Beware the Ides of March - The World in Turmoil

A world financial crisis followed by civil unrest begs the question: What next? World Governments have bailed out the Banks and the Car Industry to prevent financial meltdown, and now the People say: "What about us"!

World-wide, millions have lost their jobs and are seeking relief from the deprivation of a recession that was not their fault. Strikes and demonstrations are hitting more and more countries, and its spreading like wildfire, but what should be done about it?

There is some justification in what people are saying, insofar as the architects of the crisis are still sitting in their Wall Street and London offices (among others), getting their bloated salaries and bonuses while people on the street are losing their homes and having to tighten belts.

The whole crisis was caused by greed and mismanagement on the part of the Banks Fat Cats, who were so intent on buying up the competition they forgot to keep an eye on the petty cash. So why do they still have their jobs, let alone their huge bonuses?

It is a disgrace of world proportions that tax payers money has been used to pay these incompetants obscenely inflated bonuses for crass stupidity.

As an example, at a time when the Banks were being bailed out by the Government to the tune of billions of dollars, the leaders of these institutions were paying out billions in bonuses to their employees. One London based Company C.E.O approved payment of four billion to its workers at the same time he was receiving untold billions from the Government to keep the Company afloat.

The idea of paying your successful staff a large bonus was introduced to reward those workers who performed their function in an exemplary fashion and brought in huge profits. Over the years, this has been corrupted to mean that any Tom, Dick or Harry will get a bonus even when he is a major failure. Look at the past few years, where some C.E.O's have been given severance pay of over €150,000,000 when forced to resign after some major cock up.

It is despicable that these people continue to get their huge handouts when their Banks/Companies are on the verge of bankruptcy and have to be bailed out by the Government, and by that I mean of course the Tax Payer.

Leaders from many countries have echoed the words of Gorden Brown of Britain when he complained that after the bank bailout, the banks were still refusing to start lending money again, or even pass on the full interest rate cuts made by the Bank of England, the World Bank and the American Treasury among others.

So you see, there is some justification for the general unrest that is happening all over the world, even if the protests are not being channeled in the right direction.

Civil unrest is now being aimed in various forms at Governments because that is where ordinary people lay the blame when times get hard, but what they should be pushing for is responsible management of our monetary system by the Banks, and in particular the Leaders of these institutions.

Bonuses are fine in the banking industry, but they should be brought down to a reasonable level, say €10,000 for a successful employee, and perhaps €100,000 for a good C.E.O. not €1,000,000 and €100,000,000. That is ridiculous. Why should anyone, no matter how successful, earn more in one day than the average man in 10,000 years. Its not just ridiculous, its obscene!

If you fail in your job you should be kicked out on your ear without any bonus at all. Failure should not be rewarded at any price!

If the general public start seeing heads roll in the Financial Sector it may help to calm the tumult in the market place, at least it would be a start, and may head off total anarchy!

Keep your powder dry!

Roy

Child Crime in Britain - What is Wrong?

Today, we hear once again on the BBC News that a fifteen-year-old has been arrested for killing someone. It has almost become a daily occurrence in Britain, and yet the police and politicians seem powerless to stop it. Why are we, as a society, allowing children as young as eleven to carry guns and knives, and commit murder and rape? Where has Britain gone wrong?

The public seem intent on blaming the government, as always. Whenever something happens it is easy to blame the country's leaders, but instead, we should be looking inward, perhaps the fault lies closer to home!

It is fair to say that in most deprived/poor areas, where the majority of violent crime comes from, parents have little or no control over their children. It is also true they have very little time for their children's upbringing, for it is usually necessary for both parents to work in order to make ends meet. So how can they have time for their off-spring?

But is this an excuse? I don't think so, because the phenomenon of two working parents is seen as much in middle-class areas as in the poorer areas, but the crime statistics show most violent crime is committed by people from the latter. The fact that many of these child criminals come from deprived areas is often used as an excuse by the so-called 'Experts' and the 'Bleeding Heart Brigade' (BHB's). To that I say 'Rubbish'! The one thing the kids of today do not get from their parents, or anyone else, is discipline, especially in their formative years.

Partly to blame are the BHB's. Stupid, mindless individuals who have failed to make a success of anything else in their miserable lives, but feel they must contribute to society by stirring up, among other things, race hatred by having nursery rhymes banned because they contain the word 'Black'. It's true! It happened. Remember 'Ba-Ba Black Sheep'!

The BHB's gave us bans on discipline in schools, and then included the home environment. "You may not smack a child because you might hurt him/her" What a bunch of crap! Now, no-one may hit a child except another child???

