Blogging in a medieval theocracy

Today came the sad news from Egypt that a blogger, Abdel Kareem Soliman, was jailed for a total of 4 years after a 5 minute hearing. His "Crimes"? .....

 

No Free Thoughts In Theocratic States

 

...... Insulting Islam by suggesting that the al-Azhar university in Cairo was a "the university of terrorism" and that it suppressed free thought (really!). He also stated that the president for life Mr Mubarak was a dictator (never!).

Gun Crimes and Ethnic groups

The news in the UK has been dominated for the last week by two items, Muslim issues, and Gun crime. I will leave Islam and the West for another Blog, because its still going to be an issue for years.

Fact: In the UK last year there were 58 gun related murders (That's less than in Los Angeles).

Myth: "Gun crimes are sweeping the UK, with teenage gangs and ghettos everywhere you look".

Perspective: Over 3,000 people died of MRS in UK hospitals last year.

Issue: How to stop the myth overtaking the facts and removing the Politically Correct element from the discussion.

The first problem in discussing gun murders in the UK, is the tendency of the politicians to pussyfoot around and say "Teenage gun crimes are across all the cities and ethnic groups of the country".

It's a fact that the vast majority of teenage gun crimes are by blacks on blacks, and those white youths who are involved, live largely in black majority areas and are associated with mixed race gangs. This fact is the same in every country where there are large African descent or Afro Caribbean communities. In the US, most gun related murders take place in black populated ghettos, and the same applies in other countries. I am sure that any reader of this blog will be able to find exceptions to this rule, but these are the exceptions that prove the rule, so taking this as a fact, I have to consider why this may be the case.

The Perception Of Gun Criminality .....

Dell Hell

Well, where to start. At the beginning seems a good place. I bought a new laptop before Christmas after my old one appeared to die an inglorious death. A Dell seemed to be a good idea (I was relying on their old reputation), and so I ordered one. 15 days later it arrived, but with a couple of faults.

Offshore Call Centres Are Not Great Experiences ....

This was the start of a wonderful adventure via a very polite, but totally inept, help and support sections in Bangalore. I soon discovered that being able to speak 'Inglish' and understand English are two completely separate matters. They listened and thanked me for my custom, which apparently was "valued", but they then proceeded along the line of least discomfort for them. i.e. They resolved nothing.