Ethiopia: Amhara People, Betrayed Persecuted and Ignored
Throughout the world the ideology of division and intolerance has permeated mainstream politics and poisoned societies; tribal nationalism, hate and prejudice are widespread, animosity and suspicion toward ‘the other’ commonplace. In Ethiopia this vile, fear based trinity appears to have become government policy.
Ethiopia: The Agony of Tribal Nationalism
In whatever form it manifests, whether it’s distaste for foreigners, refugees and asylum seekers, a nationalistic economic policy or flag waving patriotism, tribal nationalism is a cancer upon the world. Violent, ugly, and often deadly, it creates and strengthens divisions, often resulting in war, one after another after another throughout history. Ethiopia is a land…
Ethnic Terrorism Continues to Stalk Ethiopia
Where there is division there will be conflict. In a country such as Ethiopia with dozens of ethnic/tribal groups, the need for tolerance, cooperation and unity is essential if there is to be peace and social harmony. Where these are absent, where differences and historic grievances are enflamed by ideologically ambitious individuals/groups, fear hate,…
From Excess to Simplicity of Living and Social Justice
As we look at the various interconnected crises facing humanity, from poverty war and displacement to the environmental emergency, it becomes clear that they all stem from the same source, from a particular approach to life and way of living. An extremely narrow, largely false view that has led to wholesale environmental vandalism, acutely divided…
Copout In Cairo: ‘They’ Just Don’t Care
As COP 27 drew to a pitiful close with no action on emissions or reparation, I met a friend in a cafe in West London. Distracted by our discussion, we failed to notice his Earl Grey being served in a takeaway cup; aghast, I requested a china mug for mine. Blowing and sipping, we grumbled…
Ethiopia: Peace Agreed Now The Work Begins
Faced with imminent defeat, on 2 November the TPLF (Tigray People’s Liberation Front) finally agreed to stop their vicious attack on Ethiopia. They had little choice in the end, the Ethiopian National Defence Forces (ENDF) had taken TPLF strongholds in Tigray, and encircled the regional capital Mekelle. The great tragedy is that fighting could have…
Crisis Or Catastrophe: Nothing Changes
Nobody, well nobody in their ‘right mind’ can anymore deny, ignore or escape the burning fact that the natural world is being battered and vandalized by humanity; not all of humanity, just a certain subset. Air, water and soil polluted, forests levelled, ecosystems disrupted, animals species killed off, climate patterns altered. And yet, and yet,…
A Loud and Clear Lesson – For Ethiopia and the World
First things first: as I write so-called peace talks are underway between the democratically elected government of Ethiopia and The Terrorist TPLF. That in itself is a bizarre sentence, and prompts an array of related questions, and issues around law and order, justice, national governance. To be clear, the TPLF have never wanted peace, and…
Ethiopia: Peace Is Impossible While TPLF Roam The Land
As Ethiopians celebrated the new year on 11 September, the TPLF (Tigray People’s Liberation Front) issued a Stance on a Peaceful Resolution of the Current Conflict. Choking on hypocrisy it states that they were, are, will one day be, prepared to “participate in a robust peace process under the auspices of the African Union (AU)”.…
Women Life Freedom
Frustrated and angry, people everywhere are mobilizing, protesting, striking, demanding change, screaming out against injustice, suppression and control. The unprecedented global movement expands week on week; it will not be stopped, no matter the level of violence or intervention state bodies employ to silence people and maintain the corrosive status-quo. In a dramatic Sign of…
Universal Tipping Points: Change is Coming
Much like individual change, societal developments happen gradually, often painfully; even when sudden shifts take place, seemingly ‘out of the blue’, they are the result of an accumulation of incremental steps – the last straw on the camel’s back as it were. Small developments may slip by unnoticed, major events scream out and demand our…
UK: Fragmentation and Decline Under Conservative Rule
After 12 bleak years ofvarious Conservative governments, led by inadequate Prime Ministers, the UK is on its knees. Democracy is under attack like never before; the disaster of Brexit, which has resulted in a catalogue of negatives including social polarization, isolationism and rabid tribalism. Years of grinding austerity, underinvestment in public services, frozen wages and…
Renewed TPLF Terror War Against the Ethiopian People
After a fragile ceasefire lasting just five months, the TPLF (Tigray People’s Liberation Front) have once again initiated violent conflict with federal forces in Northern Ethiopia. They started the war in November 2020, were forced to retreat just over a year later, but not content with the level of human suffering resulting from their initial…
Climate Change: Endless Words, Where’s the Action?
