On Monday I attended the Luton carnival in the capacity of helping out a friend on one of the mini-stages. You can see photos at http://www.flickr.com/drsavi. The event was advertised as one of the biggest in the UK.

Apart from the fact that it rained all day it was good to see the crowds line the streets to support the parade.

My DJ spot was for an hour and on departing I managed to get a glimpse of the very long parade that ran in parallel to the main park where both a fairground and music stages had been set-up.

The parade consisted of varied floats: Romans, Salsa, Hari-Rama Hari-Krishna chanters and stilts walkers. Despite the cold and rain both revelers and participants of the parade smiled and danced away. This I thought was a good example of a multi-cultural celebration. A time when people can be unite forgetting their differences from an ego perspective and instead recognizing that music and dance crosses boundaries.

I also wondered about the inspiration for the carnival. I was surprised to learn about its religious connection. Interestingly it is suggested that its origins link to the fact that during Lent, traditionally no parties may be held and many foods are forbidden. Lent serves to commemorate the ‘Passion of Jesus’. Maybe people want to have a celebration before their fasting.
Parts of the carnival traditions, however, likely reach back to pre-Christian times. The ancient Roman festival of the Saturnalia a probable origin of the Italian Carnival. The Saturnalia, in turn, may be based on the Greek and Oriental festivals. Many local carnival customs are also based on local pre-Christian rituals.

The origin of the name “carnival” is disputed. According to one theory, it comes from the Latin carrus navalis (”ship cart”), referring to a cart in a religious parade

Most of the islands in the Caribbean celebrate Carnival.

Until attending the one in Luton my only experience of knowing rather than attending a carnival was the famous Notting Hill one. Years ago the latter had been infamous for confrontation with the police. However, now it is a time for celebration for all communities and relations with the police are good – Every year without fail the media shows police officers joining in with the partying.

Although some of the original religious elements may now not be visible and for many it is a year long mission to practice and prepare their floats.

Carnivals aim is certainly interesting, probably morphing into a celebration of life.

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Everyday I sit and both watch and listen in horror to what is happening in the East.
I feel helpless in the thought that I personally cannot contribute to help. I also consider

1. The situation in China – Firstly, the need to find survivors of the Earth quake and secondly a need to reconcile that many of the buildings could have been built stronger.

2. The situation in Burma – with the continuing apathy of the regime.

With regard to the latter, days are passing and disease is beginning to take hold. Although some aid is now getting through it is still slow.

Last week I suggested that we all lobby our political representatives and post physical and electronic messages to all Burmese embassies around the world to make them realise that the world demands greater effort is made to ‘save the people’.

Interestingly, is it only I that has noticed that the press/media have deemphasised the story?

Back in September 2007, a NY based BBC correspondent reported:

Energy Resources
It is Burma’s energy resources - oil and off-shore gas fields - that make it such an attractive partner for Russian, Chinese, Indian and even South Korean firms.
The scramble for Burma’s energy resources make it almost impossible to isolate the regime.
Indeed, over time, as US and European ties to Burma have declined, those of China, Russia and India have increased.
China, then, is very much the key player; but Beijing faces conflicting pressures.
It has to match its energy and strategic interests - access to the Indian Ocean for example - with its desire for stability and its concern for its own reputation abroad, especially with the Beijing Olympics fast approaching.

This is a fact that I was unaware of. The irony here is that a country that is so rich in resources has not yet benefited from it. The same could also be said of a country like Angola, the latter embroiled in civil war for many years.

The death toll in Burma has been quoted as 78,000 with 56,000 people missing.

Today 3 days of mourning have started. This could be viewed as the military junta recognising that the crisis is real. However Burma is not allowing British, US and French navy ships located just off its coast to deliver aid supplies. Nor is it allowing foreign experts, employed by the UN aid agencies, to travel to the Irrawaddy Delta.

Nothing much has really changed for those without food or shelter. Should a more radical approach be to simply ‘drop’ the aid direct to the people? Maybe there needs to be a few ultimatums stated ? In the case of the Iraq war mobilization was fast and furious. Maybe another route is to convince China to lead the effort, widening its own relief efforts.

Or, is it just a case of gate-crashing the planned donor conference on 25th May and suggesting that ego needs to be put aside.

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If there was ever a time where the human race needed to unite for common good, it has to be NOW, re: the situation in Burma / Myanmar. On 2 May 2008 Cyclone Nargis ripped across the coast of Myanmar (Burma), bringing misery and devastation to tens of thousands. The situation as it now stands is as follows:

Risk of disease
Limited access to supplies
Relief workers being blocked from coming in to the country to help
A disaster fund set-up at http://www.dec.org.uk - Disasters Emergency Committee
The military junta appearing to ego trip!

