Effects of Smoking

Responsible for the deaths of around 100,000 Britons per year, including around a third of all cancer deaths per year. There is no safe dose of nicotine.

Smokers use up caffeine much faster than non-smokers. Stop smoking and blood cafeine levels go up by as much as 250% even when coffee consumption stays the same; these high levels are maintained for at least 6 months. Ex-smokers with coronary heart disease can face added risks as caffeine is a stimulant and can greatly increase the work of the heart. So when giving up smoking, drink decaffeinated coffee, preferably starting some weeks before trying to quit..

Smokers have a 5% more chance of developing an allergy if smoking when first exposed to a particular allergen.

Various sources - no dates.

Backache

If you suffer from some back pain (especially if this eases during the day), it may help to do this exercise before getting out of bed.

Stretch to full length, then scrunch up into a tight ball and squeezing. Repeat gently several times.

Lifespan, issue Spring 2016.

Washing Machine Smells?

A build-up of grease, detergents and fabric conditioners can cause unpleasant smells and moulds in your washing machine, especially if you use low-temperature washes and colour detergent, which contains no bleach.

To get rid of these deposits, use a washing machine cleaner to banish smells, flush out stagnant water and dislodge limescale.

To stop deposits from building up infuture, it's a good idea to run your machine empty once a month at 60C or hotter; adding soda crystals to the drum or bleach to the dispenser drawer will help.

Keep things fresh by wiping round the rubber door seal after every few washes to remove grime, and leave the door ajar when the machine is not in use.

Good Housekeeping, date not noted.
GH recommended Glo-Care Service-It Washing Machine Cleaner

Potato and Tomato Blight

Potato and tomato plants can be affected by blight, so what can you save of your crop? Here is what Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall does.

Potato blight. When browning on leaves first appears, don't act immediately. When it affects more than half of the leaves, cut down the foliage just an inch or so above the ground. Remove the cut foliage and dispose of it (either bury under a deep layer of compost or burn it). Leave the developing potatoes in the ground, harvesting as needed for at least 10 days but not more than 20 days (fewer if waether conditions are wet).Then lift remaining potatoes on a dry day, store them 'dirty but dry' (i.e. don't wash them) in wooden or cardboard boxes, covered, in a cool place.

Tomato blight. Don't plant tomato plants too close together, especially if grown in a greenhouse. If blight strikes, it is fast and usually devastating. Strip off all the foliage. Pick the biggest ripe and unripe tomatoes, and a few more may ripen on the plants before they die. Unripe tomatoes can be ripened indoors. 

END

Test Oil Temperature

There are several ways of testing whether oil is at the right temperature - scraps of bread crust, or a drop of the batter you are going to cook - and here's one more.

If you want to deep fry, drop a couple of popping corn kernels into the oil, then heat. When the corn pops, the oil is ready (about 170 C).

In Good Housekeeping, October 2015

Human Society

Human societies are based on shared values. Setting universal standards can cause a reaction to define particular communities, with revival of minority languages and religions and cultures. Suppress something and it will flourish underground. The more certain one group of people are of a particular line (in politics, religion or language) the more likely there is to be an extreme group to oppose it. The more aggressive a person is, the more prejudiced they are. Reducing frustration in a population should reduce prejudice. Behaviour groups can help reduce intolerance.

Hans Eysenck: Psychology (date not recorded in my notes)

Humans are not biologically equipped to live in populations far beyond tribal level. Cities offer compensations of stimulation and opportunity. The ideal city might be a compact, central area surrounded by separate, distinct living quarters and small towns with local industries.

An integrated, independent group with a common purpose diminishes its efficiency as its size increases beyond 20 to 25 people.  Voluntary social groups (e.g. family and friends) tend to have up to 100 members. The optimum cohesive size is around 500 people (perhaps should be maximum size of a school, as headteacher can know all pupils). Japanese firms use work units of about 25.

Advertising recognises that some people want to get to the top of their own social group, while others want to get into the next higher group. Unemployment produces a sense of failure.

Biologically it is more effective for a species if its members simply threaten rather than kill or seriously injure each other. Childhood disputes and adult fist fights usually use the weak overarm blow, often after an extended period of threats and pushing. By designating another group as not fully human (e.g. training soldiers), the restraint against killing is weakened or even removed. Because sport is a win/lose siutation, there is a universal convention where the winner honours the defeated.

There is no strict physiological reason why a 1 year-old child should not be 6ft tall, but a human of that size with a toddler's intellectual and emotional development would be enormously dispruptive, hence the slow human growth process.

False ideology that humans are naturally selfish and aggressive. Children need years of cuddling, close attention, personal confidence and authority. While they have resilience and potential for recovery from parental deprivation and abuse, this can be insufficient resulting in them later developing neuroses or delinquency or aggression. Societies that seem to spoil children but also have serious respect for the needs and beliefs of young children tend to have relaxed, amiable and peaceful people.

