Trains of Thought...

Blog is Moving

2010-01-04T00:50:00.003Z

I am switching my whole blog over to wordpress... the blog can now be found at

www.qthetrainsofthought.wordpress.com

A note to that which suffers the most...

2010-01-04T00:06:00.002Z

Dear broken heart,

I'm sorry I gave you away so many times for you to get hurt.

I'm sorry I ignored my head and kept putting you first.

I'm sorry I've probably tarnished you for life.

And I'm sorry that it’s always you who pays the price.

I'm sorry I don't learn from my mistakes.

I'm sorry that my actions bring you heartache.

I'm sorry that they were never “the one”.

And I'm sorry that I'm never happy on my own.

I'm sorry that I am the cause for this pain.

And I'm sorry that I will do it again.

But most of all, I'm sorry that you are stuck with me for the rest of my life.

I fear we will never meet true love and so I'm sorry that forever in two pieces you will remain.

By Unepetitemoi

Is he or is he not?

2010-01-02T13:10:00.003Z

Over the past year or so, speculation that Jay-Z and others are in fact members of the illuminati and devil worshippers have spread across the internet like wildfire. All of his lyrics have been scrutinised and every handshake and diamond sign he has made has been interpreted to be a trick to pull the world into believing in Satan.

To me a lot of these theories are as far-fetched as shit from china, not because they may be entirely wrong but I believe they lack importance, we shall get onto this in a minute.

However, even I cannot deny that some of the Jigga man's words and self-declaration of being god are rather strange, to Christians, devout or otherwise I suppose that such words are a sin and for this he is an ungodly man. But, to those Christians that do judge him, are you all not committing sins yourself by casting stones, when I am sure most of you are not without sin. I mean I am no bible reader so I may be wrong, but, I am pretty sure that nobody should be judged because they themselves are not God and this should be left to him.

What is more, it strikes me as pretty ironic that people including other rappers will pull his lyrics apart and say look here and here, he is claiming that he is this and that so he is definitely part of this NWO. I find this ironic because, I think a lot of these same people that do this with the lyrics of Jay-Z & Kanye and Rihanna, would then be quick to claim that those people who blame hip-hop etc for the gun crime, knife crime, the degrading of women and everything else which is wrong with the youth of today (and particularly within "black society") are in fact wrong and not looking at the bigger picture. Surely if people fully take Jay-Z's lyrics to heart then, they should criticise any rapper who talks about any of the above for the way our youth appear to have totally lost their way or would this just be to pedantic?

Furthermore, what I have found about a lot of the people who will preach that these hip hop stars are part of the illuminati, is that they then won't see that if this whole thing is true, it is bigger than music performers and everybody's favourite politician Mr Barack Obama is part of them as well.

Anyway, the real reason why I don't look too much into the whole Jay-Z/Musicians being part of some occult is because, I believe that there are far more important issues going on in the world and that people should never allow things such as music to make up their minds for them. At times it seems that people would rather youtube videos about celebrities and then preach about them worshipping the devil than focus on real issues. Slavery still exists in out world, humans are not given their basic rights in many different countries, the death penalty is still carried out in what is supposed to be one of the most civilised countries in the world, yet, the people who carry out these inhumane abuses are never considered to be part of any evil devil worshipping occult.

Why is it, that we are so quick to vilify people that WE make stars?

(All videos on Jay-Z etc being a devil worshipper/free mason can be found on youtube!..look into the history of the freemasons and devil worshippers and what it actually means, then you make up your mind and decide whether its really that important at all)

Adios 2009 – The year people realised celebrities actually died...

2010-01-01T20:12:00.001Z

So, 2009 has been and gone, it really feels like the year did a Usain Bolt on us. 2008 seemed to merge into 2009 and the end of 2009 rapidly approached and has left everything in a blur, now this might be because in my tender old age of 22 I sadly merge events together, others will be more negative and say that my alcohol fuelled days at the UEA (University of East Anglia) were never actually a good thing.

Anyway, on to my main point, 2009 was a year that saw many celebrities pass away. That’s right people, those folk that some of us adore so much, actually leave planet earth like the rest of us boring little people. Don’t get me wrong, I was shocked at the loss of the King of Pop (R.I.P) and it was sad that Brittany Murphy lost her life at such a young age, but the furore that seemed to go with these deaths was all just a little too much at times. But I suppose this isn’t such an unreasonable thing when you consider how deeply we are enrooted to celebrity culture.

We idolise these people (rightly or wrongly) because of how they entertain us, we revere them because their lives seem so much better than ours and we like to see them fall just to reassure ourselves that our lives aren’t all that bad. In an age where everybody appears to want to get rich quick, where shows like Big Brother and such help people with next to no talent achieve fame and riches is it really any surprise that such a big deal is made out of celebrity deaths?

