Bring them home

While I expected Labour Grassroots comrades to be supportive of my article in the Independent, I did not expect middle aged, middle class Tory voters to agree.

There was very enthusiastic support from the merchant seaman and especially their wives in London. Some of them are self confessed Tories. They was deep anger at the futility of the lost lives. Who exactly are those that are in favour of war? Perhaps only those who have read nothing about it except the headlines.

As the news comes in that Karzai has been caught in the election rigging public tolerance of an unnecessary war will collapse. The reactions in e-mails, letters, phone-calls and on the blog has all been very supportive - except for one pacifist who did not think I had gone far enough.

I am eager to do more meetings, media and writing. I am thinking of calling a public meeting in Newport. I have four previous public meeting that have been reasonably successful. If  the reaction I have is typical, there is a great deal of public anger out there. 

Sung heroes

They are forgotten heroes of the war who are slowly winning recognition.

There is no other service in the war that lost one in four people. 40,000 Merchant Seaman died. They kept Britain fed by protecting the Atlantic convoys.

At the national memorial at Tower Hill in London the annual memorial took place. It was an inspiring event. the best of the G.O.A.T.s Admiral west was there is all his finery plus Defence Minister Kevan Jones. 

There is a strong Newport Connection. The mayor and mayors Glyn and Glenys Jarvis were there and laid wreathes. The event was sponsored by a Newport firm and the parade master was named as Bert Bale who runs Newport MN association. Sadly Bert could not be  present but his wife and a busload of Newportonians turned up.

Many new memorials have unveiled to Merchant Seaman in recent. Recently there was a new one in Portsmouth. The splendid Newport one was unveiled about a decade ago. 

It's a pleasure to pay belated tributes to these unsung heroes.

Viva Brazil

For far more than 20 years I have belly aching about the futiity of our drugs laws.  I have working on a European Convention for three years. That will be real progress. Today there is further evidenec that a profound shift of views is taking place.

This is sheer poetry from Today's Observer.

The war on drugs has failed and should make way for a global shift towards decriminalising cannabis use and promoting harm reduction, says the former president of Brazil, writing today in the Observer. Fernando Henrique Cardoso argues that the hardline approach has brought "disastrous" consequences for Latin America, which has been the front-line in the war on drug cultivation for decades, while failing to change the continent's position as the largest exporter of cocaine and marijuana.

His intervention, which will re-ignite growing debate in Europe about how to tackle drugs, was welcomed yesterday by campaigners for drug law reform who increasingly see the impact on developing countries where drugs are produced as critical to the argument.

"After decades of overflights, interdictions, spraying and raids on jungle drug factories, Latin America remains the world's largest exporter of cocaine and marijuana," Cardoso writes. "It is producing more and more opium and heroin. It is developing the capacity to mass produce synthetic drugs. Continuing the drugs war with more of the same is ludicrous."

Comments

[CLong]

Here's the funny thing about the article. It was hardly mentioned by anyone other than the Observer/Guardian. Every other news publication seemed to ignore it.

So I cannot see it ignighting further debate in Europe by any means at all. Costa will most likely debunk it and over shadow it with some other badly compiled reports and the UK government will stick their heads in the sands and ignore it, much like they ignore every other important issue this country has.

What we need is some politicians who are willing to really bring this to the forefront.
Little do they seem to realise that Legalisation of drugs (Even if it has to be done in stages, decrim, legalisation, normalization) to be most effective, would require a collective effort. Mexico will see little drop in drug activities as most of the gangs there supply over the boarder. Without legalisation on a broader spectrum, we can only expect more deaths and greater increases in associated health/social issues.

When will we see a political party stand up and take this head on?

Im guessin, never, unless their high lol.

[DG]

I think that the increasingly utilitarian nature of primary and secondary education has had a role in dumbing down debate. Philosophy and critical thinking seem to be absent from the curriculum until A-level, and even then they're mainly used to enable the student to produce essays on established thoughts and theories. I didn't see any push for students to develop their own theories, or to produce their critical response to an argument.

Maybe things have changed since I was a wee nipper. I doubt it, though.

[Adam]

All three of the main political parties in this country contiune to support the war, the electorate do not according to the recent public opinion polls.

[HuwOS]

If there are a majority in Britain and America who oppose this war, presumably you are referring to Afghanistan, possibly Iraq, perhaps both, then that majority has obviously only come about since the last elections, because in all of them since 2001, the majority have had many opportunities to elect those who opposed these wars and chose not to.

