Friends of Israel AND of Palestine!

Dear friend - of Prayer for Israel organisation

I have picked up my wife's copy of your latest 'Prayer Bulletin' on this Christmas Day (2008) afternoon and read some of it.

It does seem to be more about saving native-born Israelis for an eternity in heaven, rather than working for a more heavenly holy land, in the hear and now, where justice is done and seen to be done for the impoverished Palestinians, as well as the paranoid Jews. Do you, in fact, see any part of your discipleship as being about opposing Israeli government policy when it comes to allowing further homes forJews by forcing out Palestinians and turning a blind eye to further settlements in the West Bank? The new Great Wall or fence is encroaching into great swathes of the West Bank to leave the suffering Palestinians in an even more desperate plight. They are being constricted into enclaves controlled by the IDF and seem to be treated like prisoners in poorly run, open prisons where all movement is determined by the Israelis. Is this the way for your friends in Israel - born again believers and devout Jews - to be conducting themselves? Do you think that this turning of the screw ever further on the oppressed Palestinians is the best way to win friends and influence people? Or do you feel it perpetuates the hatred for Israel - a wealthy and very powerful nation that has so much when the Palestinians have so little, in comparison? Even their lands and livelihoods and olive trees are taken away from them. Yet, Israel is a modern, Western, highly materialistic, regional super-power that is heavily armed and possesses WMD - funded by the West. Even then you write, "Israelis can't take for granted their right to exist"! You could not get a bigger contrast with the plight of the 'imprisoned' Palestinians who,with every attack by Israel, get wiped out in far bigger numbers than the Israelis. And, in true hypocritical style, Israel is always pointing the finger at Hamas and Hezbullah for wanting to wipe Israel off the face of the map. In fact, Israel justs get on with it without any of the talk. Israel is all action; the Palestinian groups are all talk, it seems to me!

I think an even more shocking contrast is the evangelicals supporting this rich and powerful nation when their Lord and Saviour is the despised and rejected of men and the friend of tax collectors and sinners. The Lord rejected the temptation to rule over the world which the Christian West has been doing for many centuries with its European empires and, now, with the Anglo-American-Israeli hegemony! I am horrified by my Messianic Christian family - and others at church - assenting to all this. I am sure it just washes over you, fails to impinge and you just get on with the more serious business of saving souls for eternity! Saved for an eternity in heaven but extra judicial assassinations and pre-emptive attacks (always in the name of defence, of course!) on Palestinian fighters - as well as even invading the weak and defenceless nation of Lebanon - is all perfectly acceptable for the disciples of the Lord in this small but violent nation. And, it got the blessing of our God-fearing, UK Prime Minister in July/August 2006 War on Lebanon!

You wrote, "There are more believers in the IDF than at any other time in her history." Do you not think there is something deeply contradictory in followers of the Way of Yeshua giving their first and only allegiance not to the King of Love, the Prince of Peace and the Creator/Ruler of theUniverse but to the very fallible and sinful, Prime Minister Olmert of Israel and his Cabinet? You publish a piece from HKACM, with pride and approval that even more true Christian and Messianic believers are engaged in illegal attacks and invasions on their neighbours, as members of the armed forces. Armed forces that kill many times more of their neighbours than the Palestinians kill of them! All this when they are called to love God and love their neighbour as themselves!

This shocking record by Christian believers and Jews has gone on for sixty years in a constant war of attrition between Palestinian fighters and the IDF. I think you should be teaching your young Christians and Messianic Jews to have nothing to do with the illegality and aggression of the Israeli state. If they cannot be excused from conscription, they should suffer the consequences of total Christian discipleship and go to prison for the Lord - a privilege and a joy in such circumstances!

Could you please explain if PFI can be described as Christian Zionist? Who or what is a Christian Zionist? It is Scriptural for us to "pray (enquire about) for the peace of Jerusalem". However, should this not also include praying for the peace of Arab and Palestinian refugee camps, villages and towns? And, does not praying for peace mean being loving, peaceful and fair in all our dealings rather than being warlike and indulging in crimes of aggression? In the 34 day attack on Lebanon, 158 Israelis were killed of whom the very large majority were service people but, the IDF killed over 1000 Lebanese andPalestinians of whom most were civilians. It does seem to me that if you can't live at peace and in justice with your neighbours - and, as a minimum, refuse to vote for the war parties at elections and refuse to be conscripted - you cannot possibly have made peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. "Judgement (and repentance) begins in the house of the Lord".

