tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37207916056827468692024-03-05T15:20:38.979+00:00The Musings of GarylantaAnything from politics and social issues to travel and sport.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger22125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3720791605682746869.post-1957632802492660812013-10-06T11:49:00.000+01:002013-10-06T11:50:06.394+01:00WESTERN HYPOCRISY WHEN DEFINING INTERNATIONAL RULES<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The hypocrisy in
international relations, although nothing new, still manages to
bewilder and irritate me in equal measures. Are these hypocrites so
blind, so indoctrinated, that they don't see the nonsense that spews
from their mouths? Or are they very much aware of the double
standards that form the basis of their rhetoric but hope the public
won't pick up on it? There have been some great recent examples of
such hypocrisy.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
A few weeks back French
and American political and social commentators were lining up to take
a shot at Britain's perceived “crisis of democracy” over
parliaments no vote to military strikes in Syria. Apparently
international law must be respected at all times, and any violators
must be severely punished. Except, what they actually mean is that certain
people and countries must respect international rules, where others
need not concern themselves with such things. It's telling when you
see big political figures such as US President Barack Obama and
Secretary of State John Kerry replace the more objective term
“international law” with the subjective “international norms”.
But, as big violators of the former, what choice do countries like
the US have but to change the terminology they use to deflect from
the reality of their foreign policy.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Politicians and
political commentators, particularly from the US and Israel, but
Britain too, have been quick to dismiss the newly elected Iranian
president's pledged willingness to discuss a settlement over the
nuclear issue. Here the hypocrisy is as acute as ever. Often
reference to Iran's violation of a UN resolution is quoted in the
same conversation that mentions Israel's security; yet rarely are
Israel's constant abuses of international law and disregard for UN
resolutions mentioned. In that region, India, Pakistan, and even more
relevant, Israel, are all allowed to stockpile nuclear weapons,
whilst the international community headed by the US refuse Iran that
same right.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Another recent example
of the use of double standards in international relations was the
grounding of the plane carrying Bolivian President Evo Morales.
Spain, France, Italy and Portugal, at the insistence of Washington,
all denied his plane access to airspace over their respective
countries, forcing him to land in Vienna. Whistle blower and to most
outside the US, hero Edward Snowden, responsible for the recent NSA
leaks, was suspected of being on-board. The fact that this turned out
to be incorrect is irrelevant. What is disturbing is that the US and
it's allies feel they have the right to force a plane carrying a
democratically elected president to land in order for them to search
that plane. Can you imagine, and I mean really try to envisage, a
group of Latin American countries trying to force Air Force One, with
president on-board, to land at a place of their choosing so they can
carry out a thorough search. We all know what consequences would
likely follow – the US would severely punish the perpetrators, and
quite possibly, militarily.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Hypocrisy seems to be a
key theme that runs through the foreign polices of some Western
powers. Is there any wonder then that countries like Iran or North
Korea are reluctant to engage with such countries? Countries that
criticise them for their human rights record yet at the same time
cosy up to Saudi Arabia, probably one of the worst abusers of human
rights out there. What are the rest of the world seeing when they
look at the US or Britain? - Aggressive, untrustworthy, and extremely
hypocritical countries – and it's really not that hard to understand why they
have such a perception! </div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3720791605682746869.post-32186017593154401282013-05-01T23:22:00.002+01:002013-05-01T23:22:18.165+01:00ANNE FRANK AND THE HOLOCAUST - THE BEST AND WORST OF HUMANITY<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Having just read Anne
Frank's diary I cannot help but ponder over questions regarding the
Nazi persecution of European Jews during WW2, and of racial and
religious hatred in general. In many ways Anne Frank was a slightly
unique teenage girl: witty and intelligent beyond her years; Anne was
constantly in a mode of self-assessment and self-improvement, not
just academically but morally. Her descriptions of both the banal and
the exceptional living conditions in which she found herself living
under were vivid due to her writing abilities and philosophising
mind. But, in other ways, Anne was a typical teenager with typical
feelings of confusion, angst and alienation. What child of that age
doesn't feel misunderstood by their parents, and by adults in
general. It was this mixture of both her uniqueness and ordinariness
that helps to draw the reader into her world, and leaves you
pondering questions of humanity: the kindness and courage of some
verses the cruelness and hatred of others.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The risks that many
people took to hide and protect Jews in Nazi occupied Europe, as well
as other persecuted peoples, was nothing short of heroic. To put
themselves on the line in that way, knowing in full the penalties
that await such people if caught, shows a beautiful mix of compassion
and courage that makes you both sad and hopeful all at the same
moment. Equally, Anne Frank's desire to live as full a life as
possible whilst in hiding, and her commitment to do the same once the
occupation was over, while all that time living in constant fear of
capture, torture and death, is inspiring and heart-warming. When
faced with such cruelty as was commonplace under Nazi rule, and also
for those who unfortunately fell under imperial Japanese rule too,
it's comforting to know so many people fought back, and not just with
violence but with kindness too.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
But what drives people
to commit such abominable acts in the first place. The fact that a
large group of people, in this case the Germans, can be so
systematically cruel to another group of people, the Jews, is
horrifying, and you can't help but wonder what horrors await us in
the future. Having said that, we know many Germans at the time were
repulsed by Hitler and the Nazi ideology, some fighting back while
others were coerced or intimidated into playing along. Nevertheless,
there was big support for Hitler among the German population,
certainly at the beginning of the war, and anti-Semitism was rife.
It's simply to easy and dismissive to label these people as brutes
and animals, and it gets us nowhere in trying to understand what
caused the support for this ideology.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
At the time of Hitler's
ascension to power, Germany was on it's knees economically, causing
many hardships for ordinary people. We now know from experience that
when people are suffering they often look for someone to blame.
Extreme elements of society exploit this, often by pushing their own
prejudices onto other people by blaming those who are different to
them for societies ills. Hitler was clever and charismatic, and he
seemed to be able to offer the Germans a way out of the mess they
found themselves in. He gave them someone to blame and fight, someone
they could hate - a common enemy. Unfortunately, a combination of
Nazi propaganda and a feeling of helplessness among many sections of
the German people, caused a nation to come together to fight for a
deluded ideology that sickens me to my very core.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
If we can agree that
people aren't inherently cruel, born either good or evil with no room
for movement between the two, then there must be cause for hope and
optimism for the future. If we know that what drives people to do
good or bad mostly depends on their environment, then as humans we
must do our best to discourage unfavourable conditions, like poverty,
and encourage socially desirable ones, like equality. We will never
be able to entirely eradicate human cruelty from our repertoire, but
lessening the conditions where this behaviour thrives would hopefully
reduce the chances of us seeing such large scale atrocities like
those we have witnessed in the past. </div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3720791605682746869.post-61357715366468921472013-04-04T11:08:00.001+01:002013-04-04T11:08:30.490+01:00North Korea - Aggressive or Misunderstood? <br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
There's disconcerting
sounds coming out of North Korea right now. It's hopefully all
bravado but Kim Jong-un, like his farther before him, strikes me as a
megalomaniac. A megalomaniac who is now bored and wants to play
armies. Of course any attack of sizeable proportion against the
South, and any attack whatsoever against the US, would be suicide and
I'm sure that he and his cohorts realise this. Still, it's worrying
times for the region.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
However, we must be careful
when judging Kim Jong-un and North Korea, as our Western-centric
perspective, often formed from biased media reporting, can sometimes
hamper our ability to see the world as they do. Clearly there is a
repressive regime in place and for the average citizen life is hard
due to a lack of some of life's more basic necessities such as food
and water, as well as healthcare, eduction and jobs. But, they are
also faced with some external worries: they live next door to their
well armed enemy neighbour; and they also live close to some state of
the art army and naval bases that happen to belong to the US,
probably the most aggressive country in the world, with a track
record of militarily intervening in countries both overtly and
covertly. When you start looking at it from this perspective, you
start to see that North Korea probably feels insecure and vulnerable,
singled out for sanctions and bullied by the international community,
with very few friends in the world. It's quite common for someone who
perceives injustice in the way they are treated by others to lash
out, and this might well help to explain North Korea's behaviour, at
least in part. That's not to excuse their behaviour, but it would be
helpful going forward if this was taken into account when dealing
with this rouge state. </div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3720791605682746869.post-13556588784761236082013-03-21T17:51:00.000+00:002013-03-21T17:55:17.346+00:005 REASONS WHY THE IRAQ WAR WAS A MISTAKE<br />
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
There are
still people out there who continue to defend Tony Blair's decision
to follow the US into war with Iraq. The reasons given for their
pro-war stance are varied, but the most common tends to centre around
the argument that the removal of Saddam has put an end to genocide
and oppression, paving the way for democracy and freedom. This
reasoning does not really paint an accurate picture of what life is
like now for many Iraqis. Nor does it take into account the high
price paid to remove Saddam. Here are 5 reasons why the war was a big
mistake:</div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<h3>
<b>1. Legality
of war</b> </h3>
Under international war, there are certain conditions
that must be met before engaging in conflict with another country.
These conditions were not met, a point that was not lost on the
majority of the international community, and a reason why a
subsequent vote in the UN favoured giving weapons inspectors more
time to gather evidence, rather than using force. I recently read
someone's argument for going to war which stated that we shouldn't
let “legality” get in the way of doing what is morally right.
There way be times when a quote such as this holds some validity,
certainly in regards to some authoritarian regimes or to some archaic
laws that are no longer relevant to the modern world. But, when it
comes to international law, to ignore certain laws in order to
justify acts of aggression only serves to encourage others to commit
crimes if they deem it beneficial. How can we turn around and
criticise a county who flaunts the law when we are also guilty of
this.</div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b><br /></b>
<h3>
<b>2. The
rationale for going to war was based on lies</b> </h3>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Many lies were bandied about during the build up to war, with
Tony Blair and George Bush at the helms of their respective
governments being the worst culprits. Many experts had doubts
regarding the quality of the intelligence being cited as
justification, Hans Blix being one example. But since then the
information has been made public, making it quite clear that a
mixture of lies and exaggerated truths were used to encourage public
support for the war. Did Saddam Hussein have connections to Al-Qaeda.
