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Wednesday 16 December 2009

Shocking truth - one in three lawmakers indifferent to corruption: NACC




This is hardly all that surprising: a country that has had 37 coups since it monarch lost his power in the 30s. No real surprise to find that most Thais and now lawmakers too don't care all that much about corruption and just consider quite plaintively that it's simply a fact of life. Shocking though these views are, the fact is that Thailand is one monumental behemoth when it comes to getting the money collected in taxes into capital projects that will help everyone.

"In a recent survey commissioned by the Public Sector Anti Corruption Commission, almost one in three [Thai] lawmakers said they viewed corruption as normal and an intrinsic factor in life."

And just as disturbing,

"Almost nine in ten people rated corruption as serious to most serious problem in society. And about six in ten businessmen said they had had first-hand experience about bribery."



So why isn't anything ever done about it? This is on the back of an ABAC poll about a year ago which resulted in most Thais stating they didn't mind corruption (considering it a fact of life) so long as the corrupt politicians did something for the country as well!

There's something to be said for that old line, "The people get the leaders they deserve!"

Tuesday 15 December 2009

US moves to ban 'excessively noisy' TV advertisements



Don't you just hate it when the advertisements come on and the volume goes up to the point where you stare at the TV in disgust? I have always hated this tactic by advertising companies and first noticed it a s small boy growing up in the UK which has one of the most sophisticated advertising platforms in the known world.

The article above (click on the title) goes a long way in explaining why this happens and is going for the jugular in trying to stop particularly offensive or strident ads.

"The US House of Representatives has approved a bill which aims to limit the volume of television advertisements." Sweet Jesus! Alleluia!! Now I know there is a God!! Thank you!

Just when you are relaxing in front of the TV watching your favourite programme, the ads come up and you nearly jump out of your seat at times. Still is especially noticeable when you are starting to doze off after a long day at work. But don't fret pet! Help is at hand.

"Under the rules, "excessively noisy or strident" advertisements would be banned, as would adverts which are noticeably louder - or have a "maximum loudness substantially higher" - than the programme they accompany."

It's bad enough having to be maniplulated in your job by your boss cos he or she wants you to work late; it's too bad too when you are asked by someone to work late and then when you et home ready to relax along comes meely-mouthed MacDonalds burgers, strident Sony Playstations, or Whacky Walmart wonder-goods, a company that has a total expenditure greater than the GDP of Sweden! When will they ever learn...we don't want to be manipulated any more. Thanks anyway!

""It's an annoying experience, and something really should be done about it," the AFP news agency quoted him as saying."

Amen brother!

Sunday 13 December 2009

Drug money saved banks in global crisis, claims UN advisor



This one really shocked me...but...the again. Imagine when the credit crunch hit? And the Wall Street crisis with Lehman Bros? It now turns out that trillions of dollars was removed from drug money and other nefarious dealings and p-loughed into these struggling banks to provide much needed liquidity! Who said you can't profit from crime? Isn't this just anoither way to see these bankers? They are in this scenario just one step away from gangsters themselves when they willingly take money that has been created through crime, murders, hijackings?

"Drugs money worth billions of dollars kept the financial system afloat at the height of the global crisis, the United Nations' drugs and crime tsar has told the Observer. Antonio Maria Costa, head of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, said he has seen evidence that the proceeds of organised crime were "the only liquid investment capital" available to some banks on the brink of collapse last year. He said that a majority of the $352bn (£216bn) of drugs profits was absorbed into the economic system as a result."



$352bn went into these kinds of institutions which is shocking to say the least. What is going on in the world nowadays when this kind of thing can happen and nobody knows about it or really cares? That phrase "money is the root of all evil" as it says in the bible is really starting to have a meaning these days!

"That was the moment [last year] when the system was basically paralysed because of the unwillingness of banks to lend money to one another."

I can see it now - all those drug barons seeing a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to not only launder their money, but for free and at the normal, criminal rates of exchange (as opposed to say, 0.40 cents on the US$) This money went straight back into organising more shipments to places were drugs were in demand.

The drug baron who offered this information said, "the money is now a part of the official system and had been effectively laundered."

Tuesday 8 December 2009

Doctors query ability of Tamiflu to stop severe illness



Those who read this blog on a regular basis will already know my views on Swine Flu and Tamiflu, for it is to me just one vast conspiracy by the American and UK governments to use these retro viral drugs to control the populace and make a considerable amount of money in the process. Here's the latest news.

"Roche, the manufacturer of Tamiflu, has made it impossible for scientists to assess how well the anti-flu drug stockpiled around the globe works by withholding the evidence the company has gained from trials, doctors alleged today ."

It was always my feeeling that Tamiflu for all its apparent merits could no more than possibly shorten the disease for maybe a day or so but that the side effects were often disastrous sometimes even ending up in fatalities. However, the news out now is that company that makes the drugs, Roche (which has a lot of prominent US politicians as its directors including Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld) is not cooperating with other scientists

"The investigators say it...is impossible to know whether it prevents severe disease because the published data is insufficient. Roche has failed to make some of the studies carried out on the drug publicly available, the scientists say."

This for me is simply the company not wanting to give too much information away about what's actually in the drugs - a form of political and pharmaceutical protectionism!

Tuesday 24 November 2009

'World's Worst' Photo Fit Sketch Spurs Arrest

Have you seen this man? Perhaps he was running along the high street with Donald Duck? Playing volleyball with Roger Rabbit? Seen snorkelling with Bambi?



This has to rank as the funniest e-fit sketch from a police crime unit!! And the funny thing is that they actually caught the guy based on this pic!! This could only happen in somewhere like Bolivia. The picture was apparently released in the South American country following the savage murder of taxi driver called Rafael Vargas.

And get this - "Bloggers compared the e-fit's egg-shaped face, crudely-drawn features and straw-like hair to the Wizard of Oz's scarecrow, Ninemsn website said."

The murder victim's burnt body was found in March with 11 stab wounds and police believe it was a crime of passion as the man murdered was alleged to have been having an affair with another man's wife.

I can see the witness giving the description to the policeman now - "He was tall, with hair like twigs shaped into a miniature gabled roof. His eyes were like missing imprints from the six of diamonds ,his nose was like an upside down razor blade, his eyebrows were like two slugs having a conversation, and his mouth was so lopsided that he could speak around corners. Oh and one more thing - he sounded like a Cabbage Patch Doll!"

Priceless! Absolutely priceless!!

Tuesday 17 November 2009

Doctors say most Britons reject swine flu vaccine

As I've been saying for some time (see my other posts), the swine flu vaccine is even worse than getting a strain of the real thing so stay away. (Click on thee link above (in the title) to access the original article.)

Don't believe me? Read my other posts within the last year:
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The article states that the British government is on record as saying that the virus would kill 100,000 s + yet, to date around the world several months on it has killed a total of only 6,000 people! More people have died on public roads, in freak accidents, botched surgical operations so what's all the fuss about?

Your government is trying to scare you and have you ever wondered why? Perhaps it's time you should!

Thursday 12 November 2009

The smell of old books...?



Great article about how to measure the age of old books and historical documents simply by sniffing them!! Whatever next? Touching a rhino to see how temperamental it is? Tasting a rare item of food to see when it was made?

"Researchers report in the journal Analytical Chemistry that a new "sniff test" can measure degradation of old books and historical documents."

I used to love walking around large civic libraries when I was younger, mostly in Southampton in the south of England and inhaling large doses of that "old book smell". I'm sure I must have got high on it at times - that old familiar smell was music to my nose!

The article goes on to say, "These [smells] are released by paper as it ages and produce the familiar "old book smell". Will the kindle ever be able to give you the same experience? Or any of the new breed of portable, handheld reading devices? I doubt it and the sheer joy of reading from paper bound books and the portability factor will never completely eradicate the love of carrying around a small tome in your pocket! Viva la tome!!

Friday 6 November 2009

Boys from the hood?




Below is a really great paragraph from a great article on the hoodies that roam the streets of the UK bored and with little opportunity to make a good life for themselves! (Click on the link in the title to read the original article.)