60th b'day w/e - Jan 2008

I had a fabulous celebratory w/e with six close family members at a 4 star cottage 6 miles E of Devil's Bridge in mid-Wales. The weather was great onboth days and I had a superb 8 hour walk with my own two great children andthe guy who had better become my son in law - or else! Linda then did agreat meal in the evening and a discussion over future prospects forhumanity before the Will Hay film, 'Oh Mr Porter'!
On the big walk, Jon hugged a wind turbine - quite gigantic - we found aweather station that looked like a space craft just landed on planet earth;five footbridges over crystal clear rushing water; and even a 10 minutesjog downhill on a good track in beautiful countryside that was new to me.We even went to 2,000 feet and, at the summit, found a good stone shelterwith a sweeping, curving entrance that was better than anything I have seenanywhere else - really surprising! Unfortunately, it ended with a veryfine, character building, six mile road walk in the dark, when we couldn'tget a signal to summon a car! Only then did the youngsters outpace the oldman of 60! When he arrived back at the cottage, Tim got his car out, withJon, to pick me up. However, I was not that far behind so I wanted tocomplete the whole thing on foot - that Tim and Jon understood.

The Sunday morning was a leisurely walk on good paths and steps, a chainbridge and spectacular water features in Coed Hafod (Hafod Wood), nearby.

I'm longing to get back to Scotland next month to start on the Corbetts(2,500-3,000 ft) in earnest, with Ben Loyal. Meanwhile, I've had threeconsecutive Saturdays doing a 6, 8 and, yesterday, 5.5 hr walks.Yesterday's walk, was over Aran Fawddwy (905m), over snow and ice butthrough cloud and gale force winds. I had five thick layers on and I was,then, warm and cosy. It was exhilarating and I never had to bother with map, compass or, even torch!

"You should know better at your age!"

April 2010 near An Teallach. My last full day to visit three Corbett summits after my fourth night of bivying out under the stars - well, the stars on one bitterly cold night, anyway! It was 7 am and I was on the move. No stream to wash in but I was able to leave the rucsac for my return to travel light for the first Corbett. A steep band of snow meant I went off to the left and got onto steep but snow-free ground. I got away with it and on the descent took the safer route on the other side of the snow. I found the rucsac but then had a long walk into the next pair of Corbetts. Near to the base of the mountain I met two men walking through the mountains from Poolewe. They were taking a low-level route and were staying in the two bothies, the second of which they were almost at. I, however, was heading off to do the next two summits.

The map seemed to show a route that I could take that would mean I could climb around the rampart of crags above. It worked in March but this time I was getting onto ever steeper ground that led me up onto a rocky ridge. I made some hesitant progress but when it seemed never-ending and ever more hairy, I thought I should make a careful retreat down a very steep, mainly grass gully. My North Face mountain approach shoes with their studded soles held me to the mountain side and I clambered down safely. I found myself in a bowl or cwm having lost considerable height but, at least, there was now a clearer way up. From the ridge, the left-hand summit did look higher but labouring up to the ridge, I began to doubt my judgement. I went off the right-hand one first where I saw the true high point was indeed the one I had veered away from. That meant I lost more time doing an unnecessary summit.

I next had a difficult decision whether to play safe and return without completing the final Corbett or to risk all and go for it. I had no rucsac, torch, sleeping bag or even bivy bag. My bumbag held waterproofs, phone and a little food. It was the last full day, the final Corbett of the holiday, the weather was holding - so I went for it. I got to it in fine style, even phoned Linda from the summit and then had to very carefully check the map for the quickest and safest route off to find my rucsac and ultimate safety. Thankfully, I chose the correct side to descend off the ridge, kept the lochan to my left when the other side might have been a little quicker and then ended up half running and half walking to find my rucsac before darkness overtook me. In such situations, I always think the rucsac is on top of the boulder sooner than the actual boulder is found! However, I continued hunting, found the correct boulder with half an hour before the light faded completely. It was 2030 hrs and I had been out and on the move - and with a dodgy Achilles tendon - for 13.5 hrs. I think a record for me!

In the morning, I walked over to the bothy. The two men were still there and they confirmed the conclusion I had already come to - there is only one safe route up and down "the mini An Teallach", as one called it. And it was certainly not the route I had foolishly chosen to get up!