Did he possess WMDs? Was he a threat to us or our allies? Of course,
we now all know that the answers to these questions are no. This
therefore brings us on to the next point; what were the actual
motives for war.</div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<h3>
<b>3. Immoral
motives</b> </h3>
Since Iraq was not a
threat, and Blair and Bush both stated at the beginning that regime
change was not their objective, ruling out reasons based on
humanitarian grounds and stability (or though this was later stated
as an objective once the security threat could no longer be wheeled
out as justification), then what on earth could have been driving our
leaders to send our troops to invade a foreign land? Well, looking at
who benefited most from the war, that is to say, mainly Western
companies involved in oil, construction, security, as well as arms
manufacturers and suppliers, then it's not hard to come to the
conclusion that our motives were not born out of the highest of moral
standards.</div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<h3>
<b>4. Death and
suffering </b></h3>
Civilian deaths
related to the war are estimated to be anywhere between over 100,000
at the very conservative end, to over 600,000. Either way, the
statistics are depressing and do not include long term injuries, both
physical and mental. Then, added to that are the deaths and injuries
that the coalition and Iraqi troops sustained. I know some feel
little sympathy for Saddam's forces but they had the right, under
international law, to resist foreign invaders. And whilst some troops
were loyal to Saddam and/or Iraq, many fought out of fear for him.
Can all this combined suffering we worth the removal of Saddam and
his regime? As we know, the suffering continued long after regime
change, and continues to this day.</div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<h3>
<b>5. The
aftermath</b> (t<b>he
suffering continues) </b></h3>
While some lives have undoubtedly improved post Saddam, like those of
the Kurds in northern Iraq, many areas of the country are less stable
and the quality of life has worsened when compared to Saddam's reign.
Sectarian violence, unemployment, lack of education and access to
healthcare are all common complaints, while woman's rights have also
taken a step backwards.</div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
As an outsider looking in, ask yourself, would you have preferred to
live in Iraq pre or post regime change? I know in terms of my safety
I would be better of picking the former. For Iraqis the answer to
this question would depend on factors such as where they live or of
what religion persuasion they are. What is clear is that for a great
many number of Iraqis life has got much harder, and shows little sign
of improvement any time soon. </div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3720791605682746869.post-19934222605461164762013-03-19T20:16:00.001+00:002013-03-19T20:16:08.192+00:00AM I AN ANTI-CAPITALIST? OR SHOULD A MORE ETHICAL CAPITALISM BE THE GOAL?<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Am I an
anti-capitalist? This is a question I've been asked on several
occasions, and not just by others, I also ask myself this same question.
The truth is, I don't think it matters if I am or not, capitalism is
the system we've got and for the time being it's here to stay. What I
want to see is a more ethical, fairer capitalism. Maybe by the very
nature of capitalism there will always be winners and losers, but
there must be a way, probably through some sort of regulation agreed
on a global scale, to increase the amount of winners and address the issue of inequality by reducing the
wealth gap between the rich and the poor.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
A multinational company
that makes huge profits while their workers on the factory floor
don't make a living wage, inhibiting them to adequately feed their
families or send their children to school, is quite frankly,
sickening. Capitalism seems to encourage some of humankind's less
admirable qualities such as greed and selfishness, therefore, is it
not common sense to try and restrain those who see no problem in
profiting at other people's expense?
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
There are clearly some
areas, for example, such as water, electric, gas and other
essentials, that should NEVER be privatised in order to protect the
public from unethical practices that can have a devastating effect on
people's lives. Even in Britain we are seeing utility companies
making record profits whilst continually increasing their prices,
consequently pushing more and more families deeper into poverty. Mass
privatisation of state-owned assets is always a mistake, as we have
seen time and time again. But where and when the private sector is in
control, and there are some good arguments as to why they should
always play a massive role locally and globally, then there should
always be safeguards in place that affords the public some protection
from those who are more inclined to do business in a less scrupulous
manner. </div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3720791605682746869.post-77982179214388753202013-03-01T13:20:00.000+00:002013-03-01T13:39:04.389+00:00Haredi Rabbis Child Abuse Shame - Britain's Hidden Child Abuse<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Child abuse cases are
always shocking whatever the circumstances. But, when the abuser is
supposedly a person of high moral standing and in a position of
trust, the level of deceit that goes with the actual abuse tends to
add fuel to the flames of anger. Dispatches, Channel 4's flagship
investigative current affairs programme, recently aired a brilliant
documentary exposing Rabbis within the Jewish Haredi community
discouraging victims of child abuse from going to the police,
preferring to deal with matters in-house and within the community. We
later find out that what is meant by dealing with matters within the
community is to do very little.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The Rabbis featured
showed no interest in gaining justice for the victim and no interest
in protecting children from future abuse. It's about time we stopped
assuming that a religious man is necessarily a man of morals. Time
and time again it has been proven that the former can lack the
latter. And vice versa, one can be moral and yet have no religious
faith whatsoever, this is a point I think that needs making. Child
abusers should be punished accordingly, and so should their enablers,
whether a rabbi, a priest, or anyone else that sits in a position of
authority and fails to adequately protect the vulnerable under their
care.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
If you haven't already I highly recommend watching the documentary: </div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
http://www.channel4.com/programmes/dispatches/4od#3470982Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3720791605682746869.post-23372895495783852112013-02-27T13:30:00.001+00:002013-02-27T13:30:43.574+00:00Iraq 10 Years On<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
10 years on from Iraq
and still Blair is a free man. No trial, no charge, not even an
arrest. The invasion of Iraq has probably got to be the biggest crime
my country has committed since my birth. Certainly the most straight
forward case of war crimes and breach of international law. How can
we expect people across the world to obey the rule of law when we
flaunt it so frivolously?
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
And what legacy have we
left Iraq? Some argue that although the motives may have been
dubious, we have removed a tyrant and installed democracy, leaving
the country in a better state than before the invasion. I cannot see
this. I see a corrupt government using the banner of democracy to
hide their wealth accumulation. I see constant sectarian violence
terrorising the innocent and vulnerable. I see a lack of eduction and
jobs. Saddam Hussein was a vicious dictator, few would disagree, I
certainly wouldn't. But, are the normal citizens of Iraq generally
better off now than before the invasion? With the exception of the
Kurds, the evidence seems to suggest, NO.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
It was wrong and
immoral to attack and invade Iraq, and the mess we left the country
in is a crime in its self. I do not feel good about belonging to a
country that has committed such terrible acts. To see Blair, among
others, on trial at The Hague, would go some way to addressing the
injustices the Iraqi people have endured. It would also send a clear
message to the international community and discourage any further
abuses. Unfortunately this is unlikely to happen.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
It looks quite a
distinct possibility that Iran may be the next victim. Iran is
constantly vilified in the media, and it's true that the regime there
is brutal and oppressive, but they show no physical aggression
towards their neighbours or beyond, they are not a threat to world
peace, not like we, the US and Israel are. Hopefully, with much of
the British population feeling let down by are exploits in Iraq,
public opinion against any involvement in such an act will be strong
enough to dissuade the government in participating. I'm sure the
streets will see unprecedented numbers of protesters if the people
are ignored. </div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3720791605682746869.post-44545534814565655632013-02-05T13:38:00.000+00:002013-02-05T13:38:42.872+00:00Drug Test For Every Employee <br />
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
There
is a school of thought at the moment that as part of the fight
against drugs, every single employee should be drug tested at their
place of work. This proposition seems to have gained at least some
popular support, although as far as I can tell no politician is
pushing for this yet. Leaving aside any possible breach of human
rights and invasion of privacy, which is not to be taken lightly,
this seems to me to be an ill-considered proposal which would have
deeply damaging social implications.
</div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Of
course, the idea is that employees who take drugs will reconsider
doing so, due to the possibility of loosing their job through being
tested positive at work. This may well be the case for some
occasional drug takers, but what happens to those, for example, who
are regular cannabis smokers and who are not willing to forgo one of
their pleasures? Estimates of adult cannabis usage in the UK put the
figures anywhere between 6% - 9% of the population. Even if we take a
very conservative estimate, that's well over 3 million cannabis users
of working age. That's potentially 3 million people, many of whom are
good and productive workers, now unemployed and claiming benefits. And
the perverse thing is that takers of harder drugs, such as ecstasy
and cocaine, have a better chance of keeping their jobs as their
drugs of choice take a much shorter period of time to work their way
out of the body.</div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
What
a scandal this would lead to if passed in law. Employers would loose
many of their best workers, those who lost their job would find it
extremely difficult to find new employment, and the drain on our
already very tight public funds would be immense. I'm not condoning
anyone going into work under the influence of any drug, including
alcohol, but as long as an employee is doing their job to a
satisfactory level, is it really of any concern to the employer what
they do outside of work?
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3720791605682746869.post-26247472602965870602013-01-31T17:28:00.001+00:002013-02-03T11:20:44.422+00:00Mali and the War On Terrorism<br />
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Jihadists,
Islamic extremists, Islamic fundamentalists, or whatever label you
want to apply to them, are again headline news due to increased
activity, this time in northern Mali where French troops, with the
help of Malian troops, have been given the unenvious task of
liberating towns from Al-Qaeda occupation. As each town falls to
French forces we learn of the brutality handed out by these
terrorists to the native populations, particularly the black
residents, where torture and murder seems to have been used not just
to keep order, but in a self-righteous sadistic manner synonymous
with <a href="http://www.janes.com/products/janes/defence-security-report.aspx?id=1065929536" target="_blank">Al-Qaeda</a>.</div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Whether or
not you think European involvement is the correct course of action,
there is little doubting the possible threat to peace these
terrorists could cause, not just to the region but, the world as a
whole. Having said that, as always happens, the only thought is how
to eliminate the threat and there is no discussion on why this threat
exists in the first place. Why is it that these Islamic extremist
groups seem to have an endless pool of enthusiastic recruits that are
frothing at the mouth at the thought of carrying out such despicable
acts, particularly in regards to the West and their supporters? Why
is there so much hate and resentment aimed at the West? The main
stream media finds the answer to these questions too uncomfortable so
chooses not to ask them.
