Tuesday 10 November 2009
Something I feel the need to share...
Looking at a picture of his infantry regiment the Grenadier Guards, my brother started to reel off the names of the boys who he trained with who had died in Afghanistan recently. It bought a tear to my eye. So many of the young men I was looking at in the photograph were dead now. These young men that had trained with my brother, been through exactly the same processes and been sent to the same places were dead. Not only is it a pointless war, it is just turning into a game of luck for those who are there, I can't imagine how awful it must be to be there, and what is worse is that my brother said, the majority of the young boys who are out there at the moment don't even know why they were sent. Bring our boys back....
Sunday 8 November 2009
Citizen Kane
I seem to always relate back to Sociology when I see anything remotley related to class struggle. So I may have been watching Citizen Kane with the wrong ideas but hey ho! Here is what I took from it.
Kane started out trying to protect the interests of the underclass, using his power to bring the real news to the people even though he was loosing money. He came across as very modest, and not wanting special treatment (the scene in the news room when he asks them all to sit). He genuinley wanted to tell the news honestly.
It seemed however that the richer he became, buying "someone who collects diamonds" and marrying the President's niece, made him loose site of what he started out to achieve. "People will think what I tell them to think". It made me think about Marxism, and the Bourgeoise pretending to have the interests of the Proleteriat at heart but actually just mystifying issues and creating an aura of false class conciousness.
I may not have been taking what I should from the film, but with regard to Freudianism, the only ideas that seem to stand out to me were the fact that he went to work and his first wife stayed at home, (this seemed like a huge issue as there like 6 cuts to them eating dinner everynight and her questioning why he is always at the paper) and also the fact that he forced his second wife into a career she no longer enjoyed because HE had payed for it. I think this relates to the whole idea that woman are lesser men and an inferior sex etc....stupid ideas.
I suppose the film was meant to portray how power can bring your eventual downfall, and it was an okay watch, but I do not see how it could have ever been hailed as the greatest film of our time. I had a lot of interest in comparing Kane to Branson and Murdoch though.
Kane started out trying to protect the interests of the underclass, using his power to bring the real news to the people even though he was loosing money. He came across as very modest, and not wanting special treatment (the scene in the news room when he asks them all to sit). He genuinley wanted to tell the news honestly.
It seemed however that the richer he became, buying "someone who collects diamonds" and marrying the President's niece, made him loose site of what he started out to achieve. "People will think what I tell them to think". It made me think about Marxism, and the Bourgeoise pretending to have the interests of the Proleteriat at heart but actually just mystifying issues and creating an aura of false class conciousness.
I may not have been taking what I should from the film, but with regard to Freudianism, the only ideas that seem to stand out to me were the fact that he went to work and his first wife stayed at home, (this seemed like a huge issue as there like 6 cuts to them eating dinner everynight and her questioning why he is always at the paper) and also the fact that he forced his second wife into a career she no longer enjoyed because HE had payed for it. I think this relates to the whole idea that woman are lesser men and an inferior sex etc....stupid ideas.
I suppose the film was meant to portray how power can bring your eventual downfall, and it was an okay watch, but I do not see how it could have ever been hailed as the greatest film of our time. I had a lot of interest in comparing Kane to Branson and Murdoch though.
WINOL week 1
Already in the knowledge I was not able to attend Monday's team meeting, I emailed ahead. However, due to lack of communication between the features team, the features editor was not informed and I was confronted as to why I was not there. Not a good start. But, as I am organised, I had my ideas ready to pitch and emailed them through slightly peeved that I was being accused of skiving off! The feedback came through and I was given the go ahead to get writing.
I spent the majority of Tuesday trying to get through to the the people I needed to speak to, but with no luck. So I had to switch the angles of my stories. I was given till 6pm Wednesday to get my two stories done, which seemed like a mighty long time, but when it came to it I was lucky I had that long. I uploaded them to the site Wednesday and thought all was well. Untill I checked my email in the evening and was told that we were all meant to be in on the Wednesday. Not an issue, just a case of misinformation. Apart from the lack of communication, which I believe has now been resolved as people have set up a facebook group etc etc, I think my stories went okay, although not totally thrilling to read, but that is Health and Wellbeing for you....very dry!
I spent the majority of Tuesday trying to get through to the the people I needed to speak to, but with no luck. So I had to switch the angles of my stories. I was given till 6pm Wednesday to get my two stories done, which seemed like a mighty long time, but when it came to it I was lucky I had that long. I uploaded them to the site Wednesday and thought all was well. Untill I checked my email in the evening and was told that we were all meant to be in on the Wednesday. Not an issue, just a case of misinformation. Apart from the lack of communication, which I believe has now been resolved as people have set up a facebook group etc etc, I think my stories went okay, although not totally thrilling to read, but that is Health and Wellbeing for you....very dry!
Thursday 22 October 2009
Question Time 22/10/2009....My Thoughts.
I am firstly going to say that I am not an avid viewer of Question Time. But, with the media this week surrounding the event, that is Nick Griffin appearing on the show, I decided to take a look.
