Poll results for what do we replace food aid with considering the continuing crisis in places like the Horn of Africa?

Selection		Votes
Agricultural investment	25%	3
Continue with the aid	0%	0
Introduce mass GM farming	17%	2
Let local producers provide to local markets	58%	7
12 votes total

Thanks to those who voted. I'm not phased by such poor response and it's not because the question was difficult to tackle or badly scribed but it does reflect the apathy people have with this subject and now seemingly an everyday actuality. In one conversation I had with someone, they said they are not going to vote because ‘we have all cried over Africa we give them the money and they just spend it’. They are not far wrong but it was strange and some what frustrating that they ended their argument telling of how they gave a friend some funding who was going out there in order to help build a school. I did put my head in my hands, surely with this understanding of skipping the middle man you are capable of deciphering where a sensible vote would go, a box tick of I or 4 would have sufficed. It’s that level of resistance that slows the world to a crawl.

Anyway continuing with food aid is a no no, it’s not working and serves to build resentment. GM farming is actually happening as seeds donated in aid from the US are modified. Some countries have agreed how it can be farmed without infecting normal crops others have constructed no policy on the matter. The ideal would be encouraging local producers to provide to local markets but as it stands in some places, food aid ‘displaces commercial sales for local farmers as well as rival importers. These market conditions discourage local production: exactly the opposite of what is needed to meet the underlying purpose of all development assistance: the reduction of poverty. Livelihoods, food security, and rural development all depend on stimulating increased production in food aid recipient countries.’ (Foreign policy in focus, Food aid emergency)

So we are left with agricultural investment it’s the one I favour most and will strengthen the economies in the long run. Most areas it would seem effected predominately by poverty seem to be in the rural areas, this is where the concentration of investment should be delivered. I agree with the Imperial College London who suggested these implementation policies in 2004:-

• Diversity - policies on agricultural development such as irrigation and rain-fed cereal intensification, root crop intensification or export cash crops must be tailor made to reflect the diversity in each country that has arisen from the differing colonial histories.

• Institutional development - investigate how alternative governance structures could provide the necessary coordination while being responsive to farmers' interests, encourage operational efficiency and financial discipline. Preliminary ideas include tenders for regional franchise, with rewards to the operating company.

• Trade - studies are needed of policy regimes, which would maintain linkage to world markets, via competitive trading, but help stabilise prices.

• Research - technological and institutional innovations are needed for economic development with a balance between bottom up and pure applied research.

• Governance - interventions are needed to stimulate both political and economic development by drawing attention to the question of how accountable political institutions develop.

The Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) have proven research to say that " in the past that just small amounts of funding can boost crop yields, defeat devastating pests, and ultimately lift farmers and their families out of poverty – allowing them to earn enough money to send their children to school'. What worries me is if we are armed with significant amounts of research and solutions why are the investments still not being made and rolling this out on a larger scale? Why are countries such as the US still intent in giving aid? And ignoring the target set by the UN to alleviate poverty by 2015. This goes back to a concern I have voiced in an earlier post, is there money to be made in food aid? We already know that corruption is writhe in some African governments but are they completely to blame? Anyway I have spoken enough on this one and shall talk of free markets, Fairtrade and GM crops in a post down the line. Bet you can’t wait!!

Make your deities case here !!

As I can’t write a serious piece on anyones god and lacking one myself, I thought it would be easier to throw it out for discussion. My socialisation was that of Catholicism, Sunday Church and Catholic schooling. I declared my self unfit for further service as I just didn’t understand why gay people couldn’t go to heaven. It just made no sense to me and a classroom full of teenage horny girls who immediately took action.

We stood up and yelled at the nun at the front of the class, Sister ‘I hope I won’t be the second nun to get knifed’ Theresa. We walked out..we got detention, very few of us got confirmed into this now perceived contradiction. A fair few of us graduated and went on to have a great life afterwards, mainly involving that of higher education, drinking sex and drugs a plenty. A few of us fell but most of us are still here thriving and doing well. Still have the memories of being spanked by nuns though….do you know what an oxymoron that is? Quite frankly I’m amazed we are not walking around with a gun…..then again there are some religious types that do.

