Category: Articles

The Impact of the War

Posted on by T. Maxwell-Harrison

Russia has recently celebrated its Victory Day on the 9th May 2023 to commemorate the victory over the Nazis in 1945 at the Reichstag, Berlin. It was on that day that brave troops stormed the deepest, darkest place of the Reich and wiped out the core Nazi government, proclaiming Germany and indeed Europe and free nations once again.

Now, though, Russia has been taking to the Ukraine in a war which has had – as expected – the western nations and people in uproar, touting that they are the worst country in the world. This post isn’t about their feelings but is about the impact of the war so far. So, I will keep this brief and that is that the western hypocrisy is shining like a beacon in the night once again. For those who are angry, hostile and shouty toward Russia with no supporting arguments other than, ‘it’s just wrong,’ and ‘why start a war on innocent people’, they should keep quite. They will happily endorse their own armies and have done previously when it came to Iraq and Afghanistan. They were happy to let their government bomb innocent people for decades. When it comes to Ukraine, I suspect their confusion for caring comes from feeling obligated by news propaganda which is slating Russia. You didn’t see any for the Americans or British during the Iraq war did you?

Anyway, we can see the first effect is one of emotion; shock, feelings of uncontrollable anger, depression, sadness, loss of hope and generalised feelings of being the victims. These should only apply to those fleeing the Ukraine. Refugees who have been extracted to the UK and beyond will bring their families and lives to a new place. It is important to understand the political aspect here, that bringing in such refugees is part of nations agreements. The UK takes in a certain number, and so do other countries. However, as the war rages on people have continued to stay in the Ukraine, with many posting video’s onto YouTube. War is supposed to be dangerous, with several videos being filled with air raid sirens. It makes you wonder what they gain from staying if they are literally in the middle of the war. Lots of places are still safe though, which is my point, although that could change at any moment. Russia so far has targeted government sites, with allegations and evidence they targeted nuclear reactors – the biggest in Europe.

With this comes inevitable inflation. Governments borrow from other countries and banks to fund their war – both the Ukraine and Russia – which has a knock on effect on their economies. Although in another post I highlighted that actually, financially Russia is very stable and seems to be growing exponentially, whereas the Ukraine is dwindling. When Visa/Mastercard pulled out of Russia, lots of expats lost money they had in Russian banks as they couldn’t access it in other countries. This included the normal, working class people and people fleeing the mobilisation initiative.

Photo by Michael Steinberg on Pexels.com

“Russia’s economy ministry revised higher on Friday its 2023 gross domestic product (GDP) forecast to 1.2% growth from a 0.8% contraction.” A clear vision that the economy is set to surpass many western nations.(https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/russian-economy-ministry-improves-2023-gdp-growth-forecast-2023-04-14/).

The UK has predicted a sharp decline in the economy. “The annual expectation for GDP growth in 2023 is now -1.3%, broadly in line with the OBR and Bank of England’s predictions.”

(https://www.britishchambers.org.uk/news/2022/12/bcc-economic-forecast-long-road-to-recovery-after-over-a-year-of-recession#:~:text=In%20the%20immediate%20term%2C%20the%20BCC%20is%20now,the%20OBR%20and%20Bank%20of%20England%20%E2%80%99s%20predictions.)

So surprisingly, or not given the amount of production that Russia has, being very self reliant has paid off. Cutting import costs of luxury brands which have been pulled from Russia including Coca Cola, Levi’s and McDonald’s has saved the economy a ton of money. Russia has their own equivalent and one can’t help feel good for their economy. The Ukraine however isn’t the same and relies heavily on both imports and exports to support the economy. Although it has one of the biggest nuclear power stations in Europe – the Zaporizhzhia plant in southeast Ukraine. Bombing of any kind around here could be fatal for Europe. There wouldn’t be a Ukraine left to fight in and Russia would be affected by the radiation too if it were breached. Fortunately, after some close calls, it is still safe. Although according to this NBC article things are still dangerous -(https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/russia-ukraine-war-zaporizhzhia-nuclear-power-plant-dangerous-iaea-un-rcna83230)

Another concern is the lack of qualified staff to run the facility if Russia pulls out workers, albeit Ukrainian workers. Under Russia control. Things have a very Stalinist feel to them in this place. One wonders if that is going to change. (https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/other/russia-plans-to-relocate-2-700-ukrainian-staff-from-europe-s-largest-nuclear-plant-reports/ar-AA1b08xM)

Going back to the issue of import and export, the inflation has made food more expensive whilst reduced other countries buying capabilities of Ukraine’s resources like food and gas and oil.

“Sharply rising commodity prices have been the most immediate economic impact of the Ukraine conflict, the WTO says. The war also threatens supplies of essential goods from Russia and Ukraine, including food, energy and fertilizers.” (https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/04/ukraine-war-global-trade-risk/#:~:text=Sharply%20rising%20commodity%20prices%20have%20been%20the%20most,Russia%20and%20Ukraine%2C%20including%20food%2C%20energy%20and%20fertilizers.)

Crude oil and natural gas saw a sharp increase in 2022 following the outbreak of the war, with prices rising before the war.

“Europe saw natural gas prices climb 45% between January and March to $41 per million British thermal units (Btu) – a measure of heat content. In the United States, on the other hand, prices have “remained relatively low,” the WTO says, at around $4.9 per million Btu.”

It is not hard then to understand a bit more about the inflation of energy prices within Europe and particularly the UK, who have since left the European Union meaning generally higher prices. The UK has to negotiate trade deals with EU countries whereas EU countries have free trade. War or no war, things were always going to be higher in the UK. The oil price increase wouldn’t really impact an oil rich country, like Saudi Arabia for example, as they make money from selling their own oil.

We’ve looked at the war a little and I will end by saying that no matter what the times throw at people they are persevering, surviving and trying to make the most of it. History has shown us that bad things have happened and shouldn’t have been repeated, so let’s hope things settle down soon.

The traditional greeting in the Ukraine is to offer bread and salt to guests. Bread is regarded as the holiest of foods to Ukrainians. Round bread, also known as “Kolach” is a food symbol for eternity; representing hospitality also. When you receive the bread and salt the tradition is to break a small piece of the Kolach and then dip it into the salt, bow your head and say grace (thanks) before you eat it.

To say “Hello, how are you?” in Ukrainian language you would say “Привіт, як справи?” (Privite, iak spravi?)

Why the News and Other Media Outlets Follow Social Trends

Posted on by T. Maxwell-Harrison

In response to a post on social media I became acutely aware that the state of society is somewhat a loss. The media, news channels and other various outlets are deliberately restricting certain content whilst favouring others.

One such topic is LGBTQ rights. Now we in England and the UK have no shortage of these rights. People can identify as gay or lesbian or whatever without the risk of persecution. The gay scene is big in many towns and cities.

However, in other countries such as Uganda, these rights are non existent and merely identifying as homosexual is now illegal. I bring this up because Uganda like many countries do criminalise homosexuality but they have done so for hundreds of years. The west, like England also used to criminalise it but we only talk about other countries. Although England has changed it doesn’t mean it hasn’t always been a part of this.

