Thursday, October 06, 2005

The Golfer

He awakes and bleary eyed,
Looks not at his wife by his side.
He cares not today for morning cuddles,
Only that the greens should be free of puddles.

Please God, he hopes it’s not raining.
All week on the carpet he’s been training,
Sinking putts by the score,
And chipping balls through the door.

No trouble today leaping out of bed,
Or clearing cobwebs from his head,
For today starts the week-end,
And the golf swing is surely on the mend.

No hoovering or washing dishes,
Just driving balls with elegant swishes,
Down manicured fairways far out of sight,
Scaring rabbits with his might!

Up and washed and ready to go,
A new set of clubs he’s anxious to show.
A confidant swing on the first tee,
But the effing ball goes straight up a tree.

His second ball finds a cussed ditch,
Lost ball, a bit of a hitch.
Upon the green in six at last,
His handicap is disappearing fast.

The wind gets up and begins to howl,
Upon his face a wicked scowl,
As swing and game fall apart,
He moves on with sinking heart.

When at last he hands in his score,
The shout goes up, a hundred and four!
What went wrong, me old sunshine?
I lost six balls on number nine.

Drinks all round I think old chap,
That really is a load of old crap!
Go on take the micky, why don’t you,
But next week, I’ll be laughing at you!




Poetry: http://www.spearman.blogspot.com

Wednesday, September 14, 2005

Hurricane Katrina

Never in my 56 years have I witnessed such utter destruction by the forces of nature. Night after night I watched dumbfounded and awe struck by events as they unfolded in the American Gulf States. I could not believe my eyes as thousands of people in the United States were left stranded without food and water for days on end by their government and local authorities, supposedly the most advanced and powerful on Earth.

It was like watching a poor and incompetent third world government in action. In all truth I was appalled by the sheer ineptitude and unnecessary suffering caused by the unfathomable inability of the authorities to organise themselves properly and swiftly, to deal with the needs of people in the immediate aftermath of Katrina's devastation.

I could not believe that U.S. authorities found it beyond their means to airlift water and food to those who were trapped or organise the recovery of bodies that lay visible to the world for a week or longer in parallel with search and rescue operations.

Will we ever look at the U.S. in the same awe struck light again? Whatever the reaction, there are serious questions that tens of thousands of people will want answers to, before Katrina's deadly consequences are laid to rest in the annals of history. Frankly I can't think any of them will be convincing.

Poetry: http://www.spearman.blogspot.com

UN Reform - A sick Joke

So the UN has agreed on some steps to counter terrorism but has been unable to agree a definition of terrorism. How pathetic is that?

Until the UN Charter is modified allowing the expulsion of any and all countries that operate outside the rules of international law, the UN will never be anything more than a corrupt, ideologically bankcrupt and incompetent talking shop.

Starvation in Niger, genocide in the Sudan, murderous dictatorship in Zimbabwe, atrocities in the Congo and never ending poverty in Africa continue unabated despite the hollow rhetoric emanating from the corridors of power in the UN and elsewhere. It's a blight on humanity and a disgrace for which those with the power to act shall forever be condemned by the harsh gaze of history.

Poetry: http://www.spearman.blogspot.com

Monday, August 01, 2005

Should Fear of Terrorist Reprisals Dictate Policy?

In many of the debates on television on terrorism, it is often argued that we bought it upon ourselves by invading Iraq (twice). The first invasion was in 1991 in response to Saddam Hussein's unprovoked attack on Kuwait. Of course terrorism has been around a lot longer than that but for the sake of this argument, let us accept that the invasion of Iraq is the cause for the present upsurge in terrorism. Does this change anything?

Do those who use this argument, advocate that we (the international community) should turn a blind eye to crimes against humanity in other parts of the world for fear that the fanatics might turn their attention on us? What does that say about us? Is it alright for the Saddam Hussein's and other rogue states to commit criminal acts of savagery against their own and other innocent populations while we who lie safe in our beds, turn a blind eye? Are ordinary and innocent Iraqis, Rwandans or Zimbabweans somehow different from us? Are their lives less valuable than ours? Are they not also a part of humanity? Would we not want the international community to help us if we were victims of terror perpetrated by our own government?

