Knowledge can improve the world we live in

This week has been dominated by goings on in Afghanistan and opinions are flying in from all corners of the world

I do not believe anyone has got it right or wrong

We all continue to make the same mistakes over and over again

There should never be an acceptable reason for war. If all other forms of engagement or pressure fail, try again. War cannot and must not EVER be on the table.

The folks manufacturing weapons of war should have no fear, carry on doing so. Countries wishing to buy these weapons can continue to do so. Keep stockpiling them, but only as deterrent or bragging right, we should never resort to actual war

On the other side of this equation is religion, interpretation of religious beliefs, religious tolerance and impact of religion on the wider society. I am a strong believer in the existence of God, but I do not believe in religion. Religion and what we say religion demand is largely open to interpretation and has been a very challenging aspect of life. We all have to promote tolerance.

Who stands to gain from the mass displacement of Afghans? NOBODY. Afghanistan is a country where clearly, a majority of the population support the Talibans, otherwise, they wouldn’t be in a position to do what they have done this week. So, shipping thousands of fleeing Afghans over to the US, UK, Canada or where ever else, is not helpful to those Afghans unless majority of people in those countries (i.e. US, UK, Canada etc) want them there and accept that we will have to help them settle and integrate into society. How has that worked out in the last 50+ years? If incumbent natives of those countries do not accept that these unfortunate (fleeing Afghans) folks will have to skip the queue for housing and social care and that we cannot later hate on them for that, DONT BRING THEM IN! To bring them in, to face hate and hardship will only lead to them and their children despising those countries and few years down the road, we’re back to where we are today, with the Windrush crisis in the UK or intolerance between those seen to be foreign (even after 2, 3 generations) and those who believe they have sole right to those countries as natives (which is a little laughable in the case of Americans, Australians and a few other countries formed largely through immigration).

Regardless of the argument, migration CANNOT be via charging down a border or showing up in a canoe across the English Channel or crossing the Mediterranean via inflatable boats and barging in. Whether or not one agrees with the current world order, it is what it is and one or few countries CANNOT take in the population of another country (what of those left behind?). Not every Afghan who disagree with the Taliban will be able to flee right?

I am not going to sit in judgement of the pain and anguish that drives people to risk crossing oceans in bathtubs BUT the world needs to redefine and restructure an approach to refugees to ensure we help desperate people in a manner that avoids them falling into the hands of people-traffickers or exposure to perils such as death in transit vans etc. New rules with international acceptance is urgently needed as the hardship faced by those heading to western nations, where they are seen as a problem, is not worth the trip and illegal migration has led to increase in intolerance and denies help to those truly in need of refuge. But all that is a separate topic on its own, how can we make all parts of the globe worthwhile, so people stop embarking on these perilous trips?

Was America, Britain and others right to withdraw from Afghanistan? YES

Should they have gone there in the first place? NO

Could they have exited in a less chaotic manner? PERHAPS, but this was never ever destined to have a fairytale ending

Those criticising the withdrawal are hypocrites

Could there ever be a time when the Talibans would have been totally defeated and Afghanistan becomes a very bubbly westernised nation? NO. Unless they suddenly found billions of tons of oil in their mountains of course.

If Afghans overwhelmingly do not want the Taliban to rule them, they will make that decision sooner or later

With gun crimes in America, knives in the UK, prisons filled with black people and ongoing discovery of murdered and brutalised native children in Canada, these are hardly examples that countries like Afghanistan should be asked to emulate are they?

If the Talibans takeover Afghanistan as it appears they have, the next reasonable step for the rest of the world is to look at options to engage in dialogue and ways to incentivise them to consider some aspects of western life that honestly do not limit their zeal for their religious beliefs e.g. allow for equality between men & women, allow women to seek education and decide their own destiny, try to allow for other opinions, even if not what they believe in and also avoid harbouring individuals who seek to inflict harm on others (e.g. the west) – that was what started the last war (the world will only be at peace, if nobody is actively trying to harm others) . With time, a great deal can be achieved through engagement and incentives. I am not sure much has been achieved through war to date. Years and years of bloodshed to no avail, and now, possibly years of finger pointing when commonsense is needed. I keep reading about people saying: “is this what we fought for?”, well, sorry, what exactly has the war achieved?

The coming months will undoubtedly be tough for many, but dropping the blame-game to focus on dialogue and incentivisation will yield better results than war or displacement

Mass relocation of fleeing Afghans isn’t going to solve anything either. Will more likely put those folks in harms way and years of putting up with intolerance and hate

Yikes!

It appears many Americans have forgotten how and why America was formed and what America should stand for….

The woman (Rapinoe) is now said to be “anti-America”. All she did was try to stand for the rights of the LGBTQ community and demand equal pay for women. If that is now anti-America, god help us all!! The issue is not about being for or against LGBTQ, it is surely about being against any form of prejudice or oppression. I have no interest in the debate and be it religion versus or otherwise, all human beings are first and foremost, human beings and we all need to respect that

I watched a video last week of an American soldier, in the uniform, with the American flag on his uniform, being pepper-sprayed by a policeman in Virginia (Lt. Caron Nazario) as they dragged him out of his vehicle. Where was respect for the American flag? Even if they no longer respect the army uniform and what it represents surely, the American flag clearly visible on his uniform should have commanded some respect? So, to attack Megan Rapinoe or anyone else taking a knee or trying to make a statement to highlight an issue dear to them is an indictment of where society is today

Thank goodness for the sensible policing we have here in the UK, where our police understand they are there to SERVE & PROTECT, and that every taxpayer in this country effectively pay their wages and must be treated decently. In the Virginia situation with Lt. Nazario, the two policemen were barking instructions at him, with their guns drawn: PICTURE THIS: put your hands where we can see it. So, he has both hands hanging out, through the driver-side window right? Ok, so, he still had his seat-belt on,right? Now, get out of the vehicle: how? He has clearly seen and read about this situation over the years in America. The minute he moves his hands back in, either to undo his seat-belt or to reach for the door handle, they will spray him with 100 bullets and claim they thought he was reaching for a concealed weapon. So, he does nothing and keeps his hands out the window, next thing is the chubby cop spraying him with pepper-spray, like he was applying after-shave. How can anyone treat a taxpayer, and especially one wearing a military uniform in such a horrifically callous manner? They say he drove a long way before pulling up? would any sane person not find a well-lit area before pulling up in America? When you can already see what happens in broad daylight, his chances would have been zero, coming out of that situation alive. They need to get guns off the streets in America and that includes taking guns off the police: if a police unit spot a suspicious driver, tail the car and call an armed unit in. Going to attend domestic bickering, routine traffic stops (of drivers for a broken tail-light or hanging air freshener on the rear view mirror) and whipping out guns that can fire tens of bullets, is such a recipe for disaster and innocent Americans continue to lose their lives at the hands of the people paid to SERVE & PROTECT them….

But in a country formed largely through immigration and a diversity of ideas by the founding fathers, this new definition of “anti-America” is worrying and it is being promoted by those who seek to continue dividing America. Over here across the pond in the UK, it is saddening to see what’s happening with America

Essentially, if you can look at another human being (be they black, white, brown or whatever colour really..) and feel ok with harming them or abusing them just for reasons of what they look like, then we really are in a deplorable position

Yes, the world was never better and today’s technology is what’s getting this out into the public domain, but the situation is so grave in America that they really need to step back and try hard to stamp a position as the world needs America (a 300 million plus population nation) to try to lead by example and calling one of their own (a lady who has done more to promote America than many) anti-American and boycotting a product she advertised, is awful. To think this is the behaviour of a few, is why things have continued to head in the wrong direction and not only in America..

I am sick to my teeth of hearing or reading about people complaining about being called this or that. Well, Jews have put up with horrendous abuse for decades, so have women, fat people, black people, the Irish etc.

Yes, abuse is abhorrent and needs challenging BUT jeez! We are fast losing focus on the real evil out there: discriminatory policies. Policies that continue to allow and promote voter suppression, harsh sentencing for some (filling our jails with specific types), inequality – keeping poor people in poverty and driving divisiveness. Policies that ensure certain folks remain downtrodden. Employment practices, even distribution of lottery wins

Might be the boarding-school boy in me, but you can never deter a bully by showing them they are hurting you! The more people continue to cry about like babies about use of abusive words, the more those occurrences will pile up. Abusers are bullies, especially cowardly keyboard (online) abusers and the more you cry about it, the bolder they will get, as they will see the success of their intent, which is to hurt others.

POLICY is what we need to focus on getting changed…

Been watching the Olympic Games in Tokyo and can’t help but wonder why athletes or countries they represent, stack up the medals or consider victory as prowess. You only have to look at the mismatch in funding, training facilities and incentives across some of the participants and the whole thing becomes quite laughable.

The Russians were recently banned (and are still only just allowed to participate under a bizarre arrangement) because they were accused of doping. And I presume that was supposed to have given their athletes undue advantages? But we have countries without any funding or facilities competing against athletes from countries with ample funding, facilities etc. and that is not an advantage? (undeniably punctuated by the odd fairytale of the likes of poor Brazilian kids doing well in football or the like..)

Laughable…

It is exactly what is wrong with the world today. Some define these convenient rules (same reason American jails are filled with supposed drug dealers while the people who buy and consume the drugs are free and living a great life). We create sports, come up with rules, the Russians supposedly find a way to tilt the scale their way, but hey, that’s not acceptable, but when an athlete from a poor country who has to keep a full time job to feed his family and can only afford to practice at the weekend competes against an athlete from a wealthy country who practices full time and has huge funding, special kit etc., oh, that’s ok. It’s a level playing field as long as the same wealthy folks win all the medals and hey, that is a demonstration of their superiority and apparently, the countries they represent are as such, awesome at those sports

Put athletes under the same conditions, same facilities, same level of stress (I.e. without some worrying about how to feed their families) and you will find a very different medal table before you.

So, what really is the purpose of these events?

Look at football: some teams buy the best footballers on earth, pay them huge sums, provide excellent facilities to train, and then we adulate them for their success… DAFT ain’t it?

But it really is, a very accurate representation of life, our societies and the world we live in and I don’t mean just today. Since time immemorial. We must have winners and losers, rich and poor, celebrities and their groupies etc. So, why do we pretend we wish for equality or an equal society, where there is no discrimination and we’re all living happy and peaceful lives?

There are thousands participating in all sorts of sports globally; golfers, tennis players etc. If you enjoy a sport, you get into it. You don’t have to be world number 1 (defeating folks who could be a lot better than you, had they the same facilities etc.). It’s like recent billionaire space explorers (Bezos, Branson..), they can afford it, so, why not? it only becomes a little strange, when the same people start waxing lyrical about climate change and saving the planet while burning tank-loads of fuel to hang out in space, on trips that are not necessarily about saving the planet – but, do these billionaires owe the world anything? probably not, and they do have a bunch of charities they fund and do more than I could ever do for the world- but still, what a colossal waste of money that could feed every kid on some continents and we do also have hungry children even here in the UK right?. As for sports, it was in existence well before these farcical global events and will most likely be there if we don’t have footballers on £500,000 a week wages or Olympic Games where some feel they need world domination to underline their love for their chosen sport….

People want to go on holidays and have others scrub-up after them…. (would the scrubbers not be on holiday themselves if they weren’t disadvantaged?)

It is very easy to industrialise all parts of the world, educate everyone, level-up society etc. The only reason it has not been done and will never be done is the same reason we cheer as these ill-matched athletes win medals at events such as the Olympics….

But we will never admit it. Not even to ourselves…

The reaction, when Qatar’s high jump star proposed sharing gold with his Italian competitor tells it all….

There will always be those having to fight for equality and it will remain so till doomsday…

Past few days we’ve all been watching the Olympics in Tokyo. To hear and read about people saying winning or securing gold is what it’s all about is so puzzling. How pathetic are we going to get as a society before we all wake up and say enough is enough! Just getting to the Olympics is such a massive achievement and you don’t need to be an athlete to understand the devotion, commitment and dedication required to get anywhere near being good enough to get to an Olympics

The attention-seeking, social-media dependent vipers who have never achieved anything but seek to rubbish the achievement of those finishing 2nd, 3rd or just even making it to the games really needs a robust and ceaseless challenge from decent members of the public

Competition is great and seeking to put one’s country at the helm is also great, but a great deal of perspective is now required. Gold, silver or bronze, when we die, we all take nothing with us…..

…those are the empty, hollow words set to dominate the rest of 2021…

I am not sure what people are looking for? You cannot stop racist abuse by attempting to track & arrest all perpetrators. It won’t work.

Racist abuse online or anywhere else should be dealt with in the same manner as any other form of abuse. Giving it this bizarre extra weighting simply encourages the abusers. What needs clarifying is that sending someone a monkey emoji or whatever else, doesn’t add any extra impetus to it.

We feign disgust, but how many really care about it?

There’s nothing extra-special or spectacular about racist abuse. Abuse is abuse and nobody should have to put up with abuse, be it racist or non-racist. But seriously! Stop the pretence!

