Beware of the Con-Men

The British Conservative Party (political Party) are once more on the rampage and it will be a tragedy if these spoilt brats managed to hoodwink themselves into the government of this counrty - UK. People must be aware of these persons who'd never done any honest work in their lives. To trust them with the management of this nation will be a nightmare we will all live to regret. Even that great stalwart - Lord Tebbitt is very cautious of these bigots. I am rather surprised to see William Hague - former leader to allow himself to be closer to these men and ---- women. I believed that documentaries (BBC's Panorama on Lord Coe's Olympics with a touch of William Hague and Channel 4's "Toff at the top" earlier this year) summed the current Conseravtive Party up - greedy and dishonest party. We put them in office at our peril !!!!!!

The McCann's and the missing Madeline

We are all consumed with the fate of the young Madeline McCann. I sincerely hope that she's alive albeit with a stranger. The unique eye feature I believe will one day- if she's alive, return her to her real family. The British Press' fury at the Portuguese Police is beyond belief. The DNA tests so far have all been conducted in the UK. But the most important of all, in the UK, a child is not to be left alone until at least 13 years of age, yet the McCann's left 3 children all under 4 years of age in a in a foreign country, a hotel to go and have dinner without asking the hotel staff to mind the children - very bizarre and weird behaviour from two very well educated persons. It is commendable that friends and family are rallying around them but they must not be exonerated from all guilt. Or is it because this incident happened in a foreign land? It time the British Press give the Portuguese the benefit of the doubt.

Catholicism and Abortion

Once again the Catholic Church is embroiled in another unnecessary confrontation. As a non practising catholic, I continually ask myself why I stopped believing - each time the catholic church provides me with a good reason why. I have heard many believers in the faith telling me that children and pregnancy is something to be cherished - I quite agree with this BUT only if the woman concerned wanted the child !!!.

Secondly, I do not in the main, believe in ABORTION, BUT where a woman is brutally raped, I believe that a decision whether the baby should be born or not should be left with the woman concerned. Others, and this includes the Catholic Church should not meddle. The trauma of rape is heinous enough, but to subject and imposed an element of guilt on the victim of such crime as rape is incomprehensible.

It would appear that this victim of the crime of rape is being punished for being raped, made to go through the trauma of unwanted pregnancy, trauma of birth of an unwanted child, trauma of the possibility of rejecting a child who, in all reasoning did not ask to be born or have a rapist father, trauma of the possibility hate and finally, trauma of the rapist seeking access to the child under the guise of father's right.

The Catholic Church should see sense and allow women some dignity in how they deal with personal issues such as pregnancy -planned or unplanned, violently conceived or otherwise - this should be a woman's decision and it is men's or partners' role to support them whatever that decision may be. Sometimes, we as men forget that changes of the body is not on us - we feel that a less thanfive minutes roll in the hay is enough to guarantee us the right over women - it does not - our role comes AFTER the baby is born and how we play this role depends on our relationship with our partners.

Finally, before reaching any decision, in the case of those women who have not been raped and in a relationship, PLEASE talk to your partner and convince them why you either want or did not want the baby - it does not have to be WAR. GOOD LUCK TO YOU ALL.

Greedy Jitters

In the past week we have had of the stock market propelling to another 1980's. The year when many lives were destroyed because the financial experts got things terribly wrong - but cleverly blaming politicians. When things go wrong, we always seem to blame politicians because, these individuals who do very little except talk, always seem to convinced us that they matter - in fact they matter very little. They just do not want to do hard labour. Hence every person and organisation take a swipe at them - and they do very little to defend themselves except offer one excuse after another. And when you have people like Margaret Thatcher or John Reed of the UK political scene fight back, people find these difficult to counternance because politicians are not supposed to answer back.

When things go BAD - they are supposedly BLACK. This is the same colour that imperial Britain and France used to describe a whole people in Africa, The Sun newspaper of the UK described the stock market difficulties last week as "BLACK THURSDAY". All these refer to the fall in shares, stocks and pension funds around the world - caused, it was claimed, by some US banks giving mortgages to people supposedly unfit to be given loans, people who under 'sensible' condition must be allowed to either live under the highway bridges or 'crash' on the high streets of central London and other UK cities for example - people otherwise described as HOMELESS. The truth is that many financial institutions are so GREEDY and so driven by the supposed profits that they make us take risks - us, (the ordinary people), under the guise that they are helping us to be rich - em - it is called investment - I think! They in turn make huge profits and are paid sometimes obscene salaries, they award unbelieveable bonuses to their so called executives - and all at the expense of these unfortunates - the same people they despise.

