The Broken Pound

04 Apr 2014 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , , , , , , ,

The Broken PoundI know that I’m not the only one who is sick to the back teeth of the bankers taking liberties with their position, pocketing vast fortunes and laughing at us when we dare to complain.

The recent banking crisis is rather poorly named. As far as I can tell, the banks have all done rather well out of the whole debacle.

They have been ‘baled out’ by us, citizens of this nation, and come up smelling of roses. Would the same happen if you were to borrow irresponsibly and fail to pay it back, even for reasons beyond your own control, you can bet it wouldn’t.

There are people who want to keep us in the chains we all wear. Ok, we’re not slaves, like the African peoples who were bought, transported and sold, making places like Bristol and Liverpool vastly rich in the process. These chains are financial, and in a way, they are even more evil, because they are invisible and almost undetectable.

See the truth for yourself, take a moment to see the painful truths therein, and wonder why we are all sleepwalking into our own Airstrip One. I read 1984 in 1984, but I never thought it would become a near reality.

Then be brave, spread the message as far and fast as you can, the man really is coming to get us. In this anniversary year of The Great War, let’s just take a moment to think about just who we are really remembering, and what, if anything, has changed since then.

Back in 1914, the patriotic volunteers signed up to fight for their country, for a land fit for heroes. That land was never delivered, it was never going to be delivered, it was then, as now, all smoke and mirrors and false promises.

Come on, take those blinkers off, take a look at how money and the banks have us all in financial chains, and then pass it on, and on, and on …

The Truth, The Whole Truth, And Nothing Like The Truth

06 Jan 2014 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Drug Trials - Release All ResultsWith the news that the government are calling for pharmaceutical companies to release all the data relating to their drug trials, rather than the ‘cherry picked’ good news that they currently do, I wonder how long it will be before they also expose the association between dietary advice and the drug and food corporations?

We all know that milk is good for us, right? Wrong! Apart from the fact that a growing number of people are, or are becoming lactose insensitive, the high levels of fat in milk tends to increase the level of cholesterol in the blood, increasing the chance of blocking the arteries and hence the chance of heart attack and stroke.

The drug companies are generally in the business of treating symptoms, rather than curing the causes of illness. As such, they have a vested interest in people getting ill. The meat and dairy industries depend on us eating their products, even though there is a body of evidence to show that animal fat and protein causes cancer, heart disease and other illnesses.

Both industries spend huge amounts of money promoting their products, and not just in advertising, although that is the most visible channel for their message. They also sponsor education in areas from schools to medical colleges, so that their message is ingrained into our society across the board.

Now before someone jumps up and says, ‘hang on a minute, you were eating cheese and drinking milk not long ago’ I have to admit that was true, but I was one of the ‘brainwashed’ majority too, until fairly recently. Having discovered more of the ‘truth’ of late, I feel more and more irate about the way that we are misled.

Until we get some legal separation between government, agriculture, pharmaceuticals and the food corporations, we will never get the facts about such matters. The politicians are in the pockets of the people who run such organisations, so have little incentive to put things right. Scientists get paid to lend their names to unproven products, it is a huge web of lies.

It will be interesting to see how much effort they put behind opening up the drug trial data, but if you would like to learn more about things for yourself, you might start here.

The Cinderella Disease

13 Dec 2013 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , , , , , ,

Sir Terry PratchettIn a high profile G8 summit this week, the leaders are pledging to increase funding for research into dementia in order to ‘develop a cure or treatment by 2025’. With the ever growing current figure of 44 million dementia sufferers set to reach 135 million world wide by 2050, it is a situation which will only become a greater problem for governments.

Sir Terry Pratchett, in a recent interview described Alzheimer’s as The Cinderella Disease. ‘It’s is because it isn’t sexy’ said Pratchett, ‘they’re old people, they’re going to die anyway’. He also said that there was no clear pathway to help and advice.

Whilst I applaud the G8 leaders for finally giving dementia the recognition it deserves, far more help needs to be given to those affected and further education as to the causes of the various diseases that comprise the illness. I know I keep harping on about animal fats and proteins, and how or diets are responsible for many of the ‘western’ diseases, but links to Alzheimer’s are quite clear from research.

