Quote of the Day

Imbalance of Trust

“I find it interesting that many Americans seemingly distrust Washington concerning issues of health care reform, yet these same folks eagerly embraced and supported the federal government in its most recent extreme form of foreign policy: the invasion of Iraq,” writes Richard in France. (from The New York Times website, available from http://community.nytimes.com/comments/www.nytimes.com/2009/08/29/opinion/29blow.html)

Shrewsbury, Welshpool

Some photos I took during an afternoon hike through the Welsh midlands, near Welshpool, not far from Shrewsbury. I was out there for the day visiting the woman I am writing a book for.

Baby orangutans!

Loch Ness Monster?

This image of Loch Ness can be seen by entering coordinates Latitude 57°12'52.13"N, Longitude 4°34'14.16"W in Google Earth.

 Could this be the elusive Loch Ness Monster?  Or the Ness Express, a boat which regularly tours the deep waters of Loch Ness?  Judge for yourself.

Tribute to a Great Hero

AMERICA lost a great hero today.
But Senator Ted Kennedy’s legacy will have impacted our country for generations to come.
A key leader in the push for healthcare reform, Kennedy, the “Liberal Lion”, used most of his political career to better the lives of many citizens through progressive causes and bills.

Kennedy also campaigned vigorously on egalitarian issues and was a staunch supporter of equal civil rights - even before it was popular to do so.
He was a champion in the fight against global warming. And he was an outspoken critic of the Iraq war right from the onset.

Kennedy was part of a family ‘dynasty’ that made Massachusetts a state much bigger and influential than it once was.
Not only that, but the Kennedys have played a significant role in creating a unified cultural sense among Irish Americans, of which there are some 36 million. Kennedy, for his part, was also heavily involved in the Irish peace process.
As the leader of Ireland's Social Democrat and Labour Party (SDLP), Mark Durkan, put it, in reaction to his death: “He was never afraid to take stands and stances that challenged the actions and inactions of the British Government.”

But even as we take time to mourn his death, we must already be thinking about his empty senate seat as we have now entered the climax of healthcare reform.
The Senate Democratic Party caucus has now lost its 60-seat supermajority in the US Senate, the minimum required to defeat potential filibusters the Republican Party caucus may impose to block any bills they dislike.
Shortly before his death, Kennedy appealed to governor of Massachusetts Deval Patrick and the legislature to seek out someone to temporarily fill his seat.

This seat will be a big one to fill. His role in the push for healthcare reform was seen as pivotal in holding together both progressive and centrist Democratic voters as the issue threatens to tear the US into two enraged camps.
The process to replace him could take months as Massachusetts law permits. Let us hope a deal squares out fast so we can secure this legislation that is vital to our futures.

Dear Mr Editor... Healthcare Reform Now!

Yes, I am still on fire about this issue! It looks like this passionate, controversial debate is one that will be around for years to come, as the same sentiment racketed up during the Obama campaign are now being exploited by the neo-Cons and their cronnies. Here is my letter to the editor of the North Carolina daily publication, the Asheville Citizen-Times, in which I whole-heartedly pour out my feelings regarding this issue (albeit not as in-dept as I would have liked due to a 200-word limitation).


AS AN American citizen, from South Asheville, currently living in England, I felt I needed to respond to all the criticism being thrown at the British National Health Service (NHS).
The attacks against the NHS by American news reports are both misleading and unfair. I have used the NHS for the whole time I have been here and, contrary to what Americans may think, I have experienced no problems with excessive waiting time, doctor availability or quality of service. In fact, in working for the British media I have noticed the many, many good points of the healthcare industry here. For example, the swift response to the swine flu outbreak put Britain ahead of most other Western countries with the launch of a National Pandemic Flu Service. Britain also enjoys a higher life expectancy rate at 79.1 years, compared with the USA at 78.1 years. The infant mortality rate per 1,000 live births is only 4.8 in Britain, compared with 6.7 in the USA. This is all managed with Britain spending only 8.4 percent of its GDP expenditure on healthcare, while the USA squanders more than 16 percent and more than any other Western nation.
Britons have also been quick to defend their healthcare system against damning American news reports, which seem keen on focusing on the disdain of a select few Conservative Tory politicians who have been deemed ‘eccentrics’ by their own parties. The vast majority of people here love their system, which they call egalitarian, efficient, and best-of-all, free.
Yes, okay, there are problems as with every system but Britons unhappy with the Government option can just as easily go private - where they will still be confronted with lower costs than in the USA thanks to heavier regulation in controlling medicinal costs.
Every day 510 people in North Carolina lose their healthcare coverage. Without reform, those who still have insurance will see their yearly premiums go up by $8,938 in the next decade to a staggering $21,590. We need reform now.

New York Fashion - Doomed?