Somehow we are told that these falls in shares and stocks were the fault of some the US banks which gave out mortgages to unfit individuals - and then ended up selling these debts to some European and other world financial institutions - many of these banks are now keeping quiet about themselves and the exact amount they bought - thereby causing jitters in the market. Since these banks are willing to take risks, they should be able to stand up and be counted - hence able to weather the storm. I believe that they should continue to give these poor people the opportunity to pay their way out of the intolerable poverty they find themselves - if it means extending the loans.

But with only a little tremor in the market, the world banks are taking flight, forcing state institutions to step in to calm things down. It is about time that governments around the world put their foot down to either restrict through legislation - corporate obscene salaries and bonuses - if they lose their balls or whatever else they have at the slightest shake. What we have witnessed recently is some greedy persons who really cannot afford to take risks by themselves when they force others to do so. So much for financial expertise.

Lost Japanese

Did anybody see a lost Japanese man in Totnes - My friend R has just informed me that she has lost her visitor from Japan on their local beach. So should anyone come across a lone male Japanese - dont call the coast guard, police, fire seervice or ambulance unless he's is drowning, or has drowned. But how do you lose a visitor? Only my friend R is capable of this.

UPDATE

Well, he has been found - in another part of the beach several hundred meters away - and was sittting down wondering what will become of him. I guess he must have thought of swimming back home - but that will be a great achievement - and definitely get him into the Guiness Book of Records, if he survived. We are happy to find him and found the whole experience - very funny!!! :-)

History of Africa

On the 3rd of August, I was asked by a boy aged 11 whether Nelson Mandela was the Prime Minister of Africa; whether South Africa is the capital of Nigeria; did not know that Africa is a continent NOT a country and did not know that Egypt is in Africa I was intrigued by these question because boys this age are usually more interested in gadgets and not HISTORY let alone African history. The boy in question was a family friend's son. I asked him what he has so far learned on Africa, presuming that this may have something to do with his school work. I was wrong - his curiosity had nothing to do with school - after all, they are on their summer holidays. He had been listening to the news - in fact he assures me that he quite often listen to the news with his parents. "We have not been taught anything about Africa". I was shocked.

In the year when Britain was supposedly celebrating the end of that heinous trade - slave trade, the British school remained indifferent to their country's unequal relationship with Africa. A country whose wealth was built on the lives and sweat of Africans still think it unfit to discuss in their schools this "GOD FORESAKEN" continent! Britain continued to wish that their atrocities and the removal of over 15 million people from the continent when the population of the world was still in its infancy cannot be permamnently deleted when the effects of these still rumble on.

A boy of 11 must be forgiven for his lack of knowledge particularly when he'd not been taught, but can the same be said of BBC and other British broadcasting institutions - for thinking Africa as a country. IS EUROPE GERMANY? The evidence is provided when those idiots who tried to bomb London tube station were found guilty. All the major TV stations reported them as Africans - not the countries that they came from. This is symptomatic of the condemnation of ALL the marginalised of this society - Africans are constantly drowned in an anonymous collectivity. The WHOLE is always blamed for the crime of the SINGLE. We see everyday yet when a police officer is found guilty of a crime, the bad apple sydrome is evoked. When the Austrian girl who was kidnapped and kept captive for years before she escaped and her captor killed himself, we had about an AUSTRIAN, not a European. So why can individual AFRICANS be held accountable for their crimes?

How Not to Spend a weekend

This weekend - the most glorious in terms of weather - hot and sometime gentle breeze was supposed to be the perfect weekend for relaxation and fun, it turned out for me to be the most unanticipated nightmare. First, the trains from Buckinghamshire were not running - so to a replacement bus I hopped on- not too bad I thought - 45 minutes then it is the train to complete the journey. But before I could board the train, I realised that I had forgotten my mobile telephone - the bane of contemporary society!!! I had to do a twenty minute walk back to collect - seized the opportunity to see Alonso's silliness. Alonso is a Formula One driver with Mercedes McLarens. It is Saturday morning - and I have already missed the Formula One motor racing (annoying for me and for those who cannot stand the sport). The bus was boiling hot and the driver did not know the route so he had to crawl to be able to see the route signs - may be he had some eye problem because each time he gets to the round about, he squeezes his eyes as if to say I cannot see where I am going and I need glasses - so I thought why don't you &%*^$ get one!!! We managed to get to the train station in Croxley an hour later instead of the usual 35mins. The train which was heading towards Baker Street - well correct direction but upon arriving at Harrow -on - the- Hill, the train driver announced that HER train was going to Watford - well, I have just come from Watford (well, Croxley) why terminate at Harrow while the sign in front stated clearly that we were headed to Baker Street? I pondered, waited but no one to ask question and everyone was wondering what was happening when suddenly the train's door closed and in the end ----we arrived Baker Street. At Baker Street, I took another train to Kings Cross Station. Upon our arrival, one of the guards announced that there was no Victoria Line train - in fact he was to say, there was no tube from Victoria Station to Brixton. But following his announcement, I took another line and ended up adding more minutes to an already delayed trip. Well, I did get to my destination SAFELY in the end. But my Saturday problem had only just begun, upon getting home, I found out that I'd misplaced my house keys - and had to wait 3 hours for my friends to come home but after 3 hours and no sign of them, I had to call and ask for HELP. Having gotten in, I realised that my room is locked and had to sleep with my clothes - the first time in my life!!! It was the most uncomfortable and unbearable of things to do.

