Government secrets - why do we need to know?

Chilcot Enquiry Conundrums

The Chilcot enquiry has been getting a lot of press in the last few days, and I thought I'd weigh in with my take on the whole idea of 'Government Secrets vs Democracy'.

Why do we need to know?

Well why not? 

It's our country, our democracy, our lives, and our reputations as a nation, and we are the employers, paying the wages of these leaders - he who pays the piper calls the tune.

But you may ask, 'Isn't it necessary for Government leaders to maintain the secrecy of their confidential conversations at least during their lifetimes?'

I'd say it is only required by unscrupulous, or if we want to be kind, misguided leaders, who want to protect themselves and/or our allies from criticism. 

But they are all leaders of democratic countries, and should be held accountable to their own electorate, as well as the international community.

And if there is nothing questionable we might object to, then why hide it? 

The fact that they try is in itself a matter of concern.

The evolution of democracy vs Russell Brand's revolution

Russell Brand pointed out a few powerful truths to Jeremy Paxman the other day, but I believe evolution rather than revolution is needed here. 

So, how are our need to know and evolution connected? 

To mature, evolve and develop our democracy, voters must have the opportunity to judge their government's performance.

In order to ensure that this happens, the electorate must be properly informed of how important decisions have been made, so they can they decide the future direction of government and vote for it intelligently? 

I'm going to make a presumption here and suggest that we would like to be ethically or morally honest and open, rather than duplicitous and dishonest in our dealings with other countries and between ourselves. 

That would be an evolution of civilised society.

Political dishonesty has had its day

We've all been disgusted by the dishonesty in British politics over the last few years, and in general we've been disillusioned for decades. 

Ideally, if you can find any, I think the people would prefer the most pious and trustworthy people to lead the country.

Politicians unwilling to make this transition to honesty and openness should be dismissed. 

Don't vote for them. 

Those wishing to cover up their dishonest actions or questionable decisions should be revealed and punished. 

It's time for Britain to lead the way again

Our mother of parliaments, our model of democracy, needs not only to be maintained, but to grow, to improve. 

A digital age lends itself to a rapid advancement and evolution of democratic life for the benefit of everyone.

It is now very difficult to hide wrongdoing, and it is a sign of the natural progression of life on earth that all these unpleasant activities, going on behind closed doors in the name of security, are being revealed to a worldwide audience.

A more honest and open dialogue must begin between nations on the basis of mutual friendship and trust, and between national leaders and the people who elect them.

As digital communication becomes more instant and worldwide in its reach, we are losing our traditional boundaries. We are a global country now. 

It is in the interests of all nations to see the rest of the world as family and proceed accordingly. 

If we observe the changes taking place all over the world today objectively, as if we are already looking back at history, it is clear that the nature of life is inexorably driving civilisation in this evolutionary, unifying direction.

British sense of fair play

This should not be seen as a call for a Russell Brand revolution, but rather an inspiration to restore the integrity and reputation of British democracy, to create something we can feel proud of. 

Like our earlier British democratic foundations, this idea of openness, honesty and trust, in national and international politics, can also be of benefit to all countries.

And don't be so cynical as to suggest that this is a notion to bring back the empire. It is rather a matter of the continued development of culture and values. 

We lent our culture and our democratic history to the USA. 

In the field of ideas we have been the leaders, not the followers. 

Right now, we should continue in that vein, and not be influenced by US government preferences about the importance of keeping secret the conversations of our leaders.

This is about our country, and our future direction as a nation, and as a leader of nations. This is a step we can embrace enthusiastically. One could even say, in the spirit of our ancestors.

We've done it before, so we can do it again

In the early days of our democracy only the upper classes were allowed to vote. 

There was a time when women were denied voting rights because men were afraid of how they would vote. 

Workers and women were purposely denied an academic education, or even the ability to read and write, because those in power were afraid of the consequences of allowing them greater knowledge, and its effect on their own ability to rule. 

History has shown how misguided these views were. 

There is nothing to fear from a better educated, fully informed electorate, who have a better grasp of how our leaders make decisions. 

We need to know and judge the validity and value of these decisions made on behalf of us all. 

The Price of a Better Democracy

Obviously, decisions we see as bad will affect the way we vote in the future, and we may punish those who abused our trust. 

That is the price of allowing democracy to evolve. 

New political parties will emerge, who will champion these inspiring evolutionary values, and old inflexible political dogmas, like the dinosaurs they are, will fade into oblivion.

It isn't a lot to ask, or a steep price to pay, to maintain our integrity, and the advancement of civilisation, and our children will certainly appreciate it, in fact they are probably the reason it is happening now.