Don't they just look like the grim reaper himself, with that hidden face not giving away any sign of how they're feeling or what they're thinking?

"If you go to these places, it's very grim," says Philo. "The culture of violence is real. But for the British media, it's simple – bad upbringing or just evil children. Their accounts of what happens are very partial and distorted, which pushes people towards much more rightwing positions. There's no proper social debate about what we can do about it. Obviously, not all young people in hoods are dangerous – most aren't – but the ones who are can be very dangerous, and writing about them sells papers because people are innately attracted to what's scary. That's how we survive as a species – our body and brain is attuned to focus on what is likely to kill us, because we're traditionally hunters and hunted."

Football training?


Click on the link above to read the article and see all the pics.

This story brings a whole nw meaning to telling your mum you're going out training for football. It's a train journey starting in Plymouth and ending in Montrose, Scotland taking in 20 football grounds in the process!

Monday 2 November 2009

You are where you live



This is one of the reasons why I don't live in the UK any more. It's primarily because you are your own post code. The equivalent of "you are what you eat!" in geographical terms. There is too much of an authoritarian air about it these days with more cameras than anywhere else in the world and the recent furors about forcing carers and teachers and indeed any school visitors to undergo a screening test to see if they are fit to be near minors Oh and at a cost of GBP 64 which the person tested has to pay!

The latest silliness from the UK government is that parents who know the crazy rules regarding post codes and school selection have been trying a few scams to get their kids into better schools. Can you blame them when your kid could suffer because he lives in Birkenhead instead of Brighton? That his postcode is W1 and not N12?

The UK government is now clamping down on all those parents who simply want a fairer chance that their kids will attend good schools.

"According to a report, local councils report that "deceptive applications have become more commonplace as many parents do not consider the consequences of their actions for others any longer". "

Here are some of the examples of what the parents have been doing to "play the system",

In one example, a council reported that multiple false applications were made by a number of parents with children at the same pre-school.

According to Dr Craig, the Chief Schools Adjudicator, the most common scams reported by councils in the last year were the following:

* Use of relatives’ addresses – usually grandparents with the same name – if they live nearer a sought-after school (70 examples last year)

Can you blame anybody for doing that?

* Parents who rent homes in catchment areas during the applications process (33 examples)

Smart thinking!

* Families who feign marriage break-up then report that one parent – usually the mother – has moved to another house nearer the school (28 examples)

Ok, a bid dodgy here and a bit extreme!


* Parents who genuinely separate but then pretend the child is living with the mum or dad who lives closest to the best school (25 examples)

Again, a bid dodgy here and a bit extreme!

* Use of an address owned by parents but rented to someone else (24 examples)

Smart thinking!

* Parents who use an address to get a school place but move away without telling the local council (21)

Smart thinking!

* Use of a business or company address in a catchment area (16)

Smart thinking!

* Parents who swap homes with friends during the applications process – sometimes with a short-term tenancy agreement (14 examples)

Smart thinking!

* Use of an empty address or plot of land (10 examples)

Smart thinking!

What's the problem? Seems to me that if you base a silly system on silly rules, then you get a silly response! People will always try to find the best for their kids and that will never stop!

Nude totty..exhibitionism



Cambridge students in bikinis: the most depressing story of the week?

This story is laughable and written a real dyed -in-the-wool feminist who can't bear the thought that a woman who actually looks good in a swimsuit would want to show it just simply because she's Cambridge Uni student? What's the difference please? Isn't she still a woman? "If you prick me do I not bleed", as Shylock famously said in Shakespeare's "The Merchant of Venice"? Isn't there just a hint of double standards here, too?

You don't even have to look for a hint of upper class dissatisfaction or whining about how the suffragettes had fouhgt hard for female emancipation - it glares at you from the opening remarks!!

"These young women have not pulled this stunt for charity, nor does it have the joie de vivre of a student prank. As a gesture, it fails even to smell like teen spirit. Instead, it is a throwback to the most dreary Seventies cliché. Viewing these images, it is as if the world has regressed Life on Mars-style to a time when garages were littered with images of women posing on sports cars."

The corollary being that had it been a student prank they could have got away with it, but the fact that they want to be viewed as sexual beings (like the ordinary women that they are) seems to matter not a jot to the writer who, it seems is (contrary to her own assertions of "garages were littered with images of women posing on sports cars") like a throwback from the days when women burnt their bras as an act of not only defiance but female liberation.

Do I detect a slight hint of jealousy here? It's a bit like Germaine Greer, that most ardent of feminists and Guardian columnist calling a reporter that wrote something horrible about her, someone who "...wears "fuck me" shoes and has birds nest hair!"

Tuesday 27 October 2009

Fantastic site for famous writing



(click on the link above to access the site.)

I just wanted to share this fantastic site for famous writing. Here a few of the more memorable passages:

*** *** ***
D.H. Lawrence

Fidelity and love are two different things, like a flower and a gem.
Man and woman are like the earth, that brings forth flowers in summer
and love, but underneath is rock.
Older than flowers, older than ferns, older than plasma altogether
is the soul of the human underneath.
And when, throughout all the wild orgasms of love
slowly a gem forms, in the ancient, once-more-molten rocks,
of two human hearts, two ancient rocks,
a man's heart and a woman's heart;
That is the crystal of peace, the slow, hard jewel of trust,
the sapphire of fidelity.
The gem of mutual peace emerging from the wild chaos of love.

Great use of language and imagery here - metaphors of time and rock and flora and minerals all collaborating in nature to create human love and in order to reach this state one must be faithful to oneself and your partner.

And this one is magical, too.

*** *** ***
Rainier Maria Rilke

To love is good; love being difficult.
For one human to love another:
that is perhaps the most difficult of all our tasks, the ultimate,
the last test and proof, the work for which all other work is but a preparation.
For this reason young people, who are beginners in everything,
cannot yet know love; they have to learn it.
With their whole being, with all their forces, gathered close about their lonely, timid, upward-beating heart,
they must learn to love.
But learning time is always a long, secluded time, and so loving,
for a long while ahead and far on into life, is - solitude,
intensified and deepened aloneness for those who love.
Love is at first not anything that means merging, giving over,
uniting with another, for what would a union be of something unclarified,
unfinished, still subordinate?
It is a high inducement to the individual to ripen,
to become something in himself, to become world,
to become world for herself, for another's sake;
it is a great and exacting claim, something that chooses one out,
calls the lover to vast things...

The idea here being that love is a process over a long time that chooses you, not the other way around, and forces you to become something much more than before. D H Lawrence says something like this somewhere else when talking about marriage, something like "marriage requires three things: a man, a woman, and...something else?

This one is amazing as well:

*** *** ***
Goethe on "Commitment"


Until one is committed there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative and creation, there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance which no one could have dreamt would have come one's way. Whatever you can do, or dream you can do begin it! Boldness has genius, power and magic in it!

In other words, in the very act of just simply "going for it", the very boldness of actually trying something provides a window of opportunity in and of itself that was previously absent. When you create an idea from an initial impulse you set off a train of occurrences and trigger events and happenings around you.

Here's a few more to whet your appetite.

*** *** ***

Psalm 1

Blessed are the man and woman who have grown beyond themselves and have seen through their separations. They delight in the way things are and keep their hearts open, day and night. They are like trees planted near flowing rivers, which bear fruit when they are ready. Their leaves will not fall or wither Everything they do will succeed.

*** *** ***

The Song of Songs by Solomon, Chap. 3, verses 9-11


You have captured my heart, my own, my bride, you have captured my heart with one glance of you eyes, with one coil of your necklace. How sweet is your love, my own, my bride! How much more delightful your love than wine, your ointments more fragrant than any spice! Sweetness drops from your lips, O bride; honey and milk are under your tongue; and the scent of your robes is like the scent of Lebanon
The Tanakh (Old Testament)

Sunday 25 October 2009

Where's the fire? The phoenix?