I must say I found the whole experience very, very uncomfortable. I know that many people are against the BNP, but he was invited on to the show for a reason. So, LET HIM SPEAK. Why on earth invite this man to speak, if you do not want to listen. It felt more like a stoning then an interview session. The audience threw comments at him, very mature comments I must add, (sarcastically) such as "Dick Griffin". I would like to know how these people go to be in the audience, and if there is not a screening process then that is ridiculous. I tuned in, wanting to see an interview but was instead confronted with a free-for-all of low rate people with low rate opinions mouthing off! The majority of questions asked were about immigrant policies, which, fair enough is a huge factor, BUT, I wanted to hear more from him. I wanted to know what makes the man tick! Toward the end of the show the presenter stated he had not wanted the whole show to be about the BNP, and it was expected but I really do despise the way the audience were let to just ask similar questions again and again. It was more of a personal attack on the man then a serious interview and I found the whole thing a let down. He got two seats in Europe, so clearly he is doing something to please some people out there but we will never know what if, when he does eventually go on interview shows he is ridiculed and not given a chance to speak.
I must say I found the whole experience very, very uncomfortable. I know that many people are against the BNP, but he was invited on to the show for a reason. So, LET HIM SPEAK. Why on earth invite this man to speak, if you do not want to listen. It felt more like a stoning then an interview session. The audience threw comments at him, very mature comments I must add, (sarcastically) such as "Dick Griffin". I would like to know how these people go to be in the audience, and if there is not a screening process then that is ridiculous. I tuned in, wanting to see an interview but was instead confronted with a free-for-all of low rate people with low rate opinions mouthing off! The majority of questions asked were about immigrant policies, which, fair enough is a huge factor, BUT, I wanted to hear more from him. I wanted to know what makes the man tick! Toward the end of the show the presenter stated he had not wanted the whole show to be about the BNP, and it was expected but I really do despise the way the audience were let to just ask similar questions again and again. It was more of a personal attack on the man then a serious interview and I found the whole thing a let down. He got two seats in Europe, so clearly he is doing something to please some people out there but we will never know what if, when he does eventually go on interview shows he is ridiculed and not given a chance to speak.
Psychobabble, Sex and a lot of Penis!
Today's lecture was, to say the least, enlightening. I think I found most interesting learning about the"reptile" part of the brain. The "hippocamus", is the part of the brain that lights up, so to speak, when the brain encounters images of rage, blood, sex and even the colour red! It is referred to as the reptile part of the brain because reptiles have a constant need to be territorial and fight for survival, hence their complicated traits such as a chameleon changing the colour of it's skin to blend in with it's background. This leads me on to the Odepus complex. Freud claimed that boys have the urge to kill their father's and sleep with their mothers (he tried to understand the brain using literature). Apparently it is a territorial thing. Quite hard to imagine happenening in modern times but it is true that males become very territorial when it comes to females, they feel the urge to be the dominant gender and feel demascunilised when the authority is taken away from them. Typical blokes!
I find the idea that women suffer from penis envy, that is that women are just males without a penis and therefore are lacking in the most important part, very frustrating. Although women have come very far in terms of being able to work and vote etc, this theory being reiterated throughout classrooms all over the world enrages me because it reinforces the idea that women have been seen as the lesser important gender, this should have never been mentioned at all! Men! This view I think I have gained from studying sociology. I envy Simone de Beauvoir, and her views on males. No, I am not a crazy feminist, however I do believe that men chat a load of bollocks a lot of the time. In her book, "The Second Sex", she aruges that men have MADE women the 'other' sex. They have put a false aura of mystery around females and use this to avoid understanding them or their problems. This theory can be related to race, religion and class but is more obvious in terms of gender. She aruges that men have made women feel a "deviation of the normal" and that males feel women are only pretend men, trying to "emulate normality", she felt that this assumption must be set aside for the stereotype to be forgotten.
Freud's theories still have major influence today though which proves they are viewed as strong. Advertiser's use the Freudian idea that showing people a sexual image will excite them and make them buy something, such as the Cadbury's Flake advert shown in the lecture, she is biting into a Flake and Chris said it was referring her to biting a penis. It takes me back to my sociology lecture's again where we were taught that women are shown products in magazines on models, and they are shown in sexually provocative ways sometimes with males, which makes us as an audience think that if we go out and buy them we will get everything we see in the advert. The Century of the Self, the century of self-preoccupation, a century of repressed and frustrated love..Freudian Love do ring true, however I do NOT agree with his views on women, it seems he just hates women! Arsehole!
I find the idea that women suffer from penis envy, that is that women are just males without a penis and therefore are lacking in the most important part, very frustrating. Although women have come very far in terms of being able to work and vote etc, this theory being reiterated throughout classrooms all over the world enrages me because it reinforces the idea that women have been seen as the lesser important gender, this should have never been mentioned at all! Men! This view I think I have gained from studying sociology. I envy Simone de Beauvoir, and her views on males. No, I am not a crazy feminist, however I do believe that men chat a load of bollocks a lot of the time. In her book, "The Second Sex", she aruges that men have MADE women the 'other' sex. They have put a false aura of mystery around females and use this to avoid understanding them or their problems. This theory can be related to race, religion and class but is more obvious in terms of gender. She aruges that men have made women feel a "deviation of the normal" and that males feel women are only pretend men, trying to "emulate normality", she felt that this assumption must be set aside for the stereotype to be forgotten.