Day after day we hear about how vile and disgusting it is, but no real action (almost like climate change…)

Even if social media companies find a way to end online racist abuse, does that mean the abusers have been rehabilitated? Obviously not. They will move on to graffiti and other options and if those avenues are shut, they will find others. So, is it not simpler to just show them they are not hurting anyone by just ignoring them? Yes, track them down, arrest them, name & shame etc., but a more permanent way to shut this down is to face reality. Their actions are only impactful, if people continue to be impacted by them….

Following on from my last article, just over 15 years ago, from my UK office, we were looking at a major engineering project in a South East Asian country that has a lot of its people in the UK – many are second generation Brits – and we thought it would be an excellent idea to get some of those Brits with heritage from that country (they speak the native language, look very much like the folks over there etc.) to lead our proposed engineering team and head back to their country of heritage as it were, to lead such an exiting project. Shockingly, the head of the project in the said South East Asian country told us they will only pay high rates if we sent white engineers. We explained to him that the non-white engineers we proposed are British, born in the UK, attended the same universities as the white engineers, have the same years of experience and have achieved the same levels of distinction and then, on top of all that, they already speak the local language, have relatives there – so, are happy to be relocated for the duration of the project – he said, that’s all well and good, but I will only pay the top hourly rates to white engineers, so, if you want to charge the highest rates, give me white engineers.

That, in a nutshell, is where the problem lies. Hoping white people will solve racism and begin loving non-whites more than themselves is an idiotic notion and isn’t right anyway (after all, they were at each other’s throat for decades, two recent world wars, countless wars in Europe over several centuries etc. There’s not such thing as unconditional love between nations or peoples, regardless of colour – we are naturally adversarial). The best the world can and should hope for, is for everyone to love themselves first and then quit hating on others for their differences – not necessarily love them more – that is too much to ask

In my example above, what was the conclusion? of course I gave them a bunch of less experienced white engineers for very high rates, which they were happy to pay and the experienced non-white engineers stayed on my UK projects where they were paid at the same hourly rates as their white colleagues as I simply couldn’t put them through that horrible experience of heading to a country they see as where their descendants came from, but they were about to be handed second class treatment.

We are looking in the wrong places in search of a solution to racism.

People protest and drag statues down: how dare they? Animals we say…

Then they take a knee: how dare they?

What on earth should they do? I know…..: society expect them to do what they have done for centuries: shut up and take it

The most popular phrase of 2021 will be: ….”and I don’t care what colour he or she is…”. Well, you clearly do, or that statement wouldn’t be uttered.

Personally, I couldn’t give a hoot. Racial abuse is not worse or more potent than any other kind of abuse and non-whites just need to see it that way. A white guy calls you a black bastard, you call him a white bastard. He makes monkey noises (funny really) and sends you monkey emojis, well, you can make piggy noise back at him and send him piggy emojis. YES, numbers are on the side of racists and usually that’s how bullying works, but continuing to show a bully they are hurting you will never deter them. When the rest of us CASUAL OBSERVERS finally decide to step up and step in, that is when bullies see they are up against it, and that is when things will change

We have seen the aftermath of the recent England v Italy footie match. I would like to ask why on earth we took 3 awful penalty kicks but I can’t, as the discourse has been taken over by the moronic behaviour of idiots who hurled online racist abuse at the penalty takers. Mad world!!

Today I coincidentally read a CNN article on child-slavery on the major lake in Ghana. Some fisherman roam the country to find parents who are struggling to feed their children and offer them some money (typically as little as $250) to practically buy one of their children. Once bought, the children (some as young as 12) are taken off to make dives in treacherous conditions to free fishing nets in the lake. This heinous act is ongoing today. No Europeans to blame on this occasion I’m afraid. No transatlantic slave masters, just awful, greedy adults doing this to helpless children…

In today’s social media-driven society, where facts count for very little and nobody wants to do any real research. Both sides (those for a campaign as well as those against) caring very little about facts. Those looking to promote hate for financial gain going hard at it, and those on the other side doing pretty much the same (i.e. seeking financial gain).

Africa is not filled with people who just naturally love each other as they’re all black and one. Same as Europe is not and never was filled with harmony across all borders due to all being white – quite the contrary; they were at each other’s throats for centuries and in the case of Africa, add on the extra complexity of tribes that have been forced together recklessly by colonialists without any understanding of tribal differences etc. Just forced together out of convenience and in many instances, to promote strife and tribal wars, which generated additional sources of bolstering the transatlantic slave trade.

Young activists today, who have not bothered to read up on the sale of largely West African slaves – afterall, it was largely sales i.e. they were sold by fellow Africans to the Europeans – albeit, the buyers are not faultless and as with all enterprise, demand is what drives supply but we conveniently ignore those making the demand as is in the case of Class A drugs; the folks consuming it do not get any mention, while US prisons are packed full of black people who are petty-sellers of the drugs (the rich, university students who buy the drugs and give rise to the demand are never mentioned as we conveniently focus on the scum selling the drugs)

Ok, it is highly unlikely that a fair price was ever paid for transatlantic slaves decades ago – as there is never a fair price for buying a human being and enforcing their offspring into automatic slavery – but some folks did get paid at the point of purchase right? I am equally certain the price paid by settlers for Manhattan was way below its value, but such is life. What could the excuse be, for the ongoing trade of children sold into slave-labour in the year 2021???

Black people of all tribe, background, location, MUST decide when it is time to love themselves FIRST, before expecting a miraculous turnaround for others to love them. It has to begin with Africa. YES, the far-reaching impact of colonialism- and in particular, the lumping together of incompatible tribes – is still the primary challenge today and that manifests in various formats including corruption. BUT, it is now time (and well over-due) for Africans to sort Africa out.

Yes, shame on the west (and in particular Europe) for how immigration of non-whites have been handled for decades, with deliberate disadvantaging of certain immigrants – forgetting that their failure hurt us all ultimately and while we can continue to fill our prisons in the west, with black & brown people, I am sure such cost could have gone to other aspects of society. BUT, current situations in Africa that drives young, able-bodied folks to prefer likely death at sea, while trying to get to the west cannot practically be blamed on Europeans

Look at China today. They sat up, decided to love themselves for a bit and have turned their country around. Africa as a continent must do the same. There will be attempts to frustrate and sabotage such awakening but ultimately it can be achieved if Africans choose to save their continent. It won’t be others coming in to do it for Africans.

I can’t honestly say I know what being “woke” means, but it has become very clear that attacking “woke” culture is the new way the exact same individuals with questionable disposition to bias (based on their feeling of superiority usually via class, race, privilege etc.) now seek to continue unchallenged.

This week some university students decided to remove the Queen’s picture from their student union room and are being condemned for being “woke” because their reason for removing the picture is apparently because they allege the Queen is linked to colonialism. Andy Burnham a former Member of Parliament who lost his seat and is now currently Mayor of Greater Manchester but has huge ambitions of one day becoming UK Prime Minister, rushed in to criticise the students and another MP stood up in Parliament to condemn “lefties”, with another government minister stating England’s football team taking the knee is divisive. What isn’t divisive these days? We’ve had Brexit, Scotland wanting out of the union etc. Divisiveness is how today’s society and that before it, is wired to work: why else would a senior MP talk about “lefties” in Parliament? We are constantly finding ways to cause division and foster divisiveness. We have a govt and the opposition sitting across from each other in Parliament; is that not divisive?

We cannot eternally apologise for sins of years gone by! Yes, people sold other humans (slavery) and many nations profited from it. Yes, brutal repression and worse occurred during the colonial era, but do we have to continue to apologise for the past? What is more concerning today, is the fact that ALL of those past evils can very easily recur: people are still openly carrying confederate flags in the US (and brazenly marched through the US capitol with those emblems and worse, with the then sitting US president saying he loved them and they are nice people). Nazis are still operating across Europe and there are several openly bigoted politicians all over the world, operating with impunity

People hide behind terms such as “conservatism”, “make America great again” etc. Can we not be proud of our past (or some aspects of it) while condemning past ills and making sure we avoid a repeat?

Personally, I am always very proud to be British and I have gladly promoted Britishness everywhere I have lived or visited. I am extremely proud of the history of the British naval exploits even if some British merchant ships were used to trade human beings some years back. I can condemn that aspect of our history, while retaining my pride in a huge chunk of British history. But right-wing politicians would have us believe that we must blindly applaud every aspect of our past or we are not patriots! Asking for the removal of the statue of a slave trader is labelled “woke”. One side feels aggrieved and brutalised and any attempt to listen to their concerns is labelled “woke”

The same types condemn the so-called “woke” culture. You list those folks, from “junior” to those other folk, and you begin to see a very consistent pattern of nativist zeal and a certain kind of supremacy.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with trying to achieve a better society for all.

Whatever “woke” may be, society must continue to strive to be better. Condemning and trying to avoid a repeat of evils of the past does not make one less proud of our history or less patriotic. Some of us simply want to see an end to some of the glaringly obvious horrible stuff going on.

What’s bad’s bad. It doesn’t matter whether George Floyd used to be a drug dealer or wife-beater, nobody should die the way he did. Children should not be in cages in the name of immigration control, nobody (white, black or any other colour) should suffer as a result of bias, these should all be basic tenets that have nothing to do with politics. Taking the knee, not taking the knee, defund the police, statues or no statues etc. I couldn’t give a monkeys about any of all that and none will achieve any lasting result, if as it were, basic decency is nowhere to be found…

The world is just so messed up!

I do not follow French politics and personally neither for nor against the French President. But for a citizen to reach out and slap an individual who is the representation of your country just shows how self-destructive some of the young folks of today are. It is tantamount to fouling your own living room!

But what I found quite impressive was how President Macron refused getting rushed off by his security detail. He wanted to carry on chatting to the small group of people there, even though they were probably of a similar conviction to the idiot who slapped him. Think what you may of Macron, he showed some guts there and bravo to him

To slap a guy who is the global face and representation of your country is such counterproductive move as it belittles the very country you claim to defend. To do it in public, with whole world gazing on, is reprehensible

Stratification of society comes in several modes or formats. Some are manufactured e.g. we get an average joe on television and begin calling them “celebrities” and soon they have millions of followers and their jokes are funnier, their tweets more impactful etc. Nothing new and all that’s fine. It is what it is.

But when it comes to housing and the stigma that comes with homelessness, there are major issues at play, that needs to be addressed. It is not just about building affordable homes. In the UK, we experimented with legislation mandating developers of new housing to provide a number of affordable housing on each project they develop, to avoid over-concentration of so-called affordable housing in certain locations leading ultimately to future deprivation and stigma. So, imagine a development in which you have 100 buildings, each at a selling price of £5m and then you have 5 of them completed with cheaper finishing/spec and sold for £200k each as “affordable” housing. What ensues? There was an incident that made the news headlines a couple of years ago, at one of such developments, the £5m homes had access to the playgrounds and other facilities, while the affordable homes had a locked gate blocking them off and their children could only watch the kid s from the £5m houses side of the development playing away in the playground. Society condemned the developer, but he explained that upkeep of the play facility was at a cost of an annual fee of £1000 paid each year by those that bought the £5m each homes. HOW DO YOU SOLVE SUCH A COMPLEX PROBLEM?

It is easy to rush to judgment and condemn the developer, but is that not a representation of the problem of human society? If you build a group of affordable housing in a cluster, stigma is attached and inhabitants are treated differently and labelled, with those areas receiving poor services and the kids born there immediately labelled and subjected to an early sense of hopelessness and many become intolerant and feed right into the conveyor belt of exploitation and manipulation. But the attempt to integrate affordable housing into affluent areas or neighbourhoods can only work if those in those affordable homes are not left to stick out like a sore thumb – now, how do you do that? they are already in cheaper versions of posh homes, on the side watching their kids barred from playgrounds they can’t afford to pay £1000 a year to maintain, living in close proximity to those driving better cars, eating healthily etc, can either motivate you or turn you bitter. The latter appears to be the more prevalent outcome and to date, each and every solution put forward has not been successful.

It is clear that in order to improve society, you have to tackle problems at the root-cause. Hand £1m to a rich man or woman and chances are, they will soon turn it into £10m as they have the network, access, connections etc. Hand the same amount to a poor man or woman and chances are, they will end up penniless in a few years and not necessarily because they blew it on ferraris or expensive holidays, but mainly because they wouldn’t have the wherewithal to sustain that new found wealth. It is a vicious cycle and a very complex societal problem that is being tackled in a disjointed manner that leaves the poor where they are and more resentful than ever, leading to the massive growth of intolerance, hate and populism that is currently threatening all aspects of life. But this plays right into the hands of those seeking to manipulate and exploit divisiveness as a potent tool to grow a loyal base, United by intolerance that has grown out of a sense of being left behind by society in “affordable housing” dotted across the world. We can end this helplessness and end hate and intolerance through the creation of jobs, levelling up of society, creating hope. The only question is: are we prepared to lose the advantages derived from keeping large portions of society poor? poor and hungry people are easier to control and manipulate right? Those with full bellies talk about fixing climate issues and carbon emissions, while the poor and hungry worry about immigration and those manipulating them use those topics to whip them into a frenzy – to get their votes. In conclusion, we have the means to end poverty and divisiveness in our society but we choose not to.

