Category Archives: 2007

Blogs for 2007

Nov 20 2007

Rev Jesse Jackson and The Rainbow Push Coalition

Wow! What a week it was last week.
I had a call late Thursday to interview Reverend Jesse Jackson.

Mono:

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Stereo:

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He was passing through London and I had a chance to meet and interview him for a friend in an organisation.

It had some amazing points to make about the importance of justice and equality, through his work with
The Rainbow Push Coalition – The Rainbow PUSH Coalition is a progressive organization fighting for social change.
As a mighty coalition of conscience; workers, women and people of color have the power to make the
American Dream a Reality!

They believe that the issues consist of:

The Issues
RPC is dedicated to improving the lives of all people by focusing on cures for social, economic and political ills.
Our issues include but are not limited to:

• Jobs and Economic Empowerment
• Employee Rights and Livable Wages
• Educational Access
• Fair and Decent Housing
• Voter Registration and Civic Education
• Election Law Reform
• Fairness in the Media, Sports, and Criminal
• Justice System
• Political Empowerment
• Trade and Foreign Policy
• Affirmative Action and Equal Rights
• Gender Equality
• Environmental justice

and in terms of the UK http://www.equanomics.org.uk/
Equanomics UK is a growing coalition of organisations across the UK who want to develop more economic
analyses and approaches to equality in the UK. It is a project incubated at the 1990 Trust.

It was fascinating to hear him talk about the need for greater equality and ways that it could materialise, for example:

* Investing in firms, through stock purchasing
* Making people aware that the recent sub-prime mortgage problems may impact selective communities.

With regard to the latter, there will be marches held in December 2007, in both Wall Street and London’s stock
exchange area to highlight the need for a rescue package. The Rainbow Push Coalition on their site suggests…

It is time to act. Join us on December 10 on Wall Street and in cities across the country.
Stand up to stop the wave of home loan defaults that threatens to foreclose not just on their homes but on our hopes.
The problem keeps getting worse. Two million homeowners face foreclosure over the next year. Their neighbors will
lose billions in the equity they have in their homes. Millions will find themselves stuck, unable to get a decent price
for their homes in a flooded market. Tens of millions more will tighten their belts. Communities will struggle with budget crises….

It is interesting some banks were quick to lend. However, now that there is an issue, they need to show both
Corporate Responsibility and justice. Now is the time for creative solutions to ensure that people, all who are hardworking
can manage their existence and dreams.

 

Nov 9 2007

Sikhs Celebrate Diwali because…

What a wonderful time of year we have now embarked upon. In the UK and for many in the Northern Hemisphere we will obviously have to adapt to it getting darker earlier and a possible turn in the weather – a turn in the downwardly direction in terms of temperature! It won’t be long before the memory of chipping ice of your windscreen will come rushing back. Those winds will be cutting our faces in a reminder that winter is here. Let us all hope that it will be safe for us all.

At this time of year in London many festivities are co-inciding: Bon Fire night and the Festival of Lights for Hindus and also a time when Sikhs celebrate a special event.

There was a time when our sixth Guru, Guru Har Gobind and Emperor Jahangir (son of Akbar) were friends. Over time, Jahangir became dictatorial. These emotions were combined with opportunist ministers who wished to protect their own positions and interests. Amongst them was Chandu who gave false information and unfounded accusations against our Guru. The Emperor ordered the arrest and imprisonment of Guru Har Gobind at the fort of Gwalior.

The Sikhs in Delhi and Amritsar protested at the foul play. Chandu wrote to Har Das, the commander of the Gwalior fort, ordering him to poison or murder the Guru; he was promised a large reward. Har Das had become a devotee to the Guru and placed all Chandu’s letters before the Guru.

There were many Rajahs and princes in the same prison. Queen Noor Jahan felt the unfair imprisonment of the Guru and convinced him to release the Guru. The Guru refused to leave the fort unless all the princes were released as well. The Emperor agreed and the Guru was hailed as ‘Bandi Chhor’. The news spread all over India.

After the release, the Guru went straight to Amritsar. On the way people sprinkled water on dusty roads, started Langars (free kitchens) and placed earthen lamps on their housetops at night. When he reached Amritsar, thousands of Sikhs thronged to see the Guru, and on the night of his arrival, placed lamps in the streets and on housetops and distributed sweets. This day is still celebrated every year, which coincides with Diwali.

Another event took place in 1737 and is also known as Bandi Chhorh Diwas (Diwali) . Bhai Mani Singh transcribed the final version of Guru Granth Sahib upon dictation from Guru Gobind Singh Ji in 1704 at Damdamma Sahib. After heavenly abode of Guru Sahib in 1708, he took charge of Harmandir Sahib’s management. In 1737, invitations were sent to the Sikhs all over India to join Bandi Chhorh Diwas celebrations at Harmandir Sahib. A large tax of rupees had to be paid to the Mogul governor of Punjab, Zakariya Khan. Bhai Mani Singh Ji later discovered the secret plan of Zakariya Khan to kill the Sikhs during the gathering. Bhai Mani Singh Ji immediately sent message to all the Sikhs not to turn up for celebrations. Zakariya Khan was not happy about the situation and he ordered Bhai Mani Singh’s assassination at Lahore by ruthlessly cutting him limb-by-limb to death. Ever since, the great sacrifice & devotion of Bhai Mani Singh Ji is remembered on the Bandi Chhorh Diwas (Diwali).

Nov 6 2007

Bullying on TV

I’ve written about the appalling behaviour of some people on TV in the past. For example, Dragons Den. Recently I considered how many programmes of this type actually rely on a bullying factor. I accept that programme editing may influence the end product, yet some of the things said, if taken at face value can be demoralising and spiteful. Sure, some people may have become successful and it maybe irritating to view some ‘interesting’ propositions, but the art of tact, tolerance and decency seems to have disappeared.

I strongly believe that ruthlessness is not the route or path to success. I live in hope that people are essentially good but if one is faced with a situation of threat to human rights. We have to stand-up and ensure that evil does not prevail.

Back to debate on TV bullies. Does this mean that to make TV watch able we need to see such terrible behaviour? If we believe in the old adage, ‘What goes around, comes around’, then maybe these bullies will have to face the music eventually. Do some of these people sleep at night? Remember the film, Flatliners? The movie features how one could be possibly haunted by all the bad things you’ve done during your life!

The government is clear that we will not stand for bullying in schools, yet everyday successive and appetite fuelling reality TV programmes showcase bullying in all shapes and sizes. Whether it is race, sex or weight, the formula of placing one judge as a ‘hate’ figure is the same. What adds further spice is often the arrogance of the bully in question. He is mocked but still appears smug in his/her comfort zone.

If motivation is the key issue, then I have to say that bullying never works. Instead it can cause deep rooted emotional cuts.

Personally, I can reflect on my childhood of being bullied for the first three years at senior school. Everyday I was the target for an easy fight. A punch here and there from anyone that past my way became an unfortunate acceptable norm for me.

It was not until my 4th year aka year 10, that I managed to redeem some element of respect. I remember the fight to this day. I was in a brawl with one of the schools biggest bullies. I won the fight. Considering the technique, I wasted a lot of energy by punching the opponent in the back. The scene was barbaric; I was surrounded by a circle of kids, probably 10 deep, all shouting, ‘Bundle, Bundle’.

My redemption was through showing strength. I could not take being a punch bag anymore.

Today we have more rules and a different atmosphere to assist our kids. However, some TV executives are probably the bigger bullies, being sadistic rather than being creative.

We should be projecting our energies for the common good, not supporting the common bad. The last thing we want is for a double standard both from a corporate and personal perspective, who knows where it could end up!