Problem with Catholicism is it is ruled with fear and guided with ludicrous stories. When you are oppressed for so long, once you are given your freedom you go mental. It was a dull and a stagnate interpretation of how to live life, I think it’s finally over but if it helps, I will always have a guilty fear of something, not sure what... I just know it's something, anyone in a religion does…we are all born sinners after all, what chance do you have if you start in deficit?


So just out of curiosity if you do or don’t support a deity I still would be interested in your opinion. What is a God?

* Omnipotent (all-powerful, able to do anything)

* Omnibenevolent (all-loving)

* Omniscient (all-knowing)

* The Creator (of all that exists)

* The Sustainer (if God ceased to exist, so would everything else)

* Perfectly Free

* Eternally Existing (will go on and on and on...)

* A Personal God (a being with whom one can have a personal relationship)

Choose one or more and describe why you think this. This is an existentialism philosophical tool derived from Satre but lets try and keep it as free flowing as possible. I appreciate it is existentialism therefore depth has no choice but to rule or at least should. By using Satre/TPM and various sources, I shall try to argue how feasible such a god would be. And saying your god is lovely and makes great tea will be listened to of course, but chastised severely!

Abolition of the death penalty....

The death penalty is a barbaric practice and has no place in this day and age. I can’t tell you how many petitions I have written to stop the death of a blatant miscarry of justice…sometimes it works. A lot of the time it doesn’t Ehsan Fattahian was executed this week. He was a kurdish human rights activist and his sentence of excecution was passed illegally.

Iran, China, Saudi Arabia, are but a few of the countries that still practice the death penalty, we need to start speaking out in order to get it stopped completely. The petition doesn't always work but it's better than no action at all.

It's Vegan month......relax I'm unarmed.....

Yes amongst all the other annoying attributes to this embodiment called me, I am also a vegetarian but relax and get your finger off the deletion button, I am not one of those with an issue or hidden agenda. HONEST ! And I don't eat chicken or fish and for fuck sake PLEASE stop giving me mushroom risotto.
I am a true vegetarian but do have refined taste.

I don't wear any animal product but have no issue with you wearing them or eating them...let me put it this way, can I ponse into the tribes of South America, Africa and various with that decadent idealism about the welfare of animals? Eat the meat but take your lessons from cultural ecology. You will find the tribes know how to rear and slaughter superiorly better than the over farming diseased animals of the West. Nice shoes...how’s your second head working out for you? I'm not preaching, I'm saying nothing you are not aware of.

I promise, I will not caress you with doey eyed subtlety then hit you with a speech about global warming, then threaten you with constant stream of boycott pledges or sign this petition tact. I only wear sandals because my feet are HA-UGE...and if it wasn't for your gob filled streets, I wouldn't wear any. I find the best way to impart is by action, my own action, the hope is to follow by example not by superficial efforts. I vehemently despise sycophants, obsequiousness and platitudes, nothing but your vanity is served and I'm 38, I have no time to stroke your fragile egos, I need to do, not talk. My learning is in education for sustainability and believe it or not, it is far from the blame game, more to do with balance and own resolve. Well at least this is how I choose to interpret it and take it forward.

The issue with climate change seems to be easy for the Northern part of the world to pick up and discard so easily because we are not feeling the affects of it as readily. It’s a bit more stable and progressive up here although winter is here again and we shall see which parts of the UK flood this year. Anyway I'll give critical analysis of the Copenhagen Conference and climate change in December. In the meantime I just wanted to highlight a beautiful happening in India because as a student of development and sustainability and a recently employed International developer, I feel it is my duty to quiet down those damn god like tax payers, with some truly astounding and successful development stories.

