tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-39991562024-03-13T12:51:20.954+00:00The Path Less Taken..There's a little Samuel Pepys in all of us..Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10950004367198298756noreply@blogger.comBlogger855125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3999156.post-51733692183155007252015-09-21T11:57:00.000+00:002015-09-21T11:57:10.670+00:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This morning, we have the news that Britain is establishing increased economic activity with the Peoples Republic of China.. and this has raised some eyebrows and prompted discussion of what the implications of doing business with a 'Communist' regime might be..</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And it struck me, that we in fact no longer live in a world divided by geographical boundaries, but rather in a world governed by economics. The Chinese will be involved in the building of a new nuclear reactor for us.. a design of their own. They hope to develop a worldwide market for their reactors, indicating they're less interested in ideology and it's spread worldwide, but more interested in industry, and it's saleability.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It seems that we have created a worldwide community dependant on the free flow of ideas and development, and while we still struggle with all this religious nonsense and the terror accompanying it, we are moving away from the mindset that 'faith' is a good reason to go to war. In fact, the only region supplying men and women willing to kill or be killed to support their religious ideas is the Middle East.. or, to be more precise, the Muslim populations around the world..</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If we can only mature enough, this too may end. </span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10950004367198298756noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3999156.post-86382111445945072882015-06-28T12:05:00.001+00:002015-06-28T12:05:57.969+00:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Greece and it's adventure with the EuroZone..</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This issue has been a long-standing topic for my writing..</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I need say no more than I have in the past.. nine years I've been warning about the impact of the financial crisis on Greece..</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Have a gander back through a few of those years..</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10950004367198298756noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3999156.post-40266814079485994922015-06-24T20:40:00.001+00:002015-06-28T16:23:39.189+00:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Memory's a funny creature..</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> I can recall the summer of '59 as clearly as though it was yesterday. My father had won a 45 foot grand banks fisher, which had been brought down the St. Lawrence, through the Great Lakes, up to the Kawarthas via the Skugog Riven and the Trent Canals. A full house, aces over queens.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It was a good time; my father was an engineer and the manager of the local Dominion Viscous, a plastic pioneer plant. I never had to think about money; we lived in a big old Victorian house on a hill in a good neighbourhood and my friends and I spent our endless summers playing in the woods behind our house, and the sand pits, a vast desert just half an hour from our front doors.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But the boat. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It was called 'Manka', which is Algonquin or Chippewa for the Canada goose. It had been well converted into a cruiser which would easily sleep 8, if you were all friends. Powered by two massive, or so I thought at the age of 8, Grey Marine 440 cu/in engines, the Manka could, if pushed, hit 30 knots.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> I was in positive awe of my father, never had he had such stature in my eyes before. I mean we had had our moments, during summers at Balsam Lake at our cottage. He taught me to play cribbage and whist as we wiled away the odd rainy day during the summer holidays. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> But this boat. This was on an entirely different level. I pictured sailing up the Skugog, up the Trenton Locks to Balsam Lake and our old place. I pictured the looks my summer friends would give us as we moored at our dock, and the fishing trips we'd take to the middle of the lake. I pictured an adventure.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Well, it turned out, that there was a problem. It had originally been a salt-water boat, and being in fresh water for a number of years, had caused the keel, from stem to stern, to rot. So, my father, who was still my image of John Galt (I had read Atlas Shrugged over the previous Spring), hired a long-bed trailer and a </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Peterbilt</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> , loaded and braced that boat on the trailer, and hauled it through not only downtown Lindsay, but up the steep grade of Albert Hill. We lived at the top of Albert Hill, of course. It took them 5 hours of a Saturday morning, and required not only the permission of City Council, but the attendance of several cops on motorcycles, and as I rode along with my father in the cab of the hauler, several choice expressions found their way into my developing lexicon.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But, after toil and trouble, the route was negotiated with no more than frayed nerves, and the boat, still on it's flatbed with it's bracing holding it upright, as though waiting for Deucalions Flood, stood in our driveway. We had, in retrospect, a huge courtyard, and that 'damned boat' as it became known, took up most of it. Now, as I mentioned, Dad was an engineer. He examined the damage to the keel, crawling the length of the boat past my mothers protests of 'it's not safe Leon' to poke an awl deep into the rotten wood, and quickly decided the Manka was grounded. Literally. However, being the do-it-yourself type, he went to work calculating what material he could use to replace the rot, and after a week or so of thought, decided concrete would be the ideal material. He had considered ordering an oaken beam that would run the length of the boat, but the price was, even then, extortionate. He thought if the Romans could build Rome using concrete, he could cast a new keel for our boat.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He built the form in less than a week, and then we had the added excitement of an actual cement mixer taking up what was left of the room beside our house, as the keel was poured.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My friends were fascinated, and I found them showing up at the house just to look at the 45 foot beached whale of a boat in our driveway. It became the topic of conversation in most of the barbershops, Masonic and Kiwani's Lodges, and anything else my father had contact with. Most were of the opinion the boat would sink like a stone, what with all that pavement weighing it down, but there were some who booked passage with my father for the maiden voyage. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I was one of those, with a guaranteed berth.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It strikes me, that those endless summer days, that the social development of the adult male begins in earnest. Friends made during those pre-teen years were almost as close as family, yet as only a few years passed by as we continued on our various roads to adulthood, after only a grade or two had been achieved, we had seen our bond fade, almost losing form and shape until it was only an amorphous memory, with days we thought would be imprinted on our very beings slipping away into fragmentary glimpses of a shaft of sunlight seen through the eyes of a nine year old.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The re-launching of Manka was a momentous day. One of those which promised to be turned and honed by the emery of time. My father had invited all his friends down to Al Wilson's dockyard for a barbecue and general pissup, and to me, from my vantage, it seemed most of the town had shown up to watch this concrete hybrid settle slowly to the bottom of the Skugog and drink my fathers beer. Of course, my friends Larry Lancaster, Brian Broome, and Peter Hall were with me, enjoying the inattention and using it to clamber from stem to stern, touching every item on the boat we thought might be of importance, and being pirates intent on highjacking this worthy bucket.</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10950004367198298756noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3999156.post-68801299884191909652015-05-08T13:51:00.002+00:002015-05-08T13:51:34.382+00:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">'A most amazing result' is how one pundit has put it..</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">David Cameron and the Conservatives have been elected to form a majority government in Westminster. In the wake, Ed Milliband of Labour, Nick Clegg of the Liberal Democrats and Nigel Farage of UKIP have all resigned as leaders of their respective Parties.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To make this particular election even more interesting, Scotland, almost all of Scotland, voted in the SNP. Fifty-six of fifty-nine seats followed the Nationalist banner, increasing their presence in London from 6 in the last government, to this staggering number.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">While the Conservative majority is outright, it is slender, and with issues the likes of the European Referendum coming up, the backbenchers will take on a long awaited prominence. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I cannot find it in me to envy the Conservative Whips in this Parliament. But I am comforted by the outright majority David Cameron has wrought..</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Let's see what evolves.. if nothing else it should be.. interesting..</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10950004367198298756noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3999156.post-73664335679458567182015-04-29T13:40:00.004+00:002015-04-29T13:40:58.279+00:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now it's not that I miss the feel of an old hat, but with our General Election a week away, it demands attention, if only to record current sentiment.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It was back in 1979 when the Labour government of Jim Callaghan was ousted in a vote of non-confidence.. Callaghan made one comment that is forever engraved in political bon mots, to the effect that 'it was the first time turkey's voted for an early Christmas'.. Never has that epithet been more apt as in this election, in particular in Scotland. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The latest polls indicate the SNP could sweep the country, taking all 59 Scottish seats. Mind you, the leader of that Party will not be among those standing for a job in Westminster, she'll be too busy pulling the strings in the back rooms of both Hollyrood and the Palace in London. But what amazes me as one who considers himself British, is the weight a separatist group has gained. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sadly, it is a close parallel to the rise of the PQ in Quebec.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Point being, when all's said and done, is this rise of 'nationalism' we've seen of late throughout Scotland, is counter-productive, and the continued pursuit of independence by a major political force will only lead to years of unrest and division. And now to make it even more insulting to the rest of the UK, a block of Scots will now hold significant sway on issues which don't even concern them or their constituents.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is a trend which cannot be allowed to develop into the status quo now in place in Canada, where it was agreed the entire country would be officially bilingual, with the exception of Quebec itself. Where the Quebec Assembly could pass a Bill 101, while the other provinces were bound by Federal Law.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Not here. Not in Scotland.</span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10950004367198298756noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3999156.post-34516309568186724692015-04-28T10:50:00.001+00:002015-04-28T11:03:23.984+00:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Not long now 'til the General Election, and this one's going to be hard to call.. It's expected David Cameron will maintain a plurality in the Commons, but an outright majority is a long shot. The one thing the Conservatives have going for them, is their economic long game. It's demonstrated results indicate a steady recovery, albeit a slow one, and this should be enough to give the Conservatives another kick at the can.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The problem looming, is the majority projected for the SNP here in Scotland. That Party could take as many as 60 seats, all in Scottish constituencies, representing a sizeable voting block in Westminster. They, under Nicola Sturgeon, will be led to oppose anything the Tories propose, and while they're nowhere near as influential now to cause any worries in the blue camp, the possibility of there being a marriage of convenience in future votes makes them a annoyance.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Nine days and we go to the polls.</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10950004367198298756noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3999156.post-50176661632036308182015-04-13T20:37:00.001+00:002015-04-13T20:39:03.298+00:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A point worth considering.. it may well be one of the symptoms of ageing.. that the most profound thoughts on life, the past, the future, come just at the cusp of sleep.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I find, as my eyes are finally really losing focus, that my mind is gaining.. that the acuity of what could be called revelation is vastly heightened past the mundane levels of the day.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If I could but drag myself from the comfort of my bed, and make my bleary way to the computer to record these weighty thoughts, I could possibly found a religion.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In fact, having dragged that old saw out from it's dusty jacket, the concept of 'faith' is often one of the many flashes darting through my mind as in the dark I lay. I'm becoming more and more aware of my own mortality, as an actual entity.. Not quite the elephant in the room stage, but growing faster than a Labrador pup..</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have watched many of those who were close enough to me in age to be called contemporaries slip away this year. Many were prominent, too many familiar and known to me. Now the thought of leaving this shell does not give me pause whatsoever. I cannot believe the 'spark'.. both literary and literal.. which is in each of us, can be destroyed. It's analogous to a house being removed from the electrical grid. The power from that house merely returns to the flow, until there's another light to be lit.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sounds more new-age than I'd like it to.. I suppose I'm as close to a follower of the Albigensian Heresy as anything else.. Be that as it may, it is a 'faith'. It affords me peace, in that death does not frighten me. I have attended the funerals of enough of those close to me, to understand a basic fact; death comes for all. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And if all those who have gone before can take that step with equanimity.. who would I be to do less.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And I'm not even in my bed yet..</span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10950004367198298756noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3999156.post-5193716841576092882015-03-26T23:21:00.001+00:002015-03-26T23:21:12.853+00:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This day deserves marking before it comes to an end..</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Today the second of my children left this island, and returned to Canada. My youngest son joins his slightly older sister in forging a life in what I still believe, even after 20 years, is a gentler place.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Canada is not paved with gold.. it is not a paradise.. it is however a country which allows you to make the best of yourself if you're willing to put the effort in. Ability is appreciated and rewarded, at least for the most part.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I wish my son all success. I am sure and safe in the firm belief all my children are prepared.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sure. From this keyboard to God's printer.</span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10950004367198298756noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3999156.post-16827852876074149502015-03-17T00:05:00.002+00:002015-03-17T00:05:14.106+00:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The oddest thoughts pass through the head, as the clock speeds it's way towards midnight..</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I wonder, at the marvels of the quotidian day, reduced to fragments of memory which wisp-like float through the mind.. How many of the interactions we face remain exactly as they happened.. how many are redacted to excise the unpleasant.. how many are exaggerated to enhance the pleasure we felt..</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The mind's our best line of defence against the constant barrage of nonsense taken in by eye and ear.. and the best defence when our mouth opens and tripe flows forth..</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Amazing. No doubt it's what keep politicians sane.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Politics. How dry and dusty can a topic be.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But, we on this island go to the polls on the 2d of May, and the hustings are in full swing. There's no need to go through the various Party Manifesto's.. no need to examine every plank in their platforms.. They are essentially all the same, perhaps with minor variations on a theme..</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It seems the Conservatives hold a very slight lead over Labour.. But fringe parties the likes of the SNP (Scottish Nationalist Party) and UKIP (United Kingdom Independence Party), both jokes 18 months ago, could well be King Makers in this new Parliament. Under the leadership, such as it was, of Nick Clegg, the Liberal Democrats who have traditionally been the also rans, are about to disappear, eliminated in Scotland by the SNP and in England by UKIP.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yet, while we're teetering on the brink of an horrendous coalition, the majority of Brits simply don't give a damn.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's a statement in itself, that ennui can set in so strongly, when the man on the street has lost all belief in the system that governs him, and those elected to run that system. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's a bitter pill to swallow, this knowledge our personal situations will not really change regardless of who is in power.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Two months, a little less actually, to decide which Party is the least of all evils.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sad.</span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10950004367198298756noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3999156.post-25219874106154383722015-03-07T18:25:00.001+00:002015-03-07T18:25:32.809+00:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Upon reflection, I feel my stance on nature/nurture could be misunderstood. I am not suggesting our collective morality has imposed a situation upon those who become fringe hangers; I am suggesting a certain mentality can be swayed to extremism in reaction to the various stimuli provided by those the impressionable mind encounters. Be that ridicule, physical bullying, or simply being part of a suspect race, it all contributes.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But it says something about a cause whose dogma must be propagated behind the barrel of a gun. It says something about those who follow that cause that they are willing to pull the trigger. They have condemned themselves by their actions, and must be subject to the legal pro forma and then executed.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But, the followers who came from Britain must give we who remain , cause to examine our own devotion to our own cause and to what length we will go to preserve it.</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10950004367198298756noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3999156.post-58275550996269827302015-03-02T21:01:00.000+00:002015-03-02T21:01:07.332+00:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To most of the world, those who live on this island are seen stereotypically. There are many variations and gradations on the themes, but all have at their kernel an overweight, pint drinking darts throwing football watching bloke who'd have your back in a fight. Probably.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It wouldn't be politic to go into how we see those from the US or Canada, or India, or Central Europe. Maybe as a follow-up.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">However, we, even with our inherent cultural differences, see ourselves as tolerant, sensitive, yet determined people. We are fair. We accept those among us from lands far away as positive additions. Differences in faith are not questioned; tolerance is paramount in being 'British'.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Crap.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We're neither the stereotype the world may hold, nor that we're determined for ourselves.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We wonder, how three teenage Muslim girls could throw their life on this island away to fly off to Turkey, and then take a bus to the Syrian border to join Islamic State jihadists. We wonder how the man video'd beheading several people for the benefit of those who feed on propaganda could turn out to be a Londoner, a man who grew up and was educated here in the UK. The man known to his family and friends here as Mohammed Emwazi is now 'Jihadi John' to both the world, and his confrères.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We, in the collective sense, made this man. Somewhere along the line he decided to abandon being British, and committed himself to an ideal into which he could fit comfortably. We have had several incidents involving those who believe themselves to be following the dream of establishing a Caliphate over the past couple of years, and while we in our comfort can surreptitiously snigger at the US with it's race problems, we must become more introspective, for ours are worse.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We are not as tolerant as we believe ourselves to be. We are not as accepting of foreign ideas as we tell ourselves we are. We are not a society of equals.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Not that any country can make that claim confidently, regardless of constitutions or bills of rights.</span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10950004367198298756noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3999156.post-87455007077395778122015-02-27T13:34:00.003+00:002015-02-27T13:35:35.199+00:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Perhaps it comes from growing up in Canada, with it's laissez faire attitude and a sense of 'right' which had been distilled from British roots with a dash of European flair thrown in for good measure..</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But I find it disturbing to be bombarded with the oddities and sexual predilections of our celebrities. From politicians through the ranks of children's entertainers, we have had a five year parade of those named and shamed and prosecuted, for historical sexual misconduct dating back into the 70's.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now I'm certainly not implying that such behaviour should go unpunished.. but the relish with which the British public, clamouring that no stone to be left unturned in the search for these fossilized miscreants, reads reports from those claiming to have been the target of one public figure or another, leaves me somewhat sickened, tell the truth.. It's schadenfreude personified. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the gentler atmosphere of Canada, such things are recognized as horrific crimes, and those found guilty of such actions as paederasty are quietly locked away, with the victims left in relative peace and quiet to try and deal with the effects with the help of freely offered psychiatric support. There is not a running commentary on the trial of the accused, and so slavish delight expressed by the media when they're sent off to rot in jail. Just a sense of justice having been served.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In contrast, this Britain laps eagerly at daily reports of gruesome detail.. terrible suffering.. both from the victim and the now geriatric accused.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Gary Glitter has been sentenced to 14 years for historic acts of sexual abuse. This alone would have been sufficient.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But his trial, and the trials of several others, have kept the great unwashed entertained for more than 5 years now.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I say enough. This airing of filthy linen for the amusement of hoi poloi, needs to come to an end.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I do realize to expect positive reaction to this is bucking history.. such trials have been aired publicly in this country since before the case of Oscar Wilde, who by the way was sent to Reading Gaol for two years for 'gross indecency'.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We do love to see our perverts exposed.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Makes one wonder if the media is really the mirror in which we see both ourselves, and the world around us..</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10950004367198298756noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3999156.post-55833534560294937052015-02-22T11:34:00.001+00:002015-02-22T11:34:59.898+00:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now, think carefully.</span><div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What would you say, if the question '<i>how good do you feel about life in general</i>' was put to you?</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We have, on this island, an air of suspicion which has wafted in like a mist, falling on everyone's shoulders. There are cliques forming in many camps.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">While we in Scotland have recently put political fervour behind us, for the most part at any rate, the parliamentary kettle is bubbling merrily away in England. It could be considered disturbing to watch the growing support for what used to be a marginal party with limited appeal blossom into a force which could conceivably form a substantial presence in the Commons come the 3d of this May. The United Kingdom Independence Party, or UKIP, has snatched seats in by-elections from all of the established parties, and it's leader, Nigel Farage, has graduated from a joke, to a powerful joke.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We have been told our economy is recovering; little seems to have changed as far as the ease with which the average household income stretches. We have been told being 'British' carries a responsibility by the media and David Cameron; we are told several times a week of how British football supporters have disgraced themselves abroad and at home, and of British men and women running amok. We are maintaining; we look over our shoulder guardedly. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But never you mind..</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Put on the kettle.. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10950004367198298756noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3999156.post-40981785620124182142015-02-20T12:48:00.002+00:002015-02-20T14:31:28.645+00:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Time to get back to the simple musings of a simple mind.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's interesting to note, that should one care to cast an eye back to that which was written as far back as 2006, or perhaps even 2005, could have been written today..</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Odd how that old French saying is so often born out.. plus ca change, plus que le meme chose..