Animal cruelty

Some sports fans will go to extreme measures to give their team good luck. But the team itself sacrificing an animal in the corner of their stadium is going way too far
Last week, a Kazakh football team called "Shakhter Karagandy" murdered a sheep in the corner of their home stadium before a game. As if that weren't bad enough, the manager of the team says that killing an animal for good luck before matches is "tradition" before every big game.

Murdering an innocent animal for the sake of a few match points is barbaric, and it has no place in modern society. Ask the Union of European Football Associations to ban ritual animal sacrifice before games.

Oil spills

Shell owns almost all of the oil wells in Nigeria. That means it's responsible, at least in part, for the thousands of oil spills that have occurred there since the 1970s. But Shell is refusing to pay for much of the devastation its wells have caused.
Thousands of Nigerians' lives have been destroyed over the years by the wells' pollution. Now, some of those people are suing the corporation to ask for justice.

So far, though, Shell is having none of it. It's continuing to argue about just how much damage it's liable for, claiming that sabotage is behind most of the spills.

Since the corporation has raked in vast profits at the expense of Nigeria's people and environment, it should, at the very least, provide compensation to the victims.

Tell Shell that it can't keep ignoring the devastating consequences of its actions.

Martin Luther King

It was 50 years yesterday since that famous speech that we all know made by Dr Martin Luther King. 'I have a dream' is perhaps the most brilliant speech made in the last century but have things changed since then?

Well the law has of course been amended but attitudes remain pretty much the same. Racism is around us, it can be seen and can be felt. It hasn't gone away but those who isnist on judging people by the colour of their skin have become better at covering it up. The only hope is that we can change attitudes by improving the way we educate our young. Education is the answer!

Is NATO a waste of space?

Will keep this simple. NATO is trying to get member states to take action against Syria like they did in Iraq but at the same time it has proven to be incapable to resolve disputes the so called allies? Spain and Britain are arguing about Gibraltar and Greece and Turkey over Cyprus? What the fuck is the purpose of having this?? Sort it out!

Elysium

Just come back from the cinema watched Elysium with a few mates. We all thought that the concept and the idea behind the story were strong but the intense over baked action sequences a bit over the top.

The world in 2140 something is divided by those who live on an over populated planet ( the poor, mostly Spanish speaking ) and then a new thing that orbits the earth, called Elysium ( Greek for paradise ) by the rich and powerful. In other words something similar to the security gated developments in South Africa patrolled by guards 24 hours a day where rich white people live. So not much difference there. Was surprised that in 2141 we would still have helicopters with propellers?? Not very forward looking then?

As I said the story and concept can be powerful if correctly interpreted but not sure the producers wanted us to derive any messages from this film? The only message was lets make a lot of money? Anyway we all gave it 5 out of 10. Must say would have preferred to have stayed in and watch Coronation st..

NATO strikes on Syria

It seems that NATO would want to strike against Syria even though there is no UN resolution on the situation there.

I don't know whether any possible military strike is being promoted because of concern for civilians but it appears strange to me that NATO can take action against a country because one of its members is being threatened. What happened when two of its key members were at war with each other in July 1974 in Cyprus? All mighty NATO was incapable then to prevent that?? The word double standards comes to mind?

Greece 2013

Visit Greece in the summer of 2013 and enjoy the experience..

Syria

A lot of debate is taking place about the tragic situation regarding the death of civilians in Syria.

We are constantly seeing the death and destruction of a once proud country. It seems that evil forces, mainly from outside,want  to create chaos in the region that serves their own interest.

The militarisation of the area reminds me of the situation before the start of the first world war only if a new war breaks out the entire region will go up in flames so a solution that embraces the need to stop the blood shed and help the civilians caught in the war games needs to be found soon. But unfortunately we are at the mercy of weak and uncharismatic politicians like William Hague and others who are as inspiring as a condom left in a monastery on mouth Athos! How tragic!!

Coronation street to be removed?

The rumours about finishing coronation street have started. It is interesting that the discussion begun on one of the BBC programmes I think BBC 26 or something?

I hope this is not true as I watch the street and I find it very English and thoroughly real and entertaining. I wouldn't want to lose Deidre or Tracey Barlow. They have been an inspiration. Corrie is funny and has become a habit. Its a must for Monday, Weds and Friday nights!

The producers  have to be careful with what stories they use. The latest one about the race argument was idiotic and it trivialised the issues they were meant to be dealing with. They must be careful with how they approach these subjects. Its fine having a lesbian couple in the middle of Weahterfield but they should also think of dealing with the issues of those from the Fiji islands who have problems with ear wax! Its a subject that is often neglected! Get the picture?

