Knowledge can improve the world we live in

When an individual seeking the highest office in the land (Prime Minister) is willing to use words such as “lefty woke nonsense”, you know we are in a bad, bad place!
Those are the choice of words one would expect to read in internet chat rooms where everyday idiots think they can just utter anything that comes to mind. They should never be the choice of words for someone seeking to rule an entire nation, because at the end of the day, once you attain that office and you become Prime Minister, you are funded by every taxpayer in the country, including those that chose not to vote for you or disagree with you, or indeed those lefty wokies! You job as Prime Minister is to lead the entire country, not just this who agree with you.

The UK is still one of the safest countries on earth, even with recent increases in knife crimes, intolerance and abuse on the streets etc. And for minority groups, which country is safer than the UK? I don’t know if any. People have a moan about the UK all the time and yes, intolerance is at an all-time high (largely due to the rise of illiteracy and populism) but still, can you name a safer, better country for minority groups? No. We are still a nation where for each and every idiot/bigot, we have people who will stand firmly against intolerance. Albeit sometimes their voices are not heard.

But our politics is presently in such a terrible place. We have regressed way back to an era perhaps in the 1700s. We now promote and encourage divisions. The Brexit referendum was 6 years ago but we want to permanently label our citizens as leavers or remainers for political expediency. “WOKE” is now anything we feel populists will applaud us for, if we say woke is nonsense. Somebody says: “let’s provide for the poor”: woke nonsense! Let’s stop wars and spend more effort on diplomacy: woke nonsense! Let’s stop hurling abuse on people because of the colour of their skin: woke nonsense! Let’s do something about the harmful climatic conditions: more woke nonsense!
Funnily enough, the ones who will suffer most, are these same populist anti-woke folk who are largely low-income earners being repeatedly manipulated by wealthy politicians

Lefty, Righty, Woke, anti-Woke… WHO GIVES A DAMN???! We need to return to a semblance of decency. Let’s find politicians who realise their job is to heal divisions and not encourage it! Yes, we will always have people with differing views etc., but for someone seeking high office or already in government to pander to populism by using words that belong in a gutter, is reprehensible. We need to concentrate of addressing the cost of living crisis and helping the poor, energy crisis etc. All that require togetherness!

Yes, wasting my breath! I know…..

Who’s wrong? Who’s right? Does it matter, if the outcome is thousands losing their lives yet again!!???

Call me a naive pacifist, but seriously??? This madness needs sorting!

Nobody has a divine right to any land on earth! We are all here temporarily!

I personally do not care who’s right or wrong, can we not just avoid another mindless conflict???

The countries who own strips of land that aren’t anywhere near their territory – you look at where Alaska is to mainland USA and you wonder what the deal is? but fine; they paid for it, it is what it is. You look at the various British Overseas territories and you say, ok, they used to rule those parts of the world and if those folk are ok with remaining part of Britain, fine. There are 25 million or so people in Taiwan and they are happy with how they are; can we not stop the sabre-rattling? Don’t arm them, don’t threaten them! Can both sides just please leave them be?? Please!

China can continue assuming they are still part of China and theUS and others can continue assuming they are a sovereign state and not part of China. And we all just leave them (Taiwan) to continue living their lives as the have. Nobody wins from this tug of war!

Hopefully, one day we find another planet that is habitable and if we can’t learn to live together in peace here on earth, perhaps some folk can relocate over there?

It is madness really! The world needs a much stronger organisation than the present “United Nations”. Yes, you can’t police the world. And if you do, who polices that police? However, perhaps a stronger organisation that drives ZERO tolerance to wars? Perhaps a fresh charter where every country on earth agree that regardless of the situation, war must not be an option? I don’t have the answers, but humanity needs an urgent rethink. This is becoming absolutely farcical!

Congratulations to the lionesses!

Many detractors are saying it’s not the same and that the USA female national team lost 5 – 2 to a team of under-14 boys when they (the US national female team) were the number 1 ranked female team in the world. Ok. So, that being the case, then the various teams at Euro 22 female championship concluded today, are level pegging right? who cares whether or not they play at a level of quality we expect of men? they still had to get out there and win

They faced the best female teams in Europe and won! That is more than our male team has managed in decades. So, well done to them!!

I am sick to my teeth of reading about the recrimination! All our energy should have gone towards blocking David Cameron from initiating a pointless referendum, when it was so clear to any sane, educated human being, that Brexit in whatever form it took, would be horrendous to begin with, as the EU will make it as painful as possible for us. I mean, what else could anyone expect? The EU countries feel slighted. Many of them wish they were the ones exiting the EU and that doubles their bitterness towards the UK. Just imagine, if you really quietly wanted something and then your neighbour got it and you can’t…

The reality is that nobody knew what the full impact will be – and I doubt anybody knows now either. They are all finding out with each day. That is indeed very bad for businesses, which need to know what to plan for. But the sad thing is that both sides (those who opposed and those who supported Brexit) do not know either. But what was certain, was that the first few years would be tough and as such, was it ever going to be worth all that pain? Just for a bunch of poorly educated Brits to say ”we got our country back”, while they are the ones who will suffer the detriment most, but are not clever enough to know that. But when they begin to suffer the impact, they will of course blame that on refugees and immigrants who are always of course responsible for all our problems. And those who know better – politicians – fan the flames and exploit the illiterates in that belief, to exert control over them and get their vote. As a nation, are we not resilient enough to cater for our people? the simple answer is: YES we are. Should a few thousands of refugees crossing the channel on boats be enough to cripple our economy and destroy our country? we all know the answer is NO. Instead of focusing on processing them speedily, expelling the bogus ones, integrating the ones we deem genuine and getting them to imbibe the British way, we waste resources on hateful plans such as creating a hostile environment or shipping them to Rwanda, daftly thinking those will deter them, while the hate builds up incrementally within the country, further wasting energy that could be devoted elsewhere. Unfortunately, this idiocy has now become so pervasive and it has become a potent vote-gathering ploy…

Back to Brexit: the referendum is done and the LEAVE vote won. Whether we like it or not, that was the outcome. Continuing to wast energy and resourcing in trying to prove that it was a wrong decision, is counterproductive. Trying to undermine it or change it, is disingenuous. If we can just concentrate on fixing whatever needs fixing to make the detrimental aspects of Brexit less painful and just get on with it, it will be whatever it is! I was sat on the much longer non-EU queue at the airport in Sweden recently and you deal with it! it is what the country chose and the long queues in Dover this past week, as the French try to exert as much more pain on us as possible, is what it is. Continuing to blame Brexit and say we are victims and it is so bad for us, is a waste of time. Nobody saw Covid coming, and that has had a profound impact too. We need to stop the bickering and get on with it!

If we didn’t want Brexit, we should have prevented the dumb referendum. We didn’t. Wasting time and energy opposing Brexit and building up more negativity isn’t helping anyone. We need to move on, get on with it. Accept there will be some hardship, get on with it. Use or innovativeness and resourcefulness to make the best of it and it will all be fine! If the EU was such a great thing to be part of, they should just get on with enjoying their great thing and stop trying to make us pay for leaving. Unfortunately, it would seem that the EU feel that the only way to show they have a good thing going for them, is by making anyone who leaves them suffer? that in itself is most unfortunate and it shows in very poor light. Yes, they had to protect themselves, as you can’t have an exclusive club if it is an open door. It will be exploited. I get that. But there is absolutely no need for the type of singular venom that the likes of Macron keeps doling out; using it as a political card to please his british-hating base, to gather votes.

Anyway, time to forget about the past and make life outside the EU work. And if it remains indefinitely painful, well, so be it. Then that is our new reality. Continuing to look back and blame Boris or whoever else sold it, is silly. Should it not have been very clear to us that nobody could have known all the details? (not even the EU know!). it is what it is! GET ON WITH IT!!!!

Don’t laugh folks, these are all real catchphrases that we have had to endure over the past couple of weeks and will still have to endure till the new PM is announced on Sept 5

That is indeed the dire state of our politics right now. They are not even trying anymore. They have found out how powerful soundbites are, in a society where we are no longer interested in substance!

