Trees not Cars by John Wilkins

.– a victory for the people

I GOT an e-mail today that lifted my spirits. It asked me to tell my friends about the success of a campaign to stop Manchester City Council turning derelict land (formerly a retail park) into a 440 space car park.

Well done to all the people of Ancoats and others who had who started to turn this derelict land into green open space for adults and children to use. The campaign called 'Trees not Cars' petitioned the Council with over 12,000 signatories supporting it.

Trees Not Cars have won a judicial review against Manchester City Council, blocking them from using the former Central Retail Park as a temporary 440-space car park next to the city centre's only primary school.

 

It marks a major victory for “a grassroots community group that has campaigned tirelessly for over 18 months to stop the plans which completely ignored the impact on air pollution in an attempt to force the plans through.”

In finding in favour of 'Trees not Cars' the review found that Manchester Council had:

• Failed to consider the impact of air quality on the local area around Ancoats

• ​Failed to consider the impact of building a polluting 440-space car park next to the only primary school in Manchester city centre.

 

• Was unlawful in that the Council recommended planning approval based on the wrong information, the wrong air quality assessment, and traffic analysis.

 

Manchester Council was represented by a team of lawyers led by Christopher Katkowski QC, a London-based barrister  said to be  one of the leading planning specialists in the country.  Katkowski is an advisor to Boris Johnson痴 Government and  architect  behind the Government’s proposed controversial new planning laws that would see sweeping changes to the planning system.

The campaign is now calling for the council to reopen their development framework for the 10 acre site to genuine community input. Trees Not Cars, following their legal victory, have reiterated their call that the Council “must now include significant green space and affordable housing on the site.”

The Council seemed to think the money they would have raised from turning the land into a large car park was more important than residents well being. As well as a victory for the environment it can now be a pleasant open space for local people, many of whom live in high rise buildings!

 

Despite the excessive amount of money the Council has put into defending their actions they lost. It should give encouragement to us that if enough people speak out then they can effect change.

Sorry Sir Richard Leese the people have spoken!

Read more @ https://tinyurl.com/y6v5a46m

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Common-sense and Covid 19 by John Wilkins

OUR politicians hide behind following the science to escape criticism when things change for the worse. How about some plain, old fashioned common-sense?

Testing: Far too late in being implemented and even over last few months has only been stepped up at air ports. A friend, early last year, had been working in Venezuela training young doctors in his specialism, orthopaedic surgery. Deciding he needed to return to the UK he had to travel through three airports to get home. In three poor Latin American countries he was tested in each one, even though one was a temperature check. Yet he strolled through the airport here with NO test whatsoever!

Preparedness: Latest figures I could find showed the UK had less hospital beds per capita than most of Europe with only Sweden slightly worse. Significantly Sweden had far more doctors per capita whereas only Poland and Slovakia had less than us. We were low down on the list for critical care beds with just over half of those in Italy less than a quarter of those in Germany. As for our NHS the UK has by far and away the greatest number of private hospital beds in Europe.

Outside of Europe it is interesting to note that S. Korea has the second highest number of hospital beds in the world having been one of only a handful of countries to increase capacity in recent times. It is not surprising then that we have not coped well with this pandemic yet S. Korea has been one of the best to do so.

Clarity and leadership: Many people have complained about the lack of clarity about lock down rules and lack of common sense in formulating them.

So we have walkers targetted in the wilds of Derbyshire yet the PM's adviser, Cummings, dashed off to Barnard Castle to he claims to have an eye test with impunity. Boris Johnson contracted the virus shortly after leaving a meeting with several other people less than two metres apart and not wearing masks. Having experienced the illness he has been more careful since.

His father visited Greece "on essential business" to ensure a property he rents out was "Covid-proof". Baloney! At the time Greece had banned flights from UK there which Joe Johnson got around by flying in from Bulgaria.

Our PM could do with a course in leadership from New Zealand's leader, Jacinda Ardern. She brought unity after the horrendous attack on a mosque and carried the country with her in their lockdown. How? The people had respect and therefore trust in her.

Injections: Like Trump our Government were quick to pat themselves on the back for a) developing a vaccine and b) in the UK for being one of the first to use it. We are all grateful to the world's scientists for working collaboratively (not a word which can often apply to politicians) to create the vaccine.

The Government's job is how to deliver it and many have reservations about how it has been done. Although the expertise behind the Astra Zenica vaccines scientists at Oxford University the main production hub is at a vaccine factory in Belgium run by its partner Novasep. There have been recent problems there which might slow deliveries down across Europe.