There is virtually no time left, many believe we are already too late to do much to arrest climate change and the destruction of the natural world. Even climate scientists are stunned by the pace at which the climatic conditions of planet Earth are being altered, disrupted by the ignorance and deep-rooted selfishness of humanity;…
Drought in the Horn of Africa: Worst in 40 Years
The Horn of Africa (HoA) is once again being battered by climate change induced drought, with the UN report, over “20 million people, and at least 10 million children facing severe drought conditions.” Desperately needed support from UN agencies (World Food Programme (WFP), UNHCR and UNICEF) is limited due to lack of donations from member…
Killing Palestinian Journalists and The Silence of Israeli Apartheid
Within the cacophony of the Middle East and war in Ukraine, Israel’s brutal occupation of the West Bank and Gaza had drifted into the shadows. But the assassination of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh served as a vicious reminder of Israel’s criminality. Abu Akleh was murdered on 11 May in Jenin on the West…
Discontent By Design
Everyone, everywhere wants to be happy; how to find this jewel however is not easy and many people, most perhaps, spend their lives battling misery, whilst searching in increasingly narrow circles for happiness, or relief from unhappiness, until weary and despondent they give up and await the inevitable. Conditioned from birth to expect happiness to…
Karma Yoga: Spontaneous Action Free from Attachment and Desire
“Nothing matters but the soul. Nothing counts in the long run but service.” Alice A Bailey/Master DK All the world’s religions emphasise the importance and value of Karma Yoga or service – to others, the community, the world. In The New Testament (which is littered with such references), Mark recounts Christ teaching: “If anyone would…
Multiplying Hatred and Division: Humanity at War With Itself
Whatever our differences, beliefs and prejudices we can all agree that peace is a good thing, can’t we, don’t we? All rational decent human beings would, I’m sure, nod enthusiastically, and who among us would admit to not being rational or decent…..even the despots believe they are – rational, just misunderstood. So why are human…
“Open Your Hearts and Act”: African Youth Activists on Climate Apathy
It’s November 2021 and hordes of dignitaries from around the world are assembled in Glasgow, Scotland for the annual Conference of the Parties (COP), number 26. Billed as the last chance to do something to slow down climate change and reduce the vandalism being inflicted on the natural world by mankind, it proved to be…
The Keep Africa Poor and Dependent Project
Exploited and abused for generations by white colonial powers and manipulative economic structures, there is a growing feeling of solidarity within parts of the African continent, as exemplified by the #NoMore movement. Covid vaccine inequality and environmental injustice, together with recent events in Ethiopia have galvanized people. Ideas of African unity and rage against former…
Observation is Awareness: Intro Text and Exercise
“Thoughts come and go, feelings come and go, find out what remains.” Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi. Self-investigation is the tool to discover That. The single most important question to ask oneself is Who Am I? It is not a question to be positively answered; one can only say what I am not. The only thing we…
Western Lies and False Narratives About Ethiopia
War is big, loud, significant and attracts an audience; media likes it. Foreign wars (commonly Middle Eastern or African) distract from domestic chaos and reinforce a long-held prejudice of savagery and race, and the opposite, equally false notion of western superiority. In all conflicts mainstream media plays a crucial role, often inflammatory, feeding the discord…
The Fundamental Law: Cause and Effect
Making sense of the events of our lives and the world around us is often impossible to do. Why do certain things happen? Why do some people get sick and die and others live; why do some survive accidents while others suffer life-changing injuries? There appears to be no logical explanation to such questions; there…
Johnson Does Downing Street: Booze, Lies and Playacting
It’s hard to think of another time when a buffoon of Boris Johnson’s stature would have been elected Prime Minister of the UK. He lacks completely the intellectual and moral capacity for the role, and while politicians trade in duplicity and deceit the world over, Johnson is a serial liar. Partygate may fill the airwaves…
Signs of the Times and The Emergence of Maitreya
Yanis arrived in the UK twenty years ago after fleeing gang violence in his homeland. His wife and four children were deported, he doesn’t know where they are and cannot contact them. Unable to legally work, he has no income, is prohibited from claiming state benefits and has been rough sleeping for eight years. As…
Ethiopia: Historic Battle for the Mother of Africa