On Sunday, I had to wake up at 6am, take a train back to Buckinghamshire. The train trip was somehow not too bad - but it was compensated with a good book - THE COLONIZER AND THE COLONIZED by ALBERT MEMMI on French colonisation. Things seemed to be improving and I had opportunity to watch the start of motor racing to see Hamilton frustrate KIMI RAIKKONEN. Back to Ilford to deliver some mails only to ALMOST have my index finger severed by the door's post box. Arriving home at about 11.55pm, I realised that my wallet and phone had gone walkies, but as fate will have it, they were found by a very wonderful 16 year old who actually ran after me to hand me the item - and an offer of £10 thank you was refused. So all our teenagers are not monsters as is often portrayed in the press. My advice is if a weekend starts going wrong - abandon all things and go back BED.

Another walkabout in another village - Castle Ashby

I have often wondered why the British travel overseas - I still wonder. I am often given the excuse that it is the 'rotten weather' - how easy it is to blame something that cannot defend itself. The weather whatever it is - is what made this country GREAT!!

Castle Ashby is delightful and a beauty - I went to the castle itself and spent more than 4 hours amusing myself. I took great photographs - but only when I wanted to post it - wham - the camera decided that it has had enough of my click click and now I have to use someone elses before I can post my pictures. Before I disappear - I tasted Mulberry formerly known as LOVE APPLES - wonderful taste and rich in colour. If anyone wants to fool his/her partner, the colour of the fruit is enough to do the trick. I am not suggesting males and females to embark on deceit JUST that the fruit and its colour is rich - em - I think vitamin C or any of the alphabets that takes anyone's fancy. I better go now. I have to return to that great city LONDON.

The Best Kept Village in buckinghamshire - Weston Underwood

Today, we (Moi, M & J) walked to some of the prettiest villages in Buckinghamshire but my favorite is Weston Underwood - with some very clean, nice and swankiest albeit quirky houses. We picked plums - and I ate loads - as one of my 5 recommended fruit. M and her sister, J made crumbles with the rest of the plums. Tried to take a ramblers path, but there were cows in the field - somehow, the bull was not having any intruders (well, not today anyway) - we tried to continue with our walk as we believed that we had right of way - after all, we are humans (??) but his stare said a lot and after a teeny weeny stand off, we heeded his ADVICE. And took a detour - my tired legs crying for a sit down, but my accomplices were not having any of this tiredness - mind you, they were older but fitter than me - so much for the weaker sex!!!

We also went Ravenstone - another beautiful village - just been told that plum picking took place at Ravenstone - NOT Weston Underwood -&%$**. We must have walked for about 3 miles - and I wore my walking booth - the second time since it was bought in February 2007. Worn first time in the lake districts - wet, cold - GOSH was I miserable that day - but the beauty of the place just kept masking my misery. Now everyone - well the few who have met me will stop moaning and praise me for my effort. Jan Archer - TAKE NOTE!!! Ms Archer has given me so much grief for my lazy demeanor - I kept telling her that I rather die happy than live longer than necessary with a face like someone who had just missed his orgasm - but she wont back down. It is nice that she cares and wants me to live FOREVER !! ha

COUNTRY versus CONTINENT

On Monday, 9 July 2007. - four men were found guilty of trying to bomb on (21 JULY 2005)underground stations in various parts of London. These idiots who had escaped the ravages of their native countries to seek new life in the UK - ended up joining some evil group in the name of trying to liberate the oppressed in other parts of the world that they knew little of.

These men were from Ghana, Ethiopia and Somalia. One would have thought that any attempt at liberation would have at least start with their countries of birth - not a country that was kind enough to offer them refuge. These failures - and they even failed to carry out their evil plan to the letter - indicated the stupidity of these animals. They not only did not understand what they were about to do - they were so cowardly as not to be able to face the consequences of their actions - to try to murder innocent people - most of whom had objected to the war in Iraq, some would have been fellow Muslims- and many who had campaigned for a fairer society that will welcome others who may one day find themselves in some difficult situation. By their actions - it forces a once good people to QUESTION why these 'foreigners' should be allowed into their country only for a possible carnage and mayhem to be heaped on them.