August 2010 in Dumfries and Galloway. I had a superb cycle ride from Castle Douglas to Newton Stewart after Linda and Mike dropped me off on their way to the Glasgow Girls' exhibition of paintings in Kirkcudbright. The ride took nearly five hours instead of three when I foolishly thought I could get along a 1.7 Km footpath between a forest road and a country lane. I ended up carrying the bike much of the way through bracken and tussocky grass. And, I could have had a nice downhill section on smooth tarmac on a road! Its only redeeming feature was that it was downhill and it taught me never again to introduce myself to the daunting venture of cyclo-cross at my age of 62! At one point, I was ensnared amongst low-lying branches, a stream and bracken on a steep section. I took a step or two to return from whence I came, only to find a wooden footbridge that I had missed amongst all the undergrowth. I climbed up to it and thought I'd continue, after all. By a cottage, on the lane where I came out I told my story to a father and son who were in their front garden. The old man laughed and the son was horrified at what I had done.

Whose killings are most reprehensible?

Israel's Commandos killing 9 civilians, without firearms, trying to deliver humanitarian food and aid is, I think, more reprehensible than a 52 year old troubled and tragic man killing 12 unarmed people. A Western government - as Israel is - should not be likened to Derek Bird and should not be saying they were acting in self-defence when doing their killings.

We should not expect bad behaviour from even a troubled and tragic Israel. Bad behaviour from troubled individuals like the Cumbrian killer is less reprehensible.

Mudguard breaks a grey area? Or, a new approach to customer relations

How's this for commendable customer service?!

I bought the German made mudguards from Brotherton Cycles in Old Hill on the 16 March. In the week beginning 3 May - on the Tues or the Wed - I noticed a break almost halfway between the stay and the metal bracket fixing the mudguard to the frame. I couldn't get back to Brotherton's until after work on the 10 May. I was astonished by the attitude of the proprietor who, like me, had never seen anything like it before but, who pronounced it was a grey area and was most reluctant to believe that it was not my fault. I thought it must be a defect in the manufacture but this guy was doubtful and even more doubtful of the old adage that the customer is always right even when he is wrong! After much humming and haaing he started to take the mudguard off, only to change his mind and to take a photo instead to send to the manufacturer in an e-mail.

I objected to the guy calling it a grey area as if I was partly, if not wholly, to blame. Any other cycle shop would have immediately replaced the mudguards and sent the faulty ones back. No way. Certainly not this shop! What a song and a dance he kicked up. He thought I must have done it by taking the handlebars to lift it up onto the back wheel so that the bottom of the rear mudguard (a rubber mudflap) scraped along the ground. I denied doing that. When I got home, I checked and found that the rear mudguard did not wrap far enough round the back of the back wheel to be able to touch the road. There were no abrasions on the bottom of the mudflap, anyway. He was reluctant to believe me that I had not crashed on the bike, had not dropped anything on to it nor, abused it in anyway. He suggested I had sawn it in two! I even had to ask that he should ring me once he had heard from the mudguard company. He was wanting me to ring him!

Two days later he did ring after hearing back from Germany. He was told that he would get his £19-99 back if he returned the faulty goods. Hence, I would get my refund.

I replied, "Could you not simply replace the mudguards? I'm sure the next set will not snap and I liked the quick and easy fitting of these otherwise excellent mudguards."
"No", came the response. "I don't want you coming back with another story of them having broken. I won't be giving you a second refund!"

Later that day, I showed the break to a colleague at work. He found a second break in the mudguard! This one was adjacent and forward of the metal bracket that wraps round the mudguard and is bolted to the rear brake and frame. "This is unbelievable", I said to Chris who had also never seen anything like it before.

Yesterday, Saturday, I returned the mudguard to Brothertons. True to his word, he refused to give me a replacement but handed me two £10 notes saying, "I'm not wanting the 1p change". I laughed out loud that this guy - a motorcyclist all wrapped up in his leathers - should feel the need to have to say such a thing. Perhaps, it was to redeem himself in my eyes!

Pushing the boat out or ...

... making the most of the daylight!

A week in Scotland in March to climb Corbetts. These are the Scottish hills between 2,500 and 2,999 feet. The idea was to see if my partially torn right tendon would stand up to the strain. I was constantly limping for the last four months of last year after using my zero carbon lawn mower. I got my foot at an awkward angle and loaded it too greatly when I pushed on the heavy machine up our steep front lawn.