The outrage felt by Ethiopians at the Western-backed terrorist attack on their country is spreading across the Horn of Africa and parts of the continent more widely. A great movement of solidarity is emerging as Ethiopia’s neighbors, Eritrea, Somalia, Sudan, Kenya join hands, standing together against terror, imperial interference and mainstream media lies and misinformation.…
Signs of the Times and The Emergence of Maitreya
Yanis arrived in the UK twenty years ago after fleeing gang violence in his homeland. His wife and four children were deported, he doesn’t know where they are and cannot contact them. Unable to legally work, he has no income, is prohibited from claiming state benefits and has been rough sleeping for eight years. As…
Global Issues Require United Action and a Reinvigorated UN
Whatever corner of the world one happens to live in, the most pressing issues of the day affect everyone. Pandemics/epidemics and the environmental emergency; war and terrorism; poverty and food insecurity; overpopulation and the displacement of persons. Such crises cannot be limited by borders or controlled by nation states; no government or corporate power can…
Ethiopia Conflict by US Design
Supported by America and other foreign forces, including elements within United Nations (UN) agencies, The Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) are attempting to overthrow the democratically elected Government of Ethiopia and regain power. This would be disastrous for the country and the region. The impact of the year-long conflict is devastating. Perhaps as many as…
Saving Our Planet Requires Systemic and Behavioural Change
The natural environment has been poisoned, vandalized and trashed in accordance with the demands and values of the all-pervasive socio-economic system, and as long as it persists it is impossible to imagine the steps required to save the natural world being taken. Economic considerations and short term self-interest will continue to be applied and the…
Discontent by Design: The Lost World of the West
A cursory glance at the ‘State of the World’ reveals what a mess things are: from the environmental emergency and war to injustice and poverty, a tightly woven man-made mess of interconnected issues, unprecedented in scale. The greatest crisis of all, however, is humanity, and the culture that we, specifically ‘The West’, have built and…
Ethiopia: Assailed by Terrorists and Betrayed by the West
As the new government led by Prime-Minister Ahmed Abiy takes office for their second term, the West’s relentless propaganda campaign against Ethiopia continues. Since the Tigray Peoples Liberation Front (TPLF) attacked the Ethiopian State on 4 November 2020 (the day after President Biden was elected coincidentally), the US and allies, factions within UN agencies and…
Media Attacked, Journalists Murdered: Democracy Eroded
The media occupies a crucial space within all societies. It always has, but in an uncertain age, dominated by social media with its proliferation of opinions and “facts”, and the trend towards increasingly polarized, controlling governments, it is more important than ever. In order to serve the interests and needs of the people, media organizations…
Ethiopia:TPLF terrorism expands, civilians massacred
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ke5Slb5PWao&feature=youtu.be As the armed conflict between Ethiopia and the Tigray Peoples Liberation Front (TPLF) enters a new phase, Ethiopians are uniting against their common enemy. The TPLF is not a group of freedom fighters standing up for the downtrodden; they are a terrorist insurgent force waging a war against a sovereign state. Murdering, raping, destroying…
Complacency Rules: Consumerism and the Environment
The 16 Year Old, middle class, privileged, argues that meat and other animal produce are essential for his health, his ability to play sport, and the development of his adolescent brain; besides, one person becoming vegetarian/vegan, won’t make any difference to the environmental crisis. The total failure to respond in any meaningful way to the…
The Poison of Nationalism
Once upon a time Nationalism was an ideology reserved for extremists. But in recent years it has moved from the irrelevant fractious fringes to become a central movement in western politics. Rooted in fear, it feeds on tribal instincts and has become mainstream by offering oversimplified explanations to complex problems, such as poverty and immigration.…
Ethiopian Renaissance Dam: A Unifying Peoples Project
With a population of 118 million (expected to top 200 million by the end of 2049) Ethiopia is the second most populous country in Africa. 70% (c.80 million) are under thirty, the median age being just 20. The majority of people live in rural areas where infrastructure is poor or non-existent: around 67 million are…
“Stop Interfering”: Ethiopia’s Opportunity After the Election
Despite ongoing violence in the northern region of Tigray, persistent attempts to de-rail the process and cries of catastrophe by western powers (most notably the US) and mainstream media, on the 21 June Ethiopia conducted its first ever democratic elections. The mechanics of the election were not perfect, but crucially there were no reports of…
Race to Net Zero Emissions: Are We Ready?