Most of you ofay with sustainability or international development issues would have heard this news but for those who haven’t, I am very excited about it:-

The barefoot solar engineers

'The Ministry of Non-Conventional Energy Sources, the European Commission and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) support the Barefoot Solar Engineering programme. It is implemented by the Barefoot College, also known as the Social Work Research Centre or SWRC, an NGO based in Tilonia, Rajasthan. Set up by noted social worker Bunker Roy, the Barefoot College addresses community problems by building upon people's skills and placing the solutions in their own hands.' (cited on a click of the pic)

I think we all fully understand that aid is not the answer to the crisis in the continuing changes of the climate….and if we can simply move the politics out of the way of human suffering, we could possibly establish the best way to prevent unnecessary death.

As above we can plainly see educating people to sustain their lives is needed and evidently justified. Granted it may be by us (the rest of the developed (Northern) world), which personally I have no problem with. I am curious to know thoughts and views as to how we can change established funding though, as aid has suffered recently because of the depletion in the world wide coiffeurs (worries me that governments will cut back in aid but continue with weapons and unnecessary wars).

I personally want local farmers to be able to provide in and around their region… aid takes this away from their trade, which disables the countries independence, development and obvious progress. Hmmm? There is the argument that money can and has been made by big business dealing with famine…. No never ..unthinkable…think of the children..

Anyway my PhD proposal is focused around the free market, Fairtrade, agricultural investment…and seriously is GM an option?? How do we build up the economy within certain regions so those damn constant moaning taxpayers can stop complaining about their need for bin men to collect on time without spillage..?? You can see my binde?. Ideas and comments will be gladly welcomed especially the constructive negatives.

Obama Poll result

What do you think of Obama so far....?

An excellent decisive leader 9%

Not long enough in office to give a conclusive opinion 26%

Dalai Lama snubbing, capitalism before humanitarian thinking, New Orleans? Guantanamo? 30%

Are you having a tantrum because the great black hope turned into just another politician Oleuanna? 35%

23 votes total

Thanks I am Stan for your comments they are very much appreciated and I think he is proving himself to be more of a puppet than a leader. Well I guess the poll speaks for itself really...I officially have the hump.

The language of racism is both overt and covert .

I am not a racist, nor have I ever been and I have no intentions of becoming one, I’m just not that bothered. Not to mention if you have seen the skin colour of my daughter niece and nephew you’ll probably see it would just serve to confuse the whole family if I took this stance in life, especially around Christmas time. I’m also not overly sensitive about being black, I laugh at people that need to use derogatory language to describe a race* although the use of the word darkie does get my back up a bit. It kind of assumes that the norm is white and that bugs me. It bugs me especially as it is a term that is becoming popular again. If I say I don’t like it then I am told I am being too sensitive and it’s just a term that’s used to mock political issues say in regard with the BNP or immigration and in the way the government handles these issues. And that makes sense how? Well because everything is Labours fault isn’t it? I think it’s an avoidance strategy commonly used to rationalise discrimination such as denial and omission you know like those weird people that say the holocaust never happened…...

These people also - and I would have to agree - despise political correctness, a term born from the pen of Arnold Bennett who was a liberal socialist (whatever the hell that means). All it has created is anger and hostility, it went too far and too many groups spewing petty ridiculous needs ‘for justice and equality’ popped up and the natives got sick of it. I am going to have to agree, some people played the race card, I have witnessed it and he gained £10 000. This was within an NGO which was solely set up to help people in the minority…how dumb twisted ignorant and appalling I find that man…..a black man.

So anyway I have decided after reading many blogs that innocently incite animosity towards minorities by using these terms all jokingly like…you know like Bernard Manning and Jim Davis did because they were funny weren’t they? I get the feeling that these people are fighting back and feeling they are not being treated fairly and with discrimination. Why are they always blamed and have to be punished or have to pay for the darkies disgruntlement’s or inabilities to stay in their own war torn countries. I’m watching the continuing anger against the UK government gather pace, people not only needing their identity back but also want to preserve the resources of their land for themselves their taxes pay for it after all. Completely understandable really but hold on the darkies pay taxes too don’t they? But you are right I’m just being over sensitive….


*Race and it’s definition…..now that’s a future conversation.
I'll tell you who those people are soon.....though if you read the usual blogs you would know....

Racism at the Bus Stop

How I feel daily.....




Yuse kno wat I means star?