Eggs

World News:

 

This is Yulia Tymoshenko, the Ukrainian presidential candidate, being pelted with eggs by people who want to join with Russia.

It leads me to wonder, why do people throw eggs at politicians when they don't like their policies?

 

This is Ed Miliband getting egged.  Seeing his reaction, I don't find it very funny, I feel pretty sorry for him really.  But I feel even more sorry for anyone who gets hit by the splatters (not the bodyguard so much, he gets paid, but what about people just out for a walk getting hit by stray yolk? Yuk).

 

Most politicians seem to take it on the chin, (or the back of the head)

 

But not John Prescott: he decided that being egged wasn't part of his job description and punched his attacker.

 

But why eggs? 

 

Well, it's probably because they're easy to carry (so long as protesters are careful), they are effective, making a satisfying splat, and they're fairly cheap.

 

However let's be clear: as a form of protest, throwing eggs is ILLEGAL.  It constitutes the criminal offence of battery (as in assault and battery) and you can get arrested and charged. It's worth remembering that it can cause harm -- there's a story about a nurse in Dublin who was blinded in a drive-by egging.

 

And not to forget Yulia Tymoshenko predecessor: In 2004 Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych, was hospitalised after being pelted by an egg.

 

The lesson here is that protest always has consequences, some good, some bad.

 

Seeing things differently:

 

I'm sure most people know Vitaly Zdorovetskiy of Vitalyzd TV, as a prankster, especially the Russian hitman pranks, and pranks can be funny, but they can also be a little mean at times because there's usually a victim.

 

But Vitaly showed the most amazing thoughtfulness when he paid for a homeless man to get a makeover. This is so great, and if you don't feel a lump building in your throat, then you maybe aren't seeing things differently enough.  

 

Give it a go, maybe it will inspire you to do something nice for someone too...

 

Thumbs up for Vitaly & good deeds all round

 

 

 

Local news:

 

We did the filming session around Distington this week, and many thanks to everyone who helped. Especially Ruby, who was an absolute star.

 

So here's a little wiggle for Ruby and the gang

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Abusing the innocents

World News:
There have been a few news stories recently about abuse of power. 

When a person breaks the law we call it crime.  When a person in power breaks the law, and uses their position to try and get away with it, we call that corruption.  We're really talking about the misuse of their power.

In India there is a party standing for election who promise to fight corruption within government

In Albuquerque (which for years I thought was pronounced albu-kwer-kwee), the results of a 16 month investigation have found that the Police Department abused their position routinely, that is on a regular basis.

If you check out YouTube, you will see numerous examples of police officers abusing their position, some of it quite shocking.   I'd certainly be worried if it happened to me.  But there are a few things to bear in mind.

Seeing things differently:
We only every get to see the extremes of human behaviour: Youtube videos of police officers going about their everyday business would be pretty boring, and just like the X Factor and Jeremy Kyle producers, uploaders want views (except Minecrafters, I have NO idea what they want. Does anybody?).  So we're only going to see the best of the best or the worst of the worst.

The number of corrupt police officers is a tiny proportion of the hundreds of thousands of total police officers.  I'm not saying that makes it right: it doesn't; but it does put it in perspective a little.

The majority of people will never run into trouble with police officers. Fact.

Moral dilemmas:
Here's another example of an abuse of power.

Child abuse is awful, and it causes such strong emotions in many of us.  The mum, Katey, ended up in prison because she didn't protect her son.

So here's the situation: mum in prison, son now in care.  My question is this: is there a better way? Could something have been done earlier to prevent Noah ever getting hurt?

It's the kind of thing Howgill Family Centre try to tackle.  They recognise that there are lots of things that lead to families struggling, and they try to help those families stay together if they can.

Local news:
This week I met with Whitehaven Harbour Youth Project, where we talked about the issues that exist in the town centre.  Did you know that McDonalds have a curfew?  They're happy to serve you and take your money, but your not allowed to sit inside to eat, because some young person caused damage in their restaurant. Now everyone suffers because of one persons actions.

Do you know that makes me feel?

And finally..

Remember to proof read your texts guys.

The dark side

World News
Following news last week that Uruguay is experimenting with becoming the first country to completely legalise and regulate cannabis, and produce, sell and tax the drug.  Advertsements are popping up all over the internet about the London 420 pro-cannabis rally to be held in Hyde Park.