IS New York’s reign in the fashion industry coming to an end?
This question would have sent anyone who knew anything about the fashion world away laughing only a couple of years ago.

But the votes at a prominent poll speak for themselves. The Big Apple has now been pushed to second place in the race for fashion capital of the world according to the Global Language Monitor’s annual fashion capital research 2009 (July 20).
Although still ranking in the top five, alongside long-standing top cities including Paris, London and Rome, the poll brought an end to New York’s five-year reign as the world’s top fashion city.

The research also revealed trends that seem to indicate New York fashion may never take up first place again.
Los Angeles, whose scene only a decade ago was a complete mockery, has now firmly asserted itself to the fashionistas of the world and has edged up to number six.
Miami and Las Vegas also made great strides forward, as well as Toronto, Hong Kong, Sao Paulo, Berlin and Barcelona.

Indeed, the fashion nexus seems to be ceding away along with the population drain from America’s Northeastern coast. Could this have had any bearing on Project Runway’s decision to permanently move the show from New York to Los Angeles for its sixth season later this month? (I know it was over a dispute between NBC Universal and Weinstein, but really..)

Okay, laugh at that point, but the New York fashion industry is in some serious trouble. Due to the recession, the garment industry has taken a severe blow, with only about 9,000 garment workers remaining in the garment district, near Times Square, compared with 16,000 in 1995.

The same district, which once employed hundreds of thousands of workers and produced most of the clothes worn in the USA, has been reduced to a shadow of what it once was as garment producers have fled to foreign countries where they can function much more cheaply, such as China, India and Latin America.
The fear is that the remaining shops and factories are also in jeopardy with rising rents. The total loss of garment production in the city would leave little reason for designers to stay. New York then would loose its fashion prominence, no longer able to hold its own against Paris and Milan.

While New York does stand out for its individuality and innovation, the plain facts say that the garment industry is at risk. This, while other American cities are quickly maturing to rival New York’s unflinching sense of confidence. If New York is to continue to be taken seriously, it needs to stop being so complacent – as fashion waits for no one.

Happy 400, New York!

ON THE year of the 400th anniversary of New York I felt it was my duty as a native to pay homage to the Dutch heritage there.

There are Dutch-American remnants now stretching across the Midwest, through to Wisconsin and Michigan, as well as Dutch-influenced colonial revival homes commonly found throughout the Mid-Atlantic States, Western Connecticut and even Virginia.
Tens of thousands of Dutch also settled in California and Washington State after the First World War.

But the oldest settlement is still sourced at New York and its largest city, once called New Netherland and New Amsterdam, respectively.
In the year 1609, Henry Hudson, leading a Dutch fleet, sailed into the harbour of the Hudson where he headed for Manhattan island. This feat will be celebrated over the course of this year by parties, parades, concerts and exhibits.
New York culture mirrors its all-embracing colonial roots with traits such as tolerance, multiculturalism, innovation and love of freedom.

While the Dutch colony was by no means homogenous – with more than 18 languages spoken and only about half of its citizens Dutch – the Dutch heritage is steadfastly omnipresent and comprises of a vital piece of this city’s history.

Take, for example, Wall Street. Named for a wall constructed at some point after 1655, the Dutch built it to keep the threat of Native Americans at bay.
Then we have Brooklyn, named after the Dutch town of Breukelen in the province of Utrecht in the Netherlands. The township was authorised by the Dutch West India Company in 1646. Also, we have the names of Boswijk and Nieuw Utrecht, or Bushwick and New Utrecht.

It doesn’t stop there. Bedford-Stuyvesant was named after Peter Stuyvesant, the only governor of New Netherlands to be called director-general.
Harlem, originally a Dutch village organised in 1658, was named after Haarlem.
Staten Island? Don’t you mean Staaten Eylandt, in honour of the Dutch Parliament, Staaten Generaal? Let's not forget the Long Island town of Hempstead, or Heemstede, and the Bronx, named for Dutch captain Jonas Bronck. At one time even the Great White Way, Broadway, was a great green way, which the Dutch called de breed weg meaning thick forest.

And also Hofstra University, which I attended in 2005 and which was founded by Dutch descendants in Long Island.

But the Dutch influence extends beyond the Hudson Valley region. Distinctly American words, some rebuked by our English counterparts, have their roots in the Dutch colony. Words such as cookie from koekje, boss from baas, hook from hoek, knickernocker and kill, all derive from Dutch.
Even the word Yankee itself is said to come from jan kees.

This by no means is meant to overshadow any other components of New York’s vastly complicated and diverse heritage.
Nonetheless, while this constantly changing region continues to reinvent itself and welcome in new waves of immigrants, we should still take time to respect our founding forefathers who helped create this city and state we have all come to love.

Oh... and I guess we shouldn't forget about New Jersey.