The first week of a four and a half weeks holiday was a gradual toe-in in this great outdoor playground and wilderness. Well, that was the theory. After my first full day in Scotland taking in the little bump that overlooks the Kessock bridge, the second was going to be a slow ascent of my first Corbett of the year - 887m in Beinn Eighe NNR up the Mountain Trail. However, it went so well, I thought it would be a wonderful opportunity to do the next Corbett, that looked so near. Unfortunately, not bothering with any guide book or even properly studying the Landranger map, meant that I went quite the wrong way up a steep, scree slope. Eventually, I came round the high crags to the only gap through the encircling cliffs of Ruadh-stac Beag 896m. Quickly up through the narrow opening, over the summit plateau to the cairn and back down the only steep exit of loose rock. I then returned the correct and much pleasanter and safer ramp at the foot of the Corbett's near neighbour. This was an unusual geological feature I had never seen before. If I had studied the map more closely, I would have seen what a delight this route would have been for the ascent, too. When I reached the Mt Trail, I turned left. If I had bothered to look at the map, I would have seen the quicker way was right! I did that section the next evening in 3 hrs on my rest day. My first full day of gradual return to Corbett climbing, turned out to be one of 9.5 hrs and two big summits! No rain, cloud scraping the Munro summits and moderate wind and temperatures.

Western Priorities

For the West, democracy, corruption, sexual sins, family values are all considered more important than OUR violence, aggression and occupation of countries that, in the process, we turn into enemies.

Dealing with poverty, ill health ignorance and malnutrition just do not figure when compared with bringing Western values and beliefs and Western patterns of consumption to failed and failing nations - like Afghanistan!

Bomb Baghdad with bikes not bombs; kill Kabul with kindness - caring not killings!

Who are the real failed or rogue or terrorist nations round here? Who are the real axis of evil nations?

RECEPTION COMMITTEE BUT, WITH A SILVER LINING!

I had the whole farmer's family meet me on my return from a late winter's walk up Glasgwm and back. Having completely missed their newly created car park in Cwm Cywarch, I parked in the only spot I could find by their farmhouse.

It was 6.20 pm and they were obviously looking out for me, having seen the light from my headtorch coming down the hillside. I apologised if I had taken the wrong path through the farm but I hardly got the words out before they laid into me for starting the walk so late (2pm) and coming down in the dark. The farmer said that he hated people like me for putting the rescue services to such inconvenience and never having insurance. "If you can't find the car park, your map reading is crap and puts you in danger up the hill." The wife said that there had been a rescue of a walker further north in the national park that very day. I replied that I knew what I was doing and this afternoon's walk was part of my training . They were not impressed.

"Yet another stupid hill walker going out in bad weather with snow and ice everywhere", they must have thought.

Complete incomprehension by the locals for the sheer delight that some, like me, have for going out in what they think is a white hell, is a sheer white heaven for me!

What I should have said was "This is part of my continuous training in completing all the high hills in the UK and Ireland. I'm doing this kind of thing all the time; I'm properly equipped, with the right clothing; I'm qualified as a mountain leader in non snow conditions with the MLTB and I know this area like the back of my hand, having been here over many years in summer and winter conditions." I said none of that, however! Perhaps, that was just as well 'cos I had forgotten to take the ice axe out of the car, I was using instep crampons with my mt approach shoes, I didn't have insurance with the BMC and I very nearly didn't bother with taking the map (that I knew I didn't need to use, anyway). This was also my first major walk after four months of limping from an inflamed, weak tendon.

Three years ago, one of my party, in this very same valley, dialled 999 from her mobile when I lost my party who went steaming off without waiting for me to catch up. Aberdovey Outward Bound Mt Rescue were called out. We met them at the Red Lion in Dinas Mawddwy.

As I walked to the car after this harangueing, I saw that the farmer had put his Land Rover across the back of my car to make sure that I would have to call at the farmhouse to get out, anyway!

I then could not get the car started. I said to the farmer, "I now can't get the bloody car started. Could I make a free phone call from your landline, please?"

"It's a diesel isn't it? Try pumping the accelerator pedal up and down as you keep the key turning over the engine."

And that did the trick; no going into the farmhouse; no walking to the red kiosk 2 miles down the lane; and, no waiting for breakdown rescue. Brilliant! I didn't stop until I got to the the Brigands' Inn to change out of my mountain approach shoes and to take my coat off for the rest of the drive home.