So why do the news outlets focus on places like Uganda? Well, it’s simple. They are popular news stories which will garner huge attention and support in western countries from people who haven’t the faintest clue as to how or what the operation or culture of those foreign countries is. For example, the majority of citizens could be in favour of the new bill, making it a democratic process with homosexuals – if there is many in Uganda – in the minority.

However the west does a very nasty job of making these countries seem like the worst place on earth. Aside from protecting their own cultural heritage and the society they live in, they are a different way of life and people don’t seem to understand that. What is normal in one country isn’t always normal in the other. We have to accept this. Trying to impose a global homosexuality acceptance parade is offensive and undermines the majority. Remember that these homosexuality rights are modern creations, and you cannot shift the entirety of Africa, or Afghanistan or Saudi Arabia to do as the west pleases.

Taking the story of Uganda, it had been illegal since 1902 to be a homosexual including various displays of affection. The new death penalty is not something to be frowned on, in fact it is to prevent the rape and abuse of young boys and girls.

The law in Uganda now classes ‘aggravated homosexuality’ as having gay sex with someone under the age of 18 or with someone being HIV positive, among other categories…

This is not a bad thing, but the west seems to think that homosexuality should be allowed in any form, even minors. You have to laugh at the disgusting reporting going on. Insinuating our African family is less because they ban something which would otherwise hurt the vulnerable is not a good image. Although the agenda in England has started to shift to dangerous tactics like imposing LGBTQ awareness in schools.

Saudi Arabia came around, changing the law to allow women to drive, a huge milestone. Yet with all their laws banning homosexuality the world cup was hosted there! What does that say about the medias agenda? It seems they have a selective and very dangerous money grab scheme involving certain states and countries. If they hosted the world cup and built and entire stadium for the world to visit, surely they are open to making homosexuality legal? The west went there, paid them trillions and didn’t say a thing about its brutal legal system – known worldwide for persecuting people for very minor crimes.

If the news actually reported on things that matter – like the fact that Afgahnistan also imposes the death penalty for homosexuality and so do several other countries then it might seem fair to go after Uganda, but the reality is the new law is actually protecting people. Don’t forget Africa and many of the countries suffer from AIDs and HIV epidemics, with HIV being a worldwide pandemic for many years. They have to account for this, and the high risk of disease spread from homosexuality activity.

Although I am not condemning them or siding with them in any case. It seems like perhaps we, and the news of the west need to give countries a wider berth. We cannot be selective about what we choose to argue about when in reality those same things are happening in western countries. There is no end in sight for LGBTQ rights in England, and it is unlikely that they will end soon, if anything they will continue to grow.

The Truth about 5 Fruits and Vegetables a Day

Posted on by T. Maxwell-Harrison

At school I was taught or made aware of healthy eating and the need to consume at least 5 fruits and vegetables a day. As a child who actually cared about my health, I was interested but hesitant to believe this. I thought to myself, ‘that isn’t a lot,’ and it turned out it wasn’t! What came as more of a shock was the fact that the required ‘portions’ were quite large for each fruit and vegetable, and yet, somehow only counted as 1 portion if you had a bunch of vegetables mixed together. Why? Surely there is something to be understood from this lingo.

On the NHS website, they detail what counts as your 5 a day, some include; 80 grams of fresh, canned or frozen fruit and vegetables; and 30 grams of dried fruit (80 grams fresh) – think prunes, raisins, cranberries.

https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/5-a-day/5-a-day-what-counts/

So is that really the truth? Do you need to eat 5 a day which consists of 80 grams of fruit and vegetables? Many people can interpret that how they want. For example, literally eating only 80 grams a day. But what it means is that each portion should be that amount. However I disagree with this, as 80 grams is quite the amount if you weighed it.

An analysis by Harvard does still show that five servings a day of fruit and vegetables offers the strongest health benefits. The research indicated that compared with people who eat two servings a day, people who ate five had the following;

1) a 13% lower risk of death from any cause

2) a 12% lower risk of death from heart disease or stroke

3) a 10% lower risk of death from cancer

4) a 35% lower risk of death from respiratory disease, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

https://www.health.harvard.edu/nutrition/how-many-fruits-and-vegetables-do-we-really-need

The truth of the matter is that eating this amount of fruit and veg a day is realistic, doable, beneficial and most importantly it is very likely cheaper than processed food. I just had dinner, consisting of at least 5 portions of vegetables, and I’ve had 1 portion of fruit today. But I am not an advocate of eating a lot of fruit, simply because it raises blood sugar and wreaks havoc on your liver, the organ that processes fructose.

Steve Jobs was a fruitarian, and he passed away due to cancer. Now, the reason I mention Jobs is this, he had a liver transplant after his bout of pancreatic cancer. He ‘gamed’ the transplant allocation system to get a liver (probably due to his money). Skeptics doubted he should have received the organ at all, because he had previous treatment for the pancreatic cancer. People suggest the liver was sought as a result of the cancer, which itself made him a poor transplant candidate, as the risk of cancer returning (and it did) meant it could have gone to better use. We can see that eating fruit will impact the liver, since it deals with fructose, and the pancreas – the organ that produces insulin, a hormone that lowers blood sugar. I’m going to let you draw the connection between a fruitarian diet and liver failure. So, just to reiterate, don’t overload on fruit, it really isn’t worth it. Vegetables are much better.

The main reason people don’t eat the recommended amount is twofold; they know it is simply a recommendation and not anything more, they can’t be forced to do it; and people don’t think it is possible. I think the second part has merit simply because people might forget to eat that amount if they have busy schedules. It comes down to better day planning, perhaps meal planning and advanced preparation which, let us be honest, most people ironically don’t have the time for, or worse cannot be bothered. The health benefits extend far and wide, as adequate – not high – intake of fruit and veg can actually reduce blood pressure, manage diabetes, reduce high cholesterol and the risk of cardiovascular disease and obesity and cancer. If we all want to eat more healthily this is a simple and great way to start! See:

It isn’t quite as daunting when you look at the above picture. There is a mixed variety above. But don’t stick to this all day, mix it up. Having multiple bananas isn’t going to be as effective as a banana in the morning and a grapefruit at night. Variety is the key here, and one of the many things people get confused about. You can eat tons of broccoli but it doesn’t mean you’ve had 5 portions, it means you’ve had 1 portion.

Price comes into play too. I guess prices have increased but the fresh fruit and vegetables, for the most part are quite affordable. You aim for 5 portions of each a day, then that is probably going to cost what… £10 a week? Probably less. If cost is an issue, try markets, offering literal dirt cheap veg and fruit, farmers markets which don’t have all that extra cost to cover shipping and to make a profit. Food that is bought in season, like summer fruits, are likely to last considerably longer and are usually cheaper than those bought out of season.