As I got an invite to have the injection (Pfizer) some time ago I felt guilty as I am only 76 and in good health but especially so when the PM warned it might be up to twelve weeks to get the second dose.

I thought the plan was to get as many over 80's, people with underlying health conditions and key workers vaccinated first.

Now a report from Israel has raised concerns that the effectiveness was only 52.4% between the first and second dose if spaced just 21 days apart.

My concerns have been shared by Baroness Joan Bakewell who has threatened the Government with legal action over delays to the second dose of the Pfizer vaccine. Also Alejandro Cravioto, chairman of WHO Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization, said the two doses of the Pfizer jab should be administered within 21 to 28 days.

Time for yet another U-turn Mat Hancock.

Following the rules: Hot topic after guests fled from a Jewish school when police arrived. The organisers faced a £10,000 fine for breaking lockdown rules and five guests were issued with £200 fixed penalty notices, according to police, out of about 150 present. Whilst I am not usually in favour of more offences resulting in prison, I am when the public's health is put at risk. The organisers deserve a custodial sentence or at least community service and more fines should be handed out.

In general people are obeying the rules but when shopping outlets say mask wearing is mandatory then make it so. People need to have more confidence in using forms of transport if we are to get more people into work safely. People are entitled to their opinions on the way the virus is tackled but our cherished freedom of speech does not mean anti-vaxxers can pedal false news and protest outside hospitals where NHS staff are putting their lives on the line. Take note Piers Corbyn and his acolytes!

Their activities have resulted in a drop in trust of vaccination particularly in the BAME community who have been shown to be most at risk of the virus.

We used to be admired as a nation for sticking to rules but not any more perhaps.

Postscript: Since I wrote this the EU look like playing 'hardball' over distribution of Pfizer vaccine from European plants.

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Not just about chlorine chicken

This isn’t just about chlorine chicken

 by Brian Bamford

GEORGE ORWELL wrote an essay 'In Defence of English Cooking' that:
'It will be seen that we have no cause to be ashamed of our cookery, so far as originality goes or so far as the ingredients go.  And yet it must be admitted that there is a serious snag from the foreign visitor's point of view.  This is that you practically don't find good English cooking outside a private house....  It is a fact that restaurants which are distinctively English are hard to find.' [1945]

Over half a century later in the Caterer & Hotelkeeper Millennium Supplement, on the 23 December 1999 claimed:
'Rationing was reintroduced in 1940, a year after the outbreak of the Second World War.  It continued until 1954, casting a shadow over any real culinary progression. Post-war London's leading restaurants were almost entirely run by Continental Europeans.'

And yet it goes on to argue:

'Outside the capital, though, the general state of food being served in most restaurants was abysmal, apart from rare exceptions such as Sharrow Bay in Ullswater (which opened in 1949) and the Bell at Aston Clinton.'


Raymond Postgate who went on to jointly write The Common People with G.D.H.Cole, helped to found The Good Food Guide.  Postgate a socialist, who helped to found the Communist Party of Great Britain, laid down some rules for fighting a war for English food wrote:



'Navigating a British restaurant during the middle of the twentieth century was in its way not so different from scoring a drink in Sweden before the outbreak of hostilities.  Postgate likened it to war.  The “Rules for Eating Out” published in the first Guide , from 1951-52, refer to restaurant staff as “the Enemy” and recommend battle tactics.'  And he advises:

“Take a long time reading the bill of fare, and see that your wife decides what she wants first. If the Enemy hears one of you say: ‘I’ll have whatever you do, dear’, he immediately decides he has no serious foe to encounter. What you want to impress on the establishment is that it has to deal with a pair of people who know exactly what they want, and are implacable.” ( GFG 19)

Adding in his recommendations:  'While diners and waiters were engaged in conflict, rules of war did apply, and the encounter should be civil even if it was not yet civilized. “You wish to give the impression not that you are angry with this particular restaurant, but that you are suspicious, after a lifetime of suffering.” ( GFG 19)'

His basic justification for the founding of The Guide is clear:
 'The Guide had become necessary because the suffering had lasted longer even than the lifetime of many GFG users: “For fifty years now complaints have been made against British cooking, and no improvement has resulted.” ( GFG 7)'


Serious entertaining was more likely to be done in private houses, where most professional chefs were employed, or in gentlemen's clubs - there were 200 at the turn of the century, compared with about 40 today.  Restaurants were frequented mostly by aristocrats and the gentry.  Women, of whatever class, were rarely seen in such establishments.

