We need to do better - striking because times are hard is counterproductive

I was talking to my mum today about the shameful price of public transport versus using your car. It costs more to get a bus pass than it does to use your car. But the most shameful thing is train tickets. I ordered a train ticket from Leeds to London - three weeks in advance, off peak (leaving at 15:00 and returning at 21:30). Guess how much? £132. For that money I could have gone to Europe to rhaatid.

I also checked out a ticket to Bolton. Journey takes 1hr and a half hours, a half hour longer than the London trip. Price?£11. It's about demand which should play some part in pricing but not in something so important to the environment for goodness' sake! Mum said we should protest and boycott the trains until the prices are reasonable.

I agree. But I can't see the British public doing any such thing. We've reached a level of comfort that we can't be bothered. Trouble is the way things are going I think the pain will reach the point that there will be a great deal of civil unrest soon unless the powers that be step up to the plate. The fact that banks etc. STILL gave out bonuses for 2008 though and the fact the govt. won't force the banks to behave makes me pessimistic. More and more stories in the press are speaking about the fact that our population is under skilled and has serious social problems - there's a fatal sickness in our culture and if it isn't fixed we won't be able to compete with the rest of the world. I mean look at those idiots WITH JOBS striking over the Italian workers. It is an embarrassment. A tender was issued and the business was duly and fairly won by this company. They (like us) are part of the EU and so there's no problem with Italian and Portuguese workers doing what they're were contracted to. It is a shame that we are in a recession and jobs are scarce but these companies haven't taken jobs away from any British person - it's just how things go sometimes. But instead of looking for fairly won work of their own, British idiots seem to think they are entitled to work fairly won by others just because they are British and the work is being done here. They cannot grasp the concept of a global economy. I mean they can go to Italy and work too if they like and there are jobs. (But this would probably mean learning another language, not something our lot are keen on eh? I mean the rest of the world should bloody well learn English right?) But they lack the intelligence and the knowledge about basic business and our membership of the EU to process this information. We are sorely paying the price for encouraging our people to be ignorant and stupid (i.e unable to reason and think things out). If this isn't fixed quickly the UK will not even be what someone I know calls 'a third world country with a strong currency' - because the currency is screwed, we will be a third world country period.

Come on people - up your game. Give Big Brother a miss and pick up a newspaper, talk to some people, google a few current affairs that affect you and most importantly, haul your ass out of bed on election day and vote - either for someone you admire or against someone you don't.

We can do so much better than this. We must.

White Working Class - Victims or Not?

Check out this interesting article in today's Independent by Yasmin Alibhai-Brown: http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/yasmin-alibhai-brown/yasmin-alibhaibrown-spare-me-the-tears-over-the-white-working-class-1225824.html.

She makes an interesting point, namely that the apologists who believe that the white working class are a) all important and b) should be indulged in their racism should quit.

She's right that not only white working class should be considered working class.

My own opinion is this - shouldn't the label 'working class' be dispensed with? Those of us who don't come under what this label really means do work and many who come under the label don't and don't want to.

In the past there was a clear divide between people who had to work for a living and those who didn't and there was animosity on both sides. This is not the case now. Sadly, working class now means, white, uneducated, base, lazy and criminal both here and in the States.

As this type of person is who is referred to when using the term I agree with the writer. From my observations, reading and the observations of others who are in the position to know, people of this ilk generally have themselves to call to account for their perceived lowly position. They often apparently fail to see that behaving in the extremely anti-social way they often do is what keeps them on the fringe - not the sweat, brain power and effort of someone who strives to support themselves and improve their family's lot.

Funny thing is, there are many poor uneducated people in Jamaica who don't behave like white working class. Poverty and lack of education should not mean baseness and an unwillingness to better yourself. You know what I think the defining difference here is? In the white western word of the UK and the US there is easily available (at least in the UK's case) free money - often with few or no strings attached. It is acceptable to live indoors and to eat without earning the right to by working. In Jamaica if you don't earn money to support yourself you're on your own mate.

A lesson to be learned here I think. Many have cried down the government's and Iain Duncan Smith's proposals to drastically cut back on benefits and only provide them for people who really need them and not to provide them indefinitely and without conditions but they shouldn't. We are all better off when people have pride in themselves and can see the fruits of their efforts.

There's so much help available for those who won't work while those who do can get no assistance (practically all government economic assistance in these harsh times is for those on benefits).

If working class means what I outlined above no-one should be proud of being so. We should all aspire to at least wanting and actively seeking to support ourselves and out families.

'low the shopping people

We all know that we are in a recession right? We also all know it's quite likely that a lot of companies have waited to lay people off until the New Year which is in a few days' time right? Why then are people lining up in the early hours of the morning to plonk down their hard earned for handbags and jumping plastic robots? I keep seeing people on TV pushing and shoving in post Christmas sales to buy stuff. Unless these people are independently wealthy that doesn't seem smart at all.

This type of behaviour just encourages the government to indulge in useless activities (like lowering VAT by 2.5%) that they think will stimulate the economy. People are losing jobs ergo they are losing their ability to pay for things. There are also now fewer jobs out there. Surely, some mechanisms that protect jobs and protect the payments people have to make will be more useful that making it easier to buy stuff?!!!

How about forcing the banks to pass on the interest rate drops? Some are waiting up to 2 months to pass them on and some won't pass them on at all.

How about making the power companies pass on the drop in oil prices?

How about making mortgage companies work out sensible deals with customers in financial difficulty so that they can pay what they can instead of re-possessing houses they will not be able to sell?

Any by 'making I mean legally forcing them to. This method whereby the British government hopes that the banking industry will do the right thing has been proved to be wrong - they aren't and I believe they won't. It's time to give the ordinary person a bailout now and stop coddling those who don't have any morals.

Shameful

I haven't blogged for ages and it is shameful. But I hope to be back. Been too busy with writing assignments - which is a god thing. Folks, keep praying for President elect Obama. Pray that:

his relationship with God remains strong
no-one shoots him or his family
he does an excellent job for his people
his relationship with his wife is protected
his relationship with his kids is protected

Peace.

Praying for the best

We’re approaching the end now. Polls keep saying the gap between McCain and Obama has tightened. I fervently hope that in spite of all the factors raised that on Tuesday the right man will win. Right in the sense that the one who is better able to lead the US and therefore by extension influence the world – for the better. Here’s praying that this is what happens.

The Evil Nature of the World's Thieving Wealthy

Today the BBC online posted a story in which the Archbishops of Canterbury and York spoke out abut the greed of the city. They made an interesting point that ‘The US Treasury has proposed a fund worth up to $700bn (£382bn) to buy back much of the bad debt held by banks and other financial institutions.’ Dr. Sentamu the Archbishop of York noted that ‘"One of the ironies about this financial crisis is that it makes action on poverty look utterly achievable. It would cost $5bn to save six million children's lives.

The story went on to state:

"World leaders could find 140 times that amount for the banking system in a week. How can they tell us that action for the poorest is too expensive?"

This stinks! People, we are all going to be held accountable for our actions. Imagine – there is no real practical reason why anyone should be going hungry or without water. There are more than enough resources to go around. But in spite of this fact those that have the most just don’t want to share with those that have the least. And I’m not talking about handouts either. I’m talking about using money to put in place a fair and equitable system whereby those who’s labour and resources have been pillaged over the centuries are able to conduct their affairs in a free market in addition to real and immediate help being given on the spot to those who need it until they can catch up. But this isn’t done. Money, it seems, can always be found for things people want to spend it on. When it comes down to it, the wealthy nations just don’t want to spend it on their fellow man.

Sickening.

Why is the Gap so Small?

You have to ask yourself the question: Why, if the majority of Americans feel that the Republicans have made such a pig's dinner of things - is there such a small gap between the candidates when it comes to points?

A poll in today's issue of USA Today has the sad answer. It says that what it calls 'deep rooted racial issues' could cause the Democrats to lose the White House. What they mean is so many people in the US are so racist that they would rather vote for their ideological enemy than for a black man who agrees with them on almost all the important issues.

That this is the case has been proven on many occasions sadly - many so-called democrats have freely said that if Obama won the primaries they would vote for McCain. Be honest. How many times in past elections have you heard democrats say they would rather vote for the republican candidate - even if they aren't particularly happy with their own?

This is disgusting and anyone who says that racism isn't so bad now is a moron. If racism wins and we end up with McCain in the White House (and Palin God help us) the world is screwed. Anyone with a brain can see that. Racist have made millions suffer for centuries. Are they going to continue to make the world suffer just because they are mad enough to determine that our future and the future of our kids should be decided not by policy positions but by an imagined negative connotation they have attached to black skin?

Time will tell.

Stewards are Wrong

The stewards are wrong. Lewis Hamilton followed the rules on Sunday. He let Kimi take the lead after he went off the edge and then using skill regained that lead. Why on earth should he therefore be penalised?

Even Ferrari agrees. Let's hope the appeal goes through in his favour - but it's a shame to have it hanging over his head. I hear the appeal may not be heard for a month - meanwhile there are other races. Well it's not like Lewis to be distracted by this kind of thing - he had to deal with worse with the *****bwoy Alonzo.

Here's a story on the penalty issue. What do you think? http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2008/sep/08/formulaone.lewishamilton

Big Up Jamaica!

