I am not sure many people would want to move to the UK if it didn’t offer what they didn’t have where they’ve come from. Correct?

So, in the 1950s, 60s, 70s, people from the Caribbean and other commonwealth nations moved to help with the rebuild (post-war). Yes, they faced brutal conditions and some intolerance when they got here, but by and large, they tried to fit in.

Calls to preserve the British way of life is indeed very necessary. It is what many moved here for. But confusing that and mixing it up with hate and racism etc., is what’s defeating the purpose. It should have been made mandatory (but now it is perhaps too late) for anyone moving to the UK, to be prepared to live here the way it is here; no littering, no forced marriages etc. This should not be negotiable.

Unfortunately, when the cause is now championed by semi-illiterates, who will make some sense one minute and the next minute they are spouting racist stuff, it becomes indefensible and the purpose is lost. And we end up where we are today, a nation of 70million people worrying so much about 40,000 illegal migrants rowing rubber boats across the channel annually! Yes, it is not right for people to just wade in, BUT seriously?! It should not make national headlines! If we can get the country back on its feet (which is what the government should focus on) and people in jobs etc., then the matter of 40,000 migrants rowing in annually, should be trivial! Yes, it must stop and must be addressed, but not as a national, topical issue that it has now become!
We must be better!

Britain was a very nice place in the 90s, it needs to be back on its feet, with jobs, harmony, reduction in intolerance & hatred. And anyone moving here should be willing to live here the way we do, or go elsewhere if they want a different way of life

…. the child is hands a pile of toys from Santa..

”Thank you Santa” he says…

…. and THAT, is a lesson for all ages! It is the world order. It is how someone who can’t spell their own name, can rule millions of people…..

It is the very reason nothing’s ever going to change.

Tough time of the year for some.

Awesome time of the year for some.

As an individual, I have always found it very difficult to flick a switch; be all joyous and merry when it is expected, and then…..

We all go back to how we are the rest of the year..

Many now say, it’s not about religion, “happy holidays” etc. Well, sorry, No. It is about religion. Nothing wrong with that. Let’s not twist it out of shape. It is ok not to be religious. Leave Christmas in its purest form.

The number of women I see wearing a cross as their necklace these days, but the minute they speak, hate flows out! It is really hard to reconcile the hate out there, with Christianity. But there is of course, always a way to excuse hate and tuck it away, behind what’s allowable

I am not into any religion. But seeing the alarming rise of knife crimes and other crimes in London today, it is easy to see that the old Sunday schools and biblical teachings of hell fire were useful deterrent that is now missing and has left a void, in which so many of today’s youth think nothing of grabbing a knife and stabbing others to death, for the minutest of reasons

I have always had an issue with coming home from the carefree life of boarding school, to what I always saw as a forced happiness of Christmas. But it wasn’t until I spent years visiting some of the poorest parts of the world, that the dejection hit me. Do they know it’s Christmas? Well, the question is: should they? We dash in to dazzle them with temporary hope in gifts at Christmas and the very next week, they are left to rot?
Yes, I accept that perhaps they do need to help themselves a bit. If roles were reversed, nothing would be different. Yes. I get that.

Many say: “well, but we gotta live our own lives”. Well, yes. But that’s exactly what the drug-dealer thinks, as he sells drugs that destroy lives. The drug-dealer believe he is simply doing what he has to do, to feed his own family, take them on holidays abroad etc. It is exactly the same thing a hate-mongerer thinks; spread hate, get paid. And it really does pay well these days, as there are so many out there, willing & happy to fund hate!
It is exactly the same thing an armed robber tells himself; he’s just trying to make money to live his life. We can all find ways to justify what we do.

I do not begrudge those who are happy or can switch on happiness in December or are able to block out the sadness around us. It is a wonderful gift to have. But for some of us who do not have that gift, it is indeed torturous to see horrible, awful people, sing carols and dole out joy for a week in December and then back off to doing the most awful things the rest of the year. I’m no saint, so I try to be exactly how I have been all year at Christmas. I can’t flick that switch (ain’t got one in me) to turn into a wonderful, joyful person in December. But I try my very best not to spoil it for others.

I am not saying that being sad is going to crack it and make the world a better place.

We just need to be understanding of those who do not appear so keen to walk on their heads in Dec and sing carols etc. Some folk are too poor to buy gifts and yes, others will say: “it’s not about the gifts”, ok. So, why is there a pile of gifts? And how do those who can’t afford gifts fit in? How do they feel? How does it make them feel?

Anyway, it is what it is.

It is unfortunate, but traditional is tradition. People must do what they grew up doing. And yes, it is how it is. And it is, how it will always be.

Yes, it is impossible to get everyone on earth to hold hands and love each other. But if anyone wants to drastically remove hatred and hate in the world, all you need to do, is create something that pays better!

Yes, there are a few people out there, who just hate for the heck of it. They want to find people to hate. For whatever reason.

But when you take a look at the vast majority of people out there spreading hate, they are simply doing it for the money. Afterall, it pays so well.

Create other means for these hate-mongering folk to make money and they’ll be off on holidays to foreigner lands, wearing designer shoes and clothes…

Olympic gold medalist boxer and former world champion, Anthony Joshua fought a You-tuber Jake Paul last night and the world of boxing criticised Joshua. What were we after? To be entertained by Joshua having his head punched off right? But for Joshua, why would he not take a fight that is said to have earned him £70million, to fight a guy who was unlikely to land a single meaningful punch on him! Clever guy Joshua! He went in, stroll in the park, gets his £70m and off he goes!

Now, how much of this reported £70m gets to Joshua’s bank account? Let’s say, £10m. The rest goes to his promoter, his team of countless staff etc. So, for about 20 minutes of him walking around Jake Paul, he has made a bunch of money for himself and those around him. Well done to him!

ENTERTAINMENT right?

We want to sit at home and watch two people punch each other in the head. For our entertainment.

And the complaint people had against yesterday’s bout, was that they didn’t punch each other in the head hard enough!

Aliens must truly be laughing their heads off

When I read about all the hate and bile words out there, you just gotta shake your head.Why would one care if someone was black, white, brown or any other colour or whether it’s a man, woman or anything else. Why would one care?? I don’t! People can be whoever, whatever they want to be. We sit about in judgement while salivating over people beating each other up for our entertainment!

People will do anything for money! Anything!

Last week a couple in the UK won £1million in the lottery for a second time! Now, why would you win £1million and continue to play the lottery? After winning £1million, waking up the next day to play the lottery? Seriously?!! We are a truly reprehensible lot!

You read of romance scams, people scamming pensioners, people selling narcotics to the helpless, all in the name of making money!

Empathy is completely out of the window! You see people without any conscience whatsoever, amassing millions from the misery of others! We now have special algorithms to maximise hate for gain!

It ain’t new.

I do not have the answers. Not sure there are answers….

Just read about this on CNN. The ringleader of the coup plotters had his hand on his gun as he read their speech! Why? As a prop?

I couldn’t imagine, for the life of me, what would possess soldiers to think they can offer an alternative to an existing government, regardless of how awful that government may be???? It is of course possible that the soldiers too ‘governance 101’ or ‘Politics 101’ as part of their military training….

This is turning out to be yet another dark era for Africa, and in particular, West Africa, with coup galore! It seems their armed forces are in desperate need of ‘the role of the armed forces 101’?

Eberechi Eze!!!!

Just 12 (of 38) games into the season and we get only the third ever Arsenal player to score a hat trick in the North London derby! On the 198th derby!

The man is now forever a legend at Arsenal! His first derby! What a guy! Eberechi! Eberechi!!!!!

The world has completely lost its way! Not that it was ever – at any time or era – in a good place, but at least some decades ago (particularly, the 90s), there was a concerted effort to try to be better. Now, we are trying to be the worst possible we can be!

Everyone’s having a moan! In the UK we are told by an elected member of parliament that there are now far too many black & brown people on tv adverts! You would think those businesses would fix that, if the commercials ain’t popular? Do we need an elected member of parliament who is supposed to serve all the people, saying that? But before you start yelling out the ‘-isms’, there are a group of folk in South Africa right now, matching on their streets stopping immigrants from accessing health care. And there are other parts of the world where there is ongoing elements of all sorts: India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sudan, USA, Canada, Australia, Ukraine (both before and after the latest was started)…. the list goes on….

How dare you get rich? How dare you be a criminal? …. ok.

The world is totally messed up. NOBODY, and I repeat, nobody, is out for the greater good.

What exactly is the ideal world? All black people stay in Africa? All brown people stay in Asia? All white people stay in Europe? oops… what do we do with the USA then? (just brown native Americans?). How about Australia? Canada? New Zealand? Do we also expel descendants of the Spanish from Chile, Argentina and all of Latin America?
Do we end travel?
Is that what makes for the ideal, peaceful world?

It seems people just hate for the hell of it.

If it is all for the greater good, then would it not be selfless?

Can we try to revert to looking out for the greater good? Controlled migration (done the correct way. Nobody should be rowing across the English Channel and forcing their way into the UK. Nobody should be forming human caravans to burst into the US without first applying for entry! etc) is a must. But technology must be developed to achieve it. Not inhumane acts. We need to get back to doing things for the greater good. The earth belongs to no one! We are all here temporarily! None of us will live forever. We’re not immortals!