[Adam]

'Most British people are fair-minded and generally open-minded too. When a proper discussion of issues can be held and where ideas can be put forward outside of the risible machinery of politics then there's quite often a lot of agreement across the political map.'

There is a majority in Britain and America who oppose their government's about this war. The arguments in support of this war are so feeble that I cannot see why they are not scrutinised and dismissed by politicians and the media. Some politicians have done so of course, but overall there has not been a recognition of the publics revulsion at this futile slaughter. You referred to the BBC in this general neglect of duty to undermine rubbish:

'The interviewer even picked up on it, but in such a half-hearted almost apologetic way that he just slid around the question and moved on.'

They always pull back from a challenge. I've seen it happen many times. Whether it is a false idea of neutrality or a belief that it isn't for them to pursue a question I do not know. It is easy to criticise, but you mention a number of issues where they just repeat what those in authority say and shy away from (or are unable to) challenge them when they are false.

[Kay Tie]

"when dealing with the police many people expect to get their Miranda rights"

And they take fifth, too.

Fortunately we do have Miranda rights - not by fundamental constitution, alas, merely the gift of politicians. Alas we no longer have the fifth.

[HuwOS]

Could be.

It's a pity that people on the whole pay little attention to politics and government except to whine as if it has nothing to do with them.

The wilful ignorance
(I prefer to assume it is wilful rather than rank stupidity)
is astounding
for example when dealing with the police many people expect to get their Miranda rights and we still hear people saying Gordon Brown was not elected PM.

If a citizenship test were ever to be inflicted on natural born citizens they'd end up being deported.
Might not be such a bad idea.

Funny that people like to blame politicians for a large mass of the electorate not engaging with politics. Someday someone will come along who electrifies the whiny masses and then who knows what we will have here, probably not a democracy though.

[Kay Tie]

"On the whole, the media cater to the audience.
If the audience generally find something deplorable and either complain en masse or rather more effectively, just stop watching, then the media reacts and changes."

We're both right, I suspect. The Devil's Carousel.

[HuwOS]

On the whole, the media cater to the audience.
If the audience generally find something deplorable and either complain en masse or rather more effectively, just stop watching, then the media reacts and changes.

With the choice that is out there, for many people Sky News is their choice of television news.
With newspapers, the Sun is the choice of millions.
They are given what they want and so they keep taking what they are given.
It may not be accurate, may not even be news, but it's what the people want and that is what the free market delivers.

[Kay Tie]

"The "risible" machinery of politics reflects the nature and behaviour of the electorate."

The electorate merely reflect the quality of debate in this country. Take, for example, today's Today with Trevor Philips and the utter lies spewed about the gender gap in the finance industry.

It was quite clear he was twisting statistics for a story (perhaps to distract from his dreadful leadership of his megaquango). The interviewer even picked up on it, but in such a half-hearted almost apologetic way that he just slid around the question and moved on.

The lingering impression a listener would get was "how dreadful of those nasty banks" when the true story is completely different. Repeat this facile treatment across other important issues (drugs, wars, electricity generation, global warming, the financial crisis, health, science, education) and you have a recipe for a dumb and ill-educated electorate. What else do you expect to happen?

[HuwOS]

"Most British people are fair-minded and generally open-minded too."

It would be politic to agree, but I guess I just am not pc enough.

I'd only go along with "open-minded" should it be in the context of ready to believe the first thing provided to them to fill the space between their ears, just so long as its a familiar shape and then maintain that belief against any and all evidence.

The "risible" machinery of politics reflects the nature and behaviour of the electorate.

[Kay Tie]

"While I expected Labour Grassroots comrades to be supportive of my article in the Independent, I did not expect middle aged, middle class Tory voters to agree."

If bitter old Trots and right-wing libertarians can agree on much of this, then it really isn't much of a stretch to see soft Tories coming to the same conclusions.

Most British people are fair-minded and generally open-minded too. When a proper discussion of issues can be held and where ideas can be put forward outside of the risible machinery of politics then there's quite often a lot of agreement across the political map.

[Adam]

A report from the Times shows just how serious the election rigging has been in Afghanistan:

President Hamid Karzai takes 100% of votes in opposition stronghold
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/Afghanistan/article6823431.ece

[HuwOS]

People looking for the difference in actions rather than words between Obama and Bush jr

http://www.zmag.org/znet/viewArticle/22527