Variety doesn’t just mean variety of food, it also means how you eat them. Boring fruit and vegetables you say? Why not make a smoothie and drink them! You can fry vegetable, heck, you could fry a banana if you wanted. You can make something like a bean salad with balsamic vinegar to give it a kick. Add a variety of sauce too. I found so many sauces that work well with vegetables, not just gravy for your Sunday roast either. I’m talking about mixing it up, trying horse radish, caramelised onion (yes I put this on vegetables), so explore the world. Make your own with vegetables!

At the end of the day if you want to eat healthy you have to start taking active steps to achieve that goal. Sometimes the smallest steps can be effective. The first step is always the hardest. I no longer eat animal products and don’t want to go on about being vegan, but it does have benefits beyond eating meat. I think this is my preferred diet. Don’t get me wrong I am tempted occasionally, but am more motivated to eat plant based for my health. It costs a lot less too.

The first step is always the hardest

The Unspoken Truth of Being Young

Posted on by T. Maxwell-Harrison

The Unspoken Truth of Being Young

If you could read something that told you about the ride that is the teen years, would you? What about the existential crisis that is the 20s? Beyond that there is nothing more than mundane truth.

‘The joys of being a father.’

‘You’re a father?’

‘No, but I observed a father.’

Unspoken challenges of the old gentry, abusive of the creators power. Existence and living are not to be more than observation. If we ever found the truth of being young, it would be after our retirement, or in the words of the young, our expiration date. It feels like a sell by date was always the way to go, to keep people fresh in packets like the dry broccoli leaves that you peeled away from the stem.

‘I’ll never make the final run, I’m too old.’ Say it again and say it with justice in your heart.

‘To not make the final run, is to be the final run.’ Or so it seemed, like the plastic that had faded on small car toys tossed into large dirty crators in the ground, or the sesame pool of the lagoons filled with bottles and disposable knives and forks. If you had enough of them, could you faction of look of contempt?

‘Say you did not want to know the truth?’

‘You are the one to ask the question, and that means something.’

If the truth of the young is to be free and to be liberal in speech and mind than to be happy and content with the present and to be together, or to ride the long seas of rapid change through hurricanes and birdstrikes, shall we suddenly wither to the floor and then roll around in petty arrogance?

‘Two many, or thrice the lady came to suns glorious rays.’

‘Passion does not exist beyond desire.’

Say they, the ones with the gorgeously glamorated fiction spectacle. An organic being with robotic features. The mouth that moves in time to the sound of the radio, or the hand that types in time with the clicking of the clock. It will not stop until they become engrained like rice in the supermarkets on the shelves, unable to move without being chosen.

A selective breed of a particularly selfish generation who choose self-imposed rights and choices over the emotions and feelings of others. Traded the empathy and compassion for immediate relief and instant fulfilment. Long gone it seems it the genuine traits of the heart to seek to be together, to enjoy the company of a family, like the talking siblings who might be of different gender, of the same group. A gathering with sacred and immortal bindings to reality, a connection shared which has been replaced by material items, greed, lust, gluttony and the most irremovable of all, the undying loneliness of the world. Do people not want to gather together for meaningful and happy events without alcohol or other substances? Or do they stick it out because they have to appear good or compliant or risk looking like they don’t care. Surely the man who stays alone for the night than spend the night with bickering individuals is more in line with the values of self respect and honesty than one who parades the mask all evening at his souls expense? What of the woman who cannot face her husband for fear of lack of love, or the mother who will not comfort her children for fear of lack of reciprocation?

‘Do you want to live a free life or to be enslaved to the idea of truth?’

‘Truth does not mean lying to oneself, or to others.’

Certainly a lie can spread far and wide and deceive en-mass. And the outcome should not be compliance like uneducated humans in a field grazing on grass and corn. Education is the pillar of a developed society, yet it is a system that has become only one focused on a limited number of possibilities.

‘What are those limited possibilities?’

‘Well, they are simply these.’

  1. That education is a tool to allow the economy to function without children to get in the way of working parents;
  2. that the poor standard of education is deliberate so as to not provoke any possibility of independent thinking of free thought;
  3. if they don’t tell us anything that is true, we will grow up to become just like them, ignorant and self-imposed;
  4. it is better to allow people to think they are smart, than to actually teach them anything worthwhile.

So the list could be extended, but the topic of education is divisive. It is ancient, since the times of the Egyptians, education has helped people to become better at understanding the world around them, from medicine to mathematics to astronomy, art, science and beyond. Philosophical topics arousing from the law for example, built off of principles of morality, good, and the concept of God and the natural law as a state that humans too should be aware and educated on. A mere distraction or a deeper, more worthwhile and actionable protest than studying the hidden mysterious of the Aztecs.

It is here, in this world of consumerism and selfish desire, and students and young people laced with the poison of intelligence that dwindle the fire of compassionate yearning. In a time of darkness, or enlightenment, a man formed to flesh and blood, came to sacrifice himself.

‘He did not have selfish desire, rather, unconditional love.’

A love that was boundless and capable of transcending time. Millions of people have learned of the son of God, yet very few understand the message of his sacrifice. Our we bound to be stuck on our own crosses, or can we too gather the love within our hearts to dismiss perceptions of age, colour and gender, and come together to forget what we think we know and join together as one?

Does the effort to assist a lady to cross the road, require more effort than a degree in a university? What about the young man, newly employed who seeks to arrive early everyday in the hope he will impress his boss? So that he can go out at the weekend, but is too busy to talk to a friend to sort something out for ten minutes? Acts that only serve the ego and the self, do not develop the self or the soul, and instead accumulate to a machine, programmed to work and to sleep and to consume.

‘Consuming and working sound fine, just pay me.’

‘Money is not a resolution for young or old.’

It is not the answer to even a million problems and neither is mindless talk and propaganda of helping others. It is not buildings stocked with refugee donations, unmoved and untouched. It is not a charity donation box on the checkout counter that stands full for a day before being put in the till. It is not the man who stand in line for a sandwich, just so he can avoid going to the canteen at work.

Or the family who’s parents are not happy to see their children wearing cheap clothes or buying normal or cheap food, for they need expensive, organic and gourmet products and anything less is poor.

The disillusioned are trapped in hell, money cannot possibly equate to wealth or to love. It can be the devil, and have a mere fleeting and familiar and even similar effect, but is quite different. It is the young generation who feel the need for money the most, yet they do everything in their conscious capacity to avoid the truth, which is not to seek money. Being happy doesn’t mean a better food quality, or bigger living accomodation, or more material belongings, or more clothes or better hair or a fitter body, it is something that lives in all of you, right now. The problem is people are so caught up looking elsewhere, that they forget to stop, and to look around, and to smell the flowers and look at the sun and the clouds.

They forget to feel the rain on their faces and begin to live in a sort of disconnected reality. A reality where they cannot be happy, because the truth is they haven’t even started to look for it, they have been distracting themselves this whole time. If they took a moment to observe the birds and to feel the soft grass beneath their fingers, they might suddenly wake up and understand just what happiness is.

Child Abuse ~ Hard Silence

Posted on by T. Maxwell-Harrison

A single moment in a child life can cast a shadow that will stay a lifetime. Child abuse is an often quiet, silent abuse in which the children are often ignored and very frequently gaslighted. The children may be labelled liars, which is to diminish instantly anything they say.