The window dressing appear to be enough

Cost of living has shot through the roof. Taxes are at an all-time high, intolerance and hatred has become openly acceptable. But what do we have to choose from folks?

..”Ready for Rishi” or ”Liz for Leader”! sad, sad state of affairs!

Both senior members of the current Boris government, if they had solutions, why didn’t they offer it to Boris? And if he rejected it, why didn’t they resign a year ago?

Heaven help us!!

…. then take a look a month after one of them is PM…

it will be smugness and know-it-all-ness….

Looking at some of the pictures over the past couple of weeks since Boris’ ousting and it is quite clear why we always end up at the same juncture.

You see the pictures of a group of MPs gathered around their chosen candidate to replace Boris and the pictures are all the same: not an ounce of seriousness or focus on the immediate plight the country’s in. A plight they have all sat back to watch build-up as these are the same individuals who have been in government up to the moment. But we are now supposed to hang the entire mess on just Boris. The pictures showing an individual in the middle – as if any individual ever have enough to sustain a country – with the adulating, smiley faces gathered around them, usually clapping at the time the photos are taken, depicts exactly what is wrong with our society. Unfortunately, there is no easy fix. If we focus on a group, then everyone dodges responsibility. if the focus is on the aides – who are the ones who do all the work by the way – they get heady and we’re back right where we started!

But something needs to change.

The excessive focus on an individual is what leads to the mindless power grab that in turn leads to too much attention on an individual, when the rest of his or her team probably dropped the ball. Power must be decentralised. It is the same reason so many regions are asking for autonomy. If you hand all power to an individual, what you find is that he or she is beholden to some puppet masters behind the scenes anyway. Devolution to a point where it doesn’t matter so much who’s in 10 Downing St and whether or not that individual flaunts rules, is what we need to get to. Scotland doesn’t need to breakaway from the UK, just devolve powers to their leaders so they can remain within the UK but be able to make their own key decisions for themselves etc.

This idea of vesting so much power and faith in an individual is always a recipe for disaster, as nobody is perfect and more importantly, nobody can be perfect all the time!!

we are now seeing the legacy of covid…

any challenge is now met with: ”stay at home folks”. only come out if absolutely necessary.

heat wave expected next week in the UK and instead of coming up with ideas e.g. spray mist of cool water on trains and at stations, install fountains? anything… NO. there are tens of emails telling us to stay at home!

what next?

too windy next month: stay st home folks. only commute if absolutely necessary

too many leaves on the ground this autumn: stay at home folks…..

goodness gracious!!!!

Scenes of rioters storming and burning the Prime Minister’s residence in Colombo, the capital of the tiny island south of India (Sri Lanka) and later entering the Presidential mansion and splashing in the President’s swimming pool must have been chilling for American’s to watch as it unfolded last weekend. A poignant reminder of how debasing it was, for the United States of America, the supposed home of the braves, land of the free etc.,to have witnessed very similar scenes on Jan 6, with their leaders fleeing down the back corridors as insurrectionists ransacked their capitol.

The rest of us remain truly shocked. We may have found it not so surprising in Colombo, but Washington DC.?!! To think any American would find that acceptable, regardless of whatever it is that they thought they were hoping to achieve, is truly astonishing! and remain so to this day…

Wake up America!

As for Sri Lanka, sadly, it will all achieve very little. Yes, they may succeed in removing their incumbent President and PM (both have agreed to stand down), how many years till their replacements begin basking in the sun and swimming pool, while their population starve and sit in long queues to buy petrol? it’s a vicious cycle that keeps spinning round and round…..

Many wrongly think arrogance is behind Boris Johnson’s repeated reluctance to sack his ministers or take action when his staffers were caught breaching the rules he set, his reluctance had very little to do with arrogance

One of the biggest human flaw is our belief that what we just did to others cannot happen to us. When Boris ousted Theresa May on the back of her supposedly awful Brexit deal – bearing in mind he himself (and all his chums whom he later appointed to cabinet posts) was part of Theresa’s government – and also bearing in mind that nobody had previously done a successful Brexit deal for comparison (it was all going to be unchartered territory), the power base that Boris needed to oust Theresa May was not one he could later freely chastise, even when they erred. These were not people he could sack or berate in public without grave consequence to his position

In essence, he was damned if he did and damned if he didn’t

It was only a simple matter of time, before he was certain to face the music.

He wanted to be Prime Minister, he saw his opportunity via Brexit, took it, and then quickly found out that when you dine with the devil, you can find the longest spoon available, it is unlikely to prove to be long enough….

The sad part of this episode is the detriment to the people. Theresa May’s Brexit deal was not better nor worse than what Boris had and now, 3 years on, we are no better off and people are starving in their homes and many will freeze to death this coming winter, while the folk who should be busy trying to solve these problems are focused on their power-play…

What is government?

We know what it isn’t. Government is not just one man! So, when we try to pin all the blame on one man; bizarrely, the very same team he had working for and with him, who held key roles and headed departments in charge of some of the key issues leading up to the present cost of living crisis etc., now say they are here to fix it???……

Seriously?!!

Ok the electorate can’t really do much about the ongoing process to select a replacement for Boris Johnson as it will be the Tory MPs followed by the 160,000 or so registered members of the conservative party making that choice and they can only select from the final two options put before them. But surely, if Boris is being removed for a supposed catalogue of failings, how can past members of his cabinet who had a choice to have resigned but didnt (only doing so, when they rounded on him) be fit for office? None of them ought to be eligible to replace him!

Love him or loath him, Boris was not government! He was the leader of the party and PM, but did not run a solo show. Neither did he elect himself when they ousted Theresa May. So, how come he is now left to take all the blame on his own??

There’s nothing I like better than to see people the world tell us to hate do well.

We have to hate Djoko because we’re told we have to. We have to hate Kyrgios because we’re told we have to…..

Well, I like both of them! (for their tennis. period). Amazing sportsmen

Watch these folk for the sport and not their lifestyle…

Awesome final, albeit a fairly predictable result…

I mean, it isn’t rocket science.

Yes, the west must do better. Developed countries must do better to address biased laws and application if biased laws, BUT, when someone flee a war, gets taken in and then starts moaning about stuff he/she never had access to, grates with their host (naturally)..

The skin bleaching industry is apparently booming. Why?

I read an article this morning that was written by a black lady complaining about a white interviewer whom she alleged was racist to her. In the article she wrote: ”even though I am light-skinned”… So, it would appear a light-skinned black lady expects better treatment than dark-skinned black ones?

We are supposed to accept that racism is a one-way thing…

It isn’t. It has become a mindset plaguing even those who allege they are victims of racism

We all have biases. Yes, some have faced the brunt of it for longer, and when you rope in the impact of awful laws and daily issues, yes, we do have some work to do. BUT, people are beginning to take the piss! Black celebrities being shocked when faced with what many non-celebrities face on a daily basis and they throw a hissy fit! Yes, nobody should be subjected to nor have to put up with racism or racist abuse, but fir goodness sake! STOP THE BLOODY WHINING!!! abuse is abuse: be it racist or non-racist, religious etc. Decent folk refrain from abusing eachother, but I do not see anyone immune to hurling abuse, if suitably provoked. Now, whether that abuse then take into account, the appearance of the person they are about to insult, is just conjecture

The non-stop moaning has become such a distraction, while crucial issues around disproportionate response to people seeking sanctuary (based on where they’re from) and other serious disparities continue to slip through the net. Someone attends an interview and gets rejected, it has to be because of their race! Yes, racism is still rife and yes, people are stripped of opportunities, BUT for godssakes! it is not the reason each and every time!!!!

Same for sexism! does it mean every female CEO is going to be excellent? Yes, nobody should be denied an opportunity because they are female. But I am sure that not every female handed an opportunity will excel

You don’t.

How do you end racism and bias by constantly moaning?

You don’t 

People just need a pinch of reality. 

Take the law (and enforcement of the law) out and you will see that we are all barbarians! We are all worse than animals. No other species is as selfish and self-centred as humans.

The Russia-Ukraine war is just so dumb! As the Pope stated last week, was it necessary to provoke Russia? The protagonists haven’t lost their children I’m sure. It is easy to mouth off and say you’re bold, when it is the children of others to the slaughter!