1 January 2010

Struggles in snow plastered Wales

Fri 1 Jan 2010
This week, for the first time since August 2009, I've not been limping from my weak rht tendon. I thought I would try a quick up and down of Glasgwm from its nearest start. I was using my mt approach shoes with the cut away heel. They worked well with instep crampons in a walk a little over 4 hrs with an unexpected reception party from the farmhouse on my return!

Sun 3 Jan
A drive to within two miles of Pistyll Rhaeadr and an abortive walk 'cos of the deep, soft snow; a sheep caught in a fodder cage; and then a drive up to the old quarry at the top of the pass from Llangynog to Bala at 486m spot height.

Wed 6 Jan
Snow in Wales and the W Mids yesterday. Today I took JP back to uni on a fast run on empty roads with snow ploughs and snow blowers on the A44 over the mountains that rise to 420m south of Pumlumon. We enjoyed the snow on the ridge top trail at Nant y Arian. I very nearly came to grief with a very stupid attempt to drive down that very steep and ice covered side road near Jono's digs.

Sat 9 Jan
A gruelling walk from Llangynog to Post Gwyn at 665m in deep, soft snow that demanded snow shoes that I didn't have. Far too long at 6hrs with my weak tendon and without snow shoes. Four walkers ahead of me, I noticed, took the more sensible decision to walk over the hills from Llangynog to Pistyll Rhaeadr and the cafe there.

At times, I was up to my thighs in soft snow that meant I had to climb out of those steps! Eventually, I reached the road at a point where there was a low stone wall to jump down onto the road and on the upward side of a nearby cattle grid. On that ghastly descent, there was not one fence or wall to climb over, either and, I managed to avoid the crags to the NW and the cutting to the SE. It was a sheer fluke or, my guardian angel at work! Weeks of strong NE winds had piled the snow onto the lee side of the slopes, including the one I descended.

Sun 17 Jan

Back to Llangynog while the cold weather lasted. This time, I parked next to the road, below the high point of the pass near the track that I walked up towards the Berwyns. This time I did get further but the soft deep snow made me turn back. Lunch in the car and then down the road to park in Llangynog to walk up to circle contour GR 059278. Rusty metal post almost filled with water and nothing memorable when I examined Bedd Trynddyn; then, long descent, despite the thaw of the previous week, a deeply filled snow laden ride down steep slopes to three ponds in the heart of the forest - Tre-y-llan. It led to a track, an abandoned Land Rover, a magnificent looking house off to the left and then the road back to the village.

Telegraph thunders against thermomaniacs!

Thanks v much for the Daily Telegraph page featuring a broadside against the thermomaniacs like me and the telling cartoon next to it.

The cartoon summarises my position nicely. We in the rich West and North of the planet are so busy making wealth (bonuses from our "you've never had it so good" sham society) that we haven't noticed that there is an unfortunate downside to our ever rising material standards of living - that is, rising problems! In other words, what we take today we won't have tomorrow and, these heavy footed life styles affect the planet's life support systems to the detriment of life on earth. The cartoon has snow and ice turning into water to leave little habitable land on which to enjoy our material bonuses - ever rising material standards of living gives rising problems like energy and food security issues. Even the government is now realising they must get to grips with securing energy and food for our descendants.

We all enjoy being promised the moon by the main parties who are not at all bothered about the rather more important but mundane matter of guaranteeing the earth for our children and grandchildren! Only the Green Party has, in fact, got its priorities right. In other words, we gain the whole world (literally from the most extensive, longest-lasting and most powerful empire in the history of humanity that is still in control) and lose our soul - as someone a little wiser than Simon Heffer said!

Heffer, Lawson, Melanie Phillips, et al are all part of the self-satisfied, self-enhancing majority who think that sacrifice is all about the heroic sacrifice of being killed in Afghanistan by the resistance fighters rather than the restraint and noble sacrifice of living to tread more lightly on the planet to leave a land fit - not for heroes - but for others!

This trio of unbelievers do, of course, have a huge problem with climate science being championed by the Greens and the greens and other assorted left wing groups for over 30 years. The right has grown complacent with their built-in majority amongst the electorate and in government. Now, we have won the battle and they don't like, one little bit, the left being right and the right wrong!

I think it is more sensible to hope for the best but to prepare for the worst. More sensible to assume that the vast majority of international climate scientists are right and to behave accordingly.