My answer is no, but to me, and I am probably wrong, it is part of what is wrong with society.

R.I.P to the celebrities who lost their lives who were (UN)lucky enough to have their whole world at their funeral and R.I.P to those who were and never will be given 24 hour news coverage and a trending topic on twitter.

I won’t bore you with lists of the best and worst things of 2009, this has been overdone and I am sure we all have our personal highlights of the year.

I shall wish everyone a prosperous new year, and I hope that “the best of your todays will be the worst of your tomorrows”. Happy 2010 people.

Dear Ms Perfection..Prt 2

2009-12-28T14:00:00.001Z

Unfinished part 2 -

Dear Ms Perfection..

I write this, not in the hope that I shall one day find you, or that you even exist. It’s more like a memoir to me, a reminder of all the ridiculous things that I hope I shall find in some angel slash goddess of a woman, when I am nowhere near a god of a man, I mean a few tweaks and I will almost be perfect, but even I have not achieved such a status, yet.

No, I write this because, I find it funny, no, hilarious that we all on the surface seek perfection in our partners, we could list what turns us on and what turns us off the opposite sex within a matter minutes. Females could rattle of lists of material things that they expect their men to provide them and Males could scrawl down physical attributes they desire in a woman, unless that is, you’re a pedant, much like me :) .

We do all these things, yet, by no means are any of us perfect, I mean there is the odd female the Sanaa Lathans, Shakira’s and Thandie Newton’s of the world, who ooze sexiness, intelligence, class and money.. (and females I am sure you have your own list), but these angels have been put earth to tease us and fool us into thinking there are divine individuals who roam the earth for each and every one of us. The media has manipulated our thoughts and movies have distorted our fantasies, led us to believe that perfection is as to achieve as a female bar-tender sleeping with Tiger Woods.

TBC...

Dear Ms Perfection..Prt 1

2009-12-28T13:54:00.001Z

I write a lot of things that I never finish, this happens for a lot of different reasons but I thought I would post this one up. I may finish it at some point.

Dear Ms Perfection,

You see in my dreams you are clear, the understanding we have is almost telepathic, words are not needed for us to express our anger, joy, sorrow or love that we share for each other. Words would do an injustice to the bond we shared, if any foolish poet tried to lay our love down on paper, he would fail. If any director tried to show our connection in a film, he would be lost, not knowing how to portray such uniqueness, he would totally and utterly baffled as to whether or not his audience would get it and this would be the problem. You see our bond is not for an audience to merely “get”, to outsiders it’s as if we speak Martian or act in Charlie Chaplin movies, they believe we are so backwards when in truth they just don’t understand. And it’s because they don’t understand that they criticise, and the more they criticise the more we embrace.

We laugh when others cry and when others smile we never wonder why, to focused on each other to care how others act. And it’s not even like we suffocate each other, you know like those other silly lovers do. Our love isn’t tragic like one of those Shakespeare plays and it’s hardly conventional nope we do it our own way. Perfection isn’t real but if it was they would put a picture of me and you together.

I'd do it all again to be Forever Young '-)

2009-12-22T17:53:00.003Z

The Jigga man has released another video from BP3, this time its the final track on the album featuring London's very own Mr Hudson. A black and White number just like Empire State of Mind (do him and B have the same directors), its plain, but its Jay, so say no more.

Second Video of the day is from Corinne Bailey Rae, I wonder where on earth she has been?!?

Anyway, she is back with her new single. Hopefully her new album will be as good as her last. Her hair is SEXY!...(Understated sexiness ftw ladies)

In my own world...

2009-12-19T17:41:00.001Z

I want to reach heights where i touch the sky
Without being pulled down by those who bad mind

I want to fly away from all the trouble in the world
Escape from reality
You know, the way i do with my words

I dont want to be judged by bits of paper
Pass or fail
Or rely on the root of all evil
But, maybe money is the only way i can exhale

I want trouble free days
where everyone has peace of mind
Oh its this place i wish i could find..

Bah Humbug!

2009-12-19T01:42:00.002Z

I really can't stand the snow, not one little bit. Having snow fights at 22 isn't quite the same as it was when I was 12 or 16 even. All the snow does is delay trains, make it hard to get anywhere and causes the whole bloody country to think WW3 has started. What is it with that? We get a little bit of snow and the whole country goes tits up, yet we expect to host the Olympics and we are trying to win a war. You can only laugh. All I have to say is BAH HUMBUG!

Adding to all of this, I am far from being in any type of festive spirit, with age I have lost my excitement for this season. I look forward to the drink and food, a little bit of family time and the overdue rest I deserve.

Imagine my horror when I opened my curtains to this:

I truly am becoming a scrooge. Merry Xmas.

Drop The World

2009-12-19T01:21:00.002Z

A collaboration that a lot of people have been waiting for....

