positive party blog (www.positiveparty.blogspot.com)

The positive party is an organisation dedicated to the formation of

progressive (as opposed to left/right) policies. Please e-mail me

(andrewrichardwainwright@hotmail.co.uk) if you'd like to contribute

Letter to the press- a green alternative to short haul flights

Sir,

After a recent break at Center Parcs Elvden Forest holiday village, I

can understand the feelings of those who object to the expansion of

Stansted airport and the increase in air travel in general. The Center

Parcs site backs on to an RAF base, and despite the effort to maintain

a serene, traffic free environment, the noise from the nearby planes

was extremely intrusive.

One of the best elements of country life is the quiet and the sounds

of nature. Anyone who happens to live on a flight path will know of

the irritation this causes.

Some flights are essential, such as to places such as Australia and

the USA, but I believe travel to mainland Europe could be better

served by the use of rail.

Not so long ago, sleeper trains, featuring cabins and shower

facilities, were in use in the UK for longer distance services. With

the advent of the channel tunnel, could a return to this method of

transport not provide a more environmentally sound trans-Europe travel

facility? Not only would this save on energy and pollution, but could

save the user the price of hotel accomodation, with two nights spent

on the train. This would be ideal for the increasingly popular short

city breaks.

Organising this would require some redesign of both infrastructure and

rolling stock, but with a bit of imagination this would not be

impossible to achieve.

Travel is a wonderful experience, and the fact that it is now

affordable by most people must be welcomed as a good thing. But with

the huge increase in it, we need to look at ways of making it more

environmentally sound.

Posted by andy wainwright at 04:46 0 comments

Tuesday, 9 October 2007

The Lazy Liberals

The Lazy Liberals

Of all the political ideologies I’ve encountered, Liberalism appears

to have the most going for it. The basic principles are as follows:

1) Every person has the right to life, liberty and property

2) No person has the right to deprive another of life, liberty or

property

3) Executive power should be spread as widely as possible, as opposed

to being concentrated in the hands of the few.

Unlike most other ideologies, these rules apply equally well to every

form of human culture. Also, due to mankind possessing free will, no

amount of external force can change a person’s behaviour permanently.

Even going to the extent of killing someone, their behaviour will

continue as before in the afterlife.

So what are the problems? Essentially it is the lack of promotion of

activity- whether this be work, charity or education. Somewhat

ironically, this is something the Nazis- the diametric opposites of

liberals- actually got right. Put simply, liberals tend to be lazy. It

is not enough to sit back and let society run itself, participation is

required. As quoted by Edmund Burke, ‘All that is necessary for the

triumph of evil is that good men do nothing’

If , as Thomas Jefferson stated, “The price of freedom is eternal

vigilance”, liberals fail to be vigilant enough. They tend to stand

back while others, whether governments or criminals, take our freedoms

away

Consider the current situation in Zimbabwe. Many of the population

could see for years that Robert Mugabe was losing his grip on reality.

Were they able to mobilize back then, before he had promoted himself

to a position of unassailable power, a national catastrophe could have

been avoided. Truth is, many were too lazy to even vote, let alone

demonstrate while they had the ability to do so without reprisals.

It’s much the same story in any democracy that turns into a

dictatorship.

So the message is a simple one. If you like freedom, do more! To quote

the comedy film “Team America- World Police” , “Freedom isn’t free,

there’s a hefty f king fee, and if you don’t put in your buck or two

who will?”

Posted by andy wainwright at 06:10 0 comments

Monday, 17 September 2007

Globalisation- Global Freedom or Global Fascism?

Recently, the Liberal Democrat leadership have joined UKIP in calling

for a referendum on Britain’s continuing membership of the European

Union. I have a lot of sympathy for those who wish to preserve

Britain’s sovereignty, and do not wish myself to see our national

government relegated to the status of a parish council. However, I

feel that this energy might be misdirected, because effectively global

government is only a few years away.

Consider multinational companies such as Microsoft, News Corporation

and Sony. Their wealth and influence already dwarfs that of smaller

nations, and have now grown to the size where they can influence the

policies of larger players. How soon is it going to be before all

major decisions are taken by a handful of unelected executives behind

closed doors?

So this is the real choice we face. We can move towards forming a

democratically elected, freedom supporting, locally devolved

international government. The single alternative to this is a global

fascist stroke communist tyranny, with no rights and no say.

Globalization is here to stay. It is up to us whether we want to be

the citizens of a unified planet Earth, or its livestock.

Posted by andy wainwright at 14:11 0 comments

Monday, 3 September 2007

How to get a lot of people off sick benefit.

Of all the people I've met on long term incapacity benefit, very few

are completely unable to work in the true sense. They have unstable

medical conditions, which mean they suffer "fits" or "flares" of some

kind, i.e. days when their condition allows them to live normally, and

days when their condition disables them. Joint diseases and mental

health problems are typical of this type of illness. Often those

affected are fit for work 75% of the time. Here lies the problem;

Try getting a decent payed job that lets you take around three months

of the year off, at random and at short notice. Try repeatedly signing

on and off sick benefit, maybe three or four times in one month. It

just doesn't happen.

Two things need to be done to address this.

Firstly, employers need extra help, possibly in the form of tax

breaks, to compensate them for employing staff who are through no

fault of their own, unreliable.

Secondly, claiments need to be able to sign on and off as sick with a

five minute phone call, as opposed to completing a forty page form.

Posted by andy wainwright at 00:00 0 comments

Sunday, 2 September 2007

The “War On Terror” can be won!

The “War On Terror” can be won!

Fighting global (or other) terrorism is more akin to fighting a virus

(computer or human) than fighting a conventional war. It requires a

systematic, logical process to eliminate it.

First steps- terminology.

1) Terrorism is the use of violence, intimidation or criminal damage

to achieve a political goal.

2) The opposite of terrorism is therefore pacifism. That is the use of

the democratic and legal process, combined with peaceful protest, to

achieve a political goal. Only political change brought about through

this manner can stand the test of time.

3) What is incorrectly termed “terrorism” is in fact “guerilla

warfare”. A guerilla group is a private militia, not allied to or

controlled by a particular political state, with the aim of achieving

political aims through terrorism.

Second step, act- not react.

4) Do not allow attacks by guerillas to change constitutional or other

forms of law, or plans for military action. To do so is to acknowledge

the guerillas. Guerilla groups know they are unlikely to win their

cause by force alone, so they carry out acts that will get them

attention. The more we allow the actions of guerillas to change our

way of life, or curtail freedom, the more attention they receive.

5) Do not resort to terrorism against the guerilla groups, or

connected states and bodies. To do so is to throw away the moral

advantage, and results in the recruitment of more guerillas. We, as

the democratic world, must remain “the good guys” in the eyes of the

international public.

Third step, discriminate between pacifism and terrorism

6) Divide the supporters of the guerilla war into “active” and

“passive” supporters. Active supporters are those who materially

support the guerillas aims, such as by fighting, fundraising,

procurement or recruitment. These people should be prosecuted under

the law. Passive supporters are those who share the guerillas aims but

don’t contribute personally to there actions. Holding and sharing

“extreme” views is a matter of free speech, and denying this right to

people will strengthen their support for the guerilla group. Such

people are to be won round by offering the hand of friendship and

encouraging rational debate.

7) Aim to garner as much international support for the democratic

position as possible, especially from quarters where some sympathy

exists for the guerilla cause.

Forth step, leave the command structure intact.

8) Carry out intelligence work to ascertain the command structure of

the guerilla group. Monitor them closely as to be able to prevent

further acts of terror, but resist the temptation to move in “for the

kill”. To do so risks splitting the guerilla group into splinter

cells, which mean more groups to fight, and more leaders to negotiate

with.

Fifth step, negotiate for a temporary truce.

9) Approach the guerilla leaders and offer them diplomatic immunity in

exchange for a temporary ceasefire. Allow this immunity to last as

long as the ceasefire.

10) Ask the guerilla leaders to present their demands in extensive

detail, as an ordered list of priorities. Find out what their biggest

cause of distress- that that has driven them to take up arms- is.

Sixth step, negotiate for a permanent truce.

11) From that detailed list of demands, discriminate between the

demands that are reasonable (such as freedom from oppression) , from

those which are not (such as the destruction of a nation, culture or

the repression of others)

12) Make the offer that our country and its allies will change our

behavior as to no longer cause offence to the guerilla group. If as a

supposedly civilized culture is causing reasonable offence to others,

we must be doing something wrong, and we should be prepared to correct

this. What we ask for in return, is that the guerilla group and its

allies change their behavior so as to no longer offend us. This

entails an end to all forms of terrorism, and a commitment to

democracy, law and freedom

Seventh step, repeat until victorious

13) Be prepared to have several goes at this process before actually

achieving an end to terrorism.

These are the steps that lead to the “defeat” of the IRA (a UK

guerilla group fighting for Irish independence) in the 1990’s.

Posted by andy wainwright at 13:37 0 comments

Labels: तेर्रोरिस्म, पास, पॉलिटिक्स, वार ओं terror

The Job Theory

The Job Theory

(a radical theological viewpoint)

Jesus Christ and Satan are long thought to be ancient adversaries. But

you never see them both at the same time, do you? Jesus said “I am the

light”, whereas another name for Satan is “Lucifer”, which literally

means “The Light”. Could it be that perhaps they are two aliases for

the same entity?

Jesus said that the only way to heaven is through him. We also know

that the only way to Heaven is through Hell. Why? Because only be

experiencing negative emotion do we have anything to judge the

positive by. Joy can only be measured against pain. Only by making

painful mistakes do we learn important lessons, the lessons which

teach us what true happiness is.

In the entertainment industry it is common for a performer to use

different stagenames and personas throughout a career. So why would

Jesus want to “dress up in drag” and call himself Satan?

Well, it’s perfectly natural to want to know who your real friends

are, isn’t it? And if your in the business of saving souls, it’s

obviously handy to know who’s already saved and who needs some working

on. Like a wartime spy, blending in with your enemies helps you

understand the workings of their minds. Because mankind has Free Will,

only by taking a such a psychological approach can anything resembling

salvation be achieved.

Imagine Man, God’s creation, as a lump of raw iron. By the trials God

puts mankind through, it has the effect of heating up this lump of

iron in a furnace, beating it and throwing it into ice cold water.

Eventually, through repeating this process of “tempering”, the iron of

unenlightened Man is turned into the steel of unconditionally loving,

“pure” consciousness.