These man cannot claim to be Muslims - because the Muslim religion did not and had never preached violence against the innocent - whatever story reads today about the MUSLIM religion, one needs to take these with a pinch of salt.

Rightly, the court found these idiots guilty and sentenced them to minimum of 40 years in prison. Personally, I would have liked to see them deported to either Iraq or Afganistan - or mercifully return them to their country of birth. The UK will still have to shoulder the immense cost of their upkeep in prison which have been estimated to be somewhere between £25000 and £40,000 per prisoner.

Another issue that I wanted to raise is the media frenzy about these men and their place of origin - particularly the BBC. It would appear that the corporation could not distinguish between a country and a continent - but then again, this is not any different to the usual African discourse - one of primitism, uncivilised and evil. It suited the media to report of the evil Africans than these men and the country the came from. To condemn a whole continent for the acts of a few is ludicrous and unforgiven - it equally reminded one of the need to continue to fight an oppressed and racial fight. We have never heard of or even read of a European who killed, kidnapped or raped a child. We are rightly reminded of the Austrian who kidnapped a young girl and held her prisoner for years, the German who killed and ate his victims - NOT A EUROPEAN, yet the media of which BBC participated in equal vigor had absolutely no qualms to condemn a continent because of the foolishness of evil four men who unfortunately, happened to come from Africa. This reminded me once more of the 'bad' apple syndrome - where a white person's crime is seen in isolation and a black person's is seen as symptomatic of the whole race. It is time that we say that ENOUGH IS ENOUGH !!!!!! Good reporting is more fruitful than the silliness of the sensationalism and headline grabbing. The media find it easy to condemn politicians - it's be very helpful if now and then, they look at themselves in the mirror - I am sure they will - well some of them will hate waht they see.

07-07-2007

What a beautiful July and everything seemed to have gone swimmingly wonderful. On the sports front, Lewis Hamilton in the pole position of the British Grand Prix, Venus Williams winning the Wimbledon for the 4th time, and the excellent start of the first British Tour de France.

This fine day was marred by the news of the death of over 100 people in Iraq. Is there no end to this carnage? It is time that all parties concerned communicate with each other.

LOW LIFES

Why are there so many idiots on the streets of London? Yesterday in Leicester Square, a young man took his trousers (pair of pants to my US friends) down and urinated on the street in full view of people and restaurants. I thought he was a HOBO, but he was just a young white mail who had drunk too much and therefore could not contain himself - but what about all the bars and restaurants - he could have gone in and asked to use their toilet & I am sure he'd have been allowed to do so. The health risk - oh! To see people walk - a few minute later over this idiot's bodily waste was terrible. They probably thought it was just water from the building. NO IT WAS URINE !! What happened to all the CCTVs - could not one of the cameras have picked him up or was this man's activity uninteresting for later viewing on TV? The local authority - WESTMINSTER must get their acts right - sometimes!!!

PARIS HILTON

Paris Hilton committed a crime and instead of the press admonishing her for violations of society's norms - they lauded her. The media must be ashamed of themselves. To watch the BBC and Channel 5 TV, give so much coverage to this silly girl's shenanigans was intolerable and unacceptable. Is it any wonder that teenage girls are drawn to all that we found offensive and objectionable - drug taking, under age sex, material obsession, excessive alcohol consumption and wanting to grow up before they grow up. IT IS TIME THESE BRITISH PRESS' HYPOCRISY IS STOPPED. They have always tried to portray this image of superiority over foreign media - the truth? They are all the same. SNAKES

Teenage Killings in England

Last weekend, six people were unnecessarily killed in London. Yesterday, 26th June another young boy - aged 16 was stabbed to death in the London borough of Islington. Unnecessary waste of a young LIFE !!!!! Parents must report to police their children's weird behaviours! Parents must have serious words with their children. Police and School Teachers are not here to raise our children. It is time we all worked together !!!! Last Saturday, in Tottenham in the North London borough of Haringey, a young black girl was shot to death in a predominantly black club - another waste. What exactly is happening????? The congregation of youths is not a problem, but their activities must be closely monitored. For the police, they must reclaim the public space - irrespective of any claims - racism, sexism or anti Muslim. They were created to save life and property - so far I do not think that they are winning this fight. Spontaneous searches of cars and persons must be the priority NOW!

LONDON ON JUNE 26 JUNE 2007 - Water, Water Everywhere!

So many things on the news recently - the floods in differents parts of the country (UK) - mostly in the north. People's homes being flooded, cars even SUVs and drivers on roofs tops. Some trying to skate on water and people rowing their dingys - thats one of the things I love about the UK - taking things as they come and making light of traumatic moments.