</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">These days, when an ear is turned to other's conversations when the volume of the communication makes it impossible to do otherwise, the general tone is one of confusion and, dare one say, fear. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Almighty (and perhaps the almighty) knows well the pressures facing today's man on the street. The ubiquitous presence of those who would run amok; the terrorist hidden in plain sight posing as your neighbour. An economic situation which, when looked at from a birds-eye perspective, indicates a snail trail towards a faint light which we have been told is the end of the tunnel, but which offers nothing in the way of an immediate relief. The knowledge that those in education will, in all likelihood, have to leave the country to use their knowledge to gainful effect. The inevitability that those who are presently employed, will face years of deep debt before they then have to realize a diminished old age due to a diminished return on their investments in pension funds. A host of emotional taxing effects, which when listed, stretches away into the infinite.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And, this generation.. this present population, feels somewhat personally affronted..</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One can add to this list of pressures the lack of knowledge of history. Knowing this has been the constant situation for all of mankind through all of it's history affords a modicum of.. perhaps fatalism is the word.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But, not to worry. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You put on the kettle, and we'll have a nice cup of tea.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As a coda.. watch the developments at the meeting of the Eurozone Finance Ministers which starts.. officially.. at two this afternoon..</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There is a draughty window open, and this house of cards is vulnerable.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Another trend which is developing throughout Europe.. notably in the UK and France.. is the 'radicalization' of Muslim youth. I must add this is a new word to describe a new situation.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Met has issued a BOLO on 3 young women, one of them 15, who are thought to be on their way to Syria to join IS.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now it's not what one would call a bad thing, for youth to be interested in, and active in, their faith. However, the bastardization of the tenets of Islam by those who use the Q'ran as justification to murder innocents is beginning to work it's way into the Zeitgeist furthered by social media, and when it begins to become an issue which is turning our young into modern Brownshirts, it becomes an issue which deserves the attention of all of us.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10950004367198298756noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3999156.post-20125339695100082612013-10-29T15:15:00.001+00:002013-10-29T15:17:20.363+00:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<br />
Continuing today with yesterday's theme, let us look at Prime Minister David Cameron.<br />
He is a graduate of Oxford, earning an MA in PPE (that is, Philosophy, Politics and Economics) in 1988. From there he became involved in politics immediately, as Special Advisor to Norman Lamont, the Chancellor of the Exchequer. Becoming tired of the hours he was putting in at the Commons, he left politics in 1994 to work for Carleton Communications as Director of Corporate Affairs.<br />
But he was marked by the Conservative Party as an up-and-commer, and returned to serve as Member for Whitney in 2000, and moved through the ranks to become the youngest Prime Minister in over 180 years.<br />
It's interesting to note, that while at Eton College, he was caught smoking cannabis.<br />
Oh dear.<br />
Little came of it though, the punishment amounting to writing 500 lines of Latin verse.<br />
Seems that was a fitting end to the incident, at least in the eyes of the College.<br />
<br />
Now once again, we have a case of a politician who <i>knows</i> the effects of cannabis on a first hand basis. Doubtless he, or his staff, have read the recent studies pertaining to the medicinal effects of cannabis, but who has made no move towards either removing the stigma surrounding the drug, or relaxing the Draconian legal prohibition of it.<br />
<br />
It strikes a dissonant chord. A strong position against the legalization of medicinal marijuana would smack of base hypocrisy, yet thousands of Britons are languishing at Her Majesty's Pleasure for the simple 'crime' of cultivating for personal use. A significant demographic would see the laws in Briton change, yet the man leading our government appears oblivious to either the hue and cry being raised by proponents of the medicinal use of the plant or the evidence that would support such a change in legislation. That the man himself has used cannabis, albeit for recreational purposes, should give others who use the reasonable expectation that he would be sympathetic to their cause.<br />
<br />
It is unacceptable that British citizens should be handed punitive fines or incarcerated for cannabis.<br />
<br />
It is unacceptable that a significant segment of the population is marginalized.<br />
<br />
It is unacceptable that recent medical studies are ignored by those who wield legislative power.<br />
<br />
It is unacceptable. Period.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10950004367198298756noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3999156.post-15866837558976616312013-10-28T19:10:00.000+00:002013-10-28T19:10:05.011+00:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
It is interesting to note the qualifications of those who have been elected to represent our best interests in Parliament. It is especially interesting for those who have taken a firm stance against the decriminalization or legalization of cannabis, despite the groundswell of support for such moves not only in Britain, but across the US and Canada, and EU countries the likes of France, Poland, Spain, to name just three. It might be noted, that in Portugal, it is a Constitutional right to grow cannabis in one's home, and has been for years.<br />
Take one of the most outspoken opponents to any move towards legalization of cannabis in Britain, Home Secretary Theresa May. She is the daughter of a Church of England Minister, which might be a clue to her reticence concerning drugs in general. Before her election to political office, she achieved a BA in Geography from Oxford in 1977, and went on to work for the Bank of England, and from 1985 to 1997 was a financial consultant and senior adviser in International Affairs for the Association for Payment Clearing Services. From there, she dipped into politics as a Councillor for a London Borough, and stood twice for the Labour Party unsuccessfully, before becoming a Conservative and taking a seat in the Commons for the constituency of Maidenhead.<br />
<br />
Now, this lady has no pharmaceutical background. She has chosen to ignore the plethora of reports which have been published of late touting the efficacy of cannabis for too many conditions to be listed here. She has also chosen to ignore historical evidence supporting the same. Yet, she has announced she will fight any move to legitimize cannabis or it's derivatives.<br />
<br />
It would seem that her attitude, as might be said for most who stand in the path of legislation aimed at removing the stigma attached to cannabis, is based on nothing more than inherited antipathy. There is no other conclusion that can reasonably be supposed.<br />
<br />
It is long past time that those we elect represent the will of the people who cast their vote to give them a seat in Parliament. It is incumbent upon them to research this issue, to understand the pro's and the con's, before announcing their opposition to a change in legislation.<br />
<br />
It is not acceptable that gut reactions determine the Law.<br />
<br />
It is not acceptable that misinformation be disseminated.<br />
<br />
It is not acceptable that those who could benefit for legalization of cannabis be deprived of it's medicinal properties.<br />
<br />
It is simply not acceptable.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10950004367198298756noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3999156.post-88281972620327427982013-10-18T00:23:00.001+00:002013-10-18T00:23:11.701+00:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
The human collective mind is an odd beast; we each of us see ourselves to be unique, just like anyone else. Yet we are ruled by memes, which, aimed across the demographic spectrum, lead our steps as surely as a guide dog leads the blind, while swallowing wholeheartedly the concept of 'the greater good'.<br />
<br />
Many infringements into the sphere of our human rights have become commonplace, accepted as a necessity in these days when one can never be sure who's plotting what. We abrogate our responsibility willingly, meekly, submitting to that ethos, 'the greater good'. Thus is justified our loss of privacy, of a free media, of the ethic which once led the enfranchised to examine the issues which directly affect various aspects of all our lives. An ethic which questioned authority, and required an accounting for the reasoning which led our elected representatives to adopt a stance, and an indication that representative would follow not only the Party Line, but address issues of current importance to his constituents.<br />
<br />
There are indications the British Parliament is aware the War On Drugs is lost. There are indications many Members would support a move to change legislation. There are indications Home Secretary Theresa May will fight any such move ferociously. There are indications several Chief Constables and as many Judges would prefer the laws be relaxed.<br />