Personally, I think Eminem kills the track, its good to hear him without that silly voice. Really looking forward to relapse 2.

Lil Wayne's new album, the Rebirth is out now. Go Get It.

"Welcome"

2009-12-11T21:37:00.002Z

Newcomer (Rapper) of the Year: J.Cole

Jermaine Cole a.k.a J.Cole, a.k.a newcomer of the year, If you haven’t heard the come up or the warm up (easily the mixtape of the year) where the hell have you been?!?! I kid you not when I say that J.Cole has all the elements to become one of Hip-Hops greats. Whilst everyone runs about complaining that hip-hop has lost its way, too caught up in the glamorous side of life and forgetting where it came from, Mr Cole, for me at least has breathed some life into the game.

Hailing from North Carolina, Cole moved to New York to pursue his rap career. In 2007, he put out his first mixtape “The Come Up” and was soon signed up by Jay-Z after he had heard his song Lights Please. In 2009 he followed this up with “The Warm” up, which is ~~probably~~ the mixtape of the year, and he also featured on Jigga’s “Blueprint 3” & Wale’s “Attention Deficit”.

His debut album is expected to come out early 2010, if his mixtape is anything to go by, rap music can breathe easy, a new prince can be crowned.

Some of my favourite songs:

Lights Please:

I Get Up:

Welcome:

Interview with J.Cole http://www.complex.com/blogs/2009/04/30/j-cole-talks-roc-nation-meeting-jay-z-the-warm-up-mixtape/

Follow J.Cole on Twitter - twitter.com/jcolenc.

Depersonlization of Life

2009-12-11T21:28:00.002Z

The depersonalization of life...

Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, Forums, Blackberry’s, IPhones, all of these items have transformed the world into a community that is just a click away. The benefits of this are unlimited; we can access music and film in an instant, communicate with people on the other side of the world and find out information within minutes. Without a doubt, the internet has made our lives easier, many people can’t live without it and I count myself within this group, but of late, I have found something quite grating about the internet being invasive in every aspect of my life.

Life has become somewhat depersonalized, instead of calls people text, instead of texting people BB Pin and if it’s not that then it’s a Facebook message or a tweet. I feel as people, whilst we are communicating more there is very little that is personal about it, it is one of the reasons I recently deactivated my Facebook (along with the irritating and laughable snippets of people’s lives that I preferred not to know about).

Here is a brilliant video of what I think Facebook has done to relationships

I feel people need to reconnect with people on a more personal level, use facebook and twitter as tools to enhance friendships and network, but don't let it be the B all of your communication.

Because nowadays it does certainly seem that

"The more elaborate our means of communication, the less we communicate."JOSEPH PRIESTLEY:

"Pictures that say 1000 words"

2009-11-30T18:32:00.001Z

Was shown this video, it is quite powerful.

What struck me when I first watched it though, was the fact that to quite a few of the images I felt as if was desensitized. Seeing violence so often through, videos,music,internet and film truly does have an affect on the way someone views things.

Dream chasing...part deux (A vent of sorts)

2009-11-29T16:40:00.004Z

As if primary school, secondary school, sixth form and university were not enough for me, I have now embarked on a long dark journey through law school. To many, it may just seem I am playing a game of debt accumulation, you know the game where you attain as much debt as possible before you embark on an actual career, and whilst I have and will continue to amass debt at an unfortunate rate, this is not the game I am playing.

I prefer to call what I am doing, dream chasing. As with every dream, at times my dream leads me to self-doubt. There are occasions that I feel nothing can stand in the way of me achieving my ambition of becoming a barrister, but then there are dark days, days that I question why on earth I am bothering to embark on a road of uncertainty, that requires not only a stubborn nature that my Nigerian mother would be proud of, but also the belief of a fundamental (insert appropriate religion here). A great deal of people have tried to discourage me, “Do you know how hard it is to become a barrister”, “you don’t have a steady income”, “Only one in three million gain pupillage”  (exaggeration). These people, the doubters, and the pessimists, are an inspiration, partly because I am a sucker for a challenge but also due to the fact I want to prove that I have got what it takes.
But it may be unfair to label them as doubters, they may just be concerned, they don’t want to see me put in so much work to end up with nothing, this is understandable. To get to where I want to be I am going to have to work harder than I have ever done, slacking is not an option and neither is going into it half hearted. Yet I know all of this, and this isn’t what deters me, the prospect of working hard is something I look forward to, I just hope when I get there it is all I hope it to be.

You see, all the debt accumulation, late nights working on essays, trying to remember statutes and constant reminders of the unstable income, will be nothing if I get there in the end. If I eventually find myself standing in the wonderful British courts of the south east circuit in the next few years, I am sure I will barely remember the struggle (even if it is where the nobility lies). Too often, people give up on their dreams, opting to take a different route because the road ahead of them has too many twists and turns, if someone does this, then I believe they don’t want their dream very much at all and in the long run they have done the right thing. As long as it is their own choice, and not because of the doubters they have given up that is, so whilst I will wisely take advice from a lot of people, nobody but me will put an end to what I want to achieve.

