Remembrance Sunday... For armed forces who have died

"THEY shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old: Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning... We will remember them." - You can read The Fallen poem here.

First world war: For the Fallen, a poem by Laurence Binyon | World news | The Guardian

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Laurence Binyon: "With proud thanksgiving, a mother for her children, England mourns for her dead across the sea."

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Current UK political corruption harms knife crime, gun crime and anti-violence campaiging

The systemic corruption in the UK's political 'organisation' (i.e. Parliament and MPs - and presumably the Civil Service too) is adversely affecting and undermining the work of anti-knife and gun crime campaigners, and those trying to tackle violence in our society.

By far the strongest illustration of this, as far as knife and other crime is concerned, is former (and disgraced) Home Secretary Jacqui Smith. Her perverse moral leadership (claiming huge sums of taxpayers money for a second home as well as the porn video fiasco) left the Home Office rudderless at a time when the anti-violence campaigners were building some momentum. I'm not saying that momentum has gone for good - but the behaviour of MPs like Jacqui Smith has hampered the work of so many families, crime victims etc at a time when they needed people with power to help them push for required change. This is much more than letting people down. Reflect on that Ms Smith and for God's sake... resign. Get a proper job and see how you get on there.

At the same time and for the same reasons, co-ordinated attempts, communications and PR efforts to highlight and tackle violent crime seem to have fallen by the wayside to some degree because politicians have demonstrated time and again that they are more interested in themselves, their salaries, commercial interests, etc, rather than those people suffering in the midst of a violent culture.

With the Government and opposition parties in disarray due to the corrupt parliamentarian compensation system they have been happy to be part of for years, these ego-centred MPs (I can't call them public servants - they haven't served, they have stolen) continue to demonstrate more interest in themselves than victims of crime and the issue of violent crime, sadly.

PM Gordon Brown recognised this when he said, "Never again should a Member of Parliament be more interested in the value of their allowances than the values of their constituents." And then this autumn Gordon Brown was ordered to pay back more than £12,000 of overpaid expenses.

All this goes beyond words - these people have lost sight of principles and morals. They have literally been "fiddling while Rome (the UK) burns". Are we seriously going to let any of these intrinsically corrupt people to administer our hard-earned taxes from now on?

This week there has been the publication of more worrying knife crime statistics and a terrible stabbing attack which further highlights a lack of impetus to tackle this key law and order issue.

A church volunteer was stabbed trying to protect children from a gang of marauding youths - awful that this can happen on UK streets. If this continues, I can see a rise of vigilantism in communities because there is insufficient capability to police - a problem Jackie Smith would normally be fixing - but she can't... she's lost any public mandate to address this.

So where are the country's leaders at this time? I don't think there are any good leaders now. Everyone's gone to ground trying to work out how to keep their jobs at the next election rather than tackle crime and violence. It's disgraceful. Someone needs to be pushing the police and law enforcement authorities to do more. Instead, we now have ineptitude and complacency creeping in.

Jackie Smith and her ilk need to reflect on facts like that when adopting an apologetic tone in front of cameras and the media. All their selfish, materialist grasping has led to a crisis that has undoubtedly led to more suffering for crime victims and those trying to tackle this scourge of violence around us. Now we have to wait while Alan Johnson gets up to speed - and I noticed today that he's winding up people already, making all the scientists walk out.

I'm beginning to wonder if Labour has much of a clue anymore. Lost touch with their grass roots certainly, I believe.

Jacqui Smith and others like her taking vast amounts of cash etc are a disgrace to hard working, honest citizens such as these. We don't need people like these in public life, we don't want to see them. Why are they hanging around? We just want them to f-ing clear off.

To my mind, having a vote at election time is not sufficient. The voters need to hold MPs to account more often and more effectively than at election time. Their complicit acceptance of a corrupt expenses and payment system over many years makes them unfit to govern.

Those MPs with a conscience need to re-appraise and better assess their priorities. Some are maybe trying to do this (ever the optimist) - but such change is hardly shining through the darkness, is it?

Probably though, better people who know how to serve the public are required. Or maybe things would be better if there was simply more power for the people?

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Arrests after BBC racism Panorama film

Potential good news after the Panorama programme. I spotted that a 22-year-old man and 11-year-old boy had been arrested. For legal reasons, it's not possible to give more details than this, I understand.

Details on the BBC website about two held after the racism exposé

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Racism - watch it on BBC Panorama... what are you doing about it?

This is racism. Two undercover reporters have clearly exposed the truth about many people's views about racism in this country.

Words can't describe how I felt watching this. No wonder reporter Tamanna Rahman was crying and fearful. She was smashed in the face and victim of an attempted mugging, among other abuse.

Just watch and read to be horrified:

BBC Panaroma film on racism and anti-social behaviour in Bristol

Soon we hope Sean Ganderton is locked away behind bars (in fact, that should happen this very night, else there's no justice in this country), and 11-year-old Sonny Clark faces some public authority 'intervention'. That's two names to watch out for and avoid in the future.