My concern is that the pharmaceutical companies and the research institutions rely of these illnesses for their funding and profits. If society were to suddenly to be made aware of the precautions that can be taken, not only would our meat and dairy industries collapse, but huge losses and closures would also ensure in the pharmaceutical sector.

Prevention is better than cure, always, so if you value the health of those you love, get a copy of the China Study, read about all the misinformation we have, and continue to be fed and make you own mind up about what you wish to consume in the future.

Now THIS Makes More Sense …

12 Dec 2013 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , , , ,

Save Our BadgersBeing fortunate enough to live in Dorset, I am surrounded by beautiful countryside and coastline. In this idyllic rural area we are privileged to share our woods and fields with a large population of badgers.

Sadly these shy, nocturnal animals are rarely seen by anybody except when they fall victim to the all too frequent fatal road accident. But their existence is being threatened by the ridiculous government cull, in an attempt to curb the spread and incidence of bovine tuberculosis, which can be carried by badgers.

The cull has been a bit of a farce, with the target figure of kills being missed (fortunately), the pilot cull in Gloucestershire has been called off. Naturally, the farming minister has stated that the cull has been “worthwhile”, but there appears to be little evidence that it will make any discernable difference to the spread of the disease.

Fortunately, the process of thinking the problem through has not been left solely up to the government. The Dorset Wildlife Trust have embarked on a five year programme in which badgers are humanely trapped before being given the TB vaccination. The aim of the programme being to avoid having to cull the badgers in an area where bovine TB is common.

Now, to me, that makes a great deal more sense than trying to kill the innocent creatures who carry the disease. Vaccination of the targets of bovine TB, namely the cows themselves makes the most sense, but that might incur extra cost to the farmers, shame.

Having read so much about the evils of meat and dairy foodstuffs lately, I am tempted to say that we should cull the food industry executives, who have, and continue to disseminate false claims about the products they sell. The sooner we realise that what we are eating and drinking is doing us real and lasting harm, the sooner the badgers will be left in peace.

A Little Common Sense, At Last

30 Aug 2013 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , , , ,

Cameron DefeatedAfter the disgraceful tissue of lies that allowed Tony Blair’s Labour government to take us to war with Iraq back in 2003, it was heartening to see David Cameron get his comeuppance in the Syrian vote last night.

Whilst none of us want to hear about the atrocities going on in Syria, arming the rebels, or targeting the government forces will not solve the underlying problem.

Like taking a paracetamol for a toothache, addressing the symptoms will not solve anything in the long run, you must get to the root of the problem. Now it is clear that the ‘evidence’ of these incidents is anything but clear. Who did what to whom is open to conjecture.

So rushing in, John Wayne like, with all guns blazing is a recipe for making things a whole lot worse, not better. The tiny ray of light, which became visible last night, is that finally the government is listening to reason, and the people, and has been forced to resort to common sense and take stock.

Pick Of The Weak

05 Apr 2012 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , ,

Will Self For PMThe recent changes in tax allowances and other social benefits have highlighted the Government’s intention to increase the strain on the weaker members of society whilst putting yet more money back into the hands of the strong.

The change to the higher tax rate, from 50 to 45%, whilst being an understandable change if it actually brings more money into the Treasury, is a huge slap in the face for the less well off members of society. What ever happened to the ‘we’re all in this together’ way of looking at things.

In an economy that is struggling to offer any further employment, it beggars belief that the payment of Income Supplements should now be based on working 24 hours a week rather than the current 16. Companies are finding it hard to provide enough work for the employees they have now, let alone finding an effective increase of 50% for those most needy of the work.

I’m all in favour of making the Benefits System fair and just. We hear about the alleged scroungers who are milking the system. We never seem to hear about those who are living on or below the ‘bread-line’ and having real difficulties in making ends meet.

How can we expect a bunch of millionaire ministers to have the vaguest idea of how ‘the other half’ live? They are more concerned with lining their own pockets, and those of their cronies, with little or no regard to the millions of people who have no real voice in how the country is run.

Come on Cameron and Co. Let’s see a little more Wisdom, Courage and Compassion from you guys. We are paying your wages, and yet you are picking on the oldest and weakest in society. It’s high time we had a government made up of more people like Billy Bragg, Will Self and others who, although wealthy in their own right, at least have the gumption to stand up for the working and middle classes.