In the next 2 years, there will be a number of times that I lament my decision to stay in education. But my moaning will only last a short time, and my dreams will outlive my moments of doubt, this is the most important thing. And it is the reason I stay, chasing my dreams.

I’m in danger of over doing it on the clichés, so I shall leave it here.

A friend of mine tweeted this the other day- “All achievements are transitory... the struggle is where the nobility lies” ------ Carry on chasing those dreams people.

J.Cole- Further reflects my thoughts on chasing a dream....

Peace & Love.

A Glance at America's "Justice System"...Prt 1

2009-11-18T15:17:00.003Z

America, a nation with 1 in 31 of its adult population behind bars, there are approximately 7.3 million American adults in jail, on probation or on parole.
These facts alone are astonishing themselves, however, what is most damaging to the American justice system is the fact that America is the ONLY nation on earth that allows juveniles convicted of a non-homicidal offence to be prisoned for life.

In the New York Times, Marc Mauer and Kent Scheidegger debate this controversial issue..

Marc Mauer
There are more than 1,700 people in the United States serving sentences of life without parole for crimes committed as juveniles. No other nation has even a single person serving such a sentence. Now the Supreme Court will consider an extreme outcome of this policy, two cases of juveniles serving no-parole life terms for non-homicide offenses.

There is no question that the two juveniles, Joe Sullivan and Terrance Graham, were convicted of very serious offenses. So why is it problematic to incarcerate them for life?

First, children are different than adults. As the Supreme Court noted in its 2005 decision in Roper v. Simmons banning the death penalty for juveniles, children do not have fully matured levels of judgment or impulse control, and are more susceptible to peer pressure than adults. Brain imaging research documents that adolescent brains are not fully developed, particularly in areas that control reasoning and risk taking. It is for these reasons that all states already impose age restrictions on voting, driving and consuming alcohol.

The rest of the debate can be read here.. http://roomfordebate.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/08/young-offenders-locked-up-for-life/?ex=1273640400&en=b2b62424869375ec&ei=5087&WT.mc_id=OP-D-I-NYT-MOD-MOD-M123-ROS-1109-HDR&WT.mc_ev=click

Is life without parole cruel and unusual punishment for juveniles who have committed offences such as burglary...

In my opinion,and it may be mine alone, but it is beyond immoral to revoke a persons freedom at a stage of their life where, in many cases, they have more potential for full rehabilitation than any other offender.

Like in Britain, America's prison system appears to be more of a breeding ground for further crime rather than a place for rehabilitation. A serious overhaul of the way criminals, especially juvenile criminals needs to be undertaken, sending to people to prison in most cases sweeps the problem under the carpet rather than solve the social issues at hand.

Sick & Tired

2009-09-15T00:43:00.000+01:00

I’m tired of always hearing the same old shit
The same bullshit excuses that fathers give for not looking after their kids
I’m sick of the fact women keep looking in the same old sewers
hoping to find princes amongst dirt its time you grew up,

I’m sick of the fact that everything is attributed to race
As if the actions of few can be applied to every brown face
And whilst racism is yet to have died away
I’m sick to death with the excuses people make
Nobody stops you from going to school, and it’s down to you if you think it’s cool to act the fool

I’m tired of talentless fools just seeking fame and the idiots who endorse them
yup the parents are to blame

And I’m tired of people who will question someone’s dream
Yet all day do is stay on the block all day shottin’ to those fiends
I’m sick of people who just stay in reverse
And I’m tired of how much others will try to hold people back

I’m bored of all the same old rap songs, like we aint heard enough already about hoes, bling and guns
I’m tired of people who just jump to conclusions

And I’m sick of fools who allow dumb shit to move them

I’m tired of England’s erratic weather
But it irritates me more the fact I’m always fed up
I hate the fact I’m always preaching the same old thing
And it makes me sick sometimes that I don’t know what the future will bring.

" Niggers, Niggas & Niggaz"

2009-08-26T01:06:00.007+01:00

Handle them carefully, for words have more power than atom bombs. --Pearl Strachan

Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me. -- Popular Nursery Rhyme.

Words, spoken or written have an immense amount of power, they can inspire a million different feelings and create brand new worlds. The two quotes above offer two very different evaluations on the power that words have, but do words really have the power to cause destruction, pain, angst and grief for years after they are spoken/created?
One of the most powerful words in the English language is often spoken in the 21st century but do any of us really remember its meanings and its history? The word nigger causes great controversy amongst the majority of people, why does this word hold more power than other curse words? And should it after all these years still have the same impact on black people of the 21st Century.

