Good old New Labour

We've had a lot of rights removed over the past decade or so, rights we've had since the magna carta, but which have been discarded without debate or thought.

As an example:

* The government can ban any groups it labels ‘terrorist’ (Terrorism Act 2000)
* The government can monitor any and all private communication (Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000)
* Armed forces can be deployed on UK soil in peacetime (Civil Contingencies Act 2004)
* Property and assets can be seized without warning or compensation (Civil Contingencies Act 2004)
* Spontaneous protest is now illegal around Parliament (Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005)
* Without trial, any British citizen can be tagged, put under house arrest and banned from using the telephone or internet (Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005)
* Any citizen can be imprisoned without charge for 28 days (42 days has passed the house of commons) (Terrorism Act 2006)
* The executive can change any current legislation without consulting Parliament, with very few exceptions (Legislative and Regulatory Reform Act 2006)
* Arbitrary punishments with no legal precedents can be issued with little legal recourse, based on hearsay evidence ( Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003)
* British citizens can be extradicted to the United States with no evidence presented (Extradition Act 2003)
* Compulsory identification for all British citizens, with an unlimited amount of details stored in a central database, which the private sector will have access to (Identity Cards Act 2006)
* Upon arrest the police have claim to your DNA, even if you are released without charge (Criminal Justice Act 2003)

Time

The clock strikes seven, must get up.

Time.

Don’t have any of it, I’m bored, have too much of it.

Time.

Our modern lives depend on it. I plan my day around its illusive presence. I'm on a schedule, a timescale, a time stranglehold and when I run out I am in deep trouble.

My life is measured in seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years and decades. I am petrified about losing the track of time as you are my master.

Time.

We have cycles, periods, loops, fast time, slow time. We must measure it all to the mille second, and use it wisely. There is never time for anything including good times and the bad times.

Time is money, we kneel in front of your imperious presence, and you are the Lord, our God.
Hurry up, quickly, get the finger out! Time waits for no one .But time snails along. Time moves forward and backwards.

Time

I am enslaved to you. The damp air of the past determines my future, the crystal ball of the future shapes the present moment. Could have, should have, would have.

Wait!

Stop!

Is this real?

Am I merely dreaming?

Is time tangible or simply a concept?

What if time is an illusion of the subconscious?

What else is there if time is a figment of our imagination?

Allow me this precious moment to contemplate your worth.

Chinese Nationalism

A good American friend had an experience with a Chinese person that can only really happen if you have lived in this most wierd of places. It reminded me of some of my experiences in the middle kingdon.

This is what she wrote.

I recently recieved a notice from tagged.com alerting me that my Chinese friend Qiande Zhang's birthday was coming up, so I decided to send him a birthday greeting. In the same email I asked him if life is any different for him now that the olympics are in town. He actually lives in Shanghai, not Beijing, but I wondered how far reaching the "rules" were. So I asked about a couple that I thought were especially peculiar:

1) Were stinky cab drivers really banned?

2) If you see a bottle of liquid on the ground, do you really have to pick it up and take a sip to determine if it is a poison?

This is his oh so very wonderful response:

thanks very much. it is so sweet of you. actually i was grown up from my hometown where people celebrate their birthday once in ten years, say when you are ten, or twenty, or thirty. but anyways, thanks for your greetings. it was a big surprise to me.

Olympics, people are just talking about it, watching the TV, counting how many medals China has got. nothing is special than any other Olympics which were not held in China before. maybe the only difference is that this time, common people can buy some tickets and watch some events.

Rules? you mean checking in when you are at the bus station or the train station? Shanghai is fine, like everyday. actually everyday in Shanghai, it is already very safe place. so, there is no difference. stinky cab drivers should be banned in Beijing, but maybe not in those small places, you know that. sip-taking test is only for the bus station or something like this, but not just on the street, nobody would like to take a sip out of a bottle just picked up on the street. so you are right, it is ridiculous.

there are not that many special rules. even there are rules, it is not an option to follow it or not. it is a team work to host the Olympics in China and all these so called rules won't affect us that much. besides, all these rules are bringing good to people, so, why not?

actually there are football matches in Shanghai. these days, friends are buying tickets and watching some games, maybe proud that China can also host the Olympics too.

to me, Olympics is just the opening ceremony. all the culture stuff reflected out of it. i enjoyed it very much. only the Opening ceremony is China. other stuff, like events, are just common stuff, no difference to any other Olympics.

the funny thing is that there was no one English word spoken at the show except by the Chairman of IOC. it was weird. Soul was having an English song even which is very popular now. but not this one in China. what is going on? where is the message of communicating with people from all over the world? is it discrimination to people who doesn't have good enough Chinese literacy? where is culture diversity?

these days, im studying the obsession, stalking, manner, leadership, being submissing, many different stuff etc etc in the Asian culture by watching Japanese soap operas which offer me many different perspectives to look at Asian culture, and Western culture.. also a little bit personal reflection, enjoying.