Freud's theories still have major influence today though which proves they are viewed as strong. Advertiser's use the Freudian idea that showing people a sexual image will excite them and make them buy something, such as the Cadbury's Flake advert shown in the lecture, she is biting into a Flake and Chris said it was referring her to biting a penis. It takes me back to my sociology lecture's again where we were taught that women are shown products in magazines on models, and they are shown in sexually provocative ways sometimes with males, which makes us as an audience think that if we go out and buy them we will get everything we see in the advert. The Century of the Self, the century of self-preoccupation, a century of repressed and frustrated love..Freudian Love do ring true, however I do NOT agree with his views on women, it seems he just hates women! Arsehole!
Wednesday 7 October 2009
Thesis, Antithesis and Synthesis.
Hegel's dialect looks to explain how there are no objects, only change. He coined a triad theory to explain this.
When something happens it is "thesis", he then said that there must be an opposition to it, and it brings about the creation of its "antithesis" which eventually results in a "synthesis"- the final result of the clash between the thesis and antithesis.
For example lets look at the class struggle. The ruling class will take the place of the thesis. They have the power, money and control. The working class, the oppressed, take the place of the antithesis as they are the opposite. As a result, the working class revolt against the ruling class and we have a revolution, the synthesis.
In a historical context we could place the thesis as The Ancient Greek State. The antithesis (the opposition) would be the criminals and barbarians or the other State that does not approve of the Greek State. The synthesis (the outcome) is war.
The synthesis is however not always the final outcome. As new phases may begin that creates additional change. But his theory is that change happens in a process of three, an idea, an opposing idea, and the clash between the two.
In more modern terms, we could view the thesis as a home team, the antithesis as a away team, and the synthesis would be a football match. The result of the match may mean one team wins, but the additional matches that they will play to get further up in the league are new phases, this one match is only one phase in the process of change.
When something happens it is "thesis", he then said that there must be an opposition to it, and it brings about the creation of its "antithesis" which eventually results in a "synthesis"- the final result of the clash between the thesis and antithesis.
For example lets look at the class struggle. The ruling class will take the place of the thesis. They have the power, money and control. The working class, the oppressed, take the place of the antithesis as they are the opposite. As a result, the working class revolt against the ruling class and we have a revolution, the synthesis.
In a historical context we could place the thesis as The Ancient Greek State. The antithesis (the opposition) would be the criminals and barbarians or the other State that does not approve of the Greek State. The synthesis (the outcome) is war.
The synthesis is however not always the final outcome. As new phases may begin that creates additional change. But his theory is that change happens in a process of three, an idea, an opposing idea, and the clash between the two.
In more modern terms, we could view the thesis as a home team, the antithesis as a away team, and the synthesis would be a football match. The result of the match may mean one team wins, but the additional matches that they will play to get further up in the league are new phases, this one match is only one phase in the process of change.
Monday 18 May 2009
Alfie...I'm not your daddy
In February The Sun newspaper shocked the nation when it revealed pictures of 12-year-old Alfie Patten holding a baby that was believed to be his with 15-year-old girlfriend Chantelle Stedman from Eastbourne, East Sussex.
It has since been revealed that he is not in fact the father after a judge ruled that the DNA tests could be announced. The father is a 15-year-old boy from Eastbourne.
Alfie is said to be "extremely distressed" by the results. This young boy should see it as a blessing in disguise. He may be distressed as he has cared for the baby and found that his girlfriend cheated, but now he can carry on with his life and live out the rest of childhood without the burden of a baby.
It has since been revealed that he is not in fact the father after a judge ruled that the DNA tests could be announced. The father is a 15-year-old boy from Eastbourne.
Alfie is said to be "extremely distressed" by the results. This young boy should see it as a blessing in disguise. He may be distressed as he has cared for the baby and found that his girlfriend cheated, but now he can carry on with his life and live out the rest of childhood without the burden of a baby.
Monday 11 May 2009
Sweets, Presidents, naked veterans and a tarty PM....
Harry Willsher, a 12-year-old schoolboy from Billericay, Essex, has been given the best job in the world, chief tester...in a SWEET FACTORY! Jealous? I am!
Every 3 months Harry is given the chance to test new, top secret sweet recipes after he won a competition at Swizzell's Matlow to find a new recruit. His description of the smells and flavours of his favourite sweet, the Drumstick lolly apparently wowed the judges.
Harry described the factory as being like something out of Roald Dahl's children's classic, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I wonder if he gets paid too?
Also, Veteran actress June Brown, aka Dot Branning was Cotton in Eastenders, is planning to get naked in the future. The 82-year-old actress said "I don't know if it's a pretty sight". One can only imagine!