On Monday, my train from Birmingham to London was delayed for over an hour - not sure what it was - possibly - the flood. This wonderful country is the only place where leaves on tracks stop trains - but at least people still laugh at themselves.

www.sms.ac

May and June 2006

I have a pay-as-you go mobile telephone and recently noticed that when I top up my credit, it seemed to disappear as soon as my phone is topped up. Although I had received unsolicited text messages from a company called www.sms.ac - (well, I assume it is a company) and each time these un-requested or unexpected text messages come to my mobile telephone, I am charged for them.

I have called my mobile phone company - T-Mobile to have them block this text messages, they advised that there is nothing they can do. My only solution is that I send a TEXT back to this company and asked them to STOP for a service I did not request. I have chosen not to top up my credit for sometime and to my complete surprise, this company or individuals have been sending texts for me to top up my credit so that they can continue to STEAL money from me!!!!!

Police/Ambulance/Fireservice Sirens

02.45hours Public service siren, it is a constant problem in Tottenham North London. The irony is - this NOISE always happen in Monument Way - a one way street. It would appear that these individuals take pleasure in waking people up. I looked out of my bedroom window to see only one car on the road - so why the siren at this early hour of the morning?

Conservative Party's Confusion

Over the past few days we have heard and read about David Cameron's Conservative Party - about grammar schools, Tony Blair's reforms and their evasive policies. One thing is certain - we may sweep a lot of mess under our carpet, somehow, these things have a way of showing up - particularly when the carpet needs replacing.

Throughout Tony Blair's tenure in office, the conservative party have taunted him practically about everything he has done until he resigned from office. Now they want to continue with what he'd been doing because they do not believe that Gordon Brown will continue with Blair's reforms - so what the ****** have they be moaning about over the past 10 years?????? Listening to George Osbourne's nonsense and inconsistency and his wishy-washy - churned my stomach.

These spoilt brats who have never done any honest work in their life - are the same people vying to govern this great country called the United Kingdom. God help us all if they should win the next election. But aware of British voters fickleness and with the current age of celebrity - I wont be surprised if they somehow wangle their way into government.

Now, on the issue of grammar schools, we have once more seen the resignation of a minister, another contradicting their leader and keeping his job, then with Mr Willets shocker on BBC's question time - that if NEEDED, under a conservative government, new grammar schools will be built. This simply explains why these people must never be allowed to smell the doors numbers 10 & 11 of Downing Street. They do not know if they are coming or going.

There is trouble in the air and it is time we took shelter. I have noted that even the so-called conservative newspapers have said little on this issue - may be they are beginning to realise that these 'children' do not know what they are talking about and the recruitment of an ex News of the World editor or reporter will not save them.

Liverpool v. Chelsea (semi final)

I watched a thrilling match - the European Cup's championship semi final between Chelsea and Liverpool. I was very happy to see Chelsea once again eliminated by Liverpool. Until their Chelsea's manager, Jose Mourinho learns to conduct his ramblings - I will continue to support any club that beats them. As an ardent Manchester United fan, I want to see my club win everything - but I know that this is always nigh impossible - however, I have always supported British clubs when it comes to playing in Europe. When Manchester United fails to qualify in any competition, I believe that it is my duty as a British resident to support any of the remaining British Clubs be it Arsenal, Liverpool, Newcastle, Tottenham or Bolton etc - with Cheslsea's manager and his constant moans about tackle, penalty, referees and favouritism - most of these swipes I refuse to accept as mind game. He is just plain silly at the best of times - so it was a great joy when his boys failed to convert most of their penalty shootout. He has moaned that penalty are not awarded against Manchester United and to his club. Yesterday, 1 May 2007, when his boys had the opportunity to make up for all the penalties thay have not been awarded - they were only able to convert one. It is time now for Mourinho to try and get Chelsea to win or draw most of their games rather than his personal attacks on referees for not awarding his team penalties - as we have seen, they'd probably make a mess of them - thereby slowing down the beautiful game. One final advice, Didier Drogba is a wonderful footballer - he should make the best of what he has rather than constantly falling over in an attempt to get his opponents in trouble and win by deceit.

Political Deceptions

Listening to the "Sunday Programme" today on ITV2, 29 of April, I was appalled to listen to Alex Salmon of the Scottish National Party (SNP)and his claim that his campaign for the local government election had been very positive. His rantings contained more of an attack on the Labour Party, Mr Gordon Brown and Tony Blair. Thus far, he said very little of what his party - SNP will do for the people of Scotland. The Iraqi war is still on and we have all condemned the Prime Minister, Tony Blair and his party for their misjudgement, but to continually use this to advance his career (or whatever is left of it) is nothing but pure political dishonesty!

