The current UK coalition government may claim that the deficit is a result of the past regime.
The past regime quite rightly suggest that it is a global issue.

Lets just take a look at the latter. From the outset it appears that freedom of banks to gamble has now lead to the public paying the price.

I look at the economy from a different perspective. Although capitalism can fuel opportunities it has a dark side, one of greed and as Wall Street the movie put it, ‘Greed is good’ and ‘Lunch is for wimps’!

The model to squeeze the worker to support the power of the multinational is based on personal survival.
i.e: The beast wants more and if you feed it, you too can eat some of the pie and live.

We seemed to have missed something. Economics based on helping each other.
We are bred to be immune to the suffering of others. We all know people are dying of malnutrition.
We and I am guilty if this this, will buy the latest gadget but simply express shock when we realise how little the component assembler is being paid or treated. We hope that the manufacturer will influence the factory but on many occasions they don’t or can’t get close enough to the internal abuse. By then it can be too late. In the same way people will rush to buy cheap cloths and will forget that child labour made in a backdrop of underground/Mafia, ungoverned operations and non-policed middle men. Corporate responsibility is played a simple lip service to as it is left to unaudited processes.

The following list shows some of the reasons for poverty. Why can’t our politicians and economists develop strategies that involve global sharing initiative initiatives to tackle each and more of them?

• State discrimination corruption and abuse of public power.
• Lack of social integration. Competition instead of cooperation.
• Crime.
• Substance abuse
• Procrastination
• Climate or environmental factors and abuse of the dumping of recycling waste.
  
• Historical factors, e.g: with origins from imperialism and colonialism.
• Population growth
  
• War, genocide and bullying
• Lack of education and skill development
• Excessive materialism

If we based an economy on developing other nations then collectively we will benefit. If we can see that they (for example, a developing nation) need the building of infrastructure, then together we can trade and harmonise the world. Economics driven on equality not on class, caste or race distinction. One way to expose and help on a community level is to twin schools, enterprises, medical support and food provision.

The obsession with squeezing people in richer countries could impact development projects as they could claim they have less of their own money to share with others. Instead, we should set-up global development funds for those living in richer countries to invest in.

We need economists with imagination not politicians claiming and repeating the policies of the past will work. We all know they don’t and we let them (the politicians) continue on a decade-on-decade of the cycle of boom and bust – yet for some people its doom and dust for all of their lives…

Transcript from today’s PfT (agreed with  the producer):

Just one day’s wages can be all it takes!
We get up, we go to work, we go home, we crash out and we go to bed again.  Somewhere in there we also eat!  It’s a daily grind which tends to distract us from so much as we concentrate on getting by, particularly in these dark days of winter.  Helping a neighbour de-ice their car’s windscreen can seem a big deal, let alone helping to tackle world issues such as poverty, violence and exploitation that too often face us in the news.

Think of it:

• 25,000 children under the age of 5 die each day due to poverty-related causes.
• Nearly 900 million people in the world do not have access to clean water.
• Nearly a billion people entered the 21st century unable to read a book or sign their names.
• Many in our world spend hours walking many, many miles a day – often barefoot – to collect water, food or to get to their nearest school.

I remember once meeting a Peace Corp volunteer in the United States who told me about her visit to a remote village in Kenya and how the people there looked at her shoes in wonder.

The scale of these and many more issues can simply seem insurmountable to us.

Yet charity, as they say, begins at home.  Recently, I came across an international movement which encourages people to donate a day’s wage to help end global poverty.  That’s about nought point four percent of an annual salary.  It’s a simple idea.  Yet it could make such a difference to the lives of so many in this world.

There’s a Sikh saying: “The earth is a garden, The Lord its gardener, Cherishing all, none neglected.”

So next time you’re in the car heading to or from work with the weight of the world on your shoulders, listening to the news on the radio and feeling powerless to help, why not set that single day’s pay aside?  Strangely enough, it may be just the thing you need to lighten the load and give a fresh perspective on the daily grind.

My Original article is here:

Our daily grind tends to take us away from helping to free others. Freedom from poverty, slavery and exploitation tends to unfortunately drop in priority as we are so tied-up with surviving and investing in personal or associated family futures.