Terence Dixon & Martin Lucas: The Human Race, Book Club Associates, 1982

Bloody Foreigners: the Story of Immigration to Britain

Bloody foreigners: the story of immigration to Britain: Robert Winder. Abacus, 2005. ISBN: 0-349-11566-4

Immigrants tend to be entrepreneurial risk-takers and rule-flouters, with a keen sense of individual liberty. However, migration can also be forced, either directly (war, famine, political) or indirectly (poverty).

The first settlers of the UK, some 25,000 years ago, probably came from the south. Later waves of settlement followed from the Rhine basin, from southern Europe (dark colouring) and the Celts (fair skin and red hair, from east of the Alps. (Those with dark ‘Celtic’ colouring are actually likely to be Mediterranean in origin.)

The Roman invasion: the Roman army had few Italians; the majority of the troops were Gauls, Hungarians, Germans and some North Africans. The next invasions were from Northern Germanic tribes – Jutes from northern Denmark, Angles from central Denmark and Saxons from northern Germany, and Vikings. The Celtic language all but vanished and Latin was little used. The Norman (themselves Danish in origin) invasion formed the basis of the English aristocracy. 

In the 12^th C migrants were typically Dutch textile workers. Other migrants were Jewish money lenders, though tensions eventually led to their expulsion in 1290. In the 13th C migrants were Italian financiers and German, Dutch, Italian and French traders and craftsmen. The first gypsies were recorded in c.1480.

The next centuries saw religion influencing migration. The French Huguenots fled persecution, especially from 1685; the French textile and allied trades suffered from this. Dutch and German migrants brought printing and paper making and artists. At the Restoration, German and Prussian scholars were joined by Jews fleeing persecution in Europe. When William III took the throne, Dutch migrants followed.

In 1709, the Poor Palatines (farmers) came from Germany, fleeing persecution by the new (Catholic) Elector; some intended to go further and try their luck in America. The Hanoverian period saw the arrival of Germans, Dutch, Italians and some Jews from north and eastern Europe. The formation of the East India Company resulted in small numbers of Indians being brought back as servants and seamen, as did the slave trade with African servants. The Acts of Emancipation took down barriers to migration (1829 Roman Catholics; 1853 Jews).

In Europe, Britain had a reputation for being a good (if grudging) friend to the displaced. The 19^th C saw ‘clever’ refugees from the failed continental revolutions of 1848: Italian, French, Hungary, Poland, and Russia. Victoria’s marriage to Albert saw further German migration. Italians first came as street urchins (organized by gangmasters) and builders and allied trades; later migrants sold ice-cream and fish and chips. The Irish came as seasonal workers and manual labourers, especially at the time of the Potato Famine in the 1840s; Ireland was part of Britain from 1707 to 1922.

The 20^th C saw a Jewish exodus from Poland, Russia, the Baltic and Eastern Europe. There was a drift of Chinese seamen and African and Caribbean students, plus doctors, lawyers, scholars and entrepreneurs from India. More Jews came in the 1930s as the Nazi party gained power; some went on to the USA. After WW2, some Poles stayed on. West Indians came for better prospects. Indians, especially Anglo-Indians, arrived after India/Pakistan partition in 1948. Hungarians fled the Soviet takeover (1956) and Cypriots fled the Greek / Turkish partition. Other groups were actually or virtually expelled: Asians from Kenya (1967) and Uganda (1971), Chinese via Hong Kong (1960’s) and Vietnam (1970’s). More recent migrants have been refugees from war-torn areas and economic migrants from eastern Europe.

Germany and Italy are both federations of once competing sovereignties, while the US is a mix of recent immigrants; Europe is currently promoting the federal model instead of separate nations. On contrast, in other places ethnic pride has been at the forefront and resulted in enmity: India/Pakistan, Israel/Palestine, Cyprus, Sri Lanka, Hutu/Tutsi in Rwanda. This should raise warning signs over the current separatist feelings in Scotland and Wales.

Children of migrants are more outgoing than their parents but their own children occasionally revive rather than abandon the convictions of their grandparents. It seems that the original immigrants need to die before their descendants can accept themselves – or be accepted – as British. Most earlier migrants were keen to blend in, but some recent migrants are not so keen; examples are fundamentalist Muslims who wish to retain Islamic culture and laws, and the northern Punjab Muslims who are reluctant to sever ties with their homeland and family-based culture.

The 2001 Census showed that 7.9% of the population had an ethnic origin, but of these more than half were born in the UK. Immigrants do tend to cluster in certain areas, such as large cities but are often uncommon in the more rural communities. The Census also showed that the population of Scotland had declined by 2% as people moved to London. Headlines on immigration issues rarely note that nearly as many people emigrate each year as arrive as immigrants.

Policies to govern immigration often backfire. Restrictions on short-term economic migrants and human rights acceptance of re-uniting families led to more young men settling and then bringing in wives and children. Since there is a clear correlation in recent British history that when unemployment rises, immigration falls, there could be an argument for self-regulation. Migrants tend to have larger families; ‘British’ families remain at an average of 2.4 children. There has been more acceptance of, and actual rates of, ‘cross-breeding’ in the UK than in other cultures.