Tanzania – an unpopular president apparently got 98% of the vote?! Surely she could have just claimed it was 60% and still won. 98%? Now over 700 protester said to have been killed.

Bangladesh – Sheikh Hasina. Always thought she was just a one off. Hundreds of protestors killed before they forced her out

No point mentioning the ones presently making headlines elsewhere in recent weeks.

It seems females ain’t any better.

How people can so wantonly gun down protesters is just so difficult to comprehend! Even in a dictatorship!

Shocking really!

And the ongoing fiasco in the Sudan…

We cannot continue to blame colonialism can we?

Rulers massacring their own people! Terrible!!

It would be interesting to do a thorough research to see what the generational progression of the factions at war tends to be?

Taking two wars for example; the American Civil War and World War II. The side that declare victory do not do so with a promise by the vanquished to change their position. They were simply defeated. They go back home and retain their position. They share that position with their children, who in turn maintain the same position and share with their children. 200 years later, we wonder why we are beginning to see the very same arguments and positions that led to those wars, many decades prior. The issues return in slight variations and we are not yet at war, but they are very clearly those exact same positions. If one was to map and trace the ancestry of the proponents of today’s position, you will find that their ancestors likely held those same views and although they may have lost those wars, we are now back fighting those exact same positions yet again

We talk about “the war to end all wars”. Well, quite simply, it hasn’t

War is simply a form of lashing out. It never achieves any lasting objective. So, what do you do if you’re attacked? Lay down and be slaughtered or fight back? In all instances, you probably have to fight back. So, how do we prevent wars? or rather, can we prevent wars?

Probably not.

But we must never see war as a solution. It settles nothing – as we can see today, with all those same past issues, past hatred, past intolerance of some folk, it’s all back – it ends nothing.

Once upon a time, there was a society made up of a group of horses, donkeys and ponies.

The horses are very strong and ruled the society for centuries. For many centuries, only the horses were allowed to go to school and be educated and they were the only ones allowed to vote in elections etc. The donkeys produced the babies and kept the home clean. After Many years, some changes were made and the donkeys and ponies were allowed to go to school and one day, they were also allowed to vote.

The horses still held most of the positions of power. 90% of the richest, most affluent in the society were horses. When donkeys and ponies applied for jobs, they only got jobs that the horses weren’t too keen on.

One day, someone decided to begin a programme that will help the donkeys and ponies get hired. But they didn’t bother to explain to the horses (they didn’t think it was necessary, as the programmme will not reduce opportunities for horses) that the programme is not anti-horses,but more to get the donkeys and ponies up the ladder. The horses started to see donkeys and ponies getting hired and the horses began to complain that their world was being decimated and that they had become a target. Meanwhile, the horses still held most of the positions of power in society, as one horse retires, another horse was ready and primed up to take the position. It would take at least 200 years of steady hiring of donkeys and ponies for them to ever be on par with horses and that was highly unlikely anyway. Yet, the horses continued to feel targeted and they began to protest and express strong dissatisfaction

Perhaps it was time for society to say to the horses:

”It’s ok horses. You are fine. Nobody is trying to knock you off your perch. The programme is simply to create additional perches and get some donkeys and ponies up there with you”

……..

Although this isn’t deemed as newsworthy out here, it is shocking that such massacre is happening in the 21st century!
Sudanese need to find a way to pull together to end this needless bloodshed! It is hard to blame others for this situation, it is inexplicable!

This isn’t about flying flags or spewing hate or being intolerant. It is common sense.

A guy who came into the country on a rubber boat was caught harassing a 14 year old girl, telling her that in his country, she can be his wife. Then he made a grab for her. He also did the same to a lady who was helping him to complete a CV. It is of course very possible that where he comes from, such behaviour is not taboo. But it is criminal here and he was tried and found guilty, sent to prison for 12 months. It is the exact reason why people should come into the UK via due process, even if seeking asylum. He would have received some information about the laws of this land and that over here, you can’t go making a grab for women, even if as he says, he can get away with doing so where he came from. Coming in via rubber boats across the channel means a bypass of the due process, which could help migrants understand our laws and avoid getting in trouble as this fellow has. On the flip said, the victims of such behaviour feel let down by the government as the government must find a way to project the population. It isn’t everyone who comes across on a rubber boat that’s going to behave like this fellow did, but then, it is the reason that arrangements need to be put in place, to process the folk coming in and get them through due diligence before mingling with the public. It is for the best and helps both parties

The government must find a way to end the rubber boat crossings. It is not right, whichever way you look at it. France should set up a processing centre and due diligence put in place, while the channel made secure by whatever means practicable. The crossings must stop, and genuine asylum seekers processed and assisted.

Protesting, flying flags or being intolerant ain’t gonna solve this problem. As Brits, we are civilised people, we must act in that manner, regardless of the frustration. I firmly believe the government will find a solution at some point. It is a very complex problem

This is not about whether or not one supports or objects to migration. Putting people who entered the country by rowing across the English Channel, in hotels, which have run up £billions in cost, is not a good look, whichever way one is to look at it.

Sooner or later, Western countries will get to the inevitable conclusion that it is a lot cheaper to go and invest €billions in the countries where the majority of the people rowing across the English Channel hail from. It will be cheaper than the Rwanda scheme and it will be cheaper than the ongoing cost of hotels etc.

But what is most concerning, is the rising number of very violent crimes that a handful of the people who rowed across the channel are committing. I just read about another guy who is in court yesterday, accused of following a lady who cleans the asylum hotel where he’s staying and brutally stabbing her to death at a train station, with a screwdriver! This was prior to the guy who has now been jailed for assaulting an underaged girl in East London. It is highly likely, that the overwhelming majority of the people rowing across the channel are just unfortunate people who need help and will never commit a crime. But the reality is that it is indeed the reason why there is a need for people to come in via application and not just row in across the Channel. It has become the one, singular matter that has consumed our politics and every day life!

We need new laws to tackle a number of societal issues in today’s society. Nobody should be sacred to get about their business on our streets. Protesters protesting whatever they are protesting, must not be allowed to intimidate anyone or make our streets unsafe.
Knife crime in London has got to a point where urgent and drastic action is needed. Parents need to be fined and/or prosecuted along with perpetrators in under the age of 20. Parents must be held accountable. WHERE IS TECH????? Surely Meta or Tesla or Amazon or any of these folk can design metal or knife-detector goggles or something and sensors can be installed on street lamps and stuff? There must be ways to implement the detection but also, there must be programmes targeting the age groups who carry knives and working to make it a taboo and not cool to carry knives.

The government needs to engage with tech companies and clever people, to find a solution, as this is getting way out of hand..

There is absolutely nothing wrong with taking pride in one’s country! People saying they are proud to be British, English, Welsh etc., is all good. However, intelligent people will agree that the buying and selling of human beings is not a good thing, regardless of the era. Accepting that some brutal acts of colonialism were awful doesn’t mean you love Britain less or are not proud of Britain. We can be as proud of our history as we want. But there is also nothing wrong with accepting that there were a number of things done over the years, that one cannot be proud of. That, doesn’t make you any less proud to be British

Now, there has been a raging, ongoing debate relating to flags, and flags being used to apparently mark out territory and to tell people that ownership of the country is by some? This matter should not be a matter for debate! Our flag is our national emblem that we all should revere and respect. Sticking it all over lampposts (many are made from tarty cloth with the colours not what it should be) may be mistaken for a show of patriotism, but I think we need to show a bit more respect to our flag! It needs to be mounted high on government building, embassies etc (as it is and has been) NOT hastily painted on roundabouts for cars to drive over it! For goodness sake! Let us show a bit of respect to the flag! Painting it in front of houses and sticking it all over the place, is turning it into a common cloth that anyone think they can just strap up anywhere! That, is NOT, a show of respect at all!
If anyone wants to fly flags on lampposts, they can create their own flag and type ‘British or English & proud’ on it. But to use the country’s flag in that manner, is counterproductive! They think they are displaying pride in the country, but they are actually disrespecting the flag by sticking it up on lamp posts as it is unlawful. Some of the locations could distract drivers, if the flag gets detached and blown onto windscreens as cars are driving by, it could cause accidents. There are several other safety reasons why such action is unlawful. We can’t all just start stringing stuff up on lampposts or painting roundabouts etc. There are reasons why it is unlawful. To then do it with our nation’s flag? Not respectful!

It’s the complexity of life!

Sometimes good people do bad things and bad people do good things!

Except for the few mentally ill folk, the rest of us have the ability to choose to be good or bad.

The simplistic notion of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ has become so blurred in the social media era.

Decency is no longer identifiable

If you look at America today, you have supposed Christians picking and choosing whichever portion of the bible they deem convenient. Ignoring love thy neighbour, thou shall not kill, covet, bear false testimony etc. But the folk who say Trump & his government is bad and that they are good, we’re not doing much good when they had their chances either! That good old concept of good & bad, is the reason we have lost the middle ground!

Broadly speaking, most of us know what’s decent and what isn’t.

We all have what it takes to dial the temperature down, stop the nasty rhetorics, live & let live etc. We are simply choosing not to do so..