A century or two ago, we might have been totally unaware of events on the other side of the globe and therefore unable to respond but in a globalised, so called civilised world with instant communication, there are no excuses for turning a blind eye to the suffering of our fellow human beings. Somebody has to take the lead and bring an end to these atrocities. It should be the U.N. but as has been shown time and again this is a morally corrupt organisation which has failed on countless occasions in it's humane duty to go to the aid of those facing genocide, torture, murder and rape.

However, somebody must summon the courage in a civilised world to intervene for all our sakes. If some of the member states within the U. N. are so apathetic and inhumane, as to ignore the horrendus plight of millions of oppressed peoples, then applaud those that show the moral courage to stand up and be counted. The rest, and we and they know who they are, are beneath contempt.


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Thursday, July 07, 2005

Terrorism

The question that those who are sympathetic to terrorist actions must ask themselves is do they want to be governed by people who think nothing of indiscriminately killing and maiming innocent people irrespective of age, sex, race or religion, or do they want leaders who respect human rights and are prepared to be democratically accountable to their electorate for their actions? Put another way, do they want more Saddam Husseins, Idi Amins, Robert Mugabes, Stalins or Hitlers, or do they want more Nelson Mandelas? If the answer is yes, then they must denounce terrorism and adopt democracy. If the answer is no, then their is simply no hope for humanity.

Poetry: http://www.spearman.blogspot.com

Hotel Rwanda

To understand the evil and terror of genocide, I recommend you see the film "Hotel Rwanda". We cannot call ourselves civilised while we sit by and allow such wretched and savage bloodletting by anyone to happen anywhere on this planet of ours. We must all stand up and be counted.

That the West stood by and watched as one million people were savagely slaughtered in one of the most gruesome acts of wanton bloodletting in history is a shameful reflection on those that committed these acts and the whole of humanity. Those political leaders that had the power and the means to act but instead turned a blind eye to this horror, will forever be condemned by history.

This film should be shown in every secondary school in the world as it has much to teach all of us about the insidious nature of hatred and prejudice. We are all a part of a single human family and the sooner we understand this, the better it will be for all of us.




Poetry: http://www.spearman.blogspot.com

Thursday, June 30, 2005

Dumber and dumber

The deliberate and misguided manner in which politics, education and the media are being dumbed down by the numbskulls that control these institutions, is creating a society of dimwits who know who David Beckham is but have not got a clue who Admiral Nelson was. They know the names of the "Big Brother" contestants on television but have barely heard of Winston Churchill!

A dumb nation is doomed to rot at the bottom of the pile. A nation without mathmeticians, scientists, engineers, poets and painters is nation on the road to oblivion. A nation without morals and a sense of respect for its fellow beings or its heritage is like a storm tossed ship that has no idea where it is headed or indeed what fate awaits it.

It's time to sound the alarm and come to our senses or sink into the abyss of chaos that is slowly but surely enveloping us. Where has all the common sense gone?



Poetry: http://www.spearman.blogspot.com

Nefarious consequences of spin

If politicians are serious about wanting to tackle voter empathy, they must first come to terms with the nefarious consequences of the spin merchants. Nobody knows who is or is not telling the truth anymore or what to believe. We therefore trust no one and have no confidence in anything we hear or read. Consequently the public reaction to politicians and much of the media is one of a plague on all their houses.

This is the abysmal state to which politicians and the media have reduced our faith in our elected representatives and the political system in general and it brings them nothing but shame and condemnation. A harsh truth is better by far than a deceptive half truth. When will they learn?

Let us hope they do so before it is too late to undue the web of deceit they have spun or everything will come tumbling down like a pack of cards around our ears with dreadful consequences.



Poetry: http://www.spearman.blogspot.com

Thursday, June 23, 2005

Blair calls for EU Reform

Mr. Blair today reiterated his call for EU reform when addressing the EU Parliament. His speech appears to have fallen on fertile ground amongst many Europeans. However, it is amazing to me that nobody has pointed out the fact that for years now, Mr. Blair has been telling us all how good Europe is for Britain and our economy.

Now he is telling us that Europe is in a mess and urgently needs reforming! Come on Mr. Blair, who are you kidding? You cannot have it both ways. The French, Dutch and others are seiously dissillusioned by the so called "European project" as underlined in their referenda on the proposed EU Constitution. Mr Blair, it seems has only just found out how deep the "merde" really is! How can anyone take anything he says seriously?