Interesting facts:

• Irish Aran jumpers were a marketing invention by a German entrepreneur in the 1930s, who chose Aran as the name of a new knitwear range after seeing a documentary on the island. When Irish wool proved unsuitable, they were made in the Scottish Hebrides.
• Tartan is a criss-cross patterned fabric, originally woven wool. Patterns were designed by local weavers with locally available dyes, so varied regionally and were not attached to specific clans. Tartan and other aspects of Gaelic culture were banned in 1746, and the law repealed in 1782. In the mid 19th C many patterns were created and artificially associated with Scottish clans, families or institutions that were (or wished to be seen as) associated with a Scottish heritage. These new patterns reflected the new chemical dyes that became available.

END

How Being in the EU Helped the UK

Here are some of the ways (which were never spelled out in the Referendum campaigning) in which being in the EU has benefitted the UK.

Walking into the unknown: rural England weighs up the reality of Brexit. Guardian online 8th Sept. 2016.

END

Proposed Parliamentary Boundaries 2020

In 2011, David Cameron was leading the Coalition. In order to try and ensure future Tory majorities, he proposed reducing the Commons by 50 seats (33 in England).

[My Note: the practice of setting electoral boundaries in order to benefit a particular party or group is known as gerrymandering. See Wikipedia entry on gerrymandering.]

Currently most constituencies have between 60,000 and 80,000 voters (with some outside at either end). The proposed reduction would push up the average to 75,000 registered voters, varying by no more than five per cent. The effect would be to reduce Labout-held seats and sustain or increase Tory-held ones.

Cameron's Coalition partners opposed this, and Parliament delayed implementation until 2020, fixing boundaries in 2018 based on who registered for the 2015 election. When the Tories won the 2015 election, it was not possible for Parliament to rescind the legislation.

The Boundaries Commission, which is responsible for setting constituency boundaries and is politically neutral, has now issued the first draft for consultation. The Tories enacted the law in its own interest, and other parties cannot easily oppose the idea of equality of voting.

The Boundary Commission cannot use the 2016 EU Referendum voter registration unless Parliament instructs it to do so. If this were to happen, the Boundary Commission could not complete its work by 2018.

A snap General Election is unlikely as it requires circumventing the five-year Parliament law and would have to be done on existing boundaries. It is unlikely at present that Labour would gain the 100 seats it would need to win a majority.

Our current electoral system promotes an unjust structure of government by using the first-past-the-post voting system. The boundary change proposals claim to give each vote equal merit, but in reality votes remain unequal. In safe seats, the result is usually known before the election. In marginals, tactical voting can change things in unexpected ways. Currently the Tory Government was elected by 36.9% of those who voted - but claims a mandate to do whatever it wishes.

The Single Transferable Vote (already used by the Church of England synods) delivers the result voters want, in the proportions in which they want it. Since the two main parties continue to want an overall majority, they will always vote for first-past-the-post - while electing their leaders by a more equitable system. STV is backed by the Greens, Liberal Democrats, Scottish Nationalists and all parties in Northern Ireland.

What can we do?

• Protest whenever the chance arises.
• If your sitting MP is not of your party, keep pressing them to represent your views in Parliament. At issue is accountability to voters.

Summarised from Voters are becoming worth less by Rt Rev. Colin Buchanan (a past honorary president of the Electoral Reform Society) in The Church Times, 7 Oct. 2016.

Pesto Tips

When making pestos or curry pastes, use the herb stalks as well as the leaves. It gives more flavour and helps keep costs down.

In Good Housekeeping, October 2015

Welsh Place Names

I find word derivations fascinating - whether in English or another language. 

Welsh place names often combine words: so Penmaenmawr (big stone head) is formed from pen (head or end) + maen (stone) and mawr (big) - all common in Welsh place names.

A: aber (mouth, e.g. of a river) # afon (river) # allt (hill). B: bach (small) # betwys (sanctuary) # bryn (hill) # bwlch (gap or pass). C: cae (field or hedge) # capel (chapel) # castell (castle) # coch (red) # coed (wood) # craig (crag or rock) # cwm (narrow valley - combe or coombe in English). D: du (black). F: ffordd (road). G: garth (hill or enclosure) # glan (bank or shore) # glas (blue (also green in older Welsh) # gwyn (white). H: hafod (shieling - summer pastures) # hen (old). I: is isa or isaf (lowest). L: llan (church) # llyn (lake). M: maes (field - y maes = the field) # mawr (big) # melin (mill) # moel (bare hill) # mor (sea) # morfa (marsh, usually coastal). N: newydd (new). P: pant (hollow) # pen (head, end, top, chief) # penrhyn (promontory or cape) # pentref (village) # plas (mansion or hall) # porth (port) # pwll (pool or pit). R: rhiw (hill or rise) # rhos (moor or heath). S: sant (saint) # sarn (Roman road). T: tal (tall) # tan (under) # traeth (beach or shore) # ty (house) # tyn (tight). U: ucha or uchaf (higher or highest). Y: y or yr or 'r (the, in the, on the, by the, etc.) # ynys (island).