Barack Obama is establishing himself as a people's president, which is wonderful, but I was slightly annoyed to read that at a recent Washington Fundraiser the likes of Susan Boyle were invited. Boyle shot to fame on Britain's got Talent earlier this year, but I do not think that she should be invited to be entertained by the President of the United States, I mean surely there are more deserving people out there such as ex-army Brits etc. What's worse is she turned the invitation down. The phrase "too big for your boots", springs to mind.
And in conclusion to today's fascinating news update, it has emerged the Gordon Brown wears makeup, and has a step-by-step guide to applying the slap when he has to go D.I.Y. If I looked like him though I would probably do the same, he might want to change his brand however because as far as I can see it's not working for him.
http://www.virginmedia.com/microsites/tvradio/slideshow/tv_fossils/img_4.jpg
Tuesday 5 May 2009
Mark McGowan and his "art"-felt tribute to Jade Goody
I thought I'd seen the lowest of the low in terms of art when I visited the the Tate Gallery in 2005 and stumbled across Tracy Emin's "Exploration of the Soul", a disgusting description of what she went through as a child, I don't even want to go into what she had written on the pieces of paper that in my opinion plagued the walls of the gallery. The woman is not an artist, she needs counselling.
Anyway, I was wrong! Mark McGowan, a Performance Artist has re-enacted the death of Jade Goody, using cardboard boxes with pictures stuck on of Jade's, mother Jackiey's and husband Jack's faces. The installation at the Guy Hilton Gallery in East London depicted the final two hours of Jade's life and around 200 people attended. Slightly soon, as she only died 6 weeks ago of Cervial Cancer. McGowan defends his art admitting it's "provocative" and accuses the people of England as being "too hung up on death".
So, I underwent a bit of research into him, and it turns out he is another deluded "Artist". His previous works include; re-enacting the death of Jean-Charles de Menezes by Met Police outside Stockwell Underground Station in London, and eating chunks of a Corgi dog in protest against Prince Philip for hunting foxes. Disgusting. Art my arse. But wait, it gets better! He sat in a bathtub full of baked beans with chips up his nose and sausages around his head claiming to be the defender of the Full English Breakfast. Art in this country really is going downhill. Sickening!
www.thesun.co.uk www.wikipedia.org
Thursday 23 April 2009
Woman's bra saves her life!
Bras, in my experience, are more trouble then they are worth. You can never find the perfect fit, a nice style or one that suits all lifestyles. But I wonder when this woman bought her bra, whether or not she knew it would save her life!
The unnamed 57-year-old woman from the West side of Detroit was shot at by one of three intruders as she looked out of her window and saw them raiding the house next door. The bullet deflected off of the underwire of her bra thus saving her life.
She was taken to hospital but released the same day and Detroit police said "she sustained injuries but they're not life threatening."
Local police Sgt Eren Stephens Bell told the Detrioit News: "We need to get some bulletproof vests made from that. It is some strong wire."
The unnamed 57-year-old woman from the West side of Detroit was shot at by one of three intruders as she looked out of her window and saw them raiding the house next door. The bullet deflected off of the underwire of her bra thus saving her life.
She was taken to hospital but released the same day and Detroit police said "she sustained injuries but they're not life threatening."
Local police Sgt Eren Stephens Bell told the Detrioit News: "We need to get some bulletproof vests made from that. It is some strong wire."
Wednesday 22 April 2009
TV Talent
When Susan Boyle walked on stage on TV talent show Britains Got Talent, the audience and viewers at home laughed. Little did they know she could actually sing!
I myself admit I judged this book a little to harshly by its cover and just watched it because I thought it would make me laugh. How wrong myself and i'm sure many others like me were!
The 48-year-old wowed the TV show judges Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden and Piers Morgan by singing West End song 'I Dreamed A Dream'.
The audience and viewers were endeared by her as she admitted she had never been kissed and acted a bit, for want of a better word, 'kooky' on stage.
But now it has emerged the wonder from Blackburn, West Lothian, has infact been kissed and more than once! She recently admitted “That was made as a joke! Never been kissed? I’ve never stopped.”
Although she does have a good voice, I wonder if she would have been as much of a hit without the silly spinster story thrown in? Who knows?
What we do know is that there is some fierce competition in this years show including the very cute Shaheen Jarfargholi from Swansea, whose rendition of 'Who's Loving You' by the Jackson 5 raked in 13.5 million viewers, giving it the biggest TV ratings of the year so far. Susan and Shaheen are favourites to be in the final says the sun dubbing the competition, 'Boyle V Boyo'.
I myself admit I judged this book a little to harshly by its cover and just watched it because I thought it would make me laugh. How wrong myself and i'm sure many others like me were!
The 48-year-old wowed the TV show judges Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden and Piers Morgan by singing West End song 'I Dreamed A Dream'.
The audience and viewers were endeared by her as she admitted she had never been kissed and acted a bit, for want of a better word, 'kooky' on stage.
But now it has emerged the wonder from Blackburn, West Lothian, has infact been kissed and more than once! She recently admitted “That was made as a joke! Never been kissed? I’ve never stopped.”
Although she does have a good voice, I wonder if she would have been as much of a hit without the silly spinster story thrown in? Who knows?