Backed into a corner by Mr Chiraq on the matter of Britain's rebate, Mr. Blair has seen an opportunity to embarrass his French tormentor, hoping that no one will pick up the contradiction in his former stance on Europe. Well, I have a message for him. We've rumbled you Mr. Blair and some of us have seen through you for years. Your elbow is attached to your arm by the way.

Poetry: http://www.spearman.blogspot.com

Tuesday, May 31, 2005

Merci Monsieur Chiraq

It's not often the British or at least a sizeable chunk of them have reason to thank French politicians but the "non" vote against the proposed so called European Constitution is one of them. So thank you Mr. Chiraq for running such a scaremongering and negative campaign. Thanks also to the socialist anglophobes who hate the Anglosaxon penchant for liberal global trade principles. You have succeeded in killing off the nightmare of a centrally controlled, anti-democratic socialist superstate without any help from us and we are grateful for that at least.

We would have voted against it too but for an entirely different reason. We simply want to retain our sovereignty. We wanted to remain a country and not a county of Europe. Thanks to your "no" vote you may also remain a country. You will continue to be governed by a democratically elected French citizens rather than unelected eurocrats, whose only interest is the feathering of their own nests and ever larger expense accounts.

Who would have predicted this result five years ago? Irony lives on and so does European democracy, however quirky it may be. That is all to the good and one in the eye for the "elitist" bureaucrats, who would love nothing better than to run the show for their own benefit. Thanks to your hatred for all things Anglosaxon, we have got our way. Salut mes amis!

Poetry: http://www.spearman.blogspot.com

Wednesday, May 11, 2005

Where is our sovreignty now?

How the faceless European politicians in Brussels are trying to drag the U.K. down to their level! Where is our sovreignty now?

STRASBOURG, France (Reuters) - The European Parliament voted on Wednesday to scrap Britain's fiercely guarded opt-out from the EU's 48-hour maximum work week, reopening a long-running ideological battle with London.

The European Union legislature voted by 378 to 262 with 15 abstentions to abolish after three years a provision under which governments can allow firms to ignore the limit.

Britain, which regards flexible labour laws as vital for economic efficiency, voiced dismay but said the vote was only a stage in a complex legislative process and the proposals would now go back to the executive European Commission for revision.

"We are very disappointed that they have taken this decision," Employment Minister Gerry Sutcliffe told BBC radio. "I think that the European employment ministers ... will accept our position."

A coalition of Socialist, Greens and Christian Democratic lawmakers voted to tighten the rules on working time in the name of health and safety, endorsing a report by Spanish Socialist Alejandro Cercas that said the opt-out had led to major abuses.

Members of the Labour party in the EU assembly defied Tony Blair to vote with the abolitionists despite intensive phone lobbying by cabinet ministers.

"The force of the argument was such that every one of the Labour MEPs ... pledged to vote with the Socialist group on this," Labour MEP Stephen Hughes told Reuters.

The Conservatives and Liberal Democrats said the revolt in Strasbourg showed Blair was losing his grip on his own party, which was re-elected last week with a slashed majority.

The Trades Union Congress says around 3.75 million people in Britain work more than 48 hours a week, among them junior hospital doctors in the National Health Service, truck drivers, workers on North Sea oil rigs, and many managers.

QUALIFIED MAJORITY

Member governments must approve a final version of the legislation by qualified majority in the EU Council, and Britain will need to put together a blocking minority of several countries if it is to preserve its opt-out.

"It will only be agreed if parliament, the member states and the Commission can agree on the same version," a British spokeswoman in Brussels said.

Commission spokeswoman Katharina von Schnurbein said the EU executive did not agree with parliament's bid to scrap the opt-out 36 months after a new law comes into force, and would maintain its proposal to allow individuals to opt voluntarily to work longer where there was no collective agreement.

London hopes for support from new ex-communist east European member states who oppose stricter labour laws.

Right-wing Polish MEP Konrad Szymanski said in a statement: "Today's vote is a black day for the European enterpreneurship. In its shape approved today, the directive would become one of the most economically harmful elements of the European law.

"They have decided to impose the worst legacy of the French and German economies on those countries which do not want that, such as Poland, Britain and Ireland."

The Confederation of British Industry, an employers' group, said abolition could cost millions of jobs and urged the government to stand firm.

