The democratic process in this country has really taken a beating over the past couple of weeks due to the Telegraph’s publication of MP’s expense claims, and rightly, most of us are pretty outraged over the levels of greed which have been uncovered. The majority of us have finally woken up to the fact that some people in public office aren’t there to serve – well maybe only themselves.

However, even though our anger is fully justified, there’s a danger that it could be channeled into the wrong places with disastrous effects. Namely, that we punish our elected officials in the upcoming European Elections by voting for minority parties with less-than-ideal ideals. The two which come under the brightest spotlights are the UKIP and the BNP.

The UKIP seem to be delusional about the role of Europe in the ‘downfall of Britain’. They seem to believe that most of the ills of our society stem from our integration with Europe and only breaking with Europe will ‘free our nation’. Even though most of these ideas are fundamentally flawed, UKIP are still fairly innocuous. This is stark contrast with the BNP. Most of the mainstream press has shied away from giving too much time to the BNP from fear of giving voice to their ideas. However, I’m of the opinion that the only way of defeating fascists is through free and clear outcry of their hatred.

Over the past few years, under the leadership of Nick Griffin, the BNP has tried to smarten up it’s image and shake off it’s reputation as a hang-out for National Front skinheads. Their representatives wear ties and hold family fun days. This smartening of racism is the kind of behaviour which may trick some voters suffering from feelings of apathy and anger at the current Government into voting for the BNP. Griffin’s gang has become quite good at putting on the front that they care for the British worker, the British taxpayer, and the British soldier. Even though this may be the case, the shoddiness of their latest Party Political Broadcast still suggests that intelligent and creative individuals refuse to work for racists (see Charlie Brooker’s Guardian column) - which is a great sign.

Even if you are feeling angry at Labour, Conservative, or Liberal Democrat expense claims, just think what a BNP MP’s expense claim might look like:

£50 for White Cape and Hood,

£10 for 10 meters of Lynching Rope,

£75 for a Wooden Cross (including lighter fluid).

Don’t think that a vote for the BNP is ever going to lead to anything other than a country that is intolerant and bigoted, and that really isn’t what being British is about.

Nersesian’s The Fuck-Up is the child of a literary tradition of self-reflection with an almost narcissistic narrative.

The central character is perpetually down on his luck; getting dumped by his girlfriend, getting fired from his job, having his best friend commit suicide, losing his life savings in a gay-cinema scam, getting beat up by his married lover’s child, being accused of rape by a movie producers gold-digging girlfriend, and ending up living on the streets. He eventually finds his luck in the most unlikely of places.

Nersesian deals with all these happenings in a utilitarian style, with little scene or character description. Even so, the book has merit in it’s pace and fluidity, with a constantly downward spiralling plot trajectory dealt with with humour and lighheartedness when it’s due.

This may not be the greatest piece of modern literature but it’s sure worth a read, and due to the book’s spacious layout, not a very long read at that.

The last in Asimov’s Foundation series, Foundation and Earth closes the epic series well, but leaving one or two questions unanswered and posing a few new ones.

Golan Trevize and Janov Pelorat continue their search for the beginnings of humanity and the mythical planet Earth. This time though, they have help in the form of Pelorat’s new partner and Gaian, Bliss. She believes that the galaxy should be transformed into the great Galxia, but will what the trio find on Earth back up her claims?

Not only does Foundation and Earth close the story of Seldon’s psychohistory and the slow and steady formation of the Second Galactic Empire, but also some more ancient ideas from earlier in the series in the form of the Three Rules of Robotics.

A must for all Asimov fans and a great close to a great series. It’s a shame there aren’t any more now where this came from!

“It changed my life like it changed everyone else’s” (Bob Dylan)

Kerouac’s 1951 ‘On the Road’ describes several years of the life of Sal Paradise (Kerouac) while he was criss-crossing the U.S. between New York and San Francisco in the years after WWII. The story’s epic hero is Dean Moriarty (Neil Cassady), who acts as the catalyst for many of the books adventures. Moriarty starts the story as a “poetic con-man” and ends up divorced from his third wife and living with his second; “where once Dean would have talked his way out, he now fell silent … he was BEAT“.

