If you have something to say...
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If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
It's been a fascinating week immersed in the complexity of the Middle East. One that illustrates vividly the heartache and the joy of working with World Vision. As the United Nations General Assembly voted to give Palestine non-voting observer status, I was meeting with a group of extraordinary Palestinian children full of potential and a passion for peace.
The announced increases in capital investment are welcome but the fact that they are funded by cuts in other areas of public spending mean the Chancellor is merely shuffling money from one pot to another, which will do nothing for growth.
Why is the media so anxious about phone tapping? I would love if someone as powerful as Rupert Murdoch gave a sh*t about what I say.
But, we have the forgotten heroes. These heroes and heroines hardly get mentioned, I am talking about the local people, the villagers, let me call them the community. They are the soldiers in the front line; they live their lives fighting Aids. I celebrate them today and this is why.
Probably they run to be nominated for the 11 Biggest Social Media Disasters 2012, because the idea to share a condom seems quite disgusting to me.
When I heard about the beginning of the consultation on minimum pricing for alcohol, I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Is it good or bad? All is not as straightforward as it seems.
Digital fakery. Airbrushing. Perfect models with perfect make up, their perfect figures clad in perfect clothes. This imagery is everywhere and it's having a damaging effect on women and girls, who simply can't attain the unrealisable ideal.
Booze is even in the Bible - the first thing Noah does after the Great Flood is plant a vineyard, drink the wine, and then get his todger out in a drunken stupor, only to be discovered sleeping naked by his son. It's reassuring to know that even God's chosen zoo curator would probably have plonked a traffic cone on his head and run naked down the high street, if he'd had the opportunity to join a university rugby club.
Immigration has become a hot potato for all political parties and international students have been inadvertently placed at the heart of the government's policy. The only way the government can meet its net migration target is by reducing the levels of legitimate students.
The consensus is that the BOE have got the best man available for the job, and it's hard to disagree.
As businesses and residents across the UK count the cost of the floods - and with unsettled weather forecast to continue for several days - the torrential rain is a timely reminder for businesses to think about what they would do to minimise the risk of their offices being flooded.
All over the world, the infrastructure of justice is failing women. In some cases, it is the laws themselves that legitimise discrimination - whether on property rights, freedom of movement or women's control over their own bodies. In many more societies, however, the problems stem from a justice system which fails to recognise the informal and often unconscious bias against women. I was shocked to read the statistic reported by UN Women that women across the world are three times more likely to report a robbery than a sexual assault. It is equally shocking that female circumcision is still widely practiced in African countries, even where it is illegal.
And so finally, with fingers still tentatively paused over triggers and soldiers lined up at borders, a peace settlement was agreed between Gaza and Israel this week, bringing to an end eight days of bloody violence. Even the world's greatest optimists cannot believe this is the end of the story, with both sides seeking to write their own account of the tragic events, and claim a miserable kind of victory. For many not religiously, historically or, due to family ties, connected to this conflict, it can be difficult to understand the intensity of feeling it inspires.
The world is now perilously close to another war in the Middle East. I believe if we could bring Bush and Blair to trial for their war crimes, there will be an enormous shake up in the world which would open the door to talks.
Last year I launched the 16-step policy agenda. Today, I urge all Heads of State and Government to end the scourge of violence that affects every society by participating in an exciting global initiative to showcase national commitments to end violence against women and girls. The first step has been taken: the silence has been broken. Today at least 125 countries outlaw domestic violence and there is a large body of legislation on violence against women and girls.
Unfortunately, I get myself all worked up before the session and feel sick by association - just the sight and smell of the hospital make me retch and I have to whip my wig off lest I puke all over it. (Advantages of Wigs #103: You don't need anyone to hold your hair back when you're sick.)
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