With the introduction of these laws, discipline in schools was the first thing to go, and now more than fifty percent of teachers have been physically attacked by their pupils, and three out of every five children leaving school cannot read or write properly, and as for Maths, forget it. Duh!

Next they introduced laws to ban smacking in the home, as if they hadn't done enough already! How many parents do you know who say they have no control over their children? Children are not stupid! They find out very quickly when they can do anything they please, and Mummy and Daddy can do nothing about it. So where does that leave us? Today!

Also to blame is the loss of family life, and a general erosion of a parents commitment to their children. We have become a 'Me First' society. These things have been a creeping disease in Britain since the sixties when we had all that 'Flower-Power' and 'Free Love' crap. I know, I'm from that generation!

We have now reached an era where children go unpunished for any infraction of the rules of decency or morality, and often escape the law because of their age. What you have to ask yourself is this. Where do we go from here? What is tomorrow going to be like when the current youth are parents themselves? Total Anarchy?

So where does that leave us, and what do we do about the problem? Many say bring back National Service and put them all in the Army, but the trouble is, the Army don't want anything to do with it and who can blame them. I suppose they could form Penal Battalions like the Nazi's did during WW2 but that wouldn't help either.

Perhaps a compromise might work. There are sufficient closed down Army Camps in the country, so why not open them up under the Prison Service and turn them into Boot/Training Camps? I am sure there are sufficient ex-military drill instructors who would relish the chance of cutting loose on fresh meat!

Just imagine these misfits getting out of bed at 06.00hrs every morning, and parading ready for the days work. A bit of 'spit and polish' never did anyone any harm. I should know I spent twelve years in the RAF and went through it too.

Some regular military training would teach them the discipline required for daily life on the outside, something they have never had, and the opportunity would be taken to teach them a trade that will give them a fair chance in society.

It would require major investment by the Government, but how do you get them to even consider such a proposal? The question was raised half-heartedly some years ago but it died a silent death after only a short while.

What is cheaper? Must we keep things the way we are now, spending millions on a losing battle, or give the wayward youth a goal for the future, and eventually stamp out youth crime altogether in succesive generations? In the long term I suspect the latter! I leave you to decide.

Keep the faith,

Roy

Timeshare - Spain's Shame

I admit to getting caught by the Timeshare bug about twelve years ago, and at the time it seemed like a good idea. Oh silly me, I must have left my brains at home while on holiday. Since then, while trying to sell the darned thing, we have been ripped off by unscrupulous dealers (mostly foreign), who I can only call mean, underhanded crooks and con-men (and that's being polite).

The scandal of Timeshare has been going on in Spain since the late sixties/early seventies, and in that time millions of people have been ripped off to the tune of billions of Euros. Now, the question is: What has the Spanish Government done about this disgusting trade? The answer is simple NOTHING!!!

It is very sad to say that the Spanish Government under various leaders, have failed in all aspects to make even a half-hearted effort to stamp out this vile trade.

We were approached one time by a 'Company' that offered to find us a buyer for our timeshare. Luckily, my wife was in Spain at the time and decided to look up the offices of the said company. To her surprise, (well maybe not) the address given for the office was a building site!!!

I can understand if some people will ask the question: Why didn't you go to the Police? Well, as most people who buy these things are not Spanish residents, and we were not at the time, that is a little difficult, especially when you have no idea what the Police can do about it, or if they will do anything at all.

In all respects, it is my opinion that the Spanish Authorities have done little or nothing to combat this form of crime which must be a stain on the National Pride. It's as Spanish as Bull-fighting and does nothing to enhance Spain's reputation abroad.

In the same respect, we have today the Property Fraud that has taken over the housing market in Spain. Once again, the Government and Police seem powerless to stamp it out, or makes a half-hearted effort. To be fair however, we do occasionally hear of someone who has been arrested, but it is nowhere near enough, as people are suffering every day because of this Trade in Misery. It is often quoted in the newspapers that such and such a villa or development will be demolished because it was built (and sold) illegally. But what about the poor souls who have lost everything? They are left penniless on the pavement while the perpetrators sit back and count their ill-gotten gains in peace.

Shame on you Spain for allowing this!

Keep smiling!

Roy.

Water Shortage Solution For Spain

I have been living here in Marbella for about five months now, and during that period have heard on numerous occasions about water shortages during the Summer/Autumn months. How strange that every time I turn on the hot water tap in our apartment, I waste at least three litres of water in the kitchen and five to eight in the bathroom before the hot water comes through.

