Sewage now pollutes every single beach between Brighton and Hastings

Heading to the south coast for a summer break? You might struggle to find somewhere clean to swim

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Unfortunately, it is not just every single beach between Brighton and Hastings, but many more beaches around the UK and even many rivers and the longer it goes the pollution just gets worse.

But it is not just a question of lack of investments, which is certainly a major cause, but the inefficiencies of the current private companies and before them the nationalised water authorities. So, will nationalisation be the answer, I fear not, as in those instances it is down to Governments to direct the investments, and over the last 100 or more years Government have been, as much as lacking in doing so as the private companies and could have been more so.

This is due to monies not being ‘ring fenced’, and used by these Governments for whatever areas they so wish. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised that the private companies have invested more in per years than previous Governments. The public are either looking through ‘rose tinted’ glasses or are so young that they have never experienced nationalised industries in the UK.

Just look at Railways, the UK invented railways or steam locomotives, but due to insufficient investments other countries railways expanded way above the UK and, in fact in the 60s, UK railways contracted under Beeching.

Source: Sewage now pollutes every single beach between Brighton and Hastings

Abortion rights: history offers a blueprint for how pro-choice campaigners might usefully respond | The BMJ

In October 1971, the New York Times reported a decline in maternal death rate.1 Just 15 months earlier, the state had liberalised its abortion law. David Harris, New York’s deputy commissioner of health, speaking to the annual meeting of the American Public Health Association, attributed the decline—by more than half—to the replacement of criminal abortions with safe, legal ones. Previously, abortion had been the single leading cause of maternity related deaths, accounting for around a third. A doctor in the audience who said he was from a state “where the abortion law is still archaic,” thanked New York for its “remarkable job” and expressed his gratitude that there was a place he could send his patients and know they would receive “safe, excellent care.” Harris urged other states to follow the example set by New York and liberalise their abortion laws.

Just two years later, in 1973, the US Supreme Court intervened. In the landmark decision, Roe v. Wade, the Court …

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Abortion, an emotive subject whether you agree with abortion or not.

I honestly feel, that if it was males who gave birth, rather than women, then all these anti-abortion actions would be greatly reduced. Males don’t understand or don’t wish to understand the feelings of women and only look at everything from a male perspective. For far too long women have been and in some cultures still are controlled by males, when, really males and females should be equal. While in ma and in many instances this should be so, but as history shows many areas where women have gained more independence and control of their lives. However, hard fought for rights are always there to be taken away, as is seen in America by the overflow of Roe v Wade.

The American Constitution is held in high esteem in America and so it should, but it was written in 1787 and in force by 1789, but that is many years ago and time has moved on and in some ways so as The Constitution, but not as much as the Bill of Rights 1689, which is a somewhat equivalent in England and was in some way an extension of Magna Carta.

But these were written very many years ago and mainly by middle aged white men, based on hard Christian principles of that time. But, as we know time has moved on and so has the cultures both in racial, disability, gender and many others, including religion.

Women, these days have a much greater degree of input into all areas and rightly so, but in America, women, in some respects are still disregarded and certainly are some persons whose ethnicity is non-white. Unlike in 1789 we are now all equal and the Constitutional Rights should encompass that.

Overthrowing Roe v Wade is a retrograde step and the rights of women have been seriously undermined and not only that, as in the States that have now banned abortions, this is effecting the poor rather than the not so poor. As some of the not so poor could travel to other states who still allow abortions, but the poor can’t afford to do so. But banning abortions will not stop then, but it may reduce then, as the poor will more than likely still wish to have an abortion and will therefore find a ‘back street’ abortion, which is more than likely to mean the women and her to be born baby will be at more serious harm. Yes, the baby will still die, but in circumstances which are far from good and there is a very strong likelihood that the women could receive great serious harm and in some instances death.

The anti-abortionist are now elated that they have gotten their way, but at great cost to women and in doing so have returned women’s rights to medieval times, instead of the 21st century.

In reversing Roe v Wade it is not a great achievement, but forcing all to live their lives by strict, outdated Christian principles, which even in the 1600s were viewed to be extreme, hence the Pilgrim Fathers left England to the Netherlands before embarking on their voyage to the New America. In doing so they also seriously infringed the rights and lives of the Native Americans, who they treated abominably, pushing them off their own lands and killing them when they resisted, is that any different to Russia in Ukraine.

If the Pilgrim Father were doing this today, it could be viewed as a form of terrorism.

 

 

Source: Abortion rights: history offers a blueprint for how pro-choice campaigners might usefully respond | The BMJ

The days of British supremacy and ‘native’ obsequiousness are well and truly over

Not only are the ‘days of British supremacy and ‘native’ obsequiousness are well and truly over’, they should never have been there.

What right had Britain and other Western Nations have to subjugate persons of any  other nations or countries, so why should the natives of those countries have any gratefulness. Britain took what it wanted without any request to do so, even enslaving the peoples and took them from their country of origin and placed them in another many 1000s of miles away and not only that, but took their freedoms away, so be grateful for what.

It is Britain and the other Western nations who should be grateful that these persons, whose ancestors were treated so disgracefully, are still wishing to be associated with us to any degree.

Slavery was as wrong then as it is wrong now. These, so called, Christian countries should be so ashamed of themselves, and apologise  so profusely, but an apology was not forthcoming from William and he should be so ashamed that he did not.