We want to build affordable homes instead of levelling up society so that everyone can afford a home as opposed to living in affordable houses and remaining in a vicious cycle…..

The late Holocaust survivor and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Elie Wiesel once said, “The opposite of love is not hate, it’s indifference.”Wiesel said that to the indifferent person, “his or her neighbor are of no consequence… Their hidden or even visible anguish is of no interest. Indifference reduces the Other to an abstraction.”

We can all do so much more to demand a world in which we address the continued suffering of others. We can afford to industrialise all corners of the earth, using natural resources that are local to each part of the world e.g. solar energy in the tropics…

….. or we just retain and maintain our indifference?…

Just before we all heard of something called Covid-19, we were obsessing with what material straws (for our drinks) are made of? Paper straws started showing up – after all, we have to save our planet right?

Now we hear that discarded Covid-19 PPE (largely made of plastic and certainly bigger than straws) are now filling up landfill sites and clogging up the oceans. Price of human survival? But that indeed, is the reality of life. If you’ve ever had your back against the wall in a life or death situation and you’re not suicidal, that is when you see what human beings are prepared to do, to survive.

While the Greta Thunbergs and David Attenboroughs of today go around stressing the need to save the climate (and rightly so), millions of children are dying from lack of access to basic provisions such as food, in poor countries and even here in the UK and other supposedly developed countries, many are living in poverty, some are getting killed on our streets etc. So, are we really looking at the most urgent priorities? Because when it comes to it, we were very prepared to get plastic masks and gloves etc. out there in huge quantities to stay alive. But I am sure in a few month’s time, we’ll be back to the most critical subject of paper straws, as millions of children in Africa and South East Asia die of hunger – but I suppose that’s not our problem, it’s their corrupt leadership etc., we’ll leave them to it, while we concentrate on the more noble and tv-worthy task of saving the planet from plastic straws, till the next pandemic demand we clog landfills and oceans with discarded plastic PPE.

None of us truly understand what hunger and hopelessness is, unless you have experienced it. I am not talking about hunger-strike or religious fasting, which are situations of choice and you know food is available if needed. I am talking about hunger of a kind that you do not know where or when the next meal will come from. It takes a full belly to worry about melting iceberg.

We really are laughable!

Yes, the wider implication of changes to the climate results in some of the situations that lead to hunger e.g. floods. But I am sure hunger’s been around well before fossil fuels… and we continue to look the other way…

Climate change and sustainability are big issues BUT the world needs some frigging perspective!!!!!!

If a teacher works for an hour in Kenya, China, USA, England, India or anywhere else on earth and gets paid 20-globotokens (a currency that holds the same value across the globe) that has the exact same purchasing power anywhere on earth and if we standardise across all professions and all forms of work, we will be taking the first step in human history, towards addressing all problems currently facing humanity.

You cannot address poverty, migration, intolerance or any of the key issues society is presently grappling with, if we do not first establish parity and a level playing field…

Obviously never going to happen. We would rather hand out loans to poor countries (same as we do with the poor in society) with no chance of them ever getting out from under that burden..

Nobody truly want equality, we just talk about it and utter empty words….

If you don’t want a caravan of migrants heading to the US, help make their lives worthwhile where they are… create a global standard of remuneration that will level up the world and create a new outlook to life..

I can see economists falling out of their seats, yelling: IMPOSSIBLE! But, surely, there was a time when the dollar, pound, euro etc. weren’t in existence right?

Anyway, life goes on..

My short book entitled “Perfection in an imperfect world” now available as an e-book on kindle and also in paperback on amazon…….

Capturing humankind’s history and recording events as they occur is essential and as such, we continue to document our history. However, if lessons can be learnt from history, the world today, would not be as messed-up as it is, would it?

We conveniently choose which history is relevant and what is to be taught

Tracing one’s history (genealogy) has recently become a favourite pastime for the retired. And they all conveniently trace their ancestry to ancient kings and queens. One can only conclude that serial killers and child molesters are all single folks with no children and as such, no lineage. You hear of people tracing their lineage back to war heroes. Where are the children, grandchildren and great grandchildren of deserters and war criminals?

If you tell people we all descended from apes and that Africa was the cradle of humanity and we all hail from there, people turn religious and want to opt for biblical ancestry, but when you point out that if we are, according to the bible, all descended from just Adam & Eve (who by the way, couldn’t have been much different from folks currently in the Middle East) and as such, why are we so keen to see some live in squalor around the world today, while we carve out arbitrary borders and treat each other with such disdain, they quickly find another more convenient history to opt for

Today’s history classes would make us believe everything starts and ends in Europe and the European conquest of South America, South-East Asia or Africa (and what followed). Few care that the Chinese invented paper ages prior or that Mongols laid out spectacular means of governance or that ancient Egypt built pyramids and ruled huge swathes of the world and so did the Turks. If history cannot be taught accurately then we end up with lessons of convenience and decades after some of the worst atrocities in history, we find ourselves at the cusps of a repeat…..

We sing and believe “rule Britannia, Britannia rules the waves, Britons shall never, never be slaves”, but we have been slaves. Britain has been conquered by the Romans and Vikings and many others over centuries and been enslaved by Normans and others. But we draw the line rather conveniently on the history that gets taught. We want to teach about conquests and we go back as far as convenient and stop. Then we want to teach about slavery but choose not to go as far back as galley slaves and barbary slaves but conveniently pitch it as we wish, for the effect we seek.

History has been the most potent, most efficient tool of manipulation this civilisation and those in control of how history is disseminated, will continue to have the upper hand

For decades, many have ducked behind the principle of ‘freedom of speech’ to profit from hate and peddle hate, be it for profit (usually is; directly or indirectly) or other more sinister reasons.

Now there are organisations out there, actively digging up past tweets and statements, it never surprises me when you look at certain individuals who get found out. Rarely ever those you would think unlikely to have made such comments.

Horrible people hide in plain site. We (society) are their shield and sometimes enablers, when we stay silent or giggle along with them.

When people say, “there goes freedom of speech”! what they conveniently forget, is the fact that nobody gagged them when they made such speech, the consequences of those speeches is what may well come to roost later on in life, when they seek public office or respectable positions in a respectable society – well, of which there are very few remaining…..

Just think about this for a minute: we have a judicial system that utilises jurors that are expected to be as impartial as possible right? But when that system was created, nobody thought there would be social media and the current speed at which unregulated opinion can be cast out there into the public domain. When mobile phones came along, we thought it was just a simple case of asking people to turn their phones off, but now…..

So, what changes need to be made?

Some people want the world to reset back to a time they felt they had it good. OK, but did others have it good? I cannot think of a past era where everyone or even a majority had it good, and one can go as far back as you want, even to biblical days.

Perhaps one can then conclude that we need a reset to an era we have not yet had? An era where human beings have learnt to be human? An era where we seek peace, joy and happiness for all or at least for the majority of the inhabitants of our planet and not just for a few. An era where none of us is satisfied until all or most of us are satisfied

I can already hear the responses to that: what a socialist bore! what a naive fool! why should everyone have it good? they don’t deserve it! they’re not smart enough! their leaders are too corrupt! it’s not our problem!

Therein lies the dilemma……

Our laws, our processes, our institutions are all struggling to keep up. Technology and uncontrolled innovation was not taken into account when they were created and nobody wants to modernise or take on that challenge of making them fit-for-purpose

We have just witnessed what a pandemic can do. The world watched on idly, when we thought Covid-19 wasn’t our business or our problem. Millions of needless deaths later and NOTHING is going to change. No lessons have been learnt. We will simply find vaccines and carry on

We hold each other in disdain.

I think some urgent perspective is needed regarding the Harry & Meghan saga and last weekend’s Oprah Winfrey interview

While race remains a very complex subject, we cannot go back in time to undo Roman or Greek conquest of half the world or the Moors (who we’re largely black by the way) conquest of large parts of Europe or the Ottoman Empire’s rule over half the world (and they weren’t white either). Same goes for the British Empire who ruled a good chunk of the world and yes, each of these empires did some really awful things, BUT it is what it is and none of all that makes today’s royal family racist or solely responsible for the past.

When so-called celebrities find themselves at the receiving end of stuff that every-day folk receive routinely, they lash out and suddenly wish to champion change.

The Harry & Meghan situation has become an absolute bore!

How anyone can supposedly flee racism in Britain and then move to the United States of America (perhaps they missed all of last summer and George Floyd?) is simply laughable

Yes, there are things we all have to keep working at, to make the world a better place, BUT, no, we cannot be expected to believe institutions will change overnight. Meghan is a mixed-race lady who needs a lesson in how Brits operate. Things are complex out here as we do have some rules to observe when it comes to royalty. Meghan is both white and black, so this notion of racism and non-stop cackling is becoming stale.

I am not a royalist as I believe everyone should be equal BUT, even as I type this, there are kids being born into families in parts of the world where they will struggle to find food, while others are born in other locations where they will have a pleasant life. But for an individual to waltz in thinking they can modernise or reform an institution such as the British monarchy, is either stupid or arrogant. You either take it as it is and live by its rules (same rules others follow) or don’t join in. The royal family didn’t put out a search to bring Meghan in, she chose to come and play. And when you do that, you play by the existing rules, not come in thinking you are going to change those rules. The Queen is the head of that household, not Harry or Meghan!

It’s like telling Americans their constitution is rubbish and they cannot carry guns. That’ll go down well….

Love it or hate it, the British Monarchy is not there to be scrubbed up or pushed about by individuals regardless of how many twitter followers they have or which press interviews they think they can put out there. What exactly is there to gain from these TV interview exposes? Embarrass the Queen? Reform? This is no way to do things. Harry & Meghan’s situation is not that of civil liberties or anything like that. These are two people telling tales that may well be true, but for what purpose exactly? The Queen is 90+, for goodness sake, leave her be!!! It is clear that Meghan got carried away, thought she was walking into some huge position of power and affluence – well, perhaps she should have come sooner and married the elder brother? But even so, would have found out that even William has his limits. They all do. There are rules and etiquette e.g. sitting arrangements- she probably got irritated by always having to sit behind William & Kate. I am not one for those outdated stiff stuff either, but that is what it is. You have to comply.

There is however no need to hate on Harry & Meghan, they are just deluded and got carried away by the hype of the celebrity status they thought they have. What they need to do, is just go quiet for a few years, raise their kids and stay out of the limelight. But then, perhaps staying in the limelight is their only source of income….

Last week a co-worker said to me: “why are we (human beings) like this???”.

I wish I could answer her question but I don’t have the foggiest idea how or why we are the way we are? Possibly tied to greed…

As the Covid-19 vaccination programme rolled forward in the UK, with politicians trying to take credit as usual, we all appear to have briskly closed the chapter on the 100,000+ deaths and some employers – and in particular, those whose businesses benefit from crowded trains – have been out in force this week, to signal a premature end to Covid-19 and have started campaigning for a speedy return to how the world was before Covid-19. Out goes any notion of us learning from Covid-19 to emerge into a better world….

I do not have any problems whatsoever with people trying to get their businesses moving again, BUT, why do we have to turn everything into a Brexit-style “us” versus “them”?

I would have no issues whatsoever with a train operation saying: “once the vaccine kicks in and it is safe, please be assured we will keep you safe on our trains, please get back out and let us help with your commute to work” or something along those lines. Instead, what we are starting to see and hear are snide, offensive comments such as: “people need to get ready to get off their backsides and go back to working from offices” or “the sad ones who think staying at home and using zoom is going to cut it need to get a life”. Nobody significant has come out to thank the workforce for the sacrifices they have made over the past 11 months, with some people working from their kitchens and tight corners (not everyone has a home office).

What we are beginning to see is a pathetic and cowardly attempt to bully and stigmatise those who would wish to continue working from home, which is very pathetic indeed, given the fact that working from home did not begin with Covid-19 and indeed, Covid-19 has exposed the fact that a lot of jobs can be successfully delivered via working from home and what leaders and employers should be doing right now, is working out aspects of what their workers do, that can be done from home whether full time or part time and coming up with future arrangements that will enable that and facilitate it. There is never going to be a shortage of people who still prefer going into the office or those with jobs that can only be done away from home etc. But instead of taking the time to explore that, where we are heading is another era of divisiveness and ultimatums.

Fortunately, I believe there are now enough employers who will embrace new ways of working, to provide employees with an option to switch to, if their employers attempt to force a mindless return to pre-Covid commuting to offices enmass, ignoring the appalling condition on trains (with commuters paying hefty sums only to be packed on like cattle, sweating into each other’s faces as we do in London) and the avoidable impact on the environment, climate etc.