The fears of Iran and America

I was just reading an article I picked up from google news about Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad speaking at the United nations for the 8th time.

A lot of what he said made sense, and a lot was the usual anti-American and anti-West rhetoric and posturing.

But what became clear to me as I read all these articles from news sites around the world was that all countries, and all cultures and religions around the world are suffering from a common weakness - fear.

On the basis of fear, threats are made.

International bullies, just like bullies in the school yard, act as they do out of fear of appearing weak, and on the basis that, if my threat is big enough, everyone will do as I say and I will be safe.

The bullied also fear that their freedom, their way of life is under threat.

The financial markets fear the economic problems of Greece and Spain are a threat to their financial security. So they remove their money to a safer place where it will do nothing, produce nothing, but earn interest, thus increasing the likelihood that what they fear will actually come to pass.

The ideal principle of human behaviour has to be the principle of giving, because if it is the opposite - the principle of taking - then everyone will stand with hands out waiting to receive and no one will prosper.

When everyone gives, then everyone without exception can receive. All economic models and social systems that work depend on this principle.

There is a story in India, that in one village someone saw a dangerous and poisonous snake nearby, and the whole village was running around in a panic because the snake was there.

One man went out and took a proper look and perhaps he could see more clearly, but he discovered that the snake was actually a piece of rope.

He returned to the village and told everyone he met, but no one believed him, because the fear distorted their judgement to such an extent, that they were afraid to give up their belief just in case it turned out to be really a snake, and everyone had in any case accepted the existence of the snake for so long, that it had become a way of life.

But the basis for all this fear was a false perception. We desperately need a paradigm shift in human awareness.

The whole world of international politics - the threats, gesturing, bullying and posturing - comes from the same basic problem. It's a snake whose existence relies on our false belief that other peoples are to be feared.

We should all just calm down and get on with helping each other to live in freedom and success, allowing this beautiful mosaic of different cultures and religions to coexist without fearing that one will overshadow the other.

It's these differences that make the world an interesting and wonderful place to be.

I think that if one country could dare to start behaving differently, and become the friend of all other countries without issuing threats the rest would inevitably follow, because it is just such a sensible, intelligent wise way to deal with each other.

I am reminded of a quote from young Jewish girl Anne Franks who died in a nazi concentration camp at the end of the 2nd world war:

"I keep my ideals, because in spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart."

A beautiful belief in humanity, in spite of the great inhumanity shown to her. 

Such a wise thought from a 15 year old girl.

An Absurd Idea

There is an absurd idea still prevalent in educated societies including our own, that if we kill all our enemies, or lock them up, bomb them, sanction them, or send them back to wherever they came from, and carry out a whole host of other punative measures, then we will eventually have no more enemies, and peace will miraculously occur. This is a truly naïve belief. It’s an unworkable approach.

Historically we know that none of these things result in peace, happiness or prosperity. In fact destructive, violent policies only serve to increase fear, suspicion and further resentment on all sides. You have a perfect example of this in the middle east.

At some point someone has to act unilaterally to begin peaceful, friendly relations, realising that we can all help each other without compromising our own cultural, ideological and religious preferences. The world is a beautiful mosaic of differences. Uniformity would be terribly boring.

A sense of love and appreciation can start somewhere and overcome obstacles that those tried and failed destructive approaches have never ever succeeded in doing. It's called civilization.

Those wise realistic people who look at the world as it is now will smugly counter that this is a naive sentiment. They should remember the achievements of so many societies in overcoming the intransigence and obstinacy of the past. We ended slavery, gave women the vote, and so many countries under decades of foreign rule, even centuries, gained their freedom and independence.

But change does have to come from within. I suggest each person start with themselves and make a positive contribution to building a better future. It's the only intelligent way forward. Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result is a good definition of insanity. To continue with failed solutions in the hope that maybe next time they will succeed is a futile pursuit.

I am a teacher of Transcendental Meditation founded by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and taught to the Beatles in the 60s, and my view is perhaps the result of 40 years of practise myself, and the examination of over 600 scientific research studies published in more than 250 reputable peer reviewed scientific journals.

I’ve personally taken part in research projects that reduced violent crime in Washington DC by nearly 25% in 6 weeks, using only groups practising Transcendental Meditation and its advanced programme together. It surprised me at the time, but I was there and watched it happen. The study was undertaken by a nuclear scientist, Dr John Hagelin, a member of the 'unified field' study group at CERN and NASA, and was published in the highly respected Social Indicators Research - an international and interdisciplinary journal for quality-of-life measurement.