 

Source: The days of British supremacy and ‘native’ obsequiousness are well and truly over

Modern-day culture wars are playing out on historic tours of slaveholding plantations

The romanticized notions of Southern gentility are increasingly at odds with historical reality as the lives, culture and contributions of the enslaved are becoming integral on tours of plantations.

 

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Slavery in any form is abhorrent and it is still occurring in many forms.

How any human can do this to any other human is beyond comprehension.

To say those who became rich on slavery be they, British, American, Dutch, Portuguese or any other Westerner is also not easy to understand and how did they see this from a Christian point of view. For if the Bible condones such actions then I say The Bible is a corruption of life for slavery should have no inclusion in any Christain thought and any who undertook such actions, were not Christians in my view.

But slavery was not new in the 17th/18th century, as it existed in the far east well before Christianity.

But, even today in America there are those who wish that slavery could be brought back, now you may feel that is not possible.

But, in effect it has never gone away for there is now Modern Slavery.

We all need to do what we can to ensure any forms of slavery are done away with, as we should all respect each other and no one should be more equal than another and have a right to freedoms and to live life.

Slavery is never good and for those who feel there were good slave owners are very much mistaken, but then not all slave owners were as bad as others, but they were still bad.

 

 

Source: Modern-day culture wars are playing out on historic tours of slaveholding plantations

Critics Tell GOP Rep. Lauren Boebert What To Do With Her ‘Prayers’ After Boulder Shooting | HuffPost UK

Yet another shooting and loss of life in America, when will it stop?

The gun lobby feel it will when everyone carries a gun, but was that not the case before ‘so called’ Law and Order was established in America. This was referred to the ‘Wild West‘, when virtually everyone carried a gun.

WShen it did not stop gun killings then and it will not know. Since then the range of firearms has increased considerably, as had the fire power of these weapons, for now instead of the six shot gun, the weapon of favour is the AR-15 semiautomatic rifle, a weapon with so much more fire power as the old six shot guns, a weapon of ultimate destruction, which is put forward as a weapon of defence. With a weapon of that nature there is no defence, just killings.

The only sure way of bringing the killings down is for very tight gun control, a ban on personal use of semiautomatic rifles and a removal of ‘open carry’ for the general population, this is what we do in the UK and our gun killings are no where the numbers of in America.

The referred defence is the, The Second Amendment, one of the ten amendments to the Constitution comprising the Bill of Rights, states: “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”.

Which means ‘The right to keep and bear arms (often referred to as the right to bear arms) is a right for people to possess weapons (arms) for their own defense.’.

It was adopted on 15 December 1791, this is well before the development of semiautomatic rifles and should therefore only relate to the firearms of that time and not of the current time.

For today , in certain areas, is back to pre 1791, they have learnt nothing over the years, so the killings go and on.

Where is the Human right to Life in America, for it appears to not exist.

Source: Critics Tell GOP Rep. Lauren Boebert What To Do With Her ‘Prayers’ After Boulder Shooting | HuffPost UK

Charge dropped against white woman who called police on Black bird-watcher

This says a lot about American Justice, which appears to have one law for persons who are White and another for persons who are Black.

Not only does it emerge with white and black individuals encountering each other, but in many instances how the Forces of law and Order behave.

Granted we only see through the media those that the Media wish us to see, but there does appear to be many elements in the various American Societies who wish for the clocks to be turned back to before Slavery was abolished or was meant to.

If this had been in reverse how would it have proceeded, well, I believe that the charge would not have been dropped. In fact, I was surprised that a charge was even brought, especially against the white women, for the expected would have been an incorrect charge brought against the Black bird-watcher, so this has to be seen as some progress, but far from enough.

To be Black in America is far from good for those who are Black, especially when many of the Police forces can not be trusted.

Source: Charge dropped against white woman who called police on Black bird-watcher

Team Biden’s mood changes dramatically as vote counts shift | TheHill

Joe Biden’s campaign breathed a sigh of relief Wednesday morning, as the Democratic nominee, in a dramatic turnabout, was able to overtake President Trump in key battleground states that could

Source: Team Biden’s mood changes dramatically as vote counts shift | TheHill

The complicated legacy of the Pilgrims is finally coming to light 400 years after they landed in Plymouth : The Conversation

Descendants from the Pilgrims were keen to highlight their ancestors’ role in the country’s founding. But their sanitized version of events is only now starting to be told in full.

Source: The complicated legacy of the Pilgrims is finally coming to light 400 years after they landed in Plymouth : The Conversation

Joe Biden: Trump’s Military Comments Are ‘Sick,’ ‘Deplorable,’ ‘Un-American’ | HuffPost UK

Trump reportedly called fallen soldiers “losers” and “suckers” in 2018.

Source: Joe Biden: Trump’s Military Comments Are ‘Sick,’ ‘Deplorable,’ ‘Un-American’ | HuffPost UK

 

 

Sen. Tom Cotton Calls Slavery Nation’s ‘Necessary Evil’ In Shocking Interview | HuffPost UK

Slavery “was the necessary evil upon which the union was built,” the Arkansas senator said in an interview.

Source: Sen. Tom Cotton Calls Slavery Nation’s ‘Necessary Evil’ In Shocking Interview | HuffPost UK