the official narrative and the culpability of the four alleged bombers was taken as proven.
John Hill objected most strongly to this assertion and felt justice could not be served under these circumstances. Guilt had not been proven to the satisfaction of many people and an enquiry based on the assertion that it had been would be a lie.
In an attempt to show this, John Hill aka Muad’dib sent copies of his DVD quite openly to the head of the jury and to the presiding judge c/o the court.
He was extradited from Ireland earlier this year in a very dubious judgement by the Irish Supreme Court. He has been kept in jail for over 150 days for this non-crime that has to be of concern to every citizen who values their freedom.
Yesterday he was free at last. Thank goodness for trial by jury.
Saturday 7 May 2011
Scottish Elections 2011
Congratulations SNP on a great election result. Congratulations for being the most enthusiastic and hard working people out there for the past two months. Congratulations also for all the honesty, intelligence and determination shown in the work done by those previously elected in national and council elections because the trust shown in this party is utterly down to their hard work over the years.
This is an amazing event in Scotland and none of the detractors can ever deny that. Their hope was always that the SNP would fall into all the power traps of the other parties and the electorate would abandon them soon enough. In the strong hands of Alex Salmond the opposite has happened. In spite of the most severe economic crisis, the people of Scotland have overwhelmingly shown that they have trust in allowing the SNP to carry the country through this time.
Typically Alex started right off with a speech that brought the other parties into the political arena rather than shutting them out of the proceedings. This willingness to talk and include in a positive way is the number one reason for the switch in the electorate. People have been telling the other parties for years that they were sick and tired of the political backstabbing and rhetoric. Only the SNP have shown themselves to actually be mature enough to deserve to be in government. If the rest of the UK parties behaved as responsible adults, the results could well have been quite different.
The main policies outlined in Alex’s speech are those designed to give more real power to our devolved Scottish Parliament. The arguments rage over the effects that the changes will mean to the Scottish taxpayer. There will obviously be costs involved in the implementation of a new system. From my own point of view, Scotland becoming autonomous has to be worth it. We have long seen all our precious money being sucked into the Westminster purse. I have always said I would never give my wage packet to my neighbour and ask them to dish out my cash and give me what she thinks I need to live on. It will be a source of pride for our nation to have our power back at last.
With special reference to our construction industry, Alex acknowledges Labour’s support in asking for the power to raise the extra cash Scotland needs to get her economy moving again. The current restrictions mean that our ‘overlords’ still hold the purse strings even though we, as a nation, have emphatically rejected their management of our economy.
Currently, Scottish Ministers have no powers to raise extra resources by borrowing or sanctioning borrowing. ‘Borrowing sanctioned by Scottish Ministers is included within the Scottish Administration's Assigned Budget and must be offset by reductions in other spending.’
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Government/Finance/spfm/borrowingetc
An even greater fight lies ahead in regaining the control of our land and sea resources from the Crown Estate Commission. The support of the Lib Dems in this is welcomed. It is time for us to ensure we have the benefit of our vast renewable wealth of offshore resources after the long years of the theft of our oil and gas reserves.
A report by Highlands and Islands Enterprise and six local authorities in the region said: “There are relatively few public benefits in Scotland from the way these Scottish resources are managed at present, most notably the Crown Estate Commission’s management of Scotland’s territorial seabed and continental shelf rights and approximately half of Scotland’s foreshore.
“The very limited accountability in Scotland over the management of these Scottish resources has also become worse since devolution.”
http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/politics/scotland-takes-step-closer-to-controlling-her-seas-1.1077591
All parties are convinced that we need to devolve corporation tax to keep our industries competitive. I doubt that Westminster can hold that back from us for very long now.
The SNP all want the very best for Scotland but they will have to become as good as our Scottish tennis hero, Andy Murray, at deflecting the media and political parties’ ridiculous focus on independence and the referendum back to the important issues that we are currently working on.
As far as independence goes, I think we have a long hard journey ahead before we can prove to the Scottish people that she is ready for that move.
‘Yes’, I want independence for Scotland with every fibre of my being and ‘Yes’ I am utterly delighted to see the trust Scotland has put in the party that stands for independence. But, personally, I think we have still to prove to a great number of people that we have all the resources we need to go it alone.
We also have to bring the Central Belt on board with that dream. So far they have just started to show a bit of faith in the possibility.
If our elected members can navigate the troubled waters ahead and take us into the next election with pride and confidence in their achievements, I would say we will be a long way towards getting the dream result. Until then, we have to find a way to make clear to the media and the troublemaker’s that their focus on that question is boring, bullying and that the people of Scotland see right through their tactics.
Thursday 21 April 2011
North East Business Week 2011 Scotland Federation of Small Businesses Political Influencing Event Aberdeen part 2
North East Business Week 2011 Scotland Federation of Small Businesses Political Influencing Event Aberdeen part 2
Banking
There was a general agreement among all the businesses present that banking charges were way too high and we wanted more from our Governments to support us. Unfortunately, Conservative Sandy Wallace and Labour’s Lewis Macdonald immediately threw hands in the air and claimed they had no influence over the banks. Mr Wallace was even quite rude in suggesting we were whingeing and that we were going down the road to left wing trade unionism to even suggest such a thing.