What we do know is that there is some fierce competition in this years show including the very cute Shaheen Jarfargholi from Swansea, whose rendition of 'Who's Loving You' by the Jackson 5 raked in 13.5 million viewers, giving it the biggest TV ratings of the year so far. Susan and Shaheen are favourites to be in the final says the sun dubbing the competition, 'Boyle V Boyo'.
Thursday 9 April 2009
Police Power.....Mad!
Last week during the G20 protests a man was struck by a police officer and died.
Ian Tomlinson, 47, was trying to get home from his newspaper selling job, through the Royal Exchange Passage when he was struck in the leg with a baton by a metropolitan police officer and pushed to the ground. Bystanders are said to have helped Mr Tomlinson up, but he collapsed three minutes later of a heart attack and died.
Footage shows the newspaper vendor trying to get home to Smithfield past police cordons. He had his hands in his pockets, his back to the officers and it is alledged he was in no way part of the protest.
The independent Police Complaints Commission is investigating the death.
I wonder, after looking at the pictures in the newspaper, why the officer chose to attack a man, not making any trouble and clearly just walking? I could understand a mistake perhaps if the scene was busy and there were lots of people creating havoc, but from the stills of the footage, it appears to be quite empty.
I was reading John Kingdom's Government and Politics in Britain, thinking about how much power the police on the streets should really have.
Kingdom writes that 'One of the defining characteristics of the state is the right to use violence' but that it needs to be used with caution or we run the risk of becoming a 'police state'. He also writes that 'Policing involves two broad functions 'fighting crime and maintaining public order'.
I think, that there is a very thin line between these two concepts. Yes, the police should fight crime in order to maintain public order, but there is a difference between keeping the peace and using violence in order to make a point.
In the case of the officer who hit Ian Tomlinson, no one knows exactly what was going through his mind at the time, in his eyes, he may have been trying to make a point that the police presence was there to stop anything kicking off, however he made the vital mistake in using a weapon. This raises the point of militarization. Using military style force to maintain order. 'Once officers are armed, mistakes can be fatal'. (Kingdom:670:ch21).
In 1994 the Criminal Justice and Public order Act was put in place giving the police the right to restrict protestors amongst other things. Of course this is a vital act given the amount of protests that have led to violence, but this should not protect the officer in question, and the footage will clearly show that he used force in completly the wrong circumstance. A similar case of police violence which led to the death of a person was Oliver Price in 1990, who died after being held in a head lock by a police officer.
Kingdom also writes that 'characteristically the police are associated with certain attitudes towards race, gender, class and ideology'. Looking at the stills, Mr Tomlinson does fit the lower class model, tracksuit bottoms, a shaved head and quite a big figure (I do not want to generalise here, I am just looking through the eyes of the officers) so this reiterates the police attitudes. It is however a very shocking incident, and it just shows that the police are giving too much freedom when it comes to policing the streets. Luckily there are witnesses in favour of Mr Tomlinson's family, and the footage, as it would not suprise me if the police got away with this by twisting the facts as has been done in the past, to protect the reputation of the Police Force in Britain. A quote from Kingdom 'There are grounds for believing that policing in the UK is a model for the world'.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/7992783.stm
John Kingdom: Government and Politics Chapter 21.
Tuesday 7 April 2009
Parky tells it how it is.....
The television legend that is Michael Parkinson never ceases to amaze me. I think he is brilliant. He speaks the truth. And yet again he has graced the world with his wise word.
There is no denying at this moment in time the subject of Jade Goody's death is somewhat a sensitive point amongst many of the public, as people are still mourning and she was taken so young. However the idea that she was a 'saint' and a 'martyr' seems a tad far fetched. Well to me anyway! Which is why I am really glad Parkinson has had his say and brought everyone back down to earth.
I mentioned in an earlier blog that her death had been turned into a media circus, and no matter how sad it is for her two children and everyone she left behind, death is a part of life, people die everyday!
In a recent interview Parkinson told the Radio Times "Jade Goody has her own place in the history of television and, while it's significant, it's nothing to be proud of. Her death is as sad as the death of any young person, but it's not the passing of a martyr or a saint or Princess Di."
Not one to shy away from voicing his opinion Parkinson also referred to Jade as "ignorant" and claimed that she represented "all that's paltry and wretched about Britain today".
It is absolutly wonderful that her passing has led to more people getting cervical cancer screenings and raised mass awareness of the disease. But however sad, I do think that the British Public have a guilty conscience for all the bad things they said about the young women, and this is there way of repenting. If Jade hadn't died, would we like her?
http://images.google.co.uk/images?hl=en&q=Michael Parkinson
Monday 6 April 2009
Madonna shown no Mercy
Last week Madonna travelled to Malawi in a bid to adopt yet another orphan, this time a young girl, Mercy James. She was however denied the adoption.
When a child is deemed better off in a poverty stricken Malawi with high infant mortality rates rather than joining a rich family in a developed country, it begs the question, why?
Judge Esme Chombo ruled Madonna was ineligible to adopt Mercy last week as she did not qualify as a Malawian resident. But surely this does not matter considering Madonna adopted David Banda in 2006 from Malawi.