One of the wonders of humankind is the potential to be innovative. Recently, I came across One Day’s Wages. ODW is an international movement dedicated to ending extreme global poverty. The figures quoted on their website are shocking and staggering:

• 25,000 children under the age of 5 die each day due to poverty-related causes.
• Unsafe water and lack of basic sanitation cause 80% of all sickness and disease, and kill more people every year than all forms of violence, including war.
• Nearly 900 million people do not have access to clean water.
• Nearly a billion people entered the 21st century unable to read a book or sign their names.

These are all challenges for us. When we sleep at night we hope for a good nights rest. However, we forget about those that have to walk miles to go to school, many in bare feet. I remember meeting a Peace Corp volunteer in the US who hold me about her visit to a remote village in Kenya. She spoke about how people looked at her shoes in wonder.

ODW suggest that a one day salary contribution is equivalent to about 0.4% of your annual salary.
They are also setting-up partnerships with other organisations, for example: Not for Sale.
The latter focus on deploying innovative solutions to re-abolish slavery in their own backyards and across the globe.

The Interview with David Batstone of Not For Sale below is inspiring and exposes the evil of slavery that is happening in the 21st Century!!!?
It is great that people are now starting these organisations. A start to harmonisation and fairness in terms of the distribution of wealth, respect for human rights and stopping abuse of people.

Together we can overcome.

Click here to view the embedded video.

I talk about the latter a lot. Maybe harmonisation can be the key to reigniting the economy, especially as it has been ravaged by a banking situation and the greed generated by the perpetual motion of capitalism.
Has humankind learnt nothing about not repeating mistakes or becoming enveloped in materialism?

Yesterday’s news of the closure of a camp between France and the UK also rams home the point of the need for solutions in worlds where people flee for their lives of a better existance.

We need multi-nationals to use their power for change.

Interestingly, It has been a while since I said anything about the movies and ironically with all my thoughts in recent years about the unnecessary lavishness of the Oscars I did buy a monthly season ticket for my local theatre. Could it be that the older I get the more I want to view and appreciate the effort involved in any movie project?  Or, is it that since the success of the film Slumdog millionaire I feel a sense that art can change the world? Not sure yet as I know that the £200M that has already been recorded at the box office for the latter mentioned film will certainly raise some capital for trust funds for the actors et al. However, what about the situation today and all those who continue to struggle for survival?

The raising of awareness has to be one thing that has come out of the ‘09 Oscars, i.e: honouring the film with an avalanche of awards. I hope that this momentum will continue to raise an air of conciousness.

Over the last month it has been difficult to find time to update my blog. There are a number of reasons for this. Firstly, being away for a few days in the early part of Feb ‘09 – in the Subcontinent (India), getting sick on the last couple of days there and then returning back to London to the cold!

During the trip I remember a child who approached me at on an auto-rickshaw, the one time that I took one from Noida to Central Delhi. We were stuck at a traffic light and the child held out his hand and repeating over and over again a request for money. Above me was one of the many fly-overs being constructed for the Commonwealth games to be held I believe next year. We had also just passed a number of recent construction sites for new offices all showing sign boards of many recognisable western organisation’s – probably keen to pursue their cost containment strategies.

I wondered why this world is full of double standards. In one part of the world we have barefeet rag clothed children, the women who work on   Highway construction sites under the sweltering sun – carrying rocks on their heads on trays and make shift tents for thousands of families. In Hollywood we see the press hoovering around the bold and the beautiful people (actors) trying to pretend to be real people.

In 2009 some of the real people (Actors selected from the 19 million who live in the slums in Mumbai) turned up to the ceremony, will the world wake-up and ask for change or simply wait for the next premiere as life passes us by…?

Check out the double standards on the following vid. As the interviews are taking place with the kids of the Slumdog Millionare movie, a not so subtle shot of SJP ‘kicks in’ showing the array of frocks and celebs. What about the question at the end, would you rather be at home playing video games!! I believe that question was for one of the 2 little ones who live in the slums,  enough said!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

The article talks about the real slumdog millionaire situation. How children head for Mumbai, get picked-up by disturbed, greedy and demented individuals who amputate their limbs, get them addicted to substances and then put them to work for up to £50 per day – collecting their takings in return for a drug top-up!!!

