Hi, well then, I hope you all had a splendid holiday with lots of merriment with your family and friends! Here in Shropshire, where I live, it’s been quite beautiful with snow at Christmas, Boxing Day to be specific but still amazing. Anyway, enough of my dewy eyed view at the beauty of the world. Let’s talk about what’s been going on this week over the holidays.; It looks like I was right after all in relation to the Sony hacking palaver (see last two the weeks to get up to date #4, #5) After everything has been said and done, it looks like it still may be what I suggested from the outset- Sony paying hackers to hack them for publicity but the hackers went too far and nothing to do with North Korea. I would like to applaud Sony for this stunt, pretending to pull it, then not, then releasing it so you can stream it or go to the cinema on the same night for the sake of “freedom” (slow clap)

Anyway, that’s just my little moment of profound gloating, back to what’s been happening this week. Two police are shot at point blank in America – this again is an abhorrent act of cruelty from a deranged man who wound himself up on the media attention to the recent civilian shootings carried out by police. He decided that all cops must be bad and it was a dark day for that nation across the pond as more families suffer tragically. What I found thought provoking was the reaction of the New York City police and their colleagues at one of the funerals of the office who had been killed in the line of duty. An occasion that could have been a uniting factor for the police and the black community, coming together in grief, but instead of it being a uniting experience, the NYC Police decided to politicise it by turning their backs on the mayor of New York city as he read the eulogy for the fallen officer. They turned their backs because the mayor had criticised them – at a time when they should have been respecting their fallen comrade. The police officers turned their back because the Mayor (elected to represent the people) hadn’t stood with them against the voice of the “people”. I can’t talk for the American people as I am Brit but from my neutral point it does seem that the police that took that action view themselves as equal to or above people who have been democratically elected into office – to represent the will of the people. I can see that it is easy to feel that if you carry a gun you’re going to think you are the boss – but rule by gun went out a long time ago in the developed world. Politicians have to be elected to office, they have to be vetted by the people paying the taxes and during a Mayor’s time of office he or she speaks on behalf of the electorate – so what I’m saying, in a roundabout way, is this if the mayor is saying you’re wrong, then the people are saying you’re wrong and if you are seen turning your back on the voice of the people, just because he doesn’t say what you want him to say, then democracy is damaged and those sworn to serve and protect all of the people are saying ‘We got the guns, we do as we please and we don’t respect democracy! I can’t see how else you can interpret that gesture – just a thought is all.
I expanded on this thought as the week went on, on an issue closer to home. The story about the metropolitan police taking down adverts and banners pointing out that the met is corrupt and racist. A police force taking down articles of free speech is another attack on freedom and democracy. These posters, whether you agree with them or not, are simply sharing data that is freely available elsewhere so why are the police taking these down? Why are they attempting to shut the argument down before it has started? This strange attitude of policing has always given me chills. The classic line springs to mind, ‘who watches the watchmen?’ Methinks they protest too much!!!
I’ve talked a lot about freedoms and civil liberties because I believe in them strongly as the bedrock to any developed society. I have tried to convey that in my writing as my books have a central core of freedom in them. I believe that is how we are suppose to live – not governed constantly by every action but to live by a moral code that respects each other – but I see this difficult to achieve with our own police in the modern birth place of liberty and democracy acting in such troubling ways. It does seem that the banner of war on ‘terror’ and ‘immigration’ are taking away our freedoms more then we can fully realise. The amount of regulation today is mind boggling and stifling. The chance for adventure is gone for our generation- we can’t ride a motor bike without a licence, we can’t do anything without passing tests, adhering to regulations and filling in a form. Is this how we are supposed to exist in the 21st century? Constrained, repressed, shackled with little or no reason. The age of innovation had ended. My younger brother once said a comment to me about the way we live, “we are too late for the age of exploration and adventure and we are too early to explore the stars with all the freedom that would entail, instead we have only the internet to explore – with all its lies.” I do think this is true. We have been shackled by companies, corporations, bad government hypocrisy and nepotism – to ensure we conform, comply – resulting in the fact that anyone who is quirky and interesting being classified with some odd title or label. How can we strive and accomplish amazing things when we have shackled ourselves so much that young people today are the saddest generation, the most worried generation – it makes no sense. Our education system is designed to repress any rebellious spirit; it frowns on thinking differently, it cannot test unique minds and is at a loss at what to do with creative souls. It looks for ‘averages’ and ‘norms’. It is a hammer that smashes and beats us into the mould for the corporate world, where money is all that matters – not humanity, not progress for the good of all, progress only for the profit margin.
The profit motive has its place but does it have to be the only driver? Look at the oil companies killing this planet – you have to ask, would we have discovered a better propulsion system, better energy resources if they invested in actually finding them? If medicine and drug companies existed to help humanity kill dieses instead of simply serving their shareholders – we could then have an industry that could wipe out so many dangerous diseases. And what about weapons production? £127 billion a year is spent on R & D on this, the same as the whole of Africa’s ‘debt’ (they owe us for robbing them as I am sure you are aware – odd one that) What would happen if munitions stopped being produced for one year, what would happen if the money from each nation was spent to solve a problem such as every village in Africa be given a well for clean water – easily done with the diversion of money to it. If we, the people, actually stood up and said this is for humanity and must be done, not for profit, we are going to fix this! And we did one major ‘fix’ a year – This is what I’ve been thinking about this Christmas – we are all the same stuff, and are all of this planet – just think what we could achieve if we really tried to make the people we elect to represent us actually solve the things that we want putting right – now that’s democracy!
Finally, lizard squad -you don’t have the right to stop people playing games on Christmas because you think they should be with their family. People can do and should do what they want and you messing about to spoil peoples Christmas is no attack on a corporation – you are just hitting the small folk – shame on you. You are just another bunch of keyboard warriors like so many others – if you have the skills then why not spend your time tracking down pedo rings, exposing corruption by the big corporations or something worthwhile like that but you decide to attack normal people for no reason, just cos you can! Well done – slow hand clap – join the rest of the pile of meaningless and useless hacks!