Comparison between the Ossentina and Kyrgtzstan conflicts

It is quiet funny how when Russia marched into Georgia to deal with the protests and sepreatist movement there they were condemned by the international community, yet now with the rise in conflict in kyrgtzstan they haven't acted and also been condemned.

There are some stark similarities between the two, both involve minority ethnic groups within former soviet republics, both have erupted into violent conflict however in the Georgian conflict there was high Georgian and ossetian civilian causualties and there was a conflict on interests between the Russian and Georgian military over the future of Georgian and the south ossetian region.

Conversly in Kyrgtzstan there isn't a seperatist movement, instead there is ethnic violence. As such peace keeping would be much more impartial with out promoting one sides interest and would help calm the conflict.

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Support Jim Garner for Labour Leader

Many people from across a wide spectrum of political allegiance have been swept away by the charisma, charm, and wisdom shown by Jim Garner since he burst on the scene with the announcement that he was standing for Labour Leader. Of course some of 'them' (and by that I mean the generic none specific them that they always refer to) with in the hierarchy of the Labour party wanted to shut down this ground breaking politician and tried to sabotage his campaign to ensure that he didn't get enough nominations.

Despite all this Jim managed to triumph and get enough nominations

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MnmW58ka6Uw]

Jim still has a long way to go, however the man who has been compared by some (not many mind) to Barak Obama, Ghandi and Martin Luther King has the potential to be the next Labour Leader.

If you are on twitter and would like to support him then go here.

Human Trafficking and the Big Society

It has been a while since I have blogged about Human Trafficking and I thought that doing a post, even if it was just to raise it's profile again, would be a good idea. Anyway back to the point!

In the fight against Human trafficking then the idea of the big society is actually a very appealing one and one that could really help to prevent human trafficking. One of the important steps is to report where we suspect that trafficking is occurring to the police and to provide support for the victims of trafficking. With out some form of societal prospective then this is impossible to achieve, if we follow a strong individualistic heads down, get on with our own lives and ignore all those around us then neither of these will occur.

If your wondering what you should look out for to be aware of trafficking then first of all you need to be aware of the brothels in the area, this is actually surprisingly easy. CCAT, an anti-trafficking group in croydon and they have put out some guidelines for men and women on what to do to help prevent human trafficking (some is aimed exclusively at Croydon). it might also be good to get involved or help to set up a local anti-trafficking group.

There is also the Stop The Traffik page that has some advice over issues such as human trafficking in the chocolate trade as well as the sex industry.

A Bank Holiday weekend to remember

This past weekend I have been away with my old church twenties group. We arrived at  a converted barn, just outside of hitchin, on Friday evening at around 10:00 and stayed until 12 ish on Sunday. In between we read the book of Ruth, discussed our testimonies or things that God had been speaking to us recently, had a lot of Mexican food, drank some tequila, watched eurovision, went for a walk, saw a male horse (he was definitely male), went swimming, enjoyed some time in the sauna and some of us even learnt to give foot and head massages.

It was great to have some time away from the busy world and I kept my phone off for much of the time, an experience I always find liberating. I definitely feel more mentally recharged despite the fact that phyically I definitely feel more tired (mainly due to having gone to bed at earliest 2 for the last 4 days and up at latest 8 in not the most comfortable beds! However I am still very glad I went and feel much better for it!