"There is no place for handcuffs in a competitive economy -- as long as employees work in safe conditions and have freedom of choice they should also have the freedom to work, " CBI director-general Digby Jones said in a statement.

"Reports of widescale UK employer abuse of the opt-out are grossly exaggerated ... How can Europe possibly hope to compete with the likes of China and India in the 21st century global economy?" he said.

In another headache for governments, parliament voted that all on-call time should be counted as working time, endorsing a 2003 EU court judgement which said that even if doctors were asleep when on-call, it still counted.

The European Commission had proposed that doctors could no longer count time spent on call in hospital as working time if they were not actually deployed, an effort to ease the burden on governments and the health sector.

The assembly did give some leeway, suggesting that inactive parts of on-call time could be calculated differently to comply with the 48 hours maximum working week.


Poetry: http://www.spearman.blogspot.com

Tuesday, May 10, 2005

Can You Imagine?

Can you imagine,
The screams of a mother on a train,
Separated from her child calling her name,
Herded away and never seen again,
Her child, still screaming out her name?

Can you imagine,
Your husband shot dead,
A pool of blood by the bed,
Your brother before you slain,
A babe bayoneted again and again,
His mother calling out his name,
Another act of unspeakable shame?

Can you imagine,
The pain of a daughter's rape,
Her pleas for mercy as she tries to escape,
Fighting for her honour but all in vain,
Her childhood lost in lust and pain,
Her father calling out her name,
One more act of unspeakable shame?

How can we possibly understand,
Those of us who live in this land,
Where justice reigns and men are free,
Where hunger never touches thee?
No fear have we of the dictator's hand,
For he lives far away from England.

Why does the international community as represented by the nation members of the U.N. continue to stand callously by whilst rogue governments commit genocide, murder, torture and rape on a daily basis in Sudan, Zimbabwe and the Congo?

In the globalised, so called civilised world of the 21st century this failure to act and to bring those responsible to justice is unpardonable and a blight on humanity. Until we act to bring an end to state sponsored crimes against humanity, we all remain essential barbarians through complicity.

Speak out now and make your voices heard. Tell your political representatives enough is enough. We the people of this planet want change.

Poetry: http://www.spearman.blogspot.com

Tuesday, February 22, 2005

Feigned Angst Of Politicians

Politicians feign anxiety about voter apathy and low turnouts at polls and then launch a dirty tricks campaign in the build up to an election! I can think of nothing that is guaranteed to turn off voters more than dirty politics. There is clearly a vast chasm between what politicians say and what they do. Either they simply do not understand the consequences of their actions or the meaning of their words or they simply do not care. I suspect it is the latter


Poetry: http://www.spearman.blogspot.com

Sunday, February 20, 2005

When

When the world around you has gone mad,
When you no longer recognise the good from the bad,
When right becomes wrong and wrong becomes right,
When we drink not to laugh but the courage to fight,
When instead of a smile we simply stare,
When we throw out the elderly from their homes of care,
When we spy every move through a camera’s lens,
When we lock every door and homes become dens,
When image is all and substance a sin,
When truth is lost to deceitful spin,
When no one cares and no one votes,
When we burn our bridges and sink our boats,
When we sell our heritage down the drain,
When all that matters is profit and gain,
When every day brings trouble and strife,
What is the point of living a life?



More poetry: http://www.spearman.blogspot.com

Friday, February 11, 2005

EU Accounts Still Not Ratified

EU accounts have not been ratified by the Cours De Compte (European Commission auditors) for a number of years. If the EU Commission were a corporation, the Commissioners would have been "de-commissioned" long ago by angry shareholders!

This refusal by the Cours de Compte to ratify EU accounts arouses strong suspicions with regard to gross mismanagement and/or misappropriation of hundreds of millions of EU funds. If true this is a scandal of massive proportions.

Why therefore have none of the EU member governments been willing to call the Commission to account? Why have EU Governments not insisted on an independant audit of EU accounts? What is going on? Why are Europe's citizens being kept in the dark with regard to the details and reasons for the Cours de Compte's refusal to ratify the accounts? What exactly is the extent of the misappropriated funds in question?

It appears that nobody is willing to cast any light on the matter. This is totally unacceptable to Europe's tax paying citizens and we want answers and we want appropriate action to be taken against those responsible. We believe democracy is about accountability. We see none here.
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If you agree with the sentiments expressed here, copy the above text and expedite it to: E-Mail escom@parliament.uk (European Scrutiny Committee at the Houses of Parliament.