Ben and Sharon

The Liverpool couple, Ben and Sharon, this week, shows that evangelical Christians do seem to have a problem with Islam. A problem, too, with homosexuals, Catholics, evolution and with those who want abortion brought within the law. At one time, it was Jews that Christians had a problem with. Anti-Semitism was rife in Europe. It culminated in Nazism and World War part 2. Now, evangelicals have a special warmth for Jews and Israel, convinced that their divine destiny is wrapped up with their own and the return of Christ. Israel must be specially favoured (and armed to the teeth) by Christians and the West because God does favour His chosen people, Israel. God has promised all Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza to the people of Israel (actually, much more extensive area of land in Joshua 1v4) and no-one can get out of that one or, that God runs the world to fulfill His promises in the Bible.

Once, it was protestant Christian America that believed it was their manifest destiny from the Lord who gave them all the land from the Atlantic to the Pacific. That belief drove them ever onwards and outwards to drive out the Indians, the Spanish and the French. The religious right in Israel is doing the same to this day - claiming, owning and settling ever more of the Lord's promised land. After all, it was promised only to themselves! Non-violence and sharing are alien concepts to these believers!

Yet, for me, the week began with my sitting in the prayer chapel at Russells Hall Hospital in Dudley reading the first three or four pages of the Koran and being astonished at how much the Koran has in common with the Bible. The children of Israel were mentioned, being steadfast in prayer and that Allah is merciful. However, little of this aspect of God seems to be shown by the religious right in the Holy Land who behave in such an unholy way; yet, Jews, Christians and Muslims are all the children of Abraham - and, like everyone else, are all part of the one human family!

Brits: more American than European

David Reynold's 'Empire of Liberty' looking back over 1,000 years of history on the N American continent was fascinating for someone like me who is more horrified than delighted by the behaviour of our American kith and kin. I say kith and kin because we Brits colonised what is now the USA to escape religious persecution by other religious people in England. Spain, Portugal and France also colonised the continent but our military prevailed. Our ancestors in England and Europe, said Reynolds, brought God, guns and germs to the native American Indians, especially germs!

Empire of Liberty is both a contradiction in terms but also accurately summarises American history over the last 500 years, I think. Liberty for the white man; empire that enslaved millions of black people; and, empire that incorporates us and imperialism over the poor world or, the black (non white) nations in the world.

The native Indians had survived for thousands of years before the white man appeared on the scene and upset their apple cart - well and truly! Their civilisation was impressive and was sustainable, unlike our own that is built on the flawed foundations of black sand - oil, coal and gas. That means we are eating tomorrow's seed corn and, therefore, contain the seeds of our own destruction, as our resources exhaust and life support systems collapse from our behaviours that are so alien to how we should be living as part of nature and part of the earth and Earth. We belong to the earth and the Earth, rather than the Earth belonging to us!

I think, we Brits are hopeless Europeans because of these traditional links with the new country. They speak the same language, they built their new country on England's example but with great improvements and, there is much more inter-marriage with them than with our European neighbours.

Hopeless Europeans because we have fought countless wars with them over more than 1,000 years that, finally, culminated with the Great War and its sequel in 1939. The European empires around the world and their religious persecution and wars are also a feature of European and British history.

Whereas, our good friends the Americans have bailed us out twice in the World War in two halves and then bailed us out again with their enormous loan that we only finally paid off a couple of years ago! We, in our turn, for 64 years have been their staunchest allies in our joint wars against godless Communism from Korea to Cuba, today and military occupation of Arab lands to this day - Israel, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran (to the overthrow of our stooge, the Shah), Afghanistan and Pakistan (our drones killing people in the borderlands). The Americans even supported us in the Falklands War after initially disapproving of Mrs T's bellicosity and intent to take back the islands.

As with the Middle East, our own green and pleasant land has been slowly disappearing under concrete runways, motorways, and American military bases for nuclear and conventional missiles and bombs. Our island is still America's largest aircraft carrier. We are, unofficially, the 51st state of the USA! We are the only nation that has a special relationship with them.

No wonder, so many Brits want independence from Europe and continuing dependance on hyper power, America!

BNP, churches and the Greens

BNP is appealing to the Christian vote - already right wing and concerned about their faith being undermined by a growth in Islam, especially from the evangelicals I have spoken to. I think evangelical Christianity does have sympathy with traditional Britain being Christian and white and hankering after that former state. Now, Britain is even more less white and more Islamic - from immigration and from immigrants being younger and therefore, being more fertile, according to the Office of National Statistics. There is also the October 2009 projection of two thirds of the 10 m increase in the UK population over the next 25 years coming from immigration.

