Wednesday 31 October 2007

Get involved

WWF

Click on it and see if there's anything you would be willing to do.

Sacrifice a minute of your life to know what is going on.

Sacrifice a pound.

But even better:
Start blogging about these urgent realities, get involved, and realilse we all are responsible if nothing changes for the better in another seven years or less.

Its your call.

1,300 tigers in India

Once again it was the Independent whith its front page article on the fate of India's tigers.

"5,000 to 3,000 in seven years"

What more to add?

Nothing.

This seams to be the out come of abviousely empty words, speaking of tomorrow's promisses on a cause still steadilly dying despite its usefull topic when votes are needed.

It might be a sensitive topic of urgency.

It has remained too long though merely a fashionable moral topic and not yet duly faced as other world issues would be.

The truth is not enough care.

Tuesday 30 October 2007

Christmas in shops

I know: "Already?!"

Yes. If supermarkets and sops are already selling chocolate bars covered with Father Christmases, Christmas trees on postcards, and Ideas for Christmas presents...help!

Is this some awful nightmare in which time is slipping by like a motion film.

Helplessly chained to the spot, you watch as in front of you each frame flies past, one after the other in a string, until it all becomes a blur and you think ,

" Has Halloween already gone?"

I’m running so hard, trying to keep up with my life and the e world around, I'm on the verge of tripping over, as I attempt to hop from the frame in which I am.

I barely have had time to daze at the golden red leaves lining the streets, and to infuse my thoughts with moist earth hurrying to until every morning.

As the loom of sun still is glowing behind me from June, July and September I feel bullied by shops and commercials into abandoning this setting in which I barley have settled in, to jump to the next though to me it seams so far ahead. If I look down at the vast sea of things to be overcome, Christmas fades further.

Look out side the window. Yes it is after all still autumn and Halloween is yet to die down!

TOP IT UP PLEASE!!

Chocolate bars generaly cost around 45p. The coffee options in the canteen cost over £1. The filter coffee in the street, near the lecture rooms costs 70p for a small cup and 90p for a large.

The problem is a small one. I mean a 'small' problem is a big one. At least for me.

I treat myself to a bar of chocolate occasionally, and when I am cold or sleepy I allow myself a coffee. Only from the Street though as this is cheaper and I need t look after my pennies.

Over the past few days a matter of centre metres is growing frustratingly in my conscience every time a hand over my money.

With barely a glance of acknowledgement, and a few rushed squirts the coffee is hurriedly shoved towards me. But something is missing.

About 2 or 3cm are missing from the essence of my coffee!

This might be a cheaper coffee outlet, yet it is coffee being sold, and not half cups of sloppy coffee!

Top it up please!

This matter of a few centimetres is growing every day, for every belittled coffee purchased!

Abortion

Where do you stop?

Is a baby owned by the mother?

It is part of the mother's body, but at WHAT POINT does it become an INDIVIDUAL BEING?

6 months into pregnancy should there be an excuse for some one to carry forward an abortion? Is 6 months not too long to decide the fit of a child?

Does the baby have rights before it is born? Yes.

It is very difficult to discuss, as each case is unique. Different circumstances change a lot.

But it is always the same question:

When do you draw the line where the baby's rights become as present as those of the mother?

Life is not fair, and rights given to one party are often rights removed from the other.

The issue of ethics though looks beyond the body of the mother-to-be and the unborn child.

The issue is at what point is abortion an end to an individual's life, when he/she has already got a presence in our world?

Monday 29 October 2007

On Immigration

Reading through the news I found these very interesting artiles on immigrant's rights, and work conditions. Anyone who is interested in events concerning immigration check these out!

immigration - BBC

Friday 26 October 2007

Grease'em up!

The use of the “quiet area” in my Uni’s library should be reconsidered.

As for its ‘quiet’ aspect, ambitions should be dropped in favour of what I would think would make more sense.

Why not call the third floor “the Horror” floor, as believe you me, not in the most old school horror film would you hear the door squeak so often, and with such excruciating pain, sucking any focused mind towards the screaming.

Please, someone pour some oil down those hinges!

As for the first floor, that ‘quiet area’ should become the meeting point for girls and boys.

How about removing the desks firstly. This would unbalance the ‘meeters’ habitat rather drastically as there would be no sitting platform.

Then perhaps the Internet too as this causes ‘clusters’ round entertaining music video downloads.

To be safe also remove the computers as this would remove any possibility of using them as a point of reference.

It might be a good idea to create a magnetic camp so as to prevent phone use n this quiet area, but unfortunately that might not have much effect, as seemingly these object are prevalently to flash and play sounds on.

