War on Terror (someone pressed my button!)

I received a lovely email yesterday about the so-called 'war on terror'. I tried ever so hard to ignore it - I counted way past twenty. In the end, though, I just couldn't help myself. Once I'd finished venting, I thought it may be worthwhile putting it on here as a blog, so here you go.

Original email:

'Are we fighting a war on terror or aren't we? Was it or was it not started by Islamic people who brought it to our shores on September 11, 2001 and have continually threatened to do so since?

Were people from all over the world, not brutally murdered that day, in downtown Manhattan , across the Potomac from the nation's capitol and in a field in Pennsylvania ?

Did nearly three thousand men, women and children die a horrible, burning or crushing death that day, or didn't they?

And I'm supposed to care that a few Taliban were claiming to be tortured by a justice system of the nation they come from and are fighting against in a brutal insurgency.

I'll start caring when Osama bin Laden turns himself in and repents for incinerating all those innocent people on 9/11.

I'll care about the Koran when the fanatics in the Middle East start caring about the Holy Bible, the mere belief of which is a crime punishable by beheading in Afghanistan .

I'll care when these thugs tell the world they are sorry for hacking off Nick Berg's head while Berg screamed through his gurgling slashed throat.

I'll care when the cowardly so-called 'insurgents' in Afghanistan come out and fight like men instead of disrespecting their own religion by hiding in mosques and behind women and children.

I'll care when the mindless zealots who blows themselves up in search of
Nirvana care about the innocent children within range of their suicide bombs.

I'll care when the Canadian media stops pretending that their freedom of speech on stories is more important than the lives of the soldiers on the ground or their families waiting at home to hear about them when something happens.

In the meantime, when I hear a story about a CANADIAN soldier roughing up an Insurgent terrorist to obtain information, know this:

I don't care.

When I see a wounded terrorist get shot in the head when he is told not to move because he might be booby-trapped, you can take it to the bank:

I don't care.

When I hear that a prisoner, who was issued a Koran and a prayer mat, and 'fed special' food that is paid for by my tax dollars, is complaining that his holy book is being 'mishandled,' you can absolutely believe in your heart of hearts:

I don't care.

And oh, by the way, I've noticed that sometimes it's spelled 'Koran' and other times 'Quran.' Well, Jimmy Crack Corn you guessed it,

I don't care!!

If you agree with this viewpoint, pass this on to all your E-mail friends. Sooner or later, it'll get to the people responsible for this ridiculous behavior!

If you don't agree, then by all means hit the delete button. Should you choose the latter, then please don't complain when more atrocities committed by radical Muslims happen here in our great Country! And may I add:

'Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference in the world. But, the Soldiers don't have that problem.'

I have another quote that I would like to add, AND.......I hope you forward all this.

One last thought for the day:

Only five defining forces have ever offered to die for you:

1. Jesus Christ
2. The British Soldier.
3. The Canadian Soldier.
4. The US Soldier, and
5. The Australian Soldier

One died for your soul, the other 4 for your freedom.

YOU MIGHT WANT TO PASS THIS ON, AS MANY SEEM TO FORGET ALL OF THEM.
AMEN!

My response:

In response to the email above (beware - I have gone on a bit!):

Our armed forces ARE fighting a ‘war on terror’ (not that ‘war on terror’ really means anything at all or is helpful in the slightest) but it was not brought to our shores on 11th September (or indeed 7th July) by Islamic people. It was brought to our shores by Islamic fundamentalist terrorists representing a radical and tiny proportion of the Islamic population both in the world and in the Middle East.

And yes, you are supposed to care that a few Taliban were tortured by the US, the UK and other governments. The US claims to be the ‘land of the free’ and is founded, more than any other country, on a strong foundation of law through its constitution. Key within that is that people should be treated according to due process which has certainly not been followed by the US etc. The US and other governments have colluded in torture and kidnap, and have suspended the rule of law to the extent that it has to site Guantanamo Bay outside the US to be beyond the reach of its own legal system.

None of the people subjected to torture have been through any sort of trial process and so there are almost certainly innocent people being subjected to this inhuman treatment. It has also been proved that people subjected to torture provide highly inaccurate information that is rarely of use. However, this entirely misses the relevant point.