First Usain and then the ladies today - what a triumph!

A word of condolence for my brethern and sistren in the States. I understand that the 100 m men's final was not shown live in the States. The US coverage of the Olympics is disgusting! I was in the States during the Atlanta Olympics and you couldn't see any part of the winner unless they were American. I imagine that once Tyson was out of the final they decided it wasn't worth showing. How ridiculous! People interested in sport want to see great performances no matter what country they come from.

But like I said at the beginning, big respect to Jamaica and many congrats to the ladies and Usain. Asafa - come again and re-group, and dust them later. Keep you spirits up.

RIP Bernie Mac

Really sorry to hear that Bernie Mac and Isaac Hayes have died. Bernie Mac in particular shocked me. He was so young and I loved his comedy. That man was really funny - swore too much but was really funny.

Rest in peace both of you.

Bigging Up Caribbean Teachers

Check out this story on Dr. Carolyn Cooper.

http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20080804/flair/flair1.html

She was one of my lecturers when I did my BA in Literature at UWI Mona campus in the early 90s. She was (and probably is) one of the nicest and best teachers I have had. Her classes were fun bwoy! And often quite rude (benz bonnet as a phallic symbol – anyone remember that one?) And she used to host the best parties at her house in college commons – good food, good music and some interesting art. But apart from that I learned a lot in her classes. I learned the importance of observation – on many levels and the importance of bigging up yourself as a dark skinned, afro centric looking woman. That was and is important.

There were other fantastic teachers at UWI, Professor Baugh, Dr (now Prof Chang), and Mr. Smith, my Shakespeare lecturer. Now he was something else. He (and the others mentioned here) truly educated me in that they taught me to think and to appreciate the finer things in life and to consider the human experience. They made it clear that my education was an edifying experience, not a few years during which I could cram in as much information so that I could pass a few exams. I’m reminded of one of Prof’s (Professor Rex Nettleford’s) comments to Mr. Noel Dexter (who was the musical director of the University Singers when I was with them). He said, it that wonderful accent of his, ‘but Mr. Dexter, a butu is a boogooyagga!’;. Hilarious. But I recall that to say that the education I got at UWI ensured that neither butu nor boogooyagga was the result of my time there but a woman with an appreciation for people, literature, science and the arts and an appreciation for the efforts of educators like those mentioned here and elsewhere was the result. Some used to say when you said you were reading for a degree in Literature ‘den lawd missis, yu ah go dead fi hungry!’ but I’ve done alright on the salary front and I don’t regret the lit degree at all. I learned a lot and was privileged to be around some Caribbean giants. You can’t put a price on that.

Private Practice

Been getting into Private Practice – the spin-off from Grey’s Anatomy by Shondra Rhimes. It’s really good – in fact for the more mature viewer it is better that Grey’s – much less soap and more storytelling. Check it out if you haven’t already.

Think before you make decisions on your children’s behalf

Just saw a documentary on channel 4 on the vaccine for cervical cancer. It has been tested for five years and this year will be given to 12 year olds I believe followed by all girls between 12 and 18. The documentary was pretty well rounded – asking pertinent questions about cost, etc. but what shocked the living daylights out of me was the incredibly stupid response of two Catholic mothers and a Muslim father. The father said he wouldn’t give his daughters the vaccine because it would encourage them to be promiscuous. The mothers said basically the same crap. But one of the mothers added the gem that she didn’t think it was appropriate to discuss STDs with her 12 year old daughter.

What a load of rubbish! Fist of all, do you really think a young person considers the possibility of getting cervical cancer when they decide to have sex or not? I am a Christian and this point of view mystifies me. Christians (and I would imagine Muslims too) work hard to instil their respective values into their kids which means no sex outside of marriage. This should be the major focus of teaching which you would imagine would have greater sway than the removal of the possibility of getting some strains of cervical cancer. And as for the mothers – a young girl of 12 should have had the facts of life explained to her by then – it is possible to begin menstruating at 10. There is no reason why STDs shouldn’t be explained to a 12 year old girl. These people are remiss and seemingly don’t have much faith in heir faiths if they think that being told about cervical cancer and how it comes about is gong to override years of upbringing and make their kids jump into bend with any and anyone.

It’s a crying shame parents who claim to have faith can’t do a whole lot better than this.

Giving kids the facts – and making sure the facts are age appropriate – helps equip kids for life. And by facts I don’t just mean he mechanics of sex, I mean the spiritual, emotional and health aspects. So many Christian parents forget, or weren’t told of all of these aspects. God is God and in charge of all things including sex; better you explain it to your kids within these parameters than leave it up to the devil to explain it – in practical and often tragic circumstances.

As to whether or not to give your daughter the vaccine? Get as much information you can and then make an informed decision. The programme mentioned the thousands of idiotic parents who didn’t give their kids their MMR vaccine because that doctor said there was a link with autism. What makes people arbitrarily believe one doctor without checking the facts and then put their kid at risk for measles? Some of the parents on the cervical vaccine programme were talking in the same way. If an expert makes a comment like this, check it out, get it corroborated, get background on that person and then weigh up all the facts and then make a decision. Damn, for all the free education available in the so called developed world there sure are a lot of dumb people – scary thing is they are reproducing.

Hamilton Mash Up Di Place!

Did y’all see how mi bwoy Hamilton jus coof Massa outa di way – twice? This man has balls the size of footballs and can he drive. Can’t wait to see the next race.

The Dearth of Black People on UK TV

I tend to do a sweep of the UK papers online and I caught sight of a headline that said that black people and Asians say that UK TV is too white. Now that headline was in a racist paper – the Mirror but the headline has a point.

Do you know that on sketch comedy shows in the UK, when they want to depict a black celebrity a white person puts on black face – because there are no black people in their casts. This is 2008. Now the US is racist but this would never happen.

It’s true that in most UK TV programme the cast is either totally or nearly totally white. There has been an unhealthy tradition of having black people segregated in shows with just black people in them. It’s sad. Look at Law and Order – sometimes there are three black people in one scene (the Lieutenant, Green and that chick who always brings the messages in though she may be Latino). This would be unheard of in the UK.

I notice a lot of black British actors flash to the states for work (Idris Elba, that guy off of Hustle who was in Primary Colors). Will things change here? Not unless the same thing that made things change in the States happen – i.e. heavy lobbying and a refusal to accept the status quo. Learning from past behaviour in the UK I don’t hold out much hope.

Time for a Change

Well Dr. Phillips has declared his intention to run for the PNP leadership. I never thought I’d say this but good luck to him. I am bitterly disappointed with Portia. I had such hopes for her when she became the leader of the PNP but she messed it up big time. It’s not helpful to the country or the sisterhood that she hasn’t done well for the country and by extension for herself. Here’s hoping Peter Philips can do better.

I Want to be High! (I Want Drugs During Labour)

I read today about some mad women who want to have their kids at home with (get this) NO midwife and NO doctor - just their husbands. Dem mad to rhaatid! I and I want nuff nuff drugs.

Why on earth if pain relief is available , would you NOT take it? There's a documentary on TV about these women. I wait to see if any of them bawl for drugs half way through.

Madness.

What dem waiting fah???

My Goodness - what are the regional leaders waiting for to publicly and private denounce Mugabe and run him out of office?

I know that half of them are probably no better than him and are probably defending their own right to tief elections but lawd man. Full time the see how bad things have got and take action. I wait with baited breath to see what happens. The Kenyan leader has spoken up but - well - nuff said eh?

Here's a link to a good story on he pitfalls of modern parenting and the dangerous tendency to make he kids the centre of attention. http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/families/article4212440.ece

A Black Prime Minister?

Checkout this story in today’s Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/jun/19/race.uselections2008

The commentator asks if it’s possible for there to be a British Prime Minister in the near future. They pose some interesting questions. The funny thing is – it’s always been said that the US is more racist than the UK. It may have been in the past but this can’t be the case now. Black people in the US have real chances to better themselves and to take influential positions – through the political process and through wealth generation. That isn’t the case here. Some of that though is to do with the way things work here politically too – I mean where’s the space in our political system for an equivalent to the Black caucus in the States? Black people in the UK haven’t and don’t band together for our common good. Most home grown Black Brits seem (to me) to be eager to fade into the background. They seem embarrassed when issues of race are discussed. But they should be discussed. You can’t tell me that the US isn’t a better place for people like Oprah, the Johnsons (OK, OK BET sucks but they did start a viable business), the other Johnsons (Ebony), Magic (plenty Johnsons eeeh?) and of course Obama – and many others. Creating a society where all people are able to reach for the skies makes things better for all.

I’m not saying it can’t be done here but from my experience it is incredibly hard. There’s an unspoken and deeply held belief amongst many white people I have encountered – that black people are less competent and no matter how much you prove otherwise they just won’t see it. I’ve worked with people for several month, and years and they will still ask me questions that show they think I am a moron. This is troubling because it means you can’t appeal to these people with reason and if you can’t do that it doesn’t leave many options. Which is why many of us have given up and resort to legal measures, where in the past we would have let things slide. But then isn’t that what happened in the States in the 60s which is why black people there have better chances. Maybe the UK is just many years behind in this area. Heck , it’s behind in so many others (just instituted chip and pin so you can use your debit card in a shop a few years ago; live liver transplants available for 15 years, first one done on the NHS last year – there are many examples).

