Happy St Patrick's Day!

Picture Credits: DailyMail.

Pince Harry cheating Usain Bolt is significant of colonisation

All of last week the world went into a Prince Harry harried frenzy when the cheeky royal won the world's fastest man- Usain Bolt in a race, through cheating. It made for fantastic Royal PR and no doubt Nana Lizzy couldn't have resisted a chuckle as she saw the videos.
However I couldn't help but think Harry's cheating when Bolt wasn't looking is significant of the colonisation of Africa. Like Bolt, Africans had the rug pulled from under their feet from their 'friendly' visitors when they too were not looking.
We love the cheeky cheat nevertheless, especially his dancing moves. The stony face man at the back (probably an aide) didn't look overtly impressed.

The best and worst place to be a woman

Image:Mimi Magazine

Women's Day may have come and gone but for some in other parts of the world, being a woman is a daily battle against inequality and abuse. Of course the struggle intensifies when you are of a minority ethnicity in your home country. Here are a few of the best taken from The Independent.

The best place to be a woman

• Politics: Rwanda, 50% of women hold parliamentary seats
• Literacy: Lesotho, 95% of women can read and write.
• Journalists: The Caribbean, 45% of news reported stories are done by females.
• Highly Skilled work: Jamaica, almost 60% of senior roles are occupied by women.(Nothing surprising here given our plethora of "talented" black bruvs in the UK).
• Divorce: Island of Guam, has the highest divorce rate in the world.
• Birth: Greece, 1 in 31,800 risk of dying during childbirth. It is the safest in the world.
• Being a mother: Norway, has a low risk of maternal mortality- 1 in 7,600. (Will the Great British Chavs (GBC) now depart to over there? Unfortunately there is no data on available benefits).
• University: Qatar, where to every man six women are enrolled in further education.
• Sports: USA, five athletes from the US made it into the top ten highest paid female athletes' list.
• Money: Luxembourg & Norway.
• Living longer: Japan.

And all in all the best place to be a woman is Iceland, which boast of the greatest male and female equality ratio.

Ninah's Dowry: Female abuse remains prevalent

Fresh from celebrating the 101st International Women's Day on March 8th, female abuse remains problematic in many countries around the world. Women are still seen as a man's property especially with the payment of the traditional dowry, widely known as bride price.

Usually it is countries with a poor human rights track record who do not recognise the individuality and uniqueness of women. One such country stuck in the Neolithic Age and exhibiting extinct primordial traits is the West African country of Cameroon.
Famed for her football prowess and 'Africa in Miniature' status, the relatively peaceful and democratic country who has had only two presidents since independence in 1960 is home to some of the most chauvinistic males with extreme antifeminist  views.
Interestingly such views are shared by the broad spectrum of Cameroonian men; from the farmer in a remote sleepy village of say Mamfe, to the the high flying City Executive in Cameroon's vibrant metropolitan and economic capital: the city of Douala.

Californian-based-Cameroonian film maker Victor Vuyuoh, seeks to highlight the issue of female abuse in his debut  film Ninah's Dowry. Based on the true story of cousin Evelyn(Ninah),  a promising A student who was forced into an arranged marriage with a man who later became physically abusive. After plucking up courage to run away from her tormentor to her family home, Ninah endured a visible forced transfer back to her husband, as her family was unable to repay the dowry.
Ninah's family stood defenceless...or rather turned a blind eye as their daughter was dragged through the streets back to her abusive partner.
It should be noted that though the film is set in a sleepy Cameroonian village of Babanki, such prehistoric primeval practises could be found in the more advanced towns and cities of Cameroon.

As the norm with anything African and black, the film Ninah's Dowry is currently facing some glitches and hitches before it can be screened. See the video below and if any interests have been stirred to help, click here

Black footballer McCammon sues former club for racism

Source: The BBC & Telegraph

  A 33- year old Black British footballer Mark McCammon is making history by suing his former club for racial discrimination.  In a claim to the Employment Tribunal which is the first of this kind to be brought forward by a professional footballer, McCammon claims he and other black players were treated differently from their white counterparts at Gillingham FC. (Erm... welcome to the plight of the ordinary masses love. Just about every black person in the country faces similar. Usually it is replaced with " you are not qualified enough" or "You lack the necessary experience" hence the justification for that person whom you trained on the job now gets to earn more than you do).