I am glad to say the SNP candidate Kevin Stewart was a great deal less deferential to the banks and brought into play the idea of giving more support to other institutions that could help financially. We all felt very annoyed that people could take out private loans with little security, yet businesses with good records whose application could be supported by groups like the FSB were refused out of hand by managers in distant cities.
Procurement law
This was all new to me but it seems that this law can produce ridiculous outcomes such as a trader from Southampton coming to Aberdeen to carry out one routine electrical task and then going home again. Astute as ever, Sandy got everyone’s back up by saying that regular PAT testing was unnecessary. He wanted to ignore the question and go back to stripping away unnecessary legislation. A laudable idea but the debate has moved on, Sandy, and nobody wants to go back to the bad old days of do-it yourself wiring in our care homes.
Sorry Lewis, I had no idea what you were speaking about. If you or my fellow business people can enlighten me, I will gladly give you a paragraph to put your case.
Kevin spoke the truest words, “Buy cheap, buy dear”, which we readily understood. Local people with skills are being by-passed to bring in big business with no qualms about cutting costs regardless of quality. The savings are probably negligible but the costs to the environment and small local businesses are huge.
Big Corporations
It was my turn at last. I was almost shunted into a siding about financing my business but I got back on track and asked the three politicians what they would be doing to rein in the power of big Corporations. I said this country is a corpocracy not a democracy when 2 million people on the streets can be ignored. My question was about the pollution of the environment by the big retail outlets. Kevin and Andy of the FSB were enthusiastic about encouraging recycling and supporting small businesses in the ‘green’ market. While applauding those initiatives, my challenge is that all that is a drop in the ocean compared to the negative impact caused by selling goods, like disposable nappies, with very bad environmental consequences that the rest of us have to live with and pay for.
Tory Sandy, he is always good for a laugh, isn’t he? He pipes up that the environmental people whinge away but still head for the supermarket and spend £115 every Saturday with the rest of us.
Actually that is my point. Education and offering alternatives at a higher cost is not the answer. Busy people, people with a low income, and people highly influenced by state of the art advertising will go out to buy these damaging products. But the costs need to be born by those who manufacture the goods and following that, by the retailers who sell the goods. Then price rises will be passed on to customers who will be forced to pay the real cost of the product. I don’t think it would take long for retailers large and small to offer alternatives.
All three politicians let me down here. Not one would be willing to challenge the Big Corporations in this. Sandy says it’s a free market economy, Kevin says there is nothing they can do and Lewis concurred. The best I could get was that the SNP would look into discouraging hospitals from taking free disposable nappies in for newborns.
I didn’t add this but say that heroin was legal. Let’s imagine that the big Corps are advertising and selling it; the people are buying it in their millions but everything else in the country is going to the dogs. The healthcare price is phenomenal, the care costs for the children and addicts are horrendous and the business economy is severely damaged.
Are these guys really telling me that they have no power to stop the big Corporations in their tracks?
I say that when Big Business is detrimental to the country they are profiting in, it isn’t only possible to stop them, it is mandatory to stop them. That is what we elect a government to do. If the Government, as represented by these three politicians, says it can’t influence these businesses, then we are not living in a democracy. We are living in a corporate run state dictatorship.
North East Business Week 2011 Scotland Federation of Small Businesses Political Influencing Event Aberdeen part 1
Young Employees
I was invited to the Federation of Small Businesses evening discussion with the four candidates vying for the Aberdeen Central seat in the Scottish elections. Due to very unhappy circumstances, the Lib-Dem candidate Sheila Thompson had to leave early so we did not get much feedback about her party’s thoughts for the future. The rest of us got down to some very vigorous debates.
The first questions came from one of the FSB businessmen. It was about the difficulty that bureaucracy puts in the way of businesses wanting to employ and train young people. The problems reported round the table were that the time, effort and cost to small businesses meant that they could not go on doing this in spite of seeing great value in introducing young people to the work environment in some way.
All the politicians agreed that training and being in the workplace was very beneficial. The Con candidate Sandy Wallace blamed past decisions for adding lots of small pieces of legislation that were good in themselves but became an unbearable burden when all added up together. Andy Willox, the Scottish Policy Convener for the FSB, pointed out that this was not a new problem, all past governments were responsible. As a remedy he suggested that the FSB was in a position to critique proposed legislation and feed back its findings to the Government before policies were implemented. He gave the observation that this would often prevent changes being implemented at great cost only to be found completely inadequate and being retracted for further examination.
The SNP candidate, Kevin Stewart, agreed that the weight of bureaucracy was great and went on to suggest more support for any business bringing in its first employee through the whole first year. The Labour candidate, Lewis Macdonald, was eager to change the subject, I thought, and brought us to the inadequacies of the education system. Tory and Labour seemed to agree that too many children expected to go to university and stigma was involved in failing to do so even though graduates could not expect jobs in their fields at the end of their courses.
I didn’t get the chance to speak but now I can.
