Practical Thoughts

Dear Reader, A year ago, Jeremy Corbyn was elected as leader of the Labour Party by its membership and by a very substantial margin in the process. Since then, the centrist members of the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) have made quite a few noises of dissatisfaction, and this week it became very apparent that the reformists of yesteryear want back what they  believe to be their party. They believe it's their party, in stark contrast to the view of the membership. They (the centrists and hangers-on) now believe that they will overcome this Corbyn spectre in the September leadership election. It is very noticeable that none of the bigger names in the party have been brave enough to put their names forward for the contest, stating that the rather nondescript Owen Smith will do the job for them. I ask one question: really? All the indications are that Jeremy Corbyn will win again, and again by a substantial margin. Leastways, I will be surprised if that is not t...

Dear Reader, “A nation of sheep will beget a government of wolves.”  ―  Edward R. Murrow  (a famed American broadcaster of yesteryear) At the end of a hard day, it is forgivable that we like to just be fed what is in front of us with the minimum of effort on our part. But if we truly want to know what is going on in the world then we surely need a service that informs, and informs well. But can we trust that service? The answer is, regrettably, that t he issue of the quality of news reporting and what is deemed to be transmittable is under scrutiny.  John Pilger is one of those that work hard to tell us the truth, and there are others too, like Robert Fisk; but Pilger works independently and the quality journalists are too few in number, often framed by their own hype. Also, the best journalists tend not to be presented at peak-times on TV. Perhaps part of the reason for the lack of journalistic quality is the little-publicised fact that around 300 journa...

Dear Reader, It is inevitable that there is a cry to bring an individual "to justice" for this or that, but even for the most basic malfeasance there is often some other factor that influenced the act to be perpetrated. In Tony Blair's case there were - I believe - several influencing factors,  but perhaps the most important factor was how the 9/11 phenomenon gained the sympathy to swing the matter to support the US. B ut I have to say that I believe that a further major factor was in the rise of 'New' Labour, and its apparent attempt to be all things to all people. Not long after Tony Blair took over as leader of the Labour Party, one of his acts was to remove the famed "Clause 4" from the Party rulebook, and though I can understand why he thought it was "old hat", the principle in the clause was to link the importance of the ordinary worker to the wealth of the country - that the worker was just as much an important cog in the economic ...

Dear Reader, As the referendum re-run petition comes close to 4 million signatures, I thought it timely to re-cap a little after these mad last few days. The petition has really been triggered because those with the most working years left have been left high and dry in the vote – and to a large extent by the very people who voted ‘in’ in 1975. In other words, those who voted ‘in’ in 1975 (when two thirds of the country voted ‘in’) have decided to become independent after the UK has become non- independent by virtue of selling off its crown jewels and (over the years) becoming deeply ingrained with Europe: the academic inter-action and security being two prime examples, as well as privileged trading conditions within the EU. We once advertised to investors: "Come here and be part of the EU". So, investors did come, but now we choose to turn our backs on them. Of course those who voted in ’75 must think it to have been a mistake, otherwise they wouldn’t have voted th...

Dear UK Citizen, For a Just result, please link to... https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/131215 Kind regards, John

Dear Reader, Well, it does look like the 45s and above age group ("the oldies") have seriously prejudiced the futures of the younger people, particularly the u-25s. For me this is a serious matter, that us oldies, who are much more numerous, have taken to remaining selfish about what we want. This is again a situation where we forget that we're not here for that long and yet we presume, near the end or past the end of our working lives, we can take away the chosen futures of those who have their entire lives ahead of them. Click on the image to get a bigger view. I cry "shame!". Not only this effect on the young but we may well see the break-up of the UK: Scotland and even Northern Ireland may well decide to take their own trip. And I don't blame them as they can see their English cousins are more concerned about their own affairs than the future of the UK as a whole. The EU may now break-up as well. Perhaps the Brexiters may not be concerne...

Dear Reader, Today is one of the saddest days in my life, feeling that I'm going through another divorce. But I feel as though it's unfinished business. I don't see how 48+% of the UK population can be regarded as defeated ( whichever way it had gone), and it raises the spectre of identity issues in Scotland and even Ireland, where the border issue comes up once more. And the impact on trade and relationships with the Republic of Ireland. What will it mean for our farmers, I wonder? Added to that it appears that much of the North-East vote (for Exit) was more of a protest vote against politicians than anything to do with the EU. But will the political parties listen to that protest? It's a totally unsatisfactory situation we're now in i.m.o., and I fear it's all going to get worse as the world is not what it was when we were last "on our own" over 40 years ago. And what I think many people have overlooked - or don't wish to con...

Dear Reader, If you can spare the time please watch this talk by Prof. Dougan . A lso his comments on the immigration issue that he didn’t have time for in the video: link. What is alarming is that he poured cold water on the notion of a 2 year EU exit deal (which Brexit are promoting) and was talking more in terms of around 10 years to bargain our way out … which leaves an awfully big interim situation with an unknown affect on our economy. And, consequently, the poorest yet again being hit the hardest. Another video that supports Dougan is one from an academic at Oxford, Prof. Collier : So, having listened to 2 such brains, it’s really a no-brainer, surely! I'm sure you will vote according to your commonsense.

Dear Reader, My ability to write with a clear head this week is severely interrupted by the awful news of the killing of this amazing lady and member of parliament, a mother of two young children. I therefore mostly limit this week's article to the words of others, including the following from a leading member of Avaaz , the well-known pressure group: I can't imagine, in these tears, how to honour her, but then yes I can. It's through love. Jo was passionately campaigning for Britain to stay in Europe. Not just because it is smart, or advantageous. But because she spent her life caring for Syrians, and Africans. She was a beautiful light of love for all people, for humanity. The man who took her life, stabbing her and shooting her over and over, screamed "Britain First". Somehow it's not surprising, in an awful way, that her life would be taken by that kind of hate, that kind of selfishness. Because it was to fighting that darkness that she dev...

Dear Reader, My comment (last week) about how the main news channels seem to deliver superficial reporting led me into reading the results of some disturbing - and other elevating - investigations into what has really happened in the world over the last 15 years. Although I have been aware of a fair amount of it for some time, the scale of it now astonishes me. Without wishing to sound like a doomsayer, I detect a certain feeling that the future of the world is coming to a head. How we are to get through the next few years, in my view, will be determined very much by how we come to see ourselves. "What are we really, physical or spirit?" is the leading question, as I see it, and I would suggest that the question can be answered individually by seeking to determine whether we allow ourselves to be controlled by fear. An article I recently read partly addresses the matter in the following statement: One of the central features of traditional societies, as outlined by ...