Human Rights and Drugs in Prison

Our embarrassing government is handing over our money in settlement for alleged breeches of 'human rights'. Prisoners denied illegal drugs while in prison had to tough out cold turkey.

So what are rights? This is a fundamental question and the Government of this country is getting it all wrong. A 'right' must be free. If a right costs something, then does it become someone else's obligation to pay? That would be an infringement on others' rights! This is why there is a right to freedom of speech, not a right to a microphone, air-time and an attentive audience.

The Americans understood this. They have a right to 'the pursuit of happiness'. Not a 'right to happiness'. If you want it, pursue it for yourself! The rest of us have no obligation to make you happy.

In Britain we hear so much about human rights to education or health care. This really makes no sense as a principled position. How much education is a right? Primary, secondary, university? If there is right to health care, does that mean any treatment possible must be made available? If these things are human rights, then people become victims of human rights abuses whenever they get less education or health care than someone else.

The only realistic way to provide this equality is to prevent the most resourceful from getting the excellence in education and health care that they might otherwise obtain. This perverted idea of human rights breeds envy, mediocrity and victim-hood.

The right must be to pursue education, to pursue health care. If I work hard to achieve something for my family, that hurts no one else. I am not preventing anyone else from providing abundantly for their own. But the twisted ideals of human rights bring ever increasing taxes to level-down achievement so that even those who do little or nothing to look after their own can have what the rest of us must work for.

These were convicted prisoners wanting illegal drugs. The moral vacuum in which they can successfully fleece the rest of us for compensation is beyond belief.

The Home Office said it "reluctantly" decided to settle out of court to "minimise costs to the taxpayer". They won't even fight. Utterly useless.

Nick Griffin, the BNP and Islam

The court has cleared Nick Griffin of 'hate crimes'. The leader of the British National Party had said that Islam is a "wicked, vicious faith". This was a test of new religious hate laws criminalising speech that is likely to stir up racial or religious hatred. I'm pleased he was cleared as I believe we need the right to criticise religions. My observation is that criticising Islam is likely to stir up hatred. That in itself is a criticism of Islam.

If we lose the right to criticise religions, how long before we are not allowed to criticise political parties? What is the difference? They are both made up of groups of people with common beliefs that they take personally. Some people care passionately about their politics and are easily offended. How long before they require equal protection from offence?

Widespread offence only happens when the criticism might be true. If I say that the Ladies' Crochet Circle is wicked and vicious, no one would take it seriously. When Griffin says Islam is wicked and vicious, the authorities worry it may be more believable.

Government minister Lord Falconer, has said there should be "consequences" from saying Islam is "wicked and evil". Why? It is the expression of an opinion. It infringes no one else's rights. Neither does it incite others to illegal acts. If the opinion is misinformed, let us put the counter argument.

So is the statement correct? Is Islam a wicked and vicious faith? This is too general a statement to be either true or false. Islam is not one thing, it means something different to each adherent, and different things again to the rest of us. To describe Islam as 'wicked and vicious' is as ridiculous as asserting that Islam is a 'religion of peace'. It certainly isn't a religion of peace to all Muslims.

I think slightly more specific statements such as "Islam is conspicuously over-represented among the wicked and vicious", or "Loads of Muslims want to kill each other and the infidel" are more verifiable.

Victoria Beckham

Now I wouldn't normally comment on fashion, but I'm hoping this new look from Posh catches on. Think of the savings to the family clothing budget!

Even with a few more kebabs inside (which the doctors must surely recommend), you could loosen the binding-twine, shake out some more sacking, and it's still a top look. Respect!

Love the Sinner, Hate the Sin

I read an essay the other day suggesting that, while Christians talk about loving the sinner, hating the sin... when it comes to homosexuality, in practice they often hate the sinner, too. The author gives examples of the particular disgust shown for homosexuals above exponents of other sins. I enjoyed reading the article (while disagreeing with several points), and it got me thinking. Other immoral or sinful behaviour doesn't elicit such disgust. Is this a case of double-standards? Jesus railed on hypocrisy much more than he talked about homosexuality.

First, homosexuality is disgusting just as genuine sex is attractive. I can't explain why either is the case, we're built that way. Some may say it's just my perspective or preference. I believe God made it that way. Sex is good and attractive, and a perversion of it is repulsive.

Other sins may not provoke the same emotional reaction, but it is instructive to consider how we do respond. A man who keeps his life in sound balance and cares for his family wins my admiration. One who becomes alcoholic and lets his family down - I pity. It's a different emotional response from disgust... in me. Honesty wins respect, hypocrisy or lying earns distrust and a whole different flavour of disdain.