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11th February 2005

Well folks, the following is the response I received:

In response to your email below, may I refer you to the European Scrutiny Committee's 32 nd Report of the 2003-04 Session (HC 42-xxxii) relating to the fight against fraud. The Report can be found through the following link:


The Committee recommended this for debate, alongside the Court of Auditors' 2003 Annual Report and a document relating to the European Anti-fraud Office (OLAF). This debate will take place in European Standing Committee B on Wednesday 2 March at 2pm on the Committee Corridor of the Houses of Parliament. The Hansard of which will be available through the parliament website (www.parliament.uk)

Please get in touch if I can help further.

Best wishes
Olivia Davidson Second Clerk of the European Scrutiny Committee House Of Commons 7 Millbank London SW1P 3JA Tel: 020 7219 6481
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Hmmm.......stranger and stranger! Check out the links to find out what happens or does not happen next!

Wednesday, February 09, 2005

Chickens are coming home to roost

It is my belief that the British economy is far too reliant on the financial services sector. We have too many, if not all our eggs in one basket. Conventional wisdom suggests this is a high risk strategy.

I also believe that certain factors are looming which could destabilise financial markets. Rising consumer debt, rising bad debts to third world countries, increasing government indebtedness, a possible fall in house prices, collapsing pensions and falling consumer demand pose a serious threat to economic well being in the medium to long term. Add to this the war in Iraq and the ever present terrorist threat and it seems that no matter where you look, it is difficult to see any positives on the economic horizon as far as Britain is concerned.

These factors will have a serious impact on consumer confidence, equity markets and the banking sector. This in turn, will impact on business in general. Bankruptcies will increase, unemployment will rise, consumer spending will fall, culminating in a classic vicious circle scenario pushing the economy into free fall.

This is not some airy fairy doom and gloom scenario. These negative factors are clearly present for all with eyes to see and have been for 18-24 months now. Add to this the downturn in savings over the last few years and we are clearly heading for tempestuous waters.

Furthermore, Britain no longer has a manufacturing industry of any consequence producing goods with which we could trade our way out of trouble should financial markets wobble. Equally worryingly for different reasons is the fact that we no longer have an agricultural base capable of sustaining the country in times of crisis.

Germany, France, Japan, USA and even Italy and Spain have much more diverse economies than Britain, as do China and India. They are less dependent on financial and other service industries. This, I believe gives them an economic edge in the medium to longer term. I see absolutely no real awareness whatsoever of Britain's economic deficiencies in government circles. Blair and Brown continue to make believe all is well with everything. Meanwhile, those of us who do not wear rose tinted glasses, watch helplessly as manufacturing, agriculture and the fisheries industry shrink slowly but inexorably into non-existence.

The extended dot.com boom of the 90s coupled with rising house prices and low interest rates has encouraged and extended consumer borrowing and spending, for longer than would have been the case in previous economic downturns. It is this that has kept the British economy relatively strong but it cannot and will not go on forever. At some point the bills have to be paid and it is that point that the economy will start to unwind. Blair talks about developing a high tech economy but I see no concrete Government strategy in place to catalyse this revolution. Therefore any evolution in that direction is likely to be painfully slow and thus ultimately inadequate. Others will do it better and faster.

It is also a fact of economic life that booms are inevitably followed by busts and it is quite often the case that the bigger the boom, the bigger the bust that follows. I am thus extremely pessimistic about Britain's economic prospects in the medium to long term. I am also pessimistic about many other aspects of British life under this appallingly, shallow and incompetent government. Mark my words the chickens are coming home to roost. Well at least we will have something to eat, I suppose.



Poetry: http://www.spearman.blogspot.com

Monday, February 07, 2005

Ideas

Flowing streams of illuminated imagination,
Sparks of genius igniting thoughtful speculation,
Ideas riding upon the crests of crashing waves,
Floundering upon the rocks and filling empty caves.

From the recesses of a curiously empty mind,
Ideas come and go of every conceivable kind,
As though conjured up by a mystical magician,
They ebb and flow, of their own volition.