If one side show the good sense to climb down, the other may also be embarrassed to climb down. Is it so difficult for Ukraine to have backed off seeking to join NATO or seeking to keep the want-away eastern regions who want to be closer to Russia? Surely, the threat of attack from Russia is better than an actual attack and the ongoing mindless loss of lives?

If Ukraine had asked the world for a loan to build new hospitals, schools etc., the world would have said no. But when it comes to war and supply of war equipment, we seem able to send $billions worth of weapons….

War must be totally outlawed! how? I don’t know. But the world must work towards that: putting war in the same classification as some of the heinous crimes that few would want to be associated with. 

The incessant moaning by celebrities in particular, about being called this or that, is a bore! The more people continue to show that some type of abusive language gets to them so much, the more it will continue (unless laws are brought in to stamp it out – and such laws will have to be enforced properly and indefinitely). You don’t change people through moaning….

A senior female member of parliament in the UK (Angela Rayner) was horribly accused of “crossing and uncrossing her legs on the parliamentary benches to distract Boris Johnson” in what has been widely and rightly rubbished as pure misogyny and in addition, her working-class background was flung at her but bizarrely, if you read some of the online chatter, it is indeed the working-class, council estate dwellers in the country who are raining insult on her online. It really is unfathomably confusing!

Equally confusing is a similar phenomenon of billionaire/millionaire politicians being able to convince a crowd of low-income members of society that they – the billionaires – are one of them, that they understand them, get them and are there to fight for them. The billionaire will drop by from his mansion every now and again, use the language the blue-collar, low-income folks want to hear, tell them what they want to hear, tell them everyone else things they’re stupid and nobody else care about them. Whips them into a frenzy and they begin following him/her where ever…

I simply cannot understand it.

Could it be, that poor people simply find it less envious to follow a rich person? Same as an illiterate would pretend to dislike someone with a posh accent but deep down, just wants to be that person?

One would expect solidarity from the working class when a working-class person makes it as far as to become a Member of parliament, but bizarrely, ire is what Angela Rayner appears to be drawing from our low-income folk. Truly baffling…

War historians gush about tactics and manoeuvres etc., and we all read about it and some enjoy watching war films, but is there anything fanciful about war?

As Russia pummel Ukraine and the west send in weapons to help Ukraine defend itself, the minute this conflict turns to Ukraine launching attacks on targets in Russia – even if justifiable as part of Ukraine’s effort to defend itself – supply of weapons to Ukraine will have to be reassessed or the world may risk kickstarting another world war!

These wars solve nothing.

We all need to appeal to ALL involved: Russia, Ukraine, the West etc., to PLEASE, PLEASE, bring this bloodshed to an end. This war is slowly heading in the direction of escalating into a world war. With the kind of weapons some of these countries now claim to possess, the loss of life on all sides will be truly awful. Yes, life is not indefinite and human beings appear not to give a sh*t about life anymore – with the daily stabbing on our streets etc, BUT the loss of life in this ongoing Russia – Ukraine war is so pointless. If those involved can just take a look at the faces of some of the helpless children being killed or displaced. The issues between Russia, Ukraine and the west, can be resolved to everyone’s relative advantage round a discussion table

This desperately needs deescalating NOW!!!!

Is anyone out there honestly trying to achieve EQUALITY? where do you begin?

As Confucius said: ”five fingers are not created equal”. To achieve equality, it will mean bringing some down, while helping some up. I see no willingness from anyone to do that. I won’t bother going into the fact that we remain comfortable with seeing some born into man-made affluence such as royalty and we delight in watching TV shows such as Downton Abbey, with servants milling around – but, hey! that’s just a TV show? well, No; delighting in it, indicate our lingering preference, after all, TV shows based on what’s not deemed popular flounder.. Anyone asking questions about levelling up society is seen as a crazy ”leftie”… (I am certain those born into royalty and the rest, have no issues with it, and I am not sure what their idea of equality is? but I daresay it is closer to reality, than the lipservice crap the rest of us spout about equality)

Today’s fight for equality typically boils down to one dissatisfied group seeking to replace the incumbent. And if/when that is achieved, that new incumbent set out to repeat the exact same mistakes of the group they replaced.

There has never been an era in human history where equality was achieved. Can one venture to think that it is today’s generation that will achieve this impossible feat? With the present bottomless desire to show off on social media? obsession with ”selfies” etc. I won’t hold my breath…

We’ve seen the current reaction to global conflict, which as many have pointed out, even our charity is biased.

Creating Equal Opportunity is perhaps slightly more feasible. But even that, will require overcoming the impact of geography, some religious beliefs etc. Put a group of children through the same access to education, financial security (send them on the same holidays etc) and you will end up with a very similar product. But in our present dog eat dog world, it is more convenient to laud the prowess of those with access to education, low stress (as their parents have jobs etc) while asserting the dumbness of those who simply never got a chance. And it is not just about building schools. You see athletes with funding, no need for second jobs, vying against others who have no funding, poor gear, can only practice part-time as they have to keep second jobs, and we speak of Olympic champions and World champions… laughable really..

Nobody is willing to give up what they have. An even when they do, e.g. monks or nuns, it is still only possible thanks to some degree of privilege and I am sure even those vary by location

We should face reality. Focus on trying to create equal opportunity as the myth that equality is, is little more than a pipe dream…

Given that it is presently not possible to make the world an equal society, such that people can travel abroad if they wish to, and not out of desperation, I see no reason in taking any side. Those with intolerant anti-migration views are where they are, due to misinformation and manipulation by those who want them to remain that way. And those who support free movement of people do not seem to understand nor care that you do need to have the infrastructure to ensure such movement doesnt end up being detrimental or perceived to be burdensome or damaging either. And in any case, this supposed free movement only seem to apply to a selective few e.g. EU free movement doesnt include less privileged non-EU folk.

So, let’s have an unbiased point of view shall we?

1. People with anti-migration views in the UK vastly outnumber those interested in asking the Prime Minister about partying during Covid lockdown (i.e. Partygate). So, timing of the Rwanda move is being questioned. But what do people really expect? that politicians are just our slaves and they give their life to attain positions within government but we can just toss them when we want to? (what are they supposed to move on to?)We all get a lot wrong in our workplace (you only have to look at the state of services we receive these days: how many of us resign? I am not trying to defend Boris, but society does need to get a grip. He was useful when people wanted Brexit, now he is expendable? Well, he knows the buttons to press and is clearly doing exactly that..(he is unlikely to want to allow himself to be used and then discarded).
2. We are in 2022! but people still know they can get a reaction by putting flyers through doors in the UK warning that whites will soon be a minority in the UK – and presumably, that is supposed to be a worry? Even though, outside of London, you can likely count the number on non-whites. But more importantly, how do we think the natives in the USA, Canada, New Zealand, Australia and several other countries feel? Those natives (Maoris, Aborigines, First Nations etc.) are now a tiny minority in their own country and also now make-up majority of prison inmates in some of those countries, for falling foul of laws and ways of life imposed on them by the people they welcomed in as visitors years back. Same people who quickly outnumbered them and stuck them in reservations… YES, integration is the major issue. People coming into the UK should be willing to be brits and live as we do. Nobody will be desperate to come to Britain if we allow people to come in here and turn the UK into the countries they fled from. The focus should be on that dilemma, not daft statistics and idiotic scaremongering…
3. But what is truly sad, is the fact that in 2022, telling people they will be sent to Africa, appears to be an effective deterrent! Jeez!!!! That is so sad. Unfortunately, it is truly an effective deterrent as I am not sure any of those folk risking their lives to cross the English Channel in a rubber boat will do so, just to end up in Rwanda (well, until the no-win, no-fee lawyers step in and nobody gets sent to Rwanda anyway). But what is the long term situation here? if Rwandans can’t see it, should the rest of us not spell it out? Look at Liberia, Sierra Leone… decades on, the newly settled folk live separate lives and the various civil wars have been along that line of division. You will either end-up creating a new British money-backed elite in Rwanda, who will become hated by the locals; and in a country with a very recent history of genocide…. it was only a few years ago that we used to dump our plastic waste in China for them to sort it and we paid them for that service and it was all they had. Today, we are buying virtually everything from China; they sat up, worked hard and they are now indispensable to the rest of the world. Rwanda needs to find their way out of poverty – becoming the dumping ground for illegal migrants that Britain doesn’t want here, is not the way to go. People can blame Priti Patel all they want, she hasn’t done anything illegal, albeit, morally shaky; if we have £120m to give away, why not hand it to Rwanda in the form of agricultural equipment so that they can mechanise their farms and build industries around that. Instead of turning them into our dumping ground for our unwanted illegal migrants..
4. How can the world continue to look on? This is another imminent disaster down the road for Rwanda..