Just when I think Obama can't surprise me any more, he goes and does it again. Just when you think it's all dead on done, along it comes in the news again like a "phoenix rising from the ashes". If you click on the link above, you read the article saying that Obama has declared a state of emergency because of the 1000th death at the hands of H1N1. However, you have to also ask yourself why the most powerful man in not only America, but the rest of the world, is talking about emergencies when just as many people die on roads in a typical week in the same country? Why then the "crisis mode" approach? The "situation room" stance? Why the focus on emotive and reactive words like "national emergency"?

For those who've read earlier blog entries by me, this is part of another hidden agenda - just another way of keeping the H1N1 thing in the news so that when the second wave of flu deaths occurs,they'll be able to get even more people to take the vaccines; chemicals that are largely untested and if anything like the Flu Epidemic of 1976, deadlier than not taking them at all. The primary lesson learned back then was that inaction to the flu outbreak really was better than action where the latter resulted in unnecessary deaths. If you don't believe me, read other posts from my blog which are referenced and read about how many doctors on both sides of the Atlantic have refused to not only administer the vaccine, but also refused to treat themselves or their families with it either.

One more thing, always be wary of governments when they decide to bypass normal regulation as evidenced in the following information from the article as above:

"However, the White House said that declaring an emergency was a largely precautionary step aimed at allowing medical officials to bypass certain federal regulations in the event of a genuine disaster."

How interesting! This is also significant:

"White House officials say the move was similar to precautions taken by coastal areas before a hurricane. "As a nation, we have prepared at all levels of government, and as individuals and communities, taking unprecedented steps to counter the emerging pandemic," Obama wrote in the declaration that he signed late on Friday night."

Isn't this eerily reminiscent of what happens in Naomi Klein's "Shock Doctrine" book? A major shock comes along (H1N1?) and while we are all busy dealing with the major event, certain things are taking place in government (bypassing certain laws?) in order to reinstate a new world order. You can think of it in Hegelian terms and how Hegel believed history advances i.e. in three stages like a syllogism:

thesis - causes of both world wars

Stage one: thesis possibilities:
- rise of excessive nationalism/fascism/communism
- rise of leaders like Hitler, Stalin & Mussolini
- all use expansionist tactics to invade weaker countries - war

Stage two: anti-thesis - UK, USA et al bind together, form pacts to fight the war:
- to fight fascism, communism -
- stop expansionism
- ultimately to stop these leaders

Stage three: syn- thesis - creation of pacts/agreements/international bodies:

- creation of European Union (single currency, ECHR)
- League of Nations (now NATO)
- creation of treaties e.g. Treaty of Rome, Treaty of Lisbon,

This was done so that we could all have Peace in Our Time as Mr. Chamberlain famously said. What's interesting is that when we reach the third part of the tripartite system, there is a new order created out of the ashes of the old one like our proverbial "phoenix rising from the ashes".

Thursday 15 October 2009

BMW? BOMFOG? WTF?


This is a fantastic website with so many great ideas encapsulated in different word forms e.g. initialisms, acronyms, and general abbreviations.

Here are a few of my favoutites:

BOMFOG

Brotherhood Of Man (under the) Fatherhood Of God. Paternalistic - and thoroughly patronising - expression of traditional values still held by many, including some who lead us. Accepting modern politically correct adaptations, BOMFOG attitudes typically sit snugly alongside the marginalisation of women and all other historically brow-beaten groups. Nowadays more importantly, BOMFOG thinking undermines humankind's independence and development. Nigel Rees, the commentator and language expert refers to BOMFOG as an acronym for a pompous meaningless generality. This interpretation - and the wider implications of BOMFOG - have a very relevant modern resonance with a certain arrogant deluded leadership style (akin to Theory Y, but altogether more deeply insidious) that we often see in the western world, which seeks to suppress and control all good and honest folk - people like you and me, capable of mature independent thoughts and actions of far greater purity and truth than those exhibited by our leaders, supported incidentally by much of our media. Leadership - and government, and any organized system - should be a force for genuine individual aspiration and emotional maturity. Regrettably however many sorts of leadership - especially of significant scale - eventually degenerate into control, manipulation, sham, and BOMFOG principles. By the way the term BOMFOG is linked most famously with certain very grand quotes attributed to the Rockerfellers (Nelson and John D) around the mid 1900s, generally pronouncing how a new world can be established, based on their own (superior, western, 'enlightened') view of life, and the assumption that holding such a view somehow includes the right to impose it on others. Sounds familiar?...

BMW

Bitch, Moan and Whine/Whinge. Behaviour that can be exhibited by a group when stressed, demotivated or unhappy with their situation. Also a common subject area in meetings where the purpose and facilitation perhaps requires a more a positive focus or perspective. (Ack Denise) If you are a manager or team leader and ever find yourself having to handle a BMW session, give the group encouragement, responsibility and suitable freedom to identify and pursue constructive response, change and improvement. Focus on positive response rather than blame. Here are a couple of helpful quotes in this connection: "You have a choice whether to be part of the steam roller or part of the road.." (unknown) and "If you're not part of the solution you must be part of the problem.." (the commonly paraphrased version of the original quote: "What we're saying today is that you're either part of the solution, or you're part of the problem.." by Eldridge Cleaver 1935-98, founder member and information minister of the Black Panthers, American political activist group, in a speech in 1968). More relevant motivational quotes are on the quotes page. BMW is also interpreted in some police circles (ack P&J) as Break My Windows, being a reflection of the car make's tendency to attract envious attack, either through envy or because the mark is a favourite among gangsters who attract aggressive attentions. Additionally (ack Ed P) BMW is interpreted to form other ironic meanings such as the somewhat offensive Built by Migrant Workers; the irresitibly smile-inducing Big-up My Willy, and probably funniest of all to the folk who particularly resent the car brand and what they think it stands for: Bought Mainly by Wankers. There are some other automotive-related interpretations of BMW in the automotive aconyms list, interestingly including (ack G Boyle) Bersten Mal Wieder, which is apparently used by German folk, and means 'Bust Again'.



CHIP

Come Home I'm Pregnant. Another acronym gem from the 2nd World War, and potentially applicable today for husbands on prolonged residential training courses, drilling rigs and overseas work assignments - see also ITALY, HOLLAND, SWALK, BURMA and NORWICH, etc. (Thanks Sandy Fox)

CRITWATNF

Currently Residing In The Where Are They Now File. The full expression perhaps originated, certainly features and achieved prominence in Rob Reiner's 1984 classic rock band spoof masterpiece movie This is Spinal Tap. A radio DJ refers to the band in this way. It's not the most easy to pronounce acronym, but is a fine example of the genre nevertheless. The term is widely applicable for all ideas, fashions, trends, personalities, must-haves, etc., which were once actually or hoped to be significant, but are now lost, hidden or conveniently forgotten. Use it to illustrate the fleeting nature of success, the whimsical nature of swarming humankind, or the fact, simply, that every dog has its day. What can seem in people's lives utterly crucial today, will almost certainly be insignificant given a little time. (Thanks P Smith for suggesting it.) See the CRITWATNF game.

DILLIGAFF

Do I Look Like I Give A Flying Fig? Polite version. Alternatively again DILLIGAF, which omits the 'Flying' element. And the variation (ack A Burger) Does It Look Like I Give A Fig? The possibilities are almost endless. Popularly used for emphasising a lack of time or concern for a particular issue arising. DILLIGAFF illustrates a personal view which could result from pure apathy, or more excusably from having more essential responsibilities and priorities, hence the expression's use in the modern heathcare industry, and similar sectors where there's more demand than resource to meet it. DILLIGAFF is the opposite to empathy, and can also be used to illustrate the 'apathetic worker' syndrome. (Ack Dr N Roney and S Didlick and the many others.)

EDINBURGH

Elated Darling, I'm Near, Book Usual Room, Grand Hotel. Lovers code from way back. You see, people have been using social and flirting short-hand for generations - before texting was ever imagined, see also SWALK, NORWICH, etc.