Picture Credits: The Telegraph

He maintains they were treated differently on three grounds: punishments for missing training, medical treatments and pay cuts after the club's relegation.
The football club vehemently refute the claims with a spokesperson for the club quoted as: "The allegations made by Mark McCammon are wholly rejected by the club."
McCammon on the other hand stuck to his claim saying: "I'm hopeful that truth will prevail but I can't comment any further at this stage."

The claims of  racial discrimination in football comes amidst mounting tension in a sport plagued with a myriad of racial slurs, gestures and what nots by fans and players alike. Who can forget Terry and Suarez's recent embroilment in the race scandal? The former is set to appear before Magistrates in a few months whilst the latter was handed an eight match ban.
Downing street last week held a  meeting with important football heads such as ex footballer John Barnes, the FA, Premier League etc; tackling the issue of racism in the beleagured sport. David Cameron urged for action to "crush" racism in any form insisting football could no longer ignore the problem.

Proving discrimination on the grounds of race can be quite a tough one.Most papers especially The Far Right Daily Mail have been quick to chronicle McCammon's "difficult" relationships with some of his former club managers.
I am as sure as the sun rises in the East and sets in the West(given personal experiences), that there is some element of truth in McCammon's accusations. How this case unfolds will definitely be one to shake the football world.

Lord Crisp delivers crisp verdict on controversial NHS reforms

Lord Crisp's crisps remarks will not dwell well with Cameron. 

Source:The Telegraph

Former NHS Chief Executive Lord Crisp has joined the army of elite protesters calling for the scrapping of the Health and Social Care Bill.

In a comment to BBC Radio 4's The World This Weekend, Lord Crisp called the proposed reforms "a mess" and "unnecessary in many ways". The scathing remark joins the mounting upheaval towards  the polemic NHS reforms.  Lord Crisp further hammers the nail on the head when he describes the Health Bill as "It misses the point",  "It's confused and confusing, and I think it's unfortunately setting the NHS back".

The former NHS Chief is amongst the echelons of health leaders who repugn the Bill such as The Royal College of GPs, The British Medical Association, The Royal College of Nurses, The Faculty of Health and most recently, The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health.

The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health's call in the Health Bill being dropped is significant as it's president had earlier attended a Downing street meeting, and had been seen to support the Bill.

Picture: The Telegraph

Order!Order! It is against the rules to headbutt!

It is against the rules to headbutt ones colleagues. Will the gentleman exercise some dignity!

Picture Credits: The Guardian

It is not a joyous moment for Joyce - Labour MP for Falkir, after having been arrested and now charged with three counts of common assault following a late night brawl at the House of Commons bar.

Not happy with heavily subsidised booze,  Eric Joyce was widely reported by national newspapers to have headbutted and punched Tory MP Stuart Andrew. What a labour of love! I am sure most will agree with you...in headbutting Cameron's health bill.
Mr Joyce has now been stripped off his Labour party duties and will appear in court on March 7th.

We are not in this together. Perhaps Cameron should start by lecturing his own colleagues about the demerits of irresponsible drinking( and levy heavy tax duties too in the Commons bar) before delivering scathing attacks in his messages across the country to curb wayward drinking.
Here is what Wikipedia had on him before it was quickly edited: (Source MaxFarquar)

The Guardian "reprimanded" for misleading headlines by PCC over Duggan shooting

The Guardian has been found to be in breach of the Press Complaints Commission code of conduct, over it's misleading headline of the summer 2011 shooting of Mark Duggan: 
"Revealed: man whose shooting triggered riots was not armed" 

Investigations were started after complaints from the Met police and IPCC who argued just because Duggan wasn't found with arms when shot dead, did not mean he had not been armed. The Guardian had however reported in the  main article a firearm had been found 10-14 feet away from Duggan's body. 

The story was immediately picked up and covered here on this blog. 

Read the Guardian's editor's version of what is somewhat a half apology here 

Having old wounds licked to pacify others? Personally I am confused over this latest finding because Duggan was shot dead unarmed. So how was the headline misleading...?
 He didn't have a gun on him. A gun was found nearby and "no forensic evidence" had been found to say he was carrying one when shot.