My emotional reaction to the bad may well be the opposite (or in stark contrast) to my response to the corresponding good. It then follows that where one becomes ambivalent about the Godly design of sex, there will be no strong reaction to the perversion of it.

Emotions are far from any guarantee of a balanced response. But they are part of being human, and often they get us to an appropriate response faster than our intellect can fully analyse the facts. Emotions depend largely on our conditioning. So the way we condition our minds is likely to be reflected in our emotional response to both good and bad.

Jesus responded with compassion at times, and at other times approached people with anger (Mark 3). Emotion can form part of our full appreciation of the situation and can add some zing to our response. If you are conditioned to a Godly design of sex, then you may well consider homosexuality disgusting.

Of course, to genuinely help people, emotions must be kept in check. A group of likeminded people can get carried away with a common emotional response. A group of Christians may be over-the-top in their disgust of homosexuality. As in all things, a balance is needed. Wishing injury or disease on homosexuals is also a perversion. However, I consider it sound to strongly dislike the practice and promotion of homosexuality because I care about the way God designed life and sex.

Often when we see homosexuals on TV, they are flaunting this perversion. There is an exaggerated gay walk and talk. Why is that? - if not for marketing and brand-recognition. When an alcoholic is portraited in a film, he is likely to be a sad case in need of help. But homosexuality is likely to be celebrated in modern media. This is particularly galling.

In contrast, when I work with others who are homosexual, there is no problem. We co-operate in meetings and projects. This is where it makes more sense to speak of loving the sinner, hating the sin.

Visual Arts

Of all the visual arts, sculpture and photography do it for me. Only one of them works on a computer screen.

Check this moon over waterfall by Harry Reid.

The Trouble With Performance Targets

Good people work hard and care about what they do. They also understand what they do and why it is important. When some authority comes crashing down from above with performance targets, it invariably cocks things up.

1. Targets measure the wrong thing. In the old Soviet days there was a directive to produce so-many shoes. So the manufacturers produced that many shoes. They may have been hideously uncomfortable and all of them brown, but the targets were met.

2. Targets prioritise the management of the task above the task. In Britain the New Labour government introduced targets to cut hospital waiting lists. So the hospitals treated all the easy cases first - this reduced the waiting lists, but it increased the waiting time for anything non-routine! Think about it... the length of the waiting list doesn't matter a bit! It's how long you have to wait that counts.

So now our beloved leaders have introduced targets to cut waiting times. And now the quick treatments are prioritised to lower the average waiting time. The result - patents needing slower treatments need to wait even longer!

All along, the targets are there to get the government re-elected, not improve health care. In the health service, targets pervert clinical priorities. Good practitioners don't need targets. Government does.

3. Targets make the right thing damned inconvenient. Yesterday we heard the report that a Welsh police force had reached its targets on tackling violent crime. Good news? Only if you're a violent criminal. In response, the police have stopped collecting intelligence in the field because it would lead to a higher target the following year. So the target becomes an incentive to do a worse job.

Top Books for 5 Year Olds

Old Blue - The Rarest Bird in the World - Mary Taylor

This non-fiction account of the Chatham Island Black Robin brought back from the brink of extinction is a compelling tale. The real-life drama of setbacks and victories tell a memorable story.


Guess What Happened at School Today - Jez Alborough

A collection of fun poems about the trials of school life. Unless you're the model student, you'll identify with the characters in these verses.


Awesome Dinosaurs Giant Plant-eaters

Full of facts and illustrations. It's not a 'story-book' but it gets the imagination rolling. Adults and kids love these awesome critters, perhaps because we never met them!


The Dog That Dug - Jonathan Long and Korky Paul

This is one of my all time favourite children's books. This is also great with kids younger than five, but years later, the zany characters and ridiculous turns in the story still work brilliantly.


How Tom Beat Captain Najork and His Hired Sportsmen - Russell Hoban

A cracking story of laughable adults outwitted by a mischievous rascal. You know it will be a happy ending, but it's better than that.

Top Books for 4 Year Olds

Hello Ocean - Pam Munoz Ryan and Mark Astrella

This book is stunning. Beautiful illustrations and a quietly intelligent narrative make it something special.



How to Catch a Star - Oliver Jeffers

The twist in this book got me - I never saw it coming. A gem for its uniqueness and for offering no explanation to distinguish between the real and imagined.


George and Sophie's Museum Adventure - Thomas Taylor

A detective adventure. A bit scary in the shadows... Good triumphs over evil, kid-heros save the day.



What Do People Do All Day? - Richard Scarry

Good question! I remembered this book from my own childhood, and even details of the illustrations had stayed with me.