The latter is what is being reported by the world’s media. It is unbelievable that the paranoia the Junta is exhibiting is blinding their own strife.

I read today that the possible rise in the death toll could rise from 100,000 to 1.5 million people.

From: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/country_profiles/1300003.stm
I noted that:

• Burma has been under military rule since 1962; the regime stifles almost all dissent
• Burma is one of Asia’s poorest countries; its economy is riddled with corruption
• Burma is seen as a pariah state by the West, which maintains sanctions; China is its main ally.
• Senior General Than Shwe is the country’s top military leader and heads the SPDC, the body of 12 senior generals that runs the country and makes the key decision.
• Prominent pro-democracy leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner, Aung San Suu Kyi, has had various restrictions placed on her activities since the late 1980s.

What can we do about the Junta ignoring pressure from nations, leaders, humanitarian groups and the UN?

1. Let us organise a day when everyone of us can meet outside each and every Burmese embassy around the world. A kind of world rally to ask for the Junta to hear the voice of the people. Or, we can do it electronically by leaving messages at all their websites.
2. Let us get a global alliance together and assess the practicalities of actually forcibly dropping supplies into the affected regions.
3. Let us talk to the Chinese to convince them that they must get the Burma military chiefs to see sense.
4. Let us keep the debate alive with your political contacts.
5. Get your company to set-up a fund
6. If you work for a multi-national find out what they are doing or can potentially provide in terms of help/assistance.

What happened to helping others at a time of need?
Or, are we all just hoping that eventually it will resolve itself by ‘others’ helping.

We are the others. We need to push for help.

This weekend the Times reported that Burma’s ruling generals were distributing satellite dishes! Surely the twelve ruling leaders will see sense if they see the world protesting against their sense of nonsense!

Lets just visit their Embassies website and leave them a message to say that together we can make a difference.

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I love the word ‘Cyberspace’ as it conjures up a new dimension of time and space. However, what it really consists of is just a series of numbers in an aim to connect to each other across our personal boundaries. Saying that, with Social networking technologies like Facebook, Myspace and Bebo, the potential exists for us to connect but with a need to assure a sense of caution.

On a negative note, it was brought to my attention that if you wish to delete your entry on Facebook simply choosing the delete your profile is not enough. A full deletion takes time and is only possible through completing an online form.

Many people have decided to leave such social networking sites as they feel that they are either bored or feel that they may be staked! I know the latter sounds a bit extreme but by opening up your personal details, even if done innocently, these sites can allow other (non-friends) to find out about you (subject to how much you reveal on your public site).

A recent Ofcom report, which surveyed 8,500 adults and children, reveals that half of all eight to 17-year-old Internet users - about 4million people - have a personal profile. This compares with 22 per cent of adults. Ofcom said two-thirds of children using social networking sites were on Bebo, while another third were on MySpace and Facebook (Facebook is most popular with adults). The survey showed 16 per cent of parents did not know who can see their children’s profiles. A worrying 41 per cent of children admitted they did not use privacy settings and only 53 per cent said their parents set them rules for use.

NB ‘Non-friends’ can also be defined as commercial companies that can profile advertisements towards you. In addition, one should also consider that it has been reported that snooping by potential employers also takes place.

Another area to consider is the use of such networks in the workplace. The UK Trades Union Council has established some guidelines (see: http://www.worksmart.org.uk/rights/socialnetworking).

One a positive note, over the last 2 weeks I have managed to re-establish contact with a couple of really great business colleagues. It was great to catch-up with them, where they are now - NB Both after at least 10 years. One could argue and question why did it take so long to reconnect? The only answer I can give is that the world is a big place and we all get busy in our own lives.

In the future it is likely that Cyberspace will provide us with virtual worlds with advanced features that connect to existing networks – These worlds will allow people to interact in a chosen identity or identities, introducing the possibility of an even bigger potential for exploitation. I was recently told by an Internet security expert that

the problem with the Internet is that nobody knows if you are a dog and if you are a dog what kind of dog are you going to be!

With such power comes great responsibility – No, this is not just a throw away line or something that can be exploited by a Spiderman movies. It is true. Today we have more power at our fingertips than ever before and it appears that children are apt at adapting to the latest fads and openness offered.

It is important to understand the risks of being online but also the need to provide greater guidance for hovering around in Cyberspace.

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