The Devil’s task is to temper Man, to beat out the impurities of the

soul.

Let’s examine this “Devil” in a little more detail. When we think

about some of the most evil people who ever lived, names spring to

mind such as Nazi fuhrer Adolf Hitler, or maybe paedophile killers

Myra Hindley and Ian Brady. However, these people more properly fit

the description of “sick”- i.e., they were mad as opposed to bad. As a

sufferer of schizophrenia myself, I know how dangerous this condition

can be if untreated, as it can cloud your judgement to what is right

and what is wrong.

So what is “evil” in it’s purest form? I would term this

“Antichristianity” (you could substitute this for “Antiislam” or

“Antijudaism”) . By this I mean the diametric opposite to The Will of

God, or unconditional love. Any behaviour which is not born out of

such unconditional love is against this Will. It is in a word

Materialism- which is the pursuing of Earthly goals above Heavenly

ones. It is pursuing riches, fame, power and sexual prowess over and

above integrity and spiritual growth.

If there was a Christ born as an earthly man, has there ever been an

Antichrist who actually walked the earth? The closest person to fit

this role was, I believe, English philosopher Thomas Hobbes. His book,

“Leviathan” is the Bible of Materialism, or the “Antibible” . While

Jesus Christ is arguably the most famous man ever to have lived,

Hobbes is arguably the most influential.

Yet this book is a work of God. Look in the mirror and what do you

see? Your left side is where your right side should be, and vice

versa. A perfect reflection is in fact the exact opposite of what is

really there. If the teachings of Hobbes are the diametric opposite of

those of Christ, they are a mirror image.

And only Christ Himself could produce such an exact “magnetically

reversed” replica. Thus if Hobbes was indeed the Antichrist, logic

tells us that this man was actually a reincarnation of Christ.

So why would Christ come back to Earth and compose the antithesis of

his own teachings? This is explained in the Bible story of Job.

Job was a pious man who lived in strict accordance with God’s law.

However, he was wealthy and comfortable, with many friends, family

members, servants and cattle. God wanted to know if Job’s faith and

thankfulness to Him were down to his unconditional love or his

privileged lifestyle, so He decided to test him.

Little by little, God stripped Job of his Earthly, Material assets. He

took away everything Job owned on Earth, including his family. Yet Job

remained faithful and in praise of God. He asserted that because God

had given him his Earthly assets, God had every right to take them

away. Towards the end of his torment, he was struck down by disease

and covered from head to toe in sores. His few remaining friends urged

him to “curse God and die” but he refused, remaining thankful that he

was still alive . They thought he was insane and deserted him.

When God saw how Job’s integrity had held up in the face of the

adversity inflicted upon him, he rewarded him by giving back

everything he had taken away, plus more. Job had passed the test with

flying colours. Before his ordeal, Job was a man of Iron, afterwards a

man of Steel.

So the Devil, or Antichrist, is not to be hated or feared. His purpose

is to test the faith of God’s followers. Like school exams reinforce

learning, Satan’s role is to reinforce the spiritual teaching of God.

The reason why Satan tries to continually undermine the teaching of

Jesus, is because he is Jesus, and He wants to know how strong our

devotion to him really is. By leading those who decry His true self

and enthusiastically joining in the condemnation of the righteous, He

is gathering together those opposed to the Will of God. Not so that

they can be tortured or punished, but so they can be commonly

addressed, and converted.

There are many different flocks, but each flock is ultimately being

shepherded to a common point.

Imagine a pop star using a different alias for every genre of music he

or she plays. One for folk, one for jazz, one for rap, one for

country, one for rock etc. Then one day each apparently separate

“artist” announces a concert at the same venue at the same time.

Suddenly fans of many different styles of music are all brought in

front of one huge stage to see one perfomer, and realise that they are

not all separate “interest groups” but all one body who adore the same

person. That person is God.

Posted by andy wainwright at 08:13 0 comments

Thursday, 30 August 2007

Repercussions of the death of Diana, Princess of Wales

As I write this it is almost precisely ten years since the death of

Diana, Princess of Wales. Some say it is time for Britain to "get

over" this- but without wanting to sound sentimental, I don't believe

as a nation we ever will.

What made Diana unique amongst her generation was her ability to

transcend traditional divides, such as class, ethnicity, religion and

disability. One of the very few people able to "walk with kings but

keep the common touch". Though deeply flawed, and perhaps because of

it, she somehow managed to embody the aspirations of the country in a

single person. No one since has managed to fill this "keystone"

identity, a crucial part of uniting a diverse population.

The mystery surrounding her death has similar repercussions. Whatever

views one holds on this, from tragic accident to assassination, one

thing is certain. A lot of people no longer trust the establishment's

version of events, and while this is not necessarily a bad thing in

itself, the knock on effect has been a loss of trust in people in

general. It is after all, trust, that binds a civilised society

together.

This situation in many ways echoes the effects seen in America

following the shooting of John F Kennedy. What was lost on 31st August

1997 was not just a charismatic personality, but a nation's innocence.

Posted by andy wainwright at 17:42 0 comments

Saturday, 25 August 2007

The long walk home.

The long walk home.

It’s hard to let go of youth even when your body’s telling you it’s

had enough. I’m 34 now, skint, indebted, and neglecting my

relationship and friends. But still I want to get pissed up and rave

on, as if I was 17.

17. That’s an interesting age, as I’ve never met anyone personally

who’s got a greater mental age. There’s certainly a lot of people,

including my parents, who have shown a greater degree of

responsibility and commitment than myself- but they still have very

fixed ideas about certain things. You could call it traditionalism, at

worst bigotry, but essentially it amounts to childishness.

A problem of life on Earth is we tend to have kids while still

adolescent ourselves. A lot of fuss is made about teen parents, and

how through their promiscuous lifestyle they are bringing “feral”

tearaways into the world. But do older, married “responsible adult”

parents do a better job. I believe such couples are generally less

selfish in that they place a higher importance on their offspring’s

wellbeing over their own- but the problem is that along with the

virtues they pass on, their immaturity is also handed down. It’s an

irony that when we reach an age where we can say with some conviction

how we’d like our kids to be brought up, we tend to be too old to have

them!

I’m not (as far as I know) a father, but if I were to become one, the

one thing I’d like to give to my child is peace. I’d like them to be

able to look God in the eye and smile, knowing they owe nothing to

anyone and nobody owes them anything. The one thing that puts a damper

on any party is guilt.

“Guilty Feelings Have No Rhythm” … George Michael’s “Careless

Whisper”

In today’s world most of us are in debt. Not just money, but emotional

debt too. While the bulk of our effort is placed on the servicing of

this debt, we are essentially slaves. We can’t do this or that,

because we owe him or her. In this state we are existing rather than

living, as the room for conscious creation has been squeezed out of

our lives. We are forced into reacting to our situation rather than

acting consciously towards it.

“Neither a Borrower or a Lender Be” … The Bible

Slavery may have been abolished in name for over a hundred years, but

the reality is that there are as many slaves today than at the height

of any colonizing empire. That is people who are unable to do what

they really want to because of the millstone of commitment they have

amassed during their lifetimes. We tend to get ourselves stuck in

corners. Very few people seem able to set themselves genuinely free

A lot of successful people choose a “career path”, specializing in

this or that niche. But these paths tend to be “stock”, “off the

shelf” or otherwise predefined. Yes, they give you a life- maybe a

“good” life , but not necessarily your own one.

What has turned me off academia is exactly this specialization.

There’s the famous Adam Smith example of how subdividing the labour

involved in making pins can result in much higher productivity. The

trouble with this argument though, is the purpose of life to have fun

and learn, or to make as many pins as possible?

Why not try a lot of courses, try a lot of jobs, try a lot of cities

and countries. If you can’t find the perfect set up, so what! On this

planet, at present, such a set up probably doesn’t exist. But there’s

no harm in looking for it.

I’m starting to find my calling, an inner purpose that each of us has.

For me the saddest thing about the world today is the division between

religion and science- this to me is the cause of the most disharmony

amongst mankind. This is what I would like to rectify. The fact that

so many scientists and clerics disagree over so many issues suggest

someone must be-probably quite innocently and unwittingly- talking

bullshit.

The debate in the US between the teaching of creationism and evolution

to me is a silly one. Why is there no mention of space aliens or

virtual reality? To me the storylines of “V” and “The Matrix” are just

as valid “creation myths” as Darwin or Genesis. If I was a R.E.

teacher and I was telling my pupils that the whole universe is just a

computer generated simulation, or that mankind was the product of

spacemen genetically modifying apes, I’d be up for the sack.

Personally, I think the human race is a mixture of all four- God’s

creation of a virtual reality world in which spacemen fitted their own

brains to the most highly evolved creatures on the planet. And yes, I

have been sectioned!

But that’s the point. I’d like to find the truth, and the problem with

science is what we’re taught is only what’s thought to be known at the

time, and not necessarily true! And we’re not told that this is the

case as we are being taught it. The same is true of religion- a blind

acceptance of dogma- we’re not encouraged to question orthodox

religious beliefs. A good example was Salman Rushdie’s book, “The

Satanic Verses”. I believe his motive behind this work was to get

Muslims discussing their faith, its past, present and future. But the

reaction the book received was sadly typical of “shallow” religious

followers- those who’ve no experience of religion beyond what they’ve

been told. Debating religious texts is frowned upon by the clerics of

most religions- but as we all know you can’t believe everything you

read in The Press. And religious tracts are “The Press”. The Bible is

not “digitally signed” by God. Any religious tract could have been

edited and abridged by any number of people before it reaches the

Church/Synagogue/Mosque.

What I’m interested is the issues where all faiths and physical

science agree. This is a small area (imagine a Venn Diagram with all

the beliefs as circles on a sheet of paper and the truth as the area

where they all overlap)

Faith is important to man for the following reason; Patience. You

don’t have to have a physical picture of a God, but it’s important to

believe in the eventual triumph of good over evil. I believe whoever

created my soul did so as part of a greater plan, a plan that might

take a million years or more to be realized, but that day will

eventually come. Justice can take from years to decades to millennia,

but justice will eventually be done. A lot of the people who we call

criminals are actually impatient- they want the good times right here

right now, and are not prepared to wait for the blessings that will

eventually come their way.

I am in the process of discovering “Natural Law”. What this is law,

unlike man-made law, that no person can break. The skunk has stopped

working. The Special Brews have stopped working. I realize that this

shit world I live in now is all down to me to change. I now know that

there is a path leading me back to God, Friendship and Love, and the

alternative route goes nowhere. It’s just such a hard choice to

actually make. The battle to get back in the “driving seat” of my

life. One of those things that’s easier said than done.