</div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Mali, like
many other African and Middle Eastern countries, all have two
relevant common characteristics: They are oil producers and they have
mass poverty. Then there is a third factor that comes into play: Many
of them have corrupt governments that allow <a href="http://www.thisisafrica.me/opinion/detail/19725/stealing-africa-a-documentary-about-how-multinationals-continue-to-suck-the-continent-dry" target="_blank">Western multinationals</a> to
make ridiculously large profits from their oil reserves. How must
this look to the native populations? Often living in dire poverty,
lacking food, water, housing, employment, eduction, and probably most
importantly – hope, it's enough to turn anyone bitter. They have
practically nothing, yet through stealing their natural resources
Western multinationals turn over huge profits. It's not hard to see
the link between terrorism, poverty and the theft of resources.
</div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
If we want
to reduce terrorism we have three options, along side the use of
force. One, stop profiting from other countries resources, which I
think we can all agree is unlikely to happen. Two, eradicate or
reduce poverty in those countries. Three, continue to exploit their
resources but use a fair amount of the profit to fight poverty in
their respective countries by funding housing, education,
infrastructure etc. If we ignore these options, and I'm sure we will,
global terrorism will not go away. </div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3720791605682746869.post-40913889634756011892013-01-24T00:06:00.000+00:002013-02-12T23:14:08.328+00:00The World: 50 Years Down the Line<br />
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I'm sure that even people with the most positive of dispositions find
it hard to look beyond the near future with any real optimism. Maybe
humans by nature tend not to think that far ahead anyway, preferring
to focus on the here and now instead, which is understandable.
Western governments and multinationals are certainly very limited in
their long term planning, with the latter prioritising short term
profit above everything else. Attitudes in the East, particularly
China, seem to be much more adept at long term planning, sometimes
thinking many generations ahead. But, it is this general lack of
consideration for the future that further exacerbates the problems
that the planet faces and will continue to face with increasing
urgency.
</div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
It is problems that we are already confronted with which in my
reckoning will, without urgent attention, cause untold suffering to
the world, barely leaving any corners untouched. In fact, these
particular problems are already having a devastating affect on some
peoples lives. Over-population, diminishing natural resources, and
climate change. These three issues are not unrelated to each other,
they work in combination, one fuelling the other. Neither are these
issues foreign or obscure, they are well known to everyone, certainly
throughout the developed world, maybe to a lesser extent in the
developing world where poverty reduction seems more relevant.
</div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
To many the world is already over-populated, with many of people's
basic needs such as food and water not being met. Whether you think
that this is a population problem or just bad management of the earth's
resources, it's hard to deny that if the current population growth
trends continue, we will certainly be unable to provide for massive
parts of the world's population, with increased famine being just one
of the awful consequences we will be confronted with. We have limited
natural resources, whether that be oil, gas, minerals or fish stocks,
we all know this. Yet we continue to largely ignore this fact,
choosing to up our consumption of such resources, while limiting our
investment in greener renewable alternatives. Through increased Co2
levels, animal agriculture, deforestation, as well as many other
factors, we are affecting climate change which is upsetting the
natural balance of the planet.</div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
It is the combination of these three ever-growing problems,
over-population, dwindling natural resources, and climate change,
together with what seems to be mankind's short-sightedness and thirst
for confrontation and conflict, that will bring about such terrifying
consequences: major natural disasters and large scale war.
</div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Extreme weather patterns due to a warming in the earth's temperature
and a rise in sea levels, are something we are already familiar with,
but these are likely to increase in volume and severity in the
future. With droughts, hurricanes, and monsoons killing more and more
people, as well as wildlife. There is also likely to be a rise in
volcano eruptions and earthquakes. The world, simply put, will become
much less hospitable, making survival an uphill battle.
</div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Probably more worrying, at least in terms of the immediate
destruction it can cause, is a world that turns to war in pursuit of
the world's dwindling resources. This is not simply paranoia or an
over-the-top prediction of an apocalyptic end to the world. The
history of humankind is littered with war and violence, even our more
recent history is no exception, with advanced modern countries
showing the same disregard for human life and lust for destruction.
The most striking of differences the technologically driven modern
world has compared with the past is the array and destructiveness of
its weapons, not least nuclear weapons which have now become
prolific.
</div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Some argue that nuclear weapons, which now several countries possess,
have brought about a certain amount of stability. I believe there is
some truth in this, after all, one country tends not to attack
another country if they are able to respond with a nuclear threat.
But given that the worlds growing population, who have a propensity
for war, is running out of resources, it's doesn't take much of a
leap to argue that nations may engage in war over these resources. I
would like to be optimistic about our future here on earth, but the
logical part of my brain tells me there will be wars, continuous,
brutal and probably nuclear world wars. Unless we get are shit
together, the world in 50 years time will be no picnic! </div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3720791605682746869.post-24697697539666921422013-01-08T23:59:00.001+00:002013-01-09T13:24:23.923+00:00A Shattered Faith in the Liberal Democrats and UK Politics<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Today was the final
nail in the coffin, the Liberal Democrats will no longer get my
support. It was looking more and more unlikely that they would
receive my vote in the next election, but this most recent attack
aimed at the poorer and more disadvantaged echelons of society in the
form of benefit cuts, is the final straw. My hope that the Liberal
Democrats would somehow restrain the Conservatives and their elitist
policies did not pan out, showing no conviction in protecting what
are supposed to be the party's core values. While the disadvantaged,
who can not be held accountable for the financial mess we are in, are
attacked and demonised, the Liberal Democrats seem to either actively
support Conservative policies or fall into a state of inertia.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
We can expect more of
the same over the next couple of years, inequality and poverty will
continue to increase, bringing with it all manner of social ills and
unrest. The Coalition will continue to blame the economy and
financial deficit for the crimes they commit against their own
people. Labour will of course be loud in opposition, and maybe it's
true that if they were in government the cuts would be less harsh,
but what else can they offer? They have to take a fair chunk of the
blame for this financial mess which has allowed the Conservatives to
act which such cruelty. Labour's record on human rights and civil
liberties are probably worse than that of the Conservatives, and
their aggressive foreign policy is abhorrent, thus to me, they are no
alternative.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
So what voting
alternatives have we got for the next election? I'm sure UKIP and the
BNP will continue to pick up votes, these more extreme parties seem
to do well when society as a whole is suffering, but lets hope not.
Now that my faith in the Liberal Democrats has been shattered, it is
only the <a href="http://www.greenparty.org.uk/" target="_blank">Green Party</a> that I see as a viable alternative. Their
policies and values are very appealing, but it is their lack of
experience and political savvy where I have doubts. Having said that,
it's not as if they are going to find themselves in government by the
next election. A gradual rise in popularity would seem more likely,
allowing them to pick seats up here and there, gaining experience and
influence as they go. My faith in British politics is at an all time
low, it's hard to see any other than the three current mainstream
parties dominating for the foreseeable future. No wonder pessimism is
taking hold. </div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3720791605682746869.post-22730338652828368612012-12-02T19:08:00.001+00:002012-12-09T18:29:23.093+00:00Israel and Mainstream Media Bias<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Recently the world's
media focused once again on <a href="http://www.historyandpolicy.org/papers/policy-paper-29.html" target="_blank">Israel and the Palestinians</a>, and once
again the debate over who's right and who's wrong got mainstream
attention. Unfortunately much of the <a href="http://stopwar.org.uk/index.php/palestine-and-israel/2027-who-is-doing-the-killing-in-gaza-noam-chomsky-and-others-challenge-the-worlds-media" target="_blank">mainstream media was biased</a>, as
is the norm, essentially providing a pro-Israeli narrative when ever
possible. Several years ago, before I took up an interest in this
conflict and when my knowledge was much more limited, the only
information I received on this issue was through such media outlets
as the BBC and other daily tabloid newspapers. Through their
distorted reporting I formed the opinion that the Israelis were the
victims in all this, the target of unprovoked Arab aggression, with
the Palestinians leading the terrorist fight to expel all Jews from
the region. I couldn't really be blamed for my naive views at that
time, how was I to know the reality of this decades old conflict
without deviating from the mainstream media and digging a little
deeper.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Of course there is
biased reporting on the behalf of the Palestinian cause and both
sides have committed terrible acts, but there are clear facts that
show that one side is dominated and oppressed by the other. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_Nations_resolutions_concerning_Israel" target="_blank">UN</a>
reports and repeated resolutions condemning Israeli violations of
international law are one clear indicator of what's really happening
on the ground. <a href="http://www.amnesty.org.uk/content.asp?CategoryID=973" target="_blank">Human rights groups</a> are another great source of
information as they are less concerned with the political situation
and focus solely on the human suffering whether Israeli or
Palestinian. When looking to sources other than the mainstream media
and when you take the standard British political stance with a pinch
of salt, you soon become horrified and angry at not only the
suffering that the Palestinians endure, but also at the way many
Western governments and media conglomerates show bias towards, and
therefore support for, Israeli abuses of international law. The
reason why they show such unwavering support is also another
interesting and disturbing topic, one which I won't go into now.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
On a positive note
looking forward, the British public seem to be following their
European counterparts in starting to understand the reality of life
for the Palestinian population under Israeli occupation and
oppression. The reasons for this I can not easily explain, but I
expect it has something to so with the way individual activists and
organisations use ever-evolving social media tools such as Twitter
and Facebook, as well as the increasing amount of alternative news
and information websites, allowing the general public to access
broader, diverse and more up-to-date news. Although the spread of
information in this manner is not always accurate and verifiable, it
allows alternative ideas to be spread, often igniting the interest of
the receiver which then prompts them to delve further into the
subject using more credible sources. People are no longer restricted
to just a few news media outlets who provide propaganda for the
political and business elite, they are now often exposed to a wide
range of views that contradict the status quo which I think will only
help to spread social equality throughout Israel, and indeed the
world. </div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3720791605682746869.post-52021438204635620762012-10-22T21:05:00.000+01:002012-11-02T01:06:24.981+00:00MEP Ashley Fox Backs Apartheid Regime<br />
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>I recently
emailed MEP Ashley Fox regarding the vote on the <a href="http://palestinecampaign.org/Index5b.asp?m_id=1&l1_id=3&l2_id=137" target="_blank">EU-Israel Protocol on Conformity Assessment and Acceptance of Industrial Products (ACAA).</a> The vote takes place on October 23<sup>rd</sup> 2012 and if
implemented would essentially mean better trade conditions between
the EU and Israel. I asked
Ashley Fox to show support for Palestinian human rights by voting
against this agreement.</b></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><br />
</b></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Below is his
response:</b></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<div class="ecxMsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white; color: #2a2a2a; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 18.18181800842285px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20.909090042114258px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Thank you for your e-mail. Please allow me to be absolutely clear on what is happening.</span></span></div>
<div class="ecxMsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white; color: #2a2a2a; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 18.18181800842285px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="ecxMsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white; color: #2a2a2a; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 18.18181800842285px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20.909090042114258px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The European Union is discussing a protocol to an already existing agreement between the EU and Israel. I believe that refusing consent to this Protocol would cause economic damage to both the EU and Israel at this time of international financial crisis. It would also affect the EU's ability to project positive political influence within Israel for promoting lasting peace in the region. I support EU trade agreements with both the Palestinian and Israeli Authorities and will continue to do so.</span></span></div>
<div class="ecxMsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white; color: #2a2a2a; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 18.18181800842285px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="ecxMsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white; color: #2a2a2a; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 18.18181800842285px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20.909090042114258px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">I believe than an eventual progression from the 1993 Oslo Peace Accords towards a two state solution will lead to final and comprehensive settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict based on implementation of the Road Map with land for peace swaps. This would create a peaceful and sovereign Palestinian State, with Israel enjoying secure and recognised borders. Each country should enjoy normal relations and capacity for trade with its neighbours.</span></span></div>
