This neutral sounding term is what the Israeli authorities call arrest without trial or even charge, and it's happening on an almost daily basis in the occupied West Bank. Sometimes the victims have been left to rot in prison for years before finally being released, with no explanation and certainly no apology.
If you think about it, it's not very different from what we ourselves were doing in Northern Ireland throughout the 70s and much of the 80s. And as in that country where so many analogies exist already, the inmates in Palestine have responded with hunger strikes. There are several going on right now, though of all the global news agencies, only Al Jazeira has given any coverage to this major human rights issue.
Speaking of that, there was also mention made of a number of inmates still languishing in Guantanamo Bay, ten years on, still without any charges being brought aginst them. Is that what they call due process?Their children grow up not knowing their fathers, wives with no husband to cuddle, just to keep America safe. Allegedly...
Wednesday, 27 February 2013
Monday, 25 February 2013
Man dies in Israeli jail: not many care
Things have kicked off again in the West Bank, with stone throwing youths harassing the poor Israeli military, who have nothing to fight back with but M16 assault rifles.
What are they ranting about this time? you may ask. Apparently a Palestinian man died in Israeli custody last week. The ME's verdict: death by natural causes, specifically a heart attack. But the family ordered a second necropsy and guess what? Many injuries were found on his body consistent with a heavy beating.- enough, in an older man, to engender a heart attack anyway.
This sort of thing is quite common around the world; even in the fair and proper UK it has happened. What happened to suspects taken by the US under extraordinary rendition does not bear thinking about if you are of a delicate disposition.
But Israel is the worst place for this to happen right now, because it must damage their much-hyped view that they are more sinned against than sinning. And one can also understand, if not actually support, the call from Hamas to step up their programme of kidnapping Israeli soldiers- let's face it it has been a highly successful political tactic in the past. Watch your backs you Israeli grunts!
What are they ranting about this time? you may ask. Apparently a Palestinian man died in Israeli custody last week. The ME's verdict: death by natural causes, specifically a heart attack. But the family ordered a second necropsy and guess what? Many injuries were found on his body consistent with a heavy beating.- enough, in an older man, to engender a heart attack anyway.
This sort of thing is quite common around the world; even in the fair and proper UK it has happened. What happened to suspects taken by the US under extraordinary rendition does not bear thinking about if you are of a delicate disposition.
But Israel is the worst place for this to happen right now, because it must damage their much-hyped view that they are more sinned against than sinning. And one can also understand, if not actually support, the call from Hamas to step up their programme of kidnapping Israeli soldiers- let's face it it has been a highly successful political tactic in the past. Watch your backs you Israeli grunts!
Tuesday, 19 February 2013
When the genie's out of the bottle, you can't put it back
It has emerged that a Banksy "artwork" has been torn away from a Tescos in London, only to find its way to an auction room in Miami. Cultural vandalism? Sure, but what are you going to do? Banksy is one of the most bankable (geddit?) artists in the world right now. I mean, if you found a Leonardo sitting on an unregarded wall somewhere, wouldn't you be tempted to remove it and sell it to the highest bidder?
I'm not saying it's right, just stating the harsh and unpleasant realities of today's world. Banksy has worked hard to avoid becoming a "celebrity" in the traditional sense of the word, but the phenomenon he created has now mushroomed into something that is just too big even for him to handle. He's a Damian Hurst whose face we don't (yet) recognise, and everything he's ever created is hot, so hot that Americans and others, say your Russian oligarchs or Chinese plutocrats, are going to pay millions, just so they can show them off to their equally rich and unscrupulous friends. Perhaps we'll see a new form of street art where the artists begin to destroy their own work just to frustrate this sort of "collector". But it will be a big job. Banksy, apart from being immensely talented, is also one of the most prolific of modern artists. There's a lot of work to do...
I'm not saying it's right, just stating the harsh and unpleasant realities of today's world. Banksy has worked hard to avoid becoming a "celebrity" in the traditional sense of the word, but the phenomenon he created has now mushroomed into something that is just too big even for him to handle. He's a Damian Hurst whose face we don't (yet) recognise, and everything he's ever created is hot, so hot that Americans and others, say your Russian oligarchs or Chinese plutocrats, are going to pay millions, just so they can show them off to their equally rich and unscrupulous friends. Perhaps we'll see a new form of street art where the artists begin to destroy their own work just to frustrate this sort of "collector". But it will be a big job. Banksy, apart from being immensely talented, is also one of the most prolific of modern artists. There's a lot of work to do...