<br />
There are also indications it will rain here tomorrow.<br />
<br />
It can be a frustration, this Scottish winter. What's indicated could well be complete bollox.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10950004367198298756noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3999156.post-81785524395461863732013-10-09T21:20:00.003+00:002013-10-09T21:20:44.012+00:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
We have quite a dilemma here.<br />
<br />
Our elected government(s), which purport to represent the will of the people, the electorate, for whatever misguided 'nanny protectiveness' are ignoring both rational argument and collective desire, in criminalizing a significant number within our society.<br />
Perhaps even worse, they deny those in medical need of treatments which are far more efficacious and far less addictive than that currently provided by our pharmaceutical companies. This, in spite of recent international developments, and research which is in diametric opposition to claims made during a time in our past which delighted in witch-hunting and asserting the right of those elected to know what is best.<br />
Long gone are the days in which 'politician' isn't compared to 'used car salesman'.<br />
People do not have the same inbred respect for those in power as did those who fought in the Korean War.. or the 'Leave It To Beaver' generation which followed.. More and more are posing questions which those who hold office are uncomfortable with; more transparency is demanded, and more justification for Acts of Parliament.<br />
Yet despite the growing demand for changes to a law which is patently absurd, it remains in place.<br />
<br />
Begs the question: 'Why?'<br />
<br />
Who benefits from the criminalization of cannabis? Who's holding legislation back which, if passed, would permit hundreds of thousands of the population to enjoy a non-addictive substitute for such as OxyContin or Vicodin?<br />
<br />
Who's profiting from the incarceration of users of cannabis?<br />
<br />
How can such an enlightened group of legislators stick fast to inherited opinions on the effects of the plant, when current research denies their 'facts'? For what profit?<br />
<br />
How deep is the bushel?<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10950004367198298756noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3999156.post-14433104958789095682013-10-05T08:53:00.000+00:002013-10-05T08:55:09.520+00:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
This is worth looking at..<br />
<br />
<h5 class="uiStreamMessage userContentWrapper" data-ft="{"type":1,"tn":"K"}" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 12.727272033691406px; margin: 0px 0px 5px; padding: 0px; word-break: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3,"tn":"K"}" style="color: #333333; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.38;">CBD<br /><br />Contrary to popular belief, the marijuana plant is a whole lot more than just a psychoactive drug that "stoners" use to get high. In raw form, marijuana leaves and buds are actually loaded with a non-psychoactive, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-cancer nutrient compound known as cannabidiol (CBD) that is proving to be a miracle "superfood" capable of preventing and reversing a host of chronic illnesses.<br /><br />Though you may not have heard much about it, the CBD found in the marijuana plant -- marijuana is technically just a vegetable, by the way -- is a highly medicinal substance with unique immune-regulating capabilities. Since the human body already contains a built-in endogenous cannabinoid system, complete with cannabinoid receptors, inputting CBD from marijuana can help normalize the body's functional systems, including cell communication and proper immune function.<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;"><br /><br />The way CBDs work is that they bridge the gap of neurotransmission in the central nervous system, including in the brain, by providing a two-way system of communication that completes a positive "feedback loop," according to Dr. William Courtney, a medical marijuana expert and founder of Cannabis International. As opposed to a one-way transmission, which can promote chronic inflammation of healthy tissue, the unique two-way transmission system engaged by marijuana CBDs mimics the body's own natural two-way communications system.<br /><br />So individuals whose systems are compromised by autoimmune disorders, cellular dysfunction, chronic inflammation, cancer cells, and various other illnesses can derive a wide range of health-promoting benefits simply by consuming CBDs. And one of the best ways to obtain CBDs is to juice raw marijuana leaves and buds, according to Dr. Courtney, who currently runs a clinic in Luxembourg that provides raw cannabis medicinal services to patients in need.<br /><br />"CBD works on receptors, and as it turns out, we have cannabinoids in our bodies, endogenous cannabinoids, that turn out to be very effective at regulating immune functions, nerve functions, bone functions," says Dr. Ethan Russo, a Seattle, Wash.-area physician who is also a senior advisor to GW Pharmaceuticals, a British drug company that is utilizing CBDs in a new marijuana mouth spray known as Sativex.<br /><br />"There's a tendency to discount claims when something appears to be good for everything, but there's a reason this is the case. The endogenous cannabinoid system acts as a modulator in fine-tuning a lot of these systems, and if something is deranged biochemically in a person's body, it may well be that a cannabinoid system can bring things back into balance."<br /><br /><a href="http://healthyeats-nl.blogspot.com/2013/10/cannabis-leaf-smoothie-recipe-and.html" rel="nofollow nofollow" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://<wbr></wbr><span class="word_break" style="display: inline-block;"></span>healthyeats-nl.blogspot.com/<wbr></wbr><span class="word_break" style="display: inline-block;"></span>2013/10/<wbr></wbr><span class="word_break" style="display: inline-block;"></span>cannabis-leaf-smoothie-recipe-a<wbr></wbr><span class="word_break" style="display: inline-block;"></span>nd.html</a></span></span></h5>
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<span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3,"tn":"K"}" style="color: #333333; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.38;"><br /></span></div>
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<div class="uiScaledImageContainer photoWrap" style="height: 320px; overflow: hidden; position: relative; width: 320px;">
<a ajaxify="https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=651436841543289&set=a.611852922168348.1073741828.611841762169464&type=1&relevant_count=1&ref=nf&src=https%3A%2F%2Fscontent-b-lhr.xx.fbcdn.net%2Fhphotos-ash4%2F1384206_651436841543289_1161606331_n.jpg&size=947%2C947&source=12" href="https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=651436841543289&set=a.611852922168348.1073741828.611841762169464&type=1&relevant_count=1&ref=nf" rel="theater" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="CBD
Contrary to popular belief, the marijuana plant is a whole lot more than just a psychoactive drug that "stoners" use to get high. In raw form, marijuana leaves and buds are actually loaded with a non-psychoactive, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-cancer nutrient compound known as cannabidiol (CBD) that is proving to be a miracle "superfood" capable of preventing and reversing a host of chronic illnesses.
Though you may not have heard much about it, the CBD found in the marijuana plant -- marijuana is technically just a vegetable, by the way -- is a highly medicinal substance with unique immune-regulating capabilities. Since the human body already contains a built-in endogenous cannabinoid system, complete with cannabinoid receptors, inputting CBD from marijuana can help normalize the body's functional systems, including cell communication and proper immune function.
The way CBDs work is that they bridge the gap of neurotransmission in the central nervous system, including in the brain, by providing a two-way system of communication that completes a positive "feedback loop," according to Dr. William Courtney, a medical marijuana expert and founder of Cannabis International. As opposed to a one-way transmission, which can promote chronic inflammation of healthy tissue, the unique two-way transmission system engaged by marijuana CBDs mimics the body's own natural two-way communications system.
So individuals whose systems are compromised by autoimmune disorders, cellular dysfunction, chronic inflammation, cancer cells, and various other illnesses can derive a wide range of health-promoting benefits simply by consuming CBDs. And one of the best ways to obtain CBDs is to juice raw marijuana leaves and buds, according to Dr. Courtney, who currently runs a clinic in Luxembourg that provides raw cannabis medicinal services to patients in need.
"CBD works on receptors, and as it turns out, we have cannabinoids in our bodies, endogenous cannabinoids, that turn out to be very effective at regulating immune functions, nerve functions, bone functions," says Dr. Ethan Russo, a Seattle, Wash.-area physician who is also a senior advisor to GW Pharmaceuticals, a British drug company that is utilizing CBDs in a new marijuana mouth spray known as Sativex.
"There's a tendency to discount claims when something appears to be good for everything, but there's a reason this is the case. The endogenous cannabinoid system acts as a modulator in fine-tuning a lot of these systems, and if something is deranged biochemically in a person's body, it may well be that a cannabinoid system can bring things back into balance."