FART

Fecal Air Rectally Transmitted. Daft and amusing restrospectively devised acronym, so it's technically a 'backronym'. The word fart in fact is derived from Old High German 'ferzan' (pronounced fertsan) from older Germanic roots 'fertan', both of which are clearly onomatopoeic (sounds like what it is), as is the modern-day word, unchanged in English since the 1200s. Words and language might change over time, but the sound of a fart is one of life's more enduring features.

And many, many more!!

Tuesday 6 October 2009

Phishermen's Blues...



Most people will remember the news that came out this week about how a fake Microsoft Hotmail page was replicated and 10,000 email passwords were stolen in some kind of elaborate phishing scam and 10,000 email passwords from other web email provider's customers were also affected e.g. Gmail and Yahoo. Apparently up to 21 million email users could be affected by this.

I saw this article in The Bangkok Post today. It says that the next global war (and this time I don't mean the "global war on terror" so happily espoused by George Bush and his cronies!) will not be fought on a battlefield but in cyberspace! Wahoo!

According to the article, at the ITU's Telecom World 2009 fair in Geneva people are queuing up to cast all kinds of negative predictions about what will happen with cyber attacks in the not too distant future. According to Hamadoun Toure, the secretary-general of the International Telecommunications Union, "Loss of vital networks would quickly cripple any nation, and none is immune to cyber attack."

This seems a little dramatic to put it on a par with world wars and give us a Doomsday scenario e.g. call it the next WW3? However they do at least provide some evidence for their assertions. For a start, they highlight the absolute dependence on technology for all developed as well as developing countries to the point were any disruption of business and services is vital and will result in calamities not to mention huge loss in revenues.

According to Hamadoun Toure, many countries have become "critically dependent" on technology for commerce, finance, health care, emergency services and food distribution, so any disruption will affect some or all of these and in major ways. Because of these reports, many countries are hiring additional experts in this field of cyber attacks. IN the USA, they are hiring 1,000 extra security experts. US Secretary for Homeland Security Janet Napolitano said Thursday that she has been given the go ahead to hire up to 1,000 cybersecurity experts to improve the United States' defenses against cyber threats. In S. Korea they have gone a lot further and are hiring 3,000 such experts what they are calling "cyber sheriffs". Why? "to protect businesses after a spate of attacks on state and private websites."



Many people believe that the main reason for the ease with which cyber atttacks can be launched is because of software protocols that have changed little since the 1980s when a lot of software rules were established.

"Experts say that a major problem is that the current software and web infrastructure has the same weaknesses as those produced two decades ago."

According to Cristine Hoepers, general manager at Brazilian National Computer Emergency Response Team,"The real problem is that we're putting on the market software that is as vulnerable as it was 20 years ago."

She suggest that if we want to seriously tackle the problem we need to educate ICT students at university level to be aware of these limitations on current software and help them design new ways that will help protect the security of future software based systems.

Somehow, I think this seems all a little bit too easy to eradicate such a global problem. In the same way that criminals have always been one step behind new security measure for forging banknotes, or laundering money, or breaking security codes using technology to get password, so the new crop of cyber attackers will be just one step behind and when as in the case of Microsoft above, they take their eye off the ball for a brief period, the cyber attackers will strike.

Do you feel any safer with your online bank account now after reading this? I certainly don't!

Wednesday 23 September 2009

The function of Intellectuals in society?


I just read an interesting article on a UK based online magazine called "Transforming Management - Original Thinking Applied" and felt compelled to reply. Click on the link above to read the original.

Here is my reply:

You write well and ask a good question, but ignore your own answer, Buddha like e.g. the answer lies within…

“Time was when a shared classical education could be assumed. The whole of the electorate was highly and similarly educated. That is no longer true. Shared references are less common; the nation does not in fact have a shared curriculum, even about its own identity.”

Absolutely true. Because of the splintering of knowledge (the decline in religions and a subsequent civic-minded sense of public morality, Deconstructionism and the Breakdown of the grand meta-narratives et al) we all have lost a shared sense of identity. Where once we could appeal to not only a higher altar of truth, but also one that had largely been agreed on over time, now we are left without any place to appeal to, and like Nietzsche’s idea of ressentiment and master-slave morality we are like the latter who have no identity because the rulers, the masters are the ones who define what is good, right, noble and true.

It stands to reason then that there can be no higher ideal to appeal to, nor such person as a modern intellectual who can appeal to us collectively, en mass. It is ironic that the only thing that nowadays successfully appeals to us on this plane is consumerism and so the intellectual has in some senses been replaced by the latest brand or marketing gimmick. (This is also incidentally why the sound bite has been so successful in recent years.)

I was surprised that you mentioned Christopher Hitchens and his own definition of an intellectual yet neglected to mention Socrates who, if ever there was someone who epitomized the essence of an intellectual, then it is he in following all of Hitchens’ defining characteristics and one or two more…

“Public intellectuals, he says, are “men and women who do their own thinking; who are willing to stand the accusation of “elitism” (or at least to prefer it to the idea of populism); who care for language above all and guess its subtle relationship to truth; and who are willing and able to nail a lie….. the attitude towards authority should probably be sceptical, as should the attitude towards utopia, let alone to heaven or hell. Other aims should include the ability to survey the present through the optic of a historian, the past with the perspective of the living, and the culture and language of others with the equipment of an internationalist.”

…the other to be able use rhetorical devices (the syllogism in particularl) which you mentioned and, most importantly, to be prepared to die for his principles which Socrates aptly demonstrated.

John Stuart Mill’s dictum about the philosopher and the pig also underscores the value of the intellectual idea over others,

“It is better to be a human being dissatisfied than a pig satisfied; better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied. And if the fool, or the pig, are a different opinion, it is because they only know their own side of the question. The other party to the comparison knows both sides.”

This sense of blissful ignorance is exactly where most people are nowadays when it comes to intellectual debate and not because of a lack of imagination or some perceived idea of snobbery. It is in many ways a cocoon against the vagaries and uncertainties of their lives, their mistrust of politicians, bankers, religious leaders and yes, intellectuals. In short, they are fed up of being lied to. If intellectuals are present at all these days, they have been reduced to scarecrow puppets of the real thing and there is no better example of that than Boris Johnson. I rest my case.

Tom Tuohy

Friday 28 August 2009

What me! A Bully?


It's surely taking things too far when the biggest bully in the playground finally declares that "I have never bullied anybody in my life. It’s me who was bullied." Delusional would be a nice way to out it - hypocrisy would be more way accurate though.

This is a man who routinely sought revenge on anyone who disagreed with him while he was a primeminister of Thailand; who routinely expelled foreign journalists for having the gall, neigh, the temerity to impugn something the great man had a said; who routinely had beat, imprisoned, or killed, anyone even suspected of selling drugs in his so-called declaration that he would rid Thailand of all drugs within three months. Let's be honest - anyone who could make such an impossibly bold assertion needs a doctor not a playground protector. Oh yes, sorry I forgot, you are a doctor - of Forensics I believe. Then, in the words of a great philosopher - "Heal thyself!"

We haven't even mentioned the Tak Bai protesters of whom about 100+ were beaten, then rounded up in 36C + heat, herded onto a truck with tied hands behind their backs whereupon they all perished through suffocation while in Thai police custody.

So it comes as no small surprise to hear him say these words yesterday for anyone but a megalomaniac could actually get into a position of power (which as everyone knows requires considerable bullying and jockeying for position and a drink at the trough) and actually expect sane people to believe these sentiments.

The saddest part of this episode is that there are people in Thailand who have been sufficiently brainwashed (by the millions he stole from the country) into believing that Uncle Thaksin is a "good guy" and that all the millions of people (over 5 million at the last count) who signed the anti petition to say they disagreed with him getting a pardon from the king are completely wrong about this kind, benelovent, caring individual who now seeks our sympathy because he is the one who is actually being bullied!

Mr. Thaksin, you have your safe haven in Dubai so bully for you! I suggest you stay there and let Thailand be ruled by leaders less corrupt than you. After all, doesn't that make good business sense given that two thirds of Thai voters when asked said they didn't mind corrupt leaders as long as they did something for the country as well? You're a businessman so work it out! If you really want to do something for Thailand, stay away from the country.