Saturday, 16 February 2013
The New Parasites
There is a growing infestation by the latest pest: Parasitiae Gerontius, which has flourished alongside the burgeoning epidemic of Alzheimer's. These creatures, not intelligent enough to hoodwink anyone of intact mental attributes, target instead the vulnerable, suggestible and gullible. They purport to do work, carry out a poor, or even non-existent job before demanding (often with great politeness, though equal persistence), a grossly inflated fee. If money is not immediately forthcoming they will, once again showing the greatest solicitation, offer to drive the victim to the local cashpoint. There, no doubt, careful note is taken of the PIN number used. Then the marks are returned safe and sound to their homes, shorn of course by 1, 2 or more hundred quid. And they will be back. Being perfectly aware of their subject's paucity of short term memory, they will return every few weeks, though being careful not to fall into any pattern, and repeat their trick all over again.
My father-in-law had thousands of pounds extracted from him to do completely unnecessary PVC window replacements. Now my mum has fallen victim to a pair of odd-jobbers who have taken many hundreds of pounds from her for a series of shoddy little jobs of gardening and fence maintenance.
The whole thing is very worrying. When will they decide to push past her and take everything from her house they fancy? Or tell their friends there's an easy mark out their for their evil consideration? The social workers are becoming most concerned, making them (and me) wonder how long she can manage at home under this sort of continuing low-level threat. All I know is, these men are scum and should go to prison for their nasty, cynical little crimes..
My father-in-law had thousands of pounds extracted from him to do completely unnecessary PVC window replacements. Now my mum has fallen victim to a pair of odd-jobbers who have taken many hundreds of pounds from her for a series of shoddy little jobs of gardening and fence maintenance.
The whole thing is very worrying. When will they decide to push past her and take everything from her house they fancy? Or tell their friends there's an easy mark out their for their evil consideration? The social workers are becoming most concerned, making them (and me) wonder how long she can manage at home under this sort of continuing low-level threat. All I know is, these men are scum and should go to prison for their nasty, cynical little crimes..
Friday, 15 February 2013
Malaga dispatch
Just home from a 4 day stay in the 3000 year-old Mediterranean city of Malaga. Founded by the Phoenicians (the walls and foundations of some of their buildings are still extant), occupied by the Romans, who built a large amphitheatre, then the Moors, whose influence is seen everywhere, especially in the Alcazaba, a tremendous fortress that stretches half way up a coastal mountain, to the Spanish themselves, who let the side down a little with a distinctly lack-lustre cathedral.
The weather was pleasantly warm and fine; certainly in comparison with the 0-5 degree temperature range we have seen at home throughout February. And our hotel, one of the state owned "Parador" group which is situated right next to the highest part of the aforementioned medieval fortress, offering stunning views across the city, views which changed dramatically over the course of the day. Yesterday, the warmest day, was marked by the appearance of a thick smog-line stretching for some distance inland. Good, then, to be situated well above it, looking down. My God though, this place must be roasting as the summer proper kicks in (the locals, to judge by their multiple layers of clothing rounded off by puffy jackets, still consider this to be the heart of winter).
The Picasso museum is notable, with examples of the Great One's work from the 1890s right up to 1974, though the museum of contemporary art was a big disappointment- all on one floor, most of it occupied by an exhibition of a Brit artist called Richard Deacon. Interesting, I grant, but what else have they got? Nothing appears to be the answer.
All in all, a rewarding little trip: I recommend it, but for no more than 3 nights- you'll run out of things to do, unless you like lazing by the pool. In which case you'll be like a pig in shit!
The weather was pleasantly warm and fine; certainly in comparison with the 0-5 degree temperature range we have seen at home throughout February. And our hotel, one of the state owned "Parador" group which is situated right next to the highest part of the aforementioned medieval fortress, offering stunning views across the city, views which changed dramatically over the course of the day. Yesterday, the warmest day, was marked by the appearance of a thick smog-line stretching for some distance inland. Good, then, to be situated well above it, looking down. My God though, this place must be roasting as the summer proper kicks in (the locals, to judge by their multiple layers of clothing rounded off by puffy jackets, still consider this to be the heart of winter).