Full Time We Run Out Mugabe

Saw a story on www.thefirstpost.com today here's the link. http://www.thefirstpost.co.uk/42894,opinion,zimbabwe-its-time-for-the-west-to-go-in.

I agree with the sentiment that the time has long passed for taking drastic measures. We must go in and forcibly remove Mugabe or things will get worse. Can you imagine it worse in Zimbabwe? I thought it was as bad as it can get. No. He must go. But it won't be easy. It must be done in such a way that we don't swap black dog for monkey i.e. after you remove him the only likely replacement is the MDC. This is fine for the time being but they can't stay in power with no viable opposition and Zanu-PF isn't a viable opposition.

Be that as it may - my point still stands - he must be removed.


On a lighter note here's a story on Grace Jones - apparently still going strong. http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/grace-jones-still-a-slave-to-the-rhythm-849054.html

The 9 Most Racist Disney Characters

Check out this article by Ben Joseph that someone sent me the link for. Thought provoking and funny in the way it is written. http://www.cracked.com/article_15833_9-most-racist-disney-characters.html

Mugabe Must Go!

It's time for desperate measures. The international community must now throw caution to the winds and descend upon Zimbabwe and forcefuly remove Mugabe. And by international community I mean an African international community. It is important that no white western countries are involved as this will just smack of colnialism and will give Mugabe and his supporters fire to mount a come-back.

The African comunity has been pitiful and criminal in their willingness to let Mugabe continue. There is no reason why they cannot remember and respect his freedom fighting past without condemning present tyrannical and evil actions on his part. They must see sense. Their own people are suffering. Is Mugabe's freedom fighting past more important that the well being of his countrymen? Hell no! Time to stop the foolishness man!

Improving the Skills of the British.

In a recent documentary about immigration, Rageh Omar came to the conclusion that what British people need to be concerned with is not the influx of foreigners, but the increasing inability of British people to complete in the global marketplace.

Many Brits still bring up the old complaint – foreigners are coming over here to steal our jobs and take our benefits. Trouble is they aren’t. Foreigners are often extremely well educated, well trained, have a lot of experience, a good work ethic and are intelligent and know how to solve problems.

On the other hand British workers – especially the ones we are churning out of our education system now – are not. And instead of whining about foreigners ‘stealing our jobs’ we should be upping the ante by increasing our skills and mending our attitudes.

You see the truth is – the world has changed – radically. When you look for a job now, you can look for one in any part of the world – and you have as much chance as anyone of getting that job. That applies not only for jobs in the UK but also jobs in other parts of the world. As a man in Rageh’s documentary said, there’s no reason why Brits can’t look for and get jobs in other countries.

Instead what are we doing and what have we done over the past 20 years? Set up our own people to fail massively by under educating them and making a thirst for knowledge a culturally abhorrent thing. Apparently, some bright spark some years ago decided that teaching English grammar was a bad idea. So there are millions of people who are unable to speak their own language. Now English is the international language of business. Not smart. Then another bright spark (the same one?) decided that taking a foreign language would no longer be compulsory. So not only can Brits not speak English – they can’t speak any other language either! Fantastic! And then people complain about the inequality in education because private schools have the sense to teach these things. Also, I have heard from many people that British high school students’ history consists of a bit of medieval history and the 2nd World War. I cannot believe this – I went to school in Jamaica (left the UK at 10) and we did hundreds of years of European and Caribbean history at high school. Not learning about yourself and the world you inhabit is another dumb move.

Also, British kids are coddled so much that they aren’t required to be accountable and aren’t required to solve problems.

None of this is helpful.

Whining about foreigners ‘stealing’ jobs is pointless. It’s about 15 years past the time we should have woken up and smelled the stupidity.

For such a wealth country it’s a crying shame how wilfully dumb and ignorant so many people are.

Time will tell

Well it looks as though Obama has done it. Yet some Clinton supporters seem to still be holding a grudge – saying derogatory things about him. If he wins the nomination – and it pretty much looks like it – all democrats need to get behind the democratic nominee. If they don’t it will be telling won’t it?

Ode to the Unappreciated Worker

To the unappreciated worker:

Forget the idiots who haven’t appreciated you. Try and forget all the heartache caused by people who are stupid, lack vision and have ignoble aims. We all know you are excellent at what you do and now that you will be putting your brains to work for only you and your family, we wish you the best and we will miss you.

What is the Generals’ Problem?

I can’t for the life of me understand why the ruling junta of Burma is so desperate for power that they have sacrificed their humanity? They care so little for their own people they are willing to have them die and suffer – rather than lose their grip on absolute power (I guess they think letting aid in will lead to them losing power).

And now they have extended Aung Sang Sui’s house arrest for a further year.

It’s funny – there are so many places in this world (Burma, Zimbabwe) where invasion and war if necessary (though one with an exit strategy) is advisable, nay necessary yet the world won’t ‘go there’ but they’re willing to go to war over oil.

There are some evil bastards out there. We need to stamp them out.

Speaking for Christians

(Sigh) There was just a programme on channel four on ‘Christians.’ Why is it that when the media profiles Christians they choose to talk ONLY to nutters who want appropriate the Christian name or those who might be well meaning but seem to be unable to read and comprehend their Bibles and don’t seem to spend much time in prayer and meditation? Because if they did they would realise that Christianity isn’t about picketing immoral theatrical productions and abortion issues or homosexual events. Guess the answer is that the nutters make better TV.

I am a Christian. And as one, Christ is my guide through his life, prayer and the Bible. There are very clear things that a Christian must adhere to and the Bible is very clear on what is or isn’t sin. Homosexual practices are sin – ‘ain’t no doubt about that. So are many other activities sin. Any sex outside of marriage, lying, idolatry. Check the good book or your nearest Christian if you’re interested in the others. There are also many things we are exhorted to do as Christians – things that can be done in the affirmative and can be done in everyday life. Yes, there are occasions when taking a stand is important but for the most part we are to follow Christ’s example and the only time he got mad was at people within the circle of the church who were making a mockery of God’s house. Christians are held up to a higher standard (by Christians) than non-Christians. You can’t judge a non-Christian by the same rules as you do a Christian – so expecting them to abide by Godly rules is ludicrous.

When Jesus came up close and personal with sin – his reaction was of compassion for the sinner and hatred for the sin. Sinners should make our hearts bleed as Christians. If we love Christ and other people as we have been directed to, seeing someone live a life of sin should cause us distress and should lead us to want them not be living a life of sin. (You all know the wages of THAT - it ‘aint pretty). Only God himself can turn a sinner into a Christian. We as Christians can and should tell people about the gospel and Christ’s love and provide support and guidance for people who decide they want to follow Christ. Anyone who hears the gospel and rejects it? - that’s between God and them come judgement day – in the meantime we can pray for them. Reprimands need to be saved for Christians who sin and there is a framework for that.

Following Christ is a choice. We have free will. You choose to follow Him or you don’t. Someone isn’t going to make the decision to follow Christ as a result of public humiliation, browbeating and insulting. Sadly the people profiled on this programme resorted to these methods. If these are the methods you’re interested in I say you’re not interested in loving sinners but interested in how superior you can seem next to them.

Man – I’m sick of Christians being mis-represented – but I’m not sure our mission is to be up in the media at the expense of making a difference in people’s everyday lives. In the meantime I pray for guidance as to how to answer questions resulting from programmes like the one that aired tonight.

Peace.

Paradise

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if Jamaica could offer its citizens (all of them) a realistic chance to prosper economically and to do so without risk of being shot? That would truly make Jamaica paradise and would enable many of us to come home. Sigh . . . if only . . .

Racists are the Problem, Not Black People

In the US Democratic elections one point keeps coming up, namely that Obama does not have the support of racists – otherwise known as white blue collar workers without a university education.*

Yet when this issue is discussed, it is discussed along the terms of Obama having this problem of not being able to attract these voters. Not once do any of the media pundits call it as it is – that the problem is that so many white people are racists. It is so bad that in exit polls many of these racists freely admit that race plays a significant part in their voting decision and many say they will either not vote or will vote for McCain if Obama wins. Can you understand the depths of their racism? These are democrats – people involved enough to be voting in the primaries – who say they will vote for the other side rather than for a black man (half black actually) who is a democrat – supposedly someone who shares their political views. [All of unu mixed race people who feel your white side is as valid as your black – learn the lesson from this, white people see you as what you look like – do you hear me Tiger?]

I am disgusted that the status quo is being maintained STILL. When are white people as a race going to at least even aspire to start behaving as decent human beings? All those white people who claim they aren’t racists need to be shaming these voters and harshly speaking out against their attitude. But what do we hear? Bloody well nothing. Which goes to prove my point – that many, many, white people who claim they aren’t racists are flippin’ liars – they are racist.

Let me re-state my position. Historically non-white people have had neither the power nor the desire to hate white people en masse. However, from the beginning of their association with non-white people, whites have consistently hated and harmed non-whites [I still ask why the hell do they – can anyone provide the answer?] The fact that white people are racist against non-whites is evidence of a deep evil and depravity of spirit. With the hundreds and hundreds of years of terrible treatment at the hand of whites – non-whites who loathe whites are well within their rights to do so – in fact to loathe the white race – for a black person – is rational – and yet we don’t as an entire race systematically hate white people, because on the whole we recognise them as individuals and treat them as such. This is treatment that we still cannot get from the majority of white people.