Democracy was never perfect. Politics was never perfect. But I do recall a time, not too long ago (20 years ago roughly), when at least some of the aspects of political decorum was observed. Today, it is just so kindergarten!

This morning I watched a few clips on the BBC and MSN, of people in public office, in very senior roles, who make massively significant decisions, attending committees that are set up to ask them questions so that there is oversight – which is a very normal process – yet, the ‘whataboutery’, the ‘tittle-tattle’ was truly shocking!

Our politicians do not have to be perfect. Nobody is. But can we just try to find a way to tone down the extremely dangerous rhetoric?
If 1, 10, 20, 100 illegal migrants commit crimes, it doesn’t make ALL illegal migrants criminals and it certainly doesn’t mean anyone should seek to punish nor harm them. Same as it is wrong to hunt down every teenager in the country, because 1, 10, 20 or 100 teenagers commit crimes.

There are several major issues and politicians can of course disagree and take whatever position they wish to take on Brexit, illegal migration, Covid etc., but we MUST find a way to return to a time when questions are asked and answers provided and not the “well, what about what your party did”? type of kindergarten response. The bar has been dragged so low, when you look at what’s going on in several countries , it is difficult to understand if their politicians actually remember that the job is to serve the people (and not just the people who agree with them). We are in awful times!

Is there a way back? Hard to tell.

I believe Robert Jenrick should urgently apologise for what he said this week about the part of Birmingham that he visited. He probably didn’t intend to be horrible, but the reality is that the way the societal ladder and property ladder works, is that when poor people of any demographics move into an area and they form clusters, they get stuck in there. The ones who make it out – be it via education, lottery win or other means – quickly move the hell out, then other poor or poorer ones arrive. It is not about these unfortunate folk refusing to integrate or choosing to isolate. They will be happy to live side by side with Jenrick on his street, if he can offer them a home on his street and jobs closeby etc. I doubt any of these folk prefer to live in a slum. Their circumstances have kept them stuck in there and yes, it may appear to be a cluster of those demographics, but it is hardly by choice! Create jobs, get people working, earning, and they will be eager to move up the society ladder, to areas where they can live side my side with other demographics, mix etc. if they do, some folk will start complaining yet again! That is when you begin to wonder if there is ever going to be an end to the complaining?! And if – as many have been quick to point out to Jenrick – there are other deeper reasons behind the posturing!!???

I am not sure it is possible, but I do hope that our politicians can look within themselves and move a little bit closer to the days where there were some standards to holding public office. Some decorum. Yes, in today’s world, you probably won’t secure votes if you’re not whipping up the population and fanning the popular rhetorics etc….

Nobody is perfect and I am definitely not perfect nor close to being perfect. But I always try to ask myself what can I do? What is my contribution to a problem? And to take some action from my side. Just over 25 years ago I completely estranged myself from my family when it was clear that our views are just not compatible. From being socialites my parents became religious goons who cannot even merely entertain a difference of opinion on the matter. I initially just distanced myself from them while staying in touch with some cousins and other relatives who weren’t sucked into the same mindset, but then came accusations of favouritism and I simply estranged myself completely from my entire family and it has been 25 very peaceful, happy life and I wouldn’t change if for all the tea in China!
Life is always about choices. Yes, there could be mental health issues and reasons why we sometimes act irrationally, but when we go on holiday in Europe or America and we manage to carry our own bags and our arms do not fall off, but we get to Africa or Asia and we are willing to pay unfortunately people to carry our bags and we feel like we are doing them a favour by creating the job for them and paying them to carry our bags, it is the kind of self-vindication that has led to the awful state in which the world is today; where we all see the terrible impact of heroine & other drugs on people around us but you see mothers, fathers still willing to smuggle those drugs – telling themselves they need to feed their children, pay for school, holidays etc. – so, hey, it’s ok! It is the same reason we read about so many deaths around the world, wars, poverty etc., but we only come out to protest about illegal migrants and our discomfort with that.

Yes, the influx of thousands of people, monthly, rowing in rubber boats across the English Channel is awful, as so many of the drown in the process, and when they get here, many are falling into crime – just read about a gang of mobile phone snatchers on the BBC this morning, all largely made up of illegal migrants – and causing all sorts of issues with the local population now getting fed up and protesting, even though we should be looking to address our greater problems (which all predate the entry to these rubber boat folk) which include inequality, poverty, shortage of social housing, broken health system, crumbling infrastructure etc.

But the fundamental problem is that as individuals, we expect someone else, there is always that ‘someone else’ to take an actions, to solve the problem, while we just want our cosy lives unaffected! We want our holidays, our afternoon tea etc. It is the reason why nothing will ever change!

When people look at each other and immediately seek to classify; I mean, what the heck is a white person? or a black person? or a brown person? What on earth is all that? You find people whose parents or grandparents moved to America and settled there, now so intolerant of others coming in, that they are so riled, you see it physically eating them up! There is a need to respect law & order and rules; people should not just form human caravans and just march into the US or any other country for that matter. It is disrespectful and it disregards their laws and immigration processes. BUT there has to be a way – using technology – to address this. Same as imprisonment of non-violent offenders; there must be a technological option, where they can be punished with electronic tags to keep them at home for the necessary time and community work (teaching, cleaning etc) that can also me electronically monitored with all sorts of repercussion that can be applied, to ensure those measures are ample deterrent to offending or reoffending, so that we empty out our jails with countries like the UK should only have around 1,000 to 5,000 people in prison for extremely violent crimes. It is the type of technology that the likes of Tesla, Amazon and co. should be developing, instead of all the money wasted in banging people up in prisons, feeding them etc.

But then, why would we change? It seems many are content with the awful state society has always been in, and the even more awful situations we are now in, and heading for…

A wise old friend once told me that if you want to understand people, gather a group of doctors and tell them you have found the cure to every illness or say the same to pharmaceutical companies and see what comes next..

He added several other scenarios:

If you were to tell lawyers and contracts arbitrators that you have found a form of contract that removes every possibility of litigation…

If you were to tell racists that you have found a pill that will turn us all into the same race, same colour, such that there are no differences whatsoever…

If you were to tell owners of private jails that crime will no longer be punishable by imprisonment but by other technological means (tags that control movement etc)…

If you were to tell funeral homes that you found a way to stop death and we will all live forever..

Life is one selfish pile-up!

Stop the Nigel Farage and Reform Party fixation! The fixation on Trump didn’t work for the Democrats in America! You are heading down that same path sir!

Build temporary accommodation (we sorted, albeit belatedly, massive makeshift hospitals during Covid) for the undocumented migrants and empty them out of hotels, which is what’s causing so much angst up & down the country. Change the rules & find ways to discourage people risking their lives to cross the channel in rubber dinghies! Then create jobs! encourage new sectors and industries! Get people working and earning! Reduce dependence on the state.

Take bold steps! You’ve only got one shot at it Kier! You can do it!

Biden, Kamala Harris and the Democratic Party all thought they could talk it all away!
When so many people say they are fed up with uncontrolled migration, even if their reasons are not factual, the government should listen, explain and address the matter. The crowds who follow populists are not all uneducated folk as some would want us to believe. There’s a massive funding juggernaut behind it!

Kier Starmer and the Labour Party in the UK are heading down the same path as Biden & Kamala Harris. They think the can take on Nigel Farage and his Reform Party. They think a war of words and logic will convince reform voters. The people flocking to Reform are not all racists. Calling them that, or calling their leaders that, ain’t going to get them to change their vote to Labour is it?
It is a classic mistake!
All that Labour need to do, is tackle the illegal migration, cleanup legal migration and make it work. It really is unfortunate, when you see people come to this country, stay for 5 years, get the British passport and immediately move elsewhere and start telling us Dubai is nicer than the UK (if you check, you’ll find they are using the British passport over in Dubai and enjoying that privilege of being British Nationals!). When some of those folk land themselves in trouble abroad e.g. end up in countries where wars start, they then wait for the British government to come for them! It is very disrespectful to the British taxpayers!
What Labour should be doing is: create jobs, build new housing, improve the lives of those living in poverty in the UK, improve access to the NHS, better people’s lives. If they can do that, they won’t need to worry about Nigel Farage and the Reform Party!

If Labour can give the people a government that shows willingness to listen, the majority will vote for labour at the next election! But if they carry on chasing after Nigel Farage & Reform, with empty words, they might as well just hand him the keys to 10 Downing St!

Labour; let your actions speak louder than word! Get the country working & prosperous and you will see the impact on voters!

The Greeks who defined this must be rolling in their graves!

It’s now down to those who can shout the loudest, gather the most protesters….

I am not sure anyone thought it could ever get this bad..

Democracy….

Canada is by no means a perfect country. They have some of the same traits as the US, Australia, New Zealand, where past generations of immigrants are now vehemently opposed to seeing other types of immigrants that they somehow do not see as the type they want….

But all that aside. Day after day Carney is executing trade deal after trade deal, with no fanfare, very little fuss. He’s just getting on with it.