But this matter is less about the UK but more about Rwanda. How can this ever be a sensible arrangement to sign-up to?

Honestly, I didn’t think the UK would ever try to make such a move, as we used to be a nation of ’think tanks’ and one would like to think there are other solutions out there. But I doubt any solution would be without detractors. We don’t have an opposition party! instead of them coming up with their own better alternative to this Rwanda thing (an alternative that will stop the deadly Channel crossings), they are forever fixated on partygate!

If we develop all corners of the world (will never happen! I know…), then we can eliminate most if these problems. Unfortunately, what many people in the UK are saying, is that they feel exposed, helpless, as they pay their taxes (or claim their ancestors did) while our border has become non-existent! 6000 people have crossed in via the Channel this year alone. How do you prepare fir and get facilities ready, to welcome and integrate people, if you have no idea of numbers as they just come in without any processing? If the border is enforced (and clever people have to figure that out; unlikely this Rwanda thing will be that solution as legal processes are likely to scupper it) and the influx is via due process, chances of integration etc., will be higher and they will face less intolerance. If you look at the present UK government cabinet, many of them are in this country because their parents were taken in. There is no shortage of empathy in this country (and yes, there has been and will always be an element of hate too), it’s the lack of control (with the porous border) that is grating with many..

What an awful, pointless waste of lives!!!

Russia invading Ukraine is inexcusable. Invasion should never, ever have been an option. But why on earth Zelensky didn’t offer this neutrality thing BEFORE the invasion, to preempt it and avoid this needless war, is baffling.

Russia say they do not want their antagonists (NATO) camped next to them. They say they would see Ukraine joining NATO as a threat etc. why a compromise wasn’t pursued sooner, to prevent this mindless bloodshed is just baffling!!!

I’ve never watched the Oscar and probably never will. But I read this morning that the host, Chris Rock, cracked a mean joke about Will Smith’s wife’s hair and Will got up, walked up to Chris and slapped him on live TV. Seriously??!!! How dumb can Will get? These folks go around complaining about being labelled ”angry black men”… well, perhaps smacking a guy for doing his job (cracking jokes) on live TV probably doesn’t do much to quell such stereotype…

I can never understand violence. If you feel you are physically stronger than someone, hitting them simply makes you weak and a bully. Will Smith’s action was inexcusable….

Smith could have made his point by getting up and walking out or if he had a pair of gloves, thrown it down and asked for a duel in their private time in jest. Smacking someone in the manner he did, was not only daft, it sends the wrong message to kids out there.

You don’t go around hitting people because they cracked a mean joke…

In the messed up world we are in today, it is just simply amazing to have someone like Ash Barty, World Number 1 female tennis player, come out today at just the age of 25! to say she’s had enough, she’s spent and that’s it. Bye bye tennis!

Yes, her coaches, trainers, sponsors and all those who expected to make $millions more out of her over the coming years must be gutted. But I am sure they have made a fair bit anyway, so, all good. And yes, some will query her mental toughness, as she has quit before (in her teens) only to return in 2016. Some will even suggest she nay be back, and well, who knows. However, my hat’s off to her for making this bold step. if you’ve had enough, step away, instead of staying on to get ripped apart. Naomi Osaka should take a cue from this. Either know you can take it, or walk away. Life’s too short.

We have turned sports into a misery for these athletes. They get paid well, but everyone wants a pound of flesh off them…

During the quarter final of the Indian Wells Masters in California, Kyrgios asked a vocal spectator in the crowd “Are you playing?” as he got ready to serve.

The Australian player, 26, added: “Are you good at tennis?”

In video footage of the encounter, a faint “no” can be heard from the stands.

Kyrgios responds: “Exactly, so why are you speaking?”

Referring to Ben Stiller (American actor who was at the match), he continues: “Do I tell him how to act? No”, drawing a laugh from the crowd.

At the Indian Wells tennis event earlier in the week, a female spectator yelled out ”Naomi you suck”! Osaka went on to lose 6-0, 6-4 and was in tears, saying this brought back memories of the year the Williams sisters and their dad received racial abuse at the same venue. Ok Naomi!

Had the spectator shouted “Naomi you suck because you’re black!” then, perhaps conjuring up the Williams’ situation would make sense. Even if the ”Naomi you suck” shout was motivated by the spectator’s racist disposition, the fact remains she did not make any racist comment. Etiquette is what’s lacking BUT, in sport, when a packed arena chant one sports person’s name and we say it’s supporting that athlete, and he or she wins and thanks the fans for their support – how do we think that ”support” impacted the opponent? So, when athletes channel that support, to the detriment of their opponent, is that unfair? is it wrong?

Osaka needs to get a sports psychologist and toughen herself up or go and find some other vocation. Getting reduced to a gibbering wreck and crying profusely because some idiot in the crowd say you suck, is not what one would expert of any sports man or woman at any level of sport, let alone the level Osaka’s at. I am very concerned for her, she appears to be heading for a tragic end and although the signs are there, nobody is helping her! Her team need to assess her and if she is this fragile, they need to protect her immediately, by perhaps advising her to quit the sport. Otherwise, all her future opponents will simply need to plant a relative in the crowd to yell out ”Naomi you suck!” and they are guaranteed an easy win, as she crumbles into tears

If sports men & women enjoy the adulation, the rockstar status, they have to be equally prepared to blank and ignore the heckling. Surely, that is what they are trained for?

To try to link every negativity to racism is not a healthy position to be in. In any case, once you’ve shown that this is your weak point, it will be savagely exploited. Bullies don’t stop because they see you crying. They are encouraged…

I don’t know what sad satisfaction any fan or spectator would derive from yelling out ”Naomi you suck!”, but if the yell had been ”Naomi you’re the best!” and it made Osaka smile and perform better, then, that’s the scale tipped in her favour? I mean the reaction from Osaka is just bizarre. She needs to focus on her tennis and part of that, is learning to shut out the crowd..

It is depressing but not at all surprising that women still need to hold events such as the International Women’s Day this week, to try to continue the push for equality etc. The same group of men who were eagerly doing the crossed arms ’X’ or W symbol all week, are the same who need to face reality…

I just cannot understand why we can’t just keep life simple. If a woman wants to be a bricklayer and she acquires the necessary skill, let her get on with it. If there are male-dominated or female-dominated professions, FINE! provided such domination is coincidental and a matter of choice and not as a result of one sex blocking the other or ganging up on the other or squeezing the other out. There are some things that many women (won’t generalise by saying ’all’) simply do not like to get into and same for men. Nothing wrong with those fields being dominated by one or the other, provided it is totally a matter of choice

There are inconsistencies everywhere. Some people want the tradition of being ’walked down the aisle’ by their fathers, but wonder why some of these barriers have been impossible to remove. You can’t have it both ways. If you are religious and believe in the ’man is the head of the family’ doctrine in the bible verbatim and refuse to accept that perhaps some of those teachings have passed their use by date, because the world has moved on – it is not amoral to try to move with the times a bit, but there will have to be a secularity needed, without necessarily depriving religious folk of what they believe in – it is the attempt to bring all that into a secular society that has led to the continuation of the bias out there. Is it possible for a man who believe he is the head of the family and all that, to try to keep that attitude to his own domain at home, if assuming his family choose to go with that, but when he gets to the office set that aside and see/treat his female colleagues as equals and relate to them exactly as he would his male colleagues? – highly unlikely. That is why we still see women being paid less in some jobs, getting boxed into only some type of roles and the handful who buck that trend are set up as an example that the problem no longer exists.

It is such a complex problem.