Racists are wrong and if you aren’t one you need to be outraged enough to speak up and take action. This automatically excludes millions of so-called non-racist whites because they do and say nothing.

With the rise of the non-white world i.e. Asia – things will change – the power base is shifting. What are white people going to do then?

*There are many stereotypes out there and sadly some are true. In my experience in Jamaica – being poor and uneducated does not preclude you from being civilised, well informed and interested in all kinds of people. Many poor and uneducated people from the country, my father being one, work hard and educate themselves in heir own way and work hard and become cosmopolitan and intelligent members of society – able to and eager to get on with all kinds of different types of people.

Why is it that the stereotype of the blue collar or working class white person – as being bigots and therefore ignorant seems to be proved to be true? Come on people – being poor and not having a university education does not mean you have to be a moron. Elevate your minds – if you’re interested. To me the sign of a beastly, evil and moronic person is having the freedom and facilities to elevate themselves – for free or for little money – and choosing not to. White working class people have a hell of a lot more opportunities to educate themselves, to seek out information and to mix with a wide variety of people than poor black people in the Caribbean do. Yet Caribbean people manage to educate themselves. You see the difference between the two? It is telling isn’t it?

The ‘Commoditisation’ of Women . . .by Women!

What do you feel your worth is as a woman? Are you intrinsically valuable? Or do you feel your value exists only in relation to a man?

I ask this question as I ponder the issue of relationships, marriage and sadly divorce. I recently read an interesting article in the Jamaican Gleaner on pre-nuptials. It mentioned a case whereby a couple were married and had a pre-nup. The woman had stated her worth at US 18 million, he at about US 40 million. They agreed that if they split, they would take only what they brought into the marriage. After about two years the wife divorced the husband and went after half of his money on the basis that he had lied about his worth (he admitted this, he was indeed worth about US 6o million at the marriage).

She lost her case – apparently she was a ‘professional divorcee’ her 18 million had been obtained by divorcing several wealthy men.

This led me to think of women and their attitude to their worth even now. Many women still seem to believe they are entitled to alimony – to be financially supported by their ex-husbands should they divorce. Now child support is a given – men must support their kids. But why should someone else support you just because you are married, or just because you used to be married to them? I don’t get it. Times have changed – women are no longer unable to earn a living and we certainly aren’t helpless little flowers. Why is it then that many women devalue themselves by expecting to be taken care of in this way? And it’s often wealthy women with professions who are the ones chasing their ex-husband’s money.

I don’t have much patience for the other excuse give for being entitled to alimony – ‘we agreed I would take care of the house and he would earn the money.’ As a woman you need to be a hell of a lot smarter than that. You don’t know what the future will hold, so you need to make sure you can support yourself – your husband could die then what? And don’t tell me about insurance – it won’t support you and your kids forever.

If you go into business with your husband – be smart and do it as a business. Have papers drawn up that clearly state who owns what and who has contributed what. Business is business. But you certainly shouldn’t make cash off of being married. Turn it around. I for one know that if I worked hard for years, struggled and put up the necessary risk to run a successful business I would not want to have to hand half of it over to someone else just because I was married to them. That’s wrong. And if it’s wrong for a woman, it’s wrong for a man.

Have a thankful heart

Recently, things have not gone well, money problems, bereavements, health problems, more money problems. But in all of it while I was having my umpteenth ‘why me’ moment I was hit with a thought. Things could have been and could be a whole lot worse but for the grace of God. Repent and be grateful for what God has done, is doing and will do for you.

So have a thankful heart – God is in charge and he knows what he’s doing.

Obama and Clinton
Is it possible we will have a definitive winner today? I wait with baited breath.

The Paradox of Newsmakers

The recent spate of speeches of Rev Wright and his speeches. They aren’t Obama’s. Yet they are affecting Obama. Why? Because the media keeps reporting on it and drawing parallels with Obama.

Watching the Situation Room last night and this time it wasn’t my favourite character Cafferty that made the best point, it was the other guy. Wolf Blitzer the host asked if this issue will go away and the ‘other guy’ said yes, it will if we the media stop talking about it. Good point, and in that spirit . . . .


Cannot fathom why that devil in Austria did what he did to his daughter. I am gobsmacked. Some people are asking if Austria needs to look at itself to see why these things happen and how such evil can spring from there (remember the other girl who was held captive for years and who could forget Hitler). Don’t know but you do start to wonder . . .

Campaigning for the Presidency must be a bitch but . . .

Just watching the Situation Room on CNN – they are of course covering the US Democratic primaries. I was just thinking how strongly these guys must feel about being President. The campaigning looks incredibly hard- you have to permanently be on, have to deal with all of the negative ads, the constant debating, TV appearances and interviews.

But at the same time what a massive impact for good you can have on not only the US but the world if you do win.

They were just saying how Clinton has the white blue collar vote and Obama has the black and young vote. It’s a shame it has come to this (largely because of the heavy negative ads and comments by Clinton). If they ran together they are a shoo-in in November but that boat gawn long time!

Mbeki is a ****bwoy!

What the ***? What is Mbeki’s problem?

Me miss, me miss!

He’s a damn jackass!

How is it possible for any sane person with a functioning brain to keep on supporting the despot Mugabe? Wa’ppen, him cya see the sufferation the people dem in Zimbabwe are under? Is he blind? Pathologically stupid? A moron? You betchya.

It is time for African leaders to rise up and take care of business. My word, how long will they be willing to see their own people suffer? Lord knows I am sick of seeing my fellow black people suffer. It was bad enough when they were suffering under the ‘downpression’ of the white man, but when it is your own people who are doing it – and in Mugabe’s case, a former freedom fighter who was responsible for building his country up into the success it was, it beggars belief that his fellow leaders in the region can keep still much less quiet.

I am so sick of this crap. If they don’t sort it out soon, there will be nothing left but for the white man to step in again – please African leaders, clean up hour own mess. Backside!

The Suffering of Black People

Just saw a documentary on Channel 4. The series is called ‘Unreported World’ and as the title suggests, it focuses on stories that might not get much attention. This one was on the practice of Voodoo in Benin, a very poor West African nation. It was particularly heartbreaking because poor families spend money they have to work very hard for to pay for expensive voodoo ceremonies that they feel pressed to take part in or rather to have their children take part in. The programme also mentioned that because of the cost, children are often taken out of school to take part in these ceremonies and so their schooling ends.

One woman didn’t have the money to take her obviously mentally retarded three year old daughter to the doctors. So she took the child to the local voodoo convent to be ‘trained.’ This will cost her 200 pounds, five years’ salary for her.

Many of the people on Unreported World are black, extremely poor and seem to live in a reality that has been created by their society that adds innumerable levels of suffering on top of the existing ones of poverty. At some point HRH and I had to ask ourselves – what is it about our ethnic group that seems to want to sustain the misery?

Now of course I know that other ethnic groups do so too – I also know that there are many groups of black people throughout the world who are suffering for reasons that have nothing to do with themselves. Here I am focusing on black people because I am one and because we seem to suffer the most. But be honest, many are suffering on top of suffering and the top layer is their own cause. I’m talking about the relentless killing of each other in ongoing civil wars; in the case of the above programme, ‘priests’ knowingly making their own people suffer even more by imposing incredible costs on already poor and ignorant people. In the case if Zimbabwe, a leader who knows full well what it is like to not only live under oppression but to fight to be freed from it, yet imposing an even worse oppression on his own people. Do your own research and you can see what I am talking about. If we are to rise as a people we need to stop shooting ourselves in the collective foot and need to have a much more sophisticated way of dealing with our own differences.

Messing With House

Here in the UK we have just started the season of House where he has about 20 odd doctors working for him a la The Apprentice, so excuse me if this is old news.

Why oh why have they fiddled around with the format? They still have Cameron, Chase and Foreman in the shows – all in their own new jobs so they’re still paying them plus the 20 odd new guys. Many of these 20 odd actors are pretty well known and they all talk so they must have to be paid a bit. Seems like an expensive and disconcerting way to present the programme. I don’t like it myself and I hope the fact that they still have Foreman, Chase and Cameron means that the original team will get back together again. We will see . . .

Class in the UK

Class in the UK is an odd thing. The majority of people are proud to be working class and seem to hate those they consider to be middle class and absolutely abhor those they consider to be upper class. This is reflected in TV shows. Nearly all UK TV shows follow the lives of people who the British consider working class. Practically no one on TV comedies or dramas is middle or upper class. What I find odd is that people who are said to be working class are usually not the type to be aspirational, not well educated or interested in being so and have awful social habits. Plenty of poorer people (what the Brits would call working class) in Jamaica are aspirationals, well educated or at least aspire to it and have fantastic social habits. I think us in the UK need to re-think our attitude to class. Surely character and progressive social habits need to be the most important thing. Not how one speaks or where one lives or went to school. We’d all be the better for a change in attitude in this direction. Given the current attitudes, anyone who is aspirational, educated and well mannered is scorned. This is stupid and not helpful.

Citizenship in the UK

A former Attorney General (I think) has written a report that, among other things, suggests kids swear a pledge of allegiance to the Queen.