Let me state my position on this awful and yet somehow ongoing issues in the modern world. Anyone calling a child a liar should automatically be registered on a watch dog type register with government. Then, they should be investigated using social workers. If it transpires that they are telling the truth, which I find hard to believe, then of course move on. But keep them on the register and provide support to the children. Because as the case may be, the child is all too afraid to speak out. Also, why would it be better to believe the adult? I have never met a child that lies, consistently. The occasional lie I can understand, it is part of natural development for a child to lie to understand if it is wrong.

Then the fear element is engaged. Abused children wouldn’t be instantly taken from abusive parents if an allegation is made, as far as I am aware. ‘Authorities’ get involved and this can take some time. Perhaps if there is instant support and the child is removed, that would help. I have yet to see this happen myself, although it probably is, but not frequently.

https://www.penngroup.co.uk/post/family-law-the-need-to-investigate-abuse-and-remove-children-from-the-risk-of-harm

It is still rampant and although the media has shoved articles and news down our throats about abusive relationships, domestic abuse to women, and abusive partners, during lockdown… it failed to mention child abuse. Do you think a woman is the only abused person in a house with children? Do you think the real issue was child abuse as opposed to abuse of women? Are you seriously telling me that during the lockdown in which schools, day care and others were shut that absolutely no children suffered abuse of any kind? Give me a break. It is under reported and hidden away because if people really knew how common this crime was then they might think differently about ‘lovely society’ or those abusive parents at school they met. Schools are an issue in themselves, often not caring as much as they claim. When cases of abuse are exposed the usual line of programming is ‘they are shocked and will work to make sure this never happens again.’ Rhetoric. If they did something, child abuse would have ceased hundred of years ago.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-55682745

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/mother-stepfather-and-boy-14-found-guilty-of-murdering-five-year-old-logan-mwangi/ar-AAWsazX?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=bbcfcaea832647bcb57b6aad1cebb8a9

Having experienced child abuse, these children can often go on to use drugs and alcohol and develop mental health issues such as depression and anxiety. It might lead to more serious conditions like disassociation disorders – where the pain is too much so they disconnect from the body. In that situation, you might wonder how on earth they could ever get help if they can’t even remember the abuse. Those are the most serious cases, sadly I have read about them. It results in post traumatic stress disorder {PTSD} which can further impact a child. Flashbacks and feelings of reliving the events will seriously impact them. It does not matter how long it goes on, but that it will impact them for the rest of their lives. They can use coping mechanisms and may need medication to help. It impacts their wellbeing, sense of self and lot of people commit suicide because of the abuse. Many adults who experienced abuse as children may avoid talking about it or become very distressed or upset when asked about it.

The child has low self-esteem from the abuse. If it revolves around mental abuse, they will grow up with distorted perceptions of themselves, often not having confidence, feeling like they are not good enough or having emotional and relationship issues which might mean they prefer to stay alone. A hard silence they endure. If everyone spoke about the abuse they suffered, and I suspect it is very common, then it would be more than 1,000,000 people I suspect. Although the law prevents people from physically attacking people, it does not criminalise physical punishment on children. What this means is that, they can in fact physically hurt them and class it as ‘punishment’ for bad behaviour. Look at the article below.

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/18327204/parents-could-face-five-years-in-jail-smack-kids/

I am not surprised that it is not law already. Can you believe people oppose this? They think punishment should be left to parents. Well, I have news for you, delusional political statues, any form of violence – mental and physical – is abuse and is disgusting. What you are really doing by opposing it, is saying quite obviously that you condone that behaviour. Do you realise what is being done to these children? Do you think slapping a 4 year old child across the face is acceptable? You might want to keep the dangerous cycle of child abuse in society, but I don’t.

What do you think? If I ever see someone hit a child, and yes it is more common than you think especially in public {disgusting} then I will and do speak out against it I would encourage you all to consider taking a stand if you see it.

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The Choices – Independence Automatica of Mind and Body

Posted on by T. Maxwell-Harrison

OVERVIEW OF THE IMAGE OF PERCEIVED CHOICE

Why do I feel bored in life? How many years do I have to put up with this? What can make things better?

Ugh! {You cry in perceived pain, turned out you enjoyed it}

The ugly yet satisfying truth lingering beneath a broken heart of pain and lust. A sword and shield that are laid down in a cupboard, forgotten and then later discovered and pawned off to contribute to your so-called retirement funds.

Integrity, lost through the childhood or adulthood depending on how desperate you actually are. Have you retained it through the years? Can you feel the honesty stripped away and now replaced with the art of bullshit? {bullshit = rhetoric}

“Oh no! I’ve reached 25 and I am an old woman and now I have no idea what to do because my delicate eye lashes, expensive Gucci or Prada handbags makes me poor. Mummy and daddy no longer give me £1000 a month spending money or have my boyfriend publicly shamed because he gave me pathetic bunch of lilies instead of 50 red roses at £200.”

“My anus needs bleaching!” Spoke by a man in a suit whilst driving his Ferrari to his office in which he sits for 8 hours doing less work than a nurse for £89,000 a year.

Then a footballer at £200,000 a month jumps in: “Hello I love playing with balls. It pays well.” The football disagrees.

Alas! Politician and local area MP for Surrey hops around on one foot whilst sticking his middle finger up at a picture of the Queen, all the while having his learned friends glorious shit thrown at him as part of his initiation into the party: Our mutual circle jerk club.

Wait, news headlines talk about a virus sweeping the globe causing the sniffles. Yet the East are obliged to send children to school in full nuclear suits. Don’t worry, you won’t hear them cry or complain. If they do, our automatic drones will charge through the streets chanting mindless propaganda restricting rights you never had to begin with. Children ushered into vans, where to?

I wrote zombie apocalypse stories, because that is my favourite genre. Now the world is becoming a zombie apocalypse. In those stories people still retain the right to treat their minds and bodies how they wish, providing they are alive and not a zombie. We live in a world though where choice is taken from us. We don’t see it until it is too late because of all the distractions. Are you distracted by media, internet, work, news, food or health?

CHOOSING AND BELIEVING ARE DIFFERENT THINGS

Health means many things. I suspect most people like to think that they are in good health and that is what they want: good health. That means making choices to support ones health. You might like to increase the amount of exercise you do, or eat a healthier diet. Do you really want those changes for yourself out of your own choosing, or have they been chosen for you? Diet and exercise are the two ingredients forced down our throats when it comes to reducing disease and illness and boosting wellbeing. Well I have news for you, it doesn’t work for a lot of people. They are told to keep at it, and that things will improve. No, if it doesn’t work then it won’t change no matter how long you keep at it. A personal experience:

‘A few years ago I ate vegetarian, ate 1 meal a day with a snack or two, and exercised moderately everyday for a few months. During that timeI dropped around 6 kg and was borderline underweight. I wasn’t eating anywhere near enough. Despite the weight loss, my body looked skeletal and I felt like my body was starving. My health actually deteriorated at well, causing me to get sick often. The funny thing is that I was not vegan, which meant I still had the benefits of certain animal products like eggs. I had some people tell me to eat more. I actually struggled to regain the weight even on a high calorie diet for several months. It took over a year not only to regain some weight, but to stabilise my health. I had discovered for the second time in my life that advice from so-called medical professionals and the government can be detrimental. I really was doing everything right, and actually was probably eating a good amount for my weight at the time.’