This rally is an example of active campaigning -- where huge numbers of people will come together to show their support for something they believe in -- and it's also an example of the sharp edge of democracy: what these people will be doing is likely to be illegal, as I'm sure many of them will be breaking the law by smoking cannabis.

Are the police going to making arrests? I doubt it, because of the sheer numbers of supporters.
Does that make it okay then?  Not really: it's still against the law.
So why are they doing it?  For may people, the democratic process isn't working here, and successive governments, both here and in other countries, look like their making their decisions on evidence other than science.

Now to be absolutely clear: I'm not pro-legalisation of cannabis or anti-legalisation of cannabis.  That's a debate for others to have. But I am all about having honest and open discussion, and there are numerous examples where officials seem afraid to give a straight answer.

Not giving a straight answer is a serious threat to democracy, because it makes the public feel like things are being kept from them. And in a representative democracy people will argue that nothing should be kept from them.

Also in the news recently was something that reminds us of the dangers of the Internet.

I think we're all aware that the Internet can be used for all manner of things these days, and some of it is weird

some of it is scary

But some of it is actually dangerous, and you need to take care that you are safe online.

In America there are reported cases of paedophiles using the Internet to make contact with young people. MSNBC's Dateline sets out to trap these people.  Which sounds like the right thing to do. 

But an even better thing would be for young people to be more aware of what they're doing online. I think this is VERY IMPORTANT.  So if anyone is interested in doing some training for peer mentoring purposes, becoming social media champions for Copeland, we can look into sources of funding.

Okay, let's move on.

Moral Dilemma:

Psychics.  Do they exist, or don't they?  Are there people out there who really can move stuff with their mind, who can contact the dead?

It might not seem very important.  But something to think about: if they aren't real, then they're conning people, sometimes conning money out of them.

The question for you this week is: should psychics be challenged as con artists, or left to carry on as entertainers?

Seeing things differently:
One man's rubbish is another man's home, or earthship. How cool would one of these be as a shelter?  You could even set up your rain barrels to make drinks.  Or not...

Anyway, building an earthship isn't easy, but it is unique (to Copeland), and very cool...

Local news:
I met with the Haverigg division of Action for Children, and we talked about filming the highs and lows of life there.

I have to hold my hands up and confess my own prejudice, I didn't realise how nice Haverigg was and I'd always assumed it was pretty tired and run down.

People of Haverigg I apologise, I think the beach café and the park are very nice.  Now, if we can only get that KFC...

TTFN

Putting it in perspective

Moral Dilemma:
In Victorian England rich people would occasionally entertain themselves by going to see disfigured, disabled and otherwise unfortunate souls who had no hope or future.  They called them freakshows.

Nowadays, people entertain themselves by watching Jeremy Kyle, or the X-Factor.

Now, as you watch these videos I want you to consider something: the producers are the people 'in charge' and they know what's coming.  They know that Robin's going to fail the lie-detector test, and that Zoe isn't a brilliant singer, but still they let them get up in front of studio audiences, TV crews and millions of viewers to embarrass themselves.

Of course, these programmes are for entertainment purposes, so the producers want a good show (not unlike the Victorians), but what would you do if you were the producers? Would you be okay with people being publicly humiliated? (Especially when the humiliation can last forever. Thanks YouTube)

Seeing things differently:
Here's something to think about next time your toast burns, or you miss the bus.

Not that I'm trying to suggest our problems aren't real.  They definitely are, and they can cause a lot of upset.  But when we start thinking about other people in the world, people with less than us, it can help us to cope with that upset.

Here are a couple of news stories. Reading them might give that sense of 'well, life ain't brilliant, but at least I don't have that to deal with:
Woman's pictures used in prostitution ads
Many still missing in Washington mudslide

Local News:
But it's not all doom and gloom, the latest meeting at St Peter's Woodhouse was a huge success, as I got a volunteer willing to go to the next Whitehaven locality partnership meeting. Thanks to Master Woolaghan...

Also, we had a very productive meeting of Youthwork Copeland.  That's where those of us who work with youth in the area get together and talk about policy and best practice, and drink tea.

And finally...

I've found the perfect video to end this week.  1. It's funny, because it's true. 2. It's all about seeing things differently. 3. It's defo a case of "Well, at least I don't have that to deal with". Oh, if you haven't seen the film 2012, don't click the link. Spoilers, duh!