Lord, I have strayed from you. I pray for help in walking the long

road back home to you…

Posted by andy wainwright at 16:34 0 comments

Wednesday, 15 August 2007

I blame the Government

One of the most clichéd of sayings has to be “I blame the Government”.

It is commonplace from newspaper column to public house, to attribute

all the nation’s ills to this or that policy. Some blame the left

wing, others the right. But I believe there is a more fundamental

truth in effect here- we get the leaders that we deserve.

The vast majority of people, if not all, are decent human beings.

Where we fail is that we tend towards being lazy and cowardly. A lack

of participation in society means a lack of good ideas. If we were all

able to share our “pearls of wisdom” freely with others, and openly

listen so as to receive sound advice in return, no problem would be

beyond solution. Achieving this requires considerable effort, whether

by picking up a pen, telephone or by sheer hard manual graft. It might

bring instant gratification to sit in front of the TV drinking beer,

but it doesn’t bring the fulfillment of organizing or participating in

a genuine social event.

We similarly fail in our efforts to stand up against injustice. What

we call “Evil” occurs when we do not correct the behavior of the

foolish and deluded as it is taking place. Adolph Hitler is often

blamed for the genocide of WW2, but I believe this is an unfair

judgement. He was one “lunatic” amongst millions. It was the

“ordinary” politicians and citizens who were unwilling to put him in

his place through their selfishness and fear. “Only obeying orders”

was a frankly pathetic excuse for those staffing the gas chambers.

Of these two charges I am guilty myself. Everybody can change the

world for the better, but the only way we can do so is by starting

with the person in the mirror.

Posted by andy wainwright at 15:51 0 comments

Tuesday, 7 August 2007

Letter to the press- Young Drivers and Rural Public Transport

Sir,

With the intent of cutting deaths amongst young drivers, the

government has suggested that new drivers be forced to take lessons

for a whole year before being allowed to hold a full licence. This is

a sensible idea. From my own experience, not being a "natural" driver,

it took me this long to pass my test, and I have been fortunate to

have been driving for 16 years without a serious accident or points on

my licence.

But this begs the question as to how 17 year olds are meant to get

about without cars. Whether publicly or privately owned, public

transport in the UK, particularly in rural areas is little short of a

joke.

Busses are uncomfortable to the point of inducing nausea, in

particular the use of urban double-deckers on country routes. A

farcial twist of privatisation is that return tickets are not valid on

rival operators services- are they not aware that lack of a simple

agreement is putting off passengers? Anyone who has been on a coach

holiday knows just how comfortable a bus ride can be- if such luxury

vehicles were used on local services, taking the bus rather than

driving would be a far more attractive option.

The same applies to trains. Seating is cramped (if you are lucky

enough to get a seat) , visibility poor, and ticket prices hideously

expensive. Rail operators seem to make it as hard as possible to take

bikes on trains- a huge missed opportunity for a method of travel

which is both environmentally sound and highly convenient.

Timetables are overly confusing. On the continent, it is common to

have services running on a "clock face" system, whereby a train or bus

arrives at so many minutes past the hour, every hour. This makes

planning a journey much easier.

To me it's a real shame, that in these days of dwindling fossil fuels,

gridlock and concern of carbon emissions, neither main party is

seriously committed to public transport.

Posted by andy wainwright at 02:37 0 comments

Sunday, 22 July 2007

The Free Country- A manifesto

The free country- taking UK politics out of the stone age.

Infrastucture

Let's build some new motorways and high speed railway lines. Aim to

quadruple the amount of freight that goes by rail.

Set a four storey minimum for larger-scale housing development- save a

bit of space. Abolish all restrictions on councils' ability to build

new social housing.

Aim to get cable TV/high speed broadband to all but the most remote

regions.

Remove all government offices, including parliament from London

Immigration

A vast simplification of immigration law. Just one restriction- every

new immigrant should be "adopted" by an existing citizen, such as a

friend, relative or employer who is prepared to take responsibility

for their welfare and behaviour for the first five years of their stay

Tax

Fixed rate of 33% on personal profit- that is all income minus

expenses involved in earning that income. Scrap all other direct

taxes.

Business to be taxed according to their environmental and social

impact. Profit making enterprises which are ethically and

environmentally sound go tax free.

Benefit

Replace social security with a personal tax credit paid to all

regardless of income or employment status. This would cover the basic

cost of rent, food, fuel, water and disability care

Education

All tuition fees to be refunded in full on graduation of any state

recognised course.

Schools to take "holistic" approach, pupils encouraged to discuss what

they want out of life, why they want it and how they can achieve it.

Those of working age not in paid work, voluntary employment or caring

for relatives, and sufficiently able, must study for a recognised

qualification

Healthcare

Set up an international medical school offering free training to

foreign doctors and nurses in an exchange for an NHS internment. Free

medical training for UK citizens too.

Scan each person twice a year for deseases, similar to car MOT test

Make base-rate loans available for private healthcare where treatment

can't be offered on NHS

Terminally ill to be allowed to "sue" for the right to die in courts.

Terrorism

Help make ethnic and religious minorities feel more welcome in the UK-

that they are not only tolerated but are fully part of this country

and can be proud of it. Twin towns with countries in the Moslem world.

Make peace with al Qaida. Just like the IRA, they have some legitimate

arguments. Just like the IRA, neither side can win. Just like the IRA,

negotiation is the ONLY solution

Crime

Legalise drugs (to registered users) , prostitution and anything done

by consenting adults in private. Smokers and drinkers under the age of

21 to be made to register, as with other drugs.

Allow children into all licenced premises, over 14s to be able to

drink small quantities of alcohol under the supervison of a

responsible adult.

Scrap the age of consent, instead make sex within a child-adult

relationship illegal, with the definition of child-adult set by the

police and courts on a case by case basis.

Abolish prison, carry out all punishment in the community.

Toughen up community service by introducing military-style uniforms

and drill.

Section under the Mental Health Act all criminals who are a serious

danger to themselves or others.

On completion of sentence, offenders be forced to become special

constables.

Defence

Abolish armed forces- modern Britain too fragile to fight a proper

war. Decomission all "Weapons Of Mass Destruction"

Using the manpower from the armed forces, create an international

police force to deal with disaster relief, peacekeeping and cross

border crime.

Family

Where safe to do so, fathers be given a legal responsibility to visit

their children regularly. Similarly, adopted children to have regular

contact with birth families.

Europe

Push for a "confederate" constitution where the powers of the EU are

"set in stone" and cannot creep any further

Join the Euro, which has proved to be a stable currency. Why should we

have to pay to change money? Push for union between the Euro and the

Dollar.

Abolish border controls between the UK and continental Europe. It

works there, it will work here.

Foreign policy.

Adopt a "tough pacifism" approach. Bring in progressive cultural and

economic boycotts of countries which have a poor record on human

rights. Aim to severe all ties with non-democracies by 2012. Scrap all

defence sales outside the EU, NATO and the Commonwealth

Posted by andy wainwright at 01:28 0 comments

Saturday, 12 May 2007

Some thoughts on education

Recent studies in the UK have revealed that despite record levels of

investment in the state education system, an increasing number of

parents are choosing the independent sector. Were I a parent, I would

seriously consider the option of bringing up a child outside of the

"mainstream". The problem is that whilst the vast majority of schools

perform an excellent job in terms of academic subjects, many fail in

the respect that they do not teach children how to be adults.

Many education experts have stressed the importance of "the three

R's"- i.e. numerary and literacy- yet something I have found lacking

from primary to university level is a sense of purpose.

I believe if "purpose" was placed at the heart of the curriculum, this

would yield far higher standards in both academic performance and

behaviour. This could be achieved by basing education at all levels

around developing answers to three questions.

Firstly, we must ask each child what they want out of life. Secondly,

we must ask them why they want it. Thirdly, how do they intend to

achieve it?

Whilst I was blessed with dedicated teachers and a caring family, the

lack of answers to these questions led me to become a "drop out".

Others have achieved material success but are blighted by a shallow

and bigoted outlook, for the same reason.

Faith schools go some way to addressing this issue, but the problem

here is they are trying to teach somebody else's' religion- faith is a

very personal thing that can only be acquired by the experiences of

the individual themselves.

Our children surely deserve to be happy and fulfilled- and to give

them this they need a solid foundation. We can't build this for them,

but what we can do is provide them with the tools to do so.

Posted by andy wainwright at 05:27 0 comments

Sunday, 22 April 2007

Some thoughts of the "Flynn Effect"

Some thoughts of the "Flynn Effect"

As quoted by the Wikipedia, an online encyclopedia, "The Flynn effect

is the rise of average Intelligence Quotient (IQ) test scores, an

effect seen in most parts of the world, although at greatly varying

rates. It is named after James R. Flynn, who did much to document it

and promote awareness of its implications. This increase has been

continuous and roughly linear from the earliest days of testing to the

present".

Surely, this must of great benefit to mankind. However, the problem is

that IQ measures just one facet of intellegence, of which there are

many. The trouble is that an increase in one such facet might have

been matched by a decline in others.

IQ is an incorrect term for "Symbolic Reasoning", which is what such

"psychometric" tests measure. It is the ability to draw rational

conclusions from numbers, words and diagrams. While this is an

important part of intellegence, it is by no means the whole story.

It does not measure "non verbal" reasoning, such as the ability to

read body language. People rarely display their feelings as words and

pictures on the front of their shirts. Sufferers of asperger syndrome,

a severe mental disability, can lack this capability, yet they will

often score above average in IQ tests. Such ability is important in

forming and maintaining relationships, crucial for human civilization.

It is one thing to be able to read maps, but equally important to be

able to ask for directions.

Nor does IQ measure spirituality, or "depth" of personality. At one

end of the scale, you have those who are purely concerned with their

own material wellbeing and dominance, at the other end those

interested in their spiritual growth, and that of raising the level of

human consciousness. No written test can accurately measure the

difference between the Buddhas and Hitlers of this world- i.e. those

who want to lead the world by example and those who want to rule it by

fear.

There is also the aspect of stability. What is the use of a super-

powerful computer which crashes regularly, or a luxury car that

frequently breaks down? The same is true of the human mind.

Psychometric tests do not measure the performance of the brain "under

load". Exams may be stressful, but nowhere near the sort of pressures

one might face outside the sheltered world of academia. The ability to

maintain calm, rational thought in times of great emotional turbulance

is something that fases many so-called geniuses.