Derek Pattison & the 'Veblen good'

In response to the recent news that members of the US Congress have written to the US negotiator, calling on him to get rid of the UK’s ban on chlorinated chicken ‘once and for all’ DEREK PATTISON writes:
'I think it is true to say that people are economic maximizers and though we can make choices, our choices are always constrained for a variety of reasons.  This could be economic and also due to our social/class position in society .'

So speaks Pattsion, the economist, on behalf of the most miserable of sciences; forever labouring the price of everything and the value of nothing.  What would Raymond Postgate, founder of the Good Food Guide have to say about that?

When I did my degree in sociology at Manchester Poly. it was structured around economics, because at that time it was considered  that of all of the social sciences it was the closest to a 'natural science' like physics etc.  Do we want to eat cheap chlorine chicken suitably swilled with the chemical from the USA?  Yet when we considered this science of economics our attention was drawn to 'inverted demand curves'  and the effect of what came to be called a Veblen good as a type of luxury good for which demand increases as the price increases, in apparent contradiction of the law of demand, resulting in an upward-sloping demand curve. A higher price may make a product desirable as a status symbol in the practices of conspicuous consumption and conspicuous leisure.  A product may be a Veblen good because it is a positional good, something few others can own. *

This is a sociological consequence which determines a price according to a snob value.   Here the effect on demand depends on the range of other goods available, their prices, and whether they serve as substitutes for the goods in question.  The effects are anomalies within demand theory, because the theory normally assumes that preferences are independent of price or the number of units being sold. They are therefore collectively referred to as interaction effects.

We can imagine that after Brexit cheap chlorine chicken will quickly become the food of the poor.

Another writer John Wilkins writes:  'And so we have the climb down.  The ban will be dropped and low animal welfare, chlorinated chicken will be UP on our supermarket shelves.'


The concession in this case has been that low welfare products will pay a higher tariff (the tax charged on imports) than high welfare products.  But even if the US agrees to this, there is no guarantee that the tariffs rate won’t be cut later on.

Mr. Wilkins adds:  'This is fundamentally about the right of our government or any government to set standards and regulations on things that people care about, whether on animal welfare, climate standards, workers rights, public health, environmental standards or anything else.'



Worryingly, the government is trying to present this as a win for the environment minister, because even though the promise that a ban would be maintained has been broken, it turns out that what the trade minister, Liz Truss, actually wanted to do was not only overturn the ban but also reduce all tariffs on chicken to zero! 

The Decline of English Food 

When George Orwell was writing in the post-war years there was rationing, and as he says 'Pubs, as a rule, sell no food at all, other than potato crisps and tasteless sandwiches.'  Meanwhile, at that time, the 'expensive restaurants  and hotels almost all imitate French cookery ... while if you want a good cheap meal you gravitate naturally towards a Greek, Italian or Chinese restaurant.'

Raymond Postgate believed that the decline in English cuisine went back to the Industrial Revolution, when he claimed that the young migrant women from the rural areas who moved into the cities had lost contact with their grandmothers thus distancing them from their traditional recipes and ingredients. 

The concession is that low welfare products will pay a higher tariff (the tax charged on imports) than high welfare products.

But we know agribusiness has been lobbying hard on this, and 47 members of the US Congress have written to the US negotiator, calling on him to get rid of the UK’s ban on chlorinated chicken ‘once and for all’.  Former trade minister, Liam Fox, said last month that “the US would walk” if it had to comply with the UK’s animal welfare standards.[5]

And so now John Wilkins says 'we have the climb down and the ban will be dropped and low animal welfare, chlorinated chicken will be UP on our supermarket shelves.  The concession is that low welfare products will pay a higher tariff (the tax charged on imports) than high welfare products.  But even if the US agrees to this, there is no guarantee that the tariffs rate won’t be cut later on.

'Worryingly, the present government is trying to represent this as a win for the environment minister, because even though the promise that a ban would be maintained has been broken, it turns out that what the trade minister, Liz Truss, actually wanted to do was not only overturn the ban but also reduce all tariffs on chicken to zero!' 


It is hard to believe that the quality of English cuisine will improve as a result of these recent developments in UK-US trade relations and animal welfare.