When supposedly advanced nations give up the moral high ground by participating in torture and other illegal actions, they give up any justification whatsoever for being able to take the type of action currently taking place in Afghanistan and Iraq. They also diminish themselves - what are they fighting for if not the rule of law that they embody through their constitution and legal system? The strength of our societies (including our legal systems) is measured by how we treat our enemies, not just our friends.

It is ironic that the person who wrote the email above claims to be a Christian. The faith claims to be based on principles of forgiveness, tolerance and understanding, all of which are not present in the views of the author below. A Christian person should understand very well the different factions that exist in an organised religion, ranging from moderate to extremist - the Christian church certainly has both as does Islam.

We are not going to resolve the tensions that exist between the Islamic world and the West by grouping all muslims together as fanatics or by providing as many excuses as you like for ill-informed people to hate the West. And, believe it or not, we are not going to resolve them through purely military means. At some point, we are going to have to reach a political solution and that is going to be made far easier if we have conducted the war justifiably and according to international law.

The author of the email makes cheap points that reflect a lack of understanding of the issues affecting the situation and entirely fails to follow the tenets of his/her own faith. A little more thought and a little less ranting would hopefully help them to make better and more considered points.

One of Those Days...

Today, I had 'one of those days'.

On 'one of those days', pretty much nothing goes well. For example, on 'one of those days', you buy the wrong type of train ticket so that you get stranded in London for an extra hour and half. On 'one of those days', your train from Stafford to Stoke is canceled because of vandalism on the line. And on 'one of those days' you get to Stoke by replacement bus service just as your train to Kidsgrove is leaving the platform.

At times like this, I think it's entirely reasonable to give up at this stage and get a taxi home - £11.50 well spent.

However, I am not here to grumble about the service I received or the inconvenience to which I was put.

Buying the wrong ticket was largely my fault, although a little extra advice at the station could have helped me avoid it. I certainly don't blame the train company for vandalism on the line caused by a few idiots and I think, on the whole, that arranging a replacement bus in 40 minutes is pretty good going. Equally, the timing of the Kidsgrove train is one of those things too. I do think a few staff on the station to help address any issues would have been useful but there you go. And I'm going to try to claim the taxi fayer back so I may well not have anything to moan about there, either.

What does rather make my blood boil is that one particular idiot at Stafford decided that the best way to deal with an unforeseeable train delay was to moan and bully platform staff to try to get his own taxi from Stafford to Stoke paid for by the train company. Moderately more annoying is the fact that it seems to have worked.

I was taught by my parents that nice boys are polite to other people. I also think that when a member of the platform staff is clearly having a bad day for reasons well out of his control, it wouldn't really hurt to cut him a bit of slack and let him do his job which was, as far as I can see, to try to help us out.

It is therefore pretty annoying to find that the Station Manager not only puts up with but also panders to aggression from one passenger out of twenty or so ultimately resulting in him getting special treatment above and beyond that received by more reasonable passengers.

Unfortunately, the logical lesson from this approach is that we should all turn into pillocks and harangue and berate any member of staff we can find whenever we are slightly inconvenienced. It is not entirely unlike giving in to kidnappers or paying ransoms, although I do admit that it may be a slightly less serious case!

I, however, will not be swayed. Despite having 'one of those days', I arrived home pretty relaxed and generally at one with the world because I decided to go with the flow and let events take their course. I was also feeling a little self satisfied because on the announcement that our replacement coach was awaiting us to whisk us to Stoke, I took a moment to thank the platform bloke for his help and he seemed pretty grateful for my effort. The end result of this will hopefully be that my heart attack will come just that little bit later (not unlike my train!) than that of the ignorant arse already mentioned.

So in times of crisis, chill out and be nice to harassed people - let's all spread a little joy in the world! :)

Election Fever - update

Well, it turns out there was good news and bad news.

* Good news: West Midlands didn't elect a BNP MEP.

* Bad news: The North West and North East did - arse!

Election Fever - A Plague on Both Your Houses

Well, sitting here and listening to the results of the European election, I find myself musing on why it is that I'm nervous of getting a few BNP MEPs in. And, if that happens, there's at least a chance that the electorate of Stoke could have played a part.