The failure of our education system starts early on when children who are reading and writing at an early age are considered successful while children who are more technically gifted or athletic suffer greatly. It is scientifically shown to be harmful to expect children to read and write before their brains are fully developed in that area. This may be as late as 7 or 8 years old in some children. It is also well known that there are distinct learning differences amongst us; Kinaesthetic, visual, and audio being the three that we usually implement in various degrees. Schools are being forced to teach the latter two while children in the kinaesthetic bracket are sadly neglected and suffer as a result.
One after another, Governments dictate through their testing procedures that schools teach every child at same rate and in same way. They then blame schools and the teachers if the children fail.
I also disagree that too many children seek to go to university. If they go to learn and grow as human beings, the universities have a huge responsibility that used to lie with the community. What I would suggest, in line with the conversation round the table, is that before university our children are introduced to a wide variety of real work situations where they are shadowing and working for several days. This greatly increases awareness of what is out there, produces enthusiasm where there was none, and fires young minds with a passion to find and fight for their goals.
Although Sheila Thompson of Lib Dems had left, her words lingered on and were not greeted favourably by candidates and business people alike. She had indicated that she felt that the Enterprise and North East Trust were failing us through high costs and would be terminated. I realize she is in a difficult place now but I would happily publish her response. The business people all agreed that ENE and Business Gateway had been an invaluable resource for their businesses and was the one support that came without a price tag.
Continued
Saturday 19 February 2011
Iraq
Protests throughout Iraq have further undermined the position of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. Almost buried by the momentous occurrences in the Middle East, the events here are, nevertheless of some significance. There is no unified movement against the government but a great deal of discontent is coming to the surface in many, often good-natured demonstrations.
Monday Valentine’s day protest
Brandishing roses and balloons and dressed in Valentine red, hundreds of young Iraqis denounced the greed of their leaders in a protest on Monday inspired by the uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia.
Dont build palaces - fix the sewers, proclaimed a banner carried by protesters at Baghdad’s Tahrir Square.
Another banner denounced the $11,000 monthly salary - before benefits - that Iraqi MPs approved for themselves. Prime Minister Nouri Maliki called the protesters demands real, and urged officials to address them.
Wednesday
Two people were killed and many wounded when police shot at a crowd of protesters in Kurdistan, northern Iraq. Protesters carrying slogans against corruption and high unemployment, tried to storm the local government offices in Sulaimaniya.
Three people were killed in clashes with police in the southern city of Kut.
The Prime Minister appealed for calm.
Thursday
Two people were killed and dozens wounded when protesters looking to oust the local government and seeking better services rallied at the headquarters of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, which is headed by Kurdish president Masoud Barzani.
Security forces swarmed the streets of Sulaimaniya after the incident.
Barzani called on the government to open an investigation into the incident.
Friday Protesters calling for a provincial governor to resign blocked a bridge in the southern Iraqi city of Basra today, as demonstrations against government continued across Iraq.
Saturday
Hundreds crying for political reform came into the streets in Kurdistan .
A thousand people in Bagdad demanded better rights for orphans and widows.
Demonstrators in Kut calling for the removal of the provincial governor; Deaths during the week in the northern city of Sulaimaniya brought further hundreds into the streets.
In a separate protest at Sulaimaniya University on Saturday, hundreds of students condemned the KDP and called for political reforms and justice.
Protesting appears to have become the norm as throughout the country there are cries against corrupt government and electricity and food shortages.
Friday 18 February 2011
Day of Rage
Day of Rage
Millions of people throughout the Middle East are gathering together in a demonstration to their leaders that they will no longer tolerate their incumbent regimes.
In alphabetical order
Bahrain
My heart goes out to the protesters here in Bahrain where people are faced with an extremely violent response to their protests. Bahrain is also very important to the US and UK economic interests in the Gulf. Britain is known to have sold weapons to the government here and the UK has a long history with Bahrain since they became independent. The US navy's fifth fleet is headquartered in Bahrain so there is much at stake for the Obama administration. Besides fear of losing a foothold in the Gulf, the West also fears a link between a new democratic Government and Iran.
The Royal family is Sunni but it appears that, despite claims to the contrary, both Sunni and Shia are demonstrating.
Today an estimated 30,000 attended a funeral rally for those slaughtered in the pre dawn raid by government forces on Pearl Square. The people chanted that they want the removal even the death of the king of Bahrain, Hamad bin Issa Al Khalifa and the prime minister of 40 years, Shaikh Khalfa bin Salman Al Khalifa, also a member of the royal family;
"We know they have weapons and they are trying to drag us into violence," said Sheik Ali Salman, the leader of the largest Shia party, al-Wifaq, whose 18 MPs have resigned in protest from the 40-seat parliament to deepen the political crisis.
Egypt
I have mixed feelings about today’s demonstration and I am not at all sure that anyone can distinguish the main feelings of the people. There is certainly a massive turnout of close to a million people.
On one hand the military are said to be handing out Egyptian flags to the people; on the other hand the military have blocked an important route into the Square and they are putting a stamp of control on the proceedings by demanding ID from everyone seeking to join the demonstration.