Shall we empty the library all together leaving it only with books? Probably it would be quiet and only people who intent to make use of the books would be present but then again no Internet? No research.

The simplest solution would be to explain to the herds they are there for their own good. When they are in a noisy ‘heard mood’ the library should be left in the ideal conditions in which others can actually study.

Burst the bubble!

It seams all the scientific success and technological advancement often accused of or attributed with the thriving effect of globalisation, still has a monster do dissolve.

Genius South Park – Episode ‘Smug alert’ carried on.

Contrary to our naïf believes. Could it possibly be that bubbles all around the world are strengthening? An episode of South Park comes to mind but in a different context.
"Smugness" was yet another brilliantly developed topic in an episode of this satire. In our context though I would suggest use "smugness' to define a

The outsiders.

Immigrants are not yet properly integrated within a society that does not appreciate. On the other hand both 'sides' seam to remain coated, each with an invisible difference, sometimes over stated, sometimes underestimated. While busy unpicing defects often lateral to the reall benefits of both realities, it is forgotten thatboth 'side are infact one reality, and no one walks into or out of a buble.

You close your eyes and he bad things dovanish

Most national press barely considers foreign news other than the occasional postcard-type stories, confirming small-minded views of countries, composed by stereotyped labels.

Luckily there are newspapers that do realise Britain is a country within a world. The Independent I shall always respect and be a faithful reader.

Because truth looses transparency only once its acknowledged.

The rule is of course that demand shapes the product and unfortunately it seems people are all too busy with their own material lives between jobs and consumerism, busy defining their most matching identity image.

There is a lot of rhetoric, but the truth is, if people were more educated, and cared more, then more papers would cover broader issues from all over the world, and especially more urgent issues which concern us all.

We may prefer to read the latest tantrum thrown by a superstar or how much money was spent on the richest poodle, but we lack the knowledge in our naïf minds that we are the criminals.

Ignoring such vital issued which need to be actively acknowledged means just to pull the wool over our eyes.

The fact is we often are the most directly responsible for slavery, abuse, and environmental catastrophes. Minding our business, leading our average predictable lives, ignoring things happening at the same time somewhere else does not mean it is not happening.

This 'smugness' (as defined in South Park) is thickening the bubbles sealing off the 'lala-land' from the rest of the planet.

Imagine being an alien, and seeing this image of the world:

A round planet populated and insulated with time-beating and distance-beating technology. There are bubbles of concentrations busily living and consuming. Out of these 'bubbles' are also many other concentrations of people dotted in-between these bubbles, but these are living in opposite conditions, in poverty.

You learn that these people in the bubble are very busy and talk allot of saving and helping he 'unluckier people out side the bubbles.

Has any one told them most of what they are wearing, using, and eating directly fuels the conditions in which the 'outsiders' live?

Bust the bubble, and start facing the facts. More people should fuel more papers to cover world news, because the two ends of the pole are both soaring, one up and one down. It is time t stop soaring up and look down.

This was sparked whilst reading an article in The Independent this morning. The article was one the 20th anniversary since the first direct warning was given about the catastrophe facing environment, nature and all living beings, and the connection between human activities and enviromental down fall.

I believe that if more papers were to make this topic a chunky part of their editions, and not just heart-throbbing page filler, then perhaps in 10 years time, more people will have stumbled across the 'topic' and opened the eyes.

Because knowledge and awareness are the key to mobilising action, which if not, will remain stuck in rhetorical 'wanna-do-good' talk.

Thursday 25 October 2007

Orange..with fury

First it was trouble with BT.

To get a BT line was more difficult than to find a flat! After many expensive calls I managed to get through in the end, once again, after many misunderstandings between myself and about fifty different helpless people at the call centre. I finally got a Bt line.

For a moment I h ad thought of the worst out come as my partner stumbled a cross a small article in a paper. The story covered an incident of a man who had been waiting for BT to give him a phone line for I think seven months.

It seams I haven't much luck when it comes to technology. Waiting once again, this time to be blessed with an Internet connection, I stumbled again across an article, this time in the FT. To my horror it read about a review by the BBC on Orange broadband customers, and (if I remember correctly) its service being the worst in UK.

I am still waiting to hear from orange to be notified when I will be given an Internet connection. Also in this case the poor person on the other end of the phone line in the call centre, was confused and tried to explain she was only reading the data form the computer.

Am I to read tomorrow that the place in which I just moved has the highest rate of murders? Surely I cannot be the unluckiest person when it comes to trying to sort out what would seam simple...a phone

Wednesday 24 October 2007

Rights cut from other people's rights.

Journlalism isn't quite the same as it was say fifty years ago.

We cannot just stick a microphone in someones face and bombard them with wild questions.