Tuesday 25 August 2009

Blocking your broadband access?


Has the world gone mad? The latest is that anyone caught illegally downloading songs or software will have their broadband access removed or blocked!

God, isn't this Big Brother state lovely? A real friend in need eh? I'd rather have my goolies lopped off than have my Internet connection severed! Ok, maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration but it is something that creates a strong feeling among many people not just myself.


In an article entitled "Government details proposed filesharing crackdown" we are informed that "The government has confirmed it is considering tough new measures to tackle illegal filesharing, possibly even cutting off the internet connections of repeat offenders". Well I never!

A bit Draconian isn't it? Why not come up with some punishments that actually fit the crime? If people are illegally downloading files, it's because (a) there are no barriers to stop them, and/or (b) it's considered morally permissible by many peopel to do so. Why not introduce legislation first rather than having a knee jerk respobse to a global problem?

As was stated in the article, tinkering with or cutting off a person's broadband access was ruled out in the government's Digital Britain report released on ly a couple of month's ago in June.

"In the report, the then communications minister, Lord Carter, said illegal filesharers should receive letters warning them their activities could leave them open to prosecution. If that failed to reduce piracy by at least 70%, Ofcom would have the power to call on internet service providers to introduce "technical measures" to combat piracy. The most draconian penalty considered at the time was slowing down persistent filesharers' broadband connections."

This was at least a reasonable attempt to combat a growing problem especially when you take into account the wider problem of artists and creative people in general being unable to collect well earned royalties for their creative endeavours.

They are right when they say that the government's response is a complete farce and completely out of sync with what other people feel is a normal response to this problem. As they say,

"Digital rights groups condemned the move. Calling it a "knee-jerk reaction", Jim Killock, the executive director of the Open Rights Group said: "Suspension of internet access would restrict people's fundamental right to freedom of expression. It would also fly in the face of the government's policy of universal broadband access."

And they are right when they say this a breach of the fundamental right of freedom of speech?

Just as silly is the government's idea of getting the ISPs to shoulder the costs and the responsibility of policing their customers!

What will the UK government do next I wonder? Charge you for breathing "British air"? Remove your right to vote for watching too much Coronation Street? Remove your invalidity benefit for not reading the last Labour Manifesto?

I repeat - has the world gone mad?

Sunday 26 July 2009

"Messing about on the water..."



It must be great to have a hobbie like owning a barge and lazily watching yourself drift down a canal as this picture taken on a canal in Birmingham, the UK shows.



I am here again teaching at the University of Birmingham and when the sun dos actually decide to grace us with its presence, it can be really nice to take a stroll down the canals where, during The Industrial Revolution, much of the business of transporting goods took place.

Nowadays, of course, it is just a place to get away and relax, savour the smells of the summer, watch the geese flap noisily, the birds gently sway and swoop for the canal's small fish, and gently and lazily wile away the hours thinking of former times.



Umm....maybe...just maybe...I'm gonna get me one of them barges!!

Thursday 23 July 2009

Hello Mr. Fed Chairman...where's the cash mate?

In an age when so many Americans are feeling the pinch in a recession Ben Bernanke should be flayed alive if he can't account for half a trillion dollars.

Forgetting where you put your car keys is one thing, but being unable to say where such a huge chunk of money has gone seems reckless in the extreme.

As one of Oscar Wilde's characters says in a scene from The Importance of Being Earnest, "To lose one parent, Mr Worthing, may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose both looks like carelessness."

I only hope he takes care of his own personal finances better than he does the finances of corporate America!

This is the video where the chairman of the Fed, Mr. Bernanke, in an interview entitled "State of the economy and monetary policy" was unable this week to explain where a sizable chunk of US taxpayer's money, half a trillion dollars, had actually gone! Priceless!

Wednesday 22 July 2009

Men and kids...when will the madness end?

No doubt, other people have been following with alarm the recent events in the UK where it seems that when a man gets anywhere near a small child he is in some way suspected of being a pedophile.

This reminds me of the Feminist battle cry of the the 1960s that declared often in an underhand way that every man was a potential rapist!

I read in The Observer, the oldest Sunday newspaper in the UK, that some schools have banned parents from attending a Sports Day celebration to watch an egg and spoon race, a time when parents dutifully attend the school to see the prowess of their kids and marvel at how they have matured physically and how well they have integrated with their peers.

Now it seems that some parents were actually banned from attending their kids' sports day because they might possibly be potential pedophiles!!

Has the world gone barking mad? When has the time come when parents cannot visit their own kids in a school where they are probably paying hefty fees? One school in Birmingham called King Edward IV (not a million miles from where I am currently teaching, University of Birmingham) has actually introduced a fingerprinting system so that the kids can get their lunch? Eh? What is going on?

As the writer of the article, Henry Porter states, "Much will be lost, but that is to be expected given the mood of fear and suspicion that has taken root in our schools over the last decade and is doing so much damage to relations between adults and children, and to the children themselves, who are growing up in a surveillance society."

What are we telling our kids about men in general? The underlying subliminal message that we are sending to our kids is that men cannot be trusted, that they will abuse you and that that little of any positive value can come from male association.

This is extremely sad as I read another report recently (possibly in the same newspaper) that kids are growing up cushioned and over protected because parents rarely let them out to play like they would have say, 20 years ago. Where once they enjoyed relatively free rein to explore nooks and crannies with their friends in the safety of thir neighbourhoods, now they are kept indoors for fear of possible abductions or abuse. Where once they had a freedom to discover themselves and develop relationships with others, whether male or female, now they are often overprotected which stunts their growth.

This is primarily because of these underlying fears that men are predators who are waiting in the bushes of every park, or the alleys of every street waiting to stalk their teenage victims.

The loss is clearly that young children will grow up believing in all this guff and will be robbed of the normal healthy connections with male figures in their lives, relationships that pass on guidance and mutual respect have possibly gone down the drain.

My question is, when will thus madness end?

Monday 15 June 2009

When your government knows what's best for you...

Why is it that governments always seem to know what's best for the populace? When they get elected, they seem to think that they have some moral mandate to clean up all our lives? As if we couldn't possibly exist without Big Brother looking over our shoulders watching out for us?


I read with interest recently the interesting article entitled "Cocaine study that got up the nose of the US" by Ben Goldacre. In it, he charges the US government with at best exaggeration, at worst downright lying. One example is the way in which the government tried to prove that new forms of cannabis e.g. skunk, are twenty-five times stronger than they were in the heady days of the 1960s with flower power and the hippy revolution. This was tested and found to be patently false.

As he says,

"In areas of moral and political conflict people will always behave badly with evidence, so the war on drugs is a consistent source of entertainment. We have already seen how cannabis being "25 times stronger" was a fantasy, how drugs-­related deaths were quietly dropped from the measures for drugs policy, and how a trivial pile of poppies was presented by the government as a serious dent in the Taliban's heroin revenue."


Why is it then that governments so feel the need to exaggerate these kinds of statistics? In fact there's little evidence to suggest that soft drugs, and by this I mean class B or C drugs, lead to long terms health problems at all. This leads me to question why governments, which are inherently right wing if not politically, then certainly socially and morally, resort to this kind of false reporting which at times borders on propaganda? Is it because a lot of revenue is spent on these kinds of recreational drugs which doesn't find its way into state coffers in the form of VAT and other direct or indirect taxes? Surely it must be for another reason for we have come a long way from the 1970s and 1980s when any form of drug taking was frowned upon and lengthy jail sentences routinely handed out.

Quoting from a report by World Health Organisation (WHO) which was ignored, repudiated by respected bodies, and left unpublished,

"Such programmes rely on sensationalised, exaggerated statements about cocaine which misinform about patterns of use, stigmatise users, and destroy the educator's credibility."