Where we should get to, is a society where we can all disregard our differences and simply focus on relevance. If some folks want to celebrate their differences, FINE! it should be about them desperately seeking equality, it should just be another celebration, if they wish to. Right now, these various groups have to keep on fighting for equal treatment. The problem is: WE ARE ALL GUILTY. A woman fighting for equality for women today, could be the same woman typing up homophobic stuff on twitter tomorrow, or the LGBTQ person fighting for LGBTQ equality today could be the same person shouting out racist slurs at a football match tomorrow. There are too many ’courses’. The only possible solution will be a ’live & let live’ policy, where we all just ignore our differences, without giving a hoot about differences and just letting people be, letting them succeed in whatever they are skilled in, without trying to box them off. But who can get this reset done? You look at a sport like darts; why can’t women compete against men? well, now they do. But if women decide the atmosphere isn’t what they fancy, do you change such atmosphere? or let women set up a separate league? the dilemma remains the same. Asking women to box against men or play tennis against men etc., isn’t fair right? but perhaps let people give it a go, if they want to. Don’t make it a taboo. But then, there would be the Health & Safety concern….

I don’t know! I don’t have all the answers, but eliminating the focus on differences may well give us a better chance as a society, than what we have today..

Either way, it would be good to get to a time when groups such as women can celebrate whatever day they wish to celebrate, as just a celebration and not a desperate need for awareness of their continuing plight/challenges they still face. We each have to mend our ways! There us no monster out there, WE ALL are the monster(s), it is each and every one of us responsible for these problems!

Nothing demonstrates just how pathetic human beings are..

This was on BBC’s Question Time programme. Much as Nadhim Zahawi may have misspoken, WHO REALLY BLOODY CARES who is ’leading’ or not??? people are dying, a meaningless war is ongoing! The focus should be SOLELY about getting this situation back to the negotiation table, ceasefire and seeing what can be done, to get this to end

Instead, Helle Thorning-Schmidt was sat there trying to made a needless point! I doubt the mothers and fathers losing their kids as we speak, give a monkeys about whether or not it is the EU or the UK leading efforts…

There is simply no real leadership anywhere these days!!!

Should Zahawi have said what he said? No. But is that really what anyone should really care that much about? SERIOUSLY?!!!

Pathetic!!

There are no heroes in this skirmish! It just needs getting back to a discussion table before thousands more die needlessly..

First piece of common sense I have read in weeks! As reported on Sky News this morning…

All the bravado crap is just costing innocent lives! The minute the war kicked-off, the only objective should have been every effort to de-escalate. There are no winners, no heroes in war! So many children have died – do they know who is wrong or right? what was their crime?

The usual daft: ”I vow this or that” that leaders utter, all the way to being captured and often times killed (Saddam, Gaddafi)… they’ll keep on vowing to their last breath. Madness!

Ukraine was never going to hold Russia. And if the rest of the world were to back them, millions more will die. Can we not for a minute just try to avoid the obvious!?

Do I have a solution? NO. But it doesn’t appear any of the folks we selected as leaders do either. That’s the pity…

The statement from Grant Shapps this morning is the first piece of common sense. Don’t hand weapons and aircrafts to Ukraine. Spend all effort on securing a temporary cease fire and get everybody back to the discussion table! enough blood has been shed! whatever point was intended has been made! neither side has lost face. Stop the fighting and killing now and talk this madness through! PLEASE!!!!

As people fleeing Ukraine and their relatives who are already based in the Uk demand charity, demand entry into the UK, I recall a football match a few months ago, where really vile abuse was being uttered by you know whom…

In time of need, the UK will always stand up to be counted. But one can only hope that these Eastern European countries take some lasting lessons. Hungary, Poland and others all flooded the UK seeking work when they were desperate, but give it a few years and what you see is rarely ever a show of gratitude..

Awful as our politics, social care etc., have been in recent years, it must not be taken for granted that this is still one of the safest, most secure and fair (especially our judiciary) countries in the world and we will continue to endeavour to expunge hate and those who would like to turn the UK into a third world country

Social media has been buzzing this week trying to paint the picture of a hero (Zelensky) and a villain (Putin), setting aside the most important and most expedient matter: getting the incursion to end!

Humans lack the capacity to learn. Let’s send weapons to Ukraine now, and 10 years later, it will be Ukraine attacking some other country with those same weapons.

Yes, we all know or partly know who started this war in Ukraine. It was Putin and even if he says he had good reasons, they should all have remained at the negotiations table. There is no reason good enough for this kind of bloodshed AND that does not apply solely to Russia. No country or organisation should head down this road…

Unfortunately, there is NOBODY out there thinking this through. Sanctioning & isolating Russia will not lead to an uprising or the ousting of Putin. in fact, the outcome will be the opposite. Russians who are presently unhappy with this war, will change their mind if we crash their economy and their children begin to starve. THE ONLY ANSWER is to try to get everyone back to the discussion table to try to figure this thing out, and in the meantime, get Putin to pause the unnecessary conflict and bloodshed

If you look at the likes of Saddam Hussien and Gaddafi who ended up hiding away in a culvert and met a very undignified death, when it was amply clear that such an ending was very predictable and in Gaddafi’s case, he already had a very recent example. And there are so many of those examples out there. But they perhaps thought they at a point of no return? Such is human pride…

Was it necessary to address the situations Saddam, Gaddafi and others were creating and the wider threat, I think many would say: YES. Will there be others like them? of course. The chap in Syria is an example, even though, he has limited his antics to his own patch and as such, likely to get away with it till his people have had enough.

What is missing, when the world head out on these missions to save humanity, is the kind of financial packages that was assembled to get post-war Germany or Japan back on their feet. If we’re going to go out there and seek to better the lot of these supposedly oppressed people e.g. Syrians, Libyans, Iraqis etc., it has to be done properly and seen through to the end, with huge finances to help them properly get back on their feet – and not the abandonment seen in Afghanistan recently – that is what will halt this awful human trafficking and mass migration of people desperately looking to leave these conflicts behind. It is not enough to go in, them dash off, leaving these regions to clean up a mess they didnt necessarily ask for

Fortunately for Ukraine, they are in Europe and funding will likely come, to get them rebuilding, once the ongoing madness ends..

There’s no perfection out there, and personally, I care less about who is wrong or right, we just need to refuse military solutions. All sides need to refuse to provoke the need for war at any scale. If/when wars occur anyway, then the world (perhaps via a global levy that all UN countries pay into) must fund reconstruction of the desolated societies. Perhaps if that bill hurts us all, we will show a bit more reluctance, a bit more restraint? ah well…..

World leaders should focus on de-escalation. It won’t be seen as appeasement, if handled properly. They can help Putin pull back and out of Ukraine without losing face.

The war in Iraq (desert storm) to topple Saddam Hussein came after he was accused of bullying his neighbour (Kuwait) and hiding huge weapons of mass destruction, not after years of allegedly brutalising parts of his own country (e.g. the Kurds) – that was supposedly acceptable? Well, or rather, was seen as strictly internal business..

I wonder what the global reaction would have been, if Russia had said their intelligence told them that Ukraine had weapons of mass destruction and that is the reason Russia had to attack them? After all, that was the acceptable reason Iraq got pummelled and those weapons of mass destruction were never found, because they didn’t exist – and Saddam turned to be all bark and very little bite! —- oops! But what a very costly (in terms of human lives on all sides involved) way to find that out…

Ukraine could be accused of a similar aggression to their want-away regions – supposedly Russia-leaning parts of Ukraine – that Russia claim to be defending in similar manner to how we all went in to supposedly help Kuwait? Before that turned into a full war to find Saddam’s weapons of mass destruction….?

I tried hard to think of reasons that could differentiate and excuse the Saddam pummelling (and outcome) when compared to the present Russian pummelling of Ukraine and I couldn’t find many differentiators, other than the fact that Putin hasn’t told the world he’s out there trying to locate Ukraine’s weapons of mass destruction – which he doesn’t necessarily have to find…

Although some conspiracy theorists would link the wars in Iraq to oil, I personally believe America and their allies meant well and truly believed they were trying to help Kuwait, oppressed iraqis etc. And I believe it was the same with Libya; the intention was noble. The purpose was to help. But the outcome, which is the same in Syria and other places, make it clear that these military interventions, including Russia’s ongoing incursion into Ukraine – for whatever reason Putin has – is never the correct thing to do. Global reaction is always muted when some countries do the exact same thing that Russia are doing right now, with equally spurious excuses, but when others such as Russia do it, hypocrisy set in: where were FIFA, UEFA and all these sporting bodies who are now banning Russia, during previous incursions that the UN didn’t sanction? That is why it is simpler to just BAN wars/military incursions entirely..