But only a very few months ago, populism very nearly took Canada! A loud-mouth, quick to criticise guy was tipped to win the election, which would have left Canada in the clutches of intolerance, needless & consuming anger, awful rhetorics & denigration of certain demographics and the usual ending of civility that follows the entry of these angry governments, who whip nations into a frenzy, tear up civility and civilised public discourse, replacing it with abuse and unending spats and pointless internal wrangling! While achieving next to nothing. The type of government that shouts out supposed achievements but the standard of living of the downtrodden who voted them in never actually improve, but they will continue to scapegoat migrants, scapegoat any helpless minority group etc. (they are always the reason things ain’t better).

Take the UK for example; yes, illegal migration across the English Channel is awful for the simple reason that it is an affront to law & order and the integrity of our border, BUT for goodness sake, a mighty country of 70million people, with our brilliance & technological advancement etc., should the illegal entry of some 45,000 a year (adding up to say, 500,000 people in 10 years) be the reason why we start rioting on the streets & intimidating minority groups????! Should the illegal entry of half a million people over a 10 year period (and we are not even at half that figure yet) become such a bitter topic? How can we possibly say that is the reason so many people in the country are living below the poverty line or lack social housing or access to health services? (and have been for decades!). It is way too convenient to blame everything on this! One or two of them commit a crime and there’s uproar! Seriously???

Canada have shown us all what can and should happen, when we avoid tipping over the insanity edge into populism and intolerance. But they do need to remain vigilant! The next election will bring the madness back. It seems it’s here to stay! There is absolutely nothing wrong with flying the flag and wanting all the things people say they want, but demonising such a small number of people and blaming them for every problem is reprehensible! We have the wherewithal to nullify the impact of 500,000 people on 70,000,000 people! And they sure as hell can’t be the reason behind every problem the country’s facing!!!

It doesn’t require a genius to tell you that tens of thousands of migrants rowing into any country by rubber boats, without screening, due diligence & planning (to accommodate them, process them etc.) is not right! It impacts the health system that is already struggling to cope, it impacts schools & other public sector provisions and above all else, it shows a total lack of respect for law & order. But does that mean we should react inhumanly and start protesting outside the hotels housing these unfortunate people and threaten/scare them? No! By doing so, our enemies win! They want us to become inhumane. They want us to go back to those awful decades (60s, 70s & part of the 80s) where we had race riots and the streets were not safe for foreigners etc. They want us to fight each other and rip the fabric of our society apart, all in the name of opposition to migration into the country!

Yes, it is a major issue and one that any government in the UK should address, if for no other reason, than the fact that so many people appear angry about it and the government should sort it, to lower temperatures so that we don’t end up back in the 60s!

The fact of the matter is that the migrants rowing into any by rubber boats across the channel, are not coming in to try to hurt us or commit crimes (yes, some of them will be criminals and will commit crimes. You pull together any group of people – including Brits on holiday abroad – and some will no doubt be criminals) but sadly, what they do not understand and perhaps are unaware of, is that the country is not ready nor prepared to take them in. That is why it is to important for migrants to apply via the legal routes to enter a country! It allows that country to plan and prepare to take them in, after processing!

The Liberal Democrats understand that a focus on finding a solution is what is needed, and not tough words that drive the temperature up even higher and promote protests and intolerance. Showing patriotism and love for the country should not be via threatening & throwing bricks at the police (injuring several), it is not the way a civilised country should raise nor address discontent! We’re not animals! And we are not going to allow those hoping we will rip each other apart, to succeed in seeing us do so. Thanks to the Liberal Democrats, perhaps we can find a calmer, focused way to keep everyone happy and also stop the rubber boats coming across the channel

It is hard not to sympathise with the government. It is such an awful situation. The government is caught between maintaining our humanity as a nation and being constantly criticised for not doing enough to deal with this madness!

I also sympathise with fellow Brits who are fed up with this situation and are voicing their displeasure

It really is utter provocation. But we must, as a nation, resist the temptation to lash out. We must find humane ways to deal with this situation. So far, we haven’t been able to find such solutions. I keep saying it, and it does sound implausible, BUT, perhaps they get a way to address this matter is to go and help struggling countries around the world. The countries where these people crossing the channel come from. Are there ways to sort their economy, help them politically (end wars etc.) and get them taking pride in their nations as opposed to the humiliation awaiting them on these perilous journeys.

The situation is just completely depressing all round!

We must find a solution.

When you see a young man or woman in his/her 20s whose starting salary as a teacher or engineer would be around $30,000 and probably remain below $100,000 for several years, suddenly discover that going around slamming migration, saying some demographics are thick, gets them on $300,000 salaries…Well, therein lies the challenge!

There are many people out there who are very willing to fund intolerance. When you dig into it, these are highly respectable individuals whom you will never catch spewing hate. They are simply in the background, funding it. Why? who knows..? Perhaps they get a kick out of it.

If spewing hate had no financial benefit, it will be at the largely unnoticeable level it was at in the late 90s and up to the introduction of Social Media. But now, there so much money being made from hate! Merchandising, selling all sorts. Sponsorships etc.

If we can appeal to the people funding it all, to stop pumping money into it, it will end and we will be back working towards a more tolerant society!

As always, it’s all about money! Little else!!!

When you see a guy with scant education, no history of employment, swanning around in designer clothing & driving a Range Rover, going around giving hate speeches, it is clear that someone, somewhere, is funding the operation.

To counter extremism and hate in the UK, we need to fund the opposite of hate. Create jobs, get people out of poverty so that they are too busy enjoying their lives, to be interested in gathering at weekends to spew hate!

You can’t fight hate by yelling back.

Flying flags and standing for what you think your country should be, is just fine. Nothing wrong with it. But to hurl projectiles at the police & injure them, cannot be acceptable. People need to protest without intimidating the public or injuring police officers.

A British woman recently won gold for us at a sports event. Her name is something like Chi Kwon (not using her real name). Majority of the comments under the article argued that she isn’t really British: “she isn’t really British is she? with that name”. Then there was the usual barrage of racist comments and the most common: “a dog born in a stable doesn’t make it a horse”.
Well, perhaps that dog just wants to be a dog born in a stable? Did it ever say it prefers or wants to be a horse?
It is so ingrained!
Chi Kwon may be a 3rd generation British whose great grandfather moved to the UK from China in 1900 and her grandfather and father born in the UK, and she was also born in the UK.
One look at someone and the judgement’s already made!
But a Helen Mirren who is a first generation British, daughter of a Russian immigrant can blend in because she fits what those folk deem to be acceptable? And her name isn’t Chi Kwon!
You couldn’t make it up. It is ingrained and a disease.
When British boxer (of Pakistani descent) Amir Khan used to wave the British flag at his bouts, he was criticised for thinking he is British. When he started taking in a Pakistani flag along with the British flag, he was criticised for not wanting to be British! They can’t win!

When a country like Australia can protest migration, you just have to laugh!

It is ok for hordes of people who look nothing like the natives and do not have names that sound like native names, to move into the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand…. and the list goes on… Settle there, and get on with their lives…. right?

Of course tens of thousands of illegal migrants rowing small boats across the English Channel into the UK is not acceptable and cannot be allowed to carry on. There are several actions the government can take to deal with it. And the people who have come in, should be housed in temporarily constructed accommodation (e.g. in disused warehouses and stadiums), safely & humanely, but not in 3-Star hotels and in such luxury that rile the local population as we have seen in recent months. But to confuse this matter with general intolerance and demonisation of anyone that some decide isn’t British for whatever reason they concoct, is the underlying problem and we really are in perilous times!

At the source of it all: the illegal migration, the housing in hotels, the protests, the hate/intolerance, is…… MONEY!
It all about money!
It’s always money!

In the case of the UK, it is partly understandable. You always hear of the Upper class, Middle class and the Working class. The Working class (who makeup the overwhelming majority of the folk protesting against immigration) are ok to leave the Upper & Middle classes to run the country, get richer etc. But they do not want to see immigrants coming in, in large uncontrollable numbers, to be placed in 3-star hotels, seemingly pushing them (the Working class) down yet another level. Majority of those protesting are ok with migrants who come in the legal way, start from the very bottom, work hard and be whatever they get to be (albeit in most cases, they don’t make it too far up the ladder. Which is perhaps why nobody is up in arms..), but they cannot understand – and nobody appears willing to explain to them – why thousands of people can just row across the channel in rubber boats and start off in hotels with perks. The people who could explain the situation to them, either choose not to bother, or they see the opportunity to whip them into a frenzy, get them protesting and secure their votes in elections, using the topic (illegal migration) to drive in the votes. The human cost of it all, is that the Working class get labelled as racists (many of them are actually not racist at all), all migrants who do not look a certain way or have certain names (including those who have been here for over 100 years!) face abuse on the streets, the illegal migrants face hostilities (protests after their hotels etc.) and humanity is at a total loss!

Gather 40,000 people of any nationality and tell me if some of them won’t commit crimes?! Each time one of these migrants commit a crime, we can’t seek to bury all of them and burn the place down! For goodness sake, Brits commit crimes abroad too! Yes, them being here illegally is what grates with many people – and again, yes, the illegal crossings must be stopped urgently – but we need to avoid losing our humanity completely!

There are obvious solutions out there, if we actually try to find them. Unfortunately, all sides have dug in, they are entrenched and nobody is trying to solve the problem. It has become a numbers game and headlines for political gain! The government (past & present) knows they must address the issue, but they are caught between a rock and a hard place!