Welsh has its own pronunciation.

• Only a double ff is sounded like 'f'; a single f sounds like 'v'
• 'Au' at the end of words sounds like 'aye'
• 'Y' is often pronounced 'u' and vice versa but depends somewhat on whether you are in south or north Wales.
• The place Penychain is pronounced pen-ee-hine.
• The Welsh word for Roman - 'rhufeinig' - is sometimes spelt 'rufenig'. 
• Llas Ceuffordd = long tunnel (another word for tunnel is 'twnnel'.

Source was a book on travelling around Wales by train?

Gender Issues

Gender issues are increasingly less hidden than in the past, but it is a difficult area with no hard and fast boundaries. NB: These notes were taken from a book published in 1989 and there may be new theories.

Many more men (around 4% but some sources say nearer 10%) than women (around 1%) are homosexual. Sexual deviancy (transvestism, voyeurism, exhibitionism, sado-masochism) almost entirely male. Currently the scientific view is that the majority of cases are due to hormonal influence in the womb or genetic causes. 

Hormones: By 1989 it was suggested that sexual identity patterning is partly down to the levels of hormones experienced by the foetus in the womb at different stages of development. The hormonal theory would explain the higher sexual deviancy in men, as they have to be changed by hormones from the natural female pattern present in all of us, so there is a greater chance of mistakes. Abnormal levels of hormones can be due to the foetus not producing a high enough level at a specific stage in development, or occasionally by a pregnant woman suffering specific medical conditions. Stress can also alter hormone levels in the womb. Out of 800 German homosexual males, significantly more were born during the stressful war (WW2) and early postwar period, the highest number corresponding with the last months of the conflict.

Theory A (Dr. Milton Diamond): 4 stages in sexual patterning. (1) Basic sexual patterning, aggressive/passive. (2) Sexual identity, sex people ascribe to themselves. (3) Sexual object choice. (4) Control centres for sexual equipment, including mechanisms of orgasm.

Theory B (Dr. Gunter Dorner): 3 stages in sexual identity patterning. (1) Sex centre typical male/female physical characteristics. (2) Mating centre (hypothalamus) controls adult sexual behaviour. (3) Gender role centre general behaviour, aggression, sociability, individualism. Upset at stage 1 can alter physical characteristics, at stage 2 low androgen levels in males increase chances of homosexual tendencies, at stage 3 dependent on abnormal presence of male of female hormones give ‘male’ brain in female and vice versa.

With both theories, the final results depends on which stage(s) were upset. The critical amounts of testosterone are measured in thousand-millionth parts of a gram, which may explain how it can happen that only one of a pair of identical twins becomes homosexual.

Genetics. Specific chromosomal variants affect gender. XXY males look male, are raised as males but suffer lack of libido and loss of potency. In adult life they have low testosterone levels, feel confusion about what sex they are and how they ought to behave; often expressed as transvestism, trans-sexualism, homosexuality, bisexuality, non-sexuality. 

Medication. Barbiturates are known to affect the developing central nervous system and behaviour of animals, and it is assumed that this also happens in humans, though the extent and specific changes are not identified. Drug related damage must, in any case, be weighed against therapeutic benefits of drug administration and the results of failure to treat. 

Male homosexual behaviour. Testosterone levels in homosexual men are high enough to make most of them think and behave in a male manner. They have the same unromantic and promiscuous view of sex as most heterosexual men but their specific mating centres are female; this may explain why homosexual men generally have many partners.

Other factors. Socio-environmental factors may be a factor. A ‘hostile’ father may not cause homosexuality, but an ‘unmasculine’ male child may cause hostility in the father.

Various sources including:

Brainsex: the real difference between men and women by Anne Moir & David Jessell. (Joseph,1989)

Some Facts on Warfare

Peace Pledge Union prayer
For all those who have died or are dying in wars, who have died or are dying because resources that could have fed or housed them have been wasted on war and preparations for war, who will die until we learn to live in peace. When will we ever learn?

WW1: The best estimates are now for 11 million military deaths and 7 million civilians. Chief causes of death: battlefield, malnutrition, disease, civil conflict and crimes against humanity.

WW2: The best estimates are now for between 21 and 25 million military deaths and between 50 and 80 million civilian deaths. Main causes of death: battlefield, bombing, malnutrition, disease, civil conflcit and crimes against humanity.

Wartime sexual violence (rape, forced prostitution and sexual slavery). WW1 - unknown numbers. WW2 - unknown numbers but documented for all forces. From antiquity onwards things have not improved. UN Resolution 1820 was passed in 2008 specifies that  sexual violence constitutes a war crime, crime against humanity and/or a contributing act to genocide. The impact on children born as a result of rape is lifelong. Sexual violence has a negative impact on reconciliation attempts. It is vastly under-reported due to shame, fear of reprisal, denial and intimidation.