Bible Story Book - Egermeier's

This is a big book of almost 600 pages. It's not dumbed down. Bible records are retold for children, and the outstanding illustrations will help shape the Bible reader's thoughts for many years.

Top Books for 3 Year Olds

Tiny - Paul Rogers and Korky Paul

Being an astronomy fan, I just love the scaling up from Tiny the flea to the universe! The illustrations are so gritty and full. This is a Dad's favourite.



My Grandson is a Genius - Giles Andreae

Thick with irony. Perfect for a grandparent's gift. The humour works from the perspective of each generation - young and old can laugh at themselves in these pages.


The Great Big Little Red Train - Benedict Blathwayt

So much to find and examine in these illustrations. Loads of trains and lorries - the belittled becomes the hero. Great stuff.



My Mum and Dad Make Me Laugh - Nick Sharratt

Oh, yes they do. Whether kids are interested in colours and patterns, or the eccentricities of the family are beginning to dawn on them, this book is a real chuckle.


Winnie the Pooh - A. A. Milne, Illustrated by E. H. Shepard

It'll take another 30 years for kids to get the characters and humour of this great book. Inseparable from Shepard's line drawings, this one's a masterpiece.

Top Books for 2 Year Olds

Harry and the Bucketful of Dinosaurs - Ian Whybrow and Adrian Reynolds

Good characters hold together a blend of reality and imagination. Especially worthy if you like dinosaurs.



The Jumblies - Edward Lear

A nonsense classic. Their heads are green, and their hands are blue, And they went to sea in a Sieve. If it doesn't work for you, that's probably a good thing.



Fix-It Duck - Jez Alborough

We had this on CD also, so now everyone knows the story off by heart. You'll love it if you know someone like Duck (or the Frog).



Horton Hears a Who! - Dr. Seuss

Great children's books have to work for adults. This speaks to anyone who's swum upstream, defended an unpopular cause.



Hairy Maclary's Caterwaul Caper - Lynley Dodd

Not for bedtime! The kids love making the animal noises. And yes, the moral is not lost.

Top Books for 1 Year Olds

Goodnight Moon - Margaret Wise Brown and Clement Hurd

A quiet book with a beautiful rhythm. Great for settling the little ones to bed. Unspoken extras, like - find the mouse on every page.



Monkey Puzzle - Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler

The humour and unexpected turns work well. This book is exceptional for reading out loud.




Guess Who? - Pam Ayres

Pam has class. I can't tell you why this book works so well. You can hardly find a copy on the Internet. Simple, but with a puzzle on each page.




Diggers - Usborne Touchy Feely

This book makes the list because the big heavy pages and rough textures match the subject matter. It's rugged.



Counting Kiwis - Kevin and Andrew Ward

An imaginative implementation of the classic 1 to 10 counting book with a New Zealand theme throughout ... Seven kiwis sail in a Cook Strait gale...

Saturn, the Sun and Earth

This magnificent photo from the Cassini-Huygens mission to Saturn shows a view looking back at the planet with the Sun emerging at the bottom. The Earth is visible just left of the bright rings (in the large image). This view is possible because the Cassini spacecraft is protected from the full glare of the Sun.Click on the photo for the full size image. (And make sure your browser is showing 100%) It's worth it.

From the NASA site: "Interior to the G ring and above the brighter main rings is the pale dot of Earth." A full explanation is here.

Big Brother is Watching

National and local government seem to be winning the argument that they are watching us for our own good. You can hardly step outside your front door in Britain without being photographed. Congestion charging in London means every car's movements are logged.

Michael Reeves in Swansea was fined £200 because "a green recycling bag was found outside his ground floor flat ... containing both paper and bottles and cans." This is what our magistrates and courts are doing?!?!?

Mr Reeves received his first warning notice from the council when he put his bin out a day early as he was going on holiday. What the f#%*? Why are councils spending our money to spy on what day we put our bin out?

A one-off silly local council prosecution? Well, not really. Exeter City Council spent £6,000 procecuting Donna Challicea for putting ordinary rubbish in with the recycling. The court action failed as they were not able to prove beyond doubt that she put it in there.

So how are councils responding? They're installing electronic bugs to monitor bins on the sly. As one MP said, "This is nothing more than a spy in the bin and I don't think even the old Soviet Union made such an intrusion into people's personal lives."

All very trivial, you may argue. Well, how long before the bug is inside your house?

My prediction - soon after the bug is installed in your car.

Elbow Through Picasso

An American casino tycoon has put his elbow through a crappy painting by Picasso. Why do I find this funny?
'Boy With a Pipe' was up for sale at a record $139m. I like the seller's pragmatic, "Thank goodness it was me!"

Go on Mr Wynn, just finish the damn ugly thing off.