As Ben Goldacre continues,

"Health problems from the use of legal substances, particularly alcohol and tobacco, are greater than health problems from cocaine use," they said. "Cocaine-related problems are widely perceived to be more common and more severe for intensive, high-dosage users and very rare and much less severe for occasional, low-dosage users."

We see this dynamic play itself out in other areas where government control is routinely exercised albeit in an unwanted, unwarranted, and heavy-handed way. For example, after 9-11, we were treated to scary movies about perceived terrorist threats which probably came straight out of the Bush family homegrown terrorist factory, edited by Dick Cheney, with special effects from Donald Rumsfeld, and special lighting from Russ Limbaugh. All the interviews, videos, banners, ads, billboards were designed with one purpose in mind - to scare the living bejesus out of all of us and hand control back to our paternal brothers in The Whitehouse, Downing Street, The Reichschtag, The Elysee Palace (or wherever the French government convenes) and elsewhere.


We were scared into thinking that we were in mortal danger because of the 9-11 attacks when in fact only about 3,500 people died. Instead of us being victims of an outside terrorist group we were in fact terrorised by our own governments with the advent of the Patriot Act, where civil liberties went out the window along with the proverbial bathwater and the baby, so again we had a complete exaggeration of the dangers to us as a populace.

The most recent of these exaggerations came about with the advent of the Swine Flu. As I said in another entry, we have more chance of being struck by a meteorite than contracting the Swine Flu, yet if you read the propaganda coming out of government offices and subsequent press releases, you'd think the world was in imminent danger of a total collapse like it was during the Spanish Flu pandemic in the last century, in 1918. This is patently absurd and the virus is nowhere as potent as government agencies would have us think.

This is the Politics of Fear which we must all be on our guard against! The kind of dystopia that George Orwell talked about half a century ago in his novel 1984 is now coming to pass. It's a sad day when, as the American interviewed in his new home in Paris admits in Michael Moore's video Sicko, when asked why he didn't live the US any more - "I can't live there any more because the government scares me."

I wouldn't sell that mob a virus...


Recently, I heard the manager of Manchester United, Sir Alex Ferguson, remark that he "wouldn't sell that mob a virus" when referring to the possible sale of Ronaldo to Real Madrid. Whilst Ferguson was using the term in a pejorative way, he was using it in a sporting context although as we've recently seen, he did in fact sell the virus to Real Madrid as presumably did Inter Milan in selling Kaka to the same club.

However, it always used to be that when you heard the word virus, you immediately thought that some Trojan had infected your computer, and the worst case scenario was that you'd have to wipe your hard drive clean and reformat it. The fact is the word virus has taken on a whole new meaning and rarely been out of the news lately in one form or another, and I predict that it'll be used just as prolifically in the future.


A friend recently emailed me the following to which I replied.

Hi UrbanCrazyMan,

The world of viruses is a wild place. This is where we realise that we're not in control. Apparently, there are researchers trying to ascertain whether diabetes and other diseases are started by a virus, and then develop.
Like I said, they're gonna get us one way or another because we crowd together so much. We're not meant to do so, and neither are animals. The conservative opinion on the H1N1 is that it's the high volume, low quality of life, cramped-farm pig rearing that caused the virus to spread and then metastasise to the humans around them. I can believe that.

Achoo... I mean cheers

My reply:

Hi,

I agree that the appalling cruelty e.g. battery farming and other unsavory aspects of so-called modern modes of food production have contributed to the growth but not origin of these viruses. I suspect darker forces at work I'm sorry to say.

We've unfortunately come to an era in human development where bombs and battlegrounds have shifted in a seismic way. Some clever people have realised that you can first control, then wipe out an entire generation of people through chemical as well as biological warfare. That's too scary to imagine! Now, instead of sendining off the troops to battle in huge numbers (only 4,000 US soldiers have died in this Iraqi conflict), the soldiers have become pharmacists and chemists controlling us with their poisons.

Although some people are silly enough to think that this locus of control somehow takes place in a similar arena of war like Saddam Hussein gassing the Kurds in the north of Iraq, when in fact it is something that lays itself out in every major city through vaccinations, and other supposedly healthful ways.

Who knows what is in your medicines when you go to get a flu jab, or inoculate your kid from TB? Rubella? Measles? Or when you get a Hep B, or C booster? A Diphtheria back up? Or a ten-year Tetanus jab?


The problem is that governments are too closely connected to drug companies and too intent on staying onto power to care about the likes of me and you. "It's all about the money, baby."

I read recently that the British government under Blair then Brown has become more authoritarianism than any of its previous leaders and many people are really pissed about it - the Identity Card scheme, the Xenophobic immigration policies, the cameras everywhere (more than anywhere else in the world!)

Because of the crisis in the banking sector, and the destabilisation of the global economy, governments have become largely redundant, or at least shown up to be incapable of protecting their populaces from this kind of disruption, and modern warfare, which is the basic element of human existence and is manipulated by them to continue to wield their hegemony over the rest of us!

In other words, ether they manipulated the Credit Crunch and global downturn to get a tighter control over us, or they saw it happen and decided to take advantage of it. Either way, for my money, they are a bunch of dangerous rogues but rogues who cannot be stopped.

Wednesday 13 May 2009

US government Swine Flu propaganda video from 1976

Football stuff...




Here I am going to be adding my thoughts on football topics around the world from the English Premier League to the La Liga, The Bundersliga, Serie A, and others.

Is Ronaldo the wonderkid really worth 109 million US dollars?! Will Man Utd be able to hang on to him? He seems to have decided that he wants to (a) be the highest valued player in the transfer list ever and (b) prove it by playing against someone who many others believe is the best player in the world, Lionel Messi?



It'll be an interesting match up to see who steals the show on May 27th when The Champions Lague final is played between the two giants of world football - -Man Utd (the holders) and F C Barcelona.

Roanaldo's outburst when being taken off a couple of weeks ago in the derby game against City, underlies his immaturity and petulance, but Ferguson has dealt with his like before and will know exactly what to do as always!

There's also Teves - he's been outstanding for Man Utd this season and the fans love him, so why can't he get a contract like the others? He's right when it seems like his football talents are not respected enough by the club!

What's happening in Serie A? A breakaway club system like The Premier League? Or is it in Scotland (as well)?

I'm going to be analysing what the reaction will be by the bigger clubs being asked to put some of their money back into the game and how that might affect the system as it is in place there nowadays.

Watch this space as they say!

Thursday 30 April 2009

Teaching Discursive or Creative Writing

Why isn’t creative writing taught in Thailand in general?



At first glance this may seem like a silly questions, but why aren’t there that many courses that teach the basics of creative forms of expression in writing in Thailand, instead of students simply being asked to regurgitate, often with parrot-like efficiency, the input from the teacher in the lesson using continually unchanging media? Surely, it can’t just be because local educators feel that Thai students aren’t up to the task for that would be a complete cop out, right?

I did a quick search on Google.com and came up with the following schools which do or have provided ‘creative’ writing modules in Thailand in the past: Ruam Rudee International School, Thammasat University, Mahidol University International College, Lanna International School, The American School of Bangkok, Australian International School Bangkok and the International School of Bangkok.

Whilst this list is not meant to be exhaustive, if you look long enough, you’ll soon start to see a pattern develop. In other words, where it is offered, it’s usually at a high-end school such as those above, not in the Thai National Curriculum, and most definitely not at the lower end of the educational scale e.g. in the temple schools or poorer Thai schools.

The traditional model
Most teachers reading this will be familiar with the basic mainstay of EFL teaching e.g. Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking. These subjects are traditionally taught using the three Ps: Presentation, Practice, Production – the standard TEFL methodology. EAL, ESOL, EAP, TPR, and other teaching methods have their own working dynamics, but often incorporate some or all of this approach, too.

Within each of these subjects is a variety of ways of developing skills to get the message across, and the learning outcome achieved, so for example, in Reading, a student learns strategies such as skimming and scanning, understanding paraphrasing, summarising, and various lexical sets of vocabulary etc., etc.