<div class="ecxMsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white; color: #2a2a2a; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 18.18181800842285px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="ecxMsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white; color: #2a2a2a; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 18.18181800842285px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20.909090042114258px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">I support the PA led by President Abbas and Prime Minister Fayyad as the legitimate government of the Palestinians. Any sovereign future Palestinian state would have to be able to reign in terrorist groups such as Hamas, which has to date refused to uphold the Oslo Peace Accords.</span></span></div>
<div class="ecxMsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white; color: #2a2a2a; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 18.18181800842285px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="ecxMsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white; color: #2a2a2a; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 18.18181800842285px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20.909090042114258px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The Association Agreement with Israel (signed in 1995 and in force from 2000) does not include either the occupied territories, or goods originating in these territories. Indeed, goods originating from the Israeli occupied territories are not entitled to preferential tariff treatment under Community law.</span></span></div>
<div class="ecxMsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white; color: #2a2a2a; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 18.18181800842285px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="ecxMsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white; color: #2a2a2a; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 18.18181800842285px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20.909090042114258px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">I believe that Palestine should be governed by the Palestinian people. I have sought assurances from the European Commission that any free trade agreement with Israel includes safeguards to prevent the economic exploitation of the West Bank and Gaza territories.</span></span></div>
<div class="ecxMsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white; color: #2a2a2a; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 18.18181800842285px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="ecxMsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white; color: #2a2a2a; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 18.18181800842285px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20.909090042114258px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">I believe that to effectively isolate Israel will only exacerbate the problems in the region. Trade allows the flow of goods and with them ideas. It allows us to influence Israel in ways that would not be possible if we stopped trading with them. Indeed, European Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso visited Palestine in July this year to show that support.</span></span></div>
<div class="ecxMsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white; color: #2a2a2a; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 18.18181800842285px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="ecxMsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white; color: #2a2a2a; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 18.18181800842285px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20.909090042114258px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Israel has behaved appallingly in many ways, but not without provocation. The only way to change this behaviour is through trade and 'soft' influence. Forcing Israel into an isolated corner has not worked in the past and will not work in the future. I will continue to support free trade agreements, with proper safeguards, with both Palestine and Israel.</span></span></div>
<div class="ecxMsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white; color: #2a2a2a; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 18.18181800842285px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="ecxMsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white; color: #2a2a2a; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 18.18181800842285px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20.909090042114258px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Yours sincerely,</span></span></div>
<div class="ecxMsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white; color: #2a2a2a; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 18.18181800842285px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="ecxMsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white; color: #2a2a2a; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 18.18181800842285px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20.909090042114258px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Ashley Fox</span></span></div>
<div class="ecxMsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white; color: #2a2a2a; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 18.18181800842285px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20.909090042114258px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="ecxMsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white; color: #2a2a2a; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 18.18181800842285px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20.909090042114258px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20.909090042114258px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20.909090042114258px;"><b>Unsatisfied with his response which showed either a lack of compassion or a large amount of ignorance, I replied:</b></span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20.909090042114258px;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20.909090042114258px;"></span><br />
<div align="LEFT" class="ecxwestern" style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.63636302947998px; line-height: 17.27272605895996px; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20.909090042114258px;">Dear Mr Fox</span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="ecxwestern" style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.63636302947998px; line-height: 17.27272605895996px; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20.909090042114258px;"><br style="line-height: 17.27272605895996px;" /></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="ecxwestern" style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.63636302947998px; line-height: 17.27272605895996px; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20.909090042114258px;">Thank you for replying to my email regarding the ACAA agreement. However, I feel I must reply in response to some of the points you have made as they are inaccurate.</span></div>
<ol style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.63636302947998px; line-height: 17.27272605895996px; text-align: start;"><div align="LEFT" class="ecxwestern" style="line-height: 17.27272605895996px; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
</ol>
<div align="LEFT" class="ecxwestern" style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.63636302947998px; line-height: 17.27272605895996px; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20.909090042114258px;"><br style="line-height: 17.27272605895996px;" /></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="ecxwestern" style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.63636302947998px; line-height: 17.27272605895996px; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20.909090042114258px;">1.) “refusing consent to this Protocol would cause economic damage to both the EU and Israel”.</span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="ecxwestern" style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.63636302947998px; line-height: 17.27272605895996px; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20.909090042114258px;"><br style="line-height: 17.27272605895996px;" /></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="ecxwestern" style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.63636302947998px; line-height: 17.27272605895996px; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20.909090042114258px;">Although refusing consent may cause some minor adverse effects to the economy of the EU, any negative consequences to the Israeli economy can only be a positive outcome, as this would highlight two important points: Firstly, that we are unwilling to improve trade conditions with an apartheid regime that consistently breaks international law through the abuse of human rights and the occupation of Palestinian land. Secondly, as trade with Europe and probably the world will be hampered, Israel's economy, and therefore it's people, will suffer as a consequence, possibly causing them pause for thought regrading their harmful policies.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20.909090042114258px;"><br style="line-height: 17.27272605895996px;" /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20.909090042114258px;">2.) “the EU's ability to project positive political influence within Israel”.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20.909090042114258px;"><br style="line-height: 17.27272605895996px;" /></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="ecxwestern" style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.63636302947998px; line-height: 17.27272605895996px; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20.909090042114258px;">Israel currently enjoys brilliant trade relations with countries such as ourselves and the US. This has only helped to enable Israel to implement and maintain its system of oppression. If we improve Israel's trade prospects what kind of message would that really send? Can't you see that by doing this we will be condoning their despicable policies and actions?</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20.909090042114258px;"><br style="line-height: 17.27272605895996px;" /></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="ecxwestern" style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.63636302947998px; line-height: 17.27272605895996px; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20.909090042114258px;">3.) “Any sovereign future Palestinian state would have to be able to reign in terrorist groups such as Hamas, which has to date refused to uphold the Oslo Peace Accords.”</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20.909090042114258px;"><br style="line-height: 17.27272605895996px;" /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20.909090042114258px;">Hamas have committed some abhorrent crimes, I would not question this. But so have Israel and on a much larger scale. Israel is a terrorist state; anyone who has an interest in this issue and is without bias, knows this. Assassinations, indiscriminate killings and sometimes the intended killing of civilians, torture, the demolition of civilian structures ( houses in particular), detention without trial (including children), these are all done systematically and on a regular basis by the state of Israel. Therefore, do you not agree that if Hamas has to be reigned in, so does Israel?</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20.909090042114258px;"><br style="line-height: 17.27272605895996px;" /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20.909090042114258px;">As far as upholding the Oslo Peace Accords, why are you not also referring to Israel's continued illegal settlement building, as well as the crimes just mentioned above?</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20.909090042114258px;"><br style="line-height: 17.27272605895996px;" /></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="ecxwestern" style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.63636302947998px; line-height: 17.27272605895996px; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20.909090042114258px;">4.) “The Association Agreement with Israel does not include either the occupied territories , or goods originating in these territories.”</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20.909090042114258px;"><br style="line-height: 17.27272605895996px;" /></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="ecxwestern" style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.63636302947998px; line-height: 17.27272605895996px; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20.909090042114258px;">This may be true but many illegal Israeli settlement goods are sold throughout Britain, many through the big supermarket chains. Like I said, we already have good trade relations with Israel, and so far we have not used this as a lever to affect change. Why is this? You state that “to isolate Israel will only exacerbate the problems in the region”, but how much worse can it get for the Palestinians? Didn't boycotts and sanctions help to bring apartheid in South Africa to an end?</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20.909090042114258px;"><br style="line-height: 17.27272605895996px;" /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20.909090042114258px;">5.) “Israel has behaved appallingly in many ways, but not without provocation.”</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20.909090042114258px;"><br style="line-height: 17.27272605895996px;" /></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="ecxwestern" style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.63636302947998px; line-height: 17.27272605895996px; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20.909090042114258px;">I think you would do better to turn this sentence around – Palestinians have behaved appallingly in many ways, but not without provocation. Israel is a prosperous country, many of the population have access to good healthcare, education and jobs. This is not true of Palestine, where the majority of the population live in poverty with very little hope for a better future. Even the most basic and essential supplies sent to them by the international community are often stopped from reaching them by the Israel. It is this lack of hope and desperation that sometimes leads Palestinians to commit horrific acts of violence.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20.909090042114258px;"><br style="line-height: 17.27272605895996px;" /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20.909090042114258px;">Thank you for taking the time to read this email. I would very much appreciate a reply to the points I have set out. I look forward to your response.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20.909090042114258px;"><br style="line-height: 17.27272605895996px;" /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20.909090042114258px;">Yours sincerely,</span></div>
<div>
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20.909090042114258px;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="ecxMsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white; color: #2a2a2a; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<b style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17.266666412353516px; text-align: -webkit-left;">I now await his response, fully aware that he will go ahead and vote yes to this agreement anyway. It will be interesting to see how he justifies voting yes when answering the questions I put to him. </b></div>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3720791605682746869.post-77546661385697831512012-09-24T22:37:00.001+01:002012-09-24T22:37:18.454+01:00Film “Innocence of Muslims” Sparks Outrage Throughout the Islamic World<br />
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Anti-West
protests throughout many Muslim countries this last week or so have
had a slight end of the world feel about them. The extremely tacky
and distasteful “Innocence of Muslims”, a short film that was
clearly made with the intent to antagonise Muslims the world round,
has had it's desired effect. Although it would be accurate to state
that it was only a fraction of the worlds Muslims who were out there
protesting, and a even smaller number who turned to violence, I still
felt disappointed and concerned at the reaction, especially
considering these were largely grown men. The people responsible for
this video are clearly contemptible, but why they would want to
offend so many people in this way is unclear at this point. But,
however distasteful or offensive we might find this video, we must
defend freedom of speech at all costs. To have something banned
simply because we don't agree with it's tone or message would be to
regress as a society, possibly the start of a very slippery slope
that leads to a less civilised world.