Some are protecting a small pro-Mabarak demonstration within the large one
Jack Shenker of the Guardian reported on a speech made by Yusuf al-Qaradawi, head of the Muslim Brotherhood. The leader praised the role of the Coptic Christians and Muslims as they worked together and protected each other in the revolution in Egypt.
Iran
True information is very difficult to ascertain about Iran, mostly because international news agencies are not allowed to speak to the opposing forces there. Unfortunately I also find it hard to trust Western sources because the powers behind these groups definitely would like to see the downfall of this country. Poor as it may be this is my take on the situation there.
I am certain, that the USA and UK will be very happy to support any insurgency in the country. The State Department has openly said that it
"recognises historic role of social media among Iranians We want to join in your conversations."
Twitter feeds began on Sunday with US officials accusing Iran of double standards by supporting the anti-government revolt in Egypt on one hand but suppressing anti-government demonstrations in Iran on the other.
The State Department said in another tweet, "Iran has shown that the activities it praised Egyptians for it sees as illegal, illegitimate for its own people."
In a third tweet, it said "US calls on #Iran to allow people to enjoy same universal rights to peacefully assemble, demonstrate as in Cairo."
On the other hand these reports from Iran are very worrying,
“Thousands of government supporters called for the execution of opposition leaders at Friday prayers in Tehran this morning, the Associated Press reports.
Hardline cleric, Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati said during the Friday prayers that the opposition leaders have lost their reputation among people and are practically "dead and executed," while worshippers chanted for their actual executions.
Janati proposed more restrictions on Mir Hossein Mousavi on Mahdi Karroubi, opposition leaders who are under house arrest, but still managed to organise the largest opposition protest in more than a year on Monday.
"Their communications with people should (be) completely cut. They should not be able to receive and send message. Their phone lines and internet should be cut. They should be prisoners in their home," he said.
Iran's Opposition Leaders are Missing
Since anti-government protests swept Iran on Monday, the government has not-so-quietly moving to get rid of its detractors, the New York Times reports. Iranian opposition leader Mir Hussein Moussavi hasn't been seen since Tuesday, his daughters told an anti-government website yesterday, and sources report that the home of opposition leader Mehdi Karroubi's son was raided this week. On Tuesday, lawmakers took to parliament to call for their prosecution—according to the Times, both men have been "accused repeatedly of waging war against God," a sentence that carries the death penalty—and later today, pro-government forces are slated to hold a rally to express their "hatred, rage and disgust" for the opposition movement.
The opposition demonstrations on Monday aimed at showing solidarity with Egypt's uprising, but turned into a major opposition rally. Two people were killed in clashes with police.
Mousavi and Karroubi are leaders of a protest movement that grew after the disputed re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in June 2009. Hundreds of thousands of protesters poured into the streets then calling the results fraudulent. Opposition says scores were killed after the massive government crackdown and both international and local media were banned from freely covering the mass protests. Following this, dozens of opposition members and activist were sentenced to prison terms from six months to 15 years in the crackdown.
I suspect that the Iranian Government was forced to ‘celebrate’ the Egyptian uprising as a subterfuge to disguise what was in effect a protest against themselves. This is pure speculation on my part. The calls for death and harsh treatment of the opposition is not a popular movement but a government worried about revolution coming its way.
The Iranian Government may have support of many people but any Government which fails to recognize the power of those same people to seek change will find that the clock is ticking for them too.
Still to come my blogs on Iraq Jordan Libya Syria and Yemen
Sunday 13 February 2011
Bliar on BBC
Bliar on BBC
I watched in horror this morning as the BBC once more gave legitimacy to one of the greatest criminals the Uk has ever had as a Prime Minister. I did not see the whole interview but I am guessing that there were no questions about the lies he told to take us into a war in Iraq. I am guessing he was never challenged about his role in the complete destruction of Iraq. I am guessing that he was never asked why there was no condemnation of Israel during his leadership of this country. I am guessing he was not asked why there was no enquiry into the 7/7 bombs in London.
Instead, I watched as he was asked for his opinion about Egypt and other countries in the Middle East seeking freedom from their tyranny. It was interesting only in so far as his words will give us a preview of the soundbites we will be getting from our current government in the coming weeks.
Bliar was allowed to sidestep the question about his opinion about Israel’s behaviour in the settlements.
Bliar and the interviewer, Andrew Marr, shared a joke that‘Mubarak was a bastard but at least he was our bastard.’
Bliar was also allowed to evade commenting on that too.
In other words this was another wasted opportunity to take Bliar to task for his crimes.
The BBC carried out their role as the leading edge in government propaganda perfectly.
Just noticed that Jeremy Paxman is actually being taken to task by the BBC for an article where he openly acknowledged what every thinking person already knows that Bliar is a liar. No wonder the people of our country are being duped daily by the media.
Friday 11 February 2011
Congratulations Egypt
Congratulations Egypt
Through the media of cable tv and the internet, we have shared this wonderful experience with you.
I don’t know who your heroes are but you are all my heroes.
You showed unstoppable courage,
Single minded dedication to your purpose.