Poetry: http://www.spearman.blogspot.com

Saturday, February 05, 2005

New Labour's Smear Campaign

Message sent to New Labour:

The reports in the media of New Labour's dirty tricks campaign to bismirch the character and integrity of its principle opponents, shows just how far down the greasy pole your party and those who lead it, have slipped. This is the politics of the gutter, a politics bereft of principle, integrity, intelligent debate and common respect for one's fellow beings. No wonder people are so disenchanted with politicians and politics. It's an absolute disgrace.

If I hear another Labour MP feigning anxiety at voters apathy and bandying around phrases like, " this should concern us all" and "this is something we need to address very seriously", I think I will be physically sick.

Poetry: http://www.spearman.blogspot.com

Thursday, February 03, 2005

New political party

(Extract from a proposal for a new political party)

The Reform Party

Raison d'etre

Social and economic management

It is the belief of the undersigned that the existing political status quo has failed to respond effectively to many of the challenges faced by this country over the last 10-15 years. The failure of leadership shown by successive governments has led this country to the edge of a precipice from which we must recoil before it is too late. It is now clear that a majority of British people have lost faith in politics and feel excluded from the political process. This is not only unhealthy for democracy but it is damaging to the social fabric and welfare of the nation.

During the course of the last two or three decades, there has been massive under investment and mismanagement of public services by consecutive governments. As a result, healthcare, public transport systems, social services and the police force/law and order, are all in a state of varying degrees of disarray.

Britain's economic diversity has been destroyed and is now critically dependent on the services sector industries. Manufacturing and agriculture have been degraded to the point that the nation is now a massive importer of the vast majority of products, it once exported to the rest of the world. Our superficially healthy economy has been fuelled by high consumer spending encouraged by higher personal borrowing and record debt. Savings have been seriously eroded by low interest rates and the collapse of pension schemes, despite the longest economic boom in equities in our history. The future now looks bleak for millions of people in this country.

Political Spin

The political process now dominated by spin, half truths and political correctness gone mad, has lost its credibility. The institution of Parliament has been surreptitiously undermined. The longer term interests of the nation are often subjugated by short term party political ambition in the pursuit of power at the expense of integrity and principle.

Media

Sections of the British tabloid press are regarded by many as the most socially irresponsible in the world and are symptomatic of a general malaise within British society today, which irrationally seeks to destroy those who succeed but does little to help those who fail to achieve.

The BBC, once the most respected broadcasting organisation in the world, is a pale shadow of its former self. The aim of a public broadcasting service in a developed society should be to help raise standards not lower them. We now live in a country where the lowest common denominator is the accepted norm. This is not good enough.

Middle-aged and elderly

The middle aged are the first to be made redundant and the last to be offered new employment. We live in a society where experience is sacrificed to a culture of youth, where celebrity worship is the new religion. We live in a country that has lost its sense of direction and its sense of core values.

The elderly are too often given little respect and generally treated as second class citizens despite their valuable contribution to society over entire lifetimes. Their wisdom and experience is ignored by governments and corporations alike. They are attacked in their homes and in the streets by semi-illiterate thugs unaware that they owe their own freedom and their democratic lifestyle to many of those they abuse. Britain today repays the contribution made by its elder citizens by destroying their savings, leaving them more vulnerable to crime, closing down care homes and hospices and undermining their dignity. This is unacceptable in a so called civilised and cultured society.

Crime and anti-social behaviour

Successive governments have presided apathetically over alarming increases in crime, drug abuse and anti-social behaviour which are now endemic in the streets of our cities, towns and villages. Prisons are overcrowded. Sentencing laws are a laughing stock. Society is in virtual meltdown because government has failed in its duty to uphold the values that are essential to a civilised society. This is unacceptable to the majority of decent, honest, hard working people in this country.

Traditional political parties

It is evident for all to see that the structure of the traditional parties no longer reflect the structure of British society. They are out of touch, out of tune and out of date with the aspirations of modern Britain.

Britain is now at a crossroads when it must decide on its future destiny. The choices offered by the existing political parties are limited, simplistic and narrow in their vision. They would also spell the end of the Britain we have known for more than a millennium and the end of Britain as a major influence on the world stage.

This is the last chance the British people will have to decide what kind of Britain they would like their children and their grandchildren to live in. This is the opportunity to create, not an ordinary Britain but an extraordinary Britain, that remains true to its heritage and continues to stand for freedom, tolerance, democracy and justice, a country of which we should and can all be proud.