Changes in individual and collective consciousness are changes that take place within, and only such an approach can bring a true sense of security, co-operation and friendliness between individuals and nations.

We already know that invincibility is not arrived at through fear-based approaches, bigger bombs, and a powerful military presence, but the concept could work through fundamental individual and social change. Fundamental means it has to begin inside the hearts and minds of individuals, the basic units that make a society. Genuine defense starts and ends here.

Genuine security is not achieved through talk and treaty signing, but through personal paradigm shifts, a change of perception that reveals something we had missed before. This will inevitably happen, but the speed depends on personal choices.

I wish for more people to begin developing their own consciousness through meditation on a daily basis and start to make a real difference to human behaviour world wide by changing themselves from within.

For more information about development of consciousness and Transcendental Meditation go to http://www.learntm.co.uk/ or http://www.t-m.org.uk/ or call 01695 51213 and get a free information pack posted to you.

We Need Two Kinds of Hero

There are two kinds of hero. There are the ones who do their duty with conviction and bravery on the field of battle, and there are those other heroes who stand up for what is right, battling any who would commit evil deeds dressed up to appear as virtue and righteousness. We are in need of both kinds of hero, so that the wrongs that put our children and our future in harms way are averted, and unnecessary suffering prevented.

Recent happenings announced in the news put me in mind of that little ditty: “It's the rich what gets the pleasure, and the poor what gets the blame.”

I was listening to the BBC Radio 4 discussions about the hearings on the Iraq War and all the stuff about lessons to be learned. It reminded me of the behaviour of the Slytherins.

Gordon Brown apparently made an impressive and statesman like presentation. So honest, so proud of our soldiers, so supportive of Tony Blair and our just cause. It went something like this...

Lessons have been learned, we should have planned better for the aftermath, as if we hadn't already been advised that there would be catastrophe afterwards - in fact several British and US career diplomats resigned their posts when their advise in this matter was pointedly ignored. Diplomats work long and hard to get up the ladder and resignations are rare. In the uk resignations included Carne Ross, 40, a highly rated diplomat and Britain's key negotiator at the UN, and in the US, Ann Wright, a deputy chief of mission, a career foreign service officer and army reserve colonel.

We went in for all the right reasons, even though the actual reasons given were not the reasons Tony Blair now gives... i.e. now it is because Saddam was really naughty and needed taking down and he felt a moral obligation.

It was completely legal to go to war, though several expert legal bodies in the US and Holland have concluded that the Iraq war was a violation of international law. The Secretary General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan, declared the action illegal at the time.

We gave the armed forces all the money they asked for, even though the army was grossly under funded before and right up to the last few days before the war... great planning. Tony Blair wouldn't allow the military to prepare in advance in case the word got out, and the world realised we had already definitely decided to go to war irrespective of anything. All that talk of giving the weapons inspectors more time and getting another UN resolution from the United Nations was a matter of misdirecting people's attention. Like TV magic - most of it is just slight of hand.

All MPs were in agreement - well they would be since they all thought weapons of mass destruction could land on us with only 45 minutes notice.

And while all this was going on large numbers of honest MPs, the moral judges of the world, sending young men to be shot at and blown up for all the right reasons, were filling their bank accounts with as much expenses money as they could get away with. The habitual abuse of their self-regulating system was rife.

Not all were doing this of course. Many, such as Dr Brian Iddon of Bolton South East, didn't have their hands in the till and were very disappointed in their friends' behaviour. But you can bet your life all MPs, including those like the whiter than white Dr Iddon, knew it was going on right under their noses.

It is often convenient in politics to turn a blind eye and keep on good terms with your bedfellows. Perhaps it was a case of letting sleeping dogs lie, or the fact that in politics you never know when you might need a favour, a compromise, a quiet wink and a nod.

The trouble with politicians is that they worship only at the twin altars of re-election and party loyalty. They are morally handicapped from birth, but they do not know it.

So, returning to Radio 4, after all this erudite discussion of who said what and when, there came the news that a soldier, Lance Corporal Joe Glenton, diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder, who had gone AWOL to protest about the legality of another war, in Afghanistan this time, initiated for equally doubtful reasons, has just been rewarded with a 9 month jail sentence.

Technically, this is the correct punishment for refusing to go and fight, but morally it falls under the heading of 'bankruptcy'.

Just as bankrupt as the banks were a few months ago, before our wise government bailed them out to save the economy. Save the economy? I can't really see how. It seems to me that the ordinary Joe Public, going to work every day, and keeping the wheels of business and industry turning, to pay his mortgage to the bank and feed his kids, is really the one who saves the economy every day. The banks are just the greedy cats taking a cut every time we ordinary people make a move. Bailing them out is like handing a convicted thief your credit cards complete with your PIN.