‘Net Zero Emissions’ is the new political slogan, chanted by governments and business leaders desperate to be seen to be taking the environmental emergency seriously. Of the nations pledging to hit zero greenhouse gas emissions (GGE) no later than 2050, twenty have legal commitments to do so (Sweden, Austria, Bhutan, Costa Rica, Denmark, European Union,…
GDP versus Lasting Growth Rooted in Love
In what feels like a throwback to another era, banks and big business are once again talking about ‘growth’, and economic development. Both of which amount to the same thing to the men and women of money – profit. After over a year of utter turmoil, death, illness, heartache, social and economic lockdowns, some nations…
Ethiopia: Violence Instability and the Need for Law and Order
An unresolved war in the north of the country; ethnic based violence some are describing as genocide in the West; random explosions of aggression in various regions: Ethiopia is trembling. With around 117 million people, Ethiopia has the second largest population in Africa, made up of 80 or so tribal groups, all with their own…
Beyond Covid: The Essential Building Blocks of a Just World
We are living through extraordinary times. Even pre-Covid they were strange, unprecedented in a variety of ways; now more so, crazy in many ways. Among the madness, contradictions and movements for and of change, the detritus of human society is somehow being raised from the shadows into the light of public awareness, apparently impossible to…
The Emerging Culture of Compassion
‘Take your Brothers Need as the Measure for Your Actions’ Given the level of divisive conditioning, with its emphasis on competition and selfishness, that we are all exposed to, it’s a wonder that kindness and compassion exist at all. But exist they do, and since the global calamity that is Covid-19 hit our streets, a…
Freedom of Thought and the Death of Ideologies
Amidst widespread mistrust of authority and governing institutions (politicians, particularly governments, are the least trusted group in society), dogma, from whatever source, appears to be losing its suffocating hold on the minds of people everywhere. Disillusionment with ideologically based solutions is being strengthened by the consistent failure of existing methods to solve the problems of…
The Global Cry for Change
Change is in the air, it’s been hovering for some time, but thanks to Covid-19 festering social issues and inequalities have been highlighted, intensifying the need for a new approach. Talk of environmental action and reimagining how we live and work fills the airwaves; catchphrases abound, spilling from the lips of duplicitous politicians who claim…
Change Love and the Need for Unity
Much needs to change in our world, and while this was clear before Covid-19, the pandemic is highlighting festering issues and creating a space in which to re-access current modes of living. New and just socio-economic and political systems are required together with positive values that encourage the good. Mankind needs to learn to share,…
Overpopulation Food Waste and Climate Change
In 1960 there were around 3 billion people on Earth, by December 2020 the number had leapt to 7.8 billion. The world is wildly overpopulated: with every day that passes the numbers grow, and the collective human impact on the environment intensifies. If the current rate of growth continues the UN estimates that by 2050…
The Rich The Poor and Climate Change
Only the most deluded denier can now question that the global climate is dramatically changing, and that the chaos is man-made. Extreme weather events – wildfires, drought, intense heat, hurricanes – are becoming more frequent, the impact on ecosystems and biodiversity, populations and infrastructure devastating. Fueled by the industrialized nations and the lifestyles of the…
The Collective Shame of Global Hunger