Kerouac is obsessed with the nature of humanity and life, constantly enthralled with the sounds of jazz and the American landscape. Over the course of the book the pace and prose style quickens, becoming more erratic and vibrant. The slow, descriptive paragraphs of the beginning sections give way to language reminiscent of that created during an acid trip.

It is easy to see how this book became the template for works such as Thompson’s Fear and Loathing. It’s a must read for everybody, not just those gonzo fanatics out there.

Yesterday’s budget was historic in many respects; public borrowing is to stand at an all-time high of £175bn next year, a new 50% rate for those earning over £150′000 pushes taxes to the limit, and a £2000 per car scrappage scheme will pump over £300m into the motor industry. However, what is not historic is the reaction of the Conservative opposition. The world economy is in a mess and no-one can deny that is also the case for the UK public finances. It is not the case however, that this is has been single-handedly caused by the Labour government, as the Conservatives would like us to believe.

Before the financial crisis took a turn for the worse in autumn 2008, the UK economy was growing faster than all the other G7 economies with the 59th quarter of uninterrupted economic growth within sight. Income tax had been lowered to 20p, the lowest rate in 75 years, and inflation had been at an all-time average low.

This was about to rapidly change. Hindsight is a great thing and I have wished for it many times in my life.

What would the Conservatives want Alistair Darling to do? All we know if that they want an immediate cut in public spending, right at the time the country needs it most. A spending cut would put more jobs at risk, force more families and children into poverty and stifle investment in new housing and carbon reduction.

What else have the Conservatives suggested? Almost nothing. David Cameron is great at quick quips and witty retorts but has a long way to go in terms of actual policy and real solutions to the economic crisis the UK finds itself in. It’s unfair to criticise Labour’s huge increase in real-term spending over the last decade, when it was necessary to correct years of Conservative neglect in our public services.

I hope people vote with their hearts and their heads at the next election and realise that the Conservatives are most definitely wolves in sheep’s clothing.

Over 22 million people are infected with HIV/AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa (UN, 2007). This is unacceptable. These people need urgent and immediate help to cope with their disease and enable them to make the appropriate life choices to slow infection rates and regain some control over this terrible disease..

The recent visit by Pope Benedict XVI to Africa added credence to the fact that the Catholic Church is out of touch with the reality of the HIV disaster in Africa. Benedict XVI said that “[HIV ] cannot be overcome through the distribution of condoms, which can even increase the problem.” His answer lies in abstinence, even though this method of infection control is proven not to work and actually add to the problem. It is unrealistic to ask those who are entitled to a safe and enjoyable sexual experience to abstain, and what about those people who do not have a choice in the matter? Wives who are infected by their husbands, sex workers who are infected by their clients, or children who are infected by their mothers. Can we ask these people to simply abstain from a huge part of the human experience? No, we should invest in education and safe-sex planning alongside a robust HIV-treatment infrastructure, as this is the only proven way to halt infection and help Africa to regain it’s potential.

17% of African people consider themselves to be Catholic and therefore may look to the leader of their Church for guidance and support, but until the day comes when the Holy See can admit that safe and protected sex is the only weapon we have against HIV/AIDS then millions of African Catholics need to seek guidance from somewhere else.

We all know how Facebook is teaming with groups such as ‘The Bloke that Looks like a Thumb Appreciation Society’ or ‘I Love Swad‘ – that’s part of the reason we love it, isn’t it? These are a combination of good humoured pranks, appreciation societies for people or places or petitions for one thing or another. I recently stumbled across a group called ‘Let’s all join the racist groups and poke fun at the numpties‘, which is pretty self-explanatory – people join up to find out which groups on Facebook are dens of racial hatred, and join to poke fun at the ignorance and illiteracy of many of the members. However, it seems to have turned into somthing more.

The group seems to be developing into a campaign by the tolerant to re-educate the ignorant. For the most part this is done by trying to point out the mistakes and inaccuracies in the racist arguments and backing this up with facts, figures and stories of tolerance. 