http://healthyeats-nl.blogspot.com/2013/10/cannabis-leaf-smoothie-recipe-and.html" class="scaledImageFitWidth img" height="320" src="https://scontent-b-lhr.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/p320x320/1384206_651436841543289_1161606331_n.jpg" style="border: 0px; height: auto; min-height: 100%; position: relative; width: 320px;" width="320" /></a></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10950004367198298756noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3999156.post-29219320611073435832013-10-04T11:41:00.001+00:002013-10-04T15:10:18.105+00:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
We are living in tumultuous times. This world around us is fraught with conflict, both from without our various borders, and from within the confines of each of our separate countries. There is mass confusion, and our leaders are apparently not equipped to deal, either on a macrocosmic or microcosmic scale with the problems they are facing. Misinformation is being tossed about like confetti, confusing and confounding the man or woman on the street, and the time for exceedingly clear thought and vision is upon us.<br />
<br />
One would think, considering the plethora of medical reports which have been released (and in many cases just coming to light after mainstream suppression) that the issue of legalizing cannabis and it's derivatives would be a simple step towards decriminalizing a significant number of the population. Yet still our legislators drag their feet and worry the old spurious arguments as does an old dog with a favorite bone. They ignore recent (and historical) evidence which demonstrate cannabis is not a 'gateway drug'.. at least no more than are cigarettes and alcohol, while encouraging our physicians to prescribe palliative drugs for chronic conditions, drugs which are in themselves addictive and which have contraindications too frightening to consider. In fact, the campaign of misinformation concerning cannabis and it's effects has such impetus, GP's and neurologists are truly afraid to become advocates for change. Our legislators are equally timorous towards the issue of changing the Law, for fear of being branded 'careless and renegade', and cast from the comfort of the Party Line.<br />
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Let's propose a possible scenario, which on the surface may only apply to Scotland, or perhaps Quebec if the Separatists had their way in that Canadian Province.<br />
We have a 'yes' vote for leaving the Union; we have a new country, which has already been told by Brussels that it cannot expect instant recognition by the EU, nor expect immediate entry into that group.<br />
The promises made in the preamble to the taking of the vote concerning 'sustainable and exportable energy' have been shown to be insufficient in actuality to be the basis of a viable exchequer, which can continue to provide the level of Social Assistance currently demanded by the numbers of unemployed. Now this would include those claiming Disability, or Incapacity Benefits, and those on Old Age Pensions. Nor could the infrastructure for this 'energy' development scheme be put in place before real hardship for those who currently claim those benefits reared it's ugly head. What then for this fledgling country?<br />
Now, supposing another completely new industry was put in place; an industry which provides employment even for those who are physically incapable of entering a normal workplace. Suppose a product which demanded a minimal amount of physical effort to maintain output was brought into the picture.<br />
Such is hemp, and the uses for refined hemp fiber are legion (we will examine the various uses at a later date, but information on materials as diverse as hemp paper and 'hempcrete' are currently available online). Even those confined to a wheelchair, could be granted an allotment which could be seeded by the individual, and harvested by the government. A new industry; a new source of government revenue which, through sales to a foreign market and for the use of established home industries could expand our sphere of self-sustainability. Imagine a pharmaceutical movement within this new country, which produced medicines which replaced those currently being prescribed, which did not have the terrible contraindications of those currently in vogue. Imagine the decriminalization of a significant demographic and the reduction of those being maintained in prisons for possession or consumption of a substance which harms no-one. Imagine the tax revenue should the government control the distribution of both cannabis and hemp derivatives.<br />
While it would be irresponsible to declare 'the possibilities are endless!', it is equally irresponsible for our Legislators to ignore the reality of this issue and dismiss it out of hand.<br />
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We in what has become known as the 'cannabis community' seek not to destroy a way of life, but to improve upon it. We should not be criminalized for using medication for treatment of what ails us. But more importantly, we should not be marginalized.<br />
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This is an issue which has been dealt with by countries on the Continent, and should be addressed here in the UK, in Canada, in the US, without preconceived or inherited antipathy, but with clear thought and an eye to the advantages.<br />
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It took an Amendment to the American Constitution to repeal the Volstead Act, but it was passed. One would hope it would not be such a complicated issue to legalize cannabis in either a free Scotland, or in the Union as a whole.<br />
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The issue is in our hands, and it is our intent to bring it into the forefront of our Legislators minds.<br />
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As a coda, This I published in November of 2006:<br />
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<span style="background-color: #999999; font-family: arial; font-size: 16px;">In response to a comment on our post concerning the economic state Scotland would find itself in should this country leave the Union, a comparison was made with Luxembourg, which indeed has a population less than that of Edinburgh, and thus a much lower tax base than ours.</span><br style="background-color: #999999; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="background-color: #999999; font-family: arial; font-size: 16px;">But, it must be pointed out that Luxembourg has established industries in steel, banking, telecommunications, and agriculture.. It also enjoys a great deal of foreign investment, with the US investing more capital in that country than any other save Canada.. </span><br style="background-color: #999999; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="background-color: #999999; font-family: arial; font-size: 16px;">The iron and steel industry, located along the French border, is the most important single sector of the economy. Steel accounts for 29% of all exports (excluding services), 1.8% of GDP, 22% of industrial employment, and 3.9% of the work force.The restructuring of the industry and increasing government ownership in Arbed (31%) began as early as 1974. As a result of timely modernization of facilities, cutbacks in production and employment, government assumption of portions of Arbed's debt, and recent cyclical recovery of the international demand for steel, the company is again profitable. Its productivity is among the highest in the world. U.S. markets account for about 6% of Arbed's output. The company specializes in production of large architectural steel beams and specialized value-added products. There has been, however, a relative decline in the steel sector, offset by Luxembourg's emergence as a financial center.<br />In 2001, through the merger with Aceralia and Usinor, Arbed became Arcelor and now forms one of the largest steelproducer in the world.</span><br style="background-color: #999999; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="background-color: #999999; font-family: arial; font-size: 16px;">Banking is especially important to Luxembourg's economy. The country is a tax haven and so attracts capital fleeing from other countries so they can reduce the costs. At the end of March 2006, there were 155 banks in Luxembourg, with 23,000 employees. Political stability, good communications, easy access to other European centres, skilled multilingual staff, and a tradition of banking secrecy have all contributed to the growth of the financial sector. Germany accounts for the largest-single grouping of banks, with Scandinavian, Japanese, and major U.S. banks also heavily represented. Total assets exceeded €792.4 billion at the end of 2005. More than 9,000 holding companies are established in Luxembourg. The European Investment Bank—the financial institution of the European Union—is also located there.</span><br style="background-color: #999999; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="background-color: #999999; font-family: arial; font-size: 16px;">As for the economic future of Scotland itself, Scotland could become a poorer country than Greece or Portugal within the next 50 years, according to economists.<br />The Centre for Economics and Business Research said the country needs more entrepreneurs and tax incentives to encourage companies and investment.<br />The experts also said there should be greater deregulation, allowing businesses to flourish without the burden of red tape. </span><br style="background-color: #999999; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="background-color: #999999; font-family: arial; font-size: 16px;">In their report, Douglas McWilliams and Richard Greenwood said Scotland had failed to fully enjoy the benefits of the consumer boom in other parts of the UK.</span><br style="background-color: #999999; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="background-color: #999999; font-family: arial; font-size: 16px;">The "global technologies slowdown" has also had a negative impact on Scotland's 'Silicon Glen'.<br />However, the economists stressed that weak economic performance is not a recent problem.<br />They said: "Scottish growth since 1995 has averaged only 1.9% compared with 2.7% for the UK as a whole.<br />"Scottish manufactured exports are running at a lower level than four years ago while the number of people living in Scotland has been falling since 1995. "</span><br style="background-color: #999999; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="background-color: #999999; font-family: arial; font-size: 16px;">"If present rates of growth are projected ahead, Scotland within 50 years will be a poorer country than Greece or Portugal and not a long way ahead of Poland or Turkey."<br />The economists said Scotland suffers from a "lack of entrepreneurship culture" and they urged Scottish banks to offer more support to business start-ups.<br />They called for a "tartan tax" reduction of three pence which would mean less public spending but would encourage a more efficient economy and a reduction in red tape.<br />While the report said there would be no quick fix, it stressed that the suggested measures would start to "turn the economy round". </span><br style="background-color: #999999; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="background-color: #999999; font-family: arial; font-size: 16px;">With these facts, and projections in mind, it would appear that Scotland would have an exceedingly hard time in setting up legislation which would induce foreign investment, simply because tax breaks would be a difficult incentive to offer..</span><br style="background-color: #999999; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="background-color: #999999; font-family: arial; font-size: 16px;">Luxembourg has an economy that is well established, and trade and financial agreements which are longstanding. </span><br style="background-color: #999999; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="background-color: #999999; font-family: arial; font-size: 16px;">Scotland would be starting from scratch.</span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10950004367198298756noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3999156.post-51646752217397513342013-10-03T10:41:00.003+00:002013-10-04T10:33:26.274+00:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