Many of us do not have a desire to be rich and are not rich. But I for one, admire nice houses when I drive through wealthy neighbourhoods and it all looks pleasant and great! I do not envy the rich. They can enjoy their riches & do whatever it is rich people do. Would I rather drive through slums and view dilapidated buildings? Nope.

You don’t improve life by dragging everyone down into poverty! The poor do not get out of poverty if the solution is to drag everyone else into poverty!

You don’t improve State Schools by slapping VAT on independent schools; it won’t generate enough funds to make a real difference. If you wish to end private education, then make State education so impressive that it makes no sense for anyone to send their kids to fee-paying schools! How do you raise funds to invest in State Schools? Be bold, be creative, we had the national lottery funds that dramatically improved our sports via the funding. Find something similar for State Schools, raise the money and up the quality. Trying to drag private schools down ain’t gonna improve State education!

None of the above is rocket science! Yet, shockingly, we appear to be heading down those alleyways…

The elite in our society have decided to fold their arms and watch us suffer the obvious and impending calamity of populism! For decades, huge sections of our society have been left behind, in poverty, and they have been led to believe – rather conveniently – that their condition is as a result of a handful of non consequential £billions spent on asylum seekers and economic migrants. Much as I am vehemently opposed to the madness of people just rowing into the country via the English Channel (almost like they see it as their right! With absolutely no care for the impact to the healthcare, education and other facilities that are already at full stretch), it is a very minor issue that does need to be addressed and fully (people coming into the UK must respect the country and come in via legal routes and can then seek asylum if they wish to.) but it is not the reason we have so many people in the UK living below the poverty line. Neither is it the reason standard of living has gone down for many. In the large scheme of things, it has very little to do with the increased levels of crime, poverty etc. As a country, we are simply not creating enough jobs, new sectors and we are not building enough housing etc. That, is the real problem. But nobody wants to talk about those actual causative factors. It is much, much easier, to talk about migrants and vilify them. That gets a quick reaction, gets the protests going and gets the votes on election day!

Quick! replace the snobby career politicians and civil servants with inexperienced 18 year olds who shout “power to the people”! Round up and drive out these wealth-sucking migrants! And while at it, don’t stop at just the illegal migrants – seems to be the desire of these popular parties – why not just clear everyone out who is ‘woke’. According to them, ‘woke’ is anyone who tells us not to use abusive language, not to swear near children and anyone who tells us to be kind to others or to remember that everyone comes from somewhere. You see people on the TV saying: “it’s nothing to do with race, we just want to see fairness” then 30 seconds later, they see an Asian person walking by and yell out: “go back to your country”! Not stopping to ask if he/she is British, works & pays in enormous tax etc. If the face don’t fit, round them up right? But hey, nothing to do with race!
Who are we kidding?!

The problem is very complex. Yes, we must stop the boats coming across the Channel. It simply cannot be allowed to continue, regardless of the reasons. In addition, we can & should build temporary accommodation for the folk that have come in e.g. in disused warehouses, as the government is now attempting to do. BUT more importantly and more urgently, we need to revive the economy: create new industries, new jobs, get people back off their feet and drag them out of poverty! But unfortunately, we can’t do any of that, if the people with the know-how, have given up and folded their arms to sit by and watch the loud-mouths, the folk who gather in large numbers to make a bunch of noise, but have no real answers! If you provide £billions more in benefits and social housing etc., but fail to get people to go to work to earn a living, the benefits will run out sooner or later. You can drive out and deport every single migrant in the country and go back a few generations if you wish, it ain’t gonna solve the problem!

What we should be doing, is coming together, supporting the present government and finding real solutions that will end poverty for Brits who are currently struggling, end illegal migration and integrate new migrants etc. Will that ever happen though? NO. Why? Because it is not nasty enough to gain any backing! We are too far into mob rule! It’s now just about shouting the loudest, protesting and shamelessly hurling bricks at the police (men & women who are just doing their job)…

Sad!

Police men & women are not from Mars! They are not aliens! These are people with parents, husband & wives and children! They also need to be able to go home, safe & sound, to their families! Yes, they code a tough career, but without them, he an help us!!!! These tattooed, flabby-belly folk throwing bricks at them, are these the folk to keep law & order??

There is nothing wrong with protesting. But it cannot be acceptable for these gatherings to become intimidation or assault of the police!

This notion that once you gather a few hundred people and grab a megaphone, you become ‘the people’ and yours become the only opinion that the government must listen to, is ridiculous and must be addressed robustly and speedily!

The concept of ‘we the people’ is exercised via casting one’s vote. If we are not happy with what the elected government is doing, exercise that dissatisfaction at the next election!

To think gathering for a protest means the government must do exactly what one group is asking for, is absurd. Unfortunately, it has become the order of the day!

There is nothing wrong with people gathering to make their feelings known, but to turn it into a violent or intimidating exercise, cannot be normalised. The government must make this clear. All protests must be peaceful and no groups should feel intimidated

Yes, illegal migration is awful and it is impacting everything and everyone. But the minute we begin to treat these illegal migrants horribly, we have lost to our enemies. That is what they want to see. They want to say that we are no different and when it comes to it, we are happy to demonise the weak, threaten them etc.

It is the reason we cannot condone people saying “burn the hotels down” or push their boats back across the channel etc.

We are different. We have our democracy and we do not wish to descend into barbarism!

Brits can disagree about what’s going on in Isreal, BUT Jews and Israelis in the UK cannot become targets of hate or persecution. Same as for Palestinians and their supporters in the UK, they must not become targets. We can disagree and debate and even protest etc., all fine. But the rule of law must be maintained. Opposing illegal migrants cannot be allowed to turn into harassment of anyone who doesn’t look like a direct descendant of Henry the VIII. What we need is policies, a strategy, answers! We cannot continue to put illegal migrants in 5-star hotels (or even no-star hotels!) while homeless Brits line our streets and poor, starving kids from poor families suffer for housing. And the security aspect remains a major issue. But we must avoid allowing excrements and intolerant folk to hijack this and turn it into what it isn’t! We have crimes and criminals in the UK long before the illegal migrants turned up. And yes, some of them will be criminals too or won’t understand our ways and start chatting up teens etc., we must be robust in addressing all that. And yes, the illegal boat crossings across the channel must end and soon!

But we must not allow these issues to destroy our way of life and the rule of law! We are not animals!

We are and we’re not and have never ever been perfect, and our societies still have a lot to do in sorting intolerance, hate, misuse of social media etc., blaming it all on illegal migrants is easy, it’s a cheap shot. But we must avoid that temptation. We need to find decent, effective means of solving our disagreements and airing our grievances, but we cannot and must not allow these issues to destroy our fundamental way of life and our decency

We need to be able to disagree with each other, without burning the place down! This is what those against the west and against democracy want us to do: they want us to disagree about migrants, race, gay rights etc., and they want to see us tear each other apart. They want to see us riot and burn the place down. Then they win!
And today, they are winning. We are rioting, we are ripping into each other. It needs to stop! There are democratic, law-abiding, decent, sane ways for us to disagree and make our points! We need to revert to those…

When an elected member of parliament says: “people are angry”. The next question to that member of parliament should be: “what are you doing to help reduce their anger?”

All across the country people are expressing anger at the increasing number of migrants crossing the English Channel on rubber boats and getting into the country. It is very clear that the situation is unacceptable. It disrespects due process.

Setting aside the rights or wrongs of that debate, it should never be a situation that politicians should look to profit from. There must be situations such as pandemics, where we set politics aside to find a solution, for the greater good? This is definitely one such situation. It should be off limits to try to exploit it for political gain! It is a situation that has become so volatile. A situation that has led to countless riots. It cannot, surely, be a political football!!

The whole country should come together to find a solution.

But more importantly, our elected politicians should work together, to find a solution.

If they (politicians) say that they recognise that this matter is of uttermost importance to the people, then it shouldn’t be used for political gain as it has been, over the last 15 years, under various guises and by various politicians and others who have continued to fan the flames for political & other gains

The incumbent government should reach out to all political parties and set up a round table to solve the problem together. For the greater good.

Do we consider Rwandans at all? When we speak about dumping migrants in Rwanda. We must do better than that! Is it right to dump our unwanted on Rwandans? Just because we can pay the government of Rwanda to take them? In any case, it won’t stop the migrants coming, as they will assume that getting here to be removed to Rwanda is still a step towards getting here. But more importantly, many of them have thrown everything into getting here, they do not see any alternative and will continue on that path, even if it lands them in Rwanda, they will keep coming. What is needed, is a solution that fully disincentivises coming here via the English Channel or via any other channel that bypasses due process. That due process isn’t new. It’s always been there. You don’t just up and head off to a country without asking for, and being granted permission to enter!! It is inexcusable

We were able to build hospitals speedily during Covid, so, we can do it; we can build hundreds of temporary accommodation in disused airfields, stadiums etc., and include police stations etc., to house anyone who comes across the English Channel or any other route that bypasses due process due process, making it clear that such entry means automatic rejection of a later application and their processing will be to remove them as soon as possible, except in extenuating circumstances

For politicians to stand in front of protesters and say: “people are angry”, is shameful. Your job – politician – is to turn around to those angry people and offer them ideas, suggestions, and de-escalate! It doesn’t matter if you are in opposition or in government; we must calm people down. Find solutions. Work with the government to implement solutions. Fanning the flame and using this very grave, very serious matter (lest we forget, people protesting believe this is a major issue) to score political points and to build up a party or try to become Prime Minister, is a sad reflection of where society is today! Nobody out there is actually trying to help society. They all just have to have their own way!

