David Cameron on British Values
The new government is off to a flying start.
They are starting easy by targetting "extremism" in Muslims (a group that is easy to scapegoat), but I am sure it wont end there.
Step 1: New laws to target radicalisation
Its not like they didn't pass some far reaching legislation already. This is just using the Muslim community as a scapegoat to pass the legislation. We will suffer first, but it won't end there. From the BBC link posted above:
Under the proposals, ministers would be able to silence any group or individual they believe is undermining democracy or the British values of tolerance and mutual respect.
Why I want 'Ed Miliband to be the next prime minister
I do not want David Cameron to remain Prime Minister. I have pointed out the same in an earlier blog post where I posted my opinion that David Cameron is bad for the UK in general and bad for Muslims specifically.
However that was not a ringing endorsement of 'Ed Miliband.
Some people may be put off voting Labour because the leader has Jewish ancestry, and not only that, he is a self confessed zionist.
To many, such as a Conservative council elections candidate in Derby, that will be enough to write him off as no good.
I still want him to be the next Prime Minister of the UK.
Why I have voted for Labour
I have now had a chance to vote in 4 general elections (2001, 2005, 2010 and now in 2014).
My constituency is a labour safeseat where my vote mostly likely will not matter.
Yet (as far as I can recall) this is the first time I am voting in a General election.
One of the reasons is that watching the polling, it seems that the conservative campaign based on fears and hate is starting to vote with the Conservatives carrying a slight lead over labour which may increase and give us 5 more years of a government that will marginalise and alienate people like me.
I have voted Labour - something I could not bring myself to do earlier, mainly because of their betrayals including the Iraq War.
£1 a day food challenge.
No, im not going to do it.
But I don't think most people realise how cheap potatoes are. Especially in the sack form (supermaket potatoes and small quantities are probably marked up to hell.)
I think most of us can have them on a daily basis.
Then again I probably use more than a weeks "budget" on a daily basis.
Our responsibility to Libya
Today another tragedy is in the news - hundreds of Libyans - estimated at upto 700 - have drowned to death when their boat capsized in the Mediterranean sea.
These people were escaping the chaos of Libya trying to get to the stability of Europe. This is not the first such incident, but many Libyans have made the calculation tha the situation in Libya is so dangerous, these risks are worth taking.
The news reports will treat this latest even as a tragedy, but those who read about it won't get a sense of what is happening or our responsibility.
Worthless dreams
Me: Can I tell you about my dream? It was about you guys.
*relates dream*
Me: I feel like I should apologise for dreaming about you lol
(It wasn't a dodgy dream, I just don't know the people particularly well)
X: You have no control over your subconscious, it's fine.
Y: You should apologise to me, I'm offended I wasn't even in your dream
Me: you're not worthy enough to be in my dreams
That last sentence was a joke and I'm pretty sure the person knew that. But I'm an over thinker and I still wondered if offence was taken. My contemplating led me to person X's comment; that I'm not in control of my dreams.
Can you solve this maths question posed to children in Singapore?
This question has gone viral, but unlike the myth, it was not in an exam paper for primary school children, but one of the last questions in a paper for 14/15 year olds.
Itst a logic problem and its quite intriguing:
Albert and Bernard just became friends with Cheryl, and they want to know when her birthday is. Cheryl gives them a list of 10 possible dates.
May 15 May 16 May 19
June 17 June 18
July 14 July 16
August 14 August 15 August 17
Cheryl then tells Albert and Bernard separately the month and the day of her birthday respectively.
Albert: I don’t know when Cheryl’s birthday is, but I know that Bernard does not know too.
Bernard: At first I don’t know when Cheryl’s birthday is, but I know now.
The Coming Election
The coming election
I can see that you are thinking of the current elections, whilst I don’t wish to influence the readers one way or another. I shall give you some of my thoughts.
Democracy is a delicate thing, it is not perfect, but it is much better then most alternatives. There have been so called democracies were people have voted for a party only to find that the party, once elected will not tolerate any opposition. This as been the system in a lot of African countries, hence the term “One man, One vote, Once,” some of these elected democratic governments have been in power for decades.
Nigeria as just had elections, and has changed parties. Hopefully there shall be smooth transition of administration.
1001 Islamic Inventions
There is an exibition doing the rounds called 1001 Islamic Inventions.
http://www.1001inventions.com/
The above is the link, but there is also people who dispute these claims and people who uphold them. But as in life both can't be true and both can't be false. The truth is probably somewhere in between, the only certainty is that they were discovered/invented by humankind.
For; http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/how-islamic-inventors-changed…
The other effect of the media
The media’s manipulation of anything related to Islam has led to the increased Islamophobia we are all too well aware of today. However, I feel like with our focus on how we are portrayed, we fail to acknowledge an important effect of the media’s narrative on Islam besides Islamophobia. Or maybe I’m alone in experiencing this … though I doubt it.