Europe or what?

It is also worryingly self evident that the current political parties are entrenched in orthodox thinking with regard to Europe. They have never sought nor presented the British people with any alternative strategy other than to join or not join the Euro. Are they telling the British people that these are the only choices open to us, that there are no alternative strategies that might serve Britain's interests as well or better?

Why should Britain isolate itself and lose its identity in a protectionist trading block when it could and perhaps should eliminate its trade barriers on a quid pro quo basis with trading partners around the world? Could Britain not set the definitive standard for true globalisation?

The British people must be presented with the widest possible choices before deciding for themselves which course they believe best serves the interests and aspirations of the nation and its people. No government has the right to dictate policy on matters of constitutional importance but all governments have a duty to protect the sovereignty of the nation.

New political consensus

Given the general malaise that now pervades this country, it is clear that a new political consensus is required. The undersigned therefore believe the time is now right for the formation of a modern new political body which will be known as the Reform Party capable of facing the problems of the 21st century as well as resolving the mistakes of the previous one.

My poetry:


Saturday, January 29, 2005

Hollow words

It's now almost two years, could be more, since Blair made his crusading speech about saving the world and in particular Africa, at a Labour Party Conference attended by Bill Clinton. He said that the world would never stand by and watch another genocide such as that which took place in Rwanda some ten or eleven years ago. Clinton has admitted several times that his greatest regret was not intervening to halt the Rwandan genocide. Believe me, he has no idea just how serious an ommission that is.

Since then much suffering has been inflicted on ordinary Zimbabweans. Tens of thousands have been murdered in the Sudan and many thousands more Africans have been tortured, raped, robbed and murdered at the hands of brutal and corrupt states. Let us not forget either that millions have perished in the Congo over the last decade during which the international community, to its eternal shame, has yet again remained silent and looked the other way.

So much then for crusading speeches. Blair's grand rhetoric rings very hollow two years on. He and the rest of the international community continue to fail the oppressed of this world. They lift not a finger against these tyrants. Indeed they sit side by side with the representatives of these tyrannical states in the UN Assembly! In doing so they give legitimacy to these corrupt states and the criminals that govern them and are therefore guilty by association of complicity in the murder of millions.

Were Mugabe sitting on the world's second largest oil reserves or in possession of a few decrepit missiles, he would by now be either dead or awaiting trial for crimes against humanity. This is the hypocrisy for which the United States and other powerful nations are so hated by the poorer defenceless nations. It seems that as long as they have no oil or WMD, any tin pot tyrants can literally get away with murder for as long as they choose.

So much then for Blair's hollow crusade. So much then for the integrity of the U.N. and the international community at large. Whilst we continue to tolerate the intolerable, we are all barbarians. Whilst the worth of human life is measured in barrels of oil, we are all guilty of crimes against humanity. When will we learn to value most that which is most valuable. How many barrels of oil for an ounce of humanity?


For poetry:
http://www.spearman.blogspot.com

Wednesday, January 26, 2005

Gone

(For those who have gone, those who are going and those who remain behind.)

When the sun rises tomorrow,
I shall no longer be here,
I shall be gone from this dimension,
No longer a part of this world,
Which was my world and yours,
And will still be your world.

Where shall I have gone?
I don’t know.
But I shall have gone,
From you who loved me,
I feel it in my bones,
My time is close now.
My time has come, to go.

Though I shall miss you,
Though I am sad to go,
I have no fear.
In a strange way
I am ready to go,
Almost happy even,
For I know,
That this is not the journey’s end.
Another awaits me,
Just round the bend.

You will not see me again,
Not the way I was,
Nor where I used to be,
Though I may still see you,
Where you are, as you are,
And as you will be.

Oh! Make no mistake,
I shall miss you.
I miss you already
Though I am still here.

You were, you are my family,
My companions on this endless journey.
My heart is heavy but at the same time, happy,
Remembering the love,
The joy and the sadness,
We have shared,
For it is the sharing ,
That gives life meaning,
That bonds our souls together.

Yes, tears come to my eyes ,
With the sadness of knowing,
We shall not talk again,
Nor embrace, nor berate one another,
Nor laugh with and at each other,
At least not for a while anyway.

It’s hard to accept, I know,
But accept it, we must,
Because when the sun rises tomorrow,
The world and you will go on without me.