We are heading for awful times, if we don’t change our approach to this. We need politicians to work together to solve this problem instead of fanning the flame! The Labour government must challenge the other parties to come & work with them, to solve this problem for the greater good! There is nothing to be gained by turning this into a political football. We can do without the rioting, endless protesting, and unending stream of rubber boats crossing the channel!

… and it may get worse..

We seem to be following the weather..

More extreme each year..

I am very surprised there’s anyone left wishing to be a nurse, doctor, teacher etc. When we pay them so poorly, while some botoxed-up person with fingernails like claws, type up garbage on the internet and are making millions as “influencers”!

This morning I read an article by a “celebrity” stating he lost weight the honourable way, through hard work as opposed to taking Ozempic! Seriously?! If some people choose to take pills or insert gastrointestinal-bands etc., why do they owe anyone an apology!? He was implying that obese people who took Ozempic to slim down are cheats! Laughable really! To whom are they supposed to apologise?

There’s violence everywhere you look. Stabbings, shootings etc. Yet, we continue to lock non-violent criminals in jails with violent criminals!?? Why??? It should be mandatory that people who have committed non-violent crimes are imprisoned in jails that hold non-violent criminals only! Yes, we try to make prisons scary – as a deterrent- but if the result is society ending up receiving released prisoners who go in as petty thieves or shoplifters, coming out of prison and buying knives, becoming violent criminals, then we are simply punishing society! We are throwing oil on the fire! The punishment meted out to people who commit non-violent crimes should be the loss of their freedom for that duration of imprisonment and the usual loss of dignity and being controlled all-day by others. They should be imprisoned in jails holding only non-violent criminals! Society will avoid having them returning as hardened, violent criminals. What we are currently doing is NOT working at all, as we incarcerate people who have committed non-violent crimes with killers, rapists and violent individuals and the result is that society then end up with more violent people each time these folk are released back into society. Our prisons need to be restructured urgently, such that non-violent criminals go in, are separated from violent criminals, and come out and re-enter society as improved people who will not re-offend and certainly not go from non-violent to violent crimes

The last couple of weeks have seen reports of a strange-looking guy with a bob haircut who calls himself ‘Ibiza final boss’ or something like that, hitting the headlines as some kind of up-comer! Society is truly broken, when such trivial nonsense become news! We look away from hungry kids, poverty-stricken towns, to lap up stories of influencers etc.

Illiteracy has taken over. Completely

The rule of law is now being rampantly ignored.

People somehow think that once they can gather a large enough crowd, they have the right to force their demands! They believe they can cause rioting with impunity! They are no longer interested in the law-abiding processes of writing to your MP, casting your vote to make your point etc.

We are doomed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I just watched the video clip of a guy pulled over in Florida for not having his headlights on in iffy weather. His driver side window was smashed in by the police and he was repeatedly punched in the face and later had 9 stitches to his lip. It really is shocking!
This is a member of public whom the police are supposed to serve & protect.

The job of the police is very, very difficult and it is a very necessary job. Without the police, human beings cannot be trusted to act decently. Without the police, crime will overrun society. None of us will be able to step out of our homes without incident. So, the police are essential!

When the police stop someone for a routine traffic stop of that nature in the UK, it will be a very polite, straightforward conversation and a gentle advice to the driver that he needs to have his light on, in inclement weather. If the driver gets lippy or abusive, the officer will probably just let him go and then they will go and arrest him later, without incident and charge him if he disobeyed instructions. Our police always try to de-escalate: that is their training. Yes, there may well be a handful who are up to no good, but the vast majority are excellent. That is how they are trained.

America needs to just take a step back and remind their police that they are doing a tough, thankless job, but they need to prioritise de-escalation. Stopping a driver for such a minor thing as not having his headlights on, and ending up smashing his window, punching him repeatedly in the face, cannot be right. When you watch the video, it is hard to defend those actions. The guy was being a little bit uncooperative, but what happened next, can only be describe as an assault on him. That shouldn’t be happening in any developed society.

You don’t.

Another episode. Another session of outpouring support and “we stand with you”

England women’s footballer, Jess Carter who is I believe, mixed race, suffered horrendous online racial abuse she says..

When will we learn? These public outbursts about racial abuse is one key reason it has and will continue. You cannot cure an incurable disease! Insults are insults, abuse is abuse! There is nothing special, nothing extra-potent about racial abuse!! It is abuse! Period. The folk who do it, want a reaction. They want maximum impact. And the minute we continue to give them that extra attention, it encourages them! It pleases them! That’s their life fulfilled.

We can’t police the internet and every word spoken or typed online! It is simply not doable! But YES, there should be consequences, when people go for public office and old posts get dug up, it should be an immediate disqualification, regardless of who they say they are today. They can go and pursue all other jobs, but not public office. And as for online posts and comments that incite violence etc., if and when discovered, they should indeed be prosecuted – as some were, last summer, when rioting ensued in the UK. But these silly outpouring of support each time someone says they have been racially abused online, is just a show! We say we support and stand by them, but the abuse occurs every second online, to people who are not in the public eye and it goes on quietly!

We have to get non-Caucasian people to understand the psyche of the people who post racial abuse online or yell it in public etc. You don’t change those folk. The only way to end it, is to nullify the pleasure they derive from it. Yes, racial abuse is hurtful, but any other type of abuse is also hurtful. The abusers are abuser period. What they look for, is what hurst most. And if people continue to react so much, to these racial abuse incidences, the abusers succeed.

Racial abuse should be dealt with, EXACTLY the same way as any other type of abuse/insult. Putting it on some silly pedestal, as some special kind of abuse, is the reason it keeps on coming!

We (sane people) all felt awful for Jess. Here’s a young woman, doing the very best she can, for her country, and she didn’t deserve any of that. But, she and any other folk suffering racial abuse, MUST begin to treat it as just any other type of insult/abuse. It ain’t nothing special! If they can do this, the abusers will get frustrated and find other sad things to turn to…

I am not suggesting that nothing should be done about racist abuse or that it’s a non-issue. Actions should be taken behind the scenes. Where have the previous public gestures got to? Taking the knee, outpouring of support etc., those measure avail nothing. They don’t work. The only solution that will work, is to take the fun out of it, for the abusers. Deal them the blow of no reaction. Be indifferent to it – as far as reacting goes. Let the police do their job in tracking down the abusers, if need be (if it meets that threshold, as we can’t expect the police to start chasing up on every online abuse!). Starve the abusers of their fuel (the more people react and moan about it, the happier the abuser gets!) and ignore them!

It is unfortunately too easy to look at these countries and wonder why they can’t improve themselves? Decades ago, I spent nearly two years travelling through West Africa and South East Asia; it was an experience that totally shattered my view of life. I have tenaciously clung on to a bit of the accent that I acquired over that period, as I never want to let go of it. Prior to, and for several years after, I always wondered how people can choose to live in squalor? And I don’t mean the rickety homes made from corrugated metal sheets or palm fronds, my reference is to the filth! I still struggle to understand why anyone would so callously dump so much garbage right next to where they live & breed? I couldn’t get my head around it. I asked tens and tens of families that I met, why they don’t designate an area for their garbage and either try to bury it, burn it or both?

Over the years, I still couldn’t understand it. But in recent years, I believe I do now, understand it.

It is so traumatic – the images never leave you – to witness people living in squalor. It is an experience that’s impossible to expunge.

It is so easy to blame those folk, for the conditions they live in.

But, their plight is similar to those of an alcoholic working in a brewery! or a morbidly obese person working in a cake shop! How to get out?

A few hundred years ago, these folk only had biodegradable waste. Then over the years, they were mocked for eating with their fingers and handed plastic plates & cutlery. They had to be enlightened. They had to be educated. They had to be brought out of their primitive ways. They just couldn’t be left alone. But why?

We can’t go back in time to fix the past though.

The past is what it is. We all have to let go. But how do you get people out of squalor?

Investment?

I don’t have the answers. But what I have learnt, is that blaming these folk for the conditions in which they find themselves, ain’t going to get them out of those conditions

It is truly depressing…

Immigration is the country (USA)!

Who decides when an immigrant is no longer an immigrant?

Unless you are a Native American from one of the tribes that was there prior to Europeans rocking up, I’ve got news for you: YOU ARE THE DESCENDANT OF A MIGRANT! So, you can ask yourself if you have been a positive addition to America? Everyone in America should go through due process to be there. But the system has been overwhelmed by the sheer volume of migrants flooding in, bypassing the due process so blatantly and without any regard for it!

Millions (if the data out there is correct) of people strolling into the US without bothering to apply for a visa or going in on student visas, visitor visas and then staying put, is indeed a flagrant disregard of law & order. It is an abuse of hospitality. There isn’t any tenable argument against that. Now, are there humane ways to do what’s being done to gather & deport undocumented migrants in the US right now? I believe there are. It seems the most common phrase in the US today is: “I didn’t vote for this!”