Perhaps more of an American issue then a British one, the controversy of the word like many other parts of American culture managed to filter through to everyday Britons in what some may say an all to blasé manner.

My Experience

When I first heard the word or to be more accurate first called the word I was 6, I was at a swimming pool and had just shut my door in a locker so was to busy dealing with a bloody finger to pay attention to the boys who threw the racial slur and spat at me. Before that I had been called a paki (yeah go figure), blackie, black jack and various other slurs, but I was too young to know what such words meant and I predict that the kids who said the words knew either. Although there intent was to hurt I truly doubt that they knew the true impact or historical meaning of the word, as I grew older I soon learnt the historical meaning of the word and have since been conflicted of its use no thanks to what I have studied versus the music I hear and some of films I watch.

A History Lesson

The etymology of the word lies with the Latin "niger", Spanish "negro", and middle French "negre" meaning black.

One of the earliest uses of the written word was in 1786 by slave masters to label their Africans. It is through its application in slavery that it has come to be seen by many as the most offensive racial slur in English.

By the 1960's the Civil Rights Movement in America was in full force and use of the word was soon beginning to lose its place in every day vocabulary. White racists of a middle class background distanced themselves from the word instead choosing to use the word negra as their preferred racial slur, however those of a lower white class still continued to use the word freely.

The Black Power Movement brought about what many called a cultural revolution for African-Americans, black's were made to feel proud of their features that were so often mocked and embrace their natural hair, along with this they adopted with the Nation of Islam's approach of calling themselves Black rather than Negro's and Niggers.

With the word Nigger basked in the blood of hundreds of thousands of people both black and white, it does beg the question as to why anyone would want to use it (black or white). For hundreds of years this word was forced upon blacks, replacing their names and used to ensure they knew they were the lowest of the lowest, so why has the word become so common place amongst black and white kids alike.

Rap Music & The Glamorisation
After the Civil Rights Movement the word seemed to take a brand new direction, comedians such as Richard Pryor and Eddie Murphy would bring it to both black and white audiences around the world with seemingly little regard for the words historical past. Sketches would be casually filled with the word and in a sense it seemed to make it okay to say the word, this feeling was soon to be further taken on board as rap music became a dominant force.

Rap music takes a lot of blame for the ills of American society, violence,sexism and the continued use of the word Nigger are claimed to be alive and ringing in the ears of Americans because of this obnoxious form of music. In the early 90's rap groups such as N.W.A (Niggaz with Attitude) used the word liberally as they spoke about their frustration with American society, they managed to re-popularise the word and glamorise it on the mainstream music world. However this new generation offered the defence that Nigga now meant something different, it was now an empowerment term that no longer meant the same to the young generation as it did with the old.

As rap became more popular and artists such as Jay-Z, 50 Cent, Snoop Dogg & Ludacris became global figures, the word has filtered into other communities, It now appears to be commonplace for youths and adults of white and asian heritage on both sides of the Atlantic to use the word as if it never meant a thing. Some may argue that its is an embracing culture,but no-one would try to embrace Chinese culture by calling someone a "Chink", Italian culture by calling someone a "Wop" or Irish culture by calling someone a "paddy".

And whilst the popularity of rap music has spread around the world, it doesn't mean that history has erased itself, hip-hop artists have a responsibility this is without a doubt true, but at the same time everybody is responsible for their own actions. Rap music or any other kind of music or form of entertainment for that matter shouldn't educate kids, parents and teachers should.

Perhaps the explanation below offers a reason as to why it is not just a word used in hip-hop songs...

In the documentary "The N Word" one commentator declares that the word Nigger was used for almost 300 years as a derogatory term, how in 20 years of Hip-Hip Culture have people tried to claim a re-branding of it.
The fact that people will quite happily defend their use of the word nigger by claiming that so and so rapper says it, should also think of the above statement before believing they have the right to brandish around the word. This goes for White and Black people.

What is interesting is that some figures who so brazenly brandished the word in the past, came to later abhore the word and tried to shed it from their vocabulary. Unfortunately in the cases of popular figures who made it part of their acts, the damage was and is already done.

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"Niggers V Black People"
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In Chris Rock's bring the pain the comedian has a sketch that is called Niggers V Black people, the comic declares differences between ordinary black people and Niggers. Rock describes niggers as all the negative stereotypes that any racist would associate with a black person and black people as people trying to move away from this stereotype. Whilst the sketch is hilarious, it in a way further allows people to defend their use of the word, Chris Rock later removed the sketch from Bring the pain as he said he felt it gave others from other racial backgrounds an excuse to use the word nigger.