We live in a world of plenty, resource rich, financially wealthy, but, despite this abundance an estimated 700 million people go hungry every day. Millions more are food insecure, meaning they may have food today, but have no idea if they will have any tomorrow or next week. Additional millions can only afford nutritionally barren,…
Time to Grow Up: Ending Divisions Creating Peace
There are said to be around 30 armed conflicts currently taking place in the world, some large, some small, all deadly. The warring factions of today are more likely to be insurgent groups – ‘rebels’ (sometimes fighting proxy wars for a regional or global power) or terrorists, extremists – right and left, battling with a…
Ethiopia: Death and Despair as Divisions Erupt Into Violent Conflict
Grandmothers carrying babies, mothers, children, men young and old with nothing but the clothes on their backs are fleeing fighting in northern Ethiopia and making their way to Sudan, where emergency camps await them; according to the UNHCR 5,000 a day are making the journey. Ethiopians are killing one another in the Tigray region of…
The Tide is Turning: Change and the Coming of Maitreya
For most of 2020 Covid-19 has dominated mainstream media, and whilst serious, the pandemic is but the latest in a series of dark clouds gathering upon our collective horizon: interconnected crises, from the environmental emergency to war, poverty, inequality, and social division among others. All flow from the same root – a misguided set of…
Saving Our Planet Is Our Responsibility
Destructive human behavior based on selfishness, greed and ignorance has created the interrelated environmental emergency. A global crisis of unprecedented scale that threatens the survival of over a million plant and animal species, the security of tens of millions of people and the health of the planet. Unlimited irresponsible consumption of goods, services and animal…
Change and Decay: A Time of Transition
It’s the beginning of autumn in the northern hemisphere, a beautiful and refreshing space between the heady days of summer and the chill of winter, a transitional time. And collectively we are living through a time of global transition; a shift from one civilization, colored by certain influencing qualities, to a new time, growing out…
No Going Back: Environmental Action Post Covid
It’s been a weird time, the last six months, and so it continues; perhaps it always was. It’s certainly been an unjust violent mess in varying degrees of severity, for as long as most can remember. With selfishness, division and pleasure firmly in the driving seat, and the planet beautiful, slowly choking to death under…
The Plight of Refugees and Migrant Workers under Covid
In a world where nationalism and social division is increasing, bigotry growing, are the words refugee, asylum seeker, migrant worker, derogatory labels triggering prejudice and intolerance? Such terms create an image of ‘the other’, separate and different, strengthening tribalism, feeding suspicion, our common humanity denied. Under the shadow of Covid-19 those living on the margins…
Ethiopia’s Volatile Path to Democracy
Ancient ethnic divisions and long held grievances die hard. Ethiopia is made up of dozens of tribal/ethnic groups, divided into nine regional states. Oromia is the largest region (it includes the capital, Addis Ababa) and, with 34% of the population (c.40 million), the Oromo people make up the biggest single group. On 29th June the…
Prison: Therapeutic Centers Or Academies of Crime? We may know where one is, we may regularly pass by one, but most of us will never go to prison. Dark Islands of Confinement, existing in a space separated from the rest of society, where men, women and youths are locked up, often poorly treated, seldom rehabilitated. …
Prison: Therapeutic Centers Or Academies of Crime?