There are others with similar experiences, who wished they’d never started dieting and increased exercise because it has actually made things worse for them and some don’t think they will get back to normal. It can be dangerous! Take all of the advice from another person with salt, even what I am saying. People can and do follow healthy diets and exercise, I learned how to do it without the negative effects. I find that moderate exercise, especially exercise easy on the joints, like walking, biking and swimming and maybe some body exercise {pushup, situp, leg raise, planks etc.} at home to be the most beneficial.

https://www.express.co.uk/expressyourself/192600/Obsession-with-healthy-eating-ruined-my-life

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-381285/Exercise-ruined-life.html

When given a diagnoses by a doctor for example, we take that at face value. Now my experience with the health system is extensive and I know {sadly this is not bullshit} a lot more about my health than a doctor. I suspect you do too. Why? I live with my own flipping body and I know my mind and body better than an external person who cannot experience my life. You see, just because you have high blood pressure at an appointment that does not mean it is high all the time and definitely does not mean ‘medication’ immediately. Likewise, a scan which reveals some shading on your lung does not mean ‘antibiotics’ immediately. Nor does it mean cancer. You see you are so much better off without the health care system. So many ailments can be treated at home and without medication. Antibiotics are overused. From personal experience, don’t be afraid of leaving if you don’t feel comfortable or that you are being told dangerous information, such as needing treatment when you know you don’t. Over treating minor conditions is killing your body. Do not be forced to have medication for mental health problems either, even if you are convinced by a psychiatrist to take them. If you don’t want it, you don’t have to! Obviously if you need them and accept that and they help then great! But we live in over diagnosed and over prescribed antidepressant and anti-anxiety pill nation. The majority of people don’t need them.

Choosing what you need and believing what you are told are completely different things. Believing that a professional knows more than you can be detrimental. Use your underused initiative! How many ‘experts’ come onto TV {I don’t watch it anymore, haven’t done for years}, and start talking about the ‘scientific’ benefits of beauty products? Are you kidding me? HAHAHAHA COMPLETELY LAUGHABLE. You might as well get your anus bleached for all the scientific benefits. What about the dangerous trends of social media, like the ridiculous ice bucket challenge? Read my article on the dangers of social media here. Of course the stupidity was masked and pushed away as it was ‘for charity.’ Sure, how much money actually went to the cause? We live in a silent nation too afraid to speak out!

FEAR AND DESIRE ~ DRIVING US TO DELUSION

A critical driving force of the human race. So, you don’t choose, things are chosen for you, using the magic of advertising and social media and news. Your views are not your own and neither is your home or your car or even your pet dog. Do you know why? Do you care, or are you content to let the banks take control of your property at any minute? A private entity that controls public resources, like controlling the government. Big companies, pharmaceutical and other, controlling and dictating what the government makes into legislation and what it feeds us. Then the circle of bullshit – remember rhetoric = bullshit and vice versa – is initiated and continues until the public accept it, which does not take long, and then they feed the information themselves until it evolves to the point that the majority of things said at the beginning are forgotten and we don’t really understand it. The message or information source is usually lost and becomes part of things like ‘social norms’ {another joke}. People are then convinced that the lie is truth and sometimes the lie can drive them to believe that they have a right to something, or a desire to do something. Great examples are black lives matter – hiding beneath the surface until it garnered the media attention and decided that black people have the right to go around stealing, beating and attacking police and white people – because they are in the minority. What about feminism? Turned violent against men because certain women think that men can’t stop thinking about them or sex – grow up.

You usually outward when you cannot look inward. You spend money and shop and distract yourself with all these fantastic material things because of adverts and what other people told you. You are scared of who you really are, what is going to happen to you and what the world thinks of you. I have some news, this is fear. You fear not appearing proper if you don’t join the argument to get the vaccines, or the argument to support the popular view, which usually does not have any logic, and any use of logic will cause the other people to shout. They don’t shout answers or arguments, they usually shout because you make more sense then they will. They cannot accept that they are wrong. You don’t need others to tell you what you desire either. Do you really desire expensive perfume and clothes? Do you really desire to ‘fit in’ or to look like you aren’t poor or that you don’t belong to a certain group? This innate and delusional belief system is making people physically and mentally unwell. What about the idea that you can look and dress how you want? Well, it has been blown out of proportion.

People nowadays are all about being different and have created this culture of being different, which is itself so common that to be a part of it is more of a statement of ‘I am insecure and need attention’ but if you take that attention away, they gather in groups to stand out again and make themselves heard. Take a look at trans rights, forcing the idea that children should be allowed to pick a ‘gender.’ Let me clear something up, you are born a boy or a girl.

I recently asked what I perceived to be a girl {because her picture looked like one, and had a girl name} about her gender, do you know what she said when I asked is she was a woman? ‘I am non-binary.’ It also transpired that this ‘being’ was polyamorous. I had to look up what non-binary was. Why on earth could I not get a straight answer? You see, the lies and the fear has spread so far now and is so engrained that women are afraid to say they are women. She was clearly a female. Two genders okay, male or female. How does a woman have babies? People have now got to the point they are afraid of saying words like ‘vagina’ and ‘penis’ and would rather play mind games letting us figure out things like non-binary meanings. I am sorry to say this, but you cannot avoid your gender by simply stating non-binary. It is stupid to believe you can. This is nothing but delusion, the result of fear and desire. Afraid of the truth, desiring to be different.

Afraid of the truth, desiring to be different.

Wizard

CONCLUSION

Independence of mind and body are really important to having an improve life. But, reality dictates what we should believe and desire and teaches us things that are not true. Do they really want to eat fast food, to diet and exercise, to pay mortgages and drive expensive cars and go out drinking and socialising and being a part of that cult of personality? Does the man really want to be a woman and vice versa? Do your children want education or are they trauma bonded into a system to work… sorry, to slave away for the rest of their lives in the hope the master may throw a bone to them?

The lies that the government have told us, the belief system about an afterlife? Do you really want to waste your lives slaving away, being a part of this instead of doing what matters? Eat healthy, work a good job {rather than doing your passion} and make sure to not break the laws or hurt others and definitely do not question us. If you want the truth get initiated into the disgusting world of the occult. Sell your soul so you can feel shame and guilt all your lives because you think you have sacred knowledge. Live in delusion that you are better or that you are somehow different. You have no choice and you are not meant to cry and ask big questions. You are not supposed to think outside the ‘social norm and will be persecuted if you do. Love and hate are the same things because we love your slavery and hate you at the same time. We get off in secret masked sex parties, raping, torturing and beating women as sex slaves whilst convincing the public their money is being put to good use. We take drugs day and night because we know that none of it means anything. We don’t care about you, so shut up and eat your shit food.