In conclusion, I have found that when all of these four facets of

intellegence are taken into account- and there's others not mentioned

here- human minds become much more equal than is immediately apparent.

Personally, I believe I have above average symbolic reasoning skills

and spiritual outlook, however I am equally below "normal" in terms of

reading body language and coping with stress, to the extent where I am

limited to the extent that I can function in the world of work and

social life. I have seen other people with "on paper" intellect, who

have been narrow minded and uncompassionate.

In the search for higher IQs, we may be missing the point in that we

are creating less "rounded" people. We are becoming "brighter" but not

"smarter". Human society is about teamwork rather than the skills of

individuals alone, after all man by himself is capable of little more

than an animal. IQ is all about "intellegence" on a purely individual

basis. Drawing a parallel between the brain and computers, a computer

with a faster CPU is often less productive than a slower machine with

a better network connection.

It is right for people to seek intellectual growth, but to achieve it

we must work on the wider issues of personal development. This

involves not just mental gymnastics, but solving our psychiatric,

psychological and spiritual issues. Improving our relationships,

meeting new people, learning to listen to others. Learning to

understand natural "signs" in people and nature. We need to get over

the idea that we are "clever" or "dumb", and instead focus on our very

individual mental strengths and weeknesses and how we can improve the

whole picture.

Posted by andy wainwright at 06:57 0 comments

Friday, 13 April 2007

Materialism's Last Stand.

Materialism's Last Stand.

The world today is witnessing a rise in "dark" politics. This is the

politics of hate, fear, jealousy and insecurity. In the US, we have

the rise of the "religious right", in the UK and Europe a rise in neo-

fascist groups such as the BNP, in the Muslim world an increase in

"fundamentalist" Islam. Free speech and privacy is under threat in

many nations. Compounding the issue, we have seen the seemingly

unstoppable ascent of faceless mega-corporations and environmental

carnage of unprecedented proportion. With all this going on it is easy

to lose heart.

What most of us can agree on is things can not go on much longer in

the direction that they are going. The camel's back is at some point

going to break.

In the years following the collapse of the Soviet Union, there was a

wonderful opportunity given to the world to create a "new order".

Unfortunately, both the politicians and the general public squandered

this. Including "nobodies" like myself. Looking back at the 1990's, I

spent a lot of the time in pubs off my face- time that I could have

used to create, study, protest, strengthen my relationships with

friends and family- the list goes on. The actions of a lot of "little"

people together often have more effect than that of major players-

what I'd describe as micro-sociology. Judging by beer sales alone,

there must be a lot of others in the same boat.

Freedom and democracy were hard won priviliges. Many of my generation

have taken such for granted, when in fact unless these rights are

exercised they are weakened. Not just participation in politics

either, but also other aspects of citizenship. Participation in the

community has fallen to such low levels that many people don't even

know what their neighbours' names are. This is by and large down to

lazyness. I'm as guilty on this count as anyone else.

In the UK, recent polls revealed six out of ten voters think life has

got worse under Tony Blair. As many mistakes as he has made, this is

not entirely his fault. Many people, again myself included, put blind

faith in this guy to get us out of the mess we were in. He simply

collapsed under the strain of this considerable burden. We failed to

realise that responsibility for being successful, fulfilled people

belongs to ourselves, not our politicians.

One question often asked is "Why does God permit such suffering?".

Maybe the answer is beacuse people have to learn for themselves. Until

we've learned how to live properly, there's no point in fixing this

mess, because we'd only mess it up again. My own person belief, a

mixture of Christianity, Judaism and Buddhism- is that the day we live

up to our side of the bargain, God will live up to His. While mankind

is beyond the salvation of God, we haven't a chance of being saved by

a mortal politician!

The end of the Cold War offered the chance to put an end to war

period. A good example was the fall of the apartheid regime at around

the same time- the spirit of goodwill generated by East/West peace was

a contribution. A major problem, however, was that the western powers

considered this to be a victory. Actually, the chances are that the

Societ Union would have fallen itself due to internal political

problems- the ideolgical failings of Marxism combined with the

geographical and ethnic difficulties of maintaining an empire of that

size. Thus the chance was missed to learn from the positive aspects of

life the other side of the "iron curtain" and see how those could be

applied to politics worldwide.

When NATO countries were busy fighting in the first Gulf War, bringing

democracy to China was a far more pressing concern for the

international community. Had western powers abandoned their no longer

relavant ant-communist stance (the US are still "punishing" Cuba

today!), I believe the Chinese leadership could have been warmed to

the idea of social freedom and multi-party politics.

In politics as in so many other areas of life, standing still is not

an option. You either go forwards or backwards, and in the absence of

progress, regression is what occurs. The attacks of 9/11 were actually

very successful (if "success" is the right word to use) in that they

put America and her allies on the defensive. Not just in the military

sense, but in the entire outlook of the people. And with the power and

influence that the US has, this defensive attitude has been exported

to the rest of the world.

There's two modes the human mind can operate in. There's the higher

one- rational thinking, and there's the lower one - often termed

"fight or flight". In the lower mode, very little brain function is

used - it is simply the animal survival instinct. This is fine for man

as the "naked ape" in the jungle, where everything around him is

either to eat or be eaten by, but it is unsuitable for life in even

the most primative society. The more people feel "on the defensive"

the more they slip into the lower operating mode.

But here's where the hope starts. Mankind is gaining a greater insight

into the operation of his own mind. It's interesting that what might

be termed "schizophrenia" has an upside- in that those affected often

have a clearer view of what paranoia is. Maybe you have to have

experienced madness to understand what sanity is. From my own

experience the difference between a healthy state of mind and an

unhealthy one is the amount of "control" that the rational brain has

over the emotional one. There's nothing wrong with having emotions and

strong feelings, negative as well as positive. Hate, fear, envy etc

are natural and healthy- but to act on these feelings is not, as to do

so is to place the animal mind within us above the human. Feelings of

love are both instinctive AND rational at the same time. They involve

all of the brain- and are suitably termed "holistic" or whole.

To me this represents a battle within the mind between the body and

the soul- instinct versus free will. A lot of people think they're

acting on free will, but in fact they are being carried along with

their immediate "gut" feelings- they are reacting to their situations

rather than consciously creating them.

This has repercussions in politics. Ask an alcoholic what they want

and they might say "another drink". But if you talk to them, you might

find that they desparately want to be sober. There's two types of

populism- one where politicians appeal to the initial responses- which

can often be racist or otherwise prejudiced, and the other where they

address the deeper, loving, concerns of people.

It is becoming clearer that for further advances in civilisation, the

rational mind must be in control. We are seing a division emerging

between those ruled by their brains and those ruled by their spinal

cords. This is independent of academic inteligence (IQ) - there's many

people who are on "intellegent" on paper but have jealous and bigoted

outlooks- i.e. they are ruled by their negative emotions. Such people

are not evil, but nor are they free. There's other ways you can be

controlled by your "lower" brain too. Personally, I'm in the (slow)

process of crossing the road to freedom, beset by addictions and

sloth- I've got a way to go before I'm fully in control of myself. I

now realise that I have a problem, which is the first step towards

fixing it.

Many religious groups have a belief in "armageddon" and most see this

as a physical battle between the forces of "good" and "evil". However,

I believe that this conflict is one which will be fought in peoples

minds, finally ending with the triumph of rational thinking over

emotion. This doesn't mean the end of emotion, but the end of our

slavery to it. This battle is progressing with ever increasing

intensity.

So where are we now? Our primitive instincts are to us like a teddy

bear to a child- they offer us comfort and security, albeit in a

rather superficial way. We have to be bold and take the steps towards

"growing up", a process that is humiliating and painful. If you look

at the development of the human race, our past can be percieved as

akin to a childhood, our present as the teenage years, and the future

as adulthood. Teenage years, though exciting, are often traumatic- it

is stressful to let go of childish values and adopt adult ones- at the

time it feels like you are being pulled in two different directions.

In terms of the human race, those childish values are the doctrine of

materialism. Existing for the purpose of wealth, fame, power and

sexual prowess is no longer serving the needs of "adolescent" man.

Reliance on fear to maintain a social order is failing, because the

human psyche has moved on. The "drugs" that human society has been

addicted to for so long- material threat and reward- are losing their

effectiveness. Everyone has to eventually grow up, but not everyone

wants to do so willingly. This is exactly why the bigots are on the

rise- they are selling the "elixir of youth" to those who want to be

Peter Pan. They are cashing in on peoples' fear of the future by

offering the comforts of the past, cuddly toys for the children who

don't want to grow up.

While not a "fascist" or a "nazi", George W. Bush is a great example

of such a teddybear figure. He smacks of a relic from the old cowboys

'n' injuns wild west days. Good 'Ole Sheriff Bush will defend the fort

from the raiding redskins. Tapping in to a reservior of nostalgia for

the past and cinicism for the present. His passionate belief in war

and the death penalty are a good example of this- "I can cure your

problems, just give me a gun and I will clean up this town". Of

course, if killing people did actually solve anything the world would

surely be a much nicer place to live than it is now- there's been

enough of it over the years! Truth is, he who loses his peace loses

his arguement.

I used to feel a hatred towards the far right, but now that has turned

to one of pity. Inside every fascist and religious zealot is a

frightened little child, wondering where their mother's breast has

gone. They're shouting and screaming because they're scared- unable

(through lack of practice) to think for themselves, they're panicking

as the values they were brought up with collapse around them. Why do

they hate gays and mixed marriages? Because they were told to and have

never questioned what they have been told. Why do Islamic

fundementalists oppose womens' rights? Again, because they were told

to. Basing your values solely on what you have been taught is a

recipie for problems and conflict- as what you are taught is simply

that- not necessarily true.

Materialist values are promoted by big business, putting wind in the

sails of those who promote them. The tabloid media is happy to

criticise "extremists", but the stories they run and the slant they

put on them encourages the formation of such views. Desire might be

the cause of much unhappiness, but it equals demand, and demand equals

sales. Keeping people repressed and dumbed down makes for a captive

consumer audience. And if Hitler offers the best potential for sales

growth, Hitler gets their backing. Imagine what would happen if

everybody went completely "green" and bought only what they absolutely

needed. It might well save the planet, but in economic terms it would

mean a disaster. This dichotomy suggests something is seriously wrong

with mankind's accepted economic model- it disproves the theory that

capitalism offers the most efficient distribution of resources.