In the interests of continuing the argument for the legalization of cannabis and it's derivatives, it is of paramount importance that the reasons for the legislation be understood which, when passed, made the herb a criminal offence.<br />
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Let me direct the reader to<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legality_of_cannabis" target="_blank"> en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legality of cannabis</a>.. just run your mouse over the blank space following 'to'.<br />
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Might it be suggested that those who support the decriminalization of the herb start the process off by writing to their local MSP, or regional variation, to discover their personal stance on legislation that would end prosecutions for possession, cultivation, and eventual legalization.<br />
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Understanding the history of the Laws is paramount, if any cogent argument is to be launched proposing a repeal. It must be understood that to end Prohibition of Alcohol in the US, it took amending their Constitution. The process could well be as complex here in the UK, but could well be simpler if and when Scotland declares itself a separate country.<br />
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The first step, is to understand what brought us to this point. The second is to become at least as proactive as to ask those we will choose to govern us what they would, or could, do towards changing this abhorrent situation.<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10950004367198298756noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3999156.post-75028564100301914322013-10-02T22:33:00.000+00:002013-10-02T22:33:59.559+00:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
It has been a subject of lifelong interest.. the propensity within some to lead, and that within others, to follow. This would include all aspects of the particular individual subject's life, or perhaps lifestyle would be more apropos.<br />
One example of the Alpha personality would be the necessity to control. To use the force of their peculiar personality traits to put themselves on a plane above those who are needing a voice in the wilderness, so to speak. It follows that those who seek control and have a convincing message to convey, will certainly find those who like the cotton-batten within the message to insulate themselves from the necessity of thinking for themselves. Those who follow, will find justification for their belief set as dictated to them by those who lead, unthinkingly regurgitating the dogma which has become carved in stone, as it were.<br />
We see examples all around us. Those who follow any system of faith, whether it be in those who claim to represent a spiritual being, or those who will cry 'my country, right or wrong', or those who believe the men and women we elect to public office, believe it is for their own good. Issues become homogenized, with attitudes freely and fiercely defended, with no more depth of understanding or education needed.<br />
And while there is widespread condemnation for those who disagree with our particular dogma, this again, is not based on knowledge, but on an inbred sense of moral superiority. We are programmed to follow the path, and accept the restrictions, of the dogma we have absorbed from our parents, our educators, our Ministers and Priests and Mullahs, our peers, our media, and our legislators.<br />
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A brief history; this from Wiki and concerns a man by the name of Harry Anslinger. These are some quotes from his address to the American Congress in the 1930's:<br /><br /></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.1875px; text-align: center;">Traffic in marihuana is increasing to such an extent that it has come to the be cause for the greatest national concern.</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.1875px; text-align: center;">This drug is as old as civilization itself. </span><a href="http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Homer" style="background-image: none; color: #0b0080; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.1875px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none;" title="Homer">Homer</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.1875px; text-align: center;"> wrote about, as a drug that made men forget their homes, and that turned them into swine. In Persia, a thousand years before </span><a href="http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jesus" style="background-image: none; color: #0b0080; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.1875px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none;" title="Jesus">Christ</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.1875px; text-align: center;">, there was a religious and military order founded which was called the Assassins and they derived their name from the drug called hashish which is now known in this country as marihuana. They were noted for their acts of cruelty, and the word "assassin" very aptly describes the drug.</span><br /><a class="external text" href="http://www.druglibrary.org/SCHAFFER/hemp/taxact/anslng1.htm" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: white; background-image: url(data:image/png; background-position: 100% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; color: #663366; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5em; padding-right: 13px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none;">Hearing on H.R. 6385 (April 1937)</a></div>
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<br /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.1875px; text-align: center;">Here we have drug that is not like opium. Opium has all of the good of </span><a class="extiw" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strange_Case_of_Dr_Jekyll_and_Mr_Hyde" style="background-image: none; color: #663366; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.1875px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none;" title="w:Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde">Dr. Jekyll and all the evil of Mr. Hyde</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.1875px; text-align: center;">. This drug is entirely the monster Hyde, the harmful effect of which cannot be measured. Some people will fly into a delirious rage, and they are temporarily irresponsible and may commit violent crimes. Other people will laugh uncontrollably. It is impossible to say what the effect will be on any individual. Those research men who have tried it have always been under control. They have always insisted upon that. … It is dangerous to the mind and body, and particularly dangerous to the criminal type, because it releases all of the inhibitions.</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5em; text-align: center;">Hearing on H.R. 6385 (April 1937)</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.1875px; text-align: center;">How many murders, suicides, robberies, criminal assaults, holdups, burglaries and deeds of maniacal insanity it causes each year, especially among the young, can only be conjectured...No one knows, when he places a marijuana cigarette to his lips, whether he will become a joyous reveller in a musical heaven, a mad insensate, a calm philosopher, or a murderer...</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5em; text-align: center;">"Marijuana — Assassin of Youth" in </span><i style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5em; text-align: center;">The American Magazine</i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5em; text-align: center;">, Vol. 24 (July 1937), p. 18</span><br />
<br /><span style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.1875px; text-align: center;">Most marijuana smokers are Negroes, Hispanics, jazz musicians, and entertainers. Their satanic music is driven by marijuana, and marijuana smoking by white women makes them want to seek sexual relations with Negroes, entertainers, and others. It is a drug that causes insanity, criminality, and death — the most violence-causing drug in the history of mankind.</span><br /><i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5em; text-align: center;">As quoted in </span><span style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5em; text-align: center;">Legalizing Marijuana : Drug Policy Reform and Prohibition Politics</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5em; text-align: center;"> (2004) by Rudolph Joseph Gerber, p. 9; also in </span><span style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5em; text-align: center;">Hawking Hits on the Information Highway : The Challenge of Online Drug Sales for Law Enforcement</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5em; text-align: center;"> (2008) by Laura L. Finley , p. 28, and "The Emperor Wears No Clothes: The Authoritative Historical Record of Cannabis and the Conspiracy Against Marijuana" (1994) by Jack Herer, Jeanie Cabarga, and Jeanie Herer, p. 29.</span></i><div>
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This man demonized a substance which indeed has been used throughout recorded history, and through skillful manipulation of the 'God fearing man and woman on the street' caused a total disregard for the evidence before us all, and drew blinkers around a guilty society to make instant criminals of those who used the many medicinal products which existed at that time, based on cannabis or extracts from the plant.</div>