Now do you get it?

Meditation Benefits~ Mind Solutions

Posted on by T. Maxwell-Harrison

Meditation is one of the oldest traditions in the world. Ancient civilisations and Buddhists and Africans were meditation thousands of years ago as a collective way to improve the whole of life, not just for themselves but for everyone else too.

Today in the 21st Century, meditation has taken on many modern forms. A lot of people see it as solitary, but looking back in history we can see that although you meditate alone it was not done to advance yourself to an affluent position, rather to become a better person. There are literally thousands of online resources about meditation and hundreds of meditation classes across England and Wales. A new found culture of people looking to improve their mood, to become better people, to experience some variety of enlightenment.

I am going to talk through 5 essential benefits of meditation. I want to give you an idea of how this is going to have a positive influence in your life. Sometimes things get hard or stressful, sometimes you become depressed or anxious. Other times you just want to improve yourself and feel more connected to God or the Universe. I understand. I’ve managed to use meditation to assist me before and am currently using a meditation that works for me. There are many types available, guided meditation or Samatha – calmness of the mind – are examples. Meditation can be as simple as mindfulness. You can practice meditation morning or night. I had the luxury of practicing in the garden at the weekend under a harvest moon and then in the dawn of sunrise. Both give a tranquil experience and help greatly in quietening any intrusive thoughts.

Buddhist Meditation

The above is a Buddhist position for meditation. It is used when engaging the Samatha meditation. To read a little more about how meditation affected individuals check out this link.

Benefits of Meditation!

  1. Calm Mind – There is no doubt in my mind that meditation in fact leads to a calm mind. The whole point of meditation is to calm the mind and to become better in tune with your body. At its core, you need a calm mind to meditate! Without the experience of meditation you may find your mind to be full of ‘clutter’ or ‘noise’. The noise or intrusive thoughts might be a fleeting thing, or it may plague you. Meditation over time will allow you to develop such a strong calmness that even after meditation, your mind will be clear from thoughts. Remember, thoughts come and go and they cannot harm us.
  2. Improve Depression and Anxiety – If you are sad or anxious you may be thinking about the past or the future. Depression can be improved through meditation, because you are not to be thinking of the bad things or to be thinking at all. It takes time, but simply being in the moment either alone or in a group, meditating, can be enough to help shift your depressed thinking to a higher level. Anxiety will naturally decrease as you learn to visualise other things, you stop focusing on the anxious events or things and then you forget about it. For those with pain, meditation can help shift you away from it and to more focused on your breathing for example, or the position of your feet, or simply that energy that comes from silence within.
  3. Ability to Cope – As a result of the above two, a calmer mind and reduced or improved depression and anxiety, you will thus have a significantly better chance of coping. The way you cope can be positive or negative, is can help or destroy you. Turning your struggles into a state of meditation and in turn, having a clearer mind and a stronger outcome or more certain decision you will see an improvement. Having a hard day and cannot get through? Wait… you can and that surprised you. You wonder why. Then you accept that for the last week you meditated everyday and actually it turns out it helped you through the present. Meditation can help those assisting others, we may be better in tune with our intuition and better able to help those in need. It will allow us to know instinctively what our own bodies need too.
  4. Connected to the Universe – It seems out there does it? The reality is that everything is connected, and there is no truth higher than that. You will be making a conscious effort to quieten the mind and in turn the body and soul will develop at first a low level feeling of connectivity. As you continue you may become warm after meditation and feel like you are never alone. You are simply connecting to the universe and God, and everything in it. You won’t feel alone as much. I certainly noticed this improvement after just 2 weeks of mindfulness meditation!
  5. Better Life Quality – Ultimately all of the above will improve your quality of life, or it should do. If you don’t feel like any of the above is happening, you might need to carry on for longer in your sessions, or perhaps you have not done it long enough? Everyone wants to feel better. Sometimes inner peace can bring us closer to that feeling of happiness or content. You might want a better life through being able to better understand how the world works, and maybe meditation is doing that for you? You have nothing to stop for, and everything to gain. There is no better quality of life than a clear mind.

“If you are depressed you are living in the past.
If you are anxious you are living in the future.
If you are at peace you are living in the present.”

Lao Tzu
Amethyst crystal to hold during meditation

Holding a crystal during meditation can help better focus on your aims. If you are looking to heal you could hold Amethyst (pictured above). Rose quartz can be used where you want to heal the heart. There is so many choices when it comes to healing crystals. Always treat your body with respect and the crystals because they can be powerful things.

*Never substitute real medical advice with alternative practices where the medical advice is going to save your life. Only ever use alternative practices like crystal healing and meditation where it is safe and where it is a complimentary addition to any potential real medication or treatment. Always check with an experienced practitioner if you are unsure whether it is safe to do so.*

Thank you for reading and I hope that you give meditation a try! Namaste.

How to Dream Big?

Posted on by T. Maxwell-Harrison

How do you reach for the stars? How do you put all the doubt in your mind into the waste bin? How do you believe in yourself despite what other people think?

I want to share some tips which I believe can motivate you to chase those dreams of yours and make them a reality. If you want to succeed in life you must have passion and desire in order to fulfil your fantasies. They are fantasies only until you act on them, turning the dream into reality.

  1. Having A Plan

Having a plan is not to everybody’s taste. A lot of people like to work off the cuff and be spontaneous. But plans and rituals are an everyday part of life. For example, people never expected that a couple of years ago they’d be forced to work from home, but they adapted, they worked from home on their computers, completing virtual work. Now, working from home is common place, in fact I would argue it is itself a new movement. There is still need for office and office workers, simply because of logistics and product management and all sorts of physical business stuff.

The point is, what was once mystical and mysterious to a lot, became common place. They now plan their weeks based on this new situation for them. They may plan more since they have more time at home. A plan can help to visualise a way out of a situation and help you project your reality into existence. The plan could be as simple as, ‘do it,’ or ‘go and help the homeless,’ or ‘become a businessman.’ Each is unique and will be unique to the individual. One more point, the plan is yours and you should not let anyone plan your life for you, never.

2. Putting The Plan Into Action

Is having a plan enough? No, of course not. Having a plan, well developed and approved by You, is essential, but the next crucial ingredient is actually working that plan into your life. Take the home working, you perhaps plan your week around this, you implement changes like what you do on a Monday afternoon. What do you need to do to put that plan into action? Are you finalising a business plan? Are you preparing to buy that Porsche? Do you need to work out a few final details before you action the plan?

You need to be able to understand what is expected at this point, because many people have plans that lay dormant and then after ten years, they pull them out the trash can and decide to work with it. You need to action it now, or whenever you can, if you want to be happy now. There is a lot of reward mentally when you succeed. Creating a business can be satisfying, and with all the home working, there are so many options when it comes to virtual working and companies. Many people make a living buying and selling online.