We create them, we place them on a pedestal, we make them feel superior, we line their pockets and then we expect them to behave like the rest of us….

Woke up this morning to read about yet another so-called celebrity in the UK – Amanda Holden – another manufactured darling of reality TV bingers, who claim to have received a distressing call from her parents who live in lovely Cornwall, over 100 miles from her home in London, ignoring Covid-19 rules, she drove off to see them, BUT wait for it… her 50th birthday just happens to be on Tuesday. So, this supposed ‘distressing call’ wouldn’t just happen to be: “would be good to see you before your 50th”?

We blame politicians for breaking rules and dishonesty, but Covid-19 has shown that very few in this country, would act any better. At least, with politician this is a group of individuals we have had to put on a pedestal so they can rule – someone has to, or the mobs will take over – so, one can excuse their ‘mightier than thou’ attitude as they are indeed mightier than the common citizen, even if such might was not intended to hand them open-ended privilege

It really is pathetic when we beat politicians up in the same manner as we forget priests are also human – nobody can be perfectly faultless – and then you read about these so-called celebrities (a group consisting of individuals who entertain us, but get carried-away with their self-importance) day after day, breaking rules in such pathetic fashion….

Although Britain left the UK for the wrong reasons, it will soon become very clear that exiting the EU was never a bad idea, for the right reasons. Either way, exiting the EU is indeed the only sensible thing to do

You have a bunch of European officials, many with a chequered past in their previous positions within their own governments, now playing at being EU leaders, rolling out one awful legislation after the next.

The recent fracas between the UK and the EU relating to the EU’s attempt at controlling the movement of life-saving vaccines is clearly reprehensible and further highlights the pointlessness of many of the moves made by the EU.

As I have repeatedly stated, the concept of a united Europe under a union, is a brilliant and noble concept BUT the execution of that concept has been absolutely shambolic.

The world will see the UK thrive outside the EU, even as the EU will work tirelessly to frustrate that in order to prevent others seeking to leave the EU. I hope that instead, the EU will clean up its act and try to show the UK we left something good, instead of wasting time acting like a bunny-boiler ex!

Google ‘sheku kanneh-mason’ and you will discover a talented cellist that few can match.

Simone Biles blew gymnastics out of the water!

Lewis Hamilton….

Tiger Woods…..

Neil deGrasse Tyson….

These folks are myth-busters….(they’ve gone where their kind isn’t supposed to go…; how dare they?!). Michael Jordan, LeBron James… ah, that’s okay… basketball, football, … sure, they can have those….

With half a chance, huge barriers….

Just imagine a free world with no barriers or bias….. yes, that insecurity starts to creep in…..

But it really shouldn’t. Human achievement is a credit to all humanity, regardless of the individual and who/what they represent. We should simply be proud of them, their achievements and wish to see others of any background achieve the same and more….

Anyone can be anything, given the opportunity (and as we can see above, even with half a chance and with huge obstacles and against bias, you can still get a Simone Biles….). No achievement is the preserve of any type or specific types. Create the environment and opportunity, ALL can achieve…..

Good grief! that chap is a hell of a cellist!!!

Len Goodman…….

J.K. Rowling….

Jim Carrey…..

Dared to go where their kind (paupers) ain’t expected to go. Dancer Len? how dare he? but, dance he did, and brilliantly too

Given a chance, anyone can achieve anything others can……

It is now abundantly clear that focusing all effort on defeating Covid-19 is foolhardy. Latest predictions now assume circa 2024 before we witness significant demise of this virus and its variants. So, it is time for thinkers out there to begin popping out suggestions around how society can coexist with this and future pandemics, without the mass-cowering (lockdowns) that have been the only recourse to date, with very patchy success in reducing the spread and certainly not had much of an impact on the tragic death toll!

After 9+ months of “working from home” in 2020, many closed that year feeling hopeful and thinking 2021 will open a new chapter, but by mid January, despondency has set in. Unlikely we will have some semblance of normalcy till summer

So, is it not time for governments to deploy measures that will focus on accommodating this virus, with clever changes to how we live, instead of the current ‘all or nothing’ approach?

Permanent spacing (drastic reduction of number of allowable passengers) on mass transit (planes, trains, buses etc.), indefinite continuation of social distancing, mandatory use of masks etc., effective testing and ‘track & trace’, quarantine of international travellers (except for those with confirmed negative tests ahead of each flight) and other measures so we can get back out there and end this unsustainable cowering! We cannot keep locking down society as there is as yet no definitive date for this virus to disappear

We’ve spent the past couple of weeks watching numerous officials place their hand on a bible and swear oaths in America. The new House of Representatives just did it (even as over a hundred of those members continue to contest the 2020 election) and various members of the new administration have been shown with their hands on the bible, taking the same oaths of office as those from the previous administration. So, is it time to drop these pointless swear-sessions? Given that it doesn’t appear to be a deterrent anymore….

where is the “swearing of oaths” and “placing of hands on the bible” when elected officials like Senator Josh Hawley say: “I am objecting to the count of electors because the people of Missouri whom I represent have issues with the election”? Did he swear an oath to people? Was the placing of his hand on the bible an oath to people? If at the end of the day, decisions will be in accordance with what we say “people” want and not what an oath that we swore means we should do, what is the point of taking these oaths? You might as well stand there and place your hands in your pocket (not on a bible) and say your decisions will not be about the constitution nor convictions, but just based on what your electorate tell you (so that you can retain their vote)!

Fortunately, the days of instant biblical retribution, where you get struck by lightning if you forsake an oath are gone and people know they can place hands on bibles, swear whatever they are asked to swear, walk off and instantly forget about that oath and what it actually means to swear an oath.

The time to object to how an election is conducted is months and years before the election, if you claim your purpose is to improve election integrity. Josh Hawley and Ted Cruz should be working hard now, asking for changes ahead of the next election. You don’t wait till votes have been cast and sense you are going to lose, to begin challenging ballot by mail and how many days after elections you can still count ballots and what date must be on the stamp etc. You want change, go after the roles now. Lobby each state now. Feel free to take a stand on the senate floor now. Because to do so AFTER an election, is simply sacrilegious!

Each state in America have their rules and that is what makes America: AUTONOMY! If anyone wants a state to alter their laws or approach to an election, you challenge them now. You challenge them AHEAD of an election. You don’t praise them when it worked for you in 2016 and then attack them when it doesn’t work for you in 2020 or we begin to make an absolute mockery of the principles of democracy. What just happened in America is an absolute embarrassment to the entire democratic world and will embolden those against freedom and democracy as they can now see how fragile democracy truly is. It relies too much on gentlemanly behaviour (or gentlewomanly if I may) and when you lack that virtue, you left hanging by a prayer..

But seriously, the pantomime of taking oaths and swearing on a bible has become as ridiculous as a 6-time divorcee saying the traditional words “till death do us part” at his 7th wedding ceremony!

What a farce!!!!

Just watched the Joe Biden inauguration.

The entire world heaves a massive sigh of relief!

No matter how much we all try to pretend, most of us know (deep down) what is decent and what is indecent. The minute someone begins to make excuses such as ‘America First’, to lock helpless children up in cages, we all know decency is out the window. Of course there is nothing wrong with ‘America First’ or ‘Britain First’ or any other country wanting to put their people first, BUT it can never become an excuse for inhumanity. No American president will put America second ever, but only a mischief-maker will try to turn it into a battle-cry.

Around the world, we saw a bunch of apologists. People who try to make excuses for indecency. Shame on you all

Now that decency has returned. Even if Biden is ineffectual or his plans handicapped by others, at least we will now see some decency, absence of lies and incitement of divisiveness. The very basic minimum in terms of expected behaviour from an elected official supposedly in position or rather, in office, to represent THE PEOPLE

America’s biggest challenge will come in 2024, when the Democratic Party will have to decide whether to risk Kamala Harris as their presidential candidate for 2024 after what happened to Hilary Clinton (with women deciding not to vote for a woman). 4 years will not be enough to fully reset America and it will be absolutely necessary for the current administration to last for at least two terms in office

This morning I shared an excellent article from the Guardian Newspaper in which John La Carre and George Orwell’s quotes were use to make some difficult to dispute points

The poor and poorly educated seek to show disdain towards the elite, but when the opportunity arises for them to act on that disdain, they are instead mesmerised and roll over as the latest UK general election aptly demonstrated. People complain about the Etonian grip (for those not familiar with Eton, it is an esteemed private school (what we call public schools in the UK, which bizarrely imply posh private schools) that has produced majority of UK Prime Ministers compared to any other school in England) on power and the league of private schoolboys running the country, but who put them there? the same people who claim they can’t stand them right? Indeed.

Fortunately, I only spent 5 very early years of my infant education in an English private school before continuing the rest of my education abroad and only wrapped up with university back in the UK, thankfully avoiding the English private schoolboy drawl (accent) and forever thankful for my more guttural accent that only occasionally lapses into a posh drawl, which I have spent years effectively suppressing. While a private education is indeed not a recipe for elitism and entitled attitudes, our history (very well defined in comedy shows such as upstairs & downstairs, which is the fore-runner to Downton Abbey) and they seeming impossibility of moving on, and the fact that the world remain fascinated by that aspect of British life, has meant that elitism has continued to breed.

You sit in meetings where individuals rail against elitism but the minute someone with a public school drawl pop up, they are again mesmerised and bamboozzled and the chap with the thick northern or east London (common) accent is cast aside.

Personally, with government, I couldn’t care less who is in power, provided they made sound decisions and govern equally. Etonians can continue as PM till doomsday as long as they deliver for the country. But the truth of that, is what the Guardian article examined and the conclusion wouldn’t make for comfortable reading for our elite. What I find continually frustrating, is the moaning of the masses, only to turn their backs on their own, on Election Day as they turn up in their droves to cast their ballot for the polished elite who drop in a word of Latin here and there with bluster!

Perhaps it finally time for us to up the funding of non-private education in the UK, to provide the exact same quality of education for all? Making it unnecessary and of no advantage to send children to private schools. Those who have previously called for an end to private schooling make a very dubious case – I couldn’t disagree more. My position is that you leave private schools be. Let them continue to flourish, but get the funding in, to all schools, recruit top tutors and make that excellent level of education available to all, at whatever cost – it is sound investment. And if some folks still wish to continue sending their kids to fee-paying schools, when all schools offer matching excellence without fees, why not….

The “love to hate” or “pretend-hate” relationship between the masses and the elite will no doubt rumble on till kingdom come….

I must start by admitting to knowing very little about politics (I have never been political) and perhaps even less about the EU. However, when you listen to the thoughts of the impressive German leader, Angela Merkel about her motivation and expectations of Europe, with free movement within EU member states at its core, it is clear that those who truly believe in the European Project that is the EU, and noble thinkers such as Merkel, do indeed mean well, BUT the execution of their project is what has let them down so badly

I am not a Brexiteer but it is very clear that the EU went from being a noble idea to a control-freak, mindless arrangement that the founders can no longer control effectively and focus has gone from the founding principles to triviality and needless interference and control. Unless you form a United States, and noting that even in the United States of America, each state has enough autonomy and the principle of self-determination still exist to an extent, many where reminded of that principle very recently when the Supreme Court of the US (SCOTUS) promptly ruled against the case brought by Texas and a handful of states in challenge of the 2020 presidential election result (and methodology applied by some other states). The excellent principles behind the formation of the EU later fell into the hands of bureaucrats, which has led to the calamity that is Brexit.

Yes, for any union to work, there must be commitment and there will always have to be rules, BUT to go from a needs-based scenario, to a situation where some mindless bureaucrats sit about in offices in Brussels and start churning out endless rules that gravely affect million’s needlessly and to no tangible benefit whatsoever other than to feed the mindless thirst for control, made a mockery of the EU project and it was only a matter of time for countries that pride themselves on self-determination, to want out! What has gone on, in the years since the UK voted to exit the UK has been a total indictment of the EU! Yes, the UK should not be leaving, BUT their people have voted to leave and that should have been respected! Early efforts should have been made by both the EU and past UK governments to address some of the blatant issues that riled some sections of the British people, to preempt the referendum, but majority assumed the ‘stay’ vote would exceed the Brexiteer vote. We were wrong, the ‘leave’ vote won and there should not have been any unpleasantness. We are in a democracy. Both sides should have shaken hands and got on with it. It is not the result many of us wanted, but it is nevertheless the result and the attitude of the French in particular (although not surprisingly) has been absolutely pathetic and I am not sure how such an approach is helping the unity of the remaining members of the EU? Ok, it shows an initial forcefulness and a determination to make Britain pay for her decision to quit the EU, but surely, if the EU was such a wonderful thing to be a part of, they should have just waved good riddance to the UK and got on with their wonderful lives? What is the need for the all the backbiting? A nation has had a referendum and majority of its people have forced a decision; surely it is undemocratically dangerous to attempt to circumvent that decision, even if some think it is a grave error. The democratic thing to do is to work together to get it done and afterwards, if the UK struggle and come begging to be readmitted, THEN, is when France and others can object or do whatever it is they wish to.