Of course no one here thinks this is a good idea. The UK is an odd place. British people on a whole don’t like to be demonstrative and they feel pledging allegiance is doing just that.

I don’t agree that pledging allegiance is bad. I am against pledging it in this type of atmosphere and I am most certainly against pledging it to the Queen. Let me explain.

Firstly, the UK is pretty much an identity-less place. There isn’t a positive British culture that can be outlined. There are activities and traits that can be outlined, but frankly, they aren’t flattering. As it is a culture that largely abhors expressing enthusiasm for anything there is a big hole where there could be enthusiastic admiration for doing well and being successful – traits which are admirable in the US for instance. This unwillingness to be enthusiastic and instead to be self-deprecatory therefore leaves an unhealthy dedication to mediocrity on many occasions and doing things downrightly badly on other occasions. Quite frankly though, the British on the whole, are happy with the way they are. I am British and I personally think we could be much better off identifying ourselves with positive traits – the alternative is the moral vacuum that exists now and that is not good for the country. So given this vacuum, now is not the time to be pledging allegiance to some non-existent idea of what it is to be British.

The other part of my argument is that we aren’t citizens; we are subjects – one of the ludicrous results of living in a monarchy. Now the Queen is largely a figurehead – the UK is a constitutional monarchy which means the Queen does not decide how we live. An elected government does that. So pledging allegiance to an old woman who lives an unbelievably wealthy lifestyle at the taxpayer’s (many of them living in financial want) expense is a disgusting concept. If we are to pledge allegiance to anyone it should be to each other. If the UK is to move towards a better sense of self so to speak we have to invest in each other – delight in each others’ triumphs and commiserate in each others’ failures and help each other to do better while not tolerating the general yobbish behaviour that passes for civil society here.

There is a long way to go before we are in a position to pledge allegiance to anyone.

Clinton Must Go for the Democrats to Beat the Republicans. . .But She Won't

Hillary must drop out of the race in order for the Democrats to beat the Republicans. Let me tell you why.

As we all know Bush has made a right dogs dinner of things and by extension, the Republicans are in the doghouse. On the face of it this would mean that theDemocrats are a shoo in for the next election.

The problem we have though is likability and the fact that people are pissed off with Bush more than they are pissed off with the Republicans per se.

The likability issue boils down to this. McCain, the Republican candidate is very likeable - heck, many of the conservatives in his own party hate him. If ever there was a republican that on the fence Democrats and the undecided could vote for it is him. Now people do not like Hillary - for various reasons. However, people just LOVE Obama. Enough polls have already been done that say that if Hillary runs against McCain he has a really good chance of winning but if McCain runs agains Obama, McCain will be crushed.

So it's a no-brainer for the Democrats if it was just down to this. But they can't force Hillary out. The other problem the Democrats have is that the Republicans have already picked their man. So all he has to concentrate on from now until November is attacking the Democrats. Meanwhile, the Dmeocrats will be fighting each other until August. They just cannot afford this.

Hillary is going to stay in the race at the expense of the Democratic party and by extension the US and the world because like it or not, the whole world is deeply affected by who is in the White House. I fervently wish that things hadn't got ugly and that she and Obama could run on the same ticket with him as the presidential candidate and her as the vice predsidential candidate. That would give the Democrats a fantastic chance come November. But just as in 2000 with Nader - personal ambition and delusions about their ability to win - will cost the Democrats the White House - and the world a chance at stability.

God help us all.

Changing Attitudes to Alcohol in the UK?

Good article on the problem of British people’s attitude towards alcohol. Perhaps the tide is turning if columns like this are appearing. Hope so.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/india_knight/article3423652.ece

Renewing Your Mind

I really do recommend the book 'Battlefield of the Mind' by Joyce Meyer. It has really helped me deal with my negative thought patterns and is helping me concentrate on God in order to heal the sickness of negativity I've had for such a very long time.

Joyce is a Christian speaker and author and the book is bolstered by the word of God - it is a great tool.

Maybe some of you have the same problem of negative thinking - if you do and you're interested in dealing with it in a Biblical manner - this is definitely the book for you.

Later.

Efficient Service

Quote from Thalia Lyn at Island Grill:

"If we know 2.25 customers per minute order festival, we can prepare our food without people having to wait for their food," Lyn said of the efficiency programme.

In JA, this generally happens at fast food joints.

Here in the UK when you go into many fast food stores you often have to wait for up to 15 - 20 minutes for your order because they make it from scratch when you order - even if you order a common menu item.

If it can be done in a so-called third world country, why oh why can't it be done here?

Not Enough Hours in the Day

I'm finding it difficult to find the time to do the things I want and it's driving me bonkers. I write - and that's a pretty cerebral activity. My day job requires me to write also - business writing though - and it's not a particularly creative activity. So when I get home, exercise, bathe and eat and pay attention to HRH there's precious little time left, much less brain power.

I was reading a story on the first post.com yesterday that talked about teleworking. It spoke about how 20 years ago people said that in the future people would be able to work from home. However, the reality is in spite of evidence that home working reduces congestion and improves productivity from 20-40% most companies won't let employees work anywhere but in the office.

This attitude is pretty much epitomised by Alan Sugar's attitude (He's the guy that does the Apprentice here in the UK). He stated in the papers last week that people who work from home aren't doing anything.

What a colossally backward atitude! As I mentioned above, studies have been done to show workng from home reduces congestion and improves productivity. Business people and managers are more concerned with their own reputations - 'here are a whole bunch of people who report to me' - and less concerned with productivity and the bottom line.

If people work from home, there's no crowd of people to prove how important they are.

Sick isn't it.

Well, it's for us the workers to set the agenda. Like the article said, talented young people are not willing to accept the status quo and are voting by taking their CVs to where flexible working is accepted.

Later.

Grammies etc.

Watching the Grammies while I work on the computer. Right now Kanye West is on. What a way him full of himself ee doah? Seems like Amy Winehouse has made out like a bandit though. I guess being caught up with all the trouble she has been in hasn’t hurt her chances at winning so many of these major awards. Wonderful message.

Parent to kid: Don’t take drugs; you won’t amount to anything if you take drugs
Kid: Rubbish – I could get a Grammy, hell I could get five!


Oh well.

Having said that he's now singing a wonderful ode to his mother. Great lyrics. So sorry she died.

Same Old Same Old

So the old racists in Spain have been publically attacking Lewis. And again we hear the same old apologies - tired and largely given by people who didn't commit the offence in the first place on behalf of people who aren't remotely sorry.

This time UK offocials seemed really pissed off though and are threatening diplomatic repercussions.

The Spaniards racists are something else. They erroneously claim that Lewis prevented Alonzo from winning the championship and that he bad mouthed him. Neither is true. And so they feel that racialy abusing Lewis is therefore acceptable.

We'll see how this is handled. But it is time white people stood up and joined the civilised human race and not only denounce racism but make their actions back up the sentiment if they really believe it.

Terrible Treatment of the Elderly

Just watched a documentary on Channel Four about how many pensioners in the UK have to choose between heating their homes or eating. It was terrible.

The elderly are often without family willing or able to properly care for them, their pensions are a joke, yet they still get charged extortionate bills like council tax, TV licence if they are under 75 and incredibly high fuel bills.

It breaks your heart. One of the ladies in the show didn't eat for days so she could heat just one room in her house. A man had threatening letters from his power company claiming he owed 200 pounds in arrears, it turns out they misread his meter.

One lady who had been a teacher or a nurse and now needed care because she was ill applied for a reduction in her council tax (this can be around 80 pounds a month - pensioners get about 130 pounds a week) - they turned her down.

It really is terrible. In Jamaica it is bad if you are older and broke and have no family, but in the UK there is the added problemn - and it is a considerable one - of the cold. It gets incredibly cold here. I had no idea how cold it can get, especially in the north. If you don't have central heating it can be awful unless you have free standing heaters and it isn't cheap to heat your home whatever means you use.

The government keeps cutting funding for older people and the problem just gets worse and worse with more and more pensioners each year dying from the cold.

It's time for sensible practices to be put in place to help older peole. Money must be found from other areas (getting false benefits claimaints off so that the true claimants - some of whom don't claim - is a start). But this cannot continue. Your later years should be a time of rest, reflection and pampering by your younger relatives. Not misery, lonliness and poverty.

Men's Magazines

There's a pretty new free men's magazine in the UK called shortlist (www.shortlist.com) It's great - just the type of thing I like to read with interesting and really funny stories, lovely shots of fantastic super cars lots of wicked gadgets and NO stupid fashion articles!

I've had a look at some of HRH's magazines too and again, my type of stuff. I think I've had it with women's mags. Have a look at shortlist especially if you're a bloke - a really good read.

Later

Losing Weight and Google Earth

Why is it so easy to nyam your way to obesity but oh so hard to lose the poundage again?

Man, I having a warm time trying to lose weight I have put on over the past ten years. In my salad days I was a fit and slimmer young beauty. Now it is not pretty when I take off mi clothes. But even after tell myself I won't eat crap again today there I go and do it. I have only recently been successful in putting a stop to the daily sweets and cakes at work. I've been to the gym twice so far this week and hope to keep it up. Let us see if this time there are results. I really feel this is the end of the road.