Listening too will have its own sets of approaches, such as, pre-listening activities, listening to CDs, note taking skills, and so on. Likewise, Writing has a fixed way of being taught in general which usually involves the teacher setting up an assignment with clear objectives, and the student being required to produce a completed written text of varying lengths whether as a controlled activity or a freer based one.

However, what’s noticeable about typical Writing courses, certainly where Thailand is concerned, is that they rarely ever deviate from what could be called the standard ‘norm’ or regular practice, as the output is always related to something outside of the student.

For example, if the writing task is a Geography assignment: writing about the evolution of an earthquake, or in Literature: writing about the meaning of a Shakespearean sonnet, the student is merely required to react to the media e.g. give a written opinion or evaluation of it, not be proactive – not create an original medium themselves.

In the world of EFL, the task might be to write about a story or set of facts presented using a CD or a reading text, but it would always be based on the story as listened to or read, not a story that came from the student’s own life experience. Why is this so?

Defining creative writing
By creative writing, I don’t just mean the very narrow definition of ‘storytelling’ with characters, plots, and dialogue, though in my humble opinion, these are equally valid mediums for a language-learning classroom. What I mean is a much broader definition e.g. journalism, poetry, personal narratives, short stories, family histories, indeed the whole gamut discursive writing has to offer.

A lot of my own teaching experience (certainly related to the teaching of writing) has only ever been in a middle ranking Thai university and a couple of private language schools, or when teaching business writing, although I can safely say that in my twelve years here in the Kingdom, I have rarely ever heard about any Thai schools that offer such a program, which should tell you a lot.

The fact is that the high-end schools know the value of such programs, yet it’s still not clear why they are more likely to offer them when there really isn’t that much extra to consider by way of additional cost? Given all that’s needed is to hire an industry qualified professional in accepted writing practices, someone with a reasonable amount of experience, it obviously must be for another reason, so why don’t we see more of these types of programs?

So, again, I repeat my original questions - Why isn’t creative writing taught in Thailand in general?

The advantages
There is a huge number of advantages, a few of which I’ll list a few here. When you teach a child how to write a sentence or paragraph, using input from his or her own life, there is a sudden and dramatic interest in the child’s level of interest because now, that child has something invested in his or her education.

They are not simply learning by rote e.g. a process paragraph on how to write about the dynamics of photosynthesis in a Biology class, or how to calculate the time difference between Sydney and Chiang Mai in a Geography class. Here they are invited to write about the world around them in a way that automatically necessitates that they include their own views and place within it.

It also encourages them to reflect on different techniques that strengthen their writing: the use of appropriate words to provide the required register, the targeting of sentences and meaning to reach different audiences, the use of figurative language e.g. metaphors, similes, idioms etc., etc., and the effect that has when compared to more literal forms.

One of my own earliest experiences of creative writing was in a classroom in the UK when I was about eleven. The teacher asked us all to create a story using only our imagination. I wrote a story about the God Thor from Norse Mythology who drove a truck and beat up bad guys. However, what was so memorable to me about this is it opened my eyes to the power of language and how I, a small child could create something literally out of the thoughts in my head.

One of the creative writing programs I took a look at is Lanna International School, which I have to say, looks really great. Here are a few more advantages creative writing brings courtesy of their own website:

Statement of Purpose: The course is designed to be studied by students wishing to extend their creative use of the English language. Students following this course will learn to:

ท enjoy the experience of writing without being penalised for mistakes in usage;
ท understand the structure of different types of writing;
ท demonstrate ability to communicate stories, thoughts, and experiences through writing;
ท appreciate different ways in which writers achieve their effects;
ท see writing as a means of social action in areas of human concern;
ท enjoy and appreciate variety of language;
ท understand themselves and others better through writing;
ท free themselves of writer‘s block through creative activity;
ท prepare a portfolio of publishable-quality writing;
ท originate and/or edit school paper articles.

(http://www.lannaist.ac.th/ Reproduced here by kind permission of the Headmaster of Lanna International School, Mr. Roy Lewis.)

Success Stories
You don’t have to be a genius to see that there are a lot of advantages in encouraging students to be more creative and expressive in their writing. Lanna International School produced three recent winners out of the five awards in a Dublin based competition to find winners of the 4th Junior IMPAC Dublin Literary Awards for Thailand, Northern region.

The winners were announced in a ceremony held on January 11th, at Citylife Magazine - the regional coordinator for the contest. The essay-writing contest was open to Thai students aged 14-18, writing in English on the topic “If We Could Change the World.”

The conclusion
Instead of simply putting your kid into a regular school which will provide him or her with a sound basis in the Three Rs, step back and think a bit more about what other opportunities are open to your child to make him or her a more rounded individual.

If you want him to know what the present perfect tense is, how to score well on an IELTS test, or how to say hello to your English-speaking guests, then put him or her into a traditional school where they’ll be fine.

However, if you also want your child to be able to give his opinion about a current topic in the news, or to be able to tell a story using well-known narrative elements, then enroll your child in a school that will provide all the necessary language skills, so that child is equipped throughout his or her life to be able to communicate in a much more creative way.

=============================================================

Sunday 26 April 2009

Who are the real Swines?


Am I the only one who is highly suspicious of the current pandemic? The fact that the swine virus seems to have come out of nowhere? Curious too that it comes right at the beginning of Obama's presidency like 9-11 did for George Bush? To scare the living bejesus out of us all like 9-11 did? Or just to sell more drugs and make the fat cats who are shareholders even richer than they already are?

To be honest, when I first heard about the swine flu in Mexico, my immediate reaction was that the US government was involved. However, if you wanted to (a) reduce the population or (b) provide a necessary demand for drug companies to sell more drugs, would you do it on your own doorstep? Where American citizens would be affected? Wouldn't you do it some place further from home? The acronym NIMBY springs to mind.

I am deeply distrustful of world governments these days although until I see real evidence, I remain sceptical that they could stoop this low e.g. to maintain control over their populations by such unsavoury means. I have heard about the fluoridation of the UK's drinking water and the negative effects. There are many other conspiracy theorists who believe that governments have for a long time been putting viruses into the vaccines and immunisation drugs currently on the market which have resulted in autism and many other birth defects. Is any of this true? Or are we so polarised nowadays after Bush's eight years of promoting a Politics of Fear?

In his 'Swine Flu Special 2009-04-25' Alex Jones, a fierce opponent of American politics, talk about the deadly swine flu outbreak and the early evidence that it may be a limited scope synthetic bio-attack to prepare the population for future major outbreaks and martial law - http://prisonplanet.tv/component/user/login.html

However, in an article curiously entitled "World 'well prepared' for virus" I read the following:

"The WHO added that there was no evidence to suggest the outbreak was a bio-terrorist attack - http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8019566.stm

Of course there isn't because this will have been planned at the highest level of government where the real swines are. And if the drug companies are really that prepared for this virus how fortunate for them that a semblance of strains already known are present again as if by a miracle? People need to be much more vigilant about watching to see what their government is doing nowadays!


On a lighter note, the power of the internet is going to show these world governments what real 'people power' is!

This girl in Moldova sent a Twitter message from a cafe to a group of her friends asking them to meet in the city for an impromptu protest. When she arrived, 15,000 people were there such is the power of the internet!! Truly amazing! - http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8018017.stm

Sunday 19 April 2009

War Games or Language Games?


I read with interest the test that new British sailors have to go through in order to be come full sailors. One officer on board said: "To qualify as a submariner, there is a long training period including a two-hour oral board.

After that, the sailors have to name a list of slang words. Here's a taster:

What do you suppose 'seggies' are? Any idea at all? They are in fact grapefruit segments. How about a 'Pom'? No, it's not a boring old Brit seen through the eyes of an Aussie. It is in fact powdered potatoes.

