Happy New Year 2018? - Sustainable Development - Transforming our World

The United Nations 2030 agenda for Sustainable Development - https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/post2015/transformingourworld

This PoA identifies 6 areas areas of critical importance for humanity and the planet - The 6 P's are:-

People
We are determined to end poverty and hunger, in all their forms and dimensions, and to ensure that all human beings can fulfil their potential in dignity and equality and in a healthy environment.  

Planet We are determined to protect the planet from degradation, including through sustainable consumption and production, sustainably managing its natural resources and taking urgent action on climate change, so that it can support the needs of the present and future generations.  

Prosperity We are determined to ensure that all human beings can enjoy prosperous and fulfilling lives and that economic, social and technological progress occurs in harmony with nature.

Peace We are determined to foster peaceful, just and inclusive societies which are free from fear and violence. There can be no sustainable development without peace and no peace without sustainable development.

Partnership We are determined to mobilize the means required to implement this Agenda through a revitalised Global Partnership for Sustainable Development, based on a spirit of strengthened global solidarity, focussed in particular on the needs of the poorest and most vulnerable and with the participation of all countries, all stakeholders and all people.

 

So, forget about all the resolutions we all make & then break every year. Lets do something really worthwhile.

No pressure then!

Christmas is an Opportunity

There are two Christmas Carols which reduce me to tears, although I am, at best, an agnostic - "Silent Night" & "Oh Holy Night". It is the music of both of them which I find deeply moving, but it is also the underlying message.
www.41051.com/xmaslyrics/oholynite.html

As many of us enjoy all the special food & drink, opening our presents & being with loved ones & friends over Christmas, I wish we could pause & really think. Think about how we might do the whole thing differently.

The Christmas message seems to me to be about hope, love, peace & ending opression. It isn't about what presents you got or how much you spent on food & drink. Adults don't believe in Santa & many of us also don't believe in the virgin birth & other tenets of Christianity. But we should believe in the moral compass which makes us human & should make society function more fairly for all.

Lack of religious belief shouldn't stop us from thinking of others at this time & doesn't absolve us from actually doing something about other peoples suffering. Christmas is a real opportunity to be kind & generous & thoughtful towards others who are not as blessed as we are.

Unfortunately it is only too easy for both religious & non religious people to walk on by the less fortunate both in reality & metaphorically. The song "Streets of London" has been a favourite of mine since the late 60's.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiWomXklfv8

If each one of us took every opportunity to not walk on by, we could really change things for the better for a lot of people. People in the UK & in the wider world.

If you do anything this Christmas take the opportunity to make someone who is less fortunate smile.

Best Political meaningless phrases of 2017

Strong and Stable - Cons
Britain Together - UKIP
One Nation - Lab
Squeezed Middle - Lab
Hard Working Families - Cons
I'm very clear - Just about everyone!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-39730467 - Why politicians keep repeating themselves

I am more & more irritated by politicians who seem to think we - Won't notice if they:- Talk in meaningless soundbites - Don't answer a question - Waffle on so listeners lose the will to live & ignore these facts - Patronise us - Treat us like mindless masses, incapable of thought & understanding of difficult concepts - Lie, prevaricate, deflect the conversation.

Life is too short to count the number of politicians who say "I'm very clear". It seems to be the phrase of the moment. It is a complete misnomer & is meaningless. The politicians maybe want to give the impression that they are transparent - really?! They are trying to say that they have a plan, they know what they are doing - really?!

We are in difficult waters. We need people governing us who:- Can communicate effectively & truthfully - Have thought about their policies & made decisions on the basis of the best available information - Make decisions in the best interests of the people who put them in power & those who didn't. 

Not in the interests of retaining that power past the next election. Decision making needs to be long term. They need to have thought through the possible consequences for years ahead & have a plan. We seem to have the opposite. People who make decisions on the hoof as a result of consulting focus groups & so called expert advisors, many of whom have an axe to grind. Lobbiests, who don't understand the word impartial, seem to hold sway. Many are paid substantial sums by vested interests with deep pockets.

We do live in something that passes for a democracy, but it isn't working properly. It isn't "fit for purpose". It needs a complete overhaul. But who will do it? Not many of the people whose interest is served by keeping the monolith going with all it's faults. 

We need an independent, qualified, group of people to really examine our Government. Soon.

A Charity's Not Just for Christmas

Do you give to charity - Which charity/ies, How do you chose, How much each / annually, What percentage of your wealth do you give?????

I've thought about these questions over the years & I do give, on a regular basis. I have personal criteria for the charities I select - I support women, children, the homeless, disasters, (natural & man made), education, (it's the route out of poverty for everyone), ecology - Usually smaller, niche, charities like Micro Finance, which make small, low tech interventions which actually work & change lives.

I don't give to the huge charity businesses, they get enough money from everyone else & I'm not convinced I agree with the superstructure which supports them. I don't like "Chuggers"- I don't like been stopped in the street or people knocking on my door. I don't like being sent useless labels & pens. I don't go for the big business / celebrity aspect of charities, which now hog a huge proportion of aid like "Comic Relief" or "Children in Need".

There is a website, Charity Choice - http://www.charitychoice.co.uk/ which gives you reports on charities you are interested in donating to, so donors can make informed decisions. Some donors just give randomly or emotionally. Some respond to a catastrophe. Some give a percentage of their total wealth or of their income. (Muslims give 2.5% of their total wealth - Zakat). It's a personal choice.

The thing is, if we can afford to, we should try to balance what we have against the suffering of others. Christmas is a good time to think about that. Big Corporations & Governments could & should do a lot more, but that doesn't let us off the hook, to continue the fishing analogy. We shouldn't store up our own personal basket of fish. We should try to share. Individual generosity can make a huge difference.