The people winning rewards these days are those who quite rightly should be in jail. Voldermort would be proud of them all. The bankers who screwed up with other people's money, and the Prime Minister who misled Parliament about the 45 minute deployment of weapons of mass destruction that convinced MPs to support him.

One unfortunate scientist, another man with a conscience, Dr David Kelly, revealed as the 'mole' who leaked information to the BBC that the dossier on the 45 minute weapons of mass destruction in Iraq was “sexed up”, is now dead. Apparently committed suicide by slitting his wrists and taking some prescription painkillers. 13 doctors are challenging this conclusion in the courts. And it is significant that Lord Hutton, who presided over the enquiry about his death, has placed a 70 year ban on anyone seeing the details of the post mortem examination of his body. How very, very strange.

Now all the Slytherines are manoeuvring to get the best public relations exposure before an election, while one of the moral heroes of our generation goes to jail.

The genuinely guilty are giving lecture tours for obscene amounts of money, preparing their memoirs, reviewing their legacy, or in the case of the banks, paying themselves handsomely for continuing in much the same way as they did before, because, as they say, everyone else is doing it, so we have to pay these big bonuses, or the best people for the job will not work for us. Well I have to ask, do we really want these parasites to work for us?

As to the soldier who stood up against these mealy mouthed snakes, it takes guts to make a stand for what you believe is right, when the entire establishment is against you, including the legal minds that make good moral judgement punishable under the law. 'The law is an ass' is an understatement in this instance. The law and morality are frequently at odds with each other.

There is an old saying: “All that is needed for the forces of evil to succeed is for enough good men to remain silent”.

So I am speaking out and asking if there are any others out there in cyberspace who would like to be counted as one of the good men... let them join forces with Harry Potter and mop the floor with these arse wipes.

It just takes conviction and persistence and a wave of your magic wand, or the pen or the computer in this instance. So get your head together and do something today.

On a final note of optimism - always it has happened, that in the passage of time, in spite of the arrogance of the powerful, they fall victim to their own misdoings. The axe will eventually fall, however much these 'blind mice' skitter about, trying to hide in their maze of lies. They truly believe their disguise is complete, that we cannot see them for what they are if they say something plausible - like Radovan Karadzic, defending his acts of genocide as action in defense of the sovereignty of his nation.

The farmer's wife or someone else will cut off their tails with a carving knife. Watch and wonder as they get their comeuppance. There are powerful forces of nature at work.

Transcendental Meditation Bolton

Transcendental Meditation is taking off in Bolton
I ought to know because I teach it to people. Yes! Harry Potter's family knew about Transcendental Meditation before the Beatles.
Is it magic?
No! It's better than magic. It's just a simple, natural, effortless, technique practised sitting comfortably for 20 minutes twice a day. The magic is what happens afterwards.
Your day swims along nicely
No rough currents to deal with, and nature smiles on you with fortuitous circumstances cropping up frequently, and you get more done in a day with less effort and without all the stress. You can sleep better at night too.
Too much to believe?
Well fortunately, believing has nothing whtsoever to do with it. The technique is as mechanical as waving your wand and heypresto, it happens. That's because it is so natural, that your mind and body already know what to do. It's like they have been waiting for the opportunity to get in the zone all your life, and then you just press the button and off you go. Simple as riding a broomstick.
There's magic in us all
If we just knew the right way to go about accessing it. I taught an NHS administrator not long ago, who couldn't sleep for worrying about just about everything - work, family, life. Working in the NHS, with targets to meet every way you turn is no easy job these days, and she was feeling the pressure.
The doctor was very sympathetic she told me
He prescribed sleeping pills. But they didn't make much difference she said. I felt really sorry for her. Sleep is one thing you need when you get stressed, and if even that is denied you, then you are in the soup and it's getting very hot.
The day after she had learned Transcendental Meditation
She came to see me for a meditation checkup.
“I'm absolutely amazed with this”, she said.
“Why?” I asked.
“I've just slept for 12 hours without a break, and I haven't done that for 2 years,” she said.
This is a typical example
Magical Transcendental Meditation working it's wonders again. I highly recommend it.
Call the Transcendental Meditation national office
Get a free information pack right away on 01695 51213. Their US website is great too on http://www.tm.org/ and my own Bolton TM website at http://www.learntm.co.uk.
And now I have to meditate myself and recharge my batteries. Bye!

Saying Nothing

Writing blogs takes time, creativity and energy. These are currently limited so this blog is extremely short. More interesting blogs will follow later. Thanks for looking in.