What Russia are presently doing in Ukraine is inexcusable and should not happen – and will hopefully end urgently – but the global reaction to this or any other wars or military incursions should be the same. The world MUST stand firmly against all wars. Countries with a grievance must find other means of settling their grievances! Military forces should only be used in defence or deterrence. But this has to be a universal convention that NO EXCUSES, NO COUNTRY should be able to contravene. Consequences must be the same in all instances and not as selective as it presently is.

There are photos of Ukraine’s president in combat gear, circling the internet now, with all sorts of headings about great leadership…

I do not believe ANY of these leaders, be it Putin, Zelenskyy, Biden, Boris Johnson, Macron, have demonstrated great leadership. Could Zelenskyy not have come out more forcefully, sooner, to ask for an open assessment of what Putin had issues with? Yes, we can all say it’s all Putin’s fault, but is it? And even if it is, could this all have been de-escalated much sooner? Preventing military intervention must be everyone’s SOLE goal. Where is all the tough-talks now, when ordinary civilians are the ones paying the price for this madness???

None of these leaders have shown great leadership. We simply should not be having these kinds of outcome. Yes, many would argue that attempting diplomacy with Hitler turned into concessions and placation, then war anyway. But surely we now have enough examples to indicate the outcome of wars ain’t great. Should leaders not have a clear approach to these kinds of situations? If sanctions destroy Russia’s economy and their people start to feel the discomfort, their reaction may well be, to support the war instead of opposing it. As was seen with Hitler, it could become a ”see what the world is prepared to do to you” kind of situation…

These supposed ”Leaders” appear to lack the capacity to lead. If you want sanctions to pre-empt a situation, you issue the sanctions BEFORE, as a deterrent, and not AFTER the horse has bolted. The current sanctions will only lead to Russians feeling isolated and that the west treats them differently – after all, we know of other countries that have invaded other countries and those were supposedly ok. Great leadership is when leaders prevent wars!

This morning, we’re reading that some demographics are receiving preferential and hateful treatment in Ukraine. Well, why should that be surprising?

It is an uncomfortable truth, but one that is there for all to see. All the pictures out there to date, show largely women & children being moved to safety. Contrast that with the composition of the crowds supposedly fleeing other wars and you see thousands of strapping young men of fighting-age, purportedly fleeing to safety? You have to defend your country. Much as my position is that we must find means to prevent wars; there should never be a tenable reason to opt for military intervention, but given the inevitability of it, ensuring it doesn’t turn into a people-smuggling bonanza is also highly imperative as many end up being exploited and are unwanted at their intended destinations.

Majority of Ukraine’s men, young men and boys of a fighting age have stayed back, to try to defend their country. Credit to them…

It shouldn’t matter who the aggressor is, or their reason. Genuine or not. There must be an absolute end to one country rolling tanks into another. or a group of countries deciding to roll in. The world has been quick to condemn what we’ve seen this week in Europe. We now need to go and do the same, everywhere else and hopefully bring to an end, these needless military interventions – they never solve anything..

And that, friends, is why we are in an incorrigible, hopeless world! A world set-up solely to exploit!

I am sure those popular words: ”we stand with you”, ”our thoughts and prayers are with you”, will come rolling out shortly, but when you check the list of new billionaires from oil prices going up…..

sad….

We have allowed the world to slide out of control (not that it was ever any better for some I suppose)…

As I have previously written; each country should state its values and rules, for example, the UK is a secular Christian monarchy where we want tidy streets (no fly-tipping or littering) and freedom of speech (but with consequences of course), no censoring and we want people to cone here to live the way we do, abide by our values, contribute positively to our society and come in the legal and orderly way. There are other countries out there where you go to jail if you publicly insult their leader or your twitter feed is constantly monitored and censored – those countries should not be described as barbaric. if that is what they do and it works well for them (or not), who are we to criticise them? BUT people should have a choice, whether or not to live in those countries. There are countries where religion and religious laws apply; again, that should be their prerogative, and those who like such arrangements should head for those countries. Trying to create societies that cater for everything, while dumping on what those countries feel they stand for, is what leads to intolerance and rancour.

The madness that we currently have is doesn’t appear to be working for anyone… except of course, the few people who exploit these situations. Be it populist politicians or others…

There will have to be a reset sooner or later. it is inevitable. You only have to look at what’s presently going on in Ukraine, to see that we are heading for a tragedy..

Human hypocrisy knows no limit. And that applies to all of us. PERIOD!

Quoting from a post I read this morning:

Artificial snow in Beijing for the 2022 Winter Olympics, 49 million gallons of water for the alpine skiing competition alone! While there are thousands of people around the world dying for access to portable water, walking miles daily, to get to usable water. Why in god’s name do we do this? The tournaments can of course be hosted wherever they wish to, but surely, one can host some specific events in a country that’s got snow when the event commences e,g. if the host country is China and there’s no snow, do curling, ice hockey etc. there and move the alpine skiing and other events that require snow to Japan or where ever they have snow aplenty. How difficult is it to do that?!! Instead of this madness! while we go on about saving the planet from climate disaster! And you cannot solely blame China, all the countries represented at the events utilising this artificial snow are as guilty. And for what purpose exactly? So that athletes and countries they represent can show their prowess? PATHETIC!!!

Human beings are hopeless! The hypocrisy is sickening! Personally I have lived my life as an individual for the last 30 odd years being as independent as I can be from a young age and have rid myself of most hypocrisy. I am of course not perfect and indeed, why would one seek to be perfect in such a ridiculously hypocritical world? Just try to be as good a person as you can be, and when you’re not, get on with it. That’s my motto. We are entirely surrounded by hypocrisy!

The World Cup (Soccer) in Qatar later this year will be held in air-conditioned stadiums in the middle of a desert! can you imagine how much energy is going to be wasted?!! The football world and leaders say it is to spread football to less popular parts of the world. FINE, we all support that. Can’t alway be help in Europe and such places, BUT, for goodness sake, can they not just hold the opening match and perhaps the final and a handful of matches in Qatar, while the rest of the tournament is held elsewhere, so that Qatar can use just one venue with these air-conditioned stuff? To cut down on this insane waste of energy!!

While all the above is going on, we are prosecuting some 12-seat cafe or bar some place for using plastic straws!!! SERIOUSLY????!! The hypocrisy is just mind-boggling!

Major European airlines are presently flying empty to retain their slots and routes due to EU regulations.

That is why the attempted persecution of countries like China, for not signing up to some agreements to cut emission etc., is just laughable. All these countries are sat there cheering away, as their athletes ski away on artificial snow as they tally their medal haul, which supposedly makes them superior or special? what a farce!!!

…. clearly, everyone doesn’t. America need to roll out televised shows that breaks down and explains their electoral process to every day Americans

You won’t end the lying and misinformation by calling people stupid!

The way their election results are tallied and made public also needs to change: counting mail-in ballot after displaying election-day figures confuses people and allowed the mischief-makers to exploit that. When you have two main political parties and one favour election-day voting, while the other favour the convenience of mail-in voting, it is dumb, to post the figure from one form of voting before the other. Especially without context. If it is stated that for this State or district, 50% of the vote is expected to be in-person and the rest by postal ballot, with a total vote of say, 100,000 voters, then that’s good context. But nope, they display one party leading by 40% and then several hours later, losing by 5%, and the liars use that to say there has been irregularities, when all that happened is that election-day figures were tallied first and reported, ahead of mail-in. Clearly, this manner of reporting counts has now backfired and has to change. Nothing should be reported till an equal number of election-day and mail-in ballots have been counted

It is now 2022. Very little has been done, to avoid a repeat of 2020 when they get to 2024. is that not dumb?