Are the people of Stoke particularly right-wing, particularly racist or particularly stupid? Not, I think, any more than in other areas. OK, I'll acknowledge that Oswald Mosley's blackshirts did particularly well locally back in the thirties, which isn't a great thing to have on your scorecard. But we are also, as discussed earlier, renouned for our friendly disposition which must count in our favour.

Far more important, I think, is 20, 30 or even 40 years of industrial and economic decline, during which the very industry that is the reason for the development of Stoke-on-Trent pretty much collapsed entirely. This has led to many old certainties being yanked away from the people of the area. Mass unemployment, a move away from skilled jobs and uncertainty in where future security will come from make people very scared. It is in these circumstances that the relatively recent growth of the number of people from black and minority ethnic groups is seen, quite wrongly, as a threat.

In these difficult circumstances, what we need is neither a shift to the far right nor ineffective local government by the major parties.

Desperate times call for inspiring leadership and clear direction, as has clearly been seen in other UK cities such as Manchester, Leeds and Newcastle/Gateshead. However, the governance of Stoke-on-Trent has failed singularly to meet the demands placed upon it in almost every respect. Local councillors seem to be remote from their electorate and highly insular.

It pains me greatly to say that our friends of the far right seem to have worked out that being seen to help 'local people' with 'local issues' is a great way to appeal to voters. Whilst labour, conservative and a good chunk of independent councillors are swanning around, attending lunches and generally screwing the City, BNP types are raising issues that matter to local people and getting results. Things such as broken fences, speed bumps and other such things do matter to real people.

I also fear that mainstream politicians are scared of addressing the race issue. I have no qualms whatsoever about stating boldly and clearly that the increasing diversity in our City brings great benefits to us all. I am also clear that the way to bring new prosperity to the area is not to turn in on ourselves, but to establish a clear and positive vision for the City and to go for it with all that we've got.

Our politicians fail us when they refuse to expose the policies of the extremists for what they are: ineffective (actually disasterous) as well as racist in the extreme.

I hope, possibly in vain, that all our politicians will learn something from the recent elections, political turmoil and failure to deliver. I hope that they will step up to the challenges ahead of us, genuinely engage with residents of the City (or 'voters', if that helps to focus minds) through practical problem solving and also make sure that a vision for the City that is both optimistic and realistic, is developed and implemented to drive us to a future that is very much brighter than the present.

Stoke-on-Trent - Top of the List

Well, I promised and so shall I deliver.

My job of producing a non-moany blog was greatly helped by the recent news that Stoke-on-Trent (actually North Staffordshire) came top in a national pole of cities with high levels of community cohesion.

I can say with not a hint of irony that I was officially chuffed to bits!

I think we tend to think that our little town has its share of problems, and we are pretty much correct. High up on that list is probably the degree of separation between many of the different communities that live here. We remain, despite our 'city' status, a collection of towns and even villages, with each little subdivision remaining fiercly protective of its own identity. The growing pull of Hanley is certainly reducing this effect, particularly amongst the young, but it remains present and correct.

Then there's the darker side of the issue that we are all too willing to shy away from facing. The rise of the neo-fascist British National Party is symbolic of racial tensions within our community but also of the economic decline that has blighted the area since the 1980s. However, the findings of the recent survey point to some of our more commendable reputations - for friendliness and sticking together.

My grandmother once told me about a trip she took to Torquay (or some such seaside town). Whilst travelling to a bingo hall or similar by bus, an older woman got on board. Seeing that there were no seats free at the front of the bus, my grandmother stood up and offered the old woman her seat. The old woman accepted then asked my grandmother if she was from the Potteries? Saying that she was, my grandmother asked how she knew this. The reply was that Potteries people were always very friendly and polite. This is not an unusual perception of the Potteries person.

Despite the pressures of modern life and our City's less than glittering recent history, this concern for our fellow man (woman etc.) bourne of our surviving village mentality is the key to why we still have a strong sense of community cohesiveness.

This presents us with a clue to how we can to move beyond the massive shock that the loss of our key industries has given to both our confidence and our economy. It can also, if we make sure that in looking after those we call 'us' we don't fall into the trap of dismissing 'them', be the way we elliminate the BNP and their type from our area. I remain convinced that hatred and division is a foolish distraction, as well as potentially massively damaging to any chance of us drawing new opportunities to the area.