The EU project should have been limited to trade plus a few additional fringe principles and NOT. the ridiculous attempt to centralise power and begin dictating how each country is run and what type of light bulb people are allowed to use etc. SOME PEOPLE CLEARLY GOT CARRIED AWAY! What began as a truly noble project and in the minds of well-meaning individuals such as Angela Merkel, was hijacked by unelected bureaucrats and paper-pushers, leading to what the EU is today; a ballooning organisation attempting bizarre and needless control that has led to animosity feeding Brexiteers and ultimately led to that slim majority in the UK successfully forcing our exit

Nothing wrong with a United Europe, BUT a single, mindless Europe is what the British majority wanted no part of. Truly unfortunate and totally avoidable if both sides (EU and past British leaders) had listened.

I was an early supporters of the clearly essential Covid-19 lockdown and the need for much sooner introduction of lockdown globally, to curtail the spread of the virus. Such early sacrifice would have proved critically worthwhile in limiting the spread and lessening the overall duration of this unfortunate pandemic. Now, if history has taught us anything, the “temporary” income tax introduced by then Prime Minister, William Pitt the younger, in 1799, to aid Britain’s Napoleonic war efforts is still here in 2020 and has become the government’s mainstay.

So, much as I am all for needful practicality, I can see where Piers Corbyn and those weary of what could suddenly become a normal situation with governments seeking to control the population’s movement and lockdowns of this nature stealthily becoming a regular occurrence!

There needs to be an urgent commissioning of a review of other practical and more effective measures that must be in place in future, to keep the population safe, without having to resort to these draconian measures that seek to forcefully control freedom of movement. It is however unfortunate that we live in times where people can no longer be expected to act reasonably – love him or loath him, Boris Johnson was very hesitant to exert such control over the population, but his incessant pleas for voluntary reasonableness fell on deaf ears, albeit perhaps not helped by what appeared to be a situation where some senior members of his government and other affluent people flagrantly flaunted the rules – so, imposing these draconian measures quickly became unavoidable BUT, future planning must now be explored, to ensure governments do not assume locking the population down or imposing ‘1984’ (the novel) – esque controls can become a normal arrangement. The people will revolt!

The worryingly high number of Covid-19 related deaths and the lack of global and coordinated strategies has exposed a crack that is even wider than one could have imagined. The world started with a lackadaisical approach to what was seen as a Wuhan/Chinese problem that China should be left to resolve and then went on to an even more alarming episode of allowing travel to continue, with the virus spreading rapidly and uncontrollably. This has also called into question, the effectiveness of a blanket lockdown after the horse had already bolted from the stable!

Contingency plans need to be developed NOW, to ensure future pandemics are handled differently and more effectively, without resorting to the need for governments to exert these kinds or levels of control, given we do not live in a military dictatorship

A friend shared a very interesting thought in an email and I find it very difficult to disagree with it, even though she does often go a bit hard on tradition

The FATHER walking the bride down the aisle during weddings for instance. Laughable isn’t it? Given how much mothers have to put up with. But it is tradition? Probably women would kick harder against changing it as you still hear phrases such as “cannot wait for my dad to give me away”; so, one chap hands her over to another chap.. Tradition is great but the mindset needs reassessing. Thankfully at some more modern weddings today, you see both parents walking the bride down the aisle and the “giving her away” bit is now more subtle.

Surnames. In this day and age, every child should have both parent’s names combined as their surname: why should the mother’s name automatically pave the way for the father’s? Biblical? Ok. But it always seem to sway conveniently in favour of men and tradition is always the acceptable reason and we all go along with it in the name of keeping with tradition. Some will even call it “values”. But when we look around us today, where exactly are those “values”? We treat each other with disdain. Half the global population is in poverty and are stuck in darkness (literally) – I saw a very interesting satellite image of the world online, showing where there’s electricity and one can only shake one’s head. It really is unfortunate

Nothing wrong with tradition (and values), but where it remains bizarrely biased towards men, we all need to wake up and get real. I am a man and I am happy to enjoy a bunch of perks, but seriously, we need to stop hiding behind these ill-conceived traditions…..

There is no period in human existence that is worthy of revisiting in its entirety. But there are some basic principles that we should collectively fight darn hard to re-establish:

1. Basic truth – this has become an impossibility. As a global community we need to reset and demand honesty and demonstrable fact, not just any fact.
2. Beliefs – what do we believe in? Personally I am not religious. I an a deist – I believe in God but not in a particular religion. Over the years I have stopped talking to or associating with many friends and family members who wish to exert their beliefs: I do not blame them for what they choose to believe and many of their take on life, which was developed when they grew up during the Enoch Powell days in Britain where leading politicians spoke of rivers of blood and warned that the Afro-Caribbean influx will lead to bloodshed and erosion of British values, values that indeed disavow their approach and disavow such attempts at spreading hatred, but they persisted. So, I can totally relate to what they must have suffered and why they simply cannot now get themselves to see things in a different light. We have given up trying to convince each other and simply agree to go our separate ways and some of them I have not spoken to in over 20 years. Each to their own. My personal take on life is to evaluate as I go along as opposed to holding unchangeable views. Some of those folks had religious views from direct interpretation of religious books written in a very different era e.g. arguments that heterosexuality is the only Godly relationship etc. Again, it is impossible to have a rational discussion with these folks and I have simply left them to my past (no hard feelings whatsoever. They lead their lives and I lead mine) and it is the way society should operate: if you believe your religion is the best and only true religion, then enjoy that privilege. No need to try to force others to accept that. I don’t see many billionaires forcefully handing money to the poor just so we can all share in that religion and be rich! So, why do it with religion?
3. Basic decency – this has never been universal. Over the years it has been gradually eroded. When someone kneels on the neck of another till dead or drives a vehicle into another human being, does it really matter what colour or race they are or which union they belong to or whether a civil or criminal case is brought? We need to find the strength to be decent: it simply cannot be right can it? We shouldn’t need protests on the street or amendments to law, society has the power to come together and condemn this inhumanity. This is not about righting wrongs but totally and solely about the direction in which today’s society must head. If someone could have come up with the Magna Carta in 1215, how on earth can we struggle with equality and decency in 2020?

We must level societies globally and NO, that is not a socialist agenda!

Basic decency is where it starts. It is an individual challenge. If we can each take a stand for decency, we will slowly reverse the current trend

As time finally runs out on the protracted charade that is Brexit and we have to pretend we are surprised by the no-deal ending, history tells us ALL WILL BE WELL!

We are a tiny, tiny island that went on to rule a quarter of the world and have a financial system that props up half the globe.

Belonging to a club (EU) that rounds on you when you ask to leave (a decision made by the majority through a democratic process, albeit one that was thoughtless as the outcome should have required at least a 10% margin for what really is such a massive decision) is clearly distasteful. I am one of millions of Brits who did not vote for Brexit but regardless of how ludicrous and shoddy the entire process was, we are in a democracy and the Brexiteers won the referendum and that is that. Yes, the premise on which the decision was made and the misleading information, doom-mongering etc. was awful, but we must get on with it and we will.

There is bound to be several months of chaos and confusion, but that will not be limited to Britain. The ingenuity of the British people will once again rise to the fore and the world will again witness our resilience. We no longer have the robust politicians and thinkers we used to have, BUT again, that is a global pattern and not limited to the UK.

All will be well. Rule Britannia….

I was watching the supposedly award-winning series depicting the nuclear incident in the former Soviet town of Chernobyl, with the roles played by British actors with no attempt whatsoever at authenticity. It also reminded me of various productions over the years where British actors play the role of detectives in series set in France (e.g. Maigret) or the Netherlands (e.g. Van der Valk), with many of these series so popular that they are now being remade.

The audience is treated to some authenticity in terms of the set and the usual dash of French or Dutch as the case may be. The programmes are still enjoyable as we see them for what they are and viewers are expected to show some intelligence in flowing along with that concept. But the minute there is a suggestion of a woman playing James Bond (or Idris Elba playing James Bond), there’s an outcry and oh no! it simply cannot be authentic! Surely that’s not in keeping with what Ian Fleming had in mind!

The Santa story states he is a big burly man and given he’s from Lapland he can only be….. Aaah, NO! Go and take a look at what the indigenous people from Lapland look like. Also, just how difficult is it to imagine a fairy flew over one day and decided to change Santa into a woman, a black or Chinese man etc.? But oh no!!!!! it has to be authentic? (funny isn’t it??). Even a made-up story comes with a requirement for a skewed authenticity…..

I remember those good old movies with Yul Bryner cast as a mongol, Punjab, Arab, you name it and whenever he’s not available, Anthony Quinn is there to the rescue!

We are heading to another Christmas and that European chap (Jesus) who hails from the Middle East but somehow defies had a makeup crew back then who ensured he got the European transformation will resurface, with no interest nor attempts at authenticity in this case, provided nobody claims he may have been dark or middle-eastern. We dare not impact all that merchandise that’s got to be sold, given the majority of those set to buy them are, and expect a figure they can relate to.

Education is key.

The pathetic and oftentimes lopsided fixation is truly laughable.

Right now in the UK, we can’t get enough of ‘period drama’ as they represent an era that many would wish to see return, even if it meant a return of the ruling class and peasants to serve them, as long as it maintained authenticity? And not surprisingly, the rest of the world also can’t get enough of our period dramas as it is a novelty to them (which is the reason tourism continue to boom in the UK, with people from around the world coming to see our unique castles etc.). So, can one ask a nation to forget or expunge it’s history in order to pave the way to what exactly? Unfortunately, with the booming period drama market, all our non-white actors and actresses have headed off to America for work as the only roles available to them in the period dramas, for the sake of authenticity is that of servants or handmen.

We now have the technology and infrastructure (make-up etc) to transform actors and actresses of any race to play any race but the lopsided court of public opinion will either cry out against cultural misappropriation or blackface (both deplorable if in jest of course. or done to belittle or misrepresent other stuff or to attend fact dress events) or lack of authenticity? Laughable if you have watched Chernobyl or any of those other shows. Eddie Murphy got it right in the 90s when he played multiple characters in his films: white, black, any….

Authenticity should be in the ability to pull it off! And when that fails, surely, the audience should be asked/expected to simply apply some imagination as we were expected to, in watching Chernobyl or enjoying those years and years of seeing the wonderful European Jesus plastered everywhere, from church walls, to stained glass and Christmas cards etc. It isn’t that difficult to convince so many of such a massively flawed concept, when convenient?

As the stage show, Hamilton has demonstrated, show business should be show business! If it’s good, it should be applauded. Authenticity is not defined by convenience and applied selectively. You can either be brazen about it or use the tech and makeup now available. Feel free to stick with period dramas, it is our heritage and we will not change that, but use any actor or actress in any role and if authenticity demands they appear one way or the other, use the blooming technology and get on with it!!!!!!!

In conclusion: if a white female actress is able to remember her lines and wants to play Barack Obama, why not? If a black female actress wants to play Winston Churchill, why not? AUTHENTICITY? well, refer any idiot who has an issue to go and watch Jesus Christ of Nazareth or Chernobyl or any of those other hits! or, use tech and makeup as need be. ANYONE CAN AND SHOULD BE ABLE TO PLAY ANYONE: IT’S CALLED ACTING for crying out loud!!!! Let’s get a grip world!!!!!

Jeremy Corbyn.

Probably the most honest, decent MP (Member of UK Parliament) that will ever be, and even more importantly, probably one of the most decent, caring human beings left on earth. But he failed woefully in his bid to become UK Prime Minister. Why?

We all know exactly why.

The office of Prime Minister in the UK, similar to other leaders in the democratic world has become so toxic that it needs someone who can survive in such a toxic environment to hold that office. We have allowed for such toxicity and lack of empathy, that the question: “will you press the red button to protect Britain” is asked so flippantly as if the red button refers to a button to release a cookie as opposed to what it is: the release of nuclear weapons that will destroy thousands of lives. While there is absolutely no argument that if the lives of Britons are threatened, we need to know that our elected leader will press the red button to protect us, to assume that the pass mark goes only to a Prime Ministerial candidate that immediately gives an unqualified YES, is the sad reality of where we are today as human beings and this is why someone like Jeremy Corbyn was never going to be electable in today’s world.

Jeremy’s response would be: yes, I will press the red button, but my focus would be on working hard to ensure we never get to the point where I would need to consider pressing the red button. But to the majority, that is not an acceptable response. We must have a Prime Minister that just blurts out: HELL YES! If to protect British lives, I will press the red button, the green, blue and any other coloured button! Even if the reality is that he/she will do exactly the same as Jeremy (as thankfully, we are not brutes!). But the majority no longer want thoughtfulness, just immediate responses that sound like what they want to hear, and whoever gives them that, will get their vote

Immigration is a big issue in the UK and right across Europe and it is clear that there is no short-term solution in which you would not have to be cruel to be kind. Anyone who thinks otherwise is just being naive. We can’t continue to watch the bodies of children being washed up on our shores and tougher measure will have to be taken to dissuade illegal attempts to enter the country and deterrents have to be in place. But the long term solution is a lot more complicated but the minute decent politicians such as Jeremy say that (and it is indeed the truth or the problem would have been addressed decades ago) it is not the response the masses want. They want empty words and rhetoric. Jeremy won’t offer that. So, what on earth was he thinking running for office? That’s a bloody good question!