The Picasso museum is notable, with examples of the Great One's work from the 1890s right up to 1974, though the museum of contemporary art was a big disappointment- all on one floor, most of it occupied by an exhibition of a Brit artist called Richard Deacon. Interesting, I grant, but what else have they got? Nothing appears to be the answer.
All in all, a rewarding little trip: I recommend it, but for no more than 3 nights- you'll run out of things to do, unless you like lazing by the pool. In which case you'll be like a pig in shit!
Sunday, 10 February 2013
Inside the Twitterverse
So anyway I'm following Alistair Campbell and he was saying:
"...measles levels hitting 18 year high- there's a few editors out there who should be ashamed- and prosecuted..."
So I reply to his tweet saying:
"...absolutely- and how about those bastards at mid staffs who presided over the biggest mess in NHS history, including that Nicolson guy..."
Now. I've "replied" to the sage bag-pipe player. So I'm in conversation with him, right? Will he actually read my reply to his tweet? I thinknottle. He has, I believe, upwards of 40,000 followers, so how can any one human look at all the replies they get? You'd need a small army of secretaries devoted solely to this task. The answer then, is the idea of being able to contact celebrities via Twitter is entirely illusory. But fondly illusory. In theory it could work, we tell ourselves (especially the young folk, who apparently buy into this belief en masse.)
Then there are tweets which make no sense at all: full of arcane references, which may or ma not be learned; complex abbreviatios and acronyms which are like a code that might defeat Bletchley Park's finest. Often, like magic tricks, when a friend chooses to explain, you think: Oh. Is that all it was? Hardly worth asking really. Learning the lingua franca is a bit like learning a new language, hopefully with a steeper learning curve than, say, Welsh.
I'm enjoying trying to find ways of saying something punchy and relevant in 140 characters or less- I swear one day (maybe already?) someone will write a book or play based solely on tweets. Is that a cue for me, or you?
"...measles levels hitting 18 year high- there's a few editors out there who should be ashamed- and prosecuted..."
So I reply to his tweet saying:
"...absolutely- and how about those bastards at mid staffs who presided over the biggest mess in NHS history, including that Nicolson guy..."
Now. I've "replied" to the sage bag-pipe player. So I'm in conversation with him, right? Will he actually read my reply to his tweet? I thinknottle. He has, I believe, upwards of 40,000 followers, so how can any one human look at all the replies they get? You'd need a small army of secretaries devoted solely to this task. The answer then, is the idea of being able to contact celebrities via Twitter is entirely illusory. But fondly illusory. In theory it could work, we tell ourselves (especially the young folk, who apparently buy into this belief en masse.)
Then there are tweets which make no sense at all: full of arcane references, which may or ma not be learned; complex abbreviatios and acronyms which are like a code that might defeat Bletchley Park's finest. Often, like magic tricks, when a friend chooses to explain, you think: Oh. Is that all it was? Hardly worth asking really. Learning the lingua franca is a bit like learning a new language, hopefully with a steeper learning curve than, say, Welsh.
I'm enjoying trying to find ways of saying something punchy and relevant in 140 characters or less- I swear one day (maybe already?) someone will write a book or play based solely on tweets. Is that a cue for me, or you?
Wednesday, 6 February 2013
The awful truth comes out
Today the report on the disgraceful shambles at the Mid-Staffordshire hospital has been published. Its conclusions are devastating. It says that the NHS "put corporate self interest and cost control ahead of patients and their safety".
As someone who has worked in, and been totally committed to, the idea of the NHS, this is deeply depressing. One tends to hold a fond belief that things get gradually better with time. Society becomes (albeit agonisingly slowly at times) more humane, compassionate and fair as time passes. Not in this case apparently. Here we have seen how compassion and caring went out of the window in the frantic rush to achieve "targets" (targets, by the way, that were introduced under New Labour, who therefore have their own terrible responsibility in all this). I recall a widow speaking on the Today programme the other day of the treatment meted out to her husband during this dark time. Having found her husband sitting helpless in his faeces and urine soaked bed, she confronted the nurses on the ward about why he and his bed had not been cleaned. She was told there was "no time".
I remember at medical school learning to my surprise that the enormous improvements in the health of the population in the last 150 years were due to improvements in housing and sanitation and not from the attentions of the medical profession. In other words, the simple act of separating drinking water supply from sewage systems saved more lives than all the antibiotics, all the clever diagnosing and all the heroic surgery put together. Our society continues to become healthier and longer-lived. Yet it seems that this has not come about as a result of better care in hospital, but because of improvements in diet and exercise, as well as the general reduction in smoking.