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*   Veblen goods are named after American economist Thorstein Veblen, who first identified conspicuous consumption as a mode of status-seeking in The Theory of the Leisure Class (1899).^[1] A corollary of the Veblen effect is that lowering the price decreases the quantity demanded.^[2]

A Veblen good is a type of luxury good for which demand increases as the price increases, in apparent contradiction of the law of demand, resulting in an upward-sloping demand curve. A higher price may make a product desirable as a status symbol in the practices of conspicuous consumption and conspicuous leisure. A product may be a Veblen good because it is a positional good, something few others can own.

Veblen goods are named after American economist Thorstein Veblen, who first identified conspicuous consumption as a mode of status-seeking in The Theory of the Leisure Class (1899).^[1] A corollary of the Veblen effect is that lowering the price decreases the quantity demanded.

Veblen goods are named after American economist Thorstein Veblen, who first identified conspicuous consumption as a mode of status-seeking in The Theory of the Leisure Class (1899).^[1] A corollary of the Veblen effect is that lowering the price decreases the quantity demanded.^[2]

Do Black Lives Matter?

  by John Wilkins

DISCRIMINATION of people from whatever social/ethnic group must be discouraged. Debate on Brexit unduly focussed on immigration, which sadly encouraged some with little knowledge of the benefits over centuries of immigration, to justify their xenophobia against East Europeans, people from BAME heritage and others.  Now we are faced with the apparent disproportionate infection and deaths in the BAME community and the renewed focus on discrimination by police forces in the US, and to a degree this country, against people of colour.   If we agree that discrimination is wrong, then it becomes far worse when it is institutionalised.

However, I want to focus on why people from African and Caribbean heritage need all our support.  My views on how we got to impasse were reinforced when I listened to a black health care assistant on ITV news.  She was sacked for complaining about poor quality of PPE and leaving work to get her own.   On her return to her shift she was fired.  Interviewer Emily Morgan asked her what her mother, a nurse, would have done in the same situation. The lady said her mother would have been more compliant and accepted the situation without complaining.

This anecdote sums up the problem faced by the black people here and particularly in the US. Centuries of abuse have taught many to be compliant in order to firstly survive and then get educated, certainly if they wish to progress in society.  Why else would a some black people, including a lawyer on Channel 4 News, be so vociferous in defending Trump's handling of the protests over the killing of George Floyd?

As the song goes:  'The times they are a changing'. Large - scale protests in the US and across the world have been swelled by people of diverse ethnicity with one placard I like saying 'White silence = violence'. EU's Fundamental Rights Group stated that EU countries 'must try to eradicate discrimination, harassment and violence against black people'.  They also admitted that 'racial harassment, violence and discriminatory ethnic profiling are commonplace in Europe'.

Violence rarely succeeds in reversing discrimination, it often leads to greater violence.  What can be the way forward?  Black representation needs to increase in police and politics in particular, with more at the top of those fields and in the boardroom.  I will make my observations first before quoting from two leading black voices.

Now married to a Nigerian I have spent a lot of time contacting my previous MP about the worsening situation there with regard to sectarian violence in Nigeria.  Try as I could I found little real desire to speak out by African friends and found some dismissive of it as a problem.  I found a lot of Africans are happy to talk politics but do not wish to get actively involved.  Which is why I was saddened that one Nigerian, Deyika Nzeribe, was so involved he put up to challenge Andy Burnham for the Mayor of Greater Manchester, but tragically passed away shortly before the elections were held.

So I would like to echo the plea that Lord Simon Woolley made at a Black History Month event at Manchester Cathedral last year. #  He brought a few young people forward at the end of his presentation and urged them to work with their community and if possible get involved in politics.

Next a few comments which I found from Charles Critchlow, formerly National Chair of BAPA (Black and Asian Police Association).  Speaking from 30 years experience in the police he says “Black Representation matters greatly, but Black police leaders are of little use in the struggle for racial justice as long as they are selected, nurtured and developed exclusively within a system that maintains white supremacy”.  He adds: “Racism is so hardwired within the British system and psyche that it’s often impossible to penetrate”.  Therefore “this is why we need to develop our leadership as much as possible, independent of this poisonous system”.

Other groups have suffered from discrimination but have have found the ability to organise and get more involved in the political landscape and have been more vocal.  Although it is understandable that people from different backgrounds band together, this can lead, and has led, to those with the weakest voice losing out. In many cultures a black person is placed at the bottom of the pile.  Accounts of Nigerians' treatment in China and Chinese exploitation of Africa shows contempt for black people.  With regard to the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, a ritual to promote the bonds of brotherhood and sisterhood by showing everyone equal in the eyes of Allah, there seems a hierarchy.   I am told by black Muslims it is Arabs first, SE Asian second and black Muslims bottom.  In S. Africa, even after apartheid it is whites followed by Asians, with most blacks at the bottom.  Even in the English language black has a surfeit of bad connotations, eg. black looks, blacklisted, black sheep of the family, black market, blackmail etc.