We may know where one is, we may regularly pass by one, but most of us will never go to prison. Dark Islands of Confinement, existing in a space separated from the rest of society, where men, women and youths are locked up, often poorly treated, seldom rehabilitated. Black men and people from Asian and…
India
The Work in India is aimed at children and communites from the lowest castes, the Dalits and Schedule Tribe people. We began working in India in January 2008 when we ran a six week project with Familia Home in West Bengal. Two creative education programmes were given with children aged five to 16 and a…
Ethiopia
The work in Ethiopia began in 2006 when at the request of Sara Cannizaro Child Minders Association (SCCMA), a local NGO in Addis Ababa, we organised and ran a three month programme of education workshops in the Ethiopian capital. This initial work established a deep commitment to the country. Read published essays on Ethiopia by Graham…
Sri Lanka
Projects In February 2005, the Sri Lankan NGO, Aqua Heritage Trust, invited Graham Peebles to design & deliver a ‘Healing through Art’ programme in Pettigalla Watta, Galle, Sri Lanka. This initial seven-week programme was the beginning of eight-months work in southern Sri Lanka and led to the founding of The Create Trust. Pettigalla Watta refugee…
The Create Trust
The Create Trust is a UK registered charity, number 1115157. It was set up by Graham Peebles in 2005 after he was asked to run a series of therauputic art workshops in Sri Lanka following the Sout east Asia tsunami on 26th December 2004. We have run education projects and teacher training programmes in Sri…
Racism: Are We All Prejudice?
Loud acts of racism, like the atrocious killing of George Floyd by a US police officer; the disproportionate number of black men incarcerated in American prisons or the high percentage of young black or minority ethnic (BAME) men subjected to ‘stop and search’ by police in Britain are blatant and ugly. But an individuals ‘unconscious…
June 2020
Reinvigorating the UN?
Whatever corner of the world one happens to live in, the most pressing issues of the day affect everyone. Pandemics/epidemics and the environmental emergency; war and terrorism; poverty and food insecurity; overpopulation and the displacement of persons. Such crises cannot be limited by borders or controlled by nation states; no government or corporate power can…
Air Pollution Mental Illness and Covid-19
Lockdowns imposed in response to Covid-19 forced millions of people to stay at home, businesses closed and a widespread hush descended. The major beneficiary of the controls has been the natural environment; in particular there has been a dramatic reduction in air pollution everywhere. But as countries begin to lift restrictions, road traffic levels are…
The Spiritualisation of Culture
Much like socialism or love, ‘spiritual’ is a word that through overuse and misappropriation has been diluted to the point where it has lost virtually all meaning. Although commonly understood to allude to something separate from the material world, according to esoteric literature that which we regard as ‘spiritual’ – referring to spirit, and its…
Only the Poor Starve: Hunger in the Time of Covid
Additional to the global health crisis and the coming worldwide economic collapse, Covid-19 is fuelling a humanitarian crisis. The World Food Program (WFP) warns that, “millions of civilians living in conflict-scarred nations, including many women and children, face being pushed to the brink of starvation, with the spectre of famine a very real and dangerous possibility.” The…
Covid-19: The Rich, the Poor, the ‘Other’
‘We’re all in this together,’ chant the duplicitous politicians, meaning the Covid-19 pandemic. The official language around the crisis is consistently hypocritical and disingenuous; – ‘trite and misleading’ is how the BBC described the UK government’s slimy rhetoric. World-wide the script is much the same – ‘we’re at war…. we’re fighting an invisible enemy and…
Death of the ‘Usual’
Humanity is faced with a series of self-made, interrelated crises, from the environmental catastrophe to poverty, inequality, the absence of peace and an unprecedented level of displaced persons, among other pressing issues. All have been brought about by the negative behaviour of mankind, by the pervasive modes of living, the corrosive values and ideologies that…
Systemic Cruelty
When bailiffs broke down his door on the 20th June 2018 they found Errol Graham emaciated and dead. He weighed just four and a half stone (28.5kg). There was no food in the flat except for two tins of fish that were four years out of date, no gas or electricity supply. He was 57,…
Education: Expanding Purpose