Although Madonna has gone through a very public divorce in recent months, both herself and Guy Ritchie have tried to keep life as normal as they can for the children, and there is no doubt that the child will have everythin she needs. So why is the judge denying this little the girl the right to a better life?
When it comes to adoption from poor countries, if the family is checked, deemed safe and approved in every other way other than nationality or residency, I think children should be given the chance to improve their lives, it seems selfish not to.
http://images.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://www.televisioninternet.com/news/pictures/madonnadavid.jpg
Sunday 5 April 2009
Lecture 5 Government and Politics-Local Government
The most interesting thing I gained from this lecutre was definatly the information on the NIMBY's.
It took me back to last year in my hometown of Redhill, which is home to one of the most fundamentalist Mosques is the UK. There were plans to build an even bigger Mosque, which everyone in the town agreed was nessecary due to the influx of Muslims in the area, however when told it would be built within the town things went a bit sour and the locals became very against the idea saying there was no room already and that they have one and that is enough.
I wouldn't say I was a NIMBY because if something is set to benefit me I want it as close as to me as possible, however, on that particular occasion the people who attended the Mosque got a bit bitter and last year on March 23rd they marched through our town centre up to the Mosque declaring their religion as superior and damning Christianity, whats worse is the demonstration was held on Easter Sunday. I found this highly irritating as their reasoning was that the birthday of the Muslim prophet Mohamed had clashed with Easter Sunday, when it was infact the previous Thursday.
I was however very happy at the amount of English Christians who lined the march with British flags and signs saying 'I'm not racist, but I don't care!'
http://www.christianvoice.org.uk/Alerts/alert013.html
Empiricism and A-Priori
An empirical idea is based upon direct experience. An idea that can be backed up with proof and evidence. It's kind of like the whole I wont believe it untill I see it thing.
In comparison, APriori is an assumption which we believe to be true, a knowledge that is gained from deduction. A Priori knowledge is independent of experience. Galen Strawson wrote that an A-Priori argument is one of which "you can see that it is true just lying on your couch. You don't have to get up off your couch and go outside and examine the way things are in the physical world". (www.wikipedia.org./A-priori). A common example of A-Priori knowledge is mathematics, "if I have two apples now, and I plan to add three apples, I will have five apples. This is knowledge gained deductively. I did not actually need to get the three other apples and place them with the first two to see that I have five" (http://www.importanceofphilosophy.com/Irrational_APriori.html).
In comparison, APriori is an assumption which we believe to be true, a knowledge that is gained from deduction. A Priori knowledge is independent of experience. Galen Strawson wrote that an A-Priori argument is one of which "you can see that it is true just lying on your couch. You don't have to get up off your couch and go outside and examine the way things are in the physical world". (www.wikipedia.org./A-priori). A common example of A-Priori knowledge is mathematics, "if I have two apples now, and I plan to add three apples, I will have five apples. This is knowledge gained deductively. I did not actually need to get the three other apples and place them with the first two to see that I have five" (http://www.importanceofphilosophy.com/Irrational_APriori.html).
Thursday 26 February 2009
Bought and sold for English gold......The Curse of Cromwell on you!
Britain has such a glorious and rich history, full of amazing events and extraordinary people. So to learn today that we are not entirely indigenous to this great Isle was somewhat dissapointing.
Once I got over the initial shock that we are speaking a variant of German and that some of what I thought was our heritage may have been "mythical" and "made up by the Victorians", I took a deep interest in what Chris was saying about the Act Of Union.
I have many links with Ireland, my Dad was born and brought up in Dublin and continues to live in Waterford. I have cousins, aunties and uncles there, and my brother was sent to Northern Ireland with the army to serve for six months. My Dad is very proud of his heritage, I am forever listening to stories about how my family survived the famine as somewhere along the line we were money lenders and other bits and bobs of the Greene family history. But to learn of the hardship the people of Ireland have suffered over the ages made me even more proud to have Irish heritage. Mass genocide, economic destruction and famine are just the start of the problems England has caused in Ireland, so is it any wonder Ireland does not want to become a part of "Great" Britain. What is so great about a country that cannot gain the confidence of another by peaceful means?
I think it is brilliant that Britain was the first country to industrialise, and played a crucial role in developing the world economy and that we have such a brilliant history and ties with many other great countries in the world, but as Chris stated, how can we judge on how best to solve other countries terrorism issues and problems when we cannot even control one in our own country? The whole idea of Britain storming in to help other people to gain face as opposed to solving our own countries issues seems to be a recurring problem.
Let's feed and shelter Africa, when we have a huge poverty problem here, let's go and help America fight the war in Iraq, when our soldiers are being given inadequate food compared to the Americans. It all seems so hypocritical.
I want to leave on a quote from one of my favourite plays "Translations" by Brian Friel. He wrote plays relating to the struggles in Ireland, and along with the Poet Seamus Heaney, had these performed by their theatre company, Field Day. "It is not the literal past, the facts of history, that shape us, but images of the past embodied in language." The marks of the past effect us now in the form of the language we speak, as our language and culture is shaped by our history.