3. Being Able To Develop and Create

Now, onto the 3rd step! You have a plan which you have actioned or implemented into your life. You can’t sit back and expect what you have done to thrive and succeed without continuous input from you. Dreams are big and they require a lot of effort and determination. You can’t be lazy when it comes to continually developing your dreams. A business can’t continue to operate and succeed without changing and developing, and you need to do it. You also need to create new ideas and new ways to enjoy and experience life and your plans. If you have gone stagnant on your dream, change it up, develop it further and create a new experience. Look at gaming consoles, look at how far they have come from the 80’s to 2022! That is massive, the creators and developers at those companies continued to develop with the times and technology, so can you.

You also need a certain set of skills and personal qualities to be able to continue and succeed. You need resilience and determination, you should be focused on your end goal and should never be satisfied with a finished product or action. If you settle when you have an online business, how will you grow into something more memorable. Sadly, a lot of businesses don’t aim high, and are content to struggle on pretending that they are happy with what they make, whilst inside the owner is scared to evolve and develop into something more, perhaps they are scared of buying a physical store, perhaps they are scared of branching into another area because they don’t have the expertise.

4. You Need To Learn

You can sometimes create and action and develop a plan without learning anything new. Take for example my recent purchase of two lovely red eye tree frogs who have settled in well and are very active at night. I had to learn about this new species, in fact I had to learn about frogs in general, then tree frogs, then this species, then its requirements and care and food, and its habitat and other things. If you want to have the knowledge you need to read and learn, you need to research, you might decide you need to embark on some variety of course of other to help you reach your goals. It’s not a bad thing if you admit you don’t know about something. When someone wants to start that business, they may need to learn about accounting or creating a business plan. When someone wants to learn how to fix their Porsche, they may need to do a course at college to save on costs of long term garage maintenance.

Whatever your dream, there will sometimes be times when you need to admit to yourself that you don’t have the knowledge and that is okay. Want to be a famous guitarist, but can’t play? You know what to do, you need to learn how to play the guitar. Your dream may be as simple as wanting to be a gardener and competing in national garden competitions. Whatever the dream, you can succeed, even if you are working from home, as the internet is the number one source to learn nowadays with thousands of online courses, a lot of them are free.

What do you think about the 4 steps above? Do you agree or disagree with any? There is more to pursuing anything than the above 4 steps, it takes character and drive, it takes a soul that cares. It is easy to sit on the couch and watch tv and eat potato chips, when you could be busy creating a plan and working towards the end goal. The amount of time it takes to succeed is entirely based on what you want, it is subjective. When you decide you have done what you set out to do, then you can say to yourself, ‘wow, I did it.’

Thanks for reading https://psychedelicwizard.wordpress.com

Christmas Guide to Movies

Posted on by T. Maxwell-Harrison

I am starting to let myself become excited now about Christmas. When the Manchester Christmas markets started to go up at the beginning of November, I was rather annoyed as the populace seemingly missed Halloween.

I remember the days when we all entered in the lockdown last March. How things have changed since then. People have gone and the world seemingly spins unbothered, but society is a very different place and now peoples lives are dominated by digital engagement….hmm, doesn’t sound right.

I am only recommending a few movies, as the list of actual Christmas movies is extremely long. I am only mentioning big blockbuster movies rather than b movies or anything with production value under one hundred million dollars. I won’t be watching any until the 1st December, that is a solid promise from this English gent. A rich gent. The order also does not dictate that the movie is better than the others.

  1. Home Alone

The most loved Christmas movie of all time… I think. Home Alone 2 recaptures the magic of the first movie and is probably the better film overall! All of them are great films for the family. So no worrying about Krampus!

2. Muppets Christmas Carol

Strange movies. The 2011 Muppets movie was great! A little old though.

3. Krampus

A horror Christmas movie! It is quite enjoyable!

4. Anna and the Apocalypse

If you thought zombie movies couldn’t get any more bizarre then think again. A Christmas musical not for the faint of heart!

5. Bad Santa

Brilliant, number 2 carries on the legacy of this old foolish alcoholic well. A real tribute to the alcohol consumed in the festive season.

6. The Polar Express

Probably my favourite on the list and I haven’t seen for many years. When this movie was released it was all the hype due to the special effects on live animation.

7. A Wonderful Life

Not a completed list without this movie about a man who is shown what life would have been like without him. It’s fantasy in case you wondered, mix in drama.

8. Elf

Not to keen on this although it is one of the most popular movies ever made regardless of the fact it is based around Christmas.

9. National Lampoons Christmas Vacation

I think I have watched this every Christmas. Nothing beats Chevy Chase!

10. Trading Places

Based around Christmas time, this movie has an important message about money. Ultimately life is not about money, but you knew that didn’t you?

11. The Grinch

Great for kids, great for old people, great for me! I really enjoyed the movie as a child but dare not ruin that as an adult. Based on the book!

12. Gremlins

Yes, it’s a Christmas movie, and yes, they eat people.

13. Jingle all the way

Arnold sure looked like he was gonna pop when his cookies were being eaten, and apparently he told someone off camera that he wasn’t acting.

Without Leave to Enter

Posted on by T. Maxwell-Harrison

“Without leave to enter”

The Immigration Crisis in the United Kingdom

The United Kingdom is facing one of the biggest migrant crises of recent times. Thousands of desperate and persevering individuals come to the UK each year with hopes of a better life. Then there is the other side of the coin, the groups who are not permitted to cross that channel, those coming into the country ‘without leave to enter’.

It’s not the safest route to take, but thousands do, every year. The Channel between France and the UK has become the rite of passage for many vulnerable people coming from outside of the EU. It has been argued that in order to reach the UK, one must travel through a safe country, perhaps those coming in feel that the multitude of EU countries they pass through do not provide as much safety, security and leisure as the UK.

It’s been a highly debated issue for many decades, with recent politicians such as Nigel Farage commenting frequently on the crisis, recently interviewing immigration lawyer Ivon Sampson on GB News, where Ivon disagreed with Farage’s assessment of the channel crossings where Mr. Farage had stated that many of the migrants crossing the channel were economic migrants, rather than asylum seekers, with the UK being the ‘holy grail’ for them in terms of work and living conditions. Ivon rebutted the statement by saying that…

… “I deal in facts, as a lawyer” before going on to further state that “two-thirds crossing the Channel are genuine refugees – that is a fact.”

His statement was met not met well, with the crowd jeering and disagreeing with him. That is not surprising, as the UK has seen surges in migrants for many years with numbers of 27,000 illegal immigrants being recorded in 2018, figures from the previous 4 years, with 28 police forces across Britain arresting migrants without leave to enter. Those arrests come from a combination of factors, such as intercepting the migrants in lorries and during raids, and after the migrant has committed a ‘low level crime.’

This undoubtedly puts pressure on the economy. Local communities see an increase in crime, and landlords see more properties ruined by the overcrowding that migrants frequently do to evade detection and live cheaply, sometimes freely. Tory backbencher Philip Hollobone said that “these people should be stopped at the border it shouldn’t be up to the police to arrest them.” There have been multiple calls by MP’s to increase funding to Britain’s borders. Would this resolve the issue though? The seas can only be policed to a certain extent, and denying a boat of migrants safe passage to the UK would begin to encroach on some very uneven moral grounds. The Home Office has reasserted that the government is in a position to deal with the immigration crisis, further stating the crisis can have a detrimental impact on the local communities.