(If you are a friend of Sean Ganderton on Facebook, I trust you will quietly leave his friendship network.)

Why name Sonny Clark, aged 11? Because he threatened to knife Tamanna. He is a killer in the making, surely.

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Anne Frank and the Stephen Lawrence stabbing

Anne Frank... recognise that name? Today, the full impact of murder most foul, undescribable evil - and knife crime - hit home in a powerful way. Anne was the German Jewish teenager killed by the Nazi machine in World War Two.

I saw the full horror of the Holocaust in just a few words and evocative images of an era not so long ago - when human beings slaughtered others because they were Jewish, or judged to not be as able-bodied as others.

It was shocking and made me angry inside.

You know, Nazis or concentration camp 'staff' threw poison crystals into the shower areas that vaporised into poisonous gas that took up to 20 minutes to kill all in the those showers?

What sort of person, gang - or political faction - does that?

For some reason, I understood why men and women in Britain took up arms to defend our people from such despicable activities by the Nazi regime - and other sick-minded folk, no doubt.

Where was all this revealed? Would you believe it was at an exhibition in my home town, Chichester, in a small corner of quiet place where people can reflect. I saw the history of the Holocaust brought to terrible life alongside the writings and daily activities of a virtually imprisoned Anne Frank.

Then the exhibition confronts some of the worrying social issues confronting modern Britain today including knife crime, gun crime and racism.

A memorial to Stephen Lawrence, the young black teenager believed to have been killed by white racists, rests on one wall of the display, testament to a quite peaceful fight for justice this country has rarely seen.

Anne Frank wrote in her diary: “I want to go on living even after my death!”

And so she is - her thoughts are working their way through the whole world via this exhibition and the Internet.

Anne Frank is a symbol of the millions of innocent children who have been victims of persecution. Anne's life shows us what can happen when prejudice and hatred go unchallenged.

Would you sign up to the Anne Frank Declaration:

Because prejudice and hatred harm us all, will you declare that...?

• You will stand up for what is right and speak out against what is unfair and wrong.
• You will try to defend those who cannot defend themselves.
• You will strive for a world in which our differences will make no difference – a world in which everyone is treated fairly and has an equal chance in life.

To understand more about her, see the Anne Frank Trust UK website - and think about how to challenge the prejudice and reduce hatred perpetuated by sick people who pick up knives and other weapons to destroy, maim or injure other human beings. You'll learn much more by visiting an Anne Frank exhibition - it would be great if someone puts it online.

When I criticise people who are racist, fighters, criminals, I know I make myself a target for potential malice and a vent for their irritation, even violent anger. My being a thorn in the side or a pain in the neck, however, is like nothing compared to a blade in the abdomen or a knife used to carve and disfigure a human body - or face.

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Will business stop killing UK - and world - society?

It's as important now as it was then... in fact, probably moreso... that to solve knife crime, gun crime and violence problems there must be something of substance for would-be assailants to aspire to other than street and related crime.

I have alluded to this at various times on this blog, including a post on business killing security and happiness in society.

It was with a little hope then that I discovered an interesting article that highlights some key areas about reforms which businesses need to consider to establish a better business framework for the future that may provide a better basis for people - and society - to stay out of crime and aspire to a more honest working life.

Here's how it starts:

Saving Britain’s future — fixing the country's (world's?) balance sheet?

If Britain were a company, it'd be undergoing a “business review”. Exec summary as follows, “UK Plc was once hailed for its excellent, beautifully engineered product range.

"It owned some of the world's best brands and had a presence in many overseas territories. Service offering was sometimes eccentric, but this pillar of the business community was committed to high commercial values.

“With the retirement of its long-standing managing director, a series of new CEOs' came in. Keen to make their mark, they took the business public and pushed into new markets, particularly complex financial products'. Profits surged, UK Plc took on new people, market expectations soared. With the disposal of its old industrial divisions, credit ratings hit triple-A.

“A focus on the P&L, however, led management to neglect the balance sheet. Huge levels of debt were built up. This new leveraged' structure was justified by the promise of ceaseless future earnings from the globalised market.

“The business model was robust', spokesmen insisted. However, when its debt providers retrenched and customer confidence nosedived, the strategy of the recently rebranded Cool Britannia was exposed.”

Read more details via Google - various versions of this article are spread in various places.

It talks further about not advocating a return to short-termist “wealth-creation” that spawned what Financial Services Authority chairman Lord Turner calls “socially useless” commercial activity.

A good business needs predictable, long-term revenues. It needs well-trained, enthusiastic people and manageable levels of debt. It should produce strong products that people buy because they need or want them, not just because they've been “sold” into submission.

And maybe from that, people can earn decent livings - or even achieve much more, rather than become knife or gun criminals.

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