Happily for us, the vast majority of today's super-powerful

corporations will eventually collapse, as like political empires, they

inevitably get bogged down in their own beaurocracy and lose touch

with what the public want

So lets not lose heart. There's a light at the end of the tunnel. What

we're seeing is not the start of a true "new world order", but the

final, desparate days of the old one.

Posted by andy wainwright at 14:41 0 comments

War Games

This is a reply to Matthew Taylor (http://www.sosparty.co.uk) in which he

suggests that future wars be fought with non-lethal weapons, similar

to the game of "paintball".

I think the idea of simulated war is an excellent one.

It's interesting, that in professional boxing, perhaps the most

agressive

of sports, a boxer would feel a failure if he caused his opponent any

permanent damage. . The aim is to demonstrate strength, skill and

stamina,

not to kill or maim. What belt would Chris Eubank not give up to get

Michael Watson out of his wheelchair?

The trouble with conventional war is it amounts no nothing more than

murder (not to mention GBH, ABH and mindless vandalism). When someone

is

murdered, it leaves the friends, relatives and spirit of the victim

with a

grudge. That grudge will eventually boil over into future conflict.

WW1 lead to WW2, which lead to the cold war and the Israel/Palestinian

conflict, the two roots of modern day Middle East political tension.

Similarly, the Boer War lead to the injustices of apartheid, which in

turn

lead to the current crisis in Zimbabwe.

Clearly, every war, however just the cause may sound, just passes the

tension on to future generations

I believe there are many causes worth dying for, but not one worth

killing

for.

Man has an agressive side, which realistically is not going disappear

overnight. Negative emotions aren't all bad either, in that some

degree of

passion (suffering) has produced some of man's greatist artistic

achievements. I believe the key is channeling agression into something

positive rather than criminal. I think your war games idea is a great

way

to achieve this. What this is in effect is building a new lower layer

of

reality, allowing humanity itself the chance to move to a higher one.

Man is a "composite" between the love-seeking spiritual and the

dominance-seeking animal. Both these sides must be properly catered

for in

any successful society.

Modern technology means we can have more than one reality- why not one

for

the angel, and one for the monkey. To be able to step out from the

world

of greed, war and violence and into a higher reality of sharing, love

and

peace, and back again at will. Walk away from a bloody war with all

one's

limbs. At that point, humanity will be able to move freely from "god

mode" to "man mode" and enjoy both, giving everyone the chance for

maximum

"life experience", freed from the slavery of our emotions.

Interestingly, some who claim to have contact with "more civilised"

alien

races, have claimed that this "dual consciousness" approach, has

allowed

the advancement of these peoples, who in terms of intellect and

morality

are in fact the exact equals of earthly man.

Posted by andy wainwright at 03:23 0 comments

Mission Statement

The Positive Party–the Beyond Ideology Think Tank

By Andrew Wainwright

(taken from) http://www.trans4mind.com/counterpoint/wainwright.shtml

I'm trying to start a "pro-humanity" lobby group, to promote

government policies which help free citizens to achieve their aims

rather than repressing and restricting them. My reason for doing this

is the increasing negativity and reactionary tone of the political

scene in both my home country (the UK) and elsewhere in the world,

what I would term "the politics of fear." This plays to the "chimp"

element within us, i.e. scaremongering, racism, xenophobia, religious

bigotry etc. I feel there is a need to promote the holistic - the

pursuit of real happiness - in society as opposed to the

materialistic, which is always going to leave man fighting against

man.

One of the most depressing facets of politics today is the amount of

cynicism, defeatism and negativity shown by both politicians and the

media. I believe this feeling is shared by many people of different

political persuasions. In a bizarre twist on Labour's 1997 anthem, we

are now singing "Things Can Only Get Worse."

The Lord's Prayer urges us to do on Earth as is done in Heaven - to

have ideals. I am not talking about the failed philosophy of

communism. Such ideals can be found in all political beliefs...

Conservatives claim that building a pleasant society is the

responsibility of the wider community - through personal

responsibility, enterprise and participation - and not the State. This

is surely true.

Liberals believe that civil liberties make the difference between

democracy and tyranny. Also, the safest societies tend to be the most

liberal ones. This is also true.

Socialists believe that a more equitable society is more morally

justified and cohesive - and as wealth is power, more democratic too.

Again, this is true.

Finally, Environmentalists believe that our surroundings - both

natural and man made, at work and in leisure - contribute the most to

our quality of life. Who can argue with this?

What is interesting is that these ideals are not mutually exclusive -

the nicest places to live combine the elements of all four. For this

reason, I have decided to form the Positive Party. The aim of this is

not to stand for election, but to lobby politicians for positive

government: that which helps citizens achieve their potential rather

than restrict them. To promote ideas which are simultaneously fairer,

freer, greener and more compassionate.

We would like to award positive politicians and media figures, not

based on the outdated concepts of "left and right" but on forward-

thinking, intelligent ideas, and a sense of humanity. I am seeking

members who simply share a desire for a pleasant and exciting future

for mankind in Britain and beyond.

Posted by andy wainwright at 00:54 0 comments

Letter To Press - gridlock and terrorism

Sir- Over the past weekend we have witnessed a minor engineering

project paralysing the town of Colchester. While the inconvienence to

travellers has been widely reported, I believe the defence

implications of this disorder deserve a mention, perhaps highlighted

more so by Colchester's status as a garrison town. Put simply,

Britain's overstretched transport infrastructure represents a huge

security risk. A terrorist attack on the scale of 9/11, deployed

nationwide on the road and rail network , could bring the UK to its

knees, without even needing to kill anyone directly.

The government is about to commit billions to the replacement of the

Trident nuclear "deterrent". This is based on the unlikely scenario

that an enemy state (it would be useless against an international

terrorist group) would launch a unilateral nuclear attack on a Western

democracy.

Wouldn't this money be better spent on upgrading roads and railways?

This would benefit the "peace time" economy as well as preventing,

should worse come to worse, being a "war time" sitting duck.

Posted by andy wainwright at 00:48 0 comments

Showmocracy?

What is Showmocracy?

"I think the puppet on the right shares my point of view.....

No, I think the puppet on the left is more to my liking....

Hang on a minute, it's the same guy holding up both puppets"

Bill Hicks

We tend to look at the world in terms of "democratic" and "non

democratic" states. Democracies are those where there is (largely)

free speech, multi-party elections, the rule of law, and a

constitution that limits the power of the state.

But there's two types of democracy- functional or disfuntional. On

paper, both have exactly the same institutions. But one is a living,

breathing expression of ideas, the other is effectively dead.

In the UK, it has been depressing to watch the decline of functional

democracy- something that many fought so hard to achieve. We have

reached the stage where both main parties are following the same

agenda. Perhaps the most striking example of this was the war in Iraq.

Both Labour and Conservative backed this, ensuring a majority in

parliament. Amongst the citizens of Britain, however, the majority

were against. Who's agenda? And how come the public's agenda was

totally ignored by both parties? There's nothing wrong with sensible

compromise- but there's a difference between this and selling out.

Many will have seen "reality TV" talents shows like X-Factor,

Popstars, Pop Idol and American Idol. In these, the management

companies have already picked the songs, the style, the clothes etc-

they're just looking for the faces to fit. Non have these shows have

picked up a Lennon, a Bowie, a Marley, a Dylan, a Holiday or a

Hendrix. Frankly, they're not interested in individual artists or

groups- they'd be simply too much work in marketing and promoting

them. Especially considering the strong and rather temperamental

personality types involved . They'd have to take a big risk, something

that strikes fear into the hearts of corporate accountants and

lawyers!

Personally I've got no problem with manufactured pop. But when you

listen to such a record you're listening primarily to the producer

rather than the featured artist. The Phil Spectors, the Lamont

Doziers, the Pete Watermans etc. Kylie or Jason singing, the music is

exactly the same! What's more, there's room for Kylie AND Jimi Hendrix

in my CD collection- I love both. At the end of the day, it's all

music, all showbiz, all fun.

And as not all the best singers don't write their own songs, not all

the best actors write their own scripts, etc etc.

This leads us back to our problem- the problem of showbiz values

creeping into politics. Puppets and their masters are welcome in the

former but not in the latter! Today's politicians look like a bunch of

game show hosts. This worries me. It's their lack of original ideas

and values that's of concern. How can you possibly lead when you don't

know where you're going yourself? Conviction comes from faith. It

doesn't have to be religious faith, but there has to be a belief in

something.

In today's world of "spin" and "political correctness", it's very

difficult to know what politicians' beliefs actually are, or if they

have any at all. Our present government is almost completely

apologetic- paranoid about "stepping out of line". Jesus was actually

highly offensive- so much so that he was killed. Ghandi too offended

many people, again to the point of being shot. Both of these men were

extremely decent, honest, loving and forgiving people, but they

weren't afraid to speak their mind. They had integrity, and that's

what's lacking in politics today. Politicians need to be prepared to

stand their ground, when that "ground" is something they passionately

believe in. And when you stand your ground without resorting to

insults, threats and violence, you gradually win people over to your

viewpoint. Integrity also provides freedom from fear. The politician

who is frightened of what X might say and Y might do, transfers that

fear onto those he rules.

Were I a politician, I would rather be voted out than sell out. I

believe power without principle is worse than principle without power.

Enough of the puppets, it's time to look at the puppet masters.

Multinational corporations have grown to such a size, that they are

able to excert a disproportional amount of force on elected

governments. Once again, the traditional left and right have helped

this situation arise through their prejudices- a dislike of enterprise

or an acceptance of bullying . Socialists have burdened small business

with excessive tax and red tape. This has prevented rivals rising up

and taking on the giants. Conservatives and Liberals have been "soft"

on the use of monopoly (anti-trust) legislation, and have failed to

act at the point when a businesses has reached a critical market

share. All have put general economic growth before maintaining a

"level playing field" in the marketplace.

Ironically, the unchecked advancement of capitalism is leading to a

similar situation to that of communism. What happens when there is on

one grocery chain, one bank, one publisher, one TV station etc? What

next? One reich, one volk, one fuhrer?

As a student, I was into communism, but it was the lack of freedom

that turned me against it. In a communist society, the state takes

over the running of big business. In a fascist society, big business

takes over the running of the state. In a healthy democracy, you have

three separate blocks- industry, the democratic instutions such

parliaments and courts, and the militia. In both communism and fascism

these three entities become merged into one- with industry directly

controlling the militia and the militia directly controlling

industry.Not only is this setup undemocratic, it is also inefficient,

as it uses the brains of a tiny few rather than the many. When your

employer becomes your political leader, you become dependant on it for

every aspect of your life. In other words, you become a slave.