Whilst I do not agree with censorship, some popular figures should think when they write (in the case of many rap stars)

The banning of the word

So what can you do about the use of the word?
Essentially nothing, however people who use it and then claim it doesn't mean anything should then find no problem with someone calling them the worst insult possible, nor should they find any other word offensive. After all to them words mean nothing and have no power behind them at all, right?

In 2007 the New York City council decided unanimously to ban the "n-word", whilst some civil rights campaigners and other high profile African-Americans applauded the symbolic banning of the word, censorship is by no means an answer to ensuring that the importance and history of the word is not forgotten. No amount of political correctness will ever erase the the word from history books or from some peoples memories, after all its not as if racism has ceased to exist despite what politicians in countries such as America & England will tell you. Multiculturalism in the biggest cities in both countries has by no means burnt away the racial tensions that still languish in the suburbs of little Britain or America.

Interestingly, New York also recently banned the use of the word Oriental as it has a history of being a racial slur, and the word. Just as the banning of the word Nigger it has been met with applause by many of the older Asian-Americans in New York and across America.However, is the banning of these words just political correctness going to far?

Is censorship the solution to try and overcome racial tensions?
Surely education on the impacts of words such as Oriental and Nigger would be far more useful than out of touch government officials banning the words in the public sphere.

It seems that people are instead of dealing with the real issue (racism), would rather the subject be swept under the carpet with legislation that will do nothing more lthan create animosity and hostility (even if it does appear to be the right thing).

In my opinion and I'm sure many will think different, I don't think that a crusade to ban words will have the desired impact nor will it decrease the use of the word.

I will end the blog with this poem:

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Peace & Much Love.

Watch the documentary "the n word"
Links:

http://abolishthenword.com/

http://www.metroactive.com/papers/metro/04.09.98/cover/nigger-9814.html

http://news.minnesota.publicradio.org/features/2004/06/28_williamsb_nword/

http://aboutjapan.japansociety.org/content.cfm/whats_the_matter_with_saying_the_orient

Slavery: An issue not yet rendered to the past

2009-07-11T20:14:00.003+01:00

To many, Slavery ended when the emancipation proclamation was issued in 1863 by Abraham Lincoln's government. Whilst the emancipation proclamation was indeed a landmark act that gave slaves freedom in the eyes of the law it did truly signal the end of slavery in America or any where else in the world for that matter. To think that slavery ended with this act by the US government, overlooks the importance of an issue that is still evident around the world. Whilst the slavery that existed hundreds of years ago was clearly visible to everyone in society, modern slavery is much more inconspicuous, existing in various forms all over the world.

Below is a list of the forms of modern slavery that still plague our world. (Take from Anti-Slavery International)

Bonded labour affects millions of people around the world. People become bonded labourers by taking or being tricked into taking a loan for as little as the cost of medicine for a sick child. To repay the debt, many are forced to work long hours, seven days a week, up to 365 days a year. They receive basic food and shelter as 'payment' for their work, but may never pay off the loan, which can be passed down for generations.

Early and forced marriage affects women and girls who are married without choice and are forced into lives of servitude often accompanied by physical violence.

Forced labour affects people who are illegally recruited by individuals, governments or political parties and forced to work -- usually under threat of violence or other penalties.

Slavery by descent is where people are either born into a slave class or are from a 'group' that society views as suited to being used as slave labour.

Trafficking involves the transport and/or trade of people -- women, children and men -- from one area to another for the purpose of forcing them into slavery conditions.

Worst forms of child labour affects an estimated 126 million** children around the world in work that is harmful to their health and welfare.

And you would be wrong to assume that these forms of slavery are confined to developing countries with corrupt political systems. In the United States and United Kingdom, thousands of women and children are trafficked every year for the purposes of sex and work. Furthermore, multinational companies often use slave labour as a means of producing goods (knowingly or not it happens).
Perhaps what will be most alarming to people is that, according to Free the Slaves, there are currently more people in slavery now than at any other point in history.

In its 400 years, the transatlantic slave trade is estimated to have shipped up to 12 million Africans to various colonies in the West. Free the Slaves estimates that the number of people in slavery today is at least 27 million.

. With this in mind it must be a top priority of governments around the world to fight modern slavery, and uphold the promises that were made when the Universal Declaration of Human Rights were adopted by the United Nations in 1948.

Organisations such as Anti-Slavery International and Free the Slaves work continuously hard to highlight slavery that still exists today, but everybody needs to stand up and take notice of the exploitation that millions of humans face every day. Only then will slavery truly be a thing of the past.

Here the website Matador Change highlights ten disturbing facts about slavery in the 21st century.

Blogging etiquette tells me this is getting long so i will just end it with..

Slavery is not history!