Once I got over the initial shock that we are speaking a variant of German and that some of what I thought was our heritage may have been "mythical" and "made up by the Victorians", I took a deep interest in what Chris was saying about the Act Of Union.
I have many links with Ireland, my Dad was born and brought up in Dublin and continues to live in Waterford. I have cousins, aunties and uncles there, and my brother was sent to Northern Ireland with the army to serve for six months. My Dad is very proud of his heritage, I am forever listening to stories about how my family survived the famine as somewhere along the line we were money lenders and other bits and bobs of the Greene family history. But to learn of the hardship the people of Ireland have suffered over the ages made me even more proud to have Irish heritage. Mass genocide, economic destruction and famine are just the start of the problems England has caused in Ireland, so is it any wonder Ireland does not want to become a part of "Great" Britain. What is so great about a country that cannot gain the confidence of another by peaceful means?
I think it is brilliant that Britain was the first country to industrialise, and played a crucial role in developing the world economy and that we have such a brilliant history and ties with many other great countries in the world, but as Chris stated, how can we judge on how best to solve other countries terrorism issues and problems when we cannot even control one in our own country? The whole idea of Britain storming in to help other people to gain face as opposed to solving our own countries issues seems to be a recurring problem.
Let's feed and shelter Africa, when we have a huge poverty problem here, let's go and help America fight the war in Iraq, when our soldiers are being given inadequate food compared to the Americans. It all seems so hypocritical.
I want to leave on a quote from one of my favourite plays "Translations" by Brian Friel. He wrote plays relating to the struggles in Ireland, and along with the Poet Seamus Heaney, had these performed by their theatre company, Field Day. "It is not the literal past, the facts of history, that shape us, but images of the past embodied in language." The marks of the past effect us now in the form of the language we speak, as our language and culture is shaped by our history.
Thursday 19 February 2009
Jade Goody- sad or not?
In 2002 Jade Goody was a figure of public hatred. Whilst in the Big Brother House, she supposedly engaged in sexual activities under a duvet and threatened to "deck" fellow housemates. This was not taken well by the viewers of the iconic show, and she left the house to the public holding placards declaring "kill the pig" and "miss piggy".
In January 2007 Jade again entered the house in the celebrity version of Big Brother, and once again became a hate figure after herself, Jo O'Meara and Danielle Lloyd exchanged racist remarks about Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty, referring to her as "Shilpa Poppadom" and declaring that she should "Fuck off home".
Although she made numerous attempts to reconcile the reputation she had ruined for herself, with her best selling perfume line, a DVD, an autobiography, a cookbook and a trip to India, it is only since she has been diagnosed with terminal Cervical Cancer that she has been accepted into society by the masses.
I find it hard to believe that someone who was so hated and who made so many mistakes during her life is only being accepted when told she is dying. There is so much publicity being aimed at her now, even talks of her being filmed whilst she is dying. It shows how unforgiving and shallow the British public really are.
She wants to marry her on-off lover Jack Tweed this Sunday before she dies, and was given a £3,500 wedding dress from Harrods owner Mohamed Al Fayed as a gift.
In my opinion, its all very sad, but it has been made into a media circus. In last weeks news Bishop Jonathan Blake made headlines for photographing his child on top of their house, for a project in which the children have to be snapped reading in perculiar places. He visited Jade this week. The Bishop arrived in an emergency style vehicle, with the words "On Call Bishop" and "Trauma 999" splashed across the back. It almost seems as though he was making a mockery of the church and made the whole thing more ludicrous.
I appreciate that Jade has been in the media spotlight since 2o02 age 21, but when it gets to the extreme that they want to video her in her dying days, days which she should be comforting her sons, providing reassurance and spending it with the man she loves, it all becomes very hard to feel truley sympathetic toward her when nothing about it seems real.
Jade has come from a turbulent background, with her Dad dying of a heroine overdose and her mum allowing her to roll spliffs since she was four years old, so it is no wonder some of the things she did throughout her life were not always right. But I think, now that she has gained the publics sympathy and affection, she should leave peacefully and gracefully, not in the middle of a media circus, leaving her poor children fond memories of their mother.
In January 2007 Jade again entered the house in the celebrity version of Big Brother, and once again became a hate figure after herself, Jo O'Meara and Danielle Lloyd exchanged racist remarks about Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty, referring to her as "Shilpa Poppadom" and declaring that she should "Fuck off home".
Although she made numerous attempts to reconcile the reputation she had ruined for herself, with her best selling perfume line, a DVD, an autobiography, a cookbook and a trip to India, it is only since she has been diagnosed with terminal Cervical Cancer that she has been accepted into society by the masses.
I find it hard to believe that someone who was so hated and who made so many mistakes during her life is only being accepted when told she is dying. There is so much publicity being aimed at her now, even talks of her being filmed whilst she is dying. It shows how unforgiving and shallow the British public really are.
She wants to marry her on-off lover Jack Tweed this Sunday before she dies, and was given a £3,500 wedding dress from Harrods owner Mohamed Al Fayed as a gift.