I do wonder if the Greens also favour much stricter controls on immigration 'cos of their concerns over ever more of the UK land disappearing under concrete brick and tarmac, and hills quarried away, and more greyness and less greeness everywhere in the UK. The Green Party has always been into a reduction in the UK population level to something more sustainable; and, a world population that can also meet the carrying capacity of the planet.

On the other hand, the Greens and Christians being true to Christ would want to welcome the stranger in their midst and to allow asylum under the 1951 Refugee Convention of the UN.

'The Age of Stupid'

Worth seeing. I saw it yesterday evening, put on by Transition Stourbridge. Another climate change film with a novel approach. You look out through a computer screen at Pete Postlethwaite operating a touch screen to bring down film clips to keep your attention and interest.

One is of a remarkable 82 year old mountain guide from Chamonix taking his clients up the Alps, including via ferrata and showing how glaciers have retreated. Good shot of Mt Blanc at one point. Another, clip of a young wealthy man setting up the Indian equivalent of Easy Jet or Ryanair and contrasted with crowded trains and poverty. One film of an heroic young English guy trying to set up nine wind turbines on an old airfield in Bedfordshire but being foiled by NIMBY protesters determined to keep their view (of elecy pylons, I expect!). Oil and Africa is also featured; animation to depict our glorious colonial past to bring civilisation and light to the heathen tribes in their darkness; and, a man saving lives in drowned New Orleans. Plus, much else.

One thing leads to another

An American warship, Vincennes, shot down an Iranian Airbus five months before the American airliner was brought down over Lockerbie in December 1988. This careless, gung ho shooting by our side may have led to the revenge attack on PanAm 103. It is likely that the USS Vincennes would not have been in the Persian Gulf if it was not for

• the Iraq/Iran war from 1980 to 1988, that we were fuelling with our arms supplies to both sides; and,
• the belief that we are the policeman of the world and that we must protect our oil supplies, and our possessions around the world.

Owning up to our little peccadillos!

At every level, racial (whites), religious (Christian), wealth (the rich),

geographical location (western Europeans, Australasia, and North

Americans), it is our ancestors and we today who are the problem on this
planet. Our side, for a thousand years and going strong, are the primary
perpetrators of suffering for all humanity - and, some would say, the
animal kingdom, too.

First it was from exploration, trade, war and subjugation. From that list,
for some, we can now only delete 'subjugation'. To the list is now added

the catastrophic consequences of the industrialised nations' climate change
and their rapacious exhaustion of resources. They/we are imperilling all

humanity by these ruinous behaviours.

Midland Metro for never!

* Nearly thirty years of little action have gone by. Only one line out of the three was achieved since 1980 - and that was on a rail line!

* There is even more traffic choked roads alongside empty rail lines.

* Electrification of the rail network is nowhere near complete even after 50 years of trying. It doesn't help when nearly everyone wants electric trams instead of electric trains on these 38 miles of Brum rail lines.

* The train/tram idea of 2008 was, years ago called track sharing or double running. This is something that is impossibly complicated for our rail industry that has trouble in running an efficient and well run rail network as it is. This resurrected idea is way beyond their abilities.

* Keep it simple, keep it plain; keep it obvious.

* Get the two main public transport modes at least as good as the average on the mainland of Europe. Then, extend the tram network further. We now have, not two, but three failing public transport modes - bus, train and tram.

* The green movement's traditional stance of accepting anything as long as it is public transport, is nowhere near good enough when issues of priority, value for money, least impact on climate change and resource depletion and, discrimination and discernment should be uppermost in our minds, I think.

* Even the very long established wish to put freight trains back on the full length Stourbridge, Dudley, Walsall rail line is impossible for our rail industry to achieve. Astonishing!

* Still, a rail line goes past the Waterfront complex of offices that are next to Merry Hill Shopping Centre but, office workers and shoppers still have to use their cars, a minority go by bus and I go by bike! This is a scandalous state of affairs because of the supposed popularity of trams everywhere.

* Trams on the middle section of this rail line has been developed for nearly thirty years but nothing has happened in even three decades of desperate transport bigwigs trying so hard. It also prevents, for ever, passenger trains returning to the 13 miles through three Black Country boroughs. This is transport negligence and incompetence, in my opinion.

WE ARE ALL ON THE MAKE - BIG TIME!