What kind of world are we living in. What kind of doctors can consider selling childrens organs for profit or doing and charging amputations for £100 a time!?

I’ve seen the movie Slumdog millionaire and it will be in my top 10 films of all time. Not only because it is filmed in a way that touches the soul (NB I don’t understand the ‘feel good factor’ commercial marketing / tagline / positioning of this film!?) but because makes you realise that the world needs to come together to root-out the evil of inequality and poverty. It reminds us that we must not forget our mission in life – to help others and press for harmonisation.

Yes, I do hark on about the need for harmonisation.
Until the corporate world realises (UK spelling!) that they have a responsibility too, the developing world will replicate the mistakes of the developed world.

Until we ‘burn’ the drug harvests, these control devices will continue to cause pain.

Our hands are tied by the politicians who struggle to make change happen… It is going to be up to us, the people to shout louder and LOUDER for change to happen…

Watch the the video to see India’s contrast on so many levels…

Click here to view the embedded video.

Closing Thoughts…
Does money bring happiness?
What does that woman at the glitzy red carpet event mean by, ‘It’s celebrating human spirit, its celebrating the people who live in the slums’?
I find the latter offensive as there should be no slums…
Will we ever be able to make a sequel that showed how the world eradicated this situation? I hope so, I really do.

I had a long conversation with a friend yesterday about the real causes of the world’s issues today.
For example, hunger, famine, destruction, disputes over territory, poverty, alcholism and the manifestation of drugs in all walks of life. Shall I go on?

Obama lead his successful campaign on a ticket that sells change – Sorry about that pun but money talks, even though much of it has been lost into a black-hole due to a combination of over zealous bankers and the publics cry for property acquistion.

What are the causes of today’s problems
Unless we stop the shipment of arms and both stop the production and transportation of drugs, these evil entities will make it more diffcult to keep our hopes for change to affect our lives for the better. In Gene Rodenberry’s world of Star Trek he established that the human race had resolved these issues. A world of plenty in terms of food and opportunity had been acomplished.

Solutions
I keep talking about the need for world harmonisation as a project for recovery. For example, developed countries helping under-developed countries. I sometimes feel that I’m shouting in the dark about the need for greater corporate responsibility and communities to weed out instigators of terror. I talk about the need for a second coming for a Marshal plan, just like the one that rebuilt Japan and German post WW2. The billions being spent on bailouts just show us that money can be made available – and I don’t care if people say that this is a nieve way of looking at the problem. Maybe we should take a % from Swiss bank accounts!

Obama’s hope…
It is good to see Obama take the stand. Yes he is black and we have come a long way to assure opportunities. I wish him the best but believe that it is people that make the change not just politicians.

Today we need hope and if Obama brings that to the US and the world that is great.

Will Obama’s momentum be the world’s gain ? It is up to us to take the initiative…

Over the last few weeks the press have really ‘gone to town’, pardon the pun (!) over how the retail sector is suffering, especially with pre-Christmas sales attempting to get consumers to spend their money.

I was at the BBC today to record a short 5 part series called Pause for Thought – Sorry name drop! I couldn’t help myself so I dropped into both the Nike Store and Top Shop just around the corner from BBC Western house on Oxford street.

As an excuse to test my new portable HD camera I  took a bit of footage of the crowds.

Oxford Street, London Sales

At the best of times it difficult to walk down Oxford Street. Today was no exception, it was packed! Are these people looking for a bargin, tourists or buying on credit?

Top shop was packed and the new running section in Nike Town on the first floor were selling Nike Elite Pro +4’s at £85 each!

I wonder if the credit crunch makes people work harder to take advantage of sales or is this all just another marketing ploy to get ‘footfall’?

Economists are telling us that 2009 is going to be difficult. The doom and gloom pundits are talking down the stock market, real estate (some reports suggest a 30% drop in current house prices by the end of 2009) and job prospects. There seems to be very little in the way of positive suggestions, for example: working on projects where communities local and international who are on the poverty line can be assisted through regeneration initiatives. It also seems to me that the worlds money and international markets are locked into trade agreements that exclude selective countries and the flow of goods.