Been looking at cars lately. HRH has his sights set on ans SUV (yeah yeah, there are other vehicles that have larger engines and emit more than SUVs, look at the emissions, not the chassis). What struck me though was that on the whole car prices have got ludicrously low. And as soon as you drive off the lot you've lost a couple of grand in depreciation. Seriously, a leasing arrangement where insurance and tax is included, seems like a better option.

Tried Google Earth for the first time this week. It wicked yu see! If you haven't had a go, go ahead.

Teenage Pregnancy

Watching a documentary on BBC 3 right now about a young girl of 13 called Kizzy who got pregnant. Quite a poignant programme. She fully acknowledged she made a mistake. Comes from what seems to be a decent christian family. She said she had sex once with a 13 year old boy . The boy won't acknowledge the baby and has gone to live with his grandmother in Essex (Kizzy lives in Devon). The boy's grandmother was rather vituperative and said that Kizzy is basically responsible for he situation and that she is blaming everyone else.

This is obviously ridiculous as Kizzy has repeatedly said she made a mistake. She is thankfully continuing her education and she and her parents agreed to the documentary as a warning to other young girls.

This is in many respects sad but uplifting in other was as she and her family seem to be coping very well in the right way.

Apparently, the UK has he highest teen pregnancy rate in Europe. This in spite of programmes in schools which allow youngsters to access the pill, condoms, the morning after pill and even abortions - WITHOUT having to inform the parents. As Kizzy's father said, it undermines parents. He stated that you as a parent may have certain ways of bringing up your kids according to your faith but all of that is ignored by the schools. He has a point.

He said that in the kids' minds all hey hear at home can be eroded in that hey feel that if they get pregnant school can take care of it. As so it is.

Makes me scared stiff of raising my kids in this country I tell you. Home schooling anyone?

More Power to Oprah!

Just read that Oprah will be getting a TV network called the Oprah Winfrey Network - OWN. It will replace Discovery Health.

What a fabulous opportunity for a potentially decent TV network and one that in addition to offering good content will have the opportunity to portray non-white culture in a positive light. This is something that many of us were bitterly sorry that the first 'black network' BET didn't do.

I look forward to seeing what transpires.

Can A Habitual Sinner be a Godly Man?

I am reading 'Soul Survivor' by Philip Yancey. He is a christian writer. In this book he speaks about various people who have inspired him in his christian walk - one of them being Martin Luther King.

By now it is well known that King was an adulterer - and apparently unrepentant as according to Rev. Abernathy he was sleeping with other women up until the night before his death.

Yancey says that in spite of his human failings he was a good christian. He also mentioned others in he Bible who sinned but were men of God, David was one.

My thought is this, yes, even Christians stumble and sin, as stated by Yancey, so did David when it came to adultery. However, he repented. As far as I know if you repent and as Jesus said on many occasions 'sin no more' then this is acceptable to the Father. But if over a period of time you consistently sin, sin of the flesh plus you are a leader in the church, effectively the 'deacon' the Bible speaks of then this is wrong.

If as Rev. Abernathy stated, King was having sex with a woman who was not his wife even the night before he was killed it doesn't seem likely to me that he was repentant in feeling or action.

No matter the other christian trappings of his persona, I find it hard to believe his behaviour was pleasing to God in and of itself, much less the hypocrisy that went along with his public reputation being so godly. Plus there was a very real danger his behaviour could be a stumbling block for others as the authorities who had been bugging him knew about his predilections.

I know many revere him but I feel that morals, especially for a christian and especially for a christian leader are very important. And the Bible is explicit in its condemnation of adultery and other sexual sin - it is also clear on running after evil.

Maybe King's pastor associates and friends did call him to account - maybe they didn't. They should have.

So civil rights activity or not, in a christian context we should not ignore our leaders failings but call them to account on them.

What a Giant Mess in Kenya!

What kind of slackness is happening in Kenya eeh?

One of the more supposedly progressive countries in Africa seems to be joining the morass of many other African countries.

I cannot for the life of me understand why people feel the need to murder those who are different, or who vote differently from them. No-one in this situation benefits, no-one comes out if a good position. So why continue?

Why can't they sort it out in a civilised manner that is beneficial to them instead of resorting to destroying themselves? I just don't get it. I am very very saddened by this turn of events and hope that very soon the powers that be grow some brains and put a stop to the violence. From all accounts and purposes the election results are is dispute - so blinking well get that sorted out instead of digging in he heels and letting the bloodshed continue.

And why the hell does there have to be bloodshed anyway - who does this help? I am disgusted.

Sorry for the break

Sorry for the big silence. Christmas and all of that you know. Will be back in effect in the new year. Have a great time!

Biographies and Abba

I really like to read biographies of interesting people. As I'm heavily into music I especially like biographies of successful musicians and singers. I recently read one on Abba which was very good and led me to listen to their music again. Now Abba music to me usually means pleasant memories of sunny 1970s days - usually in the summer holidays. But listening to their songs again I was struck by how good the music actually is. The writing by Benny and Bjorn is excellent and the ladies' voices are fantastic! Go onto you tube and check out their videos which they seemed to be pioneers in in those days. Some really god stuff and some really good memories.

Amateur Transplants

Just a quick note to recommend this group to you. A friend sent me a link of their song which talks about what anaesthesiologists do for the hours that their patient is under and being operated on. It was hilarious!. Apparently it's a group of two doctors who sing parodies of popular tunes about medical issues. Check them out on You Tube.

Cruelty and Unreasonableness

I feel really sorry for that teacher in Sudan. Basically this Brit teacher in Sudan has been locked up for blasphemy because she let her class cal the class teddy bear Mohamed. Now the kiddies wanted to call the teddy that name yet she is now in serious trouble.

I get so tired of things like this happening. Surely Muslims cannot be threatened by their own kind calling a teddy this name? And if it is blasphemous then surely those who are adherents to the religion (who would know the rules) should be culpable and not someone who isn't of that religion.

Seriously, perhaps non-Muslims need to stay very far from Muslim countries - could be hazardous to your health.

Ian Smith

Ian Smith – the evil SOB who ruled Zimbabwe for many years and who refused to give any power to the black people who made up 95% of the population – has died. Take a look at this feature and then do a little research and read up on Zim’s history and his part in the misery.
http://www.thefirstpost.co.uk/index.php?storyID=9590


Here’s a story on him in the Independent http://news.independent.co.uk/world/africa/article3179647.ece

Affected by the news

You read about people killing themselves and their kids in the news but you never think it will affect you.

The other day I was shocked to read in the Gleaner that my cousin Carol did just that. To say I was astonished and very saddened is an understatement. She lived with us for about a year when I was a teenager. We didn't keep in touch after that so I don't claim to have known her well but from what I remember she was a pretty, quiet, shy girl.

I can imagine feeling terrible because your husband has betrayed you but what I can't get my head around is why kill the kids?

It's a terrible tragedy and my heart goes out to her parents.

Ian Blair

I don't usually join in when people are asked to resign but here I agree. Ian Blair is in charge of the UK police and he presided over the situation that ended in an innocent man being shot multiple times in the head at close range after he was 'mistaken' for a terrorist. Read the following story for further details http://www.thefirstpost.co.uk/index.php?storyID=9410

The key point in all of this is that the police murdered this man. They murdered him and lied about it. They initially released statements saying he was wearing a thick winter coat and that he ran when he was in the tube station. Neither was the case.

The police were looking for a suspected suicide bomber. They were told he lived at a certain address - where Jean Charles lived. They saw Jean Charles leave his home. Didn't stop him. They saw him walk to a nearby bus stop. Didn't stop him. They watched him get on a bus. Didn't stop him (remember the say they were sure he was a bomber with a bomb strapped to him.) Apparently he either got on or almost got onto another bus. If so they again didn't stop him. He went to a tube station and went inside. They didn't stop him. Only when he had got on the tube did they wrestle him to the ground and then shot him int he head multiple times.

If it was a case of 'mistakes' and they thought he was a bomber they have a blatant disregard for the British public as they let this supposed bomber with explosives on him get on a bus and the tube. This goes to prove that the police are incompetent, don't give a shit about the public, or they are murderers. No one wins with any of these scenarios.

Jamaican working for NASA

A friend sent me the following. Have a read. Good to hear a Jamaican doing well in yet another area. How can we create a situation where this type of person can stay in Jamaica and succeed? Get rid of the high crime level I feel but how do we do that?

Anyway . . .

Jamaican heads NASA team on space station expansion project. When the "Discovery" space shuttle heads into space this month it will carry a special package 'gift-wrapped' by a Jamaican-born engineer and his team at National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in the United States.

Glenn Chin is NASA mission manager charged with delivering a Node 2 module called "Harmony" that will expand the docking area at the International Space Station to accommodate other space programs. Chin heads a multi-disciplined team of 30 to 40 engineers and technicians at NASA which is involved in the testing, integration and assembly processes that will make "Harmony" ready for launch inside "Discovery's" cargo bay on the morning of Oct. 23. Once installed at the space station, "Harmony" will serve as a port for space programs from China and a combined 13 European countries.

"Harmony is a module with six docking ports where modules can dock to make the station bigger," explained the 43-year-old Chin, who attended high schools in Jamaica and the U.S. and college at the University of Miami, where he earned a degree in mechanical engineering. "It's like a six entrance hallway that you can add rooms to...It's actually the gateway to the international partners." That "hallway" or central building block is 24 feet long and 15 feet wide. It weighs 31,500 pounds.