So let us use this tremendous strength that we have to move the City forwards. 'Community' includes everyone who lives here and everyone has a responsibility to break down the barriers that still divide some of us. Our shared history, focused on the pot banks, steel factories and coal mines shows that if we work positively towards a new common goal, that this city can prosper again.

An Issue of our Time

Although I'm in danger of moving away from the point of this blog on my third posting, I feel that I need to vent a little about the whole MP's expenses thing...if I'm lucky, by the time I've calmed down I may have thought about how to link it to good old Stoke!

It is, apparently, a terrible system that has caused MPs of all complexion to leap to their receipt box and get a-claiming and, anyway, everyone does it so it's only reasonable. However, much less well covered are details of the MPs who managed, somehow, to only claim for expenses that are actually directly related to their job. No wysteria trimming for Hilary Benn. He has apparently claimed the grand total of £147 (ish) per year for the last three years. I'd like to list names of others who have acted with proporiety but they haven't made it onto the media outlets I follow.

The current excuse from the guilty parties (and Parties) seems to be that they now acknowledge that their actions may look a little iffy and that the flawed system definitely needs reforming. This is often said with a slightly confused look in the eye, as if they don't really know what the fuss is about. Well, they are certainly right that reform is required, but it hardly addresses the issue.

The worrying cases, and there seem to be plenty of them, are where MPs genuinely think that a plasma telly, nice leather sofa or six hundred quids worth of hanging baskets in their second home are essential. They are when a leaky pipe under the tennis court, mucky moat or overactive wysteria are someone else's problem. And why on earth is it acceptable for their mortgage interest to be paid through an allowance when they get to keep the house (or cash from its sale) when they get booted out?

The answer is not to say 'sorry' or to change the system. I would suggest that an MP who can't work out that expenses are to compensate for work-related expenditure (clue's in the name) probably does not have the judgement to make decisions on war, the environment or how to address our current financial crisis. The solution, at least from where I'm sat, seems to be for those who've taken the mickey to let their constituents to decide their fate - bring on the by elections. I really do think we can find around 600 people who can, in the words of many an MP, tell right from wrong.

And how does this link with Stoke? Well, it doesn't directly, but it does speak to the quality of our political class generally and, as we know, Stoke has sometimes struggled to attract great talent. Maybe, hopefully, one of the positives to come out of this whole sorry mess will be that the sort of person who may have something to hide in power may be tempted to take their skills elsewhere...and that can only benefit us all.

(Will make sure the next one is less ranty!)

Getting Around

First of all, that orange of the titles is just unpleasant...really must look at that!

Anyhoo, on Monday just gone (that would be a bank holiday) we decided to potter over to Newcastle for a drink with friends - what could possibly be nicer. Being a responsible type, I thought I'd look at public transport options on the basis that it would give us more options re. drinky-poos and how hard could it possibly be to get from Tunstall to Newcastle?

For those who don't follow such things, Tunstall is about five miles from Newcastle and is a pretty major town in the area. Imagine, then, my surprise when I looked at the top notch Bank Holiday service offered by our local bus company (that would be First). Direct buses every two hours (and not at hours that met with my requirements). There was an alternative route of travelling from Tunstall - Hanley then Hanley - Newcastle, but the lovely people at First feel that we should pay for the priviledge - £1.70 for each leg of the journey.

Being the geek I am, I did the maths and worked out that for two of us, the cost would be pretty similar between bus and taxi and hence went for Plan B - in the end, it was actually cheaper to go by taxi.

This, of course, begs the question: "Who, in their right mind, would choose to use buses that are both irregular and expensive?" We don't live out in the sticks and, unlike many car users, I am not afraid of waiting a little while to catch a bus. However, the thought of waiting for two hours to travel 15 minutes or paying a relative fortune (and take much longer for the journey) tries even the most committed greeney.

If we are serious about making it easy for people to get around our city and reduce traffic jams (which get ever longer day by day), we really do need to pick up our game...and when I say "we," I really mean the bus company.

In the meantime, I'll have to get myself a skateboard...