When I played back some of these videos a few times you could see that people were on the hunt for their best deals. Although we make decisions on the high street in reality the import of products, their hyped profits, the middle men that often exploit developing countries and poor government policies all contribute to the apathy of the situation.

Maybe if we spoke more about working towards deals for the greater good, the wider community and those who we cannot see but deep down know that they need our help, we could ask our employers and governments to spend our money more wisely…

Will Obama help us see the light and offer something new?
2009 could be an interesting year but it is up to us to drive forward change rather than hear about it and feel good about the words!

Click here to view the embedded video.

The following video shows how social media, especially through Twitter seems to have lead the campaign to ensure its removal.

Click here to view the embedded video.

The company concerned have now provided a public apology via their website and have suggested that it will take time for associated printed adverts to be recalled from newstands.

As I said in my previous post we have the power to create a lobby for change. If enough of us unite and rally for the eradication of poverty we can win.

Let us take a look at one example. Certain High Street retailers are relying on local agents in developing countries to manage the production of clothes. The profit is realised when you see the knock down sales price during the up and coming sales. In the developed world our expectations on price are conditioned. We need to demand accountability from CEO’s who should be rewarded on ethical production.

Just see the following (featuring a garment trader middleman & under age workers) ..

Click here to view the embedded video.

In a world where we have so much power at our finger tips, it is now time to use it for social change.

People rush to get a bargain I wish the same energy was in our hearts to make poverty history!

Click here to view the embedded video.

However, I was appalled by a 10min film on this morning’s Milkshake programme entitled ‘PLAY’, broadcast on Channel 5 (UK) at 6:45am. It went something like this…

Imagine a grey concreted street in India. The sun shines yet kids roam the streets watching their mothers use large steel bowls to wash their or others clothes.

The camera focuses on hose pipes ejecting clean water then slowly moves into a wide angle shot to reveal the inside of peoples homes… concrete shells.

The voice-over narrative then starts with a gentle female voice talking about how a child has just had a wash. The mother wraps the child in a thin grey towel hugging her to keep her warm.

The next scene shows a naked child, possibly no older the 2 years old walking towards another mother. The child blinks slightly and then points to her mother. This mother is crouching down pulling out cloths and then beating them to the ground to rinse out germs.

The voice over narrative resumes suggesting that the child is now joining her mother to wash clothes and how fun it is.

The video continues to communicate what the children depicted must be thinking, adding further tones of fun on what looks like a desperate situation…

At the end the context is left unclear.

• Why are they washing their streets in public in such a way?
• Is this acceptable for people who live in these countries?
• Should we as society show these images as reality with a subtext of apathy?
• Are the women aware that they are being filmed?
• What kind of message is this video communicating to a child – That poverty is a matter of fact and that nothing can be done to help change?
• The programme is called, ‘PLAY!’ – Sadly, I was left in shock thinking about the 75% of people in that country that are still trying to eat.
• Yes, we know nothing of the circumstances of the people featured but they clearly do not have what some of the other people have who live in India, i.e: Washing machines…

The following is what I sent to OFCOM today as a note of concern/complaint:

As humanity we need to strive to make poverty history. However, narrating to a child through 10mins of people washing their cloths on the streets of India has the potential to condition children to accept poverty. For youngsters this kind of portrayal is damaging and does not help in motivating change.

I also suggested…

Next steps:

I think the producers of this programme need to question their motives in potentially promoting poverty in such an apathetic way.

There is clearly a need for greater harmonisation, especially in a world where there are some who have so much and many who have nothing.

If his passion is for real then there is a ray of optimism in the air for us all, with fresh perspectives and ideas.

If I was cynical I would say that we cannot change institutions away from their greed.
Being optimistic I like to think that soon the world will wake up and recognise that we are all the same and all we need is for us to ask ourselves and our institutions to think beyond the dollar. Harmonisation through community based projects could be a great way to unite the world and give everyone a fair chance.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.