On the same platform, I heard Michael Meacher of the New Labour on his silly campaign to become the leader of the labour Party. All I see is a repeat of Michael Foot's 1980s campaign - the only difference is that Michael Foot was a man of alertness and integrity during his campaign and sincerely believed in his quest. All I heard from Michael Meacher is a personal attack and more of a vindictive and jealous campaign to STOP Mr Gordon Brown becoming the leader of the New Labour. He claimed that the divide between the have and have not has widened, may be so but the country is more affluent that it has ever been and Mr Brown's success as chancellor of the exchequer is trivialized by this sad man. Do people start losing the senses when they get past 59? Meacher was just rambling on the failures of Gordon Brown as if Gordon Brown was the New Labour and if so, why did it take him almost ten years to start objecting? All I can see is Deceit, Dishonesty, Inconsistency and Abuse of electorates. This fool mus be allowed to have his last dance - by letting him run his campaign and see who his co dancers are before being consigned to his political grave !!!!!!!!!

Nigeria Recent Presidential Election

Nigeria’s recent presidential election has attracted once more unwanted attention from the international community. And the outgoing president’s comment to the BBC yesterday 23 April more or less confirms international community’s concerns about the outcome. For European Union observers to describe the outcome as a “charade” is regrettable. Considering the tribal and religious differences in Nigeria, I find it incredible for any political party in the country to achieve 70 percent of votes cast in any presidential election.

What comes to mind is Saddam Husssein’s 99% victory in his last election. For Olusegun Obasanjo to deride the west for their concerns literally confirms his anger at not being allowed to rule Nigeria for ever as he had intended – i.e. trying to alter the constitution to suit his own warped agenda. Second, if Nigeria is aiming to raise her standards in the international arena, then Nigeria must be seen to be above election rigging and stuffing of ballot boxes with ghost names. Last week, in the local election, BBC Radio 4 reported that in one constituency, a 105% were achieved. It would appear that even those who were filling the ballot boxes did not know when to stop. And for Mr Olusegun Obasanjo, to deride the comparison of Nigeria’s electoral practices by western standards just confirms that ex military men, old delusional and dinosauric in their mentality MUST not be allowed to contest let alone be involved in the governing of Nigeria.

If Mr Obasanjo had issues with western practices, why did he spend most of his presidency travelling to different western countries? Why did he try to emulate and copy western lifestyles, security measures? This not to say that the west is free of faults – far from it, in the UK, we have had of postal voting malpractices and the difficulties when George W. Bush first came to power, but efforts were and continued to be made by these governments to tackle any malpractices. After, America impeached Nixon,. In the UK, Jonathan Aitken MP and Lord Archer were both imprisoned for misconduct.

For a more decent Nigeria, the population must be educated and their eyes opened for them to see how these so-called politicians have been pulling wools over their eyes. These mass of illiterate population and entrenched in tribal differences (or warfare) have been contributory factors in allowing these idiots and corrupt dinosaurs to continually hold on to power – for their own selfish interest.

With Nigeria’s massive oil wealth, the country should have been in position to challenge and contribute to world affairs – instead the country is only known for her corrupting influences. The only time that Nigeria was praised by an international media - BBC Worldservice’s programme “The Black Superpower” was not on improvement of populace’s welfare or security of the nation but more on her military commitments around the globe!! It is time that the country begin a process of detribalisation otherwise, we will be perpetually left in the doldrums for decades to come.

The Television Phone Scams

With the recent exposure of GMTV's phone scams - It goes to show that the so called developed world is not entirely free of fraudulent activities. The one thing usually reserved for so-called developing countries and ethnic minorities now seems to be infecting our "developed and decent society". BBC's recent discovery of GMTV phone scam is nothing short or pure theft, deception and downright fraud. We have had of BBC conning children in the Blue Peter programme, Channel 4's phone scam and Channel 5 and some radio stations. I wondered how many more institutions are involved all these cons. My colleague said we might as well put it in the category of "white collar crime" - that way, their effect is minimised and then trivialised. I quite agree

Manchester United and Chelsea

I am appalled by Chelsea Football Club manager's recent comment about the outcome of his team's match with Newcastle United. For a man who has literally been let off so many times, it'd appear that once more his short memory lets him down. With the number of times his defenders have handled the ball, I have wondered which of them is the goalkeeper. He must be told that in the UK, it pays sometimes to think before one opens his mouth!!!! It is time he grew up.

Climate of Fear

Last night, 20th of April, on my way back from Heathrow airport, a woman boarded the trian from Hounslow East heading towards central London. Considering that the weather has been very warm and pleasant recently, she had a hooded top on and practically zipped it up so much so that even her eyes were not visible. She was also carrying a black bag and began fidgeting with it making many of the passengers - most of whom I believed were visitors to the country- very nervous. Many moved away from her and I made comment of how silly some people can be. Upon hearing my comment, she partially unzipped her hooded top, stared at me and called me a n***** to which I reproached her. Noticing my angry stare, she quickly jumped off the train at Baron Court tube station. I had to apologise to some of the passengers that this was "unLondon like".