SIMPLE TASK - It was built in Italy, with fine-tuning at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, where Chin and his team are based. He was involved in the early design and construction of "Harmony" as part of a special team, which offered NASA insight into the project's progress. That required him to travel to Torino between 1998 and 2000. Other work assignments temporarily took Chin away from the "Harmony" project, but he would later return as mission manager. His task is simple: get "Harmony" ready for launch and make sure it works once it gets into space. But Chin is confident it will. Discovery's transportation of "Harmony" this month, also called "STS-120", is not the only mission Chin has been involved with at NASA. He has been in charge of 16, four of which he has seen through to their launch. However, despite acknowledging a familiarity with the procedures required for the task, Chin said the different types of "payload" he is required to deliver in proper working order keeps the challenge interesting. "It's pretty routine," he said. "The processes are pretty much the same. But the differences in hardware for each mission is unique. Each hardware is unique." So is his background.

Chin is one of a handful of Caribbean nationals working at the Kennedy Space Centre, which employs some 18,000 workers. He is proud of his heritage and credits his background for much of his success in the U.S. "That's huge for me," he said. "As a Jamaican I've always been a hard worker, persistent. When I came to the States I realized the opportunities here and went after it. "I have enough savvy to know you can reach for your dreams in this country." For the married father of a son, his dreams extend to outer space.

Do You Have to be Tortured to be a Genius?

His Royal Highness and I were watching an programme on famous artists we like to watch the other day - this time it was about Van Gogh. At the beginning of the programme we hoped against hopes that he would have had a happy and fulfilling life. We hoped this because most of the artists featured on this programme seemed to have pretty awful lives.

This seemed to be the same situation with poets - and other so calle geniuses, which led us to the question in the heading.

I hope the answer isn't no - I've always fancied myself a genius - but I'm certainly not tortured - well only by the Galaxy bar in my larder!

Later

No Reason to be Sad re: Lewis Hamilton

In all that has happened, there is no reason to be sad about Lewis Hamilton's current position in Formula 1.


Yes, he didn't win the championship yesterday but when you think of what he has done in his rookie year - it is a great achievement.

I think it is a mistake for McLaren to be challenging Ferrari right now - if they were to win this challenge (which I doubt they will) it will be a bitter victory for Lewis.

On the news this morning a group of Alonzo supporters were quoted as saying they were glad Kimi won and not Lewis because as they put it, Lewis has been underhand in his dealings. Unbelievable - if anyone has been underhand in his dealings it is Alonzo.

The constant 'fight 'gainst' is amazing. You're forced to ask yourself if the problem isn't just that people are jealous because he has done so well was a rookie but fury that he has done so well as a BLACK rookie.

Peace.

Disgraceful Treatment of Ming Campbell

So those evil sods in and out of the Lib Dems have finally hounded Sir Ming to distraction enough that he resigned and sent a really pissed off letter to the media.

Ever since he became the leader of the Lib Dems the British public have been constantly bothering him and castigating him for being too old. He's in his 60s.

For heaven's sake, 60 odd isn't old, furthermore, 60 odd in politics certainly isn't old. The issue should have been was he effective and I thought he was.

Something is wrong with how politics runs - important issues that affect the populace take a backseat to how things (or people) appear. We will pay for this immaturity dearly.

Legalise Drugs

There's a story in today's Independent where a leading policeman is calling for drugs to be legalised as the 'war on drugs' has failed magnificently.

I agree. The only thing that criminalising drugs does is to push up the price and have criminals manage it. After all this time it's obvious that people will continue to do drugs even if it is legal. There are other legal drugs and because they are legal they are more readily controlled. Legalising drugs isn't the same as saying doing drugs is OK - it's just a matter of reducing (note i say reducing - probably won't be able to eliminate) the criminal element. Then at lease people would be safer.

Disappointed at First but Determined to do Well in Brazil

So by now you would all know that Lewis didn't win on Sunday and he didn't win any points as he didn't finish the race.

Bad decision on the team's part - they should have called him in at least 1 lap earlier - his tyres had had it. But I guess they know this now full well in retrospect. I hope they have learned the lesson that no matter how skilled the driver, he can't overcome equipment that doesn't work.

Wish him all the best in two weeks time.

Please Lord, Let Lewis Hamilton Win the Title

Yes folks, tomorrow is the day and His Royal Highness and I will be getting up at 6:00 am to see the race. Can you imagine the foolishness of the past few days with the Toro Rosso team trying to cock up Lewis' chances by complaining that he was driving erratically behind the safety car in Japan last week?

Now come on! I watched that race and if he was driving erratically I sure as hell didn't see it and neither did the seasoned professionals who were commentating.

Arseholes supreme! Why dem a fight so hard 'gainst Lewis?

Well at least the chief battybwoy Alonzo seems to have finally conceded that his chances are slim. Hopefully he realises now that he should have been putting effort into his driving and not into putting Lewis down and trying to screw with him in various ways.

Lewis is good at what he does. He works hard and this pays off. Why can't the reaction of others be to step up their game in response? Because of two main points:

1) Lewis is a rookie and is so good it makes them look bad - to this I say the same as above, then step up your game.

2) The same as above but add into that the fact that he is a BLACK man and the reason for the madness makes even more sense.

Something those of us who are black and live in a white country have come to learn albeit slowly and with growing horror through a process of elimination: many white people become mad with rage when black people do exceedingly well and by comparison they (the white folk) look bad. This results in bizarre and out of proportion behaviour.

My prayers are with Lewis and I hope that he will be able to stay focused in spite of the dreadful behaviour of some people - and thankfully, it is only SOME.

More power my yout!

Tavis Smiley and Important Info for Black People

Someone sent me the following today in an email. It's some information from Tavis Smiley and I thought it was so interesting it warranted being re-produced here. So here goes . . .

(Of course, I encourage people to look up 'facts' from the internet themselves and come to their own conclusions).

February 2007

A Word From Tavis Smiley
I don't know whether you all have seen the Black Think Tank that Tavis Smiley
hosts on C-SPAN every year, but it is powerful food for thought. Here are a few
of the things learned at the Black Think Tank this month.

Facts:

1. The first Americans or Native Americans going back to 13,000 BC were black! Look up the Folsom people who lived in Arizona.

2. One of the best reasons to stop our use of the term African American and say Black. A white person who was born in Africa, who moves to America is An African American and qualifies for financial aid, etc., but will get the jobs/pay privileges afforded to whites.

3. Look up the Slavery Law of 1665 (which stayed in effect until 1968) and the Maryland Doctrine of Exclusion (1638): both laws state that blacks must be excluded from the benefits afforded whites, and that blacks must remain non-competitive with whites, except in sports and entertainment.

4. Two white men: Bill Gates and Larry Elision, combined have more wealth than the combined wealth of all 36 million blacks in America
. Civil Rights did not change the economic landscape or the balance of power in America.

5. Asians received 80% of all government minority set aside contracts. Hello!!

6. Blacks eat more fish than whites by a 4 to 1 margin. For every dollar that whites spend on fish, blacks spend $9 on fish. Fish sold wholesale for $1 will retail at $2.50 - $3.00. Guess what business we should be in as Blacks?

7. There isn't any black owned national cable, or major network television stations. Cathy Hughes, the black woman who owns our only black owned radio stations, plans to sell to white owners after hearing the deal Bob Johnson received for selling BET. (Cathy Hughes is from OMAHA y'all!)

8. There are no black owned companies on the Wall Street Stock Exchange; where blacks own the majority or controlling interest of the stock.

9. Ninety-six percent (96%) of all black inmates are men.

10. Over the next two years 440,000 black inmates will be released from prison. The State has no place to put them as they re-enter society. A profitable business would be a Halfway house!

11. In 1860, 98% of all Blacks in America worked for White people. In 2001, 98% of all Blacks in America still work for white people.

12. In 1860, blacks in America had a combined net worth of one half of 1 percentage point. Guess what, in 2001, after Civil Rights, Jesse Jackson, Oprah, Shaq, NAACP, and Urban League, our combined net worth is half a percentage point.

13. For every dollar earned by a Jewish person, that dollar touches 12 to 18 Jewish hands before it leaves their community. For every dollar earned by a black person it leaves the community soon as he or she earns it.

14. The last week of April 2003 in Washington , DC black teenagers were arrested and booked for eating McDonalds on the metro subway. Cops cited recent 5-4 court decision as the permission to arrest law breakers even for minor offences.

15. Sixty-seven percent (67%) of all hate crimes in America are against blacks.

16. After we get through being pleased that we have carpet in our office, a secretary, our name on the door and make six figures, we do not own anything.

17. What will happen if you miss 6 months of work without pay? All we've left for our children is debt not an inheritance. You cannot pass welfare or food stamps onto our kids as a nest egg! We are not even in the race.

18. By the way, the word 'race' hit the English language in the 16th century when Europeans held a contest to see who will win the race to gather the lost wealth through exploitation of blacks.

19. You must read Powernomics by Claude Anderson This is our blueprint to create wealth, not just have a job, but be a business owner, so you can hire people, be listed on the stock exchange, and develop businesses to meet our needs.

Save Walkerswood!