Sitting about saying, we are right and they are lying is hardly going to be effective is it? GET THE FACTS OUT THERE!!!!

Use past election figures to demonstrate the reality of how this works. Spend the billions America waste on lobbying, on getting BIOMETRIC data collected for EVERY AMERICAN. There are only 335,000,000 Americans, spend $100 on each American, to get all biometric data collected and use that for election-day and mail-in ballots if you wish. Funny thing is: it will likely be the people saying the 2020 election was stolen, who will reject biometric data gathering, the same way they don’t want Covid vaccines. So, perhaps there is indeed no hope for America?

Either way, they do need to take some action NOW!!! or it is certain that every presidential election that the Republican party fail to win going forward, will be declared as stolen. What some of them want, is for voters to be the exact demographic as it was in 1888. That is the real issue that lurks behind the situation today….

It really is nauseating, when human beings try to be too clever!
I suppose people can ask to be called whatever they wish to be called: Sting, Bono, Thandie or Thandiwe etc. With most Chinese folks in the west going from Chuhai to Charles etc. Nothing wrong with trying to blend in or just insisting people make the effort to be ok with difference – and if we all effortlessly learn to pronounce famous names (Tchaikovsky and the likes), a bit of respectful patience could help us pronounce other less famous names and we also somehow learn to pronounce Llewellyn correctly, so why not chukuwami? and Jesus not being the biblical Jesus!

But seriously!!?? what a shower Thandie Newton is!? Absolute hypocrite and attention-seeker. I am assuming all those slaves and descendants who had no choice in the names they were handed, now need to change John to Jabana and Philip to Philidwe to demonstrate their independence and freedom? What utter tosh! When it helped her blend in and succeed, Thandie was handy. How about handing over all the $millions she made as Thandie and then go and start from scratch as Thandiwe and see where that gets her? There is absolutely nothing wrong with pointing out that over the past few decades, and it still ongoing, people have faced disadvantages if they show up looking one way or the other or if their name isn’t Steve or Jane —- there’s been several demos of that over the years, with CVs and how people gain employment or get left behind. But there are other marketing reasons why many actors and actresses want cool-sounding names: Walter Bruce Willis preferring Bruce Willis to Walter Willis and many entertainers just picking new names they deem cooler or their bosses forcing them to do so. And it isn’t just about going from Brumabana to Bruce!

And as for Thandiwe’s tearful apology for being apparently privileged because she says she has lighter skin and should have stood up more for the darker skinned folk: seriously??! what an absolute joke! has there been and is there an ongoing prejudice? of course. But for goodness sake!!! this virtue-signalling is fast becoming worse than the prejudice itself. This creation of another layer, another step, the ”look at me, whites are number one and I am number two due to my light skin and feel so sorry for these darker number threes who are always getting such a raw deal. Well Thandiwe darling, you are now part of the creation and promotion of that “number three” status, whether you know it or not.

Absolutely nothing wrong with her saying, look, I’ve always liked my full name but got lumbered with Thandie for decades, by those who thought Thandie was cooler and blends in better, the same people who told Whitney Houston she needs to straighten her hair to fit in better and sell more records, the same people responsible for the £multibillion skin bleaching industry today? and for the caste system in India or for Eileen Gu being more marketable than Naomi Osaka?, and now that I can afford to kick back against all that, I will insist on being called Thandiwe and perhaps, shine some light on this issue.
What she may need to note, is that there are still many Thandiwes out there, who cannot yet afford rejecting Thandie. Just look at criticism of the superbowl half-time show this week: go figure…

There are people without arms, legs, eyesight etc. out there , who are getting on with life. Others with disabilities with people laughing at them etc. Our dear Thandiwe’s sitting about crying about lightness of skin and all that cack! Yes, it is horrible to be ill-treated differently because of the colour of your skin BUT for fig’s sakes!!! there’s a lot more going on out thee Thandiwe! get off your shallow horse and get real!!!!

But seriously, what is to be achieved? Yes, there are issues, but NO, Thandiwe, No, no, no. Make your personal choices but give it a bloody rest please! millions of dutch, scandinavian, polish, jewish and other settlers anglicised their names over the years and yes, perhaps not in an effort to be accepted or as the necessary step to get by, but jeez! ease up Thandie or Thandiwe! give it a rest PLEASE!!!!

We are creating a society that seeks to straight-jacket us all! But sadly, with no real progress in areas that matter e.g. police brutality in America, mishandling of immigration – leading to increase in intolerance etc.

It is apparently ok for black and brown ladies to wear long blonde wigs but it is cultural appropriation when a white lass does corn-row…

I wonder if that extends to Arabs wearing suits and ties?

It is a tad confusing. perhaps I need to read up on it some…?

Cultures should, in my opinion, be accessible to whoever’s keen on it. Should never be a one way street!

Helen Miren is currently being criticised for playing Golda Meir in a film because she isnt Jewish. Is this whole caper not called ACTING?
For some reason, Idris Elba can’t possible play the FICTIONAL character, James Bond. Why don’t we get a real donkey to play donkey in the next Shrek, and a real fish tomplay Nemo? I see no bloody reason why Eddie Murphy couldn’t play JFK and Steve Carell play Mandela! it’s all ACTING for pete’s sake!!! I can accept an argument on the basis of creating roles to ensure others get roles, BUT surely, if acting is what it is, i.e. acting, why do we need to be so bothered about matching faces or features. Just get on with the blooming acting!
Kids have the right idea with their ’make belief’, where literally anything can represent anything, and they’re good to go!

We’re heading nowhere fast, with these daft concepts….

This week has seen fresh talks in the UK about this subject and I will now add my two cents worth!

Nobody alive today is in a position to offer a meaningful apology for the transatlantic slave trade. PERIOD. Anyone who does, is simply being disingenuous.

Similarly, NOBODY in the UK today, living here, is not a beneficiary of slavery – whether you’re black, white or whatever other colour’s in use. Most of what we have today, be it schools, universities, our strong financial system, our economy, our way of life, ALL benefited from those centuries of cheap labour. CHEAP as it wasn’t free – some evil folk were paid for each slave.

The problem we have today is that people continue to spout rubbish. Critical Race Theory? bollocks! You don’t need any theory to understand the economics and depravity of what went on back then and how it has impacted people. The wilful distabilisation of a continent, to promote strife and conflict, leading to sale of hundreds of thousands of people. The ongoing distabilisation of that same continent – for a different set of reasons today. The way schools should teach slavery is simple: no race on earth, no nation, has escaped the clutches of slavery in human history. We have all been enslaved at one point or the other. The most recent and therefore, most savagely vivid example, being the transatlantic slavery of the 1500s to the 1800s but that is only one era of slavery. And for those who wonder why the church didn’t intervene – after all the head of the church of England is the King or Queen – well, if you ask that question, it means you have never read the Bible. Slavery dates back to biblical days and was sanctioned as a winner takes it all concept. So, no chance of religion stepping in to try to stop it in the 1500s or later. You only have to look at the religious status of slave owners in America to reach an accurate conclusion.

It happened. It was vile. It fed into what we all now have today, whichever way one is to look at it. So, tearing down the statue of a slave-trader can only be meaningful, if we also hand back centuries of societal benefits and the infrastructure that was built on the back of those poor slaves. Clearly not feasible right? Well, what then??

Heinous things were done to the transatlantic slaves and many of the surviving photos are shocking, BUT why do we expect the perpetrators or their descendants to be horrified? I doubt there is anything done to these slaves that hadn’t been done before at Newbury prison and other 14th, 15th century prisons in the UK (all the famous de-bowelling, hung-drawn-quartered etc,) done to each other as it were, so doing those things to African slaves was very readily done and mist likely without any second thoughts whatsoever. What is more concerning, is the TODAY, hundreds of years later, we still have some crude and primitive means of torture, which is inexcusable. Including extra-judicial killings by the police in America, mass incarceration of drug peddlers while the consumers go unpunished etc,

Anyone who thinks someone will denounce or renounce what Britain got from trading slaves, when we are still refusing to hand over more recent items from the days of the empire e.g. the Elgin marbles, need their heads testing! Yes, you will readily find many who are appalled by the brutality of slavery and are keen to join statue-toppling protests, but when you lay out how they have and still benefit (and we all still do) from slavery, you will get nothing from them, other than conjecture. It is impossible to uncouple the impact of hundreds of years of slave labour and revenues from it, from what we still enjoy today. So, what would an apology be worth? NOTHING!