Bombing and minefields continue to kill people after a conflict has officially ended.

The nuclear bombs at Hiroshima and Nagasaki killed at least 129,000 people - mostly civilians. After the initial blast, effects included radiation sickness, burns and other injuries. Around 1,900 people died due to cancer and leukemia.

Timeline of British warfare

From the 11th century onwards, we have fought in Crusades 1, 2, 3 and 9, our own civil wars, the Hundred Years' War and the Eighty Years' War.

From 1707 British forces or forces with a British mandate have invaded, had some control over or fought conflicts in 171 of the worlds 193 countries (currently UN member states as of 2016). That is 89% of UN states).

Conscientious objectors in WW1:

• 16,000 men registered, of whom 6,312 were arrested and 5,970 court-martialled and imprisoned (of whom 73 died due to harsh treatment and the others were not released until May 1919, with the last release in August 1919).
• 3,400 accepted call-up into non-cobatant corps or Royal Army Medical Corps.

Conscientious objectors in WW2:

• Around 60,000 men and 1,000 women applied for exemption, of whom nearly 3,000 were given unconditional exemption.
• Around 5,000 men and 500 women were imprisoned, with the last ones released in 1947.

From Peace Pledge Union website

Hold Fast to Dreams

Hold fast to dreams

For if dreams die,

Life is a broken-winged bird

That cannot fly.

Hold fast to dreams

For when dreams go,

Life is a barren field

Frozen with snow.

Langston Hughes

Islamic Dress Code

In the last few years, there have been increasing tensions over Islamic dress. Many religions only prescribe specific clothing for those undertaking religious duties or members of religious communities. Others have specific clothing - such as a Sikh turban or a Jewish skull cap - the wearing of which identifies someone's religious faith. Those not currently practising the faith they were brought up in, sometimes choose not to wear these items. In countries or areas of a country where the religion is a majority faith, Islamic dress is also the traditional cultural dress.

Islamic dress is typically only an issue with women's clothing and for Muslims living in non-Muslim countries. Some strands of Islam interpret the Koran as prescribing that women must cover certain parts of their body, but others challenge this. How much is covered and when and how differs from country to country.

• Hijab = 'covering up' but often used to describe the headscarves worn by Muslim women. The type most commonly worn in the West covers the head and neck but leaves the face clear.   
• Niqab = a veil for the face that leaves the area around the eyes clear. However, it may be worn with a separate eye veil. It is worn with an accompanying headscarf. 
• Burka = a one-piece veil that covers the face and body, often leaving just a mesh screen to see through.
• Al-amira = a two-piece veil consisting of a close fitting cap, usually made from cotton or polyester, and a tube-like scarf.
• Shayla = a long, rectangular scarf, wrapped around the head and tucked or pinned in place at the shoulders. Popular in the Gulf region.
• Khimar = a long, cape-like veil that hangs down to just above the waist. It covers the hair, neck and shoulders completely, but leaves the face clear.  
• Chador = worn by many Iranian women when outside the house, is a full-body cloak, often accompanied by a smaller headscarf underneath.

Islam is a religion of obedience, but the wording of the Koran can be interpreted in different ways. Some say that the original text only ordered women to cover their chests - and that covering the head and hair was a later interpretation. They also say that the instruction leaves it up to the woman to decide what to wear. Another instruction to 'lengthen your garment' leaves the actual length unclear.

History: One view is that the hijab comes from a Jewish tradition that women cover their heads and Christian women in some countries and time periods have also covered their heads, especially for worship.

Dress code information found on an Islamic website in Oct. 2001, no longer available.

The unanimous view of Muslim colleagues is that Muslim women wearing face covering (niqab) should be required to show their faces for ID purposes. Covering the face is not an obligation (wajib) under Islamic law and there is ample prophetic precedence (Sunnah) to back this. The International Islamic University in Malaysia (where Jabal taught) was unequivocal in applying this ruling, especially when their President was a Saudi scholar, and it did not matter whether the official requiring the check was male or female. Given sensitivities it would, of course, be wise to leave it to female officials to do the checking.

From a 2001 email about veiled women being photographed for library ID cards

Flat Earth News (Journalism, PR and Propaganda)

Flat Earth News by Nick Davies. Chatto & Windus, 2008.

I found this a fascinating book on how journalism has changed over the years, including some detailed reports on specific incidents. Here are a few of the things I have learnt - some of them disturbing.

ND begins with some examples of how news is manipulated and leads to unintended cconsequences.