And you did it all with dignity and in peace.
You showed intelligence and integrity en masse.
I know this is the beginning of your journey but I am certain you have what it takes to show the world what DEMOCRACY really means.
Thursday 10 February 2011
Can we learn from Egypt and Tunisia
What would be a great government system to come out of these wonderful people-led revolutions in the Arab nations?
I hesitate to use the word democracy because I would see little to be gained from western style democracy replacing the western puppet dictators they are throwing out.
Today I am going to indulge in a flight of fantasy that may bear no relationship to the real world but then that is a pretty good description of my life anyway.
Let us start by imagining what a great government would be like. What ideals would we want to incorporate.
The system of elections would ensure that those with high ideals and integrity came into positions of power.
The power of big business and media would have to be answerable to the people. They would not be allowed to pull the strings of government the way they do in the West.
Because the leaders are the embodiment of high ideals, they would certainly be open to the needs and wants of the people. I think truly great leaders also guide those wants and needs so that our humanity is raised and not abased.
Every person of intelligence should have a say in creating the government of their choice.
The government in power would ensure that all in the country were treated fairly and the weak are taken care of.
The justice system is free and impartial.
The laws are simple and apply to all.
The political institution would reflect the diversity of the country that it represents.
Positions of power in the government would go to those with the best credentials and knowledge for the job.
There would be regular elections and a mechanism for the removal of any government that does not live up to its promise.
I hesitate to use the word democracy because I would see little to be gained from western style democracy replacing the western puppet dictators they are throwing out.
Today I am going to indulge in a flight of fantasy that may bear no relationship to the real world but then that is a pretty good description of my life anyway.
Let us start by imagining what a great government would be like. What ideals would we want to incorporate.
The system of elections would ensure that those with high ideals and integrity came into positions of power.
The power of big business and media would have to be answerable to the people. They would not be allowed to pull the strings of government the way they do in the West.
Because the leaders are the embodiment of high ideals, they would certainly be open to the needs and wants of the people. I think truly great leaders also guide those wants and needs so that our humanity is raised and not abased.
Every person of intelligence should have a say in creating the government of their choice.
The government in power would ensure that all in the country were treated fairly and the weak are taken care of.
The justice system is free and impartial.
The laws are simple and apply to all.
The political institution would reflect the diversity of the country that it represents.
Positions of power in the government would go to those with the best credentials and knowledge for the job.
There would be regular elections and a mechanism for the removal of any government that does not live up to its promise.
Tuesday 8 February 2011
Reflexology
I had a fantastic reflexology session today. This is the first time I have had this and I was amazed at how effective it was. In fact I am sitting here tonight still totally chilled. I broke my wrist at the end of the year and my friend offered a free session to help it recover.
If you are wondering whether to give some complementary therapy a go, I would say go for it. I felt absolutely pampered throughout and the treatment didn't only help my wrist, I felt other things going on as well. My big toe for example broken many years ago and completely unbendable, is bending. I didn't even think that was possible.
Try out the Paradise Clinic in Kemnay and I promise you wont regret it.
http://www.reflexologyandacupuncture.co.uk
I spent a lot of my life studying science; physics, maths, psychology etc so I have to wonder why compementary healing works often when our traditional medicine fails us.
Dr Bruce Lipton has a take on the problem,
http://www.brucelipton.com
He is a cell biologist who found that the standard view of our biology was missing some key factors. During many years of research he discovered that the cells of an organism respond to messages from the mind more readily than to their actual environment.
This is one explanation for the placebo effect but may also be a part of the story about reflexology, acapuncture, reike and even prayer and visualisation.
Personally, I think there is more going on and that we need to be looking at fields generated by the body to answer questions like this and the documented evidence of non physical communication and paranormal activities. Dr. Rupert Sheldrake has some interesting experiments on- line regarding what he calls morphic resonance. You can take part here.
http://www.sheldrake.org
If you are wondering whether to give some complementary therapy a go, I would say go for it. I felt absolutely pampered throughout and the treatment didn't only help my wrist, I felt other things going on as well. My big toe for example broken many years ago and completely unbendable, is bending. I didn't even think that was possible.
Try out the Paradise Clinic in Kemnay and I promise you wont regret it.
http://www.reflexologyandacupuncture.co.uk
I spent a lot of my life studying science; physics, maths, psychology etc so I have to wonder why compementary healing works often when our traditional medicine fails us.
Dr Bruce Lipton has a take on the problem,
http://www.brucelipton.com
He is a cell biologist who found that the standard view of our biology was missing some key factors. During many years of research he discovered that the cells of an organism respond to messages from the mind more readily than to their actual environment.
This is one explanation for the placebo effect but may also be a part of the story about reflexology, acapuncture, reike and even prayer and visualisation.
Personally, I think there is more going on and that we need to be looking at fields generated by the body to answer questions like this and the documented evidence of non physical communication and paranormal activities. Dr. Rupert Sheldrake has some interesting experiments on- line regarding what he calls morphic resonance. You can take part here.
http://www.sheldrake.org
Monday 7 February 2011
US warships go to Egypt
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/164038.html
The United States has sent warships and troops to Egypt.