It is all too easy to get indignant and sound self-righteous about MPs expenses. We wouldn't dare to do such a thing, of course, would we? The problem is that many of us do have the opportunity to claim expenses. Are we always beyond reproach?

Even if we don't claim expenses, we are all living so unsustainably that we are making the most of the system - as much as the MPs - to live it up today and to hell with tomorrow. Ripping through our one-off geological inheritance of oil, coal and gas to leave a most uncomfortable future for our descendants later this century.

I think it is only a question of degree. The richer you are, the more you are on the make, the more you are responsible for leaving less for your children and grandchildren. The more money you make, in a finite world, the more poverty you are creating for future generations. That is the uncomfortable reality for those who have to inherit the planet we are all busily trashing today with no thought for tomorrow and others!

Prisoner compassion is a notion strange to us!

Prisoner abuse in US/UK controlled prisons in Iraq - little or no protest.
Prisoner torture in US/UK controlled police stations in Iraq - little or no protest.
Prisoners held without trial for years in Guantanamo Bay "anomaly" (Blair) - little protest ...
... when compared with massive protest at prisoner compassion and prisoner mercy. All hell broke loose. Is it because we are so inured by prisoner abuse, vile interrogation methods that amount to torture, mock execution and even deaths in custody? Or, was it because of our side's strong sense of revenge?

If by some totally impossible turn around of events, the Lockerbie bomber had been a UK citizen, we would have welcomed him home with a celebratory open top bus tour around London! At least, the Libyans didn't do that in their capital. Just as well our side is so upright that we never shot down a passenger airliner! We could never do such a thing.

Always violence, aggression and slaughter for ...

Always violence, aggression and slaughter for one millennium and still going strong!

Giving Afghans and Iraqis the vote every few years is just not worth all the slaughter. It is called bringing democracy down the barrel of a gun; just like we condemned the Communists for spreading revolution down the barrel of a gun - we are no better! In fact, down the years, the white nations have killed many more black people than they of us.  We whites are so hypocritical and racist!

It was the Christian, white nations and not the Muslim, black nations who developed and first used chemical, biological and nuclear weapons. We were responsible for the 1st WW and its sequel, the 2nd WW. In fact, we had the Arabs, united to the last man under our army hero, T E Lawrence fighting with us in the 1st WW - only for the Arabs to be let down later!

In a recent thirty year period, in one corner of our country, we had a civil war between two branches of the UK and two branches of the Christian Church that resulted in many more Irish republicans killed than they managed to kill of our own Irish monarchists who were loyal to the Queen. Figures from the BBC website. Bloody Sunday is only one most disgraceful and shameful episode in the history of the heroic British Army.

I have just seen in the 'Church Times' that one leading Christian vicar is arguing in print and, this morning, on BBC Radio 4 that the US/UK/NATO must continue the warfare in and on Afghanistan. The churchman is the Rev Dr Giles Fraser, Vicar of Putney in London.

Giles Fraser agrees with the War of Terrorism on the good people of Afghanistan. I know it is directed at the Taliban and al Qaeda but, as usual in modern warfare, the people of non-violence get injured and killed in much greater numbers than the wicked Taliban and al Qaeda that our men of violence are trying to eliminate for ever. Does this really satisfy Giles' Church of England's just war teaching?

David Dimbleby on 'Question Time' last month, said that al Qaeda is to be found in fourteen countries. Does Giles seriously think that even if we were to defeat al Qaeda in Afghanistan, that they would no longer exist in the other thirteen?

Does Giles not know that our current war in Afghanistan is the fourth? We lost the first three, just like the Russians did more recently in their fewer wars in that country. We are certainly not winning this current war, even after eight years of desperately trying and we are told it is going to last for decades!

Does Giles not suppose that if we were invaded and occupied by foreign armies, that our men and women of violence would not similarly fight back? People of non-violence, like me, would be classed amongst the non-collaborators rather than the resistance fighters.

Does Giles not recall that our country has not been seriously invaded since 1066? Instead, we have had one millennium of invading, occupying and exploiting many nations around the world. Iraq and Afghanistan are simply the latest in a very long list of countries that are the victims of our many crimes of aggression down the centuries.

As a man of the cloth and a Christian believer, should Giles not be leading his flock in the way of non-violence as taught and practised by Jesus Christ, Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jnr and Donald Lord Soper? In my book, Giles is now a man of violence, along with too many in the church and society.