What this report shows is that in some ways the NHS has actually got worse in the 40 years since I qualified, and not better, as it should have done. At this very moment I am listening to David Cameron telling the House of Commons that the situation will change for the better as a result of this report. I hope he is right. But who will take responsibility for their actions at Mid Staffs? Will there be resignations, sackings, prosecutions for neglect or even corporate manslaughter? I doubt it. If experience is anything to go by, we may even see those responsible being moved, or even promoted.to more senior jobs elsewhere.
I say: nail the bastards responsible for transforming this and other hospitals from places that heal into places that harm. Nail them now!
As someone who has worked in, and been totally committed to, the idea of the NHS, this is deeply depressing. One tends to hold a fond belief that things get gradually better with time. Society becomes (albeit agonisingly slowly at times) more humane, compassionate and fair as time passes. Not in this case apparently. Here we have seen how compassion and caring went out of the window in the frantic rush to achieve "targets" (targets, by the way, that were introduced under New Labour, who therefore have their own terrible responsibility in all this). I recall a widow speaking on the Today programme the other day of the treatment meted out to her husband during this dark time. Having found her husband sitting helpless in his faeces and urine soaked bed, she confronted the nurses on the ward about why he and his bed had not been cleaned. She was told there was "no time".
I remember at medical school learning to my surprise that the enormous improvements in the health of the population in the last 150 years were due to improvements in housing and sanitation and not from the attentions of the medical profession. In other words, the simple act of separating drinking water supply from sewage systems saved more lives than all the antibiotics, all the clever diagnosing and all the heroic surgery put together. Our society continues to become healthier and longer-lived. Yet it seems that this has not come about as a result of better care in hospital, but because of improvements in diet and exercise, as well as the general reduction in smoking.
What this report shows is that in some ways the NHS has actually got worse in the 40 years since I qualified, and not better, as it should have done. At this very moment I am listening to David Cameron telling the House of Commons that the situation will change for the better as a result of this report. I hope he is right. But who will take responsibility for their actions at Mid Staffs? Will there be resignations, sackings, prosecutions for neglect or even corporate manslaughter? I doubt it. If experience is anything to go by, we may even see those responsible being moved, or even promoted.to more senior jobs elsewhere.
I say: nail the bastards responsible for transforming this and other hospitals from places that heal into places that harm. Nail them now!
Tuesday, 5 February 2013
The rise and rise of Brian Cox
The science guy I mean, of course, not the actor. Brian Cox is so hot at the moment he'd probably find the heart of the sun a bit chilly. Last week David Attenborough, arguably the most eminent and respected living Englishman, was being given a lifetime achievement award by the toothy one, and took the opportunity to anoint the latter as his successor in the field of popularising science. Our Brian admitted later he had been rendered "speechless" (surely an unusual position for him to occupy) by this tremendous accolade.
It cannot be denied that the good professor has had an amazing career. In 1997, the year he was awarded his PhD, he was also riding high in the charts with Dee Ream, and indeed the labour party had chosen one of its songs (Things Can Only Get Better) as its anthem for their general election campaign (pity; things actually got a lot worse in lots of ways, but that's another story) It goes to show the apparently endless fund of energy the kid from Oldham has at his disposal. Since then he has lost the big hair, but been made a professor of physics; into the bargain his has become become one of the best known faces on British television
However, despite my reluctance to take issue with any pronouncement made by Saint David of the Gorillas, I feel I must say Brian has a very long way to go before he even comes near to approaching his giant stature. David was popularising science in the 1950s with his TV series Zoo Quest. And it was David Attenborough who awarded me with my medical degree in 1974, nearly 2/3 of a lifetime ago. He was in Liverpool that day to receive an honorary DSc for his outstanding contribution to the field of science in general and zoology in particular. And that was years before we had Life on Earth (the programme that made me purchase my first colour TV), The Living Planet and countless other nature programmes which have enriched the lives of millions around the world.