The US military on board have been told they cannot contact anyone.
It looks therefore like they are ready to move soon.
What is this show of force there for?
Are they there as a threat to those hoping to change and create democratic govt in Egypt?
Are they there to warn those wanting to keep the dictator, Mubarak, and his entourage in power?
It is clear that the general opinion in the streets of Cairo is that people want rid of the US just as much as they want Mubarak and his cronies to go. They know perfectly well that the US have supported a corrupt government in Egypt financially. The US has reportedly given 1.3 billion dollars per annum in military aid. ie the US has supplied this dictator with the tanks and teargas now threatening protesters in the streets of the city.
Even greater sums in aid were given supposedly for education and to alleviate poverty. Sums that have most likely gone directly to line the dicators pockets.
It is obvious that the cash is a reward, paid to Mubarak, as long as he is willing to look after US and the West's interests in the Middle East regardless of poverty and suppression in the country.
It seems to me that the US arriving with a show of force in this situation could be construed as readiness to protect Western interests rather than support for a grass roots heartfelt revolution.
The only place I can find coverage of the arrival of warships is on Press TV. No other channel seems to find it news worthy that the greatest force in the world is showing up on the doorstep of a Middle East country in the throws of revolution.
Perhaps it is not surprising, then, that when Press TV went offline, I got very worried. There have already been leaks showing that certain members of our Government are looking for excuses to get Press TV off the air.
It is back on now thank goodness.
Egypt is in a very important place for the West and its corporate interest in the Middle East. It is obvious that whoever the Egyptian people choose to govern will not be supporters of the Israelis. That is very threatening to our corporate dictators in the west.
For many years now their puppet has ensured that the balance of power is firmly in Israeli hands.
The explosions of a pipeline to Jordan seems quite significant to me. Surely a threat to gas supply like this will be a cause for concern. The media is very quiet about it. Is that because it was a false flag operation in the hope that the cry of 'terrorism' would allow MUBARAK to put down the revolution with force?
I do not believe I will be able to sit back and watch our Govt destroy Egypt as it has destroyed Iraq. If 2 million did not stop Blair marching into Iraq in our name, How many of us will need to get out there demonstrating on behalf of Egypt?
I think the boil of corruption in the Middle is at a head and beginning to burst. Hope our students will be ready to mass for something a bit more important than there own self interest. If the arab nations can do something in the face of their suppression. Surely we can too.
The United States has sent warships and troops to Egypt.
The US military on board have been told they cannot contact anyone.
It looks therefore like they are ready to move soon.
What is this show of force there for?
Are they there as a threat to those hoping to change and create democratic govt in Egypt?
Are they there to warn those wanting to keep the dictator, Mubarak, and his entourage in power?
It is clear that the general opinion in the streets of Cairo is that people want rid of the US just as much as they want Mubarak and his cronies to go. They know perfectly well that the US have supported a corrupt government in Egypt financially. The US has reportedly given 1.3 billion dollars per annum in military aid. ie the US has supplied this dictator with the tanks and teargas now threatening protesters in the streets of the city.
Even greater sums in aid were given supposedly for education and to alleviate poverty. Sums that have most likely gone directly to line the dicators pockets.
It is obvious that the cash is a reward, paid to Mubarak, as long as he is willing to look after US and the West's interests in the Middle East regardless of poverty and suppression in the country.
It seems to me that the US arriving with a show of force in this situation could be construed as readiness to protect Western interests rather than support for a grass roots heartfelt revolution.
The only place I can find coverage of the arrival of warships is on Press TV. No other channel seems to find it news worthy that the greatest force in the world is showing up on the doorstep of a Middle East country in the throws of revolution.
Perhaps it is not surprising, then, that when Press TV went offline, I got very worried. There have already been leaks showing that certain members of our Government are looking for excuses to get Press TV off the air.
It is back on now thank goodness.
Egypt is in a very important place for the West and its corporate interest in the Middle East. It is obvious that whoever the Egyptian people choose to govern will not be supporters of the Israelis. That is very threatening to our corporate dictators in the west.
For many years now their puppet has ensured that the balance of power is firmly in Israeli hands.
The explosions of a pipeline to Jordan seems quite significant to me. Surely a threat to gas supply like this will be a cause for concern. The media is very quiet about it. Is that because it was a false flag operation in the hope that the cry of 'terrorism' would allow MUBARAK to put down the revolution with force?
I do not believe I will be able to sit back and watch our Govt destroy Egypt as it has destroyed Iraq. If 2 million did not stop Blair marching into Iraq in our name, How many of us will need to get out there demonstrating on behalf of Egypt?
I think the boil of corruption in the Middle is at a head and beginning to burst. Hope our students will be ready to mass for something a bit more important than there own self interest. If the arab nations can do something in the face of their suppression. Surely we can too.
Monday 31 January 2011
BBC 4 Storyville
Against my better instincts I decided to watch a BBC documentary on a subject I want to know a lot more about. The effect of our CO2 emmissions on the environment.
Why did I bother? I ended up watching to the end just to see if there would be a glimmer of fair debate in the whole programme. There wasn't.