• The Millenium computer bug was known to be likely to be a small-scale issue mostly limited to desktop computers. To get people to check, a worst-case scenario used the fear factor; a single paragraph in a one paper later spread through mainstream news media. In the event, problems were few, even if nothing had been done - but not reported as it was not news! 
• Heroin. Home Office licence to selected psychiatrists, prescribing for several hundred registered addicts, mostly in London. Media publicity and US pressure for prohibition saw orders to cut prescriptions to try and get addicts off the drug; instead their search for new supplies led to an ever-growing black market. High prices led addicts into prostitution and crime; poverty and contaminated heroin to health problems. Properly prescribed, heroin is benign; while addictive it is difficult to kill yourself with, and its most noticeable side effect is constipation.  [My query: Would prescribing for existing addicts cause the black market to shrink or even disappear - lessening the number of people who end up trying it?]
• With a typical one hundred criminal offences, only three are tried and convicted. In British prisons, 90% are addicted to drugs and/or alcohol and/or suffering from mental disorders. The criminal justice system works best at regulating the behaviour of law-abiding citizens. Putting more 'bobbies on the beat' reduced effort available for sophisticated work.
• The Chernobyl nuclear incident. In 2005, a WHO report that a total of fifty-six people died as a result and there was an increase in thyroid cancer among children who had drunk milk from cows grazing on contaminated grass in the week after the explosion - most of whom had been treated successfully. There was no evidence of any increase in other cancers, still births or deformities, nor mutated plants or animals.

Historically in Great Britian, power-hungry people owned newspapers and directed editorial process to favour political propaganda. Now mostly owned by corporations, whose primary purpose is to make money. In order to do this, production costs have been cut to the bone, with minimal numbers of journalists expected to file an increasing number of items, and where possible, exclusives. Some proprietors still intervene, building alliances with politicians, imposing a political framework on the papers and interfering if a paper threatens their other business interests.

Today journalists do not have time to check the facts of news stories, increasingly relying on press associations and news agencies, which in turn have been cutting staff so they do not check facts either. Another source of copy is press releases, which are publicity material and so slanted. Or they pick up stories from another paper or broadcaster. While claiming to be objective in selection there are pressures on them to follow certain lines.

Protest organisations - from Greenpeace to pro-political factions - use PR to their advantage. Safety net journalism adds some text on the other side to suggest balanced reporting (ok for opinions but not where facts are concerned). Government intelligence services worldwide use PR, sometimes to justify violence. However, with the rise of social media and global information networks, the terrorists are using the same tactics. PR also fabricates pseudo-evidence - surveys, polls and commisioned research - and pseudo-events where photos or videos are set up. Another method is leaks with strings attached.

'Give them what they want' journalism is focused on increasing readership or audience, most often seen in tabloids. News is now a way of making money. Agencies aim to cover stories which will sell in multiple markets - sport, celebrities, lifestyle. This is one of the factors tending to produce a conservative view of the world, distorting selection of stories and their content. There is a bias against truth with slow-burning tales ignored.

'Give them what they want to believe in'. Regardless of editorial judgement, 'readers are never wrong' - 'no red-top or tabloid is going to buy a postive story about asylum seekers'. Go with moral panic - mourning over a big death (e.g. Princess Diana) - everyone must mourn. Run stories published elsewhere even if they lack merit.

The Dark Arts - the use of private investigators and illegal practices to find evidence to build a story, in most cases where there is no evidence, or even suggestion of misdoing; they claim 'public interest'. The Press Complaints Commission guidance is weak, and their complaints procedure difficult to use, with tight srestrictions on who and in what period complaints can be made. Prosecution in court is hampered by the knowledge that papers might well hire expensive QCs, meaning that the prosecution would also need to hire QCs, and the possibility of a series of preliminary hearings to test law and evidence. All this led to corruption - people would be set up (accepting bribes) to generate a story.

ND looks in detail at three specific cases. The first is the muzzling and then the closing down of the Insight investigative team at the Sunday Times (owned by Rupert Murdoch) and second the Observer's increasing reliance on material supplied by Tony Blair's government over the Iraq war and 'weapons of mass destruction'.

The third case is the Daily Mail, edited by Paul Dacre. Having been well in profit for fifteen years, it could protect its journalists from cuts seen elsewhere; its success is linked to its political influence - ND notes 'government pays attention to the Mail'. Over a ten-year period, the paper provoked jusitfiable complaints to the Press Complaints Commission at three times the rate of other national titles. Inaccuracy and invasion of privacy were common themes, plus distortion and falsehood. When complaints are successful, the paper publishes a 'clarification', usually far less prominent than the offending article. In a small number of cases libel actions force admission of falsehood and the payment of damages, but the penalty is outweighed by the success of the offending pieces in keeping up its readership. Paul Dacre said in 2004 that his view of the editor's role was 'to reflect my readers' views and to defend their interest'. The paper is designed to appeal to lower middle-class men and women and it focuses on their interests and values, attacking black people, poor people, liberals, scroungers, drug addicts, homosexuals and the rich and powerful. It is more likely than other titles to pick on a story and push it so hard that other titles run it too. This can impact on almost every political issue - Europe, crime and policing, the NHS, binge drinking, the MMR vaccine, drugs, the fuel tax, GM foods, asylum and immigration, homosexuality, trades unionism and human rights.