Last week the Beeb ran a programme filmed in the historic lecture theatre of the Royal Institution called A Night with the Stars, hosted by guess who, where the audience was peppered with celebs waiting to assist the young pretender in various fascinating little science experiments. To me it was a Cox too far. We used to have the Christmas lectures from the RI, which featured ordinary children assisting the speaker and often, as children do, asking the best questions. Now it seems we have to have a crew of comedians, actors and other members of the glitterati to do the same thing,. Why? Ratings is the answer I suppose, but I think it demonstrates how far Brian has gone in his quest to be on the TV almost every week. And Brian, it takes more than exposure to make you an immortal like the great David. Brian, you've got a long, long way to go, but I wish you well. You're on the way, and who could begrudge you your stellar success?.
It cannot be denied that the good professor has had an amazing career. In 1997, the year he was awarded his PhD, he was also riding high in the charts with Dee Ream, and indeed the labour party had chosen one of its songs (Things Can Only Get Better) as its anthem for their general election campaign (pity; things actually got a lot worse in lots of ways, but that's another story) It goes to show the apparently endless fund of energy the kid from Oldham has at his disposal. Since then he has lost the big hair, but been made a professor of physics; into the bargain his has become become one of the best known faces on British television
However, despite my reluctance to take issue with any pronouncement made by Saint David of the Gorillas, I feel I must say Brian has a very long way to go before he even comes near to approaching his giant stature. David was popularising science in the 1950s with his TV series Zoo Quest. And it was David Attenborough who awarded me with my medical degree in 1974, nearly 2/3 of a lifetime ago. He was in Liverpool that day to receive an honorary DSc for his outstanding contribution to the field of science in general and zoology in particular. And that was years before we had Life on Earth (the programme that made me purchase my first colour TV), The Living Planet and countless other nature programmes which have enriched the lives of millions around the world.
Last week the Beeb ran a programme filmed in the historic lecture theatre of the Royal Institution called A Night with the Stars, hosted by guess who, where the audience was peppered with celebs waiting to assist the young pretender in various fascinating little science experiments. To me it was a Cox too far. We used to have the Christmas lectures from the RI, which featured ordinary children assisting the speaker and often, as children do, asking the best questions. Now it seems we have to have a crew of comedians, actors and other members of the glitterati to do the same thing,. Why? Ratings is the answer I suppose, but I think it demonstrates how far Brian has gone in his quest to be on the TV almost every week. And Brian, it takes more than exposure to make you an immortal like the great David. Brian, you've got a long, long way to go, but I wish you well. You're on the way, and who could begrudge you your stellar success?.
Sunday, 3 February 2013
When does "core belief" mean prejudice?
Answer: when it comes out of a Tory MP's mouth. This morning on Sky News, a Tory MP (I don't recall his name, though it doesn't matter; he represents the views of a cadre of right wingers who will vote against gay marriage this Tuesday) was asked why his views could not be interpreted as "prejudice". His reply was that it wasn't prejudice; it was a "core belief". OK then, so that makes it OK to discriminate against a minority. Let's say I had a core belief that it was OK to put Jews in gas chambers, or that slavery is OK. The former was a deeply held "core belief" of the Nazis and the latter was a core belief of almost everyone prior to the 19th century (except, I imagine, for the people enslaved).
To summarise, a core belief isn't right just because you hold it dear to your heart. It doesn't say it's cool for same sex couples to marry in the Bible; there are even some passages disapproving of same sex unions of any kind. It also doesn't say anything about the Jews being entitled to usurp other people's homelands for their own purposes and then treat those peoples as 2nd class citizens, but the Israelis have interpreted the Bible to mean just that. Apparently. However, the rest of us think that things have moved on a little in the 3000-odd years since parts of it were written, and that we should not be bound by the tenets contained therein to work out how to live in this infinitely more complex and confusing world we now inhabit.
So, let's try to use the brains and free will God allegedly gave us to work out what is cool and what is uncool for ourselves.
To summarise, a core belief isn't right just because you hold it dear to your heart. It doesn't say it's cool for same sex couples to marry in the Bible; there are even some passages disapproving of same sex unions of any kind. It also doesn't say anything about the Jews being entitled to usurp other people's homelands for their own purposes and then treat those peoples as 2nd class citizens, but the Israelis have interpreted the Bible to mean just that. Apparently. However, the rest of us think that things have moved on a little in the 3000-odd years since parts of it were written, and that we should not be bound by the tenets contained therein to work out how to live in this infinitely more complex and confusing world we now inhabit.
So, let's try to use the brains and free will God allegedly gave us to work out what is cool and what is uncool for ourselves.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)