</div>
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<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
As a big fan
and regular viewer of animated sitcoms such as Family Guy and South
Park, I've seen numerous episodes where they poke fun at characters
from the Christian faith, namely God and Jesus. I'm aware of some
discontent from some faith groups, particularly in the US, but these
sitcoms largely go about their business with little hassle and
serious threats to their lives are pretty rare. So why do Christians
in the West largely ignore what could be seen as an attack on their
faith? And why is the reaction so different throughout the Muslim
world? I don't see religion as a progressive force in society in
general, but in the West Christian views seemed to have mellowed and have accepted that people are free to criticise whenever they see
fit. Many Christians, I imagine, laugh along to the same episodes as
I do, seeing no conflict in laughing at parts of their faith while
still holding that faith strong and close to them.
</div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Maybe the
intensity of the protests throughout the Arab world can be partly
blamed on the conditions they find themselves living in, using their
religion as an outlet for dissatisfaction relating to the lack of
democracy, lack of freedom of speech, lack of education and jobs, and
so forth. Whatever the reasons for the violence it can never be
justified. If religion is to be taken seriously in the 21<sup>st</sup>
century then scenes like this need to be avoided. People like me who
have no faith are prepared to accept and even respect other people's
faith, but not when it acts in such a destructive and violent manner. </div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3720791605682746869.post-40618359496194638042012-09-24T16:22:00.001+01:002012-09-24T16:41:51.734+01:00American Presidential Elections 2012 – The Lesser of Two Evils<br />
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
As per
usual, elections in the most powerful and influential country in the
world has more to do with personality than policy. To become
president you must be wholesome, an all American guy who's Christian
faith is unshakable and the basis on which all decisions must be made
whilst in office. Oh, and you need money, and lots of it. It's really
all about voting for the lesser evil, that's all you can hope for.
<a href="http://thisweekwithbarackobama.blogspot.co.uk/" target="_blank">Obama</a> gave the world hope for change, unfortunately he fell short on
most issues, including on his promise to close <a href="http://gtmoblog.blogspot.co.uk/" target="_blank">Guantanamo Bay</a>. To be
fair he was always up against it, the US system of governance is set
up in such a way that it's virtually impossible to change the way big
business and certain powerful individuals and groups dominate, at the
detriment not only to Americans but the world as a whole.
</div>
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<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Obama may
not have been the ray of hope we were looking for, but next to <a href="http://tamino.wordpress.com/2012/09/19/mitt-romneys-america/" target="_blank">Mitt Romney</a> and the destructive and uncaring policies of the <a href="http://www.deathandtaxesmag.com/143605/noam-chomsky-on-republican-candidates-no-analogue-in-american-history/" target="_blank">Republican Party</a>, he's heaven sent, here to save us from the devil himself. If
the American public is crazy enough to vote Romney in, and judging by
their track record it's a real possibility, the world will becomes
that little bit more unstable. I truly believe this. You can add him
to the list of moral-less trigger happy war lords such as Reagan,
Bush Sr. and Bush Jnr. All dreadful people who have done dreadful
things, without a hint of remorse for their total lack of respect for
human life.
</div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
As the
elections start to build steam, the mud slinging will intensify, each
concentrating on the others personality flaws, with policy a
secondary issue at best. If Americans decide to ignore this charade
and concentrate purely on policy, a little scratching at the surface
will reveal what most people with even a partial interest in world
politics will know: that Mitt Romney and the Republican Party are
there to serve their own interests, that of a small elite of
extremely wealthy Americans who's only concern is in maintaining the
status quo, with little or no concern in the well-being of their own
people, and certainly not the well-being of other nations. Having
said that, do the Democrats differ greatly in what they can offer
Americans and the world? Well, in my opinion they do at least at
times seem to show some humility to their own as well as to the
world, but as I mentioned earlier, it's all about choosing the lesser
of two evils. That's probably the kindest thing to be said of the
Democratic Party. </div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3720791605682746869.post-12085909278867492562012-09-12T21:20:00.000+01:002012-09-12T21:23:27.262+01:00KINGFISHER AIRLINES - WHERE'S MY MONEY?<br />
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Earlier this
year KINGFISHER AIRLINES decided to cancel my return flight to the
UK, leaving me stranded in Thailand. (Granted, there are worse places
you could be stranded). I was told that due to Kingfisher cancelling
all flights from Thailand to the UK, they were unable to book me onto
an alternative flight. STA Travel, the agency with whom I bought the
ticket through, informed me I would receive a partial refund on the
unused part of the ticket, but they could not tell me when this would
be actioned. The only option open to me was to book myself onto
another flight with a different airline, which is exactly what I did,
costing me an extra £400 on top of the £600 plus I'd already spent
on the original ticket.
</div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
It's now
over 6 months later and I am yet to receive either a partial refund
or a reimbursement for the cost of the extra ticket. Irritated is
putting it mildly, these are not the most affluent of times, I want
my money!</div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Every time I
contact STA Travel to enquire about my refund I am simply told that
they have not yet received it, so therefore they are unable to pass
it on. When I contacted Kingfisher I was informed that all
correspondence must go through the broker with whom I purchased the
ticket with – STA Travel. See the pattern?!!!</div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I'm getting
the distinct feeling I may never receive any recompense, but maybe
I've just become too cynical? Kingfisher are clearly out of line
here, I wonder if this is a common complaint with this particular
airline, or am I just unlucky? Or maybe this is endemic to the
airline industry as a whole?
</div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I can't help
but feel that STA Travel are less than sympathetic and wonder if they
could be doing more for my cause? Although, I only have positive
things to say about STA regarding my previous dealings and
transactions with them.
</div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I've now
registered a complaint with the <a href="http://www.caa.co.uk/" target="_blank">Civil Aviation Authority</a>, the only
option left to me as far as I can fathom. I'll keep you posted with
any updates. If anyone has any advice or experience concerning this
or similar airline issues, please comment below.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3720791605682746869.post-60638117283071478582012-08-28T21:29:00.000+01:002012-09-02T19:16:09.208+01:00Thailand: My Top Ten<br />
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Compiling a list of what I considered to be my top ten Thailand
destinations was not as straight forward a task as I had originally
assumed. There seemed to be two main factors which when I considered
the list would cause me to alter the ranking of some of the
destinations: One being my mood i.e., was I looking for total peace
and quiet with good snorkelling nearby, or was I feeling more
inclined to go mountain trekking or sightseeing. Two, how long was I
planning on staying in one particular destination, e.g., if I had
decided I wanted to settle somewhere for a couple of months or so, I
would probably avoid somewhere with poor internet access and few
eating options. So with the list as it stands, I have tried to factor
in the two variables just mentioned, and I have created what I think
is a fairly accurate top ten.</div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
<h3>
<b>10 - Koh Tao</b></h3>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Koh Tao is a small island located in the <a href="http://gulfthailand.com/" target="_blank">Gulf of Thailand</a>, roughly
70km east of the mainland between Chumphon and Suratthani. Turtle
Island, as Koh Tao is sometimes referred to, lives up to its
reputation for great diving and vibrant night-life. Nice beaches,
clear water and reasonably priced accommodation is certainly another
factor that helps attracts the crowds. On Sairee Beach, the most
popular beach on the island, there are plenty of bars and
restaurants, regular beach parties with their customary fire shows,
and a community of dive instructors who seem to have a passion for
their chosen vocation, as well as for alcohol. One small complaint
would be in regards to sun bathing, which wasn't always easy due to
what seemed like a constant high tide, leaving only a short stretch
of sand in places. The beautiful Koh Nangyuan, which consists of
three very small islands connected by a single stretch of white sand,
is a short boat trip away, and I would highly recommend spending some
time there. Diving, which seems to be the main pulls to the island,
is highly rated and everyone I spoke to seemed more than satisfied
with their experience, with sightings of <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsCYwPDIYuA" target="_blank">Whale Sharks</a> commonplace.
With only two visits under by belt, and one of those being a day trip
from Koh Phangan, I only have limited experience of Koh Tao, but it
still makes it into my top ten. </div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
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<h3>
<b>9 - Koh Chang</b></h3>
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There are in fact two Koh Changs in Thailand; the one I am referring
to here lies off the south-east coast and is the second largest
island, <a href="http://www.phuket.com/" target="_blank">Phuket </a>being the first. With it's chilled vibe, nice beaches,
jungle like interior, and small but lively party scene, tropical Koh
Chang has to be included in my top ten. Exploring the island by
motorbike is easy enough and allows you go from beach to beach,
taking in it's various stages of tourism, from the very laid back to
the extremely commercial. Activities on offer include: diving,
snorkelling, kayaking, hiking and <a href="http://iamkohchang.com/activities/on-land/elephant-trekking-on-koh-chang.html" target="_blank">elephant trekking</a>, as well as trips
to the surrounding islands. For me the mix was good, half my time
there was spent relaxing and partying, the other half spent riding
elephants and just generally exploring my surroundings. As on Koh Tao
my experience of this island is limited, but what I did see I liked
and I hope to go back.</div>
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<h3>
<b>8 - Ayutthaya</b></h3>
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I seemed to fall a little in love with Ayutthaya within a very short
time, surpassing my expectations, which probably weren't that high
due to the lack of recommendations from other travellers. <a href="http://www.lookatlao.com/adventure/ayutthaya/" target="_blank">Ancient temples</a> and ruins which are scattered throughout the city are the
main draw for tourists. In my opinion these are some of the best
temples and historical sights in Thailand, and being only an hour or
so from Bangkok a day trip is possible. Having said that, it's worth
staying at least 2 or 3 days to explore the temples and the city in
general, and to absorb the laid-back and slightly spiritual
atmosphere. There's a fair range of accommodation, nice and
inexpensive food can be found in the markets, and bicycles, which are
a great way of seeing the city, can be rented for next to nothing.