For more information on slavery visit

http://www.antislavery.org/english/default.aspx
http://www.iabolish.org/
http://www.notforsalecampaign.org/

Sources/References:

http://www.jrf.org.uk/publications/modern-slavery-united-kingdom
http://matadorchange.com/10-shocking-facts-about-global-slavery-in-2008/
http://www.antislavery.org/english/default.aspx
http://www.iabolish.org/
http://www.notforsalecampaign.org/

Obama, Obama...

2009-07-10T14:03:00.003+01:00

Obama is supposedly caught here admiring a young ladies bum, while French president Sarkozy gives him and all knowing look. Lets hope Barack doesn't do a Clinton on the American people.

I have read comments that because he took a look at her bum, he is somehow a disgusting woman hater. EL EM AY OH, people really have too much time to think out these silly thoughts.

Peace & Love.

"BNP Babes"

2009-07-09T23:34:00.003+01:00

On www.vip2.co.uk/forum some of the funniest things that you will ever read are posted. Today it was this something, taken from Vice Magazine blog, this article is hilarious yet rather scary at the same time. Prepare to slap your forehead in frustration and shake your head vigorously...

What’s the best thing about living in Britain today?
I hate Britain, and I want to move to Spain in the next couple of years, ‘cos our country’s not England anymore. It’s very rare for English people to live here anymore. When I went to Lanzarote, I felt more English there than I do here, and that’s no exaggeration.

But won’t you then be an immigrant too?
Yeah but the answer to that is I would go over to their country and respect their country. I wouldn’t go over there and try and do suicidal bombs [sic]. The immigrants that come over to this country should be making this a good country and proud of it and helping this country, but most of them don’t.

The rest of the interviews can be read here..

http://www.viceland.com/wp/2009/07/babes-of-the-bnp/

Michael Jackson: The King of Pop

2009-07-04T20:13:00.003+01:00

This article would of been done sooner if I had not been enjoying the luxuries of New York City. (One of the top two cities in world, no debating).

Anyway, on to the matter at hand. I had to jump on the "bandwagon" to express my thoughts on his influence and its been a long time since i blogged...

On the 25th June 2009, the world lost ~~perhaps~~ its greatest musical icon. To some his title of the King of Pop is undisputed, to others he was a wierdo who should have been locked away and they can not begin to contemplate why there is such fuss over his death. Admittedly, Jackson did not have a personal relationship with myself or the millions of other people that will undoubtedly mourn his death, but to millions around the world it will feel they have lost someone. Yes, it is weird that people should feel this way about a person they have never even had a conversation with, however from the age of 5 Jackson gave 45 years of his life to everybody else in the world, in doing so he will never be forgotten. MJ is the best artist ever and his influence on not only the music industry, but the world will forever live on.

His songs have been a soundtrack to so many people's lifes. People have been heartbroken to his songs (She's out of my life), Love sick to them (Remember the time/The way you make me feel etc), been mesmerised by the videos (Thriller/Smooth Criminal, Crooned to them on nights out (Blame it on the Boogie), and most importantly danced the night away to a number of his songs. His influence on the world of music (which is one of the greatest pleasures in life) has been phenomenal, for 4/5 decades his songs have been played acrossed the world and the tragedy of him dying when he was on the verge of another world tour has brought millions of people together. In addition to the effect he made on his adoring fans, many of todays current artists owe their careers to the influence that MJ had on them. The picture below explains how Jackson's influence on Hip Hop alone was huge....

It is highly doubtful that any other artist in the world (alive or dead) has helped other artists as much as MJ just by producing such legendary music themselves. And then there is MJ's legendary dancing and great conceptual videos, his dancing/choreography in videos such as Bad and Smooth Criminal set standards that many artists try and live up till this very day. The videos for these two songs also established a different type of music video, no longer would videos just involve the artist singing their song, Jackson showed that Music Videos were as important as the song and he brought his songs to life with the help of some of the best movie directors in the world.

MJ helped break racial barriers when he became the first black artist to be played on MTV. In doing so he helped pave the way for every black artist to come after him, he transceded music and dance all over the world, whilst also being a humanitarian who gave huge amounts of money to charities and those less fortunate. MJ is the best artist EVER and his influence on not only the music industry, but the world will forever live on.

R.I.P Michael Joseph Jackson

Some thoughts...

2009-03-24T22:36:00.000Z

Jade Goody:

Her fight against Cancer, has had everyone intrigued. I have a been slightly nonchalant to the whole affair reserving my judgement on the whole. However, Johann Hari of the independent writes an extremely good article on her and Britain's attitudes, take a read.

http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/johann-hari/johann-hari-she-showed-the-brutal-reality-of-britain-1651722.html
R.I.P.

Food for thought indeed...

The Premiership Title Race:

Liverpool have given Man United something to think about as they have scored 9 goals in the last 2 premiership games. Although, United are still favourites, Liverpool will be hoping Aston Villa can turn around their recent form to pull of a result at Old Trafford in a few weeks. Furthermore, fingers are crossed that nobody comes back unscathed from an annoying international break. Hopefully, this title race goes right down to the wire and Liverpool can win their first premiership title.