A Visit to My General Practitioner

This morning I went to my General Practitioner (GP) because of abdominal pains the night before. My GP surgery is in Tynemouth Road, London N15. This is my first in about 5 years. The last time I went there, the GP that attended to me told me that I was wasting his time because I complained of a pain in my groin, when I challenged his comments, he quickly retracted his statement blaming a work overload for his silly ranting. I reminded him that in light of men's reluctance to visit their GPs, he should be appreciative of the likes of me who visit their GPs only when they suspect something wrong with their general health. I also reminded him that considering that prior to that visit, I had not been to his surgery or any other for that matter in 10 years, to refer to me as a time waster was rude and disrespectful. He did apologise in the end but his comment is indicative of what many GPs think of their patients.

Although I have been experiencing this abdominal pain since Monday 16 April, I though it best to wait in case it was just an indigestion, as it turned out, 3 days after my first pain, the problem persisted. I called my GP to book an appointment only to be told that it was fully booked, but if I turn up before the surgery opens, I might be seen by a doctor. As I was up all night in terrible pain, I made sure that I was up this morning so that I will be - possibly, the first in the queue (since a queueing system existed). By 7am, I was third in the queue and waited for an hour and fifteen minutes for the surgery to open - 8.15am. In spite of my pain, when I saw the receptionist, she bluntly told me that the doctor cannot see me because I had not booked an appointment. Immediately, one is caught in this revolving door - you cannot be seen unless you book an appointment, and when you try to book an appointment, they are fully booked, but is advised to turn up early if you want to see a doctor and when you turn up, one is again told that you cannot see a doctor because you had no appointment.

It would appear that while GPs are happy to have you on their book, they are not willing to treat or even see you. I was told to go to the hospital!!! SO what exactly is the use of a GP if I cannot see any of them. I was even berated for not seeing my GP regularly. They should commend me for making less use of the service because I take good care of myself and not condemn me for being careful.

Hanging Out ?

On 17 April 2007, at about 9pm, a group of young men - aged between 15 to possibly 18 were loitering around the Tottenham area of London - UK. Initially, I considered this a normal event - i.e., young people enjoying the recent warm weather we have been having.

But at about 1.30am, these same boys had managed to acquire a motorcycle - most of them were wearing helmet - they were all black boys. This motorcycle was being raced so noisily up and down our street. This obviously woke some up the resident up including myself. We made some attempt to reason with them but were met with some very obscene languages and threats. Surprisingly, these boys do not live on our street. Our street is no longer than 300 metres - so in so small a road we are being menaced by children we barely know where they live or who they are. These young people ceased their foolish activities after 2.30am when a police siren was heard.

It is proper that young poeple's human rights have been fully restored, but is it right that other citizens' rights have to be trampled upon?

My Easter Monday & the Press

I woke up this morning to listen to the furore surrounding the Ministry of Defence's decision to allow the 15 British soldiers kidnapped by Iran to sell their stories. I find this decision distasteful particularly in a week when 4 young men & women lost their lives in Iraq. To assert that these personell's arrest or kidnap is unique is to trivialize the position of all POW's - past and present. If their position is unique, what will be the position of the dead and injured? These are the poeple who have made the ultimate sacrifice? May be the police officers will soon be allowed to sell their stories of their everyday beat.

It would have been better to wait for a couple of years before allowing these military personnel to tell us their own version of events. Why have the media not made similar offers to the families of the dead and injured? These are the real people who'd have needed the money.

For the first time, I agree with the Liberal & Tory leadership and some military generals who opposed have criticised decision. I am surprised about Labour's silence on the matter.

Today, BBC's Radio 4 commented on a report about the role of black fathers in their children's lives and the exclusion of black boys from school. These are old stories. These things have been running for a good number of years now. It is something we all know but do not want to address. Some black parents or fathers feel it unnecessary to get involved as it relieves them of all responsibilities - particularly, financial. And those who do get involved are made to look very ordinary when they attempt to inquire about their boys education. The sentence used these days to explain this awful situation is "institutional racism" - whatever this may mean. I think the everyday usage of these words has watered its usefulness down to the extent that those responsible for implementing policies appropriate it for their uselessness. As regards black parents' position, many feel that to "legally" ask parents not to discipline their children when they are misbehaving and then hold them responsible for their children's michief is like tying non swimmers hands behind their back and then asking them to swim.

There are so many police vehicle about and it is only 12hours.