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Think about it.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10950004367198298756noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3999156.post-82749693203799068572013-10-02T10:32:00.002+00:002013-10-02T10:32:27.871+00:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
There are times one has to take stock of what's going on around us in this tattered world of ours, and if a shred of sanity is evident, to focus on that and that alone. Mind you, finding that iota of sensibility might be beyond us at this point..<br />
The US is shutting down. It's more than thirteen <i>trillion</i> dollars in debt, and can't meet the government payroll.. Britain is looking forward to a referendum just about this time next year, which could shatter the Union and establish Scotland as a separate entity.. The EU is gamely pushing on through an economic morass which several times has brought a number of it's member countries abegging to the IMF for bailout loans.. and that term is used figuratively because no-one in their right mind expects these accumulated debts to be repaid..<br />
And it must be said, that we are still laboring under Calvinistic Laws which fill our gaols to overflowing for those serving sentences for cannabis offenses. And the idiocy of this stance against an herb, has criminalized a significant number of people who otherwise would no more commit an antisocial act than they would urinate on a public street.<br />
As an MS sufferer, the palliative effects of cannabis are well known to this writer.. and the legion of people suffering from a plethora of debilitating diseases for which cannabis is a godsend can also testify to the properties of the plant. Yet we find ourselves dealing with organized crime on what can be a daily basis, to acquire an amount which could see us through a normal day.<br />
This is an issue which should be treated with the same perspective as that taken by countries the likes of Portugal, Spain, the Netherlands, and even France for gods sake.. and it is time we stood and threw out preconceived and antiquated notions concerning cannabis and those who use it.<br />
There is no such thing as 'Reefer Madness'. It is a myth propagated by those aiming at ending the growth of hemp as a cash crop for fear of what it might do to the lumber companies, and pharmaceutical groups.<br />
I shall write more on this subject in the future, for it is an issue which could help to turn our world around.. medically.. and financially.<br />
More to come. </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10950004367198298756noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3999156.post-25255650927618645692013-09-29T19:11:00.000+00:002013-09-29T19:11:10.184+00:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It would seem that the oft-mentioned malady we call 'writers block' is a tangible entity.. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There have been times, over these past months, that something has seemed worthy of comment, yet while the words flow freely through my mind as I ponder the subject.. they disappear when, sat before a keyboard, it becomes time to transcribe thoughts for future reference. Instead of forcing commentary in this peripatetic journal, more time has been trying to bungle through an effort of fiction aimed at publication.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Difficult, as might be understood..</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Nevertheless, perhaps by setting to electronic paper my random thoughts, a trickle might turn to a stream, and thus to the anticipated flood of erudition..</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">From this page, to whichever God might be remotely interested...</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10950004367198298756noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3999156.post-42314455435390874472012-12-29T19:28:00.000+00:002012-12-29T19:39:12.109+00:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: large;">This article was published in 'The Spectator', on the 15th of this month.. as in as much we have escaped the various ends of the world, we can perhaps be somewhat thankfull. But a pollyanna essay such as this, could make one despair for the path some journalists take.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: large;">But let it be left to you, the reader, to decide what value such efforts deserve.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"> "<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><tt>
</tt>It may not feel like it, but 2012 has been the greatest year in the
history of the world. That sounds like an extravagant claim, but it is
borne out by evidence. Never has there been less hunger, less disease or
more prosperity. The West remains in the economic doldrums, but most
developing countries are charging ahead, and people are being lifted out
of poverty at the fastest rate ever recorded. The death toll inflicted
by war and natural disasters is also mercifully low. We are living in a
golden age.
To listen to politicians is to be given the opposite impression -- of a
dangerous, cruel world where things are bad and getting worse. This, in
a way, is the politicians’ job: to highlight problems and to try their
best to offer solutions. But the great advances of mankind come about
not from statesmen, but from ordinary people. Governments across the
world appear stuck in what Michael Lind, on page 30, describes as an era
of ‘turboparalysis’ -- all motion, no progress. But outside government,
progress has been nothing short of spectacular.
Take global poverty. In 1990, the UN announced Millennium Development
Goals, the first of which was to halve the number of people in extreme
poverty by 2015. It emerged this year that the target was met in 2008.
Yet the achievement did not merit an official announcement, presumably
because it was not achieved by any government scheme but by the pace of
global capitalism. Buying cheap plastic toys made in China really is
helping to make poverty history. And global inequality? This, too, is
lower now than any point in modern times. Globalisation means the
world’s not just getting richer, but fairer too.
The doom-mongers will tell you that we cannot sustain worldwide economic
growth without ruining our environment. But while the rich world’s
economies grew by 6 per cent over the last seven years, fossil fuel
consumption in those countries fell by 4 per cent. This remarkable (and,
again, unreported) achievement has nothing to do with green taxes or
wind farms. It is down to consumer demand for more efficient cars and
factories.
And what about the concerns that the oil would run out? Ministers have
spent years thinking of improbable new power sources. As it turns out,
engineers in America have found new ways of mining fossil fuel. The
amazing breakthroughs in ‘fracking’ technology mean that, in spite of
the world’s escalating population -- from one billion to seven billion
over the last two centuries -- we live in an age of energy abundance.
Advances in medicine and technology mean that people across the world
are living longer. The average life expectancy in Africa reached 55 this
year. Ten years ago, it was 50. The number of people dying from Aids has
been in decline for the last eight years. Deaths from malaria have
fallen by a fifth in half a decade.
Nature can still wreak havoc. The storms which lashed America’s East
Coast in October proved that. But the speed of New York City’s recovery
shows a no-less-spectacular resilience. Man cannot control the weather,
but as countries grow richer, they can better guard against devastation.
The average windstorm kills about 2,000 in Bangladesh but fewer than 20
in America. It’s not that America’s storms are mild; but that it has the
money to cope. As developing countries become richer, we can expect the
death toll from natural disasters to diminish -- and the same UN
extrapolations that predict such threatening sea-level rises for
Bangladesh also say that, in two or three generations’ time, it will be
as rich as Britain.
War has historically been humanity’s biggest killer. But in most of the
world today, a generation is growing up that knows little of it. The
Peace Research Institute in Oslo says there have been fewer war deaths
in the last decade than any time in the last century. Whether we are
living through an anomalous period of peace, or whether the risk of
nuclear apocalypse has proved an effective deterrent, mankind seems no
longer to be its own worst enemy. We must bear in mind that things can
fall apart, and quickly. Germany was perhaps the most civilised nation
in the world in the 1920s. For now, though, it is worth remembering
that, in relative terms, we have peace in our time.
Christmas in Britain will not be without its challenges: costs are
rising (although many children will give quiet thanks for the 70 per
cent increase in the price of Brussels sprouts). The country may be
midway through a lost decade economically, but our cultural and social
capital has seldom been higher -- it is hard to think of a time when
national morale was as strong as it was during the Jubilee and the
Olympics. And even in recession, we too benefit from medical advances.
Death rates for both lung and breast cancers have fallen by more than a
third over the last 40 years. Our cold winters still kill people, but
the number dying each year halved over the past half-century. The winter
death toll now stands at 24,000 -- still unacceptable in a first-world
country, but an improvement nonetheless. Britain’s national life
expectancy, 78 a decade ago, will hit 81 next year.
Fifty years ago, the world was breathing a sigh of relief after the
Cuban missile crisis. Young couples would discuss whether it was
responsible to have children when the future seemed so dark. But now, as
we celebrate the arrival of Light into the world, it’s worth remembering
that, in spite of all our problems, the forces of peace, progress and
prosperity are prevailing.<tt><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"</span></tt></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><tt><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It only <tt><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">remains to be said, that while optimism is in itself, for the most part, positive.. But it's not too cynical to suggest a dose of realism is a vital ingredient to any analysis..</span></tt></span></tt></span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><tt><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><tt><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But let the readers make their own evaluations.. </span></tt></span></tt></span><br />
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