ND thought it unlikely that media owners will employ more journalists, give truth primacy over other issues, stop using PR and propaganda, give media victims recourse to proper justice, reform media laws and allow only genuine public-interest defence. He does offer some hope. Firstly, the Center for Public Integrity is a non-profit organisation created in 1989; its journalists and researchers tackle difficult, time-consuming investigations and then give away their findings to the mass media and anyone else interested. Secondly, while the Internet is responsible for much repeating of poor reporting, it is also where individuals can reveal deceit and uncover the  truth.

The author also set up the website www.flatearthnews.net which contains the full details of some of the reports examined in the book. Still available in 2016 but not updated since 2010.

END

Feeling Down

Feeling down may simply be a part of who we are. Most British people have a short serotonin transporter gene, making us vulnerable to low moods. To curb it, followthe five steps to happiness recommended by the NHS:

• Connect with other people
• Stay active
• Keep learning
• Be mindful 
• Give to others - even if it's only a smile

Warwick University study reported in Good Housekeeping, Nov. 2015

Depression is more than simply feeling unhappy or fed up for a few days. We all go through spells of feeling down, but when you're depressed you feel persistently sad for weeks or months, rather than just a few days.
Some people still think that depression is trivial and not a genuine health condition. They're wrong. Depression is a real illness with real symptoms, and it's not a sign of weakness or something you can "snap out of" by "pulling yourself together". The good news is that with the right treatment and support, most people can make a full recovery.

Read more about depression on the NHS website http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Depression/Pages/Introduction.aspx

Going Vegetarian

With more people eating a vegetarian diet, they may be falling short of MSM (methyl sulphonyl methane), which is found in meat and dairy products. The third biggest nutrient in the body, MSM's benefits include better joint flexibility, stronger immunity, a healthier heart, better breathing and energy.

Lifespan, issue Spring 2016

Learning Skills

Research shows that students who immediately tell someone the information that they learn can recall details better and for longer - useful in exam season.

Good Housekeeping, June 2017

For poetry, songs, music, lists of words in another language: It may be better learning from the end, each time finishing with something you know. So learn the last line of a poem first, then last two lines. Split music in phrases and sections for learning. This could also help with gymnastic, ice skating and synchronised swimming routines.

Brainstorming a problem? Language is good for description but bad for perception. To get a new point of view, choose a random word and juxtapose that with the target word or area. Also cultural differences can produce different ways of looking at a situation. Include Plus, Minus and Interesting points, Consequence and Sequel, and the Other Point of View in your review. Remember that Either/Or choices make for 'sharp' decisions.

Edward de Bono: I Am Right, You Are Wrong, Penguin 2009

If a baby is introduced to water before any fear is allowed to develop (easily transferred by a frightened parent), swimming never has to be formally taught, just as babies are not taught to walk.

Zen approach to learning physical skills is that you play better if 'unconscious' of how to play. Archery: relaxation, visualisation of the shot, letting go of oneself. Tennis: beginner watched coach doing 10 forehand strokes, then let body imitate - perfect except that did not move feet - had commented that coach moved feet first and tried to remember that. Can be applied to other physical skills such as golf and skiing.

Ian Wilson: Superself. Sidgwick & Jackson Ltd, 1989

Greaseproof Paper or Baking Parchment?

Can't tell whether that roll of paper without its box is greaseproof or baking parchment?

Just hold a little of it under running water.

• Greaseproof paper will absorb the water and get wet.
• Parchment will repel the liquid like water off a duck's back. 

In Good Housekeeping, October 2015

Why Teens Put on Excess Weight

A rise in obesity in adolescents may be down to a sharp drop in the amount of calories they burn while resting. A 10 year study in the International Journal of Diabetes found energy used at rest was 25% lower in 15-year-olds compared with when they were 10 - a fall of 500 calories a day. This is equivalent to cutting out an hour's strenuous exercise every day.

Most of the energy we burn is just to keep our bodies ticking over - using the brain, heart, liver and kidneys - rather than through physical activity.

The study found that the number of calories the children burned at rest fell sharply during puberty, even though this is a period of rapid growth, which usually uses up lots of calories. It was only around the age of 16 that the number of calories burned at rest started to rise again. During puberty there was also a noticeable drop in the amount of exercise, particularly among girls.

With about a third of school children aged 10-11 in England overweight or obese, the challenge is how to address the issue. Researchers said that the findings showed there was an even greater need to improve children's diets and protect them from the heavy marketing of junk food and sugary drinks.

"Last month's government strategy on childhood obesity confirmed the duty on sugary drinks, but was otherwise a disastrous missed opportunity. We need much tougher regulation around the marketing of junk food to children - particularly on TV and online."

BBC News item: Calorie burn fall 'could explain obesity rise' 8th Sept. 2016.

How to be a Conservative

Philosopher Roger Scruton argues in  'How to be a conservative' that conservatism is an instinct to preserve things (either useful or 'elevating' even if financially worthless) that have been around a very long time. While not converted to his views wholesale, I did find some interesting points.