As the world stumbles from one crisis to another it is increasingly apparent that existing systems and institutions are incapable of responding to the challenges of the time and the growing demands of the people. Creative ways of thinking free from ideology are needed, allowing for a revolution of ideas to take place and new…
Hollow Promises of a Better Life: Modern Day SLavery
Despite the fact that slavery has long been abolished it continues to blight our world, destroying the lives of tens of millions of people. The Global Slavery Index (GSI) 2018 estimates there to be 40.3 million slaves in the world; however, given the difficulty of collecting data, the areas that are not included – organ…
Decimation of the Rainforests and the Money Men
During August thousands of fires ravaged the Amazon rainforest in Brazil and Bolivia. Some are still burning. In the wet ecosystem of the rainforest fires are not a natural phenomenon, they are started by people, mostly well-organized criminal gangs that profit from illegal logging and land clearance. Brazil’s right-wing President, Jain Bolsanaro, took office in…
Climate Change: All Talk No Action
Awareness of climate change and the interconnected environmental crisis is growing throughout the world. Protest movements led by Extinction Rebellion and School Strike for Climate increase in number and scope, demands for action are repeated, louder and louder, anger and anxiety mounts. And yet politicians and corporations, complacent, trapped by outdated ideology and motivated by…
The Need for Unity in Ethiopia
Ethiopia is a tribal nation, made up of 80 or so different groups, some large some small, some powerful, some not. Large numbers of people, the majority perhaps, identify themselves with their tribe more powerfully than their country, or their region. Tribal affiliation runs deep among all age groups, loyalty is strong, resentment of tribal…
The Rise and Rise of Green Politics
Alongside the flag-waving surge of right wing and extreme right wing groups, political parties concerned with environmental issues are on the rise. Public awareness of climate change and associated issues is growing; a recent poll in Britain found that 85% of people are concerned about climate change, 52% ‘very concerned’. As a result of this…
From Porn to Tweets and Online Bullying; The Age of Abuse
As social divisions deepen, polarities spread, extremists rise, anger and abuse grows, is growing, is being legitimized, excused. Lies are sanctioned, truth dismissed. The abuser armed, flag-waving, ignorant, spewing vitriol and poisoning the collective psychological space, weaving a brittle web of insecurity. There are multiple forms of abuse, from exploitation as in the case of…
From Porn to Tweets and Online Bullying; The Age of Abuse
As social divisions deepen, polarities spread, extremists rise, anger and abuse grows, is growing, is being legitimized, excused. Lies are sanctioned, truth dismissed. The abuser armed, flag-waving, ignorant, spewing vitriol and poisoning the collective psychological space, weaving a brittle web of insecurity. There are multiple forms of abuse, from exploitation as in the case of…
Breaking the Spiral of Hate and Intolerance
Valeria Martinez Ramirez was 23 months old when she drowned in the Rio Grande with her father Oscar in June this year. They had made the long journey from Salvador to the US border with her mother and brother. The image of Valeria, her arm round her father’s neck as they lay face down on…
Hidden Plastics: Glitter Gum and the Air we Breath
The plastic contamination of the natural world flows from three main sources: complacency, apathy and ignorance, a poisonous trinity that is itself the result of a narrow and destructive approach to living. While there are signs of a shift in attitudes among many people, resistance to changing the lifestyle habits that feed the environmental crisis,…
Zero Waste: The Global Plastics Crisis
Plastic pollution is everywhere, it litters beaches, clogs up oceans, chokes marine life, is ingested by seabirds that then starve to death, and has even been discovered embedded in Arctic ice. It’s in the air we breathe, the water we drink (bottled and tap), and last year plastic was found in human stools for the…
Maitreya: “Share and Save the World”
Amidst deepening global divisions and intolerance ‘Project Maitreya’ plan to build 1,000 statues of Maitreya Buddha around the world, with the aim, they say, of inculcating an atmosphere of ‘loving kindness’; a positive gesture in a cynical world, supported by the Dalai Lama. The coming of Maitreya Buddha was foretold by Gautama Buddha 2,600 years…
Global Rebellion to Save Our Planet
“The greatest threat to the Earth is thinking someone else will save it.” The responsibility is ours; politicians and governments are complacent, dishonest and buried in the ideology of the past. Despite repeated warnings nothing substantial has been done and time is running out. No one else is going to Save Our Planet; a global…