This phenomenon is something I have come across during every visit to Spain, in whatever accommodation. This is especially true of hotels where the water wastage is even higher.

In a country that declares itself short of water on an annual basis, one would think the authorities could use more modern methods of distributing hot water around the place. If the loss could be cut to just one litre before the hot water arrived where you need it, Spain would save trillions of litres of water per year. That is equivalent to how many reservoirs? Food for thought!

Happy Days!

Roy

Gaza - The Dirty War

Once again the news headlines are full of recrimination against Israel for the deaths of children and women in Gaza. Oh how the TV reporters love to show us the suffering of these people, and stir up hatred of the Israeli's who committed such a barbarous act! BUT! Just stop and think with your mind, and not your heart, about what is going on here.
As a soldier of whatever army, what do you do when someone shoots at you again and again, ducking into the nearest family home, crowded market, or Mosque for cover between attacks? What do you do when an organization like Hamas uses children? What do you do when your enemy fires rockets at your family and friends from the middle of a dense housing area? Something to think about perhaps?. None of this ever gets reported. Why?
Gaza is the worst form of dirty war because the Hamas fighters are cowards who use the dead women and children for propaganda purposes. If anyone is to be vilified in the Media it should be them. It is part of their strategy to get as many civilians, and in particular women and children, killed by the Israeli's to feed the frenzy of world media that is so gullible as to accept on face value the 'Facts'. I like to think the more intelligent among us can see through this smoke-screen, and appreciate what is really happening here.
The Americans had to deal with a similar situation during the Vietnam War, but it has taken the Muslim insurgents to refine this strategy to perfection. Because we are confronted daily with TV pictures of dead and wounded women and children, the general public is up in arms against Israel. Demonstrations left right and centre by people who have never really studied the facts, but are swayed by the news reports.
Think People, Think! You are playing into the hands of the Hamas propaganda machine! If you have thought it through, you should be condemning Hamas for its cowardly strategy, not the Israeli's for doing the only thing possible in such a situation.
Now the Hamas Leadership has agreed to a truce, probably because, as in the past, they are running short of rockets and ammunition, and a truce is a golden opportunity to replenish. Yet another tragedy of this war. Everyone wants to open the borders so humanitarian aid can be shipped in, but Hamas always use these situations to re-arm ready for their next offensive. The Israeli Government knows this, and that is why the borders stay sealed. Logical! Also, if the borders remain open for the passage of people, the perpetrators of this atrocity slip into Egypt when the noose tightens, leaving the ordinary Palastinians to face the guns, missiles and bombs .
If Hamas cared anything for what they proclaim to be their goal, 'The People', they would come to the table and talk without a weapon in their hand. Instead this 'No Surrender', 'Tit-for-Tat' war drags on and on for decades. Successive Israeli Governments have offered peace for the region, many U.S. Presidents, and Leaders of other countries, have done their best to solve this crisis, all for nought, because people like Hamas cannot be trusted. Perhaps they are trying to incite other Muslim countries to fight on their side once again. It is worthy of note that all other Muslim countries, including the West Bank Palestinians, have stayed very quiet about this conflict. Not one is prepared to go to war against Israel for their Palestinian Brothers in Gaza. Why do you think that is? Sure, we get a little 'Sabre-rattling' from countries like Iran now and again, but we all know that for what it is. Could it be they can all see this conflict for what it is?
From reading this blog you may think I am anti-Muslim or pro-Israeli. Nothing could be further from the truth. Like everyone else, I deplore the unnecessary loss of human life, and the terrible conditions of of the Gaza People, but it should be for the people to decide, not the renegades of Hamas.
I do not excuse the mistakes that have been made by Israeli soldiers, these things happen in war. You only have to look at the Americans, whose favourite past-time is shooting at each other. A soldier, in the heat of battle, does make mistakes, and there are those without conscience who kill indiscriminately, or order others to do so. Remember Mei-Lai in Vietnam?. Where a true atrocity has been committed, those concerned should be dealt with in the severest manner.
I have looked at the cold facts and formed an opinion from them, not from sensationalist reporting on the TV News or newspaper reports. Reporters have for years been totally incapable of unbiased reporting of the facts, preferring to go with the most sensational pictures possible in order to gain the biggest slice of a TV audience, or the most readers. Editors love them if it gets more readers for their Rag, or TV News Channel.
I am aware that not everyone will agree with my assesment of this conflict, and I would be interested to hear your views on the subject.

Thank you for your time.

Roy.