First and foremost, I'm not a racist, nor do I condone racism in any way shape or form, but there are a few things I take issue with...
Firstly, the sheer number of immigrants to our society. We are rapidly becoming the most multi-cultural nation on earth simply by not doing a good enough job working out which people should be allowed in and which shouldn't. For example, let in Doctors, Nurses etc, people who can do skilled jobs which could benefit our ailing NHS, but don't let in hook-handed freakshows who are indangered in their own country for inciting violence so that they can incite violence against the very country who offers them respite and shelter from the inevitable hardships they would face back home.
Another annoying thing, especially true recently in Nortern Ireland, is the number of eastern europeans coming to work here. Now I have absolutely no problem with hard-working guys like that coming here and doing work, but if I want a factory job, the fact that it would help if I spoke polish really annoys me. I mean, if you're going to come here to work, learn English. You learn good english, and I'll get along with you fine. If I miss out on a job for not speaking a foreign language which isn't even taught in our schools? Then you and I will NOT get along fine.
Again, I am all for multi-culturalism, it enriches our society and instills a sense of pride that we are a nation where other people WANT to come to, but it is a dangerous thing to have borders which are too open. Illegal immigration is still rife in the waters around these islands and as such the prostitution, drugs and gun-dealing is still rife as well. If the government put half as much effort into stopping illegal people trafficking as it did into laws to allow MORE people to come in, then I wouldn't be writing this rant now.
There we have it- multi-culturalism is annoying me these days, and it should be annoying all like-minded people as well, because if we don't shut our borders at least a little, then we will soon have no culture left of our own, it will be lost in the quagmire of multi-culturalism for ever.
Especially here though, it seems to have given paramilitaries new focus. We can't attack the prods or catholics down the road now due to the peace process and cease fires etc, but we can all go and burn out the slovak family living at the end of the street, oh yes, perfect solution. What is it about these scumbags in Northern Ireland that feel they must always have a target? Someone to rob, intimidate or beat? This country is an annoying place to live in general...
Wednesday 27 June 2007
Monday 25 June 2007
Food Aid...
You know, I've been reading quite a bit about the world around me these last few days, and in so doing I have come to realise something- we are a nation of fat, greedy, stupid and ignorant people. Ignorant as in vulgar and ignorant as in unaware of the world around us.
At some point, we as a nation need to stand up and be counted. We need to intercede for those who cannot speak for themselves and we need to be heard where they are not. For example, the Famine in Sudan (see below for a rant). Here we are, in a totally utopian society by their standard of living and yet, we still see fit not to send them technology, or money, but rather food aid. Keeping the poor poor and allowing us to live with a clear(ish) conscience. Well, yet again folks, America is to blame.
Little known to the rest of the world is this- America has a clause in its food Aid Laws, that 80% of it MUST, by LAW, be sourced INSIDE the US's borders. That means that only 20% or less is grown by the poor of the world themselves. Now tell me I'm crazy if you want, but surely there must be a way we can help people climb out of poverty and still support our own farmers etc?
Britain, once again, and the EU indirectly, have taken the lead on this, and now 50% or more of EU food aid is grown in the countries it is destined for. Look at it this way- it is easier, cheaper and more effective as a poverty remedy if grain grown two miles away is sold cheaply to rural communities, rather than grain grown 2000miles away being sent and taken by gangs, dictatorships and villains, making the poorest of the poor miss out yet again.
Sadly, due to America's COLOSSAL grains and corns industries, the EU give only 24% of international food aid. America give 71% or so, so we have a grand total of only 28% of food aid overall being grown in the countries so desperate to be growing their own food. I read in TIME magazine the other day that a "typical" american family will spend $370 on food per week, for a family of five. In Chad, where many sudanese refugees are now being settled, the average spend of a five person family for a week is $1.23cents, and that is with free water from Oxfam, and barely enough food to keep them alive. Naturally, American over-indulgence meant the american family spend most money on drinks- beer, coke, fruit juice etc, coming to nearly $122 alone. The tap water in America is safe, clean and free (perhaps unlike here for long) but they spent a third of their average weekly spend on drinks. Says a lot I reckon.
Again, german and french families where more conservative, spending closer to $200 apiece, but rememver that is equivalent to about £105 these days, so although they didn't feature a British Family, the french and german equivelent was close to where I would say the average family of 5 has their spending on groceries, perhaps a little less in the UK as our food is disproportionately cheap anyway (see Tesco for examples- beans at 8p, lemonade at 7p).
Back to the point though- if we were to give the poor of the world methods, farming equipment and advice on irrigation and dams, then we would be able to halve our food aid in no time, and although food aid is fantastic in times of famine (see Joseph when he was put in charge of grain in Egypt some 4000 years ago, find it at the end of Genesis, chapter 41 or thereabouts) it is not something which will somehow rescue the countries in need of it from the quagmire of poverty induced fatigue and loss of productivity.
At some point, we as a nation need to stand up and be counted. We need to intercede for those who cannot speak for themselves and we need to be heard where they are not. For example, the Famine in Sudan (see below for a rant). Here we are, in a totally utopian society by their standard of living and yet, we still see fit not to send them technology, or money, but rather food aid. Keeping the poor poor and allowing us to live with a clear(ish) conscience. Well, yet again folks, America is to blame.
Little known to the rest of the world is this- America has a clause in its food Aid Laws, that 80% of it MUST, by LAW, be sourced INSIDE the US's borders. That means that only 20% or less is grown by the poor of the world themselves. Now tell me I'm crazy if you want, but surely there must be a way we can help people climb out of poverty and still support our own farmers etc?