Decency is gone and highly unlikely to ever return

And NO, it is not our politicians to blame, it is us THE PEOPLE, THE ELECTORATE, SOCIETY. We are the ones that need to change. Beginning with each individual. Can we be decent? Can we call out indecency? It starts with you & I.

I usually avoid reading the monthly crime-watch correspondence as it makes for worrying reading at the best of times as the number and frequency of crime locally continue to rise. But this week I had a flick-through and the rate of reoffending was shocking. A murder was committed in the neighbourhood next to mine and the offender had 41 previous court appearances and had committed 117 crimes. Each time he came out of prison his next crime was worse than the previous.

Society could shrug and say: lock them up and let them rot in prison BUT who faces the brunt of it each time they are released back into society?

By now there should be clear and consistent guidelines for sentencing criminals and all non-violent offenders should be sent to separate prisons and in each prison, prisoners should be separated into groups based on years left to serve, so that those near to release are together and reform together, to give them half of chance. Mixing violent criminals with non-violent criminals and overcrowded prisons is likely leading to the current situation of high reoffending and the steady increase in the degree of crimes committed by reoffenders.

Apart from the obvious waste of public funds, it is really difficult to imagine the grief of the families of victims murdered by a reoffender who started out as a petty thief, went to jail, came out and became a violent robber, went to prison, came out and became a murderer. Society is losing out.

America has imprisoned hundreds of thousands of its citizens on drugs related offences. They are locked into a system they will never get out of. Locked up in prisons with all sorts of criminals and dismissed by society and abandoned by their government to continue in the vicious cycle of coming out of prisons, shunned by society, reoffend, back to prison and on it goes. For the sake of their victims (if nothing else) this system needs an urgent overhaul! If offenders are separated out into prisons with those who have committed non-violent offences in separate prisons, the rate of reoffending will reduce

We cannot continue with the present day arrangements with criminals going in and out of prisons, becoming hardened and destined to commit graver and graver offences. The entire system needs an urgent rethink

Over several decades and it has gotten worse in recent years, with 2019 being the worst in the past decade, football (soccer) authorities have stood by, done very little to combat racist abuse of players by some sections of fans at matches. With every new incident there were ready-made excuses and the usual ineffectual attempts to ban the offenders. Well, we have just completed a season and started the 2020/21 season without fans in the stadiums and it has been an effective end to racist chants at matches. Covid-19 has essentially done what footballing authorities failed to address for nearly a century. It has allowed for an environment where footballers can go to their jobs, get it done without exposure to abuse (which they are surely entitled to) and go home happy. This makes it quite clear that the solution has always been there: zero tolerance of racist behaviour. Banning all fans from any stadium where racist chants are heard, for a few weeks will ensure that the next time a fan standing next to you decides he/she wants to shout out racist slurs, other fans desperate to avoid a closure of their stadium will step-in to remind that fan to behave. It is a very simple and obvious solution that has always been available but instead, footballing authorities repeatedly choose to do nothing year on year.

One can just imagine how those who have never been able to afford jet-setting, expensive restaurants etc. feel about the past 7 months of Covid-forced equality?

Ok, long term impact and detriment will still hit the poor worse and the usual affluent excuse of: “well, if we don’t let you clean our hotel rooms and carry our bags you won’t have jobs and will starve” still applies and that age-old mechanism used to keep the poor in check and dependent will be back thriving soon enough. Nothing is going to change (just like the football analogy above) because those with the authority to make real change choose repeatedly to do nothing and that will always be the state of affairs because we are all complicit. We each want our holidays in exotic countries and we want them to serve us and fetch & carry for us and we have our pre-prepared reasons why it is ok (afterall we are paying for such service and have worked hard to deserve such pampering, so, surely it is our entitlement?). Well, it is one big mechanism and change is never an isolated matter that others should sort out for us all. Hence, nothing will change, BUT for the moment, the poor can have a momentary laugh and witness a world where rich or poor have had to bow to Covid-19 to an extent!

We want to visit Machu Picchu, the Himalayas and various places but we don’t want to see those local people over here; BUT WAIT, we have the usual excuse: well, we don’t go to those places as economic migrants, we go there to give them a chance to survive off our tourism spend on their country. OK. But what is wrong with trying to fix the rest of the world so that nobody has to depend solely on tourism earnings to survive? Oh, that’s going to spoil our fun and make those holidays too expensive for us? EXACTLY. After all we have made the $, €, £ so strong to ensure we can saunter off to those countries and enjoy ourselves right? (this is the reason the rich world is terrified of the concept of cryptocurrency – imagine a global currency where people get similar value for their hard work! Of course we don’t want that!) I ask again: what is so wrong with trying to fix the world’s problems, create an equitable society for all, so that nobody needs to be an economic migrant and Africans, Latin Americans or South-East Asians can choose whether or not they wish to visit England or the US as tourists on holiday, without the desperation of seeking economic benefit or safety (or whatever reasons currently lead migrants to put up with the trials & pain of attempting to migrate)?? When politicians ask this question they are immediately called SOCIALISTS, DO-GOODERS or LEFTIST. Well, if capitalism and the current form of toxic democracy is now the virtuous or RIGHT, then we need more LEFTIES! The world belongs to no-one, none of us own it. We will all depart with nothing in the end. So, why not try to do something useful with our lives? Making the whole world great is what our collective aspiration should be. And the solutions are there to be had, BUT will we ever have leaders who will decide (similar to my football analogy above) to take action? UNLIKELY

If only we can learn some real lessons from this?

The global economy

How “global” is it?

For decades we industrialised on the back of a number of highly questionable means: from forced labour to excessive use of fossil fuels (for which we now condemn countries like China) and a lopsided monetary system that has condemned many countries to unending debt and dependence

We continue to maintain a system that strangulate those who need advancement. They remain tied-up in a tangled web of IMF loans and other borrowings that will keep them in desperation indefinitely.

It won’t take a financial genius to work out the need to restructure the global economy, wipe the slate clean, provide funding to harness solar energy in countries that have that potential, mechanise agriculture, educate and grow. Will this ever happen? NEVER. Why? We say: why should we be our brother’s keeper?

We all want cheap holidays to those exotic destinations where the local population is dependent on tourism to survive. So they can clean and carry for us, while our currency is like gold dust when we get there and the average individual becomes a king upon arrival at those destinations. So, why would we want to see them industrialise and lose their dependency on us?

The world has the means to eradicate poverty globally. We have the means of ending conflict. We can end inequality and ensure religious tolerance. We can do it all and achieve all. But we choose not to

As we go from one era to the next, we continue to utilise the same reasons, the same excuses…..

Self deprecation is one of the strongest weapons we have as Brits. As a child, attending football matches in north London was a Saturday morning excitement and we witnessed a fair measure of abuse hurled at players of all variety: Irish, red-heads, blacks etc. The unfortunate aspect of it all is that we assume others can take it. It is not an assumption that should be made, especially if there is a century of hurt attached.

However, racism is not the same as the history of slavery or other bias such as those arising from sexism as an example. Racism is now also mixed up with religious intolerance and other forms of bias. The overwhelming confusion out there is causing more problem than the evil of racism itself. Racism is not the sole preserve of a single race. As we saw recently in several parts of the world. Black people can be racist, so can Whites and we have seen the situation in China, India, South Africa and many other parts of the world where non-whites are the culprits.

I can never understand it when folks have an issue with the addition of a colour to an abuse: if you’re called a “black bastard” why not retort with “white bastard”? And why is ‘black or white bastard’ so much more potent than just “bastard”? or why is “black bastard” supposed to be so much more hurtful than “white bastard”? The satisfaction abusers derive from hurling abuse is a direct measure of the hurt expressed or felt by their targets. The world needs to move on. We must normalise colours. There will always be colours: white, black, brown etc. Addition of that, to abuse should not lend an extra dimension to such abuse.

Racism is not just about racial slurs and abuse. Those at the receiving end of racial slurs and abuse must rise above it – the more you exhibit distress the more those seeking to hurt you gain satisfaction and will persist. It is similar to bullying. And it is always a numbers game as you see on school playgrounds. However, the disadvantage-ing of a race i.e. seeking to suppress or keep one race at a disadvantage through any means possible, including the most potent means: POVERTY, is a different matter altogether and one that receives little attention as the world conveniently fixate on trivial matters.

If the world wants to get serious about eliminating racism and other bias, first step is to eliminate inequality and poverty. Then address racism across the board instead of the current fixation on whites. This is about all races. When you lift the lid, you find caste systems in south east asia, you find issues in Latin America, you find different tribes in Africa prejudiced against each other etc. Inequality is the main problem that needs addressing and that is decades overdue. Address inequality and then, the elimination of racial bias will be possible.

We need to ditch triviality and focus on policies, laws and deliberate attempts to prolong inequality. The supposed ‘third world’ or underdeveloped countries need to be brought along and forward, so that standard of living is improved across the board – no excuse should be acceptable

We live in a ‘Not In My Back Yard’ (NIMBY) world, where we all want great public transportation but nobody wants trains passing through their back garden, we don’t want the bus stop outside the front of our homes and we don’t want the airport flight path directly over our homes

It is the same with immigration, integration, multiculturalism and race-related intolerance

Governments must prepare to INVEST. Not just in settling and integration of immigrants BUT improving the communities into which they are to be settled. It should be a hugely beneficial move to have immigrants settle into your community: there should be a set stipend (benefit) paid to those living in those areas, new facilities should be built: schools, hospitals etc. And a heavy investment in social workers working with not just the immigrants BUT existing locals in those areas, such that it becomes a massive advantage if your area is selected to settle newcomers in. It should be a means of overall community improvement such that anytime a community is selected, it should be like a lottery win to those already living in those areas, so that they and the newcomers benefit hugely and that togetherness is what will aid integration.

Yes, hand-in-hand with the above, is the need for a robust immigration system or the whole world will empty out to try to get to the same country and such systems can be exploited, but if handled with care, it is achievable and it will mean that immigrants fully integrate and begin contributing to society quicker BUT most importantly, it removes intolerance that currently brews from envy and a perception by some, that handouts are given to immigrants while locals struggle to obtain the same. The reality is that immigrants do not have existing support networks and alienating them is generally detrimental to everyone in the long run. The key is to incentivise not just the immigrants (so that they choose to integrate properly) but more importantly, to incentivise their hosts: the communities in which they are settled should benefit immensely. As a taxpayer, I would be happy to pay more to provide the proverbial ‘handout’ to not just the newcomers but to the communities they are settled into, instead of ending up with areas that feel they are at a disadvantage when immigrants show up

And a small explained above, along with all that, should be a robust system and in the long run, such an expensive approach (and it will be, as the heavy investment in those communities where they are settled must be truly transformational and not just some superficial tweaks. Cash should be given out to those host communities, schools, hospitals, sports complexes etc. built) will totally change the present situation and society will be a lot better for it

We can’t keep dumping immigrants or asylum seekers in deprived areas where the existing locals are already in dire need of assistance that they feel they are not getting and then hope for tolerance, integration and cohesion. It really is a no-brainier. Heavy investment must go in and must be for both the newcomers as well as the existing locals in those communities so that the introduction of the newcomers bring in that massive advantage all round. Will this ever happen? Unlikely, as our decision-makers do not live in the impacted communities and they have achieved their NIMBY status and as such, do not believe they need to listen to the communities who feel impacted by the dumping of newcomers and have to cope with those new cultures etc. We tell them they just have to get on with it, and when they complain, we call them racists and right-wing fanatics, while majority of us enjoy our posh areas and retain NIMBY, BUT we talk about wanting to see immigrants settle into society etc. (provided their not next door to us of course!)….

Things must change. We can effectively eliminate intolerance, racism etc., if we innovate. Develop society together. Those directly impacted must receive that heavy investment so that it changes their lives and those of the newcomers all together

We have seen the outcome of elections in the UK, Brazil and the 2016 shocker in the US. But for some dumb reason, progressives and free-thinkers like myself still sometimes believe these are irregular occurrences and there will soon be a return of civility. Well, wake up folks!