The group ‘NO TO MUSLIMS HAVING A CAPITAL IN THE UK‘ is one example of a group which seems to attract those of a racist persuasion. The title of the group is enough for some start a torrent of abuse. The group’s owner, who I have tried to converse with on many occasions seems to be a fairly intelligent guy who wants to discuss the issues of immigration and Islamic separatism , but has gone about it in completely the wrong way. He began by blocking those people who held a more liberal view and spoke out against the group. He has now started a thread called ‘RACISTS – NAME AND SHAME’ where members of the group can post the names and messages of those members who continue to use racist and offensive language. Theses members appear to have been removed but he refuses to acknowledge that they were indeed using racial slurs.

A small group of tolerant members is trying to insist that the group should be closed. If the creator of the group wants a frank and open discussion on the issues raised then he should re-open a group with a title and outline less likely to incite hate and ignorance. This so far has not happened.

I understand that most normal people would find it difficult to join a group which has racist overtones but I think that the more liberal of us out there should do so in order to try and spread understanding amongst those more inclined to jump into blame and use stereotypical or racist language. It might be worth it in the long while!

Living here in the UK I have witnessed the massive public outcry over the Israel-Gaza conflict, from both sides, and have seen the reputation of Israel tumble in the majority of the press and media. However, since the start of the Gazan offensive in December I have found myself questioning my natural inclination to side with the Palestinian peoples in order to try and understand the conflict from both sides. This has been accelerated through heated exchanges with people of Pro-Israel leaning, including those of Israeli descent. I have read articles from various news organisations, both here in the UK but also in Israel and the Arab world.

However, Israel’s parliament yesterday announced the banning of two Arab political parties from running in the upcoming general election. The move was proposed by members of two right-wing parties, but backed by members of the majority of the political parties. The Arab parties concerned have been described by Israeli intelligence as a ’strategic threat’ to Israel’s existence.

It is difficult for me to continue to try and take a moderate line in my opinion of the conflict when Israel seems to be stamping out any glimmer of representation for it’s Arab residents – who make up to 20% of the Israeli population. I sympathise with those living in areas of Israel targeted by the Hamas rockets and for those who have lost friends or relatives to the conflict, but if the internal dialogue between Jewish and Arab Israeli’s is extinguished then there is little hope for widespread condemnation of the Israel-Gaza conflict itself and the reconciliation which is needed.

I hope that Israel begins to understand that removing a section of its populace’s freedom of political expression can only add to the lack of understanding – both domestic and international – which surrounds the Gazan conflict.

After commenting on a friends Facebook status I thought it was time to revive my blogging for 2009. I’ll apologise in advance if my blog once again decends into political obscurity and I will endeavour to keep it as lighhearted as possible.

My friend’s status read:

“[Name] is keen to know which news sites people are using to gain info on the offensive in Gaza. He is using a combo of BBC, Haaretz and CNN“

Even though I knew that replying to the thread would once again open the door to hours of Israel-Palestine debate I couldn’t help myself. I commented that most of my news about the conflict in Gaza was from The Guardian newspaper and the BBC News website, even admitting that this mix is a little skewed toward to left of the spectrum. A friend of his posted a link to The Muqata Blogspot which is an Israel-leaning blog of someone living near the Northern Shomron communities. Their was also a comment about the quality of the new coming from Al-Jazeera, the level of quality or lack thereof (not my words) and a joke about someone getting their news from CCTV.

I just think that it’s interesting that the blindingly obvious to a person who gains their knowledge of situations from one source can be completely different to that of someone gaining it from another. If I chose to read the Mail every day, then I should beforehand bear in mind that after a while I may turn into a racist. This [the Mail], thankfully, is best avoided.

In the end, the friend deleted my comments from his Facebook, causing me to ask whether he and China had been sharing tips on internet censorship.

Auel’s third book in the ‘Earth’s Children’ series follows Ayla along her journey from being raised by a Neanderthal Clan to her on-going discovery of her own humanity.

She, along with the man she loves, Jondalar, leave the confines of her valley and set out to explore the surrounding area. The couple chance upon the Lion Camp of the Mamutoi and Ayla is once again to embark upon a journey she could never have imagined.

Auel does not disappoint fans, as she broadens and deepens the reader’s relationship with both Ayla and Jondalar; delving into their relationship with themselves, each other and Ayla’s newly-adopted family, the Lion Camp. A must read for all who have enjoyed the first two in the series