I shall no longer be here.
Where I shall be, I do not know,
But I sense that tomorrow
Will be my birthday,
The first day somewhere else,
A place much different,
From this world I am leaving.
But you have prepared me well,
For the next step of my journey,
All you who have loved me,
All you who have taught me,
All you that I have loved,
And even you, that I have hated.

So though I am sad to leave you,
I am ready to leave you.
I go without fear.
I go with a sense of anticipation,
Looking forward to fresh horizons,
And glorious new vistas.

Show me Lord, your wonders.
I am curious to see,
That which is greater still,
Than all I have ever seen,
There to await those I have loved,
And those who have loved me.

Friday, January 14, 2005

Link to British Parliament

Have an issue with British Government policy? Want to contact a member of the British Parliament? Be my guest and use the following link:

http://www.parliament.uk/index.cfm

Prince Harry

Why has our nation become so hysterical about everything and nothing? Flick through the channels on television and chances are someone will be screaming or shrieking mindlessly at someone or something on most of the stations.

If this were not bad enough, the guttersnipes of the tabloid press aided and abetted by a complicit and unscrupulous section of the media have now contrived to manufacture yet more hysteria over Prince Harry going to a fancy dress party dressed as a nazi. Well so what? That’s what fancy dress parties are all about. The nazis, like Atilla the Hun, the Crusaders or the Vikings are now part of human history and will therefore be a feature at fancy dress parties for millennia to come. Get used to it.

Quite apart from that, it is as clear as day to any objective observer, that Harry is not a nazi, quite the opposite. He was if anything, having a joke at their expense, for which the nazis have no one to blame but themselves.

The most shameful aspect of this whole affair is not that Harry wore a swastika to a fancy dress party. It is that everything good that he has done, in particular his work with Aids orphans in Africa, should be cynically and conveniently air-brushed out of the reporting by blood thirsty reporters sensing a cheap and easy kill and a good pay day. That is what is immoral and it is this, that is wrong with our society. This kind of "journalism" poses a far greater threat to our society than the foolish antics of a relatively innocent 20 year old at a fancy dress party. I'd wager Harry has more character and integrity in his little finger than those who connived to get the story on to the front pages of a tabloid rag.

That many of our politicians should have jumped on this bandwagon is a disgrace. Just as they have so often in the past, they have fallen hook line and sinker into this populist tabloid trap. They are now using the incident to persue their own cynical agendas in the hope that it may buy them a vote or two here and there, come the next election. We have a right to expect a higher degree of insight, judgement, intellect and integrity from our community leaders, who are after all, twice if not thrice, Harry’s age!

It might have been worse though. Harry might have upset the Pope by going as a condom. Phew!


Tuesday, January 11, 2005

Caring sharing Blair

Tony Blair makes crusading speeches about saving Africa, Iraq and the world but today on BBC's Daily Politics program, we hear that hundreds of Britains, some badly injured, were virtually ignored by foreign office officials in Thailand, who left them more or less to their fate. Some were rescued by German teams who were on the scene in double quick time and air lifted out by Lufthansa.

Some of those Brits may well owe their lives to the German Government and I am sure their families will be forever grateful. They will however, be extremely disillusioned with the efforts or lack of them, of the British Government.

I've said it before and I may well say it again. Jack Straw, our erstwhile Foreign Secretary, strikes me as a most uninspiring individual. The fact that Blair should choose this bland, boring and somewhat lethargic man for this important post is testament to Blair's own insecurity. Heaven forbid that he should choose a Foreign Secretary who might outshine him on the world stage.

Blair himself was on holiday when the Tsunamis struck and chose to remain there. As far as I am aware, he issued no statement at the time, nor did he send any message to the people in the afflicted countries. If he did, it was certainly not well publicised by the media.

More shamefully however, is the fact that it was not until Blair et al realised that the British people had given more from their own pockets, than the government was proposing, that Blair increased government aid to the Tsunami victims.

I must add however, that the manner in which some governments have strived to make political capital from this disaster is unedifying to say the least. They're like a bunch of jocks in the showers after a football game, competing to see who has the biggest penis! My aid package is bigger than yours. No it's not! Yes it is! One thing is for sure, their egos are massive.

So much then for caring New Labour! I am convinced that Blair is really no more than a holograph and not a very convincing one at that!