Ok. So, what exactly did you vote for? I do not believe there was any ambiguity in what Trump said he was going to do and how he was going to do it. It was all spelt out very clearly and his administration is doing exactly that. Does it make it humane? No. But the “I didn’t vote for this” statement is absolute garbage! Yes you did vote for this! It is exactly what you voted for!

The added irony, is the situation Latinos in America now find themselves. Unless you tattoo your American passport to your forehead, and even then, you are almost certain to be suspected of being an undocumented migrant! I can imagine their neighbours making phonecalls to have them checked out etc. They all said they voted for cheaper groceries! Now, they do not dare step out to go to the grocery shop!

The system has been abused for so long, that it is very difficult to defend. We are now facing the same problem in the UK today. Thousands of people rowing dinghies across the English Channel on a daily basis, creates this perception of lawlessness! It is most unfortunate that in amongst this throng, are a handful of truly desperate people who are indeed fleeing persecution. But the vast majority appear to be people who believe they are on an adventure and can pay people smugglers to bust them into any country of their choosing, instead of applying for a visa and waiting their due process. That sort of behaviour shames the system. Empathy gets withdrawn and where you end up, is where America is today!

Many non-Caucasian Americans will get stopped, questioned, arrested incorrectly etc., during these 4 years of the Trump return. The people now saying “this isn’t what I voted for” will all benefit from the harsh clear out, if it successfully acts as a deterrent. But will it?
The real deterrence is cheaper. It isn’t physical enforcement. The world needs a reset! But we won’t do it! It seems we enjoy seeing the desperation that drives people over here. I don’t get it!
It would be so much cheaper to do a reset. Help countries achieve security, prosperity. We should never be in a situation where migration is weaponised! Just imagine that?!! It is absolute madness! Countries making demands: if you don’t, we shall let migrants flood your shores! Seriously?!! We are using human migration as threats!? It really is so sad!

The ongoing attempt at mass-deportation in the US is unlikely to be effective, if so many remain desperate to do anything to go in there. The government will not be able to keep funding, year after year, this door to door, business to business manhunt of undocumented migrants. It is simply not sustainable. Every time they ease up, thousands more will rush in. Many of those will be people they recently deported.

A reset will be cheaper and more effective.

As expected, he has been found not guilty of racketeering etc. The prosecutors had not choice but to bring a case against him – as he clearly did a fair bit of wrong – but the case they brought was not one that would punish him fairly.

Let’s see if he has the good grace to apologise to Cassie and Jane again. In particular, to Cassie for the mindless beatings. There is no justification for the way he treated her, regardless of whatever anyone may claim her faults are.

Now, OJ Simpsons ended up in jail years later, out of stupidity (armed robbery I think it was). One must hope that Sean Diddy Combs is smart enough to realise that is his final warning. All that baby oil stuff needs to stop and he has to realise that he is not above the law.

Time will tell, if Diddy can grasp this second chance, quieten down, avoid the silliness and fade into quiet obscurity…

When you are up against generations of organised affluence, it is tricky

(‘black’, ‘white’, dumb description of human beings really, but I have used it below as it seems to be the description people tend to understand. Black being anyone who isn’t Caucasian, even if it is hard to understand how Megan Markle is black and Tom Jones is white 😁)

You take a wealthy African American and you only have to go a couple of generations and you find a slave! You pick other black folk and you go a couple of generations and it’s the Windrush generation shipped over to serve as cheap labour post Second World War in Britain. Or others will be two generations to Africans under colonial rule, with no record of previous generations.

As such, in the west today, people know they can treat black people any way they wish, and there will not be any consequence. Teachers in schools know they can blame black kids for anything and there won’t be any consequences. People get treated like dirt all over, as there won’t be any detriment. There is an automatic assumption.

It is a hierarchy of life, that’s all.

It is not always some concerted effort.

If you travel to African countries, the same hierarchical scenarios are there.

This is not a white versus black enmity. It is often pitched that way. But in reality, if black people were the ones with generations and centuries of affluence, and whites were at the bottom of the food chain, the roles will be reversed and the lack of consequence will lead to the exact same behaviours

Black people need to move on, quit tying everything to racism. Yes, there are some racists out there, but the rest is just circumstantial! Get on with it. Get educated, avoid crime, build up generational affluence and that will lead to consequences being built up.

It is what human beings are. We are natural CHANCERS! If someone is poor, we get them to carry and fetch for us, because we say we want to pay them so that they can improve their circumstances. In the mean time, they can carry our bags, to earn money to feed their kids….

Some of us remember the early 90s (and years prior for the much older folk) when inspectors were the most respected people in the UK. Bus inspectors ensured no buses were late, sanitation inspectors, rail etc. The country was spick & span!

Intolerance and hate is of course not acceptable. But the reality in the UK today, is that people are honestly being significantly impacted by the volume of immigrants coming in, who do not understand the British way of life. Littering is at a phenomenal rate! This morning I watched a clip on the BBC, of an MP being yelled at and called a racist, by an undocumented immigrant who built a camp on public land in Mayfair, London. It is simply not how we do things in this country. Our MPs have the mandate to ask questions. They are not there to be yelled at nor abused. Yes, that MP’s motives for turning up there, may be questionable (he probably wants to mount a leadership challenge) but he still has the right, as a representative of the people, to ask those questions. The littering was very evident in that clip too.

I do not believe it is so difficult for the government to set limits of what cannot become acceptable. We cannot turn Mayfair to Calais, with migrant tents and camps all over. This is Great Britain! We are not perfect. We have history that some question. We have some racists amongst us, etc. BUT we still have the intelligence, the fortitude, the ability to solve this migration mess! We must find a way. The present situation is completely unacceptable! People loitering around, thousands just rowing boats in across the Channel weekly, many impacted Brits feeling ignored (some going on to riot – which is also very unacceptable of course). I sincerely hope Kier Starmer decide to pay attention. He can sort this. But he needs to listen and take action!

In all fairness, Macron has done very well in trying to calm the drums of war in the last couple of weeks. The French have been excellent!

The reality is simple: don’t worry war-hawks, there will always be conflicts around the world; it is how human beings are. But there is absolutely no logic in having a third world war! The last two world wars do not appear to have ended thirsts for another. So, what is the point of having a third world war?

Every country that is presently in existence, have the right to exist. Regardless of how the country was formed. It is how it is. Some lands were bought, some were seized via wars, some were exchanged, some boundaries were drawn out by colonialists (pretty much all of Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, USA…) was hacked out by Europeans. You live with it.

There is absolutely no need for the world to go to war again! The last two world wars demonstrate that aptly. So, let’s find answers to the ongoing wars in Ukraine, the Middle East, East and West Africa etc. and move on!

Some say wars are inevitable in certain circumstances. Ok. I am no expert on the subject, so, won’t quibble. But one thing is for certain; wars solve nothing.

The world must find ways to prevent wars! There must always be a compromise, somewhere….

Let’s hope the meeting in Geneva, with Britain making the point, brings this latest madness to an end and all parties return to the negotiation table.

We should all feel frustration! The world is burning around us! Pointless wars, poverty, climate change, pollution etc.

But sadly, we are just so self-centred. Life goes on. We have our parties, weddings, birthday etc. And we get on with it. If Middle East wasn’t burning today, would the people in there spare a thought for hungry kids in Africa? If the hungry kids in Africa weren’t hungry, would they spare a thought for the desperate people in South America?

It is a right shame, that the world is not a place where we can try to help each other. Where we can end prejudice, bias, inequality, poverty, wars, hatred, enmity etc. To even think about a world free of hate, will be labelled naïve…

I accept it is hopeless, helpless and won’t change. But my brain can’t just look the other way.

If there’s no police, society will be a total mess; people will do unthinkably terrible things to each other. If the US and the other countries people like to complain about, are not there, all our freedoms will be gone completely! It is what it is. We are not naturally humane!!

Well, here’s the kicker: a guy comes round asking for your vote and says he will deport millions of people who entered the country without the correct documentation. You cast your vote for him, then you say: “jeez! I didn’t know he will have them in handcuffs and chains!”. “gee! I didn’t know he will deport those that haven’t committed a crime!”. Ok…

Blaming it all on Trump is just a convenient excuse!!!

If Trump spent his first 100 days only deporting 1000 people, because that is the total of undocumented migrants who have been tried and convicted of a crime, would there not be a massive outcry that he has ditched his main campaign promise?

America had a choice and they made it. It ain’t about Trump. It’s about that choice. Trump didn’t cast 77million votes, did he?