If once climbing over wals to steal pieaces of information, now days we are allowed to stand infront of a wide open gate but not to walk through!

Rights are like chunks from one apple. Not all players can eat it all.

As privacy rights grow more tight and greedy, the right to freedom of expression shrinks.

As lives, people and sources become accessible, so do pivcy rights follow like shadows.

What's on your mind today?

Is today not a good day? Why?

What is on your mind otday. Did someone's action irritate you?

Did the woman on the bus slip infront of you, or the man behind the till give you your change with out even acknowleging your presence?

Are you still smiling because the post man shouted out "good morning"?

What triggers you to smile or to wonder how people can be sono insensitive?

Today use this string to pick out your frustrations of your day.

Some one might just realised a tiny action of theirs left a bitter taste.

Or a smile might just be worth wearing more than anything else!

Tuesday 23 October 2007

New era of prohibition

Are we creeping up towards an inevitable resolution of prohibition?

It seams as western countries gallop in the infinite race of technology and consumer goods, we become more and more lazy and insatiable of addictive escape channels, whether this be alcohol, fast food, smoking or expensive tastes, such as owning ten fuel guzzling vehicles.

Have we lost completely the memory of living under a roof and spending free time chatting with friends?

With such a highly specialised society where now days more and more people seams to be qualified with degrees and more, it seams we are no longer capable of looking after our selves nor of our kids.

That is what one would think if paying any attention at all to some of the topics floating in newspapers and media.

Children aren't capable of performing what would have seamed 50 years ago, a perfectly acceptably ritual of eating meals provided at school;

Smokers have been 'confined outdoors', and alcohol still continues to make young to old, school youngsters and professionals into fools.

A country that is seen with such earnest respect and admiration by its fellow EU countries, at night churns a large percentage out and into the pumping hearts of the night. Later bursting out of these [pubs] spilling into the streets.

How come has England managed to master and channel its migration and develop such an exemplary mile as in The City, yet on the other side of the coin, some vices have become chronic illnesses?

Could it be the curse of consumerism and the reverse of the coin?

It has been criticised lately that the media might be ‘duming down’ the audience, now we are even being castigated with ‘play zones’ and not. Basic matters of child care have been blown into big balloons floating aimlessly…

Perhaps we need to prove we don’t require any ‘duming down’?

Eating disorders

For pity sake leave the kids alone! But I mean it!

Not fuss and no wining. It is ridiculous for children to fussed around so much and confused about the issue of nutrition.

Nutrition is a very serious matter, and this is why there should be a simple and strict rule about meals in schools. No fast food foods should be available to children. I believe children should be taught how important a good nutrition is but the approach should be changed all together.

In Britain one could easily say that meals have lost their cultural value as a routine and a social event.

The approach from top to bottom I believe has cause this rebellious reaction by children across UK. Healthy foods are seen y children as tasteless and boring imposed o them by the 'conspiracy' by parents and schools.

When too much fuss is made in an over-alarming way about 'forcing' children to eat healthy school meal options, I believe that eating disorders also can more easily grow amongst young children.

More thought should be given to trying to integrate the mealtime as part of a cultural ritual to be looked forward to by children at school.

A Blogging world

At first, I was sceptical. Sceptical on this thing called "blogs" and what they were, what was the point, and do "bloggers" have a life?!

...Now I realise I my self am quickly becoming one my self.

There is a strange feel of voyeurism to read people's thoughts on all sorts of topics from the most urgent political and ethical issues, to the most frivolous subjects I never thought could be expanded on.

There is a hidden army out there under the surface of many lives.

A peak into this [for me] until recently un-known world has left me caught on a string, tangled to this gigantic parallel universe of thoughts, which reside and thrive in individual.

This Blogging world is great, and bloggers definitely do have a life, and a second virtual identity too.

Keep blogging comrades speak your minds...!

...Whatever topic you might want to touch!

Friday 19 October 2007

Do you think about the future?

Thinking of chewed over themes as globalisation, immigration, ethics, tradition, identity, enviroment...etc.

Where are we heading? Could a solid shaped model one day crumble under an "over- buzzing" world?

While life quality seams less tangible and more virtuall, and aesthetics and politically correctness take over, I feel we are loosing humane imperfections which kept us grounded to the plannet on whch we live.

What films 10 years ago mught have predicted seams lee frightening than what I fear seams to eb crawling upon us.

Nope. no robots or aliens taking over our plannet, nor giant meteors.

We are loosing our selves. "normality" it's self I think has been loost for ever. The good old normality , yes.

Because normal is good.

Not because there has to be a grid against which every individual and moral view has to be pressed against, but to keep in sight where we come from. And what we need and do not need in this world of fluffed up hot air and plastic flashing with excited lights and electronic sounds.

