The city I would most like to visit is Belomagnificance, because it is a place no one else has visited. The people who are there are just there and you have to be invited to visit and you can only stay three days and you are sworn to secrecy that you have visited. So in truth probably lots of people have been.
In the three days you are there you will have the best “City” experience without the deteriorating roads, the traffic , the prices and the pollution . Oh and most of all you won’t see the detritus on the streets including those who have come to the City for somewhere warm to sleep and to take shelter in a doorway.
Yes , it is an ideal City which only exists in my imagination , or at least that is the story I’m sticking to.
Thanks to Aljazeera news online and Al Jazeera Staff for the headline
#Being homeless eats away at your self-worth says care leaver.
Thanks to BBC News Online and Annika Grosser at the BBC England Data Unit for this headline
I decided to do two headlines today as much as the fact that the American’s are playing at Pirates amuses me, on the other hand the debacle that is the Social Service System in the UK is accurately described and the vast amounts of money that are wasted on it while not achieving results or support needs to be highlighted too.
You might not see the connection , but I do. Yes , we can worry about the Americans who according to the Chinese in Bejing ” opposes unilateral illicit sanctions and long-arm jurisdiction that have no basis in International Law or authorization of the UN Security Council, and the abuse of sanctions” Guo Jiakun , the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said.
In truth, I think the Americans are on a sticky wicket with their interceptions of tankers and container ships in order to impose their will on Countries who the American Government feel are not playing ball.
However, the rest of the World is left with the prospect that safe maritime traffic is being put under threat and goods that quite reasonably should be reaching a destination are not and in the case of the Chinese vessel going to Iran , this could mean that they Iranian Public are subjected to further shortages.
At the time of the seizure of the Chinese Tanker, Bejing chose to keep quiet, perhaps to allow the investigation of what the ship contained to be completed. The cargo was released as there was no evidence that goods which were part of the Worldwide Sanctions on Iran were on board. End of story, until the Americans seized a Venezuelan Oil Tanker the following month and this very much upset the Chinese.
You might ask why I see the sad situation of a young lady who was as a 16 year old in the care system in the UK, reduced to seeing her Social Worker every now and then and only when she was to be given £50 in cash from her Universal Credit allowance. Most of the time the Social Worker was on “leave” as connected to the above story. The young lady was inspired to become a Social Worker herself , and got the necessary qualifications in order to “improve” the system”, which I’m sure with her actions she already has and in whatever role she has in the future will continue to do so.
I was surprised how defensive the Council that looked after her were, saying that “they had made improvements and that “cover arrangements ” were always in place. This struck me as denying what was really going on.
Also another quote is from the Charity Become is
” Part of the problem is that young people aren’t reaching out for support.”
Their concern being that some children are overlooked and are not in the statistical data analysis. My concern is how do you expect a young person , who already feels neglected and whose belonging are handed to them in a black plastic bag(like a prisoner leaving prison) to feel like reaching out to anyone.
The common factor between these two stories, is the conviction that everything is being done right by the Powers that Be ,whether it being the American Government or a Local British Council. The self righteousness and arrogance is obvious and the talk or money and big budgets being used for the good of all is bandied about. Meanwhile on the ground there is a lack of achievement or any ability to do what’s right because those right at the top have decided what they want to do and the money is being spent the way they want it to be spent. Whether it’s sending soldiers on to ships or not helping vulnerable young people who are looking to leave care and build a life for themselves.
Thanks Ian Jones of the London Standard for this headline
We have reduced the human story behind these journeys to a line graph showing that according to records the last attempt by someone to reach the English Coast from mainland Europe across the channel was on the 14th November.
There is the data in black and white, no matter what the truth is . The boats have not been crossing. Which does make me think that the authorities know exactly where these boats are, when they are leaving and where they eventually land for them to be intercepted. That is if they don’t sink in between and then if this is so why aren’t they all rescued?
I feel like waving the graph at the lunatic fringe who go on about immigration being the cause of all our ills and stopping the boats is what it’s all about. I wonder if it would satisfy them. They’d probably say the migrants have no backbone as they can’t stand the cold. There will be hoards of them in the summer.
Well I woke up this morning at some ungodly hour and could not get back to sleep. So I progressed a project that I’ve got at the moment where I’m tidying up some photographs on an old computer , making it ready to transfer to one place so I can use them as I wish. It’s a labour of love bringing back many happy memories, but also a gift to edit as it is clearing out a lot of the pictures that I don’t want to keep , which are mainly unfocused and scenery which I must admit I have rather a lot of.
Thanks to Jess Warren, on BBC Online News for the Headline
Supercars are being parked outside a prestigious hotel in Grosvenor Square London , blocking pedestrians and other road users access and showing no consideration to those living in the vicinity.
The lovely Blue Rolls Royce that was towed away by the Council and left in a new location a few streets away was part of the Council’s new policy after the various cars that have been given tickets in the past to deter their owners from parking inconveniently outside their hotel accommodation have been ignored The fines remain unpaid and the Council having no traceability as to the whereabouts of the owners as the number plates are foreign.
Unfortunately , the article doesn’t say who is paying the cost for the tow and also where the cars are being left. Perhaps there is no room in the pound for vehicles and randomly dumping them in another street, possibly with London’s parking problem is just moving the problem elsewhere. Are these cars going to be reported as stolen? I pity the poor chauffeur who has been dragged in to carry the luggage by his rich employer, only to find the car has been taken. Surely ,the first thought is theft. Also don’t these hotels have resident’s parking?
Good quality stone slabs are in such demand that they are stolen much as valuable lead is stolen from Church roofs.
Beautiful ancient walkways and paths are ruined by having individual slabs removed,leaving dangerous and unsightly gaps all for the sake of providing a beautiful piece of decorative stoneware for those who can afford to pay premium prices for it.
One innovative suggestion is to smart mark the stolen stones so they are traceable much like a stolen bike.Perhaps this might make the stones less attractive to the hooded thieves in white vans with their fake road repair signs loading their stones into white vans in broad daylight.
Thanks to Seher Asaf from BBC Online News for the Headline
I offer the family of Alfredo Diaz my condolences for his passing and I hope that they will be told the circumstances that resulted in his death in custody at El Helicoide prison in Caracas, Venezuela . Let’s not forget that a family member has died and that his wife and children need to know exactly what happened. The Venezuelan Government need to be open about it and also to be clear that holding people without trial is not a good image for any Government.
Needless to say death in custody is not an isolated incident, Government’s all over the World have experienced it and continue to experience it. Probably one of the most high profile cases was “Jeffery Epstein” who died at the Metropolitan Correctional Center, New York in the United States, but there have been many lesser known incidences for example here in the UK.
Venezuela is a beautiful country and needs to be treasured and looked after. I don’t understand what is happening either in Politics or The Drug Cartels, least of all why there should be any move to military action from either side. Military force is deadly to innocent people as we all know.
President Nicolas Maduro whether elected fairly or not needs to behave in a Presidential manner and not be seen as someone who needs to wipe out the opposition. He needs to take the lead from Maria Corina Machado who won the Peace Prize and recognising President’s Trump’s narcissism agreed by telephone call that he was the rightful winner, thus satisfying his ego while still keeping the prize. Oh yes President Maduro , that lady is someone I would want on my side.
thenotsomightyom 