There's not too much in terms of a night-life but there are a few
bars that attract tourists, ex-pats and locals alike and where a good
night can be had. Thai-style clubs or discotheques can also be found
and in my experience are often a lot of fun. </div>
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<h3>
<b>7 - Koh Samet</b></h3>
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If you're flying into <a href="http://www.bangkok.com/" target="_blank">Bangkok</a> but are looking to avoid the capital's
hectic and humid streets, preferring instead a much more chilled
island lifestyle, then Koh Samet is a good option. It's about 2 to 4
hours minibus ride from Bangkok to <a href="http://www.ban-phe.com/" target="_blank">Ban Phe Pier</a> (very much depending
on traffic and stops), then approximately a 30min ferry ride from the
pier to the island itself, which when considering the distances to
other islands in the south of Thailand, makes Koh Samet fairly
convenient and stress free. Finding really cheap food and
accommodation isn't always easy but the amazing white sand, lazy
chilled days (there are some options for the more energetic and
adventurous), and lively night-life are a good mix. On the weekend
it's a good place to meet young party-loving Thais as many of them
seem to flock to the island to escape Bangkok. But be warned, this
makes finding accommodation a lot harder so either pre-book or arrive
before Friday when this shouldn't be an issue. </div>
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<h3>
<b>6 - Isaan</b></h3>
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Whilst Isaan has only made it in at number 6, the more time I spend
in the north east region of Thailand the more appealing it becomes.
Therefore, I think it would be safe to assume that if I were to spend
further time there, Isaan would steadily claw it's way up the list.
The people, with their often laid back, helpful and friendly
demeanour, is probably one of the most endearing features of this
largely rural region. This more traditional side of Thailand,
sometimes referred to as “the real Thailand”, is peaceful yet
vibrant. Usually much cheaper when compared to other parts of
Thailand, your money goes a lot further in regards to every day
living costs. Accommodation, food (which is generally delicious),
drink and transport, for the most part, are all inexpensive. Another
feature that I noticed and loved was the importance of their local
parks. Although very quiet throughout the day, by late afternoon they
fill considerably with locals coming together, partly to exercise,
partly to socialise. Walking, jogging, football, Sepak Takraw (a
sport played throughout South-East Asia which is similar to
volleyball, but differs by using a rattan ball and only permitting
players to strike the ball with either their feet, knees, chest or
head) and basketball are all activities that are commonplace to Isaan
parks. It's a side of Thailand that many tourists don't see and
that's a shame, but it's easy to understand why many people don't
consider it, I guess, with it's lack of beaches and tourist friendly
resorts. </div>
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<h3>
<b>5 - Railey</b></h3>
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Railey, a beautiful little place with its stand-out feature being
it's limestone cliffs, can be found in the southern province of
<a href="http://www.krabi-tourism.com/" target="_blank">Krabi</a>. Although attached to the mainland it projects an island
persona due to the fact that it can only be reached by boat. Rock
climbing the aforementioned limestone cliffs is a popular pastime and
well worth the effort, half and full-day climbs are readily
available. All levels of experience are catered for. The quality
beaches and clear blue ocean, along with the jagged cliffs, help to
create the effect of serenity, which can sometimes be broken when
beaches are slightly crowded during peak times. Day and night the
whole place has a nice community feel to it, even the monkeys seem
fairly amiable. And there's plenty of reggae, a lot of it decent,
which is always a big bonus for me. </div>
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<h3>
<b>4 - Koh Kradan</b></h3>
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Koh Kradan is the most beautiful of the <a href="http://matadornetwork.com/trips/backpackers-secret-guide-islands-of-trang-thailand/" target="_blank">Trang Islands</a> and possibly
the most beautiful of all Thailand's islands. Put simply Koh Kradan
is stunning! Lying in the Andaman Sea south-west of Phuket and about
40 minutes from Trang on the mainland, this little gem remains
largely underdeveloped with limited structures, no roads and no motor
vehicles (except for boats ferrying people back and forth). It has
all the usual criteria that makes up your typical island paradise:
thick inner jungle, gorgeous white sand and clear turquoise waters.
But what helps to make it even more appealing is the amazing coral
reef that surrounds the island. Only a short swim away it is almost
certainly the best <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L82xkSdTVss" target="_blank">snorkelling</a> I have encountered in Thailand, and
you don't need to pay any tour company for the privilege. Eating
options are a little limited and as far as I could tell there was no
party scene to speak of, but then if you are looking for that then
maybe <a href="http://phi-phi.com/" target="_blank">Koh Phi Phi</a> is more your bag – Koh Kradan is all about
tranquillity. </div>
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<h3>
<b>3 - Chiang Mai</b></h3>
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The ancient and historic city of Chiang Mai is certainly <a href="http://thailand.sawadee.com/north_of_thailand/" target="_blank">North Thailand's</a> biggest tourist draw. Although a large city with some
congestion problems, it's relatively chilled and stress free when
compared to the likes of Bangkok. It's where the old meets the new,
traditional meets modernity, which is all part of the appeal for me.
Hours can be spent exploring the city, which is easily navigated and
never a chore. Chiang Mai is famous for it's temples, and rightly so,
but there's so much more to see and do. There's a wide range of
accommodation, restaurants, bars (including some good <a href="http://chiangmai.thaivisa.com/live-music-in-chiang-mai-can-be-found-everywhere/" target="_blank">live music</a>
venues), shops and markets; all tastes and budgets are catered for.
Other things to see and do within the city itself include: <a href="http://chiangmai.thaivisa.com/muay-thai-in-chiang-mai/" target="_blank">Muay Thai</a>,
traditional Thai dance, museums, massage, cookery and yoga. There's
an extensive range of outdoor activities which include mountain
biking, rafting and jungle trekking, most of which take place outside
of the city where Chiang Mai's beautiful mountains, lakes and
countryside are located. A modern city with strong links to it's
traditional past, Chiang Mai has a style all of it's own, which makes
it an attractive alternative to many of Thailand's beach
destinations.</div>
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<h3>
<b>2 - Koh Phangan</b></h3>
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Probably best known for it's hedonistic night-life and <a href="http://www.fullmoon.phangan.info/" target="_blank">Full Moon Parties</a>, Koh Phangan doesn't disappoint. Having said that it's the
island's more relaxed beaches on the east and west coasts that I find
more appealing. There the days are peaceful and lazy, made up of
sunbathing and snorkelling. But, a party is never far away, and if
you really want to go at it then taxis run to <a href="http://www.phangan.info/index.cfm?action=beaches.beach&idbeach=14" target="_blank">Haad Rin</a> (the busiest
and most commercial area of Phangan, and home of the Full Moon Party)
from nearly anywhere on the island. Hiring a motorbike is the best
and cheapest way to explore, and gives you the freedom to really get
to know Koh Phangan and what it has to offer. Good vibe, good people
(for the most part), and although it gets flooded with tourists at
times you can still find that partly secluded tropical island
paradise that we all crave from time to time; you just have to look
for it.</div>
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<h3>
<b>1 - Koh Lanta</b></h3>
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Koh Lanta, my personal favourite for a number of years now, sits in
the Andaman Sea just south-east of Phi Phi. It's not as pretty as
Kradan, and it doesn't have the night-life of Phangan, but to me
Lanta is well rounded with a near perfect balance. The <a href="http://amazinglanta.com/long-beach-koh-lanta/" target="_blank">busiest beach</a>
is rarely what you'd call busy, but if you want total seclusion you just hop on a
motorbike and continue down the west coast where deserted beaches can
still be found. The <a href="http://amazinglanta.com/koh-lanta-night-life-wheres-the-party/" target="_blank">night-life</a> on the face of it seems practically
non-existent, but scratch the surface a little and you soon realise
there's always a party going on, somewhere. Certain bars host live
bands, sometimes local musicians, sometimes international bands. The
food is decent and cheap and the people are friendly and helpful. The
mix on Lanta is good, you can socialise or find solitude; have a lazy
day by the sea or explore the island; eat pizza or local cuisine:
have a quiet, relaxing drink to the soundtrack of reggae or down
cocktails and shots as the DJ pumps out faster, more repetitive
music. Will this balance be disrupted as tourism grows and
development expands? Possibly, but for now all is good, so make the
most of it while it lasts. </div>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3720791605682746869.post-54912712060442171172012-07-16T16:17:00.000+01:002012-07-18T20:45:33.153+01:00A Sombre Day In Phnom Penh: Part Two<a href="http://garylanta.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/sombre-day-in-phnom-penh-part-one.html" target="_blank">Please see - A sombre Day In Phnom Penh: Part One</a><br />
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We navigated our way through the traffic and before too long had
reached the city outskirts where houses and shops made way for trees
and rice paddies. The Killing Fields are situated about 17km south of
the city and it felt good to be getting a little rural. After driving
for roughly 35 minutes or so, we pulled up outside Choeung EK and
again I entered while my taxi man patiently waited for me outside.
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The aptly named Killing Fields was the site where many of the Khmer
Rouge's victims were buried. Originally an orchard covered by trees,
the site was converted into a mass grave. Or many mass graves to be
precise. Some prisoners were killed before arrival, like many of
those who were interrogated, tortured and exterminated at the S21
facility. Others were trucked in alive where they were either shot
dead into the already dug ditches, or as in some cases, were buried
alive. After paying the entrance fee, I continued to walk straight
ahead where I was met with a memorial to the dead; a Buddhist stupa
which contained shelf upon shelf of skulls, as well as some of the
clothing belonging to the victims. Many of the skulls displayed
showed clear signs of trauma in the form of fractures and holes,
which was the result of blows to the head by either riffle butts or
other tools that were to hand such as cart axles and hoes.