Industry says we need cheaper oil. Militia goes to war. Government

just signs the cheque. This is where we're at now.

There's an old saying "Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts

absolutely". There's a reason for this. The more powerful someone

becomes, the more frightened people become of standing up to them. So

the further up the chain of command the leader goes, the more he is

surrounded by "yes men". What keeps people sane is the truth. Your

mates who tell you when you're out of line, and bring you back down to

earth. Cut off from the truth- reality - psychosis will set in. This

is compounded by the feeling of distrust for those around them,

knowing that everyone is either after a "deal" or their job. Every

"deal" a leader makes during their rise to power comes at a price, to

the extent that by the time they've reached the top, there's so many

people who need "paying back" that their hands are tied- and thus

unable to lead by good judgement alone.

But as always, there's a tiny sliver of hope- the sort of hope that

kept Nelson Mandela going through years in prison. People are waking

up to the fact there are alternative viewpoints to the sludge being

pumped out by mainstream politicians, big business and their media. A

new opposition to the materialist, global corporate world is slowly

but surely begining to take shape- and what's more that opposition is

transcending the traditional political divides. Right and Wrong as

opposed to Right and Left. Those who love freedom and want a world

where people can grow, rather than people being farmed. Where we are

all treated as human beings, not livestock.

I have a faith that the human race is headed for perfection. It might

take one generation, it might take a hundred, but we will get there in

the end. Our bodies and brains have, for many years, reached

evolutionary perfection. The hardware is in place. But as in IT, it is

the software that is the difficult part of the equasion. Sure, you can

run MS-DOS on a Core 2 Duo system, but is kind of missing the point.

Sometimes things have to get worse before they get better- was Windows

Me more stable than Windows 98? Just like any piece of software,

upgrading the human operating system uncovers more bugs which have to

be fixed. Happily today, many "programmers" are working on the

upgrade, and conventional technology such as the internet is helping

things out. Maybe the turmoil in the world today is part of that

migration:

>From Human OS 1: The Love Of Power

to Human OS 2: The Power Of Love

Kindest regards,

Andy

Posted by andy wainwright at 00:45 0 comments

A Safe And Legal Alternative To Prostitution

In recent years, the Catholic Church has moved towards acceptance of

married priests. One reason for this change of heart is concern over

the psychological effects of enforced celebacy on the clergy. In

extreme cases this may have contributed to sexual offences, a string

of which have been a major embarassment to the Church.

The sex drive is a powerful biological instinct, and cannot simply be

turned off at will. When it is frustrated, it will manifest itself in

fantasies and personality problems.

Now consider the case of a person with a physical, mental or social

issue that prevents them forming an "adult" sexual relationship in the

normal way. For example, a young man with a stammer might lack the

confidence to approach girls. Women will pick up on this and back

away. The man then feels rejected and resultingly angry towards women.

This attitude makes him even less attractive to them, and a vicious

circle is formed.

Another example is the middle age divorcee, suffering impotence

related to the stress of his relationship break-up. Again, the lack of

confidence builds up over time, eventually turning to bitterness.

What both of these men obviously need is a boost to their sexual

confidence and self esteem. The only practical way of achieving this

is through the use of a surrogate partner, essentially what would be

termed a "prostitute". Such a service is not immoral, but meeting a

clinical need.

It is a shame that "sexual surrogacy" has become the domain of drug

addicts and illegal immigrants. What is needed is professionally

trained sex workers who can work with a client, alongside conventional

health services, towards the goal of forming a proper, healthy

relationship. Such schemes have been successful in the Netherlands and

the US.

If the vice trade is to be tackled, a safe, legal and ethical

alternative needs to be put in its place. In the light of recent

events, this is all the more urgent.

Posted by andy wainwright at 00:43 0 comments

Some Thoughts On Religion

I am a (pretty lapsed) Christian, and I feel it's a shame that

"fundementalists" spoil the religion by driving away many who could

benefit from knowing more about God. This would include myself. I

would love to be part of a congregation, but am put off by "medieval"

beliefs that are present in many Chuches, both Catholic and

Protestant. Psychotic fundementalists- for that is exactly what their

behaviour is, have also hijacked Hinduism, Judaism and Islam too- so

no hope for me there either!

Imagine Christianity as a pizza. Imagine conservatism as anchovies.

Some people love anchovies, but a lot hate them. If you could only buy

a pizza with anchovies on, a lot fewer pizzas would be sold.

The Bible is both conservative and liberal at the same time, when

taken as a whole. It advocates hard work and personal responsibility,

but also being non-judgemental , compassionate, tolerant and

charitable. In it's complete form it is about as politically central

as is posible to be. No political ideology has the monopoly on right

and wrong. Unfortunately fundementalists confuse "right and wrong"

with "right and left".

Fact is - If it wasn't for the fundementalists Church congregations

would probably double.

I am a liberal BECAUSE of Christian teachings, not in spite of them.

Why should liberals be condemed for trying to follow The Golden Rule?

Fundementalists are actually a religion in their own right, not Jews,

Christians or Moslems. Actually they are Materialists. They believe

that man (and thus God) is fundementally evil, and people need to be

opressed to make them civilized. The book they really follow is

Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes. They believe the soul dies at biological

death- if they didn't they wouldn't feel the need to kill anyone, the

soul being eternal would make this pointless. Sure, they worship the

Lord- but WHICH Lord? It saddens me that it is fundementalists who are

being unwittingly recruited into- you guessed it, satan (or material)

worship.

Bottom line is- fundementalists lack spirituality. That's why they're

angry and frustrated. It makes me laugh when Islamic extremists are

called "radicals". Nothing could be further than the truth. They love

the status quo so much that they want to turn the clock back to times

when the status quo had more clout.

Where do they come from and why? Answer: Money! Two preachers. One

anti-gay, one anti-capitalism. Which one gets the dollars for a new

church roof?

Not just Christians here. If Salman Rushdie had the financial muscle

of the House of Saud, betya their wouldn't be any fatwas against him.

I have an idea for a film called "Laughing At Christ". The plot is

simple. Cast Jesus as Lenny Bruce or Bill Hicks. A stand up comedian

poking fun at the religious bigots and their genitalia. Watch his

disciples roar with laughter as he lays into the Scribes and the

Pharisees.

Love and respect

Andy

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butterflygrrrl

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(1 user) More options 2 Feb, 21:44

Newsgroups: alt.religion.christian

From: "butterflygrrrl"

Date: 2 Feb 2007 12:44:27 -0800

Local: Fri 2 Feb 2007 21:44

Subject: Re: religious right- drive congregations away

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Hi, Andy! I really agree with a LOT of what you said and I'd like to

point you to some resources that I have found helpful:

Have you read this book? It is GREAT!

"God's Politics: Why the Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn't Get

It" by Jim Wallis

An informative article on Jim Wallis:

http://usliberals.about.com/od/faithinpubliclife/a/JimWallis1.htm

The magazine and organization run by Wallis:

http://www.sojo.net/

http://www.calltorenewal.com/

I hope you like these!

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Andy

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More options 3 Feb, 12:12

Newsgroups: alt.religion.christian

From: "Andy"

Date: 3 Feb 2007 03:12:35 -0800

Local: Sat 3 Feb 2007 12:12

Subject: Re: religious right- drive congregations away

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On 2 Feb, 13:44, "butterflygrrrl" wrote:

- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

> Hi, Andy! I really agree with a LOT of what you said and I'd like to

> point you to some resources that I have found helpful:

> Have you read this book? It is GREAT!

> "God's Politics: Why the Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn't Get

> It" by Jim Wallis

> An informative article on Jim Wallis:

> http://usliberals.about.com/od/faithinpubliclife/a/JimWallis1.htm

> The magazine and organization run by Wallis:

> http://www.sojo.net/

> http://www.calltorenewal.com/

> I hope you like these!

Thanks. First time I've heard of Jim Wallis-this is very interesting.

The bottom line is there is a difference- which many liberals miss-

between fighting repression (a libertarian outlook) and the belief

that "I can do anything that I want" (a libertine outlook)

Through my life I have become increasingly aware of the forces of

Karma at work. Basically, I've not got away with anything, how ever

many lies I've tried to cover it up with. "Be Sure Your Sins Will Find

You Out" is essentially true. I've also been witness to the real

power of prayer.

I spent many years hooked on drink and drugs, the worst of which is

thankfully over (just cigs to beat now ) I now feel I was trying to

"cheat" my way into bliss. This false happiness was sapping away at my

own power to achieve pleasure naturally. There's a real difference

between gratification and fulfillment- with the former you wake up the

next day having gone nowhere- with the latter you have grown as a

person.

Compare the buzz off coke with the buzz of getting an exciting new

job. There is no contest. With the latter you have a high without any

form of impared judgement.

I have also learned about real love and marriage through having a

wonderful partner, Katie. Something the religious right miss is that

you don't need to have the blessing of anyone else- whether the state

or the Church- to have a marriage. It is the commitment between the

partners that matters. This is not always easy, especially when you

have to deal with issues such as illness, bereavement and financial

problems.

I used to be vain and date girls just on the basis of looks.

Thankfully I have learned that there is a deeper bond than physical

attraction. I have also learned how lucky I am to have friends, and

how I need to work at friendships to keep them alive. My grandmother

has taught me a lot about the need for family. I used to feel that I

had been born into the wrong family- now through mutual understanding

and empathy we are once again "all playing for the same team". I've

got a long way to go on this, but things are getting better.

In British politics, one of my pet hates was Norman Tebbit- an arch

conservative. However, I watched a documentary about how he was almost

killed in an IRA terrorist attack. The bomb paralysed his wife,

Margaret- and the commitment and care that he showed for her was an

inspiration for me. It taught me that however much you dislike

somebody's views, you can still admire them. After all, the universe

is big enough for everyone's point of view.

one website that helped me immensely is pyschologist Peter Sheppard's

site http://www.trans4mind.com. I've always been uneasy at the divide between

religion and science. This website goes a long way towards reconciling

the two and searching for the real truth.

regards

Andy

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Posted by andy wainwright at 00:42 0 comments

Free Will And Idealism

"Convince a man against his will, leave him of the same opinion still"

Many of the worlds political leaders have attempted to create a

"perfect" society by force- perhaps the biggest example of this is

communism. So far, every such effort has been futile, I believe this

is because they ignore the "elastic" nature of the human spirit.