Weekend in Shanghai means Saturday night. man, cannot wait to get a beer tomorrow night.

Dimitri is back to Shanghai in the end of this month.

take it easy. hope to meet you again in Shanghai.

amazing stuff I think you will agree, none too surprising though.

This was my experience a couple of years ago.

I once had a class of teenagers in wenzhou who when practicing conditionals were asked to question their partner 'What would you do if?' and come up with three responses. After adequate time and prompting was given the students had to perform their mini role play at the front of the class to give an account of their progress.

The first and second pairs of students did the usual dribble, 'What would you do if you were sick?' 'Go hospital,' These types of pre-intermediate noodlings continued for the next pair also.

Then stepped forward a cocky pair of grinning fourteen year olds with a history of being a pain in the hole. One said to the other 'What would you do if you met a Japanese?' The other then promptly and imperiously sneered, 'If I met a Japanese man I would kill him with a gun!.'

I think this is another example of the level of patriotic nationalism that runs through the blood of the average Chinese man.

Pikey

Cheers Lisha

Offensive?

An absolute sketch.

Pikey

For God and Ulster

Today’s Newsletter carries a report in which Rev. Stephen Dickinson objects to the presence of a chinese dragon as part of the proposed 11th Night parade in Tandragee, labelling it as “offensive” and “insults the name of Jesus Christ.”

The story carried over onto the Talkback programme today, when the Rev. Dickinson further elaborated on his objections, arguing that the dragon represented a drift into including ‘pagan’ elements within the Twelfth.

Taken at face value, the Rev. Dickinson’s objections could have been understood from the position of a religious figure not wanting what he believes is a celebration of protestantism to be further diminished in the same way that many religious leaders of all faiths object to the materialist ‘hijacking’ of key dates in their religious calendars.

At one stage he forcefully stated that “we need to put protestantism back into the Order.” However, his argument fell down badly when he skipped over the objections of a caller about what goes on at 11th Night bonfires. (Discussion about 39 mins into programme.)

The incident is also an unfortunate reminder of earlier opposition from within loyalism to the chinese community.

From Slugger O'Toole

I find the actions of these so called Christians repulsive.

The politicians talk of 'progress' and a 'vibrant Ulster' but in reality this is only the case if you are white and middle class.

There is inherent xenophobic undertones to many things I witness now whether that be muttering in the supermarket queue, or outright racist slurs.

The fact is that this has to stop. The demographics of the country are changing and this is the natural state of affairs in a post conflict society, therefore people need to open themselves and embrace their brother and sisters from around the world, who come to Ireland searching for a better life.

If the shoe was on the other foot would we want an opportunity to better ourselves?

Its time to scramble out of the dark ages and evolve. For some in this society that may be a big ask.

Pikey

And theres more..................................

PS: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2006/oct/22/race.ukcrime

Newspeak Triumphs

When is the "War on G;obal Terrorism" not the War on Global Terrorism"? When it becomes Politically Incorrect.

Ever since George Orwell coined the term "Newspeak" in the novel 1984, it has crept into real language.

The most obvious example was when the "War Department" was renamed "The Department of Defence", little by little words no longer had meaning.

Raise funding less than your opponents want and your accused of cutting funding. A tax increase becomes "Revenue Enhancement", you can find examples all around you.

Now instead of the "War on Global Terrorism" acceptable phrases include "the war in Iraq," the "war in Afghanistan, "operations in the Horn of Africa" or "ongoing military operations throughout the world." according to a Democratic memo.

As Margaret Thatcher might have said 'Words are becoming ‘Wobbly’ on us"

From Faroutfish Files

Pikey

Waterboard Bliss.....Perhaps Not

I must admit that I was shocked and a little dissapointed when I read the news about Christopher Hitchens this morning.

The outspoken, belligerent, but brilliant writer who has been an open advocate of the Iraq war took part in a waterboarding experiment to see if the CIA 'interogation' method constitutes torture.

He stood in typically imperious fashion exclaiming "I determined to resist if only for the honor of my navy ancestors who had so often been in peril on the sea", but succumbed after just seconds.

He went on to write: " ... if waterboarding does not constitute torture, then there is no such thing as torture."

The horrors of waterboarding have been highlighted by groups like Amnesty for some time now, but it seems that their detailed analysis is not enough for some people.

Incredibly Hitchens went on to describe waterboarding in his analysis as an "extreme interrogation", although even in the article he says he does "not trust anybody" who does not understand the viewpoint that "when contrasted to actual torture, waterboarding is more like foreplay".

Ok Now everyone can breath a deep sigh of relief.....................
Waterboarding is indeed a nefarious act. Thank you Mr Hitchens for proving it so.



Pikey