Britain, once again, and the EU indirectly, have taken the lead on this, and now 50% or more of EU food aid is grown in the countries it is destined for. Look at it this way- it is easier, cheaper and more effective as a poverty remedy if grain grown two miles away is sold cheaply to rural communities, rather than grain grown 2000miles away being sent and taken by gangs, dictatorships and villains, making the poorest of the poor miss out yet again.
Sadly, due to America's COLOSSAL grains and corns industries, the EU give only 24% of international food aid. America give 71% or so, so we have a grand total of only 28% of food aid overall being grown in the countries so desperate to be growing their own food. I read in TIME magazine the other day that a "typical" american family will spend $370 on food per week, for a family of five. In Chad, where many sudanese refugees are now being settled, the average spend of a five person family for a week is $1.23cents, and that is with free water from Oxfam, and barely enough food to keep them alive. Naturally, American over-indulgence meant the american family spend most money on drinks- beer, coke, fruit juice etc, coming to nearly $122 alone. The tap water in America is safe, clean and free (perhaps unlike here for long) but they spent a third of their average weekly spend on drinks. Says a lot I reckon.
Again, german and french families where more conservative, spending closer to $200 apiece, but rememver that is equivalent to about £105 these days, so although they didn't feature a British Family, the french and german equivelent was close to where I would say the average family of 5 has their spending on groceries, perhaps a little less in the UK as our food is disproportionately cheap anyway (see Tesco for examples- beans at 8p, lemonade at 7p).
Back to the point though- if we were to give the poor of the world methods, farming equipment and advice on irrigation and dams, then we would be able to halve our food aid in no time, and although food aid is fantastic in times of famine (see Joseph when he was put in charge of grain in Egypt some 4000 years ago, find it at the end of Genesis, chapter 41 or thereabouts) it is not something which will somehow rescue the countries in need of it from the quagmire of poverty induced fatigue and loss of productivity.
Global Warming...
I was reading last night about Al Gore and his seemingly endless quest to have the major world-polluting-countries come together and assess and prevent global warming. The problem I have is not, obviously, with Al Gore, he is one of the "good guys", but with the rest of america and it's inability to see its own pollutants as a major cause, but would rather point to china (A population of over 1 billion) and their pollution, which although it is steadily catching America is still not as bad.
I am reminded of the proverb that Jesus once told, concerning our attitude to each other, and it is the same for world leaders- "First remove the plank from your own eye, then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your friends eye". I forget where it's found in the bible, but go through the Gospels, it's there, honestly.
I was hearing the day before yesterday that China is now building a staggering 2 power plants EVERY WEEK. To put that into perspective, thats enough power to keep inner city LONDON running EVERY WEEK by a long long way. Or, the equivalent to 2 MILLION more cars on the road per year.
Lets look at that shall we- 2 M cars per plant, 2 plants per week, 52 weeks in a year- thats 208MILLION more cars on the road this time next year, just from china alone, and thats conservative hoping they don't INCREASE production. Production of what I hear you ask? Well, our out-sourced telecoms industry call centres need power. Our cheap labour markets and sweat shops need power. Our computer building and production centres need power. Basically, China is polluting the world currently not for its own benefit, but for our greed. And that has got to be annoying world leaders such as Britain and America if only for the fact that it is clear they are the cause of most of this problem but it is also becoming imminently clear that whilst they are the problem, they do not have a solution, and it would seem mighty hypocritical (thats what governments are for after all) to tell China to cut down when America (The UK did) cannot even stick to it's 2005 Kyoto agreement with any degree of integrity.
America has a problem- It wont cut down on its own emissions, but it would like to tell everyone else to do the same thing. Here we are then- ACTIONS speak louder than WORDS. If America could see fit to reduce their emissions by even 5%, or at the VERY LEAST, level the emissions at the rate they are now, then surely that would lend credence to whatever they wanted to tell China? As in, don't do what we did then, do what we're doing now.
I hope China takes the UK's lead and not the dumbass Americans who simply cannot control themselves when it comes to telling other people how to rule their countries.
I am reminded of the proverb that Jesus once told, concerning our attitude to each other, and it is the same for world leaders- "First remove the plank from your own eye, then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your friends eye". I forget where it's found in the bible, but go through the Gospels, it's there, honestly.
I was hearing the day before yesterday that China is now building a staggering 2 power plants EVERY WEEK. To put that into perspective, thats enough power to keep inner city LONDON running EVERY WEEK by a long long way. Or, the equivalent to 2 MILLION more cars on the road per year.
Lets look at that shall we- 2 M cars per plant, 2 plants per week, 52 weeks in a year- thats 208MILLION more cars on the road this time next year, just from china alone, and thats conservative hoping they don't INCREASE production. Production of what I hear you ask? Well, our out-sourced telecoms industry call centres need power. Our cheap labour markets and sweat shops need power. Our computer building and production centres need power. Basically, China is polluting the world currently not for its own benefit, but for our greed. And that has got to be annoying world leaders such as Britain and America if only for the fact that it is clear they are the cause of most of this problem but it is also becoming imminently clear that whilst they are the problem, they do not have a solution, and it would seem mighty hypocritical (thats what governments are for after all) to tell China to cut down when America (The UK did) cannot even stick to it's 2005 Kyoto agreement with any degree of integrity.
America has a problem- It wont cut down on its own emissions, but it would like to tell everyone else to do the same thing. Here we are then- ACTIONS speak louder than WORDS. If America could see fit to reduce their emissions by even 5%, or at the VERY LEAST, level the emissions at the rate they are now, then surely that would lend credence to whatever they wanted to tell China? As in, don't do what we did then, do what we're doing now.
I hope China takes the UK's lead and not the dumbass Americans who simply cannot control themselves when it comes to telling other people how to rule their countries.
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