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From there I walked from one former grave to another, each detailing
how many bodies were exhumed. One stated “mass grave of 450
victims”, another, “mass grave of 166 victims without heads”. I
walked a little further to find a grave that had contained 100
bodies, woman and children, the majority of whom were naked. Quite
often, once the bodies were exhumed, the rain would later bring up to
the surface the victims decaying clothing. Sombre is putting it
lightly, the emotions you feel whilst walking around Choeung Ek are
quite intense, especially as the body count rises. I came across a
tree which I was informed was used to beat children against. The
cruelty was ceaseless and seemed to know no limits. <b> </b>
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Towards the back of the orchard lies a nature reserve, of sorts,
offering a serene and peaceful distraction from the almost constant
horrors that you're confronted with when visiting Choeung Ek. The
trees, plants, a large pond and wildlife, were all welcomed as I
walked the path around this happy diversion. The back of the reserve
looked out over rice fields, and further behind that, a river. I
slowly made my way round and back towards the beginning of the site,
where before leaving I took in the museum and was further educated
about methods, numbers and the characters involved in the
facilitating of such heinous crimes. The museum marked the end of the
tour. The journey back to Phnom Penh was pleasant, particularly at
the point where we pulled over to take in the sun setting over rice
fields and wooden stilted houses. A nice end to an emotional day.
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Looking back on the day, it's not easy to find words to describe how
I felt about visiting these two museums, or tourist attractions, or
historical sites, or whatever you choose to call them . An
interrogation centre where thousands were tortured and killed, and a
large field which is essentially a mass grave; to say it was fun
would be incorrect as well as being a little distasteful. It was at
times uncomfortable, upsetting, dark and a little depressing, but
overall I came away feeling immensely glad I had gone, and I would
recommend it to anyone. Horrific events such as this and the
Holocaust, which of course was on an even bigger scale, should be
remembered, and by visiting places like this it allows you to, on
some level, and to a small degree, understand the suffering that
others endured; to try and imagine yourself naked and chained to that
metal bed whilst being tortured, or being lined up in front of what
will be your grave, waiting to be shot. By remembering such
atrocities and how much of an ordeal it must have been for the people
experiencing it, we reduce the chances, or at least help to limit,
any future repeats of this behaviour. Or that is the hope anyway. The
psychology aspect of it fascinates me; what drives people to do such
horrible things? Luckily in most cases, it appears to be only a few
sick individuals in positions of power who coerce others to perform
such terrible acts, usually through fear and intimidation. Or maybe
I'm being a little naive in thinking that, maybe more people than I
care to imagine believed in what they were doing. Or, even worse,
they took pleasure in their twisted acts. Either way, the psychology
aspect interests me and I intend to read up on the subject.
</div>
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I did come away with some positivity and hope, which some may find
surprising. The Cambodian people were in my experience, lovely
people! And talking to other travellers only confirmed this, as in
general they found <a href="http://nomadicsamuel.com/destinations/khmer-smiles-cambodia-1" target="_blank">Cambodians to be friendly, amiable and often helpful people, who always threw a smile their way</a>. This, I think,
says a lot about the human spirit. They have as a nation endured so
much, and still do, but yet life hasn't beaten them, not even close.
There will always be cruel and sadistic people who want to do harm to
others, and it seems you never have too look far to find them. But
equally, you can find acts of compassion and kindness everywhere you
go; you just have to believe that the latter is ubiquitous while the former is less so, because to believe the opposite is to have given up all hope!</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3720791605682746869.post-25944169308856422632012-06-26T22:55:00.001+01:002012-07-18T19:39:06.378+01:00A Sombre Day In Phnom Penh: Part One<br />
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After arriving in <a href="http://www.cambodiaevisa.com/phnom-penh-international-airport/" target="_blank">Phnom Penh Airport</a> and going through customs, the first thing that struck me as
odd and really quite sad was the sign that read: “please don't
touch our children”. If you weren't aware before you entered the
country, this polite request informs you that <a href="http://www.childwisecambodia.net/Child-Abuse-and-Exploitation-in-Cambodia/" target="_blank">Cambodia has a problem with child abuse</a>. It's not long until you realise that Cambodia has
other problems too. Exploring Phnom Penh, particularly away from the
more tourist friendly areas, along with the obvious problem of
poverty, you notice that a higher than normal proportion of the Khmer
people have disabilities. To be more precise, you notice many of the
local Khmer are missing limbs, usually a leg, sometimes both. Whether
or not you came to Phnom Penh to learn about Cambodia's horrific not
so distant past, it's hard not to be touched and intrigued by the
struggles that the Cambodia people have endured and still endure, as
is clearly visible. For me personally, a visit to the Tuol Sleng
Genocide Museum (S21tourture prison) and Choeung Ek (the Killing
Fields) were essential. As Sombre as visiting these sites would
surely be, I wanted to further understand what and why happened in
Cambodia at the hands of the <a href="http://rvampie.wordpress.com/2012/07/10/khmer-rouge-worse-than-the-worst/" target="_blank">Khmer Rouge</a>.
</div>
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So on my first full day, I found a <a href="http://www.cambodiauncovered.com/cambodia/transport.html" target="_blank">taxi</a>, arranged a price for the
day, and set off a little later than planned due to the previous late
night and customary hangover. First stop Tuol Sleng. Making our way
through <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDkhVbsSprU" target="_blank">Phnom Penh's traffic</a> I noticed how disjointed and unruly
motorists seemed to be. I was given a taster of the city's road
etiquette as I walked through the city the evening before. I had
tried crossing the road and failed on several attempts as motorists
not only drove on the wrong side of the road into oncoming traffic,
they actually came at you from all angles, forcing you to scan an
area of 180 degrees before crossing. This is a lot harder than it
sounds as the roads were packed with motorists, mainly motorbikes,
who liked nothing more than to change direction at the last moment
with no prior warning. From my view out of the back of the taxi, I
tried to assess the roads from a motorists perspective, but still
couldn't work out why I had not yet seen an accident. I was later
told by a French National who now resides in the city, that although
it looks extremely chaotic and disorganised, there is an understood
system that works, for the most part anyway. That said, <a href="http://cambodiacalling.blogspot.co.uk/2009/07/cambodias-traffic-accidents.html" target="_blank">traffic accidents</a> are apparently extremely common.</div>
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We arrive at Tuol Sleng and I enter. Originally a school, it was used
by the Khmer Rouge during their time in power from 1975 to 1979, as a
prison, torture chamber and interrogation centre. Once you've paid at
the entrance you walk through into a courtyard which consists of
three dirty and drab looking concrete buildings, positioned towards
the back and sides. Centrally is a well maintained garden area,
adding a little colour and an air of serenity to an otherwise dreary
and depressing scene. Laid out to the side of the garden was a small
graveyard. My day grew ever more sombre and reflective from this
point on.</div>
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For the most part the multi storey buildings contained two types of
rooms. The larger rooms were capable of holding several prisoners and
were used for interrogation and torture, while other rooms were
holding cells and were divided into many much smaller cells, some
probably able to accommodate only a single person. I started with the
larger rooms in the building to my left. Each room was dirty, dark
and depressing. Some were completely empty while others contained
metal beds, torture equipment and had photos of blood stained floors
and lifeless victims shackled to beds. Going from room to room I
slowly began to immerse myself in my surroundings, trying to imagine
the horror and dread the victims would have felt, knowing the only
thing they had to look forward to after the pain and humiliation, was
death. A strange mood enveloped me, one that was new and alien, and
one that is very hard to explain. I think it stemmed from the
realisation of just how sick and heartless a human being must be in
order to carry out such atrocities. To watch someone suffer in that
way would be unbearable, but to be the cause of that suffering, well,
it takes someone either inhuman or someone who is so afraid of
succumbing to the same fate that they dare not disobey their orders.
For humanity's sake, I truly hope that for the majority of Khmer
Rouge who committed these heinous and horrific acts of barbarism,
they did so out of an innate sense of self-preservation, and not
because they in anyway wanted to. It allows for much more hope if one
believes that a few unhinged, cold and heartless individuals some how
forced or coerced the majority through threats, intimidation and indoctrination. </div>
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Having pushed such grim thoughts to the back of my mind I moved on to
a part of the museum that exhibited photos; lined up were rows and
rows of pictures of both the victims and the perpetrators. That
strange mood quickly came back, even more intense than before. The
cold emotionless expressions of the young looking jailers were quite
chilling. What were they really thinking? Did they really believe
that what they were doing was for the greater good? The ages of the
victims varied more, ranging from young boys right up to middle-aged
adults. Some were photos of them as new arrivals, others showed the
bodies of the dead having already been through hell. The photos that
have been permanently welded to my consciousness are that of a young
mother and baby. After these photos were taken, the mother would have
suffered unimaginably through interrogation and torture, probably
already aware that no matter how she responded, execution would be
the outcome. What would have happened to the baby I'm not quite sure,
but I suspect as torture would have been useless, death would have
come quicker. The Khmer Rouge did a thorough job of documenting
every prisoner who came through S21; <a href="http://www.fathom.com/feature/35706/" target="_blank">of the 14,000 who were sent herefor interrogation, there are only 7 known survivors. </a></div>
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I continued on to the building situated at the back of the courtyard
where inmates were kept in small holding cells. While some cells were
wooden with peep-holes in the doors, others were simple door-less
brick structures with no other features except a single metal
shackle. Both were dank and would have been extremely uncomfortable
places to stay.</div>
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Time was getting away a little, plus I felt I had seen enough, so I
walked through the courtyard and exited out the other side where I
found my amiable little taxi man. “Choeung Ek we go” my taxi man
informed me. So the Killing Fields we went.