The reality though, and I do hope that they make the adjustment soon; what is presently going on, is not pleasant for anyone. The ICE people pouncing on undocumented folk and dragging them off cannot be enjoying doing that (it must be harrowing), the people they are pouncing on are certainly not enjoying it. Majority of the rest of America cannot possibly find it pleasant, seeing their neighbours and workers getting dragged off, handcuffed and deported. None of it is pleasant. But what is also not pleasant, is the flagrant disrespect of the need to secure documentation before heading off to America. There is no doubt the sad & unfortunate circumstances that drive people from South America to form human caravans and head off to the USA, but they are most likely aware of the fact that visas are required to move into another country to work etc. I hope that the US government can pause and set out a quieter, more humane process. Yes, their current approach is assumed to act as deterrence, but it is not pleasant for anyone in the US. They should perhaps confirm that undocumented immigrants who are in full time employment and have paid their taxes for the last 12 months can receive an ID card that confirms that and they can remain. Or something along those lines. As it is perhaps counterproductive to just pounce on anyone that’s undocumented and lock them up. As for the ones that have committed criminal offences, I’m not sure many will complain, if those are deported (if their criminal offence carried a jail time in excess of 2 years)

We mustn’t completely lose our humanity!

It is also very likely that some undocumented migrants are still going into the US as we speak – even with the ongoing deportations – some of these folk have been through much worse and will still risk going in regardless.

It is just way too convenient to try to pile it all on Trump!

If you have to spend everyone else’s money in order to fix a problem for the greater good, you cannot tire of explaining yourself. That, is the dilemma!
The people who say they get it, are fed up with explaining it. What you then end up with, is a perception of elitism. When it then dawns on them that they need billions of taxpayer money to do what they say needs to be done to solve the problem, they meet with strong resistance

The signs are not good! It is quite clear that something isn’t right. Yes, it could well end up being the new normal, but do we want to take that risk? Do the next generation want to be the ones to face the brunt of our inaction?

Unfortunately, if those who get it are tired of explaining it or refuse to accept challenges – dumb or otherwise – because they expect everyone else to just get it too! We are doomed!!!

The events of the past 24 hours should make a very strong case for women to become heads of state of all major countries on earth. Men’s braggadocio as hundreds die needlessly, has gone too far!
We saw it all some years back, when a guy (Saddam) who didn’t have any weapons of mass destruction and could have very readily allowed UN inspectors to come in freely to confirm it, instead, chose braggadocio and sacrificed his people needlessly, and they have continued to suffer to this very day!
It’s all about to repeat itself!
The world needs to find another way to sort these issues! War solves nothing!
Please folk! For goodness sake! Stop these needless killings. Get round a table and sort something out PEACEFULLY!!!

In the UK (probably the same in the US and other western countries) we are trying hard to fix problems that should have never been allowed to occur.

It is so sad really. Thousands lost their lives during two World Wars to protect the freedoms we so loosely take for granted these days. I read this morning of a 6 year old arrested in Myanmar as part of a group arrested for assassinating a member of the military junta there. So, there’s perspective for you. We still have things really good in the UK and it is the reason that so many are opposed to any measure that removes our humanity, even if our perceived lack of toughness is now being exploited by some.

It is very easy to go around yelling slogans: “take our country back” or “make America great again”. But what exactly do those slogans mean???

This week a Member of our Parliament in the UK raised the question of banning the Burka, which is the muslim outfit that some women choose to wear. All sides piled in as expected. References were made to European countries who supposedly banned the burka. Nobody asked if such bans have improved the situation in those countries?
We all know that what should have been done 70, 80 years ago, is that the UK (and other European governments) government should have been very clear that anyone who comes to the UK and everyone in the UK must equally observe and integrate into the British way of life and our circular society. But it must have been difficult to implement as the very freedoms we seek to protect, become useless, if we dictate what people can wear or end freedom of religion by asking people coming to the UK to abandon their religion when they come here. There may have been a way to, as a minimum, ask that people coming to the UK must be prepared to accept the British way of life or seek other countries to move to. It is of course, a very tricky balance to strike. It is easy to try to blame the government of yester years, but the reality is that it has always been, and will always be, very difficult to avoid losing our freedom in an effort to protect our freedom!

It really should have been a globally agreed principle, that each country retain its identity and culture. And everyone coming in, be it to visit or live, need to accept and respect that or stay where they are or only go to places they find conducive. It is possibly the simplest arrangement. BUT the reality today, is that it is not what obtains and as such, instead of fighting each other with LEFT or RIGHT ideology, we should try to see what can be done.

Years back, people thought the way to experience other cultures is to let people come in, be themselves, live freely and do what they did wherever they came from, and we all live happily ever after. Unfortunately, that approach hasn’t worked, and people are reluctant to talk about it, for fear of being called racists. The ones who choose to talk about it, do so in really nasty ways and just to cause culture wars and exploit the problem for their own personal gain (to make money or to gain votes). As of today, NOBODY, be it left or right, is prepared to sit down and sensibly discuss this matter, in a selfless manner that simply and solely seek the best for the country. There is no easy way, today, to forcefully wind the clock back and say: you shall not wear this or you cannot do that. Both sides (left & right) know this. Is it sustainable to have 40,000 people each year, rowing dinghies across the English Channel and getting into the UK? We don’t have the infrastructure (schools, hospitals, housing etc.) to cope with that, but more importantly, there is an impact on the local population, which is leading to an extreme rise in intolerance that’s no good for anyone. But on the flip side, the slogans and nastiness isn’t going to solve the problem either. Banning burkas isn’t going to do anything to help the situation either!

First, we need to secure our border! People should be able to come here to seek refuge, seek asylum, but not via lawlessly rowing across the English Channel, putting their own life in danger. That must be stopped somehow (I don’t have the answer). I have previously suggested that all cost expended by the government on migrants could be tabled as a long-term loan, which the ones who are vetted and allowed to stay, repay over time. But that proposal has its flaws, as it could lead to other forms of exploitation and hardship. But a solution must be found either way. Then we need to see how we assert our minimum requirement for people in the UK. Everyone. We still want to be British I think. So, the assumption is that people who move here, like what we are? I don’t believe it should be controversial if we find ways to implement that. People shouldn’t come here to be a detriment to our society. They shouldn’t come be here because they like what’s here and want to be a part of that. Nobody is saying people have to move here and only eat fish & chips and ditch the food they eat where they’re from. What I am saying is that if someone moves to the UK and what that person eats where they’re from, is an animal that cannot be eaten in the UK for instance, we should not look the other way or accept that. They can either stay where they are, find a different country that also allow the consumption of that animal or come to the UK and accept they won’t be eating that particular animal here.
Unfortunately, we have turned the debate into one side not interested in discussing it at all, and the other side wanting to call people names, be nasty to them and remove them, even if as it were, it’s just not doable (because we are not savages!).

There’s no middle ground, which is where solutions are. As such, we will just continue with the divisiveness! We will continue to tear each other apart. Label each other ‘left’ and ‘right’. Empathy’s in the gutter. Those exploiting us all (i.e. the people smugglers and people seeking to create culture wars for their own personal gain) will continue to do so.

Hopeless situation really!

How did the world get this pathetic??!

Trump & Musk have had a disagreement. So what? It happens. There are people dying in wars, there are children starving in third world countries..

Yet, we fixate on two guys having a fall out? One that was so predictable (as everyone’s saying).

Pathetic world!

It appears to be a wrong case being prosecuted.

It is sad really. The lass, Cassie allegedly took all manner of beating from Diddy and she should have taken him to court for domestic violence, but she probably really needed money at the time and took the $20million payout, which was probably more useful to her at the time, than taking Diddy through a criminal trial. Afterall, she allegedly took all that beating and nothing can undo all that. So, anyone quick to condemn her for taking the money, should not. She did what she thought best at the time.

Now, a few years later, she perhaps wants him to be sent to jail in addition. But the details of the case so far, indicate that both Cassie & Diddy should be on trial for hitting each other (albeit, it was grossly cowardly on Diddy’s part, punching and beating up a tiny defenceless woman is truly abhorrent! But his isn’t on trial for that though) and indeed, it sounds like both were deeply involved in the hire of the escorts they involved in their so-called Freak Offs.

It is therefore very unlikely that Diddy will lose this case.

When his lawyers call their defence witnesses, they will very easily prove that regardless of the sordidness of what’s been described by the prosecution, none of it amounts to trafficking or racketeering. The guy is a messed-up, girl-beating, horrible man, but unless the prosecutor wants to try him for being a horrible, messed-up human being, of which he would most likely be deemed guilty, they are not going to win the ongoing case against him.

Even from the evidence they have put forward so far, it is clear that protecting his public image – what rapper would want it out that he needs to have other men shagging his girl, for him to get satisfied? – is Diddy’s preoccupation. As such, the allegations of him threatening Cassie with the release of the Freak Off recordings, was never real. He may well have said so, but….

I do not believe Cassie deserved any of the beating up she got, even if some may say she got in there to further her career, it is still no reason to get the treatment she got in that intercontinental hotel video clip. It was horrendous and Diddy must surely be eternally embarrassed! But to seek to get him jailed – possibly for life – based on what they largely got into together, and her own admission of times she punched him in the face etc., is clearly not right either.

Diddy clearly feels he can do as he pleases. A notion that his several months in jail while awaiting trial, should have made clear to him now, that there are laws and he isn’t above those laws. I do not see how he is going to be convicted of trafficking and racketeering. His lawyers will likely call witnesses who will very easily floor those accusations. In any case, the testimony of Cassie, Kid Cudi and George Kaplan already make this a hugely tenuous argument by the prosecution and it is fairly certain Diddy will be walking free after this trial