A World Divided by Ideologies
Six-year-old Kate was playing with her younger brother, each had a Frisbee, which they threw as far as they could. After each round of throws Kate declared that she had ‘won’, having thrown the Frisbee further than her three-year-old sibling. She was the ‘winner’, and by extension, Richard was the loser. They were not playing…
Rising Politics of Intolerance and the Need for Unity
Over the last 20 years extreme right-wing groups have been on the rise throughout the world. They share a belief in white supremacism and conspiracy theories that allege there is a global plot to replace white Christian populations with Muslims and people of color. As socio-economic inequality has grown and immigration increased the reactionary ideology…
Consuming Stuff: The Polluting World of Fashion
The interconnected environmental catastrophe is the result of a particular lifestyle; a materialistic way of life relentlessly promoted by mass media and governments throughout the industrialized world and beyond. Consuming stuff, most of which is unnecessary, is the key ingredient; excess is championed, sufficiency scoffed at. Far from addressing need, satisfying desire is the driving…
Transitional Times and the Appearance of a New Normal
By any measure these are extraordinary times, revolutionary times in which a ‘new normal’ is evolving as existing systems and practices crumble. A clash of values and ideals is increasingly evident throughout the world, as we move deeper into this time of collective, planetary transition: a turning point from one chapter, age or civilization into…
A Political Renaissance in Ethiopia: What should change look like?
This is an extraordinary time in Ethiopia’s history, a time of tremendous opportunity and hope. Long overdue reforms initiated by Prime-Minister Abiy Ahmed, who took office on 2nd April 2018, offer the prospect that democracy and social unity could at last become a reality in the country. Before PM Ahmed took office Ethiopia was ruled…
Young People lead the charge to change the World
We are living amongst the largest generation of young people in history; young people who are better educated, better informed and more widely connected than ever before. Around 42% of the world’s population is under 25 years of age, 25% are under 15 – that’s 1.8 billion. The largest group is in South-East Asia and…
A Global Battle of Values and Ideals
With each day that passes the conflict and animosity between the conservative reactionary forces and the global movement for progressive change becomes more acute, uglier and increasingly dangerous; wherever one looks in the world the battleground between groups on either side of the divide rages. In essence it is a battle of values and ideas,…
Give Children the Vote, Strengthen Democracy
In December 2018 David Runciman, Head of Politics at Cambridge University, made the radical proposal that children as young as six should be allowed to vote in elections to deal with the age bias in contemporary democracies. Allowing children to vote he said, would give a ‘jolt of energy’ to democracy. While the thought of…
Complacency and the Environmental Catastrophe
Ask any reasonably well-informed person what the cause of climate change is and the chances are they will say greenhouse gas emissions (GGE’s), but they would only be partially correct. While it is true that man-made GGE’s are clogging Earth’s lower atmosphere, trapping heat and resulting in widespread climate change, the underlying 21st century cause,…
‘No Love on the Streets’: Knife crime in Britain
“I started carrying a knife aged 12…when I’ve got this [samurai sword] with me I feel safe, scare tactics init – the bigger [the knife] the better…No one breaks the cycle round here – the cycle never breaks.” A teenager in Liverpool made these statements to the BBC. ‘The cycle’ is an ugly pattern of…
Tribal Nationalism vs Global Unity
Change, discontent and uncertainty are some of the most prominent characteristics of the times. These interconnected terms are routinely used to describe global affairs and are key factors animating the global protest movement as well as the growing tide of nationalism. Both movements arise from the same seed, one is progressive and in harmony with…
Britain’s Homeless Crisis
Under the suffocating shadow of economic austerity, homelessness in Britain is increasing, poverty and inequality deepening. Since the Conservative party came to power via a coalition government in 2010, then as a minority government in 2015, homelessness has risen exponentially. Whilst it is impossible to collect precise statistics on homelessness, these widely available figures, which…
Graham Peebles 