It wasn’t some fringe minority or a handful of people who voted Trump into office. It was the complacency and dismissive attitude of those who think they are prim & proper, while achieving very little and making very little progress that riled a good chunk of the American population who had had enough of “being presidential” and the prim & proper semi-elitist behaviours of the same people they voted into public office. Ironically, they turned to someone who has had the same privileges as the elites they say they want to rebel against, but in him, they saw a means of rebelling and for that, they were (and still are) prepared to condone the rest. If Joe Binen was to come out today (11 Oct, 2020) or in the coming couple of weeks prior to November 3, to firmly state that he does not believe Trump supporters are stupid and that he can see what has riled them over the past 20 years of “prim & proper” politics that ignored (instead of seek to understand or at least listen) a chunk of the country (and they don’t have to be correct: demanding a control of immigration etc.) – if he could come out to acknowledge those mistakes and seek to engage, he will win this election by a massive margin

As we saw with Boris Johnson v Jeremy Corbin in the UK. The hypocrisy in assuming anyone who associates with conservatism or a demand for a change of policy relating to immigration, the EU and other such matters, is a right-wing fanatic or a racist and just dismissing their complaints simply galvanises those people and what you end up with, is what we now face in the UK with Brexit. Over the years, if politicians had made an attempt to listen to those complaining about those issues and even if those complaints are just an unfortunate perception as they largely are, discussing and engaging with them would have avoided exiting the EU and some improvements could have been made all round.

I am a firm believer in the fact that none of us own the earth we live in, and the coincidence of some of us being lucky to have been born in developed countries should not mean we lockdown our borders BUT, if some parts of the population claim they are unhappy, the correct thing to do is engage with them and explain the details to them. For example, there are millions of Brits living and working abroad and they are not all educated or highly skilled, but those countries welcome them. We can not return to a Britain of the 1940s or 50s that many seem to want. To begin with, we no longer have all the unchallenged wealth from the commonwealth coming in. We are part of a global economy. But, we could have initiated a points system or a similar assessment that Canada or Australia use, to reassure those who complain about immigration that at any point in time, the government is in control and we will only bring in those that will fit in with our society and improve it as well as providing solace to those fleeing persecution and helping to integrate into our society. Anything to demonstrate our leaders listen. Instead, for decades, politicians dodged the question and the folks who live in communities where immigrants are dumped (and dumped is the correct word as efforts to help immigrants integrate are simply not well coordinated) get that shock and clash of culture, with hatred and intolerance being the end-product. As such, it is not that difficult for some to exploit this lethal cocktail by whipping these unhappy folks into a frenzy. While those that know better, refuse to explain the challenges to them. Instead, we label them as uneducated and intolerant and we dismiss their views. YES, it is sometimes difficult to listen to or engage with people who use racial slurs and push ridiculous conspiracy theories, but decades of failing to engage with them and to explain the dynamics of today’s world, where our food, energy etc. come from and why Britain can no longer be an isolated entity (and why it doesn’t matter if London is 20, 30, 40 or whatever percentage non-white: provided everyone integrates, keep our values, avoid crime, improve the country and all contribute) has led to the current situation and the aftermath of exiting the EU will impact the same people who voted for it, than the elite who will always be ok

It is the same everywhere you look. We make the same mistake in dismissing an initially small cluster of the population who believe immigrants are the only thing wrong in life and that they are poor thanks to immigration. The more we ignore them, the higher their numbers grow. Those who should have explained the real reason they are poor or struggling to them (demonstrating to them that it has nothing to do with foreigners and that the government will get a grip either way and integrate newcomers, improve the lot of communities that are chosen to accommodate newcomers etc) have for decades opted to ignore them and dismiss their concerns and what you end up with, is a galvanised rebellion that falls into the hands of those who then exploit it to their own advantage, while failing to make any tangible improvement, which is down to the fact that they largely do not know what or how to improve the situation

Other than a few TV moments (showing children in cages, separated from their parents) has the Trump administration over the last 4 years improved integration of immigrants or helped the impacted communities that have to live side by side with those new immigrants? Is America better off now in terms of cohesion? These are the real issues that governments should spend energy and money on. I doubt even the numbers have shown any improvement over these past 4 years. Society have given io to despair. Intolerance has risen to an all-time high! Government is no longer there to represent and work for the people. The very cornerstone of our democracy has been ripped apart!

There will be no end to the misery until we start listening to each other, regardless of who is right or wrong.

I am not a huge fan of politics and less so when it comes to modern day politics of fanatical base over policy. I had a Canadian friend on the phone today who was ranting and raving about their Prime Minister and I reminded him of the last time I saw him in 2013 and he was ranting and raving about their last Prime Minister (Stephen Harper).

Now, I know next to nothing about Canadian politics and probably less about a Justin Trudeau, but in my circa 10 years of living & working in Canada (left there and moved back home nearly 8 years ago) I experienced enough of the government before Trudeau’s and much of the criticisms now levelled against him were similar to those levelled against the previous government. Perhaps it’s a little easy to criticise?

Trudeau’s present critics must be certain they can do better? talk is cheap….

I am not for a minute excusing any of Trudeau’s missteps, BUT, we need to accept there are probably no messiahs out there. If you can find a politician who at least attempts to discuss policy and try to put policy out there like Trudeau has done over the past 5 years, is it perhaps worth overlooking some of the foibles? My friend disagreed and nearly bit my head off, but for me, I accept nobody is perfect and talk is cheap…….

It is quickly becoming obvious that the world lacks the capacity to learn! The supposed “new normal” is starting to resemble the old normal. Commercial property owners in cities want governments to “encourage” workers to return to offices and no thought has been given to how they get there? In a few weeks’ time we will be back to standing on crowded trains and buses, with pollution hitting the roof yet again, in our “new normal”

Over 6 months of ample thinking and re-thinking time appear to have drifted by. I recently read some articles suggesting measures that could keep our city centres vibrant without a return to pre-Covid conditions. Perhaps some commercial buildings could be repurposed as residential to allow for short walks or cycling to offices, more mixed-use neighbourhoods in city centres – accepting there are other challenges that brings. But my point is: where is the leadership? where is the innovation? a week or two from now, employers will demand workers return to offices (no doubt the usual ineffectual phrases such as “only if safe to..” will be bandied around, but essentially, you will likely lose your job if you don’t) and the next time anyone mention crowded trains or pollution, we will all be too busy forcing our way onto the next crowded train to pay any attention.

Attention has shifted to installing glass screens and floor markings, wall-mounted hand sanitisers etc. Those bold, ambitious statements from back in April 2020, when we all witnessed the drastic reductions in pollution resulting from Covid-19 lockdown are all a blur. Yes, the economy and getting people back to city centres and jobs that can’t be done from home, is urgent and it is the right thing to do, BUT could we not have used the past 6 months to come up with innovation that will achieve that while retaining some of the benefits (to the environment, to mental wellbeing etc) that the elimination of overcrowding of public transportation (as a single example) has shown us? Employers should have come up with new ideas e.g. formalising home-working (with occasional visits to offices) for roles that clearly do not need to be present in offices or creating new shift patterns that shifts peak time commuting to drive down the numbers needing to stuff themselves on trains and buses each day of the week. ANYTHING REALLY, anything that demonstrates we have learned something from this pandemic other than a waiting game to then return to a “new normal” that no one can differentiate from the old pre-Covid normal (other than masks becoming fashionable or elimination of handshakes….)

What a missed opportunity!

Many in the UK would have slapped you if you suggested not visiting the hairdressers in 5 months or not travelling abroad on holiday. Well, that has now been the reality for the majority over recent months, thanks to Covid-19. Many are now beginning to realise they can actually survive and exist without fortnightly trips to the hairdressers

Yes, some religions believe there is life after death and although I am yet to meet anyone with proof of that, I do not judge those who choose to believe they are heading elsewhere when they die and will reunite with old friends and family etc. Each to their own, people can choose to believe whatever they choose to believe. One thing is certain: nobody has yet been able to empty out their bank accounts before dying, to take along with them or take their mansions with them; we know that for a fact, as those mansions are still here. So, if the reality is that we take nothing with us, why on earth can we not achieve an equal society, where we all simply strive to have a little and ensure others (regardless of where they are on this planet) also have a little?

Is it so difficult for the United Nations (or an equivalent) to mandate that no nation can rise up against another? No wars. Is it so difficult to mechanise agriculture in third world countries, build schools, educate, fund facilities such as homes, healthcare, water, renewable energy etc.?

What is the point of becoming a billionaire? Yes, we are not our brother’s keeper and it is every man or woman for themselves, but to what end exactly? I guess some like to create dynasties and the rich want to see their lineage remain rich and there has to be a number of poor people or the rich won’t stand out? Would it not be better if the entire world had a basic minimum standard of living? The rich can still be rich, the elite can still stand out and enjoy special privileges; that’s all well and good, but surely, we can achieve a basic minimum for all…

It isn’t liberal or socialist to seek empathy and consideration for others. If indeed, all is vanity and none of us gets to take anything with us when we die

Wasted words of course. The world prefers a dog eat dog environment where we watch poverty-stricken countries suffer and we blame them for their stupidity, laziness, corruption and lack of candour or enterprise. Most unfortunate……

If you are too young to have seen the film Spartacus, you may at least have seen the more recent gladiator movie starring Russel Crowe and aptly named Gladiator?

That concept of a ruling elite satisfying the baying and restless mob (i.e. society) with blood sports that utilise unfortunate commoners like themselves (albeit in the unfortunate circumstance of being on bondage), who have to fight to the death, in front of their peers as a means of entertainment, sounds crude and historic, but that is indeed exactly where we are today!

The internet was created with good intentions but the minute the money-making potential became obvious, everything else is just collateral damage. That seems to be the overriding pattern for everything in today’s world. You read about online trolls and a bunch of their victims committing suicide; we click on the next news and 2 minutes later, that news is already on page 30 and is old news.

Everything is now a money-maker. It is all about driving online traffic to a website, a blog, a u-tube page or an online post with someone pulling the strings behind the scenes and billionaires being declared on a weekly basis, while we all ignore the solid line of collateral damage building up.

25 years ago, if you picked up a newspaper and the front page has a report of 2 people killed in a robbery, the reader will be appalled and spend several minutes reading the article over and over again, feeling pain for the families and friends of the victims etc. Today, people click on the internet and there’s a report on 57,000 dead in the UK from Covid-19 and as you read that, you also have your iPhone on another article on how to make bread and a third article on your iPad with cat jokes. And the news keeps coming……

Publishers are under pressure to keep on churning out one sensational headline after the other. Recently in the UK, two teenage footballers purchased homes for their mothers, one was made out to be a wasteful idiot who hasn’t even achieved footballing glory yet, but is splashing out on a house for his mother, while the other chap was made out to be such a caring young man who cares so much for his family. An individual (Raheem Sterling) picked up both articles and asked the UK public to guess which of the two chaps is white?

The public have grown totally indifferent to human suffering; not that society was ever any different nor was there ever a past generation that was caring, tolerant, peaceful and strove to create global equality and societal harmony, but the amplified thirst for any kind of satisfaction, without a second’s thought for the implications, is defining now at an all-time high!

A UK television personality (Caroline Flack) recently committed suicide. She had been in an altercation with her boyfriend whom she allegedly suspected of being unfaithful and she struck him in his sleep. The police were called and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) decided to prosecute her. Now, whether or not she deserved to be prosecuted or the fact that she took her own life, fact of the matter is that the young lady is no longer with us and it is a life lost. Online trolls persecuted her endlessly and even after her death. The CPS were clearly correct in prosecuting her and her suicide was tragic, but will society learn?

We see bodies of refugees and asylum seekers floating in the ocean and that hS somehow become a comfortable image that online trolls still willingly and freely disparage! Regardless of whether or not these are economic migrants or genuine refugees, they are human beings for goodness sake!

Those profiting from social media must be made responsible of coming up with technology that can eliminate online abuse, trolling or misuse of the internet. There ought to be a 30 second rule for anything offensive to be removed. But some will argue that nobody can determine what is deemed offensive or not. Well, that is where human decency has to come into it. There’s a great deal of bad behaviour not covered by law or not deemed criminal, society (decent society) find the means to address.

You read about ethical products but it is like descending into a bottomless pit! Few decades back there was the emphasis on conflict diamonds for a short period of time. Disarmament for a short period of time – quickly replaced with “guns don’t kill, people do” – yes, but perhaps making weapons of mass destruction could allow people to mass destruct? And to the more mundane matter of inhumane conditions for workers producing cheap products that we all want to buy, cheap food etc. Climate change campaigners voicing support for non-fossil fuel engines but when a documentary showing children forced down cobalt mine shafts in Africa, to supply non-fossil industries, the world looked the other way and very little was said about that.

What is achievable? What is practical? What is hypocritical? It is not for me to say, as I honestly do not know. It is easy for some to challenge ownership of guns in countries like America and for those selling them to duck behind the constitution, but we are all taxpayers and governments are highly unlikely to stop making and selling weapons and as such, we are all arms traders? There is also, a very murky world out there: it is easy to sit in the comfort of our homes and complain about the cost of things like nuclear deterrence, but is it possible to have a safe world without such deterrence?

Avoiding purchasing products from one brand in favour on one we deem to be more ethical, not knowing both are owned by the same organisation anyway (through share ownership etc.)…..