Point a gun at a man's head and you can make him do anything, but take

the gun away and he is unlikely to continue. In the same way, many

empires have attempted to "civilize" native populations- and as soon

as the colonials have been repelled, their imposed institutions and

values have been rejected. Nor has any war brought lasting peace-

whether conventional warfare or guerilla warfare (often incorrectly

termed "terrorism") - as it is an attempt to form the political

landscape by force rather than consent.

There's two distinct types of power- compliance (or hard power) and

authority (soft power). The former is where we follow a leader because

of their material threats and rewards, the latter is where we follow a

leader because we respect their superior judgement and wisdom.

Compliance produces more instant results, but not results that are

lasting. The problem with any order based around threat and reward is

that ever increasing amounts of bribes and brutality are required to

maintain the heirarchy over time, wheras the establishment's resources

for providing this are finite. The more violence that is used by the

regime, the more angry and rebelious the population become.

Inevitably, there will come a time when the number of rioters will

outnumber the riot police, and a revolution will ensue. This can be

likened to pushing against a spring- eventually the spring will

recoil.

The problem with revolutions is a lot of positive aspects of the

original society are thrown out along with the negative ones. An

upsurge in crime is common, as freed from the repressive regime,

criminals test the boundaries of the new found liberalism. A good

example of this is what's currently happening in Iraq. In the

resulting anarchy, new dictators can cash in on public fear and use it

to catapult themselves into power. When it comes to quality of life

for ordinary people, no order at all is even worse than a wicked one.

The "authority" approach (suprisingly the diametric opposite of

"authoritarian") provides a better way of maintaining order. Consider

the enormous power Gandhi had over the Indians- yet he was committed

to non-violent methods. He managed to prevent riots and wars, in spite

of very high levels of public emotion and outrage. Considering some

events such as the "black hole of Calcutta", this was little short of

miraculous. How did he achieve this. Because he was a leader, not a

bully!

Leaders are not confined to the history books, or grand political

campaigns. Everyone knows people with leadership qualities, who are

able to inspire people with their words and actions. Leaders lead by

example. It could be a teacher, clergyman, spouse, friend, relative,

even comedian. In fact, we all have a little bit of leader in us. Part

of the human experience is to be both master and servant.

To speak and act with genuine authority comes from pure love in our

hearts, even love for those who disagree with us. The fact the Gandhi

had an enormous amount of respect for the British regime he was

fighting helped give him a true mandate. Similarly, Jesus had a lot of

time for the Romans. Nelson Mandela learned to speak Afrikaans. The

reason so many leaders have failed is because their motives haven't

been pure. When our motives are that of unconditional love, we can't

fail to speak the truth. Love is the only thing that can genuinely

affect free will.

Can the world ever be united? I believe it can. In fact a unified

world, where everyone works to their full potential as part of the

same team, is the only option for the long term survival of the human

race. We need to focus on the ultimate civilization, rather than

simply propping-up the existing "world order", which is injust,

repressive and doomed to failure like every order that has existed

before it. The key is that such an order must be achieved by CONSENT.

Is such a consensus possible. Yes, because at the end of the day we

are all humans, and what brings real joy to the hearts of one person

does the same to everyone else, regardless of race, religion, even

personality. From my own experience, I would say the most valuable

commodity of all is peace of mind. Without peace of mind, there can be

no pleasure. The fact that so many people today are on drugs

(prescription, illegal narcotics, alcohol) to me stresses this point.

What is the point of a big bank balance if you can't get a good nights

sleep? It's easy to get depressed about the failing mental health of

much of the world, but there is a positive side to it. People are

starting to question what real happiness is, and that can only be a

good thing. Global communications are allowing people to see that

people all over the world, deep inside, are all looking for the same

thing.

Posted by andy wainwright at 00:41 0 comments

Equality Without Robbery

Equality without robbery?

The world today is one of extremes of wealth and poverty. This is not

a good thing. For one, it is unnaceptable in modern times that any

person should go without water, food, shelter, medicine or education.

Secondly, as wealth can be used to buy power, there is the problem of

democracy and law being compromised by the big money of the few.

Those who are in dire poverty are depressed beacuse of it, but so are

the wealthy. Western countries may be ten times as rich since WW2, but

are also ten times as unhappy. You can turn off the TV when you see a

starving kid on telly, you can justify it with this or that

philosophy, but you can't make it go away, because your true self

knows "it's wrong".

The traditional left and right have made matters worse. Socialists

have believed in taking money off the rich and giving to the poor.

This has resulted in two problems. The better off have become

aggrieved at being "robbed" by the taxman. The poor have not spent

their handouts wisely, and have effectively become addicted to state

benefit.

Conservatives fair no better, in that they see nothing wrong with

inequality, and that somehow the poor deserve their predicament.

Therefore the wealthy have no moral obligation towards poorer sections

of society.

Why are these false philosophies? Because they are based on jealousy.

The left are jealous of the rich, the right are jealous of the poor.

Jealousy is indeed the root of all hate, and effective solutions to

problems come not from this but from love

Poverty and inequality, whether local or global, have two causes. A

lack of humility amongst the rich, and a lack of inspiration amongst

the poor.

In amateur golf, if one gets a hole in one, it is traditional to buy

drinks for everyone at the clubhouse. Most are quite happy to go along

with this, as they are grateful of winning.

In the game of life the same should apply. Winners have only achieved

their success by the grace of God, and need to remember that. Material

wealth is a privilidge, not a right. This privilidge has a price- the

successful are morally responsible for the well being of the less

fortunate. And it isn't money that the poor need. It's genuine love.

To know someone cares is the best possible motivation for self

improvement.

The same goes for loosers. There's no shame in loosing fairly in any

game, as the saying goes, "there's no failure, only feedback". Those

who die poor, but to have lived a good and honest life, will have at

least enjoyed themselves in the process. If you win a game by

cheating, you don't enjoy yourself long term.

I'm not a great fan of class systems, but I can't help feeling that

many of the wealthy today are lacking in real "class"- the idea of

being a "Gentleman". There are pitifully few, if any, genuine Kings

and Queens around- who instead of being the apex of the class system,

transcend it. Many are happy to "enjoy" (it's a rather false

enjoyment) the trappings of power, fame and fortune without accepting

the responsibility that comes with it. Conversely, many of those less

favoured materially feel a resentment to those better off. This is

rather futile, as those with money and power are no happier than the

poor. Just look at how short lived many celebrity marriages are. My

missus and I have been together twice as long as Paul McCartney and

Heather Mills, and we're both skint.

Interestingly, the word jealous is very similar in spelling to the

word zealous (which is derived from the zealots, a biblical bunch of

religious fundementalists) . Is this a coincidence, or as I suspect,

the two words came from the same one.

To be zealous means to be overly serious. And jealous, means exactly

the same when applied to the game of life. To be so concerned about

winning, that one is prepared to sacrifice good sportsmanship to

achieve it. And with sportsmanship, goes any enjoyment of playing.

We need to remember why we are playing this "game of life", and the

reason is the same as any other game. To learn, make friends, raise

standards of play, and most of all, have fun.

Man has become the most dominant animal on this planet, with no

predators other than himself. Accumulating stockpiles of wealth,

power, fame and sexual partners is the game of "primary survival", a

game which has run its course and is no longer relevant.

Those who are in dire poverty are depressed beacuse of it, but so are

the wealthy. Western countries may be ten times as rich since WW2, but

are also ten times as unhappy. Suicide rates are sky high. You can

turn off the TV when you see a starving kid on telly, you can justify

it with this or that philosophy, but you can't make it go away,

because your true self knows "it's wrong".

Whether rich or poor, we need to ask ourselves- "what can we give?". I

have a theory that we could feed and clothe every person on this

planet with the stuff that goes into our landfill sites. And it

doesn't have to be material either. The knowledge in our minds can

enrich people, as can the love in our hearts. In the north, we've got

the cash but it's rather cold (emotionally as well as the weather!).

In the south, I believe there's a lot of warmth but little cash.

I'm a musician and I felt the "Live 8" concerts were a huge missed

opportunity, as the whole thing was aimed at presidents and prime

ministers, who as politicians rarely come up with anything they

promise. All the western acts were on one

stage, all the (less "TV worthy") African acts on another. This

segregation for me ruined the event- let's say they'd have all been

mixed up, it might of opened peoples eyes to some wonderful culture

from poorer nations. And this could have led to- wait for it-

FRIENDSHIP developing between the rich and the poor. Africa has as

much to offer us as we have to offer them.

And when we're friends, we can share what we've got to our mutual

benefit. We can give and take without the need for the tax man or the

girocheque. We simply help each other out the best we can. And the

more we get to know each other, the more useful talents we find in

ourselves.

Andy Wainwright T/A The Positive Party

Posted by andy wainwright at 00:40 0 comments

Is a crime free society possible?

CONSCIENCE- PREVENTION IS BETTER THAN CURE

Firstly, let's consider the issue of conscience. This is a belief in

natural justice. Christians believe in "Heaven and Hell", eastern

religions believe in "Karma", atheists believe in "Vibrations"-

practically all belief systems have something similar. The idea is

that when we make a mistake of judgement, we are held to account by

the universe until we put that "mistake" right. The film "Groundhog

Day" is a humorous take on this, where a man has to relive the same

day over and over, till his day is perfect.

In my opinion, it is this that makes the difference between

civilisation and barbarity. The reason that the majority of people

would not consider committing a murder is not fear of imprisonment or

execution. It is having to live with "blood on hands". Most people

would rather have the happiness of innocence than the shame of guilt,

even if it meant being less well off in the material sense.

Deep down, I think we all feel this way. In my case, experience of

life has taught me this. Were I to meet Bill Gates on the top of a

deserted cliff, with a van containing his entire fortune in unmarked

bullion, I wouldn't take the opportunity to push him off and bag the

loot. Ten years ago, I probably would have done, because of my lack of

maturity and spiritual awareness.

I don't believe there's anyone who's truly evil, I've never met such a

person. Where "evil" comes from is immaturity and psychosis

(delusions). One of the biggest tragedies of mankind is there's

relatively few years between being immature and being senile. By the

time we've worked out how to use of brains and bodies to their best

potential, they are starting to fail. One view that I've seldom heard

expressed is the contribution of low life expectancy to poverty (a

vicious circle) - the lack of old people to pass on knowledge stunts

the intellectual and moral development of the young.