Here's a few more to whet your appetitie:

* Spithead pheasant – kippers

* Elephant's footprint – battered spam fritter

* Baby's head – steak and kidney pudding (the smooth pastry rises like a shiny baby's head)

* Black on black – chocolate pudding with chocolate sauce

* Action Man pillows – ravioli

* Teddybears' ears – Chinese prawn crackers

* Seggies – grapefruit segments

* Snorkers – sausages

* Gary Glitters – gammon steaks (as in Glitter's song chant "Come on, come on" or the submariners' version "Gamm-on, gamm-on")

* Cheesy-hammy-eggy – a traditional Navy dish, Welsh rarebit with ham and a fried egg

My favourite's the Gary Glitter reference - what's yours?
One wonders what would be the case if, say, lawyers tried to do the same thing? Cauliflowers might become wigs? subpoenas might become 'welcome drinks' and so on.

This is in fact not new. The Austrian philosopher Ludvig Wittgenstein said that we all play language games within our peer groups, so lawyers will exchange jargon and buzz words with each other as a way of identifying with each member of their group. Looked at this way, language is not the inert medium people believe it to be but in fact a live, dynamic, breathing, continually evolving medium that binds us all together.

As one sailor said to the other: "Hey gorgeous, you wanna come upstairs and have a Cheesy-hammy-eggy, followed by some "Action Man pillows? God only knows what they've planned for dessert!!

Wednesday 15 April 2009

Whoever pays the piper...

As a long time resident (some would say 'lifer') of Thailand, a few friends have recently emailed me asking for my take on the recent problems that have beset Thailand. Ordinarily, this blog has been devoid (largely) of political opinion, and indeed commentary on The Thai monarchy and the Thai Police, what I call the 'Trinity of Untouchables'. There are many reasons for this, none of which I'm going to get into now, although I will make a few observations on the current problems for the sake of outsiders who are wondering what can have happened to such a beautiful country and such eternally optimistic and smiling people.

Once upon a time there was this very clever young man, named after a former Thai king, Thaksin Shinawatra, who had high ambitions. He started his own telecommunications company and became very successful indeed (largely through unscrupulous business practices). Then one day someone said that as he had so much money that he ought to enter politics where he could make even more. Smart enough to see a golden opportunity, he did, and won a landslide election mostly in part because he could see that there was a large part of the country in the North West region (The Red Shirts) who felt disenfranchised and were fed up with the Old Guard, (The Yellow Shirts) the elite sets of Thai families who always controlled everything from Bangkok and scarcely gave a thought in developing their own region.

(It also helped in large measure too that he spent a considerable amount of money bussing down to Bangkok all the rural poor to vote for him along with some 'tea money' for a drink later!) For all intents and purposes, Thaksin set himself up a s a modern day Robin Hood, walking round poor villages (making sure the journalists were filming him) handing out 1,000 baht notes (about 20 GBP) to the poorest of the poor. Onyl a complete fool could fail to see what he was doing but it worked and he secured their votes when election time came around.

A friend recently wrote in an email the following:

'Fun and games in BK I see. I've been watching the situation for a while and I wonder what your take is?" Here's my answer:

It could easily descend into civil war. There are two clear divisions but with two opponents with similar messages. Both want to change things, but in radically different ways.

On one side, you have the 'Old Guard', (which includes the Monarchy) the 'paternal father' kind of power seekers - curiously Asian (especially prevalent in Thai politics) where an elite group of politically active families decide what's best for the majority (with the necessary and occasional 'bow' from the monarchy).

And then there's the progressives, the bureaucratic staff, government officers, the police (those much more attuned and accustomed to gaining advancement through rank than privilege, in other words - a meritoracy. Thaksin belongs here as he rose to power as a hugely succesful businessman. Thais love nothing more than a successful man who's made it in business.)

"How are the Thais reacting?" I'd say mixed reactions. The Bangkokians seem to be taking it in their stride at the moment, but then Thais are very good at pretending things are not happening around them, so it's often really hard to gauge the real Thai reaction if you know what I mean.

"Is this just a feud of the governing classes and their supporters or are the people actually divided?" Yes, it's that but more. Abhisit represents 'the new' as in born in Newcastle, studies at Oxford, is young and handsome bla, bla, bla, but Thaksin has been trying to sing the same tune in his addresses saying 'Thailand needs change! e.g. presenting himself as 'the candidate of change', so I guess you have to work it all out for yourself cos there's no clear candidate with a clear mandate to govern more's the pity!

'Are the cops supporting Thaksin or just incompetent? Ah! Now I have to be tactful here as I don't want to mention the lovely boys in brown in an email in a bad light. Let's just say that Mr. Thaksin is an ex-cop and leave it at that!

And now the latest is that King Thaksin's passport has been revoked. Remember too that he is known to dislike the monarchy and wants to replace it with a Republic. He met a set of prominent politicians and business leaders in Finland a year or three ago with a view to getting rid of the Thai monarchy and 'the word on the street' (God, I sound like Huggy Bear from Starsky & Hutch!) his long term goal is to become the first President of Thailand.

Personally, I find it strange the way that the news media especially from USA and the BBC portray and treat Thaksin as the good guy, not once mentioning his atrocities in Tak Bai where 100 or so unarmed protesters were beaten up, then trussed up like chickens and forced to lie face down in a truck in 100+ degree heat whereupon they all died in police custody. Don't forget the 3,000 + 'extra-judicial' (don't you just love that adjective!) killings when he promised (quite stupidly) that he could rid Thailand of drug dealers in three months.

The list goes on and on and only serves to show how much of a meglomaniac the man really is. I was appalled at how rudely the CNN journalist talked to Abhisist almost treating him as though he were the criminal yet when Thaksin spoke he seemed to largely be receiving her sympathy yet he is a convicted criminal who is too much of a coward to go home and face the music in his own country. This is a man who in those interviews repeatedly said he wanted 'true democracy', like he even knows what that is since nobody received it during his tenure in office, only law suits and subpoenas if they (read foreign and local journalists) wrote anything unfavourable about him.

This is a comment a reader of The Bangkok Post recently wrote:

"I am not going to claim any big conspiracy theory... I will just say that the reason BBC and CNN have not slammed on Thaksin is that they simply don't pay attention to Thailand on a daily basis and when their reporters have to do a story, they do a quick literature search to gain perspective..."

"What they find in their search is that Thaksin has been a darling of the international business community for some time... mostly because he has repeatedly been willing to sell off or sell out the country without hesitation. He is a wall-street hero! One needs to look no further than the multiple Economist articles that have been banned in Thailand. When you read these articles, you'd swear that they were talking about someone else. Articles written as fact are bloated with opinions... all of which portray Thaksin as a greater market liberator and champion of the poor... they down play his excesses and almost glorify his extrajudicial killings as the "get tough" man that Thailand needs... they portray his removal as a crime against democracy and his convictions as minor infractions."

"The transnational business world hates the traditional sources of power in Thailand because they hinder the ability for external investors to plunder the country... Thaksin, as the plunderer-in-chief has always had a receptive ear in the West. When my fellow farang have their thoughts on money, they will ignore almost any crime or usurpation. It may just be that the business world is starting to turn their back on Thaksin as his involvement at this stage will only lead to civil war and Abhisit represents someone in the middle that may not be their first choice, but someone that they can work with."

Now don't get to thinking that Thailand has always been this squeaky clean democratic country where everyone is elected fairly and everyone has a fair say in the running of the country and the election of its leaders. The fact is that Thailand has for a long time had a constitutional monarchy, and since that time e.g. since 1932, of a constitutional monarchy, Thailand has had: 17 coups, 17 constitution drafts, 27 Prime Ministers, 5 leaders with various “Chairman” titles, 37 states of emergencies, 53 house dissolutions, 29 years of martial law, and 163 cabinet reshuffles – all in 77 years! No democracy ever, so whilst I think King Thakisn is a cancer of unimaginable size in Thailand, if it wasn't him raping the country, it would be some other tyrant such is the scale of the problem.

As always, whoever pays the piper, calls the tune, and right now there's a long queue for who gets that privilege.

If you want to view some recent satire, check out this hilarious link to Thaksin the Rapper! (aka his nickname - 'maew' which means 'cat' in Thai)

Thaksin Rap - http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Thaksin-Rap-t258446.html