Strange is good. But it is good when it has a set of "normality" to stand out form.

When every one can be on some form f reality show, look like celebs, speak like them, and "parott" about what they think is the mopst fhashionable newspapers critiqe, prospects don't look good.

"We" humans have perhaps become too big, and need either to completely over flow our physical and conceptual frameworks, to cooperate and shape new levels of frame works.

The meaning of "country" is transforming, and while the humane flow signals a growing freedome, there needs to be a centre point of focus not to loose the aim.

This is a confusing vague thought developing as I type and ask my self various questions which a tangled.


Im justy thinking, quiestioning, wondering.

Today I'm freeing my self of these thoughts. Tonorrow it might just crystalise...

60 deaths in Uk, 1 dead soldier

Is it not astonishing how the slice of information " ...about 60 deaths a week in Britain are caused by infections contracted in hospital.." slips by so quietly, smoothly, with no other uttered noted, while one death of a soldier can take up a decent part of a newspaper, as well as words on a news channel?

Is it not normal and expected to hear of unfortunate deaths caused in terms of war? Sure, it is awfuul a British or Us soldier (or indeed of any nationality) dies because of cards games played badly by politicians. However it would be hipoctriticall to seam surprised!

To casually annouce 60 people die every week due to poor health standards in hospitals seams rather allarming!

Forgive me for spelling it out:

Hospitals are where one goes to save one's life. It is a basic right to have the facility of hospitals and health service, not a luxury.

Immigration has been a rocky topic on many tounges fashionalbly, but at the bottom of all ther talk there is a question to be asked: ]
Who are our doctors?

Who are our nurses?

Who runs hospitals, for who, and how is it possiblie that a country as Britain, concidered by other european countries as the model to be followed, have got to this uneficiant mountain of expectations.

It is true, Britain has gaiven a home and news lives to many people from all over the world, giving a second chance.
But no chuffed up grinn of pride should be twiching untill the basic foundations of a civilized country are restored.

60 peaople a week dead.

That is 2,880 deaths a year by futile reasons of hygene in hospitals.

Police lose face...and regain it quickly

Flicking through the many channels of Sky TV, the topic of British police kept popping up. There must have been at least five programmes running that evening focusing on that subject.

It seams it is a popular theme this week, and perhaps not a coincidence.

Only untill a few days ago attention was drawn to the reopened case of a young Brazilian man, Jean Charles Menez, shot in ‘error’ by police just as he left the underground in London.

He had been suspected to be a terrorist and followed by police until they finally shot and killed him. The circumstances and approach taken by the police already have been discussed at length in the news.

Somehow though, I have the feeling that it cannot be a coincidence that this week channels seem to be running programmes dedicated to policemen.

I partly followed two of them, both in the form of a documentary following the policemen on a night out at work.

The "law offenders" to me seamed more like harmless, loud, drunk men reacting to antagonising policemen backed up by the camera.

Clearly this must all be a wave of propagandistic films to restore the dubious service they offer.

Is it not frustratingly obvious and irritating how all of a sudden we are being lured to seeing them as heroes by TV, where only few days ago the case of an innocent murder was still being broadcast?

How can such a devastating error have been so easily replaced with policemen depicted as heroes?

Wednesday 17 October 2007

Where do you draw the line?

Where does one draw the line between fiction and reality: Artificial reality or manipulated, and fiction intertwined into real life?

Why have reality shows had such success while life itself becomes ever more surreal based on aesthetics and identities.

How genuine is an average person's life now days? We each seam to package our lives identities within commercial settings, now more than ever with the pressure of online parallel worlds on which we display our selves on a second public platform.

Is technology ripping human kind completely from any form of spontaneity and physical interaction with reality and time limitations?

24 hour news channels keep us up to date with the world which surrounds us, and we interact via Internet and phones.

his invisible globalised world has distanced each individual as never before, yet made any person's live available for viewing through U-tube, reality shows etc.

Yet Internet can tie voices from caged situations as the Burmese to the rest of the world, destroying censorship.


to what extent will our lives be dependent on technology, and where should one draw the line?

DO you think we do not need to draw a line at any point?

Tuesday 16 October 2007

What nationality do you identify with?

I am half English and half Italian, and want to know ...

It is fascinating to observe the factors we take into account which lead us to tie our selves to a nationality.

Do we belong to the country we were born in, lived in for a minimum set amout of years, or is it where we pay taxes, or work hard, make use of all public facilities, but don't have the right to vote ?...

In my oopinion, immigrants who contribute to Britain's economic flow should have the right to vote.

ALL people who take part in the community should.


Who are you?

Where do you come from?

Do you vote?

For WHO do you vote?