We just have to move on. Teach history with some blooming perspective and not in a manner that continue to make some people feel like victims in the 21st century.

Your ancestors were enslaved. All ancestors have been enslaved at one point or the other through history. Move on. Let’s focus on today’s problems, and if some of those problems are still directly linked to slavery and/or colonialism (which is indeed the case), the solution is clearly not where people keep looking, which is why it has dragged on for this long….

I do not know enough about Russia or Putin, to make any honest/informed statement about whether or not he is evil. Same for Xi of China. I do not know enough to sit in judgement.

But history will tell us that the times we have tried to remove supposedly ”evil” leaders, the result hasn’t been encouraging and the collateral damage remain till today: Saddam, Gaddafi etc. – yes, horrid folks, but what’s been the aftermath?

But seeing the likes of Macron of France, turning this into an ego-boosting Photo opportunity, smiling like a cheshire cat next to Putin, on his supposed trip to Moscow to sort the Ukraine stand-off, is stomach-churning! We do not want another war. And yes, various leaders wading in now, to pre-empt this needless conflict is good, but this is no photo-op moment!

It is fairly obvious that if the west can change the hypocritical and baseless narrative that always seek to paint Putin as a monster, he will also change his stance. I do not believe Russia want another war either – it is such a needless waste of life! But for Europe to depend so heavily on Russian gas – and willingly take it, but continue to make the guy out as this hairy monster, is clearly hypocritical. If you don’t like or trust the guy, stop supping-up his gas!!!

Almost every item you get from Amazon (an American giant by the way) is ’made in China’. It seems the rest of the world have downed tools and stopped production! So, while we are happy to consume their products, why disparage them?? Trump called Covid a Kung-flu and his audience cheered. But you visit each of their homes and you’ll find Amazon-delivered ’made in China’ products!

I am not for a minute saying Russia and China are faultless, quite frankly, I do not know. But what I do know, is that no country is faultless – we all have our demons. Be it prisons full of minorities (and their crime largely being supply of drugs that our posh university students consume!) or other stuff. But it is so easy to point at Russia or China…

Safe to say good & bad emanate from every country. Salisbury Novochok poisoning was horrid, but some will say that so is an allegation of weapons of mass destruction that were never found but the death toll piled up high. I am not sure what the solution is, after all we already have a United Nations (not sure what impact they have though…). How can countries make war an option that is NEVER taken up?

If the west change our approach and rhetoric, a great deal more will be achieved in getting Russia and China to perhaps re-assess their approach too. Hong Kong, Taiwan, Crimean, Ukraine…. there has to be a peaceful means of sorting these matters…

Maybe I am just too naive and the world simply can’t be at peace…

Awesome Sadio. Well done..

Seems to work well for the elite. Followed by an apology when written proof such as emails or photos are produced.

….”my recollection differ from that or from his or hers“. I wonder what the verdict will be, if a thief’s defense in court is that he has no recollection of stealing what he’s seen stealing on CCTV?

But such is the predicament we find ourselves in. Our politicians now seek to get away with blatant lies with that phrase: ”I do not recall…”, well, let me jog your memory with a few photos and emails. The next line will be: ”I have been assured that no rules were broken”. What that means, is that someone else shall carry the can for it! Afterall, I didn’t lie to you, I was assured that is the truth, so, don’t blame me when it turns out to be yet another lie!

Plain speaking has never been our strongest point and we wrap around fancy words. BUT surely, when someone holds a public office they must know that the level of scrutiny that comes with that, will require a fair bit of plain-speaking? or perhaps not..

A government is not or should not be an individual right?

But now, everyone’s coming out taking pot shots at Boris Johnson. Where were they 4, 3, 2 years ago?

The story is ALWAYS the same. Human beings are natural users! Once you’re no longer deemed useful, they turn on you.

It matters little whether or not you are a fan of Boris or not. He was useful for Brexit (regardless of whether or not him wading in was a self-seeking, opportunistic move) as he lent credibility to a movement led by fringe folks with scant credibility. Ok, the 80-strong Tory majority he delivered after Theresa May was kicked to the turf, could have been achieved by a donkey, given how poor the opposition was. From the final days of Gordon Brown – who should never have been Prime Minister as he was not electable as his only general election proved – to Ed Milliband who is a great guy but was never going to be a Prime Minister in a million years, to an even greater human being, Jeremy Corbyn who was never going to be a Prime Minister in a trillion years, to the present leader of the opposition, Keir Starmer, who is probable a very genuinely nice guy, but is never going to be electable as Prime Minister. A very long list of individuals that the Tories must be delighted to see heading the opposition. David Milliband or similar, is what the labour party need to go and dig up, to stand a chance. I mean, half the work has already been done for them by the current bumbling of this government. A donkey could win a general election against Boris right now. Unfortunately, not Kier Starmer or the other alternatives the labour party think they have – they are not electable.

But back to the Boris situation. Did he just become what people are saying he is? NO. So, it was ok, when he was of use? they were all happy to accept him as he is, when he was of use right?

The Tory MP who defected to Labour last week would have us believe he has now only just seen the light? What a joke!

Yes, holding parties at 10 Downing Street while churning out rules to the rest of us, will likely bring this government down and end Boris’ run as PM, BUT for people to start coming out now, to nail him to the mast and say he is unfit for office, when they all lapped it up over the years as he delivered the stuff they all lapped up (including an 80-seat majority, vanquishing the Labour red wall etc.) just shows you the horrible side of us humans. But then, Boris should have seen it coming shouldn’t he?

Where are the world’s so-called elder statesmen?

Does it really matter who’s wrong or right? One can partly understand WWII as an individual decided to take the world on and declared war. Nobody has as of today, declared war in Ukraine; so, why don’t we try to de-escalate now?????

Instead, it’s threats of sanctions and reprisals. Ok, maybe that will work. But what if it doesn’t? Are we going to march off to yet another war?

Look at Libya today. Iraq, Syria….. do they now have democracy? safety? what exactly is the improvement that’s been achieved? thousands of refugees left, right and centre..

I do not have the answers, BUT can the big names out there not speak up now and try to find a means of solving this problem in Ukraine before we’re all at war again??

A teenager plays her first ever grand slam, does well, plays her second (US Open), wins it; yeah, WINS IT. ok, possibly a fluke plus some very fortunate absentees. BUT she still won it. Thousands of players play their entire careers without ever winning a single grand slam.

She is still only a teenage and regardless of her current form, she will win more tournaments sooner or later. And if she doesn’t, she would still have achieved more than most, in winning her 1 x grand slam.

One hit wonder? so what? that is still one hit more than several other players!

Perhaps not in our nature?

Recent revelations of Members of Parliament taking on second and third jobs, jobs that may or may not be a Conflict of Interest – but certainly jobs they would never have been offered, were it not for them being MPs – so, make what you want if that.., makes it quite clear that very few now go into MP roles with a view to be of service to the public. Or at best, the public service aspect is now a sideshow.

If you think about people who got drafted into the army during wars. That is public service. No choice and many didnt even understand what the war was about.

The role of MPs in how our democracy functions, is critical and I am sure some of them put themselves forward in order to keep that going and to serve. But seriously??! how can we now be in the muddle we presently are in? with photos of rule-breaking parties and even the opposition leader has been photographed having drinks with his staff; he says no rules were broken. BUT for goodness sake! can these folks not find something else to do in their spare time during this pandemic??????!!!!! why sit about having drinks regardless of what the bloody rules are?? if you are the leader of the opposition and you know how these optics can be twisted and how these stories can be used to question your credibility. Why in god’s name can he not just bloody drink at home with his family??? just till this pandemic’s sorted. If a member of his staff has an event or needs cheering up, meet up for coffee!!! The entire situation has become so pathetic! just think of the distraction!!!!

These are clearly now JUST paid jobs and descriptions such as ’public service’, ’civil servants’ need to be scrapped or simply limited to those who are truly providing service!