Gordon Brown

I never thought I'd hear myself say this but I reckon David Cameron got it just about right yesterday! After 10 years of scheming, backstabbing and plotting, Prime Minister Brown is finally with us and brings with him all the shallowness and visionlessness of his predecessor. What particularly grates is that he promised us an end to 'Blairism' and its inherent 'spin' and manipulation. And, in the last week, we've seen classic elements of Blairism, especially the overt manipulation of the British public and of the electoral process, which, in Brown's clammy hands, is seen in its true light. And, then, of course, the shameless theft of Tory policy, which Blair was so adept at doing throughout his premiership. Are 'Labour' MP's and activists still deluding themselves that they belong to the party of social justice? I only wish that some would come across this post and comment on it. It's clever, I'll give him that, the centre ground is disappearing under Cameron's feet and he has the vain choice of swaying towards the left (and facing the Brown-esque scheming of his own party) or of swaying towards the right (and facing rejection at the hands of the British public).
But I think this past week or so has just served to highlight the deficiencies of representative government, under which the wishes of the people are held at the mercy of the Prime Minister. I want to vote every week and I certainly want to vote to affirm my protest at the system when the Prime Minister changes, though I gather by the general ambivalence that no one else is really all that bothered. That, in itself, is a damning indictment of the current state of British politics and of what it has become under Blair and (now) Brown. Clearly the British people are intelligent enough to realise they don't have a genuine choice! And a final word on the Premier himself. The past week or so has equally just served to prove what a power-hungry megalomaniac the guy is. As soon as he found out his beloved grip on power was under threat from the British public he turned and ran. The whole thing honestly makes me very very angry and I think we, the people, deserve better. I personally believe we are intelligent enough to run things for ourselves and get these clowns out of our lives once and for all. However, as long as people like Brown cling desperately to power (for whatever reason) we don't have a hope and our wishes are kept with them to be unleashed only when it suits the politicians purpose to do so. A complete and utter disgrace and one utterly worthy of this new Prime Minister of "ours".

Child Trafficking

UNICEF has just published an interesting, and very important, report on child trafficking in the United Kingdom. Here is the link:

http://www.unicef.org.uk/campaigns/publications/pub_detail.asp?pub_id=147

It is a must read. Trafficking (of both children and adults) and modern day slavery is a huge, huge, issue and one not widely recognised by the general public. More must be done to combat this wretched evil and blight on humanity. The UK government only belatedly signed up to the European Convention on Human Trafficking this year, and is being all too slow at implementing it. It is also questionable whether the Convention goes far enough. From the point of view of this movement, it clearly doesn't.

There are links to other anti-slavery initiatives on the main site:

http://www.cosmopolitanism.org.uk/extrabodies.htm


It is reliably estimated that there are at least 20 million human beings living in slavery across the globe, no different to the slaves of ancient Greece or Rome or the American South. Each of us must do more to combat this shocking and brutal violation of human rights and humanity itself.

Support for Burma

It is an odd emotional feeling, I can tell you, to write in support for a major international movement aiming at nonviolent change when you know no one is listening or reading. This is the situation we find ourselves in on this site, which no on reads, or, at least, does not comment on. Should this silence you? Should it stop you trying? No. We strive on. You never know who might eventually listen.
The current protests in Burma, thought to involve at least 100,000 people, represent just the kind of ethic the cosmopolitan movement supports and encourages and you can easily recognise the force and power visible on the world stage as a result of the nonviolent protest by the Burmese. This morning, we hear terribly worrying reports of a death of a protester at the hands of the military. It reminds us, if we ever need reminding, of the tragedy of losing a single human life and of the struggle facing these brave men and women. It is not an easy thing to recommend nonviolence and peaceful protest in the face of such abhorrent violence and repression. Yet, just as the marchers themselves seem to be resolved, we are certain the nonviolent movement carries with it more power, sustenance, support and depth than a violent one would. And it continues to win over world opinion day by day, standing, as it does, in stark contrast to the regime of the generals, over its absolute refusal to take human life and inflict injury. This is real power and real force. We offer them full support and call on the international community to give the peaceful protesters all the support it can to bring about a bloodless transition to a democratic form of government and a regime that recognises human rights and liberty. A regime to be brought about by the actions, and the will, of the Burmese people themselves.
Is it likely that the Burmese people would choose a form of communistic government, based upon absolute equal liberty? It is highly, highly, unlikely, but does this mean that we should not support them? This raises a central issue for the cosmopolitan movement. Of course it does not matter in the slightest. The first aim is always to end human suffering, injury and death. Whilst it is vital to recognise that violence and suffering are themselves brought about by conditions of inequality, there is a difference between the kind of repression suffered by the likes of the Burmese (together with many of their fellow humans in Darfur, the DRC, Chad, Zimbabwe and many other nations) and those who experience death and starvation at the hands of economic failure and financial ruin. This is not to lessen the struggle for equality, but can we honestly not give full, unconditional, support to regimes that call for the establishment of human rights and human freedom. We must, unconditionally, support such movements, especially if they adhere to the principles of nonviolent resistance. This is not about the cosmopolitan movement, about communism, about equal economic liberty or egalitarian conditions of freedom, but about human suffering.
All forms of human suffering must be ended immediately and unconditionally. And we must do all we can, all that is in our power as individual human beings, to help. And we must do it NOW! Repression does not wait for us to collect our thoughts and debate, whether that repression is economic or political in character.

Welcome!

Welcome to our latest attempt to generate discussion on this site and spread the world of global cosmopolitanism. We will try to post daily on global matters and offer our (doubtless controversial) interpretation! Please, please, comment otherwise we have no hope of creating the discussion we firmly believe we need in order to realise a better, just, sustainable, egalitarian earth where all human life is cherished and allowed to flourish in freedom.