The UK law of corporations means that businesses are obliged to make a profit. Since charities are legally not able to make a profit, they set up 'trading arms' to generate income.

Society is composed of individuals. Socialism and communism sought to redress injustices by imposing forms of government, sometimes by force.

Boundaries are not created by drawing lines on a map, but 'arise through emergence of national identities, which in turn requires that religious obedience take second place to the feeling for home, territory and settlement'. RS thinks that putting religion above nationality (e.g. Islam), as a test of membership, poses a threat to political order.

Western civilization is rooted in Christianity, which focuses on confession and forgiveness. Accountability in public office is one manifestation of this, but is absent from the Islamic world and rapidly disappears from dictatorships. [My note: It is increasingingly absent from Western politics with cover-ups all too common.] There has been a gradual transfer of authority and decision-making from the bottom of society to the top.

Education used to be the transmission of knowledge, then became social engineering, eliminating distinctions and unfair advantages. He claims that a diverse educational system, with well-designed and rigorous examinations, will enable children to find the skill, expertise or vocation that suits their abilities. [My note: I don't know of any  country which does this. The grammar/comprehensive divide means that children 'fail' at a young age. The 1960s proposed UK technical schools never became a reality.]

Post WW2, the view that nationalism was the cause of war has led to increased European integration. As an ideology, nationalism (as with all ideologies) is dangerous. It replaced religion, which gave a purpose for life. Everyday nationalism is based on settlement, with peace between neighbours. RS claims that because we define membership in territorial terms, we enjoy elementary freedoms and that in states founded on religious obedience, freedom of conscience is a scarce and threatened asset. He notes that our laws (UK) are secular and, where possible, neutral to religion while shari'ah law was intended for a long-gone community. The English speaking world has internalized the idea that law exists to do justice between individuals, and not to impose a uniform regime of commands.

Socialism aimed to give equal opportunity to all but had unintended consequences of long-term benefit dependency. He accepts that inequality breeds resentment, and recommends using your wealth wisely to benefit the most people. [My note: Does this happen much? A few wealthy people are known to donate much to specific causes, but probably this is a small minority.] Economic activity depends on knowing other people's wants, needs and resources; prices provide an index of scarcity of resource and/or extent of demand.

Market economies need legal and moral sanctions to function properly but modern economics have developed ways of avoiding costs or passing them on that bypass sanctions (hedge funds, sub-prime mortgages). New Islamic banking is elaborately dependent on legal fictions which make unreal estate into the primary subject matter of financial contracts.

Transferring costs. Glass bottles expensive to produce, so makers charged a refundable 2d per bottle, which were re-used. Now produced cheaply and thrown away. Supermarkets use transport networks built at public expense; zoning laws favour shopping malls and large warehouses. Packaging (25% by weight of products sold) is mostly non-degradeable. [My note: RS offers no solution.] On environmentalism, he states that we must find motives strong enough to restrict our appetites.

Liberalism has its roots in 19th century - political order exists to guarantee individual freedom; authority and coercion are only justified if liberty requires them.

Law. Tort - the wrongdoer must compensate the victim. Contract - anyone who breaks a contract must compensate the other for their loss. Equity - he who seeks equity must do equity. Citizenship is largely misunderstood by Islamists, who believe in unquestioning obedience to divine law. RS claims that Western govenrments are aware that many people (even maybe a majority) did not vote for them, so must make themselves acceptable to those they disagree with and states that traditional rights have been supplemented by positive duty rights and reciprocal duties (my right to life = your duty not to kill me).

Multi-culturalism. RS states that culture is permeable to the rest of life, adapts to organisations, which in turn adapts to the emancipation of the people. His view is that many migrants come to the West in search of the advantages of liberal jurisdiction but without understanding or accepting the costs. Effort is needed on both sides to integrate new arrivals into national life, and the common culture should adapt to include them, noting that race and culture are not the same thing. Fear of accusations of racism have meant refraining from criticism or action against overtly criminal actions such as forced marriage, female genital mutilation and 'honour' killings.


On internationalism, his view is that we should continue the ancient practice of the resolution of disputes between sovereigns by treaty, since such states are legal persons, who should deal with each other through a system of rights, duties, liabilities and responsibilities. Sanctions typically hurt the people, not ruling elites.

RS feels that religious obedience is not a necessary part of citizenship, and, in any conflict, the duties of the citizen must prevail over religious obedience.

He concludes that the virtues of Western democracies are inseperable from the secular rule of law, which is inherently territorial and thinks attempts to reduce legislative powers of sovereign nations must be resisted. Toleration means accepting the right of others to think and act in ways of which you disapprove - but this does not mean renouncing all opinions others might disagree with, an easy-going relativism or a belief that 'anythign goes'.

Roger Scruton: How to be a conservative. Bloomsbury, 2014 (hbk) and 2015 (pbk).