While slating Lord Christopher Monckton for a lack of scientific knowledge, filmmaker Rupert Murray blithely creates a documentary that manages to avoid any science at all.
There is a lot of emotional blackmail with film of various weather related drama around the World.
More emotional blackmail showing that some people who are old and some who are very right wing in America greet the sceptics warmly.
A LOT of content following the lord around doing stuff. OK he is quite a nice eccentric. If this was a program about his eccentricity, I would know not to watch it because that would bore me. The first 10 minutes was all this and it was terrible. Even if it had been about an eccentric, this was badly done.
How can anyone get PAID for producing something this bad? How does it get through the program planners out on to our sets? How much did he get in expenses, considering visits to Ausralia, America Scotland and probably other places.
BBC, you advertised a program about environmental scepticism. That was fraudulent.
When will the BBC start producing programs that search out the truth instead of programs that propogate the Government's line on issues?
Why did I bother? I ended up watching to the end just to see if there would be a glimmer of fair debate in the whole programme. There wasn't.
While slating Lord Christopher Monckton for a lack of scientific knowledge, filmmaker Rupert Murray blithely creates a documentary that manages to avoid any science at all.
There is a lot of emotional blackmail with film of various weather related drama around the World.
More emotional blackmail showing that some people who are old and some who are very right wing in America greet the sceptics warmly.
A LOT of content following the lord around doing stuff. OK he is quite a nice eccentric. If this was a program about his eccentricity, I would know not to watch it because that would bore me. The first 10 minutes was all this and it was terrible. Even if it had been about an eccentric, this was badly done.
How can anyone get PAID for producing something this bad? How does it get through the program planners out on to our sets? How much did he get in expenses, considering visits to Ausralia, America Scotland and probably other places.
BBC, you advertised a program about environmental scepticism. That was fraudulent.
When will the BBC start producing programs that search out the truth instead of programs that propogate the Government's line on issues?
Friday 28 January 2011
the New American Century movie
http://www.documentarywire.com/the-new-american-century/#
I am not a historian so I do not know how good this guy's credentials are but just going by the factual stuff in the movie, America has a lot to answer for.
Sadly, we as scots are complicit unless we spend every waking moment fighting our own Govt for their complicity in these events.
Most of us know that the terrorists of 9/11 came from much nearer home than Bin Laden and his mates. Why do we let the US Govt get away with their outrageous lies about it?
Why has there never been an enquiry into our own possible false flag op on 7/7?
What happened to the trillion US dollars that went missing?
Why was Haliburton allowed to rip off the US people as it did and continues to do?
Since when do Western military forces go into a country and completely destroy its infrastructure and its history?
My conclusion is that there is a force behind our Governments that has no conscience and which no moral or ethical arguments can influence.
Take a look at the programmes that most of our population sit and watch every day on TV. If it isn't reality TV, its supersoft comedy; Soaps or war movies, Vampires or the latest drama in the life of someone famous for making a lot of money.
I have nothing against tired people putting their feet up and switching off for an hour or two before bed. However, I do believe that our ignorance of the shenanegans of our government will one day result in us waking up to find we now inhabit the nightmare that our armies are causing others in our name today.
I am not a historian so I do not know how good this guy's credentials are but just going by the factual stuff in the movie, America has a lot to answer for.
Sadly, we as scots are complicit unless we spend every waking moment fighting our own Govt for their complicity in these events.
Most of us know that the terrorists of 9/11 came from much nearer home than Bin Laden and his mates. Why do we let the US Govt get away with their outrageous lies about it?
Why has there never been an enquiry into our own possible false flag op on 7/7?
What happened to the trillion US dollars that went missing?
Why was Haliburton allowed to rip off the US people as it did and continues to do?
Since when do Western military forces go into a country and completely destroy its infrastructure and its history?
My conclusion is that there is a force behind our Governments that has no conscience and which no moral or ethical arguments can influence.
Take a look at the programmes that most of our population sit and watch every day on TV. If it isn't reality TV, its supersoft comedy; Soaps or war movies, Vampires or the latest drama in the life of someone famous for making a lot of money.
I have nothing against tired people putting their feet up and switching off for an hour or two before bed. However, I do believe that our ignorance of the shenanegans of our government will one day result in us waking up to find we now inhabit the nightmare that our armies are causing others in our name today.
Monday 24 January 2011
Who controls 'the news'?.
What happened on Friday at the Chilcott enquiry? I have heard very little about Blair's most recent performance except that he is still making aggressive comments towards Iran.
Speaking of which, why have the BBC and ITN been attacking Press TV recently?
Press TV is funded by the Iranian Government and you might expect it to be like the old style flag waving tool of Government. It is actually not this at all. It may be a more subtle tool, but it gives very fair reports, careful to bring in a wide selection of experts, different viewpoints and a historical perspective to its articles.
I find it much less biassed and far more informative than our own homegrown news. I especially enjoy Comment on a Thursday at 7pm, The Agenda, and the Epilogue.
There is so much going on in the World at the moment, yet our news grows more and more like the kids programme, Newsround.