Haye and Chisora's boxload of "diss respect"

Source:The Guardian

'Diss respect' appears to have been the trigger factor for British boxers  David Haye and Dereck Chisora's brawl three days go in Munich, as both  men tore at each other in a vivacious attack usual accustomed with feral animals(but then again such ferocious attacks have been finely coated and disguised to be known as  boxing...a type of sport).

Chisora's  promoter Fran Warren, appeared to insinuate he (Chisora) may have felt disrespected when Haye interrupted an ongoing press conference. According to Haye's post brawl personal statement, he (Haye) was "stood at the back of the room" until he heard his name called out. He then responded to a comment about a different boxer- Klitschko. However Chisora appeared to have been rubbed the wrong way as he started trading insults with Haye, leaving the conference table to meet him. The rest as we all know, has been immortalised forever in YouTube history.

Richard Carbon(President of Amateur Boxing Association of England) remarked the pair's Saturday night fracas had brought boxing "into disrepute and could do immense damage"...er isn't the whole idea of  boxing to damage the opponent beyond physical recognition? How can boxing people up for sport, fun, recreation ever be reputable?

Haye and Chisora displayed puerile, infantile and juvenile behaviour to the world on Saturday. In fact they were fine exports in  reenacting what one could find on British streets during nights out: bad tempered men threatening to "shoot the other" for seemingly being "diss respectful" innit? Well newsflash bruvs, you gotta earn respect you get me? You do not box your way into it.

Turns out the truly disrespectful ones in this case were these two grown adult size men, who conducted themselves like pint sized uncontrollable newly developed teenagers on their first 'grown -up ' night out with no adult supervision.

I am brown because I am from London...ORIGINALLY

The accused Eliott Dearlove and his mother Hayley White

The right wing Daily Mail currently has a story about a 7year old boy labelled a racist by his school, for asking a four year old in the playground " Are you brown because you come from Africa" .
Of course given that we live in a political correct gone- barking- mad Britain,  it was only but normal when Griffin Primary school Hull wasted no time in addressing the matter with the boy; summoning him and his NHS nursing assistant mother- Haley White to address this racist remark.
 Such stories cater to the palatable delight of the Mail's largely BNP orientated readers who in their bigot life span, still think most people of colour are either janitors or curry chefs.
This innocent question from this 7year old tells us how myopic our society has become, despite  being ambushed left, right and center with technological advancements. We live in an age where information is gotten at the touch of a button yet such parochial comments are as common as sand on a beach.
I blame society (starting from this boy's parents and family), schools and any other communities involved in education of children, for seemingly failing to produce future progressive and cosmopolitan thinkers who will not come to regard black/brown as solely African.
Eliott Dearlove- the poor dear, should not be reprimanded for asking such a black and white question. Instead his family and school authorities should have worked together in educating him on multicultural Britain. Perhaps a day trip to London would've done the trick where no doubt the sight of many a black Londoner would forever banish the rudimentary question "" Are you brown because you come from Africa"
I am brown/black because I am from England...originally.

Lemar Obika IS NOT dead

Celebrity hoax websites are at it again. This time around British soul singer Lemar, has been at the receiving end of their viciously concocted stories. It carries a false report about Lemar dead from a jet ski crash in the opulent island of Turks & Caicos.Mediafetcher.com and fakeawish.com are one of such sites who continuously virtually imagine the death of celebrities. They have managed to illicitly spun a web of morbid lies from David Guetta dying in a car crash, to Will Smith falling to his death in New Zealand.
These are the illegal and disturbing websites which authorities need to target and shut down ASAP. They should be treated like paedophile Internet rings and those behind it arrested and jailed.
 

