Well we’re all thinking it so i’ll just say it – how much do you have to drink, to think – dustbin? yeah thats looks comfy and im a bit tired so ill just go for a little nap. I thought teachers,  role models to our children should set an example – not getting rat arsed at bars – not a good look.

So let me get this straight, the Indonesian government want humans with the virus to be tagged and chipped like animals and be able to know their inner most private details at the touch of a button. Hmm…if that isn’t and infringe of civil liberties I’m not sure what is.  MP Weynand Watari says, “The health situation is extraordinary so we have to take extraordinary action”. But does the end justify the means? And how exactly are they going to make this preposterous proposal work? For this to be effective only people on record for the need of medication could be tagged, and what about those who do not know they are living with the disease, as HIV can stay dormant for a number of years without them ever knowing they were infected. By imposing such a law, will it not further deter people from coming forward for testing and receiving help? The only way for this to truly work will be to force the entire population to have an HIV test, including foreign visitors.

And to my surprise I find that in some countries this is already common practise. Countries such as Russia, South Korea and Saudi Arabia, currently have an HIV travel policy, whereby foreigners who wish to enter their country must be tested for HIV. If found to be infected with the virus entry may be denied.

Surely a better plan would be to invest more money to help educate people to become more aware of HIV and teach them how to protect themselves. Also making things like disease testing and condoms more affordable and accessible.

And to think, if an individual is caught they will only be jailed for six, yes six months. However, on the other hand, Indonesian law states that if a person is being prosecuted for theft, they can spend up to 10 years in prison. It’s nice to know that human life in Indonesia holds so little value compared to wealth and possession.

Food For Thought

Adolf Hitler also branded people he deemed unworthy and did not fit into his great society. He too convinced the German public their safety would be greatly improved if these people were removed from society. Soon it was Jews, Poles and communist that was his target and sent to slaughter.

If polices like this are allowed to go ahead who will they target next, the homeless or the mentally unstable? Maybe next time it could be where you live or even YOU that is the target. Think about it.

But what I cannot understand, is now John Sergeant is no longer in the show, this week another couple will still be voted out, so what exactly is the difference with them going now or a week earlier? I’m not sure if ‘Strictly’ will ever look the same to me again (you can’t hear it, but somewhere out there an innocent dove has just shed a little tear).

John is loved so much because he does exactly what it says on the packet – he entertains the people. Maybe all the abuse John suffered from the Judges more fuelled the audiences voting, we Brits are a stickler for the underdog. And apart from his charm and humour this is my theory as to one of the reasons he stayed in so long. I think if those running ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ can’t comprehend the concept of entertainment, then I suggest they rethink the entire series.

Me not one for liking reality TV shows, as most of them are a complete waste of time (with Strictly come dancing included where C list celebrities compete in a popularity contest), this season has had me locked onto my television set every Saturday night, either that or I Sky Plus it. And even though he wasn’t the best dancer in the show, I must admit John Sergeant and his partner Kristina Rihanoff were my favourite couple. It is a darn shame he had to go.

My favourite performance by far John Sergeant and Kristina Rihanoff “Shimmy Shaking” the house down.

A long time crusader for the fight against apartheid, Mamma Afrika starred in the 1959 anti-apartheid documentary ‘Come Back, Africa’, and in 1963 had her citizenship revoked, after testifying before the United Nations to stop apartheid in South Africa. Soon after however, she would become a citizen of the world as she was granted nine passports and honorary citizenship of ten countries. It would be 30 years before she was allowed to return home, in the presidential reign of Nelson Mandela.

A singer for more than 50 years, Mamma Afrika best known for hits “Pata Pata” and “The Click Song” used her songs as a platform to raise awareness for liberation and freedom in Africa.

Mamma Afrika is the first black woman to take home a Grammy Award (1966), for best folk-jazz recording, shared with partner Harry Belafonte for the album ‘An evening with Belafonte/Makeba’.  The album brought to light the political struggle black South Africans faced under apartheid.
Makeba also won the Dag Hammarskjöld Peace Prize in 1986 for her work as a Guinean delegate to the United Nations.
In 2001 she was awarded the Gold Otto Hahn Peace Medal by the United Nations Association of Germany (DGVN) in Berlin, “for outstanding services to peace and international understanding”.

Nelson Mandela is one of thousands of people to pay tribute to Mamma Afrika. He says, “She was South Africa’s first lady of song and so richly deserved the title of Mama Afrika…Her music inspired a powerful sense of hope in all of us. She was a mother to our struggle and to the young nation”.

Of all the people to choose to discuss whether Barack Obama’s Presidential election could positively affect the chance of a black Prime Minister in Briton, whose idea was it to pick UK rapper Dizzie Rascal? Although try as he may I don’t think Dizzie Rascal is affluent or articulate enough in this area to discuss the issue at depth or convey his point of view fully. What I am sure of is, the producers of News Night definitely knew this was the case. And then for presenter Jeremy Paxman to suggest that Dizzie Rascal run for Prime Minister was a complete and utter joke, maybe illustrating that they themselves do no take this matter seriously and there in itself lye’s the problem. If a national broadcast show such as News Night does not take the issue seriously then how do we expect the British public to even consider the colossal change that took place on the 5th November in the United States to ever take place in Britain.

Dizzie Rascal was joined by Baroness Valerie Amos, the first black female cabinet minster and leader of House of Lords, who admitted she was “much more hopeful that it (a black PM) could happen, because a whole generation of young people here think its possible because of what happened in America.”

“Barack Obama has tapped into something which not just about America and it has become truly inspirational in terms of what our own young people think is possible”.

On one hand we have Baroness Amos saying that much must be done in terms of support for young black people to reach this goal, but on the other hand this is contradicted by the presence of Dizzie Rascal. In essence by inviting Dizzie Rascal onto News Night they are saying look at the young black people of Briton – unable to string together a coherent sentence – is this who we want to run our country.

Let Me Know What You think

I suppose this comes as no surprise as the Hip Hop superstar has already worked alongside the current mayor of New York Michael Bloomberg and engaged in national political pushing for President Barack Obama’s campaign.

From rapper to Politian, Sean Carter has set his sights high, but with the current major in his second term, the people of NYC seemed to be happy with their leader, so will this really ever happen for Jay Z?

The question that circulates in my mind is not of his former life as a drug dealer or his rap career but whether he would be the best man to get the job done? For all you people out there that say it will never come to pass, please remember this – if I can see a black man become the President of the United States in my life time I have learnt to never say never.

Barack Obama’s Acceptance Speech in Chicago 04/11/2008

History has been made today as Barack Obama wins the US election to become the next President of the United States.

An event I thought I would never see in my lifetime, just goes to show you should never give up on your dreams as anything is possible. When I think of how far black people have come and the suffering we have had to endure to envision a colossal moment in time such as a black man entering the White House, is much a day to be celebrated. From the Trans Atlantic Slave Trade to Martin Luther King’s dreams for equality to President of the United States, my black people have come a mighty long way.

Food for thought

I often wonder how one man can touch so many people irrelevant of age, race or religious belief.  How one man can be the inspirational ingredient needed to close the gap that divide nations and cause ripples of sensations from onlookers across the Atlantic in the hope, that maybe they too, can hope for change. Change in our actions, but most importantly our mindset so our children after us can live the life people before us have fought so we could dream.