When I was a child, we were always told that we had a news service to be proud of. I have not felt proud of it for many years. There is a terrible bias towards the USA and a tendency to ignore anything that might cause the general public to question our governments behaviour abroad.
I really do not know who is sabotaging our news. I do not think it can simply be that we are not producing the same calibre of reporters. The news channels of Al Jazeera and Press find their reporters from the same batch and they do a brilliant job.
I have to assume that someone is pressurising the big Brittish networks. I know channel 4 showed a stunning eye-opening programme a while back that showed the influence of Isreali groups in ensuring they did not suffer from accurate reporting of events. This explained a lot about the content of the programmes but not why our government would allow such behaviour.
I havent seen the new newspaper the i yet but I really do hope it lives up to its hype.
Speaking of which, why have the BBC and ITN been attacking Press TV recently?
Press TV is funded by the Iranian Government and you might expect it to be like the old style flag waving tool of Government. It is actually not this at all. It may be a more subtle tool, but it gives very fair reports, careful to bring in a wide selection of experts, different viewpoints and a historical perspective to its articles.
I find it much less biassed and far more informative than our own homegrown news. I especially enjoy Comment on a Thursday at 7pm, The Agenda, and the Epilogue.
There is so much going on in the World at the moment, yet our news grows more and more like the kids programme, Newsround.
When I was a child, we were always told that we had a news service to be proud of. I have not felt proud of it for many years. There is a terrible bias towards the USA and a tendency to ignore anything that might cause the general public to question our governments behaviour abroad.
I really do not know who is sabotaging our news. I do not think it can simply be that we are not producing the same calibre of reporters. The news channels of Al Jazeera and Press find their reporters from the same batch and they do a brilliant job.
I have to assume that someone is pressurising the big Brittish networks. I know channel 4 showed a stunning eye-opening programme a while back that showed the influence of Isreali groups in ensuring they did not suffer from accurate reporting of events. This explained a lot about the content of the programmes but not why our government would allow such behaviour.
I havent seen the new newspaper the i yet but I really do hope it lives up to its hype.
The enneagram
I have been hearing good stuff about this enneagram for a few months but wasn't that impressed with an online test I took. I never did believe that human beings could or should be pigeon-holed. I suspect that if you can find 6 or 7 traits you could just as easily find a million or two.
Just spent tonight taking various enneagram tests and I have to admit the accuracy of the predictions made has been mind-blowing.
Best of all, it gives very simple tips on overcoming problems.
I am a Type 5 or Investigator. this means that at my best I am perceptive, cerebral, alert and curious about the world. I need to be knowledgable and independent to be happy. I also need a peaceful, easygoing environment. All true.
The unhealthy aspects involve becoming detached from the real world and retreating into the perceived safety of my own thoughts. Quite a timely warning as I have been out of work due to a fractured wrist and I do not relish going back into the world again.
If interested, I think this test is excellent,
http://www.similarminds.com/test.html
Just spent tonight taking various enneagram tests and I have to admit the accuracy of the predictions made has been mind-blowing.
Best of all, it gives very simple tips on overcoming problems.
I am a Type 5 or Investigator. this means that at my best I am perceptive, cerebral, alert and curious about the world. I need to be knowledgable and independent to be happy. I also need a peaceful, easygoing environment. All true.
The unhealthy aspects involve becoming detached from the real world and retreating into the perceived safety of my own thoughts. Quite a timely warning as I have been out of work due to a fractured wrist and I do not relish going back into the world again.
If interested, I think this test is excellent,
http://www.similarminds.com/test.html
Friday 21 January 2011
It is long past time for all who value the freedom our parents fought a terrible war for to get serious.
It has come to a very sorry place when a tv channel funded by a totalitarian state like Iran gives us better, fairer and more in depth news on key issues than our home channels.
ITN etc still claim their worth in their own write-ups but anyone surfing the net or even the channels available on cable soon realize that we are being duped.
It is very worrying to see trusted news readers subtly turning viewers agains the muslim world.
It makes me very angry when Israeli actions receive little or no condemnation in our revered newsrooms.
Where are the investigations by our press into the lies told about the attacks on America on 9.11 or on London in 7.7.?
Where the fair and highly moral reports on events around the world we used to be so proud of.
The other day my sister said that Americans get no news from around the world at all. The sad truth is that neither do the Scots any more unless they actively search it out for themselves.
It has come to a very sorry place when a tv channel funded by a totalitarian state like Iran gives us better, fairer and more in depth news on key issues than our home channels.
ITN etc still claim their worth in their own write-ups but anyone surfing the net or even the channels available on cable soon realize that we are being duped.
It is very worrying to see trusted news readers subtly turning viewers agains the muslim world.
It makes me very angry when Israeli actions receive little or no condemnation in our revered newsrooms.
Where are the investigations by our press into the lies told about the attacks on America on 9.11 or on London in 7.7.?
Where the fair and highly moral reports on events around the world we used to be so proud of.
The other day my sister said that Americans get no news from around the world at all. The sad truth is that neither do the Scots any more unless they actively search it out for themselves.
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