C Big brother 2013

Well it turns out that my totally unreliable source was right and Deidre Barlow is not in celebrity big brother. The use of the word 'celebrity' is a strange one in this instance as I don't know anyone in the new show apart from Janice ( don't know her real name)

So we now have this dose of bb we will then have the start of X Factor on the 31st of the month followed by Xmas a few weeks later. You get the picture. And of course there will be the 'I wish I was a celebrity get me out of here' rubbish in between. But like the Gladiator fights in Rome it keeps the crowds happy and away from starting a revolution!! Seems to work??

Coronation st to go?

I am hoping that the rumour put about by negative people are not true and Coronation street will not be brought to an end. It will be a great shame not just because Deidre Barlow will never be able to get another job but because many of us grow up with this most English of institutions! Keep your hand off Corrie!

Deidrie Barlow on celebritty big brother

I have been told by a totally unreliable source ( they are the best) that Deidrie Barlow Rashid will be on the celebrity Big brother thing which starts on Thursday. Apparently she has agreed to appear in order to get away from Tracey and Gail Tlisley Platt etc. Hope she wins it!

Big brother 2013

Well big brother 2013 has come to an end. I wasn't able to watch more than half of it but from what I saw the decision by the 5 people who watch it to award the winning price to Sam was the right one. He was young, nice and was definitely not arrogant. I have faith in the British public who rejected the likes of Dan who appeared arrogant and seemed to bully Dexter. Sam's victory was a victory over arrogance. Well done Sam. At the same time don't understand how someone like Dexter came 2nd? He was the underdog but at the same time seemed rather weird?? Ah well..

Yvette Cooper for labour party leader

Looks like the Labour party is afraid of women as they have been unable to elect a female leader. This is astonishing given that the talent right now is not with the men in the party. In fact the male part of what they have is a disaster. At the same time there is a plethora of female talent around. Yvette Cooper or Caroline Flint will do much better and Tesa Jowel, Hariot Harman and Margaret Hodge are better at what they do than the likes of Miliban, Umuna or Balls! What a sad state of affairs!

Ed Milliband

Ed Milliband should reschufulle his shadow cabinet and get rid of the likes of Balls, Chucka and Barnham. He should then resign and let one of the female MPs like Caroline Flint take over if he wants the Labour party to progress. Career politicians should not be encouraged to become leaders.

Fracking

The process of fracking involves the destruction of the surrounding areas and it is simple about the politics of greed and destruction. I am glad that people in the country side have resisted the latest attempts to devastate their environment. Good that Caroline Pigeon has been involved with the demonstrators. Will the rich and powerful never stop until the planet is totally destroyed? Stop them!

Big brother 2013

I have to confess that I have stopped watching it. Haven't bothered since last week so no idea if they are still all in? I have been critical of the 'programme' before but I must confess that since I have been partially watching it I am as guilty as anyone else for encouraging its promotion.

What I am not comfortable with is the fact that the producers of the 'programme' manipulate participants and force them into situations where they bully each other. I don't think that is ethically right and I am looking forward to the first contestant who takes the producers to coourt for ruining their lives?

New US air base in Kalamata Greece

I have no idea why the Greek governement has signed a new agreement with the USA allowing them to use the airforce base in Kalamata for military purposes. The Greek press reports that Prime Minister Samaras agreed this at a meeting with Obama last week.

The press also reports that the Americans are interested in using Kalamata as a base for military operations in Syria?

I don't understnad why Greek governments since 1912 have done everything to accomodate Western interests. Greece got involved with two world wars which destroyed its infrastructure but received no help after that, it then allowed the CIA to impose a military junta in 1967 and it was then directly involved in allowing and encouraging the invasion of Cyprus in 1974? We now have the EU further destroying the country.

Why the hell is Greece continuing to be this 'reliable ally' to a collective that keeps undermining their interests? Why is Greece full of fucked up pliticians who have as much brain power as Winnie the Poo?? They are taking the country for a ride. If Greece is in such a great military and strategic position then let others who will put money in and help come in. The highest bider should be brought in either that or the West should show some serious comitment to supporting the country.

Stalking

Many of us have experienced how it feels to be stalked by someone. They are usually people who may look and sound ok on the outside but have serious problems with who they are and what they are about.

I think the main problem with on line stalking is that search engines like google and others allow these people to post idiotic unfounded comments on and when you raise the concnern with them they say they can not stop anyone from posting their opinion? That is surely wrong and needs to be investigated. I have stopped, for example, posting comments received from hostile sources on my blog ( although I kept the originals ) but google should have a method through which it can stop this? Anon comments can be send in by anyone and can be s defamatory as anything. This must stop.