Just read a story about the trouble Walkerswood is in. Mercy! They can't let that company go under. It is a wonderful thing when you go into a major supermarket chain like Asda (owned by Wal Mart) or Tescos and Sainsbury's and you see the Walkerswood products.
I hope the financial people will be able to retain this Jamaican brand.

Multi-tasking

There's this ad on TV now - an ad for chocolate, where a woman greets her date at the door. She grabs his flowers, chucks them inside, kisses him, ruffles up his and her hair, says she had a lovely time and then slams the door in his face - to go and enjoy a bar of chocolate. The premise is that the chocolate is so good she can't be bothered with a date with a nice man.

Honestly, what a load of rubbish. What on earth is wrong with enjoying the man and the chocolate at the same time? In this girl's case as it was just a date she could eat the chocolate on the date. Us married ladies can be more inventive. My husband agrees most emphatically with me.

Young women these days - no initiative!

Mandela is Alive & Bush is Officialy a Wanker

Read the following. http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20070922/lead/lead3.html. I feel the less said about Bush's comment, the better. Suffice it to say, continue to be afraid, be vary afraid.

(Please hurry and come November 2008!)

Fianancial Woes in the UK

A leading mortgage lender, Northern Rock is in trouble here and there has been a run on the bank. Apparently something like this hasn't happened for 100 years or so so it is big news. Northern Rock specialises in mortgages, but it does offer bank accounts and it is the holders of these accounts who are panicking.

But it's not as bad as people are thinking it is. It's a pity the average British consumer isn't particularly interested in financial issues and current affairs or they could have saved themselves a lot of worry.

Northern Rock asked the Bank of England for help and the Bank of England gave them an unlimited guarantee or something like that which basically says they they will shore them up to maintain the level of liquidity they need. Sadly this didn't stop the run. The bank is solvent - they still have substantial assets but none of this swayed the public.

Plus the insurance on deposits by law says that your first £2,000 is guaranteed and up to £30k more you get 90p out of each pound. This still wasn't enough.

It's likely that the bank will be bought by another - in that case things won't change for the worse for depositors.

So today, the Chancellor Alistair Darling said in plain English - we the government will guarantee every penny of your money. If you want to take it out you can - if you want to leave it you can.

Perhaps the message will get through now?

Breastfeeding

Check this story out. Apparently Facebook has taken some pictures off of a lady's account because they are considered obscene. The pictures are of her breastfeeding. There's a link to one in the story. http://blogs.usatoday.com/ondeadline/2007/09/facebook-cracks.html?loc=interstitialskip

This is a common problem in the UK too (I think the lady is American). The majority of British women (and men probably) that I have encountered believe breastfeeding to be disgusting.

Indeed I remember one surreal evening when along with my mother and one of my sisters and a few other ladies we had a ladies evening at someone's house. One of the ladies piped up at one point in the evening and said that she believed breast feeding was disgusting and she couldn't believe anyone would want to do it - or words to that effect.

This mindset is more evidence of how people in the developed world have gone against so many things which are good and natural. And sadly I hear it is spreading to the so-called undeveloped world.

Did I mention that these ladies were Christian? In fact one was my then minister's wife and half (the 'breastfeeding is disgusting half' were wives of the church leadership).

I was livid even more so because these ladies were Christian and married to he church leadership - they had even more reason not to be idiots and not to be cursing God's gifts.

For this is what breastfeeding is - a gift from God. It is a natural way to feed our young. It is indisputably good for them - helps with their intelligence, protects them from disease among other benefits, it also helps mum to lose weight quickly. It also negates the need to use even more plastic (which is what is used in bottle milk paraphernalia).

How in God's green earth could this be considered disgusting?

It can be considered so because man has become perverse and lauds that which is wrong, immoral and unnatural and abhors that which is good, God given and natural. Think of it. Breastfeeding is natural - bottle feeding isn't yet these CHRISTIAN women call breastfeeding disgusting!

The world has come to believe a woman's breasts are SOLEY sexual objects. For the world this is not acceptable but understandable. But those of us in Christ need to do a whole lot better and not take up the things of the world.

For all - be honest with yourself and stop being so concerned with what other people think and start being concerned with the welfare of your kids. I am fully away that some women can't breastfeed and for them it has to be the bottle. But for the rest, if you decide not to at least have the decency not to deride those of us who choose to - especially if you call yourself a Christan and even more so if you call yourself a Christan and are married to church leadership.

Funny ad & Bruce

Check out this Cadbury's ad. It's fantastically funny. The link is in the attached story.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/showbiz/showbiznews.html?in_article_id=481196&in_page_id=1773

So - Bruce is the PM now. MMM. Kind of torn. I am most definitely not labourite but the PNP has been failing dismally for quite a while now and Portia was a huge disappointment. Plus I've had a sneaking admiration for Bruce since he showed Seaga the finger. Hope he really is his own man and that he brings good things to the country - we don't want the One Don to be ruling from the background now.

Later.

Traipsing Around Old Buildings

It was Heritage Weekend or something like that in Leeds last weekend and as part of that the town hall held tours. His Royal Highness and I went on one and it was great. We started off by trekking up over 200 narrow spiral steps to get to the clock tower. nearly died - but it wasn't as bad as the stairs in Russel Street station in London. (A word to the wise - NEVER, EVER, take the stairs in that station - take the life even if you have to wait an eternity for it!).

Then we went into the main concert hall which is really beautiful with all the gilding, colourful decorations and the huge organ. We then moved into the only remaining courtroom - which was last used n the 90s and early in the century seemed to sentence a lot of kids. Lastly we went to visit the jail cells downstairs - the ones from the 1930s weren't too bad but the Victorian ones were dreadful and smelled terrible.

All in all it was good to be able to look at the old building up close. When we went up to the clock tower we were able to walk along the outside and look out over the city - wonderful view.

Apparently they are going to do these tours regularly now and charge a nominal fee - makes sense. It's good to be able to touch history.

In other news big up to Asafa - now lets see that spirit in races that count.

UK Judge Calls for All Citizens & Visitors to the UK to be in DNA register

Yep - you read it correctly. Some judge here has said that every single person in the UK and anyone who visits the country should hand over their DNA to be kept in what is already the largest database of its kind in the world.

According to Channel 4 news tonight the national DNA database in the UK has 5% of the population's DNA in it - by comparison the USA has 0.05%

Even innocent people's DNA is kept here. The same news programme said that 2 in 5 black men's DNA is on record and 1 in 10 white men's is. The judge believes that to redress this imbalance everyone should give their DNA.

Some white people never cease to amaze me. A statistic such as the one above is the result of racism. And racism is the result of either ignorance meeting stupidity or evil. And the way to combat either is not for the perpetrators to be held to account for their unconscionable behaviour but for the entire society to fall in line in order to make the racism not stand out - according to the British.

This to my mind is an admission by white people that they acknowledge that the majority of them are racist. See my reasoning. If they weren't , when racism rears its ugly head in a situation like the DNA register for instance, wouldn't you think the response of non-racist white people would be to condemn their fellow white people who are racist in word and deed and demand and end to the behaviour? Sounds reasonable to me. Instead, what almost always happens is that these so called non-racist and 'tolerant' white people generally either say nothing or try to excuse white racists' behaviour and suggest measures that involve accommodating the racist behaviour (usually by non-whites putting up with it and being 'noble savages').

Too many years have passed for white people to still be racist at all much less to the extent they are. There is more than enough information available - most can't be bothered to access it. They get free education here in the UK and so many can't be arsed to actually plug in and access it (I have many teacher friends). There is untold wealth here (more than enough to educate them) - built on the back of hundreds of years of free labour and robbery of other country's resources. And black people have been around for many years - more than enough for white people to strike up relationships with us, talk to us and get to know us instead of spouting racist comments that have nothing to do with reality.

Friends there is nothing else black people can do. I want to cry sometimes when I remember the work of peopel such as Malcolm X and MLK. Trying to get inform white people in general and especially the racists is a waste of time. It is now up to them to look inside themselves - to finally rise up and join the civilised world and join the human race and start realising that a) they are in the minority in a global sense (Asians definitely have the majority) and b) behaving the way they often behave is disgusting and helpful to no-one in the long run.

Unfortunately I doubt that judge will come to this realisation any time soon. Hopefully the authorities will not agree with his proposal. But it must be mentioned that Channel 4 which usually has someone for and against a particular measure on its newscast this time had 2 people who were for it and the anchor John Snow seemed to be in agreement. Any guesses for what part of society all three cam from? Hint - there weren't any women there and they would all need to wear SPF 30 - not 15.

Later.

Four Months Left to the Year

I just realised the other day as I changed the calendar to September - that they year end is drawing nigh. Seemed just like yesterday . . . . and all that jazz. But seriously, a cliche though it is, it DOES seem like yesterday. Where has the time gone?

I've really got to get on and make the rest of the year count. Due to some personal difficulties I've just barely managed to survive and have just been existing. Now it's time to live damn it! I advise you all to do likewise.

Find something you love to do and as much as is possible - spend the majority of your time doing it or working toward achieving it.

In that vein . . . .

PS. I do hope that Asafa will amend his mindset and attitude for the next big meet. We were all incredibly disappointed that he pulled back in Osaka - but at the same time overjoyed by Veronica's performance. That 'I will push until the end' attitude is what Asafa needs to add to the wicked speed. God bless.