In the developed world, education and the media unfortunately tend to

perpetuate a childish outlook, rather than promote an adult one. They

tend to push the importance of material wellbeing above a spiritual

one. Religion could help here, but the problem is religions try to

force their dogmas on the young. In my experience, true faith

(humanism included) is something that cannot be taught, but can only

be learned by the willing.

The mass media promote jealousy. One of the tabloids' favourite tricks

is to launch the career of a celebrity with good publicity, then

subsequently destroy it with scandal. The provoking of envy is

involved in both the rise and fall- it is seeded by the former and

gratified by the latter. When they expose the sex/drug/whatever shame

of the rich and famous they are saying "You've got everything- you

SHOULD be happy". Of course riches and fame do not make happiness and

scandal hit celebrities expose this myth. The two things that do are a

high self esteem and a clear conscience.

The mainstream education system, both state and private does a good

job with the majority of pupils in the intellectual domain. The vast

majority leave school numerate and literate. However, the social

development side increasingly plays second fiddle- one problem is it's

very hard to measure. You can have exams for maths and science, but

not for outlook. It saddens me that there's people leaving even "top"

schools, bright, confident but with no real purpose to their

existence- and resultingly an attitude which is at times unpleasant.

Another interesting movie with theological overtones is "Bruce

Almighty". In one scene, Jim Carrey's character, who has been

appointed God for a week, answers everyone's prayers with a "yes", and

anarchy ensues. Why? Because, in the words of Morgan Freeman's God

character, "people don't know what they want".

These are the questions that needs to be at the heart of educating

youngsters. What do they want out of life? And why do they want it?

And how will they achieve it? Oddly, neither philosophy or psychology

are considered key subjects. This is strange, as these subjects are

essential in answering questions about ourselves. If we can't

understand ourselves, we can't understand anyone else.

The bottom line is, everybody has a conscience, but we have to learn

to listen to it. This means thinking beyond simply what we have been

taught.

FEAR OF CRIME- THE CRIMINAL'S FRIEND

Another failing of the tabloid media has been the exaggeration of

crime, driven by the desire for newsworthy stories. This has the

effect of making the public more fearful of crime, leading to deserted

streets and people being frightened to tackle antisocial behaviour

themselves.

THE LAW

If we want a society that is law abiding the law has to be fair.

Unfortunately, in just about every country, the law is rather

arbitrary and random. A good example is alcohol being legal and

cannabis being illegal. In terms of damage to the user and those

around them, these two substances are roughly equivalent. Yet one is

available in shops and the use (and especially cultivation) of the

other is punishable in many states by imprisonment.

Such anomalies make a mockery of the law. They give people a good

excuse to break it. Law-makers seem overly keen on passing

controversial laws, where public support is patchy. Around 99% of the

population support laws against rape. A lot less would support laws

against prostitution. Every police officer working at clamping down on

vice is one less working on rape cases. Wouldn't it be better for law

enforcement and criminal justice personnel to concentrate all their

efforts in stopping acts that practically everybody agrees is a crime.

Generally these are murder, physical/sexual assault, harassment, theft/

fraud, and related offences.

I believe a solution to making the law fair would be the incorporation

of the "law of reciprocation" into constitutional law.

This is, in the words of Jesus (and words of many others to the same

effect) "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you"

This could be achieved by the following. To achieve a conviction, a

court would have to agree that a third party (the first party being

the offender and the second the state) was either harmed or subjected

to an unacceptable risk of harm by the offender. In certain cases

"wildlife and pets" could count as a third party. Any case that did

not meet this criteria would be dismissed.

Restricting prosecutions to offences where there is either an actual

victim, an intended victim, or a potential victim would radically

streamline the criminal justice system. Tackling "victim crime" is

where the public want the police and courts. Another advantage of this

approach is it is entirely "culture neutral", thus much fairer in a

modern multicultural nation.

ENFORCEMENT

One problem with authoritarian approaches to policing is actually the

same issue that dogs socialist economic policy- that of too much

government intervention. The more society relies on the police to keep

it crime free, the less it is able to do it itself. There will always

be more lawbreakers than police officers, and that being the case,

many will escape justice by sheer numerical odds.

If we are to have a low crime society, it is the public that must take

the initiative. If every law abiding citizen acts as a law enforcer,

then the minority who offend stand a far slimmer chance of succeeding.

Again, because at present the law is so unfair, many largely decent

people dislike the police- it's not just criminals who refer to police

as "the pigs" - and are unwilling to assist them in their work. Try

reporting a burglary, and then being busted for smoking pot!

I once left a brand new bicycle in a small town, where everybody knows

everybody else, unlocked outside a shop for three days (I'd forgot

about the bike and walked home). By the time I'd come back for the

bike was still there. By contrast I left a cheap second hand bike

padlocked to a wall in a big city. It was gone in 2 hours. The penalty

for stealing a bike was exactly the same in both locations.

Where the police and courts need to be used as the "muscle" backing a

vigilant public.

Some methods of improving law and order involve restricting human

rights, other methods don't. When politicians have the choice between

them, I feel it's a shame that they choose the "big brother" approach.

Law enforcement is meant to improve human rights, not diminish them.

However our leaders make it seem like a choice between freedom and

order. Better equipment, civilian support and training for police, for

example, doesn't take away anyones freedom. Something that also stands

out is lack of intelligence by police and prosecutors when prosecuting

some offenders- you often hear about "we had to let him out because of

human rights laws" and other similar excuses. It seems some put making

an authoritarian political point- wanting more power- before doing the

job they're paid to do.

SHARIA LAW- SOME USES

The Islamic "Sharia Law" has widely been panned in the secular west

for it's barbaric practises. But one belief that sticks out as

sensible is the concept of "blood money". This allows the victim (or

their surviving relatives) to pardon the criminal in exchange for a

sum of cash. Would it not be a bad idea to give the victim a choice

between a criminal punishment and a civil compensation.

DETENTION- A PRECIOUS RESOURCE TO BE USED SPARINGLY

There has been a lot of concern about the growing size of the prison

population, both in the UK and abroad. The authoritarian reaction to

this is to build more prisons. But reading through local newspapers,

it seems that around two thirds of people who are sent to prison do

not need to be there. By "need to be there", I mean an unacceptable

risk to themselves and others. Currently, prison sentences depend

largely on the crime, rather than psychiatric need. Jail is hugely

expensive, and needs to be used for only those who absolutely need to

be there.

To explain what I mean, lets compare prisons to hospitals. When we go

to see the doctor with a cold he doesn't say "you have a cold, you are

to spend two weeks in hospital. You have a broken back- you are to

spend six months in hospital.". Admissions are kept to the bare

minimum to keep the costs low, and logistical problems such as cross-

infection. How long someone stays in in-patient treatment in

conventional clinical care depends entirely on how well they progress.

A severe behavioural problem- to the extent that requires locking

someone up- is a mental illness, and needs to be treated as such, in

the instution best played to deal with that behaviour.

I would advocate the replacement of prisons (under the home office)

with secure behaviour units (under the NHS). People would be admitted

to AND discharged from such a facility by a judge/magistrate (and

"jury" consisting of members of the public) following a full

psychiatric report. There would be no minimum or maximum term, it

would depend on improvements in behaviour and state of mind.

Offenders in this institution would not be punished- loss of liberty

is already distressing enough. They would have the right to do

anything legal- that can be safely supervised by the staff- within the

confines of the instution, including conjugal visits (alcohol/drugs

excepted due to their interference with psychiatric treatment) .

Therapy- such as anger management, relaxation and medical treatment

would be optional, but would obviously count toward the prisoner's

release.

THERAPY

Most of those who regularly commit crime, or commit serious offences,

have some deep psychological issues that need addressing. Should this

not take place, this behaviour will continue. Before anybody is

released back in the comunity, it is these such issues that must be

resolved- at least to the extent where their condition is manageable

in the community. At present, for example, crack addicts are often

released while still hooked. More resources are needed for the

treatment of criminals with mental disorders. Of particularly urgency

is the diagnosis and treatment of such conditions before a crime is

committed. This is hampered by the stigma surrounding mental illness-

people (both the patient and those around them) need to know the early

signs, and feel able to approach health services and be treated

seriously and sympathetically.

As well as mental health issues, life skills need to be taught, such

as filling in forms, applying for jobs, socialising etc.

The government in the UK recently brought in a law to make it a legal

necessity for those suffering certain types of mental illness to take

their prescribed medication. While I am in agreement that those who

need it SHOULD take medication, FORCING someone to take medication is

counter-productive. If you are paranoid of the government, you'll

probably believe they want to poison or labotomise you. If people feel

the medication is for their benefit, and using it is their own free

choice, they are most likely to take it.

PUNISHMENT

So far we have looked at detention and rehabilitation as separate

issues. Punishment is another one. The public expect someone found

guilty of a crime to pay their debt to society. Not only that, but

"paying back" also eases and strengthens the conscience of the

offender. This payback should be just that. I believe the only

punishment that is genuinely not "cruel or unusual" is community

service. This should come into play after the rehabilitation (and

detention where necessary) component is complete. Another advantage of

community service is it can be used to build up the offender's CV,

making it easier for him to find work.

What I would suggest is the creation of a "probation force" based

along the lines of the armed forces, where those who have committed

offences have to enrol as "cadets". Cadets would be trained in various

skills, and brigades of them used as an anti-dereliction service. It's

been noted that if vandalism isn't repaired, it encourages more

vandalism, and giving the impression that nobody cares, becomes an

attractive area for criminals to operate in. Probation force cadets

would be in radio contact with police, and part of their duty would be

to report suspicious behaviour. Giving people responsibility is

perhaps the best way to make them grow up. Why not make a former

burgalar responsible for preventing burgalarlies on his block- the his

sentence would depend on his success at preventing crime.

Community service should be avaliable in full time (for the

unemployed) and part time (to fit round a job) varieties.

To illustrate how these approaches might work, consider the typical

mugger and the sentence he might receive under the present system.

sentenced to five years in prison, paroled after three, released back

in to the community

under this new system

sentenced to five years community punishment following rehabilitation

spends one year in rehabilitation in a secure behaviour unit, becoming

drug free and mentally stable

spends two years in full time community service helping renovate

derelict neighbourhoods. Mental rehabitation continues.

obtains employment using skills gained in training

spends three years, part time, patrolling the streets in a mugging

hotspot.

Posted by andy wainwright at 00:37 0 comments

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