It is indeed a bottomless pit!

Who is right? Who is wrong?

One thing is certain: we are in an insatiably gladiatorial world! Humanity is lost without empathy! We can change…..

Less about who is right and who’s wrong. We just need some empathy and common sense…

You read about the “Power 100” list or “Most powerful 40 under 40s” and numerous other power lists. Humankind is obsessed with power…

Power should come with responsibilities and the need to wield power responsibly. But we find ourselves in a reckless era, where people fail to see the end-point. You see many leaders ending up at The Hague or other International Criminal Courts or in their local prisons. Yet, none appear capable of learning. If we are such temporary creatures, clinging to power is never indefinite: you either succumb to age or the next upcoming power-hungry underling

Nothing wrong with wanting to rise to the top. But what happens when you get to the top? It will be temporary. Aspiring to be the best we can be, is a lot better. If you’re a doctor, be the best doctor, engineer, be the very best engineer…..

The folks who create those power lists believe that is the distinction that many crave. But what is power?

Having control over others (be it hiring and firing or just having authority to impact others significantly) is always temporary as we are all here for a temporary period of time. Even those who live to the ripe old age of 100+ years like Kirk Douglas, begin to lose control or have to cede some control from a certain age. Ultimately, we are as powerless as the next human being, when we are on our death-bed. It doesn’t matter at that point in time how powerful we used to be or how many lives we impacted or how many people we hired or fired. Rising to the top should only ever be about being the best we can each be at whatever we do and that should never include a moronic thirst for power or authority, as it is never indefinite

The world can easily create a new world order of tolerance for all, climate and social responsibility, indifference to differences (sex, religion, race, affluence etc.) and collective responsibility – where we make every location on earth conducive for those living there. Anything else is moronic. We’re all only here temporarily…..

Since time immemorial people kneel in front of a monarch to be knighted or pardoned or as a show of respect right?

So, how come the same action is suddenly said to be disrespectful?

Imagine being furious with someone who has wronged you and whom you really wish to disrespect and you march up to him/her, kneel in front of them and yeah! you’ve really hit them hard with such a show of disrespect? erm, I don’t think so folks!

So, you know there is bias and racism, when a very humble show of protest (afterall there are other options like raising two fingers or mooning that could be very obviously disrespectful if that was ever the intent) by taking a knee during an anthem is suddenly put out there by biased individuals, to be a show of disrespect to the flag or anthem. It clearly isn’t

The UK’s Foreign Secretary (Dominic Raab) who is himself the son of an immigrant (his father moved to the UK from Eastern Europe in 1938) decided to deride the symbol being used by protesters to speak up against prejudice, inequality and bias, by stating he will only take the knee to his wife (when proposing) or the Queen. Well, he can do so the next time the national anthem is played then? Given the anthem is played as a respect to Queen & country, and the words are “God save the Queen…”. I shall be expecting him to take the knee at the next event he attends, whenever the anthem is played.

When you encounter individuals who come up with those excuses, you know those are folks who haven’t sat down to ask themselves the all important question: am I biased? would I be raising the same issues if those are white people taking a knee or protesting?

We all have some soul-searching to do…….

Couple of years back, the then head of IMF, Christine Lagarde, provided some statistics demonstrating how daft it is, for an economy to lose a huge workforce (women) due to discrimination. There are at least as many women on earth as there are men. We don’t have to like that fact, but the reality is that getting women working across all sectors and holding positions of responsibility simply mean we are using all the resources available, which is great for any economy

We must look past our differences; be it sex, race/colour or anything else, to ensure we get the best out of all available resources. It should not be a threat that given just half a chance (and with many racially motivated obstacles in their way, every step of the way – feel free to google each), out came: Neil deGrasse Tyson, Pele, Oprah Winfrey, Tiger Woods, Barack Obama, Lewis Hamilton, Tyler Perry, Michael Jordan and the list goes on and on.. Now, imagine if we provide equal opportunities and end racism, end systemic racism, end bias, end inequality. Adding just half of black people currently incarcerated in America or those we say do nothing other than deal drugs etc., if we solve that conundrum and add to the workforce in America, it will not only eliminate dependency but it will drive their GDP through the roof!

The same for the UK, Canada & Australia with the indigenous people there. Discrimination makes absolutely no sense in the 21st century. There is no need to continue to try to prove the supremacy of any race! We’ve already been through all that, fought wars and moved on! Now is the time for every decent human being to speak up! Silence isn’t helping. Now is the time for us all to support the present and coming generation in creating a lasting, endless, level playing field, where everyone has access to the same facilities, education, opportunities etc. Not out of love, but out of economic common sense! Let’s get everyone into the workforce (out of jails or deprivation) and drive productivity to an unprecedented high, so that we can eliminate poverty across the globe and enter a brand new age for humanity

May sound like a homily, but set the preaching aside and face the hard facts

What has unfolded last week and is ongoing, lay bare the meaning of bias, privilege and lack of understanding or even the willingness to try to understand

I do not personally know anyone who is a direct descendant of slaves or a direct descendant of the holocaust to ask how they feel. The world expect descendants of slavery and those affected by the aftermath to just move on, forget about the past, not seek reparation etc. BUT when it comes to the rest of history associated with all that e.g. statues, we want to keep them: “afterall, you can’t undo the past” people say. So, are we saying it is ok for Germany to stick up statues of Hitler and that the swastika can become a popular pattern on Christmas wrapping paper? Afterall, it’s all part of their history and we shouldn’t try to rewrite or undo history? Why do we hurriedly knock down locations of mass atrocities? to avoid some turning them into shrines right? Otherwise statues of Pol Pot and others will be smiling down at us..

The argument that history should not be rewritten or undone is a daft argument. History that remains harmful or negatively impactful must be addressed and if part of that is to remove some statues, that is what needs to be done. How it is done, is what must be addressed respectfully. Defacing statues or monuments is disrespectful regardless of what we think or what we feel they represent. They may mean something different to others e.g. relatives of those individuals. There needs to be a visible process in place, to listen to argument and where accepted (by independent committees with fair representation) those statues need to be moved into museums, where those who like them can visit and those opposed to them can avoid them.

If it embarrasses us to teach the history of slavery, leaving the younger generation to only learn about such brutality from movies such as ‘12 years a slave’, we end up with societies that lack an understanding and the outcome of that, is exactly what is happening in America right now, with lopsided laws that lead to mass incarceration of one group and situation such as George Floyd’s killing, which is quite rampant out there. If you look at it, for every other type of crime, we are told if you cut out the demand, you deal with the supply e.g. if you catch the ‘fence’ (i.e. the guy who buys the stolen painting etc.), you kill off the need to steal paintings. But when it comes to drugs in America, they only target the drug-dealers (perhaps because they are predominantly….) and fill their prisons with those folks, but we all know the colour of the folks who can afford to buy those drugs and they are the demand; they are the only reason drug-dealers exist. But we look the other way and the war is always on the cartels and dealers. Any guesses why?….

As for relics such as merchandise named with connotations of slavery e.g. uncle ben’s or aunt jemima, if these are deemed to cause offence, what is the debate about? Keep the photos so that those attached to the brand can remain attached, but rename them using the real names e.g. if Uncle Ben was actually Benjamin Smith, change Uncle Ben’s to “Benjamin Smith” and the same for Aunt Jemima. If we are unable to establish their names, run a public competition to find new names for them, get those new names on and move on!!!! It is absolutely baffling that anyone would argue against such a simple process: if people are offended, we sort it out. It is that simple. Thousands of similar renaming have been done over the years to ease the pain of adverse historical events such as the holocaust. Over the years hundreds of pubs and other establishments in Britain have been renamed even though those who named them thousands of years ago could not have assumed that those words would cause offence hundreds of years later. If/when they do cause offence, the common sense action to take is to rename them. We cannot be so bloody insensitive!!

Things change and we change with it. Retaining tradition is great, and we have means of doing so. But common sense must always be brought to bear: if you look at the very simply matter of names: years back many men were happy to be addressed as ‘Dick’ if their name is Richard as back then, association of the word ‘dick’ with what we now see it to mean today, was not the case. Many would refrain to call ‘cats’ pussy-cats these days, but look back a few decades and the word ‘pussy’ was more associated with puss in boots and cats than otherwise. We move on, we adapt to today’s reality and get on with it.

None of us is going to be here forever! Learn to let go!!

The hypocrisy of it all, is what is most staggering! The number of native burial grounds and monuments that meant a great deal to people in places like Egypt, which today’s civilisation casually bulldozed to build roads, towns, cities etc. But now we are so precious about dropping the name on a can of pancake mix or rice sauce, when some may find such names offensive?

Seriously???!!

Enough said!

Here’s a short excerpt from a renowned UK journalist: Ian Cobain, author of The History Thieves: Secrets, Lies and the Shaping of a Modern Nation, in The Guardian 

on the destruction of Britain’s dark historyLying about our history? Now that’s something Britain excels at 

“It was inevitable that some would insist that ripping the statue of slave trader Edward Colston from its plinth and disposing of it in a harbour in Bristol was an act of historical revisionism; that others would argue that its removal was long overdue, and that the act itself was history in the making. After more statues were removed across the United States and Europe, Boris Johnson weighed in, arguing that ‘to tear [these statues] down would be to lie about our history’. But lying about our history – and particularly about our late-colonial history – has been a habit of the British state for decades. In 2013 I discovered that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office had been unlawfully concealing 1.2m historical files at a highly secure government compound at Hanslope Park, north of London… The operation – and its attempts to conceal and manipulate history in an attempt to sculpt an official narrative – speaks of a certain jitteriness on the part of the British state, as if it feared that interpretations of the past that were based upon its own records would find it difficult to celebrate the ‘greatness’ of British history.”

Years back when we looked around as our High Streets in London began to change from what we were used to seeing when growing up as kids, I used to say that immigrants should follow the age-old “when you’re in Rome, act like the Romans” but over the years we have seen immigrants who have tried to integrate face difficulties from both their communities as they get ostracised for deserting their roots as well as difficulties from locals as they are expected to act as second-class citizens and stick with their own (what some now refer to as the ‘Downton Abbey effect’)

What followed in the last 20 years is what some describe as a switch to the ‘Chinatown approach’ where immigrants huddle up in their groups, within their communities and try to maintain their culture and be less adventurous in terms of mixing

Poverty and manipulation for political gain has led to an increase in intolerance and various groups ending up at each other’s throat, with the hard-hit local communities, particularly in the rural areas seeing immigrants as unwanted extras even though those immigrants do all the menial jobs that locals deem beneath themselves.

Many now see multiculturalism as a failed experiment as the regular clash of cultures and failure to integrate have come to the boil. The 90s was a decade in which integration was on the verge of success. It was so, so close. People mingled and most of the bands were diverse and everyone got on with just living and enjoying life. By the end of the 90s, the new wave of immigration that was solely based on multiculturalism was kicking in and by the end of the 2008 recession, the societal divide and fragmentation had reached its peak and we are now facing those consequences across the board, including recent protests etc.

I will not sit as a judge of multiculturalism or integration, that is for politicians to answer to, but our conscience will continue to poke at us as a society.

The minute immigrants arrive, be it as legal, illegal or refugees seeking asylum, as a society, we have to be prepared to give them some preferential treatment and hand them more than the average locals as need that extra help to get started. Tough as that is, for locals who see themselves as being below the poverty line, to accept, in the long run, it is the only way to avoid problems. The better immigrants integrate, the more useful they will later be to society and the more useful their offsprings will be to that society. We do not have to love them, but for our own good, we should care for them and help them integrate, given they are here to stay

What we currently have is this melting pot of cultures that incessantly clash and neither side is prepared to compromise!

This was a sign that was hung outside many rental properties in the UK in the 50s and early 60s. Many returned from the Korean War and couldn’t find a place to rent in London

The fact that we are still talking about racism in 2020 is a global embarrassment but a friend presented me with an analogy today, which I will share below, which explains the reason why we are still in this mess and why people like myself (who do not see colour and choose to treat everyone equally) are a big part of the problem due to our silence. Here is the analogy:

When you attend a football match in a stadium with 70,000 fans in attendance and players on the field can hear racist abuse and we say: “it is the action of a handful of idiots”. Well, if the voice of 5 individuals can be heard as 69,995 others remain silent, therein lies the problem

It is that majority who need to stop being silent and get our voices heard and we will succeed in drowning out the racists, bigots and idiots out there. But if you look at social media today, instead of the majority standing up to be counted, we accuse Facebook, Twitter and others for not doing enough. We accuse owners of football clubs for not doing enough, we accuse governments of not doing enough. Well, that is the reason this problem is never going to end

When we find our voices as a majority and weed out those few, drown out their hateful voices, we will make progress as a society. This starts with each individual and that is the reason I have addressed this matter this week. A topic I never spoke about prior to now as I always believed the real issues are those of poverty, illiteracy and inequality

As Lewis Hamilton said last week: WHERE’S THE REST OF US?

Silence offers no solution…..