Visit Greece in 2013

Great sun set in Santorini..

Greece and Israel a real alliance?

Greece and Israel have been getting closer together and have formed a new alliance. This has been going on for the last 2 years. But how dangeroous or good is this for the region? It is obvious that the balance of power has shifted now with Greece, Israel and Cyprus forming closer links which extend to joint military exercises. I think that both Greece and Cyprus should be careful with how far they take this 'marriage of convinience' it could easly backfire on them..

Union mergers

The idea that a number of unions representing a small number of employees in the public sector is one that needs to be looked at again. It is ludicrous that you could have 3 to 4 unions chasing a shrinking number of potential members in the public sector. The competitiveness between Unison, Unite and GMB, for example is not helping us organise and promotes the employer side ideal situation of divide and rule.

Gibraltar in Merkel's united Europe

This is a current and controversial subject and it is one about who should have rights over the territory. Geographically the area is part of mainland Spain but then a certain treaty sometime in 1700  gave this rock to Britain.  If this went to an ordinary court the judge would have to take into account the circumstances at the time and whether international law at the time is binding now?

At the end of the day the debate should be about whether the people who live there want to be independent or whether they wish to be part of something bigger? The best solution, in my opinion, is to allow Gibraltar to be independent and for the two EU partners to have some protection rights? It is ridiculous that Spain and the UK are part of Merkels United States of Europe yet they are in dispute. Britain is behaving in an imperialist way and Spain needs to tone the hostile gestures down a bit?

MPs pay

Got some criticism lately following my views on MP's pay. Some find it offensive that I am advocating the reduction of their pay as a means through which we can ensure the exclusion of those who come into politics and see it as a career move. I don't agree with those who object and insist that paying someone a standard normal rate like 35k annually is wrong. This rate is more than enough to make sure that MPs get a fair wage and are not attracted to the 'job' for the wrong reasons. Local Councillors do a much better job and they are on less pay ( they get standard allowance) so I don't see why MP's should get much more!!

MPs pay way to control

I am returning to this one of my favourite themes as I insist that the way to ensure that we do not suffer from career politicians who contribute very little to nothing to our democratic system is to bring their pay back to what they should be on. I don't agree that these people are worth as much as a doctor gets paid. They should of course be paid a reasonable rate but that to me is at PO level 2 0r 3 of the local government scales or Senior Executive Officer level if we look at government rates. Meaning they should be on around 34 to 36k not more. This is how you stop attracting those who think  they are making a career out of it. Pay them real money and put them through a job evaluation scheme that's fair!

Are we safe in the hands of politicians?

We obviously have no choice other than continue using our existing democratic system of government. But the current system attracts those who are experts in spinning stories and those who can sound good and tell us what we sometimes want to hear. This creates a major problem as we are the prisoners of orators who are in it because they couldn't make it in any other profession. How safe do we feel for example knowing that someone with the low intellect of William Hague is making massive decisions on the foreign stage in our name? We should look at what we have again and one way to avoid having those who are experts in hot air is to reduce the MP's salaries by at least half!! These people will soon be working for Sainsburys instead!

Eric Pickles and parking

I agree with Eric Pickles who says that local authorities should not be using parking regulations as a means through which they can make money. Their obsession is hurting local economies. I also think that allowing drivers to stop near a shop for short periods of time will assist small retail outfits in what is a difficult time financially so lets relax the regulations and stop punishing drivers!

Greece and the West

Modern Greece is very much part of the West. Western civilisation developed from Greece and the links are strong. But I am thinking that there isn't much to talk about in terms of the relationship between the Western allies and Greece. It looks like it is very much a one way street with the country getting involved with wars and disputes that destroyed its infrastructure in order to support others with very little benefits coming back.

The recent financial crisis has given the Greeks the opportunity to re examine this one way relationship and the debate is very rightly going on about whether Russia is first of all a more natural ally ( for cultural reasons ) and whether a new relationship with them will benefit Greece more. I am in two minds about this but if things continue the way they are then the Hellenic world ( includes Cyprus) should look at a new marriage of convenience!

Slug poison levels

A recent study by England's Environmental Agency (EA) showed that between 2009 and 2011, a slug poison called metaldehyde was found in 1 of every 8 rivers and reservoirs used for drinking water. Levels were highest when wet weather created runoff and ideal slug breeding conditions.

Get slug poison out of our drinking water!

There's no technique for stopping the runoff that contains the slug poison, so that means the EA needs to find another way to control slug problems. A non-toxic, natural method of pest control would benefit the environment and the public.

Sign the petition urging the EA to use non-toxic slug control methods and get poison out of our drinking water.