</div>
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<a href="http://garylanta.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/sombre-day-in-phnom-penh-part-two.html" target="_blank">Please see - A Sombre Day In Phnom Penh: Part Two</a> </div>
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<br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3720791605682746869.post-74527177081565449402012-06-20T14:41:00.001+01:002012-07-26T23:42:15.799+01:00Political Party Donations<br />
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In the UK, although political parties and MPs do receive some public
funding, the majority of their funding comes from private donations,
whether it be from an individual, organisation or business. This is
standard practice, an accepted norm in the political world, but which
is in my opinion, inherently unhealthy for democracy and opens the
door to dishonesty and corruption.</div>
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As it stands, donations are an essential part of any political party
campaign, allowing them to get their message across to the public, as
well as financing the day to day running of their party. Party
campaign expenditures, among other things, include: transport,
advertising, broadcasts, market research, party manifestos, and
canvassing. None of this comes cheap, and if a party wants to be
successful it is important that they are as visible to the public as
their rivals, if not more so. Considering the amounts of monies that
are involved, it would on the face of it seem like a good idea to
allow private donations, saving tax payers millions of pounds in any
given year. But when you dig a little deeper you soon find some
worrying drawbacks to the current system of party funding.
</div>
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Donations are not in any way supposed to influence or affect a
politician's decision making when concerning policy. But how can we
ever be sure of this. If for example, a politician or party receives
regular or large <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2011/sep/30/city-conservatives-donations" target="_blank">donations from big business leaders</a>, who's own
wealth and the wealth of the companies they represent are directly or
indirectly effected by polices which are passed through parliament,
there is a huge conflict of interest. It creates an “I'll scratch
your back if you'll scratch my back” culture which compromises the
integrity of both politicians and business leaders alike. Anyone who
has an interest in politics and/or economics will probably tell you
that politicians are increasingly at the mercy of big business.
Nowhere is this more obvious than in the United States, where the
system appears to be less democratic than in the UK. In America it is
usually the party who receives the most dollars who goes on to win
the election, therefore placing even more pressure on politicians to
do what is necessary to secure big donations. Of course there are
many other reasons as to why democracy in the US is suffering, one
being politicians having business interests of their own, but to
discuss them here would be getting a little off the subject.</div>
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In the UK, the Conservatives have for a long time received large
funding from people connected with the world of big business and
finance, where the majority of the <a href="http://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/the-staggers/2011/02/unions-donations-labour-2010" target="_blank">Labour Party's funding comes from the unions</a>. I'm sure that both parties often make choices that are
unpopular with their donors, but the I have no doubt that many
politicians make decisions with their benefactor's interests niggling
away at the back of their minds, well aware that losing these big
financial contributions could have a detrimental effect on whichever
party they represent. The ongoing <a href="http://www.levesoninquiry.org.uk/" target="_blank">Leveson inquiry</a>, which among other
things is examining the relationship between the media and
politicians, has shown just how cosy and inappropriate the “I'll
scratch your back if you'll scratch my back” relationship can be.
Some politicians, who are understandably fearful of bad and
unflattering press, have be socially involved with influential
members of the tabloid press, including former editor of The Sun,
Rebekah Brooks, and the Chairman and CEO of News Corporation, Rupert
Murdoch. The Leveson inquiry has exposed the dangers of such
relationships. One example unearthed by the inquiry was of a text
message regarding News Corporation's takeover bid of BSkyB. This was
sent by Conservative MP Jeremy Hunt to Deputy Chief Operating Officer
of News Corporation and son of Rupert Murdoch, James Murdoch. The
text congratulated him on “European clearance” for the takeover
bid and went on to say “just Ofcom to go!”. Ofcom being the UK
regulator and competition authority on communication industries.
Hours after this text, Prime Minister David Cameron gave Jeremy Hunt
responsibility for overseeing the takeover bid. Considering the
magnitude of such a takeover and the effect it might have had on the
media, and even the effect it might have had on politics with the
possibility of skewed and biased reporting, putting Mr Hunt in charge
was clearly a mistake. Cutting out any temptation and reward for
politicians trying to please the media or their financial benefactor
would make for a cleaner and better functioning democracy.
</div>
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So what are the alternatives?
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Well, caps on the amount that contributors can donate is one idea
that might help to stem the unhealthy relationship between
politicians and donors. The smaller a donation is from one source,
the less important that one source becomes, therefore discouraging
the need for an inappropriate relationship, and possibly even
eliminating the need for a relationship altogether. Although this
system would be an improvement, depending on how high the cap is set,
some might argue that as long as there are private donations
involved, corruption and immoral behaviour will continue.
</div>
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The other option is to totally ban private donations, using tax
payer's money to fund the running of political parties. Much
deliberation would be needed before implementing a system like this.
Which parties would receive funding and how much would they be
allocated. And what about the smaller grass roots parties; would they
receive public funding at all.</div>
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The amount of public money that would be needed to fund a system like
this might initially be seen as unacceptable, particularly in times
of recession. But, the amounts need not match that of current private
donations. In fact, they could be considerably less, forcing parties
to concentrate more on policy and less on style. The drain on the
public pot would be minimum. It gets a little more complicated when
deciding which parties receive the funding and what happens to the
parties who don't qualify. Maybe the answer to that is to fund the
bigger, more popular parties, but allow smaller parties to receive
private donations up to a capped amount.
</div>
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With the right planning and a small amount (in the big scheme of
things) of public money, a new and fairer political party funding
system could be introduced. This would encourage a more honest and
vibrant democracy that would benefit us all. The only losers would be
those unscrupulous individuals and organisations who put their own
interests first, to the detriment of society. </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3720791605682746869.post-10365009600183360592012-05-23T15:30:00.001+01:002012-07-19T22:19:00.642+01:00American Veterans Denounce NATO Aggression<br />
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The sight of
American ex-service men and woman loudly denouncing NATO aggression
in Iraq and Afghanistan, by hurling their war medals towards the
location of the recent <a href="http://peaceblog.wordpress.com/2012/05/16/should-nato-disappear/" target="_blank">NATO summit</a>, made an extremely powerful
statement. The emotion was clear to see too, these brave veterans
felt betrayed by their country and some seemed to be carrying a sense
of shame and guilt for whatever role they played in the invasions.
This anti-war protest, as moving as it was, must have made it very
hard for NATO leaders to ignore. This show of unity between the
protesters and veterans might well inspire other men and woman who have served in the forces or who are currently serving, to speak out about
the immorality of both the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.
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There have
always been very loud and strong movements speaking out against the
<a href="http://www.edwardjayne.com/iraq/illegal.html" target="_blank">illegal invasion of Iraq</a>. In 2003 at least 750,000 people marched in
<a href="http://peacemakervoices.wordpress.com/2010/03/10/anti-war-protests-the-uk-and-their-protests-against-iraq/" target="_blank">protest in London</a> alone. Since then, the number of citizens against
the invasion and following occupation as increased exponentially. In the
beginning, opposition against the war in Afghanistan was less
obvious, possibly due to confusion regarding the ambiguity of
mission objectives cited by politicians and war planners. There has
been a distinct change in public opinion over the past few years
leading to a huge drop in support for the war, with many calling for
the withdrawal of troops. Whether troop withdrawal is the best way
forward or not (many people have concerns over likely human rights
abuses once foreign forces leave), the anti-war feeling seems to be
here to stay, for the time being at least. With the increasing
likelihood of an <a href="http://www.chomsky.info/articles/20100702.htm" target="_blank">attack on Iran</a> growing all the time, I just hope
that the anti-war movement will become so large it simply cannot be
ignored.<br />
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<br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3720791605682746869.post-41448407100176023372012-05-21T01:37:00.000+01:002012-09-25T21:48:14.302+01:00Austerity<br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">When accessing the media these days there is one theme above any
other that seems to haunt us. Austerity! We're bombarded with it. We
all have to cut back, we're all in this together. Some have to take a
pay cut or a cut in their pension, while others have lost their jobs.
Services are being cut: healthcare, benefits, policing; every area of
society is to be examined and cuts made where possible. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">We all have to take it on the chin and pull together as a society,
the country's broke and so is Europe. Politicians love to talk about
the need to come together and tackle the debt as a society, claiming
that nearly everyone is negatively effected by the austerity
measures. The problem is, most people see it for what it really is;
an attack on the poor and most vulnerable in society.</span></div>
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People who had absolutely no hand in causing this mess are the ones
who are truly suffering. But of course, this is nothing new. In times
of recession it's usually the case that the poorer and more
disadvantaged suffer, while the wealthier and elite segments of
society have very little to worry themselves about, except the
constant complaining and whining of the majority. It amazes me that
instead of raising tax on the wealthy, we're cutting the safety nets
from under the poor. I know all the economic arguments that are used
to justify lower <a href="http://taxjustice.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/corporate-taxationb-next-race-to-bottom.html" target="_blank">tax rates on big business</a>. Governments often believe
that by implementing high tax rates, they run the risk of
discouraging businesses from setting up in their respective
countries, especially when other countries can offer a lower rate of
tax. I believe this to be a somewhat genuine concern, but it just
reflects the general attitude of the worlds wealthy – money and
short term gains over people. It does appear that governments are
often at the mercy of big business, but they also seem unwilling to
challenge the status quo. And why would they, many politicians
benefit hugely from their relationships within the business world.
Some make massive financial gains whilst still in government, while
others are a little more cautious and cash in once their political
career is over. That's not to say all politicians are selfish and
corrupt. There are many that are trying to change the system from
within but find it almost impossible to make any headway,
accomplishing only small victories for fairness and equality.
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There are signs that people are fighting back, with Francois Hollande
and The Socialist Party winning the recent French presidential
elections, and the anti-austerity politics of the Syriza party
gaining popularity in Greece. Within the Euro-zone it is Greece who
is suffering more than most. With massive unemployment and cuts to
services such as healthcare, many Greeks have fallen below the
poverty line, relying on handouts from NGOs and other charitable
organisations. Is it at all surprising that the level of anger among
large sections of Greek society is so high? To be told that the cuts
will need to go deeper before a bailout can be agreed does not sound
like something that would placate your average Greek citizen right
now. There's much speculation surrounding the implications of a Greek
government that wouldn't accept the bailout conditions that are being
proposed, but whatever happens I sincerely hope the people are put
first, and not the multinational corporations who are just foaming at
the mouth at the thought of buying up state-owned assets on the
cheap.
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One positive to be taken out of the current climate of austerity –
people are uniting and fighting for a fairer and more just system.
People have become more aware of social issues and social justice;
the more that the inequalities between the rich and poor become
apparent, the angrier and more determined the people become. Lets
just hope that this wave of discontent can be turned into an ocean of
change for the better. </span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0