YNWA.

Eye Candy

Freida Pinto

Things to check out...

Thora Institute

Galaxy with Cookies

Joe Budden-Padded Room

Daddy's Litte Girl

2008-07-29T21:41:00.000+01:00

Daddy’s little girl she appeared to be
But to everyone else who knew her
She was more then what you see
Her allure and sexiness did the job
Seducing boys & men,she did it all day long
James, Michael, Billy & Rob…
Her scandalous ways gave her fame
Through her heartless acts daddy’s girl aimed to cause nothing but pain
She vowed revenge against all men
As the one she once loved had broke her heart
Callous and cold she added names to her list
This guy, that guy, none of them could resist
And each and every morning…
She would leave with a smile
Daddy’s little girl spreading her…STI

Knife Crime, Knife Crime...They Are All Screaming Knfie Crime...

2008-07-12T01:57:00.000+01:00

Ok so everybody knows about the so-called knife epidemic, 20 teenagers have been killed in London and the media & government have everybody running scared of kids in hoods. Whilst i agree there is an obvious problem with some of the youth of today, matters only seem to be made worse by those in power.

Not the right sort of person

by Laurie Penny
June 13, 2008 at 9:09 am

Yesterday, on emerging from the bowels of the Picadilly line as is my wont at half six on a Thursday, I was dismayed to see a wall of armoured police surrounding a pair of electronic weapons-detecting barriers through which the good residents of Wood Green were being made to walk.

So I took it upon myself to engage a couple of members of Her Majesty’s Constabulary in conversation.

‘Why are the scanners up again?’

‘It’s a deterrent. You know, knife crime. You watch the news, don’t you?’

‘So what are they for?’

‘Well, to see if anyone’s carrying a knife.’

‘Is it against the law to refuse to go through, then? Say, what would happen if I just walked right round the edge?’

‘Well, you’re not exactly carrying a knife, are you?!’ Sner sner, oi lads look at the sweet little white girl in her cardie trying to be clever.

I tried a different tack. ‘So, how do these barriers tell if you’re carrying a knife rather than just, say, any old metal?’

‘They don’t. They’re quite neanderthal really. They just flash red when someone’s got metal.’

‘But hang on. The lights are flashing red for every other person. Why aren’t you stopping all those people?’

‘Well…’ indulgent little police-officer smile turns into get-rid-of-this-member-of-the-public grin ‘look, we just use our judgement - say, if someone like your good self set off the buzzers, well,’ looks me up and down ‘you’re clearly not the sort of person to be carrying a knife, are you?’

‘So what sort of people would you stop and search, then?’

‘Well, you watch the news.’

‘Of course I watch the news. What sort of people would you stop?’

‘You know, the sort of people who commit crimes. You watch the news.’

‘You haven’t answered my question.’

‘Are you a journalist?’

‘Absolutely.’

‘My colleagues and I aren’t trained for this. Bugger off and call the press office and go through those barriers while you’re about it.’

Stunned, I marched through the ancient plastic barriers, the metal buckles on my boots winking.

And the lights flashed red.

And nobody stopped me.

http://www.liberalconspiracy.org/2008/06/13/not-the-right-sort-of-person/

It seems British society has two problems to deal with..

Summer Summer Time...

2008-07-12T01:24:00.000+01:00

Its supposedly the summer holidays, but Britain being Britain the lack of good weather would suggest its more late September then early July. But right now the weather is the least of my complaints, recently my family moved to Canvey Island (where the fuck is that i bet your mumbling) well let me give you the downlow on the "wonderful" place that is Canvey.

It is in Essex, not bait Essex either like Upminster or Barking but deeeep Essex. Its 6 meters below sea-level ( so yeah if those sea levels keep rising believe my house will be one of the first to be fucked, wonders what the hell my mother was thinking when she moved here). The place only has 37,000 people which is obviously a whole lot less then the big LDN.

AND THAT IS ABOUT IT!...theres nothing more to this place, makes me want to jump into the lake behind my house everyday! Doesnt even have its own train station....my frustration builds day by day, thank god i have an escape in Uni and london is only 40 mins away.
Furthermore i still cant articulate my thoughts, hence the big gaps between posts...feeling to close down the blog. BUT i shall be back with something, interesting, maybe, i hope lol.

On another note

Marxism 2008:

Was quite an event, although i only went to one of the days it did leave me rather inspired although it further made me doubt the human race. At alk from ex-black panther David Hilliard, seemed to be the highight of most peoples day and the passion in the room was particuarly encouraging. There is alot wrong in society today, but aslong as there are always people willing to change things then there may just be an ounce of hope for this world.

Peace & Much Love To Ya...