The Channel is not the only means to enter the UK. Organized crime syndicates will be making money on shipping migrants on lorries, on planes and through a variety of other means. Will the government fund the monitoring of private airfields? Will funding come from an imaginary pot?

The Dublin Convention dictates the processes on how to return asylum seekers to their country of origin and lays out who is responsible for asylum seekers being processed, however the UK it no longer a part of this deal. Individuals seeking to return to their own countries, for whatever reason within reason, are able to go and fill out an online form for a ‘voluntary return.’ This allows migrants the chance to gain a passport and travel documents and pay for travel tickets, if you arrived in the UK without anything, against your will, then this might be a suitable option.

However, it misses one huge point, that migrants may not have access to the internet and may be unable to understand how to go about accessing this service, which is available for illegal immigrants. It provides a safe passage back for to their home country, but it doesn’t deal with the issues and only raises more questions on how this is going to work effectively on a large scale and how it can be enforced. The scheme is also not available to those being investigated by the police or who have been detained by the Home Office. The scheme offers financial support of up to £3000. Again, who is going to enforce this, the Home Office requires that the individuals need an address in the UK, how can they have an address possibly answer this is they are living rough, on the streets? It also requires an email address. I don’t expect many migrants crossing the Channel to have either, and I don’t think many of them will be capable of a) understanding the full extent of the UK system or b) understanding the English language. This puts them at a huge disadvantage, especially if they are genuine asylum seekers. Referring back to Farage’s point that they are economic migrants, that might add weight to the argument that they have become semi-fluent in English before they embarked on their expensive boat crossing. This would certainly aid them in returning to their home countries. But we don’t know for sure how many migrants have issues with accessing government or local services. The scheme ends by saying that the Home Office will contact the migrant within 3 days to confirm receipt of the application.

Not all migrants are illegal and not all have been refused entry. Migrants can come from another country, not being of British of Commonwealth citizenship and according to Sections 3 and 4 of the Immigration Act 1971, an immigration officer may give leave to enter for a limited period with or without certain conditions.

Those conditions being any or all of the following:

  1. Conditions restricting employment or occupation in the UK;
  2. Conditions requiring a person to maintain and accommodate themselves and any dependents without recourse to public funds;
  3. Condition requiring them to register with the police; and
  4. Conditions restricting his studies within the UK

(The above is not an exact wording).

There are options for migrants genuinely seeking to come to the UK. Why then do so many risk their lives trying to cross a wild, abhorrent section of the Channel? The number of boats containing migrants crossing the Channel in 2018 was reported by the Home Office to be recorded at 562 as attempting to cross, of those, 297 arrived. 144 were reportedly intercepted and returned to France and a further 121 aborted departures from France.

Those figures were significantly increased in 2019. Sky News collated figures of up the 1,456 migrants that had successfully crossed the Channel by small boat, almost 5 times the 2018 figure. Sky News also stated in a 2019 article that ‘just 6% of illegal migrants crossing the Channel since December are deported by UK.’ This came after Prime Minister Boris Johnson said at the time that the migrants would be sent back, meaning they would not be able to settle in the UK. Then Home Secretary Sajid Javid described the illegal crossings as a “major incident.” The report from the Home Office as concerning to say the least, with “over 85” being sent back in 2019. One migrant, asylum seeker Masoud Mohammadifar came to the UK after being accused of being a spy and was jailed for 6 months. His journey across the Channel was described as…

… “dark and we had nothing to help us find our way in the sea.” He also said that he “just prayed for my life, to Jesus Christ to save us.” It was also suggested that the French police did little to obstruct the migrants from crossing, in line with current reports that the French will refuse to act unless the UK pays them more money to manage the crisis. The UK has already paid tens of millions of pounds to halt the crossings, yet despite scrutiny from MPs and critics alike, this is not value for money.

Jeremy Corbyn, former leader of the Labour party was interviewed back in 2019 as saying that the migrants coming into the UK have come from vulnerable situations, from worn torn countries and that the UK needs to play its part in managing the international migrant crisis, whereas current conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that if you come to the UK illegally, expect to be treated as an illegal immigrant and face the consequences. Two opposing parties, and differing views, yet the crisis remains unchanged, in fact, it has grown worse.

How is the UK handling the record number of migrants in 2021? A record breaking 10,000 have supposedly crossed the Channel in the first six months, according to Sky News. The UK government must also accept an asylum seeker for the duration of their asylum claim, and they have a duty to process that claim, so it comes down in theory to determining whether the migrants crossing the Channel are genuine asylum seekers or mere economic migrants. Contrasting the UKs asylum applications with that of other European Union countries, Germany had in 2020 102,500 applications, Greece had 37,900, yet the UK had only 29,456. What does this tell us about the UK position?

It could suggest that our border enforcement system is merely not working, that our workforce is lacking, and that funding is seriously needed in order to patrol both the Channel and the beaches of Kent. But funding is only one solution. Creating a safe and welcoming application process and one which would enable a wider group of people to come to the UK may potentially offset the numbers who are embarking on an extremely dangerous journey across the Channel. But there is the argument that there is only financial gains to be had if one comes to the UK, and yet, those individuals are supposedly coming in illegally, surely making their own situation more dire. Local authorities and local housing and hotels have frequently been employed in housing the migrants, as we see in the current Afghanistan refugee crisis the system can work for those in genuine need. At the cost of the local economies, and the pockets of the taxpayers. A fine balancing act exists in which there is seemingly a ‘closed mouth’ approach to discussing the issues that are so blatantly in front of us, and yet, being able to talk openly about those issues without fear of persecution.

Current cabinet member, Home Secretary Priti Patel said in an interview on the Andrew Marr show, BBC, that “they are seeing unprecedent numbers of migrants,” and that “there is no magic solution to this,” noting work with shouldering EU countries France and Germany. The 140% increase of crossings since 2020, as a result of generally increasing migration numbers cannot, according to Priti Patel, be fixed with “short term solutions.” The measures of the coast guard are unsatisfactory and yet the government and home department seem reluctant to enforce any meaningful and useful solutions. Priti Patel does stipulate that there is an increased focus on targeting gangs who ship the migrants and intercepting and returning migrants back to France.

Ultimately the weight of the problem will be in the limelight when it suits. Dealing with human beings in a compassionate and understanding way and making sure that potential criminals and economic beneficiaries do not come into the country unchecked, leaves a big hole. That hole I believe cannot be fulfilled. The UK needs to start to respond to the crisis by allowing more time and effort to be allocated to the issues, both of policing the Channel, and catering for those who wash up on our shores. Migrants need to be educated before they reach France, before they pay thousands for the boat ride across the Channel, in order to fully understand the consequences of being an illegal migrant, so that the system can be seen to be deterring individuals, rather than merely ‘turning them back’ or ‘having police arrest them.’  Until the government has fully embraced the situation and accepted that they need to do more, I feel that nothing more will be done.