Credit/Debit Card Theft

My uncle who is on holidays to the UK just called this morning. He is very upset, he arrived two weeks ago and used his credit card to top up his Virgin mobile phone. He has just found out that since this transaction, his credit card had been fraudulently used - over £700 has so far been taken from his account. The irony is that whoever the fraudster (possibly a staff) is, (s)he is using it on another Virgin service. My uncle apparently suspected this transaction last week and alerted his bank - HSBC, they cancelled and reissued him with a new card, but this morning he noticed that as at Friday 30 March 2007, money was still being taken from his account.

He went to the police in Hornsey N7 to report the fraud and was told by a police officer that they are no longer required to take details of stolen cards. Supposedly, the banks are now entrusted to handle these matters themselves. Considering that banks never wanted the general public to know about failures in their system, I wonder how this will reflect in the national crime data? If my experience serves me well, the theft of my Halifax bank cheque book in 2005 and the unauthorised withdrawals from my account - Halifax became very hostile when I questioned the withdrawal and more so when Iwent to the police to report the offence. MyChristmas of 2005 became a nightmare as I was not allowed to withdraw money from my account, some of their staff in one of their call centers told me to stop whingeing as some people have had more money stolen. They even charged me for some of the withdrawal and only when I threatened to go to the media and possibly to the court did they relent.

Police and Fire Service Sirens

Over the past few months in Tottenham, North London (UK) - police and ambulance sirens can be heard blaring between 3am and 4am. The problem is even more pronounced around the Monument Way. At this time of the morning, the roads are almost empty, yet these men and women felt it necessary to disturb the rest of the sleeping residents of Tottenham. It would appear that they could not even care about the health of these people they serve. The flashing lights are even visible from my apartment - so it is possible that other motorists - well the few that are on the road can too. The irony is that I sometimes stay with friends in Richmond, south London and in Buckinghamshire and have seen police and ambulance vehicles with their lights flashing late in the night but without sirens blaring? So why this nuisance in Tottenham???

Mobile Phone Menace

In early March 2007, we were informed that the police will now enforce (vigorously) the law against the use of mobile (cell) telephone. The attention paid by the media was immense - such was the immensity that we were shown on the television the first person to be caught by the police. As expected, the media attention has waned - until another teenager or a family on their way to church, school or family outing is killed. Today, many drivers continue to use their telephone with great impunity.

This morning, I took my uncle and aunt, who are visiting the UK to Billingsgate Fish Market in London. The market closes to memebers of the public at 0800 hours - I think. To see this vibrant market in operation, one is always advised to visit at 5am. To see all sorts of sea food under one roof is an experience in itself. Now back to my moan of the day. I left my flat in Tottenham with a friend to Finsbury Park to pick up my uncle and aunt for our trip to the fish market.

On our way from Tottenham to Finsbury Park in North London, we saw about 12 drivers - all on their mobile telephones - most oblivious to the presence of other vehicle. My friend and I decided to play a game of MMTAMV (My Mobile Telephone and My Vehicle). From Finsbury Park in North London to the market in the City of London, we counted not less than 23 drivers - all using their telephones. So much for law. In fact we did not drive past any police vehicle between the hours of 4am and 07.30am when we arrived back home.

On our way back, we witnessed a few drivers, surprisingly, among the one of these law breakers was a bus driver. So much for the STRICT ENFORCEMENT !!!

David Cameron of the Conservative Party (UK)

As an ex Tory voter, I am concerned that many people in the UK have been sucked into David Cameron's camelial world. I have never known a Conservative leader change his views and beliefs so often. Having promised us of a political clean up, as soon as he took over the Conservative leadership, his first New Year's speech was an attack on Gordon Brown. This should have been an alarm warning to the rest of the country. At least with the GREAT Mrs T, we knew where we stood.

Some think Mr Cameron is the person to save the UK from a total meltdown. The truth is, as Channel 4's recent TV programme showed, David Cameron and his tiny group of friend have "hijacked" this great Party and are beginning to treat it as a private club.

I am appalled by his recent rantings about concern for the environment, ethnic minority and the elderly. The truth is, they could not give a "fish net" to these groups. His policy thus far remained very vague. The deflection on these are constant attacks on Mr Gordon Brown, the Chancellor of the Exchequer. Surprising that they accused him of squandering the nation's wealth, yet many of the people in the Tory Party and the wealthy in this country have seen their wealth quadruple under Mr Brown's chancellorship.

I think it is time for a re-visit to Mr Cameron's deceptive political world. We should not worry about the Labour Party, they have their own demon in Mr C. Clarke. All conservatives must be cautious and suspicious of This Great Pretender!

The Lake District

My first visit to the Lake District and this picture proves what a beautiful place it is albeit a very wet one. This was compensated by the wonderful walks. Now back in London, I feel all aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhh!!!!!!