Being British is about driving in a German car to an Irish pub...

 for a Belgian beer, then traveling home, grabbing an Indian curry or a Turkish kebab on the way, to sit on Swedish furniture and watch American shows on a Japanese TV. And the most British thing of all? Suspicion of anything foreign! 
Source: (Anon)

Whitney Houston had "left" many years ago

What tragic news that befell our ears over the weekend of Whitney Houston's untimely demise.
I became aware of Whitney as a young girl in threaded hair whilst watching The Body Guard with my childhood best friend. We were enthralled by the love story of this beautiful black woman with hair like us and a seemingly dashing whiteman. Our first crush was Kevin Costner and I remained captivated by The Voice: Whitney Houston. Her songs bring so many sweet memories of my  lost carefree days as a child and a young teen. Who could forget singing and dancing to My Love Is Your Love with high school dates as we giggled like the gawky spotty teenagers we were then, promising each other eternal love?.
Sadly for over a decade, the Whitney I had known through her music had been long gone. I didn't recognise this Whitney haunted by drugs and racked by alcohol. I never did reconcile the raspy vocals which had replaced her golden baked crisp voice my ears had been accustom to over many years.
Whitney Houston, The Voice-

Wanted:one to run one's royal bath F/T

Picture:The Times

By Royal Appointment only...
Running a bath it appears now seems an arduous a task as trying to wean pigs on caviar.
A quote from The Daily Mail carries Her Majesty could use your assistance to:
"put in the plug, turn on the tap and check the temperature of the water when the bath is full"
 The seemingly light royal task is advertised on the Royal Household website with a salary package of  £14,200 p.a. While it may not a golden royal sum, it offers one Royalty access...albeit from the bottom of ladder.

Her Majesty should be commended for creating job opportunities during this destitute economic times.

Lord Prescott to take a swing at Police Commissioner Role

Picture:The Telegraph

Listening to the news Prezza was going to run for the newly created  Police and Crime Commissioner role in May, was like having metal kiss your teeth. What is with retired politicians flaunting their political heavyweight around like in a boxing ring?. Noted for his quick temper which could sometimes be violent(who could forget the 2001 punch pictured) and inept ability to string sentences without grammatical flaws, this former amateur boxer could certainly land some off ring punches with undesirable consequences.

Girls as young as 13 given contraceptive implant without parents' knowledge

This week we learnt up to nine schools in Southampton have been fitting young girls with contraceptive implants in a bid to curb the rising rate of teenage pregnancies in the region. Of course this created wide furore with the parents as they had not been informed or consulted. Well what is the probability that a 13year old will tell the parents they are engaging in sexual activity with their partners? As grotesque and morally wrong as it may sound, these yung unz are at it like rabbits and usually unprotected, hence the escalating rate of teenage pregnancies. As quoted in The Telegraph, teenage pregnancies have now dropped by 22% in Southampton area since the launch of sexual health services in schools. Though a small fraction, but a drop nevertheless.

While it may not be a long term solution for the curbing of STIs amongst these experimental teens, the problem of teenage pregnancy appears to be tackled. Critics have lambasted the initiative as promoting underage sex and promiscuity...clearly these have just crawled from underneath a stone and are in blissful oblivion to the current media sexualisation of almost everything. Children these days are  exposed to the glamorisation of sex at almost every turn and corner. Idolised stars with a huge teen fan base should be the ones accused of promoting licentiousness and amorality; not health-workers trying to prevent children having children.

Bideford bids farewell to prayers 

Picture:The Guardian

It comes as little surprise that prayers in a predominant Christian country has now been banned from council meetings in Bideford- Devon. This comes after portly atheist Clive Bone (pictured) picked up a bone with the local councillors over the exclusiveness of prayers for non religious peoples,  taking his case to the high court which he later won.

Anything goes in England really...I mean we are talking about a Christian nation which has seen some councils ban the use of words Christmas lights in favour of a more inclusive winter lights. Ah! A country slowly loosing it's foundation and soul to suit the fleeting desires of fickle humans and the dregs of humanity.

Pictures of Ivy Blue Carter

Hip-Hop Royalty Jay-Z and  Beyoncé  Carter's baby Blue makes her first public appearance. In this intimate home pictures, the tiny tot looks anything but blue! Spotting a mop of dark hair and piercing black eyes, Princess Blue gazes adoringly at the cameras in one picture while another sees her snuggling up to the warmth and comfort of her superstar parents. With a nod to her blue origin, her Crazy In Love mother is spotting wearing blue nail varnish albeit slightly chipped off. A blue dummy can also be seen in the background.
Little Miss Carter it seems appears to be a dead ringer for  her famous dad whilst inheriting her mother's honey dewed complexion. This is one lucky baby who will have anything but a blue start in life.
Image source: lifeandtimes.com

Only a blue dummy for Blue