The End of Days - Fundamentalist Evangelicals

I just got a post on Facebook from an organisation called Jerusalem Dateline / CBN, purporting to "Pray for peace in Jerusalem". "CBN is a global ministry committed to preparing the nations of the world for the (second) coming of Jesus Christ through mass media" - (Copied from their website). 

This is NOT a reputable or impartial news website. It is a voice for fundamentalist evangelicals who believe in the "end of days", which may come sooner than we think given that we have a President of the USA who has just enacted a piece of legislation, which all sane Presidents before him refused to, in recognising Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. I've been to Jeusalem & the West & East Banks - This is not the way to peace.

The thing is, people accept the initial message. Who would not pray for peace in Jerusalem or any of the many other trouble spots in the world? But, are we daft enough to believe that the only way to save the world is to allow Armageddon? Do we really think that only those who do believe will be saved? No.

But this lunatic fringe is very wealthy & powerful, particularly in the States. They are also very tech & communications savvy. So their pernicious message gets through in insidious ways. They utilise modern media to reach their tentacles all over the world & there are people who accept what they say at face value. Particularly in countries who have populations who are less well educated than we are in the developed world.

This may just become a self fulfilling prophecy. It's certainly a part of many world religions, Abrahamic & Non Abrahamic. The lunatics are (almost) in charge of the asylum! We are certainly in a period of "tribulation", which may be necessary before we can have a rebirth of a new, more sane, world order.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/End_time

I just hope rational thought & sanity will prevail - for my Grandchildrens sake. Hopefully I won't be here - I will have discovered whether there is life after death.

Pornography & Politicians - Damian Green

I didn't think I had ever seen pornography, but then I read the definition - "Printed or visual material containing the explicit description or display of sexual organs or activity, intended to stimulate sexual excitement". So how is this different to a lot of what we see on TV nowadays? I have seen male female, female female & male male sex acts in very explicit detail on my TV in my sitting room all the time.

Wikipedia, as usual, gives a wide description of pornography.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pornography

So what is obscenity? - Obscene behaviour, language, or images - Offensive, rude or shocking. Usually being too obviously related to sex, or showing sex. Again, I think I have seen this on my TV.

I'm not sure if I'm naive or prudish. I wouldn't have thought so after 40 odd years of marriage, but who knows.

The thing is, why should politicians, especially male politicians, be any different to any other man. I imagine most men have looked at dirty magazines. Many will have been to strip bars. Many will also have looked at porn on their computers. Porn is instantly accessible, live, & in a way which it wasn't not so long ago. Personally I don't think that is a good thing, because it is also accessible to young people & children.

The things that make the current furore about Damian Green concerning is that it's possible that he did this while "at work", (I use the term losely), & then he may have lied about doing it - UPDATE - Did lie.

The fact that he is a Politician does mean that he is rightly held to very high standards. I couldn't give a toss if he did this at home. I do care if he did this while he should have been carrying out his governmental role & was being paid by us the taxpayers. I also care if he lied, because, as we all know, politicians are supposed to tell the truth!

I also care because I wonder whether the women participants in porn are there because they actually want to be. However according to a sex therapist in "Psychology Today":-
"although a small amount of pornography depicts gruesome behavior, not only does porn not demean women, it celebrates female sexuality—typically without the culturally redemptive context of love, relationship, intimacy etc. This is what people from across the political spectrum find so upsetting. Demeaning to women—that women are imagined as truly sexual beings? Really?"

I think I'm a confused Granny - I don't know what I think about pornography now. Except that I would prefer not to have it gratuitously on my TV screen all the time. It's really getting very boring. How do these actors explain their "performance" to their children?

Changing Faces - Women Today

I was looking at a young womans face on the bus this morning. Her make up was skillfully applied & made her skin look perfect. Unfortunately it didn't match her neck & the rest of her body. It was like a mask. Was she "just another pretty face"? It made me think just how many sayings there are about our face.

https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/face

Our face is probably the most important part of our body. We communicate with it, whether we know it or not. Our expression gives away our thoughts & feelings, "it's written all over your face". We don't have to say a word. If we greet the world with a smile we probably get a smile back, similarly a frown begats a frown or simply makes us look unpleasant.

Some people can mask their feelings using their expression, but then maybe their "face doesn't fit", or they are "two faced" or even "a bare faced liar".

We have to "face up to things" or "come face to face with something or someone". Maybe we "take things at face value" or do an "about face".

Often we may have to "put a brave face on". Or try to "put a smile on someones face". Even deliver "a slap in the face".

Returning to the woman I saw on the bus, I find myself wondering whether young women today realise how unnatural make up often looks. Women seem to think they have to look perfect & spend money & time trying to achieve that.

Looking at women on TV & in magazines so many have obviously false eyebrows. The worst ones are rigid & matching perfection or look like caterpillars above their eyes. You can chose to have threading, tattooing, tinting - all of which ends up drawing too much attention to the artificiality of the brows. Gone are the days of plucked thin lines, now bushy is good.

Then there are the lengthy lashes. You can have extensions, dozens of different false lashes, seemingly magic mascara....The end result is simply, obviously, false.

 

What do modern women do when they have to take their face off? How do they face their face? They must be unhappy with their own face to go to such lengths to make it look different. To make it conform with the magazines, the fashion industry, the celebrity industry.

It's all the emperors new clothes. It's a con by a vast money making industry & women are falling for it. It's making women into Barbie dolls & objectifying them.

Wise up women. Your "face is your fortune". But not to the extent that you literally make yourselves "two faced". The one you were born with & the one you "face the world" with.