In my opinion, its all very sad, but it has been made into a media circus. In last weeks news Bishop Jonathan Blake made headlines for photographing his child on top of their house, for a project in which the children have to be snapped reading in perculiar places. He visited Jade this week. The Bishop arrived in an emergency style vehicle, with the words "On Call Bishop" and "Trauma 999" splashed across the back. It almost seems as though he was making a mockery of the church and made the whole thing more ludicrous.
I appreciate that Jade has been in the media spotlight since 2o02 age 21, but when it gets to the extreme that they want to video her in her dying days, days which she should be comforting her sons, providing reassurance and spending it with the man she loves, it all becomes very hard to feel truley sympathetic toward her when nothing about it seems real.
Jade has come from a turbulent background, with her Dad dying of a heroine overdose and her mum allowing her to roll spliffs since she was four years old, so it is no wonder some of the things she did throughout her life were not always right. But I think, now that she has gained the publics sympathy and affection, she should leave peacefully and gracefully, not in the middle of a media circus, leaving her poor children fond memories of their mother.
Tuesday 17 February 2009
Politics
Politics has always been an area of life I find hard to comprehend. I realise that it occurs constantly in all that we do and say, and trying to avoid itis impossible, yet the whole idea I find very complicated.
Charles Darwin's Theory of Evolution is a subject I do however find incredibly interesting. When I was younger, I always used to ask people, " if we evolved from monkeys, how comes the monkeys in the zoo and thewild haven't evolved into humans yet?" When the theory was raised, it sent me back to a time in my university kitchen, watching the boys I live with running around drunk, tackling eachother to the ground, passing out and stuffing food down their throats like primates. It made me think, how much difference is there between humans today and our monkey ancestors?
I tend to look it at like this, we still do the basic things to survive, we eat, we drink and we reproduce. To do these things as a primate you need to hunt, find a source of water and a mate. In my eyes, we still only need to do these things to survive, we have just made them incredibly complicatedby introducing money, which we get from work and going to university, and complicated dating techniques, why can't it all be based on the smells we emit to possible partners?
We are still all aiming toward the same thing, we live and we die, we just need to survive inbetween. A bleak outlook on life I agree, but really, has itnever crossed your mind that we would be happier as monkeys?
The quote, "Man is born free, yet everywhere is in chains", from Rousseau has always spoken to me. We are all born into this world and our parents have hopes and dreams for us, yet we are all under a form of control thatrestricts us doing what we really want! So, why do we obey the state? Referring to the Government and Politics book, when a government has legitimacy, it does not necessarily mean that it is the right way to be ruled.
In a time of recession, and massive job loss, Gordon Brown sits in Parliament making decisions for our future, with no money worries himself. As Marxists would argue, there needs to be a revolution against the unequal distribution of wealth. We are under afalse class conciousness in which we have elected these people to control our futures, with the impression that they will make things better, so why is this happening? Perhaps we need a charismatic as opposed to a rationallegal type of authority to restore the hopes of the country, well at least mine anyway.
Charles Darwin's Theory of Evolution is a subject I do however find incredibly interesting. When I was younger, I always used to ask people, " if we evolved from monkeys, how comes the monkeys in the zoo and thewild haven't evolved into humans yet?" When the theory was raised, it sent me back to a time in my university kitchen, watching the boys I live with running around drunk, tackling eachother to the ground, passing out and stuffing food down their throats like primates. It made me think, how much difference is there between humans today and our monkey ancestors?
I tend to look it at like this, we still do the basic things to survive, we eat, we drink and we reproduce. To do these things as a primate you need to hunt, find a source of water and a mate. In my eyes, we still only need to do these things to survive, we have just made them incredibly complicatedby introducing money, which we get from work and going to university, and complicated dating techniques, why can't it all be based on the smells we emit to possible partners?
We are still all aiming toward the same thing, we live and we die, we just need to survive inbetween. A bleak outlook on life I agree, but really, has itnever crossed your mind that we would be happier as monkeys?
The quote, "Man is born free, yet everywhere is in chains", from Rousseau has always spoken to me. We are all born into this world and our parents have hopes and dreams for us, yet we are all under a form of control thatrestricts us doing what we really want! So, why do we obey the state? Referring to the Government and Politics book, when a government has legitimacy, it does not necessarily mean that it is the right way to be ruled.
In a time of recession, and massive job loss, Gordon Brown sits in Parliament making decisions for our future, with no money worries himself. As Marxists would argue, there needs to be a revolution against the unequal distribution of wealth. We are under afalse class conciousness in which we have elected these people to control our futures, with the impression that they will make things better, so why is this happening? Perhaps we need a charismatic as opposed to a rationallegal type of authority to restore the hopes of the country, well at least mine anyway.
Monday 16 February 2009
Welcome :)
The idea of putting my personal thoughts and opinions on the internet is somewhat daunting to me, seeing as how no one listens to me when I speak, I figure why do they want to see what I write! But due to the insistence of my tutor..a blog is essential, I can no longer "ponse" off of other people's ideas. So here goes! World be ready to here the ramblings of a teenage girl who likes to moan about a lot of stuff...especially my university housemates :@!!
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