I will finish on a positive note. I see many young black voices coming out to seek an end to racism improve well-being and standing of the black community.  A local group here in Greater Manchester, CAHN (Caribbean and African Health Network), has raised awareness of medical problems more prevalent in their communities, such as diabetes, lupus, sickle cell etc.  They have also raised the profile of the black community through helping in events like Black History Month, remembering the Windrush generation as well as their health seminars.

I hope that the black voices will be more strident to chip away at decades of indifference to their plight.  Three things need to happen: stronger family units, better education and more political involvement.   Education is now more valued but there is, as Charles Critchlow says, a need for black leaders to come forward who can 'maintain a firm connectedness with the hopes and aspirations of our people and be in the vanguard of true black empowerment, this is the challenge for us in the 21 st. century'.   I hope we can use the evil of police brutality in the killing of George Floyd can be a catalyst for real change in reducing racism in ALL its forms.

# Lord Simon Woolley is a political and equalities activist.  He is the founder and CEO of Operation Black Vote and the Chair of the Prime Minister’s Race Disparity Unit.

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Risks of Shopping & Government Guidelines

 by John Wilkins

I MUST admit I was a little slow to understand the risks of continuing to shop myself initially because my wife is 77 with underlying health conditions so although I might be fit enough to overcome the infection she would be far, far more susceptible. So either drop shopping at the door for mum or if that is difficult for her, obviously keep the 2 metre gap and wear gloves when handling objects.

 I agree that the message is loud and clear now but appeared contradictory a few weeks ago and that gave some people justification for over shopping, but we have seen sections of the public react like that before. We as a nation are far more self centred as can be seen by people's driving habits, queue jumping (unheard of as queuing was a national pastime once) and living beyond our means. Perhaps our generation benefited from the rationing after WW2 and understand the need to work through difficult times collaboratively. Supermarkets could have done more to restrict people stockpiling at unprecedented levels and the Government were slow to response also. One hopes as they are one of the few beneficiaries from this crisis they will cut back on misleading prices on offers thus ripping customers off who in their haste do not check their bills. 

 On the issue of the Government's response it is probably not the right time to scrutinise it at the moment but it does confirm our fears that our health service, social care, education, police and indeed almost all public services have been so underfunded for a long time and sometimes farmed out to some, not all, incompetent private providers.

 Some statistical evidence published in The Guardian and Daily Mirror on provision of hospital beds, doctors and critical care beds per 100,000 shows the following: Critical care beds 23/29, hospital beds 29/29, doctors 25/26 (only Ireland worse). This shows how unprepared we were prior to the pandemic but also how unbelievably hard our health and care workers have responded with a comparative lack of PPE and testing kits etc. Questions need to be asked of successive governments about not just the amount of spending on public services but HOW it has been spent. I only need to mention the Tory policy of PFI which Blair's Government engaged with so emphatically.

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Aspects of local begging & the homeless

   E-mail to Councillor X & a reply!

NV Editor:  

THE e-mail below from John Wilkins of BOLD (Build. Our Local Democracy Group) is addressed to a Rochdale Labour councillor.  This correspondence has been inspired by the recent posts on this NV Blog about Rochdale Cllr. Blundell views on homeless beggars.  The e-mail exchange below is self explanatory and addresses the concerns with regard to homelessness and the impact of local begging.  The name of Councillor X has been redacted by John Wilkins.  

We can ony speculate on why Mr. Wilkins thought it necessary to redact the Labour councillors name.  But we have decided to respect his decision and to publish the email exchange anyway.  One thought that occurs to us about the need to redact of Councillor X's name, is that Mr. Wilkins wishes to protect the Labour councillor from any possible backlash.  If this is the case then it seems to suggest that politics in Rochdale is somewhat unhealthy.

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 Dear iiiiiiii

 Thank you for those reassurances. I hesitate to bring up a related issue because you have responded more times to my communications over a short period of time you have been in Council compared with all my local councillors collectively over the last 5 years. 

  In a rare visit to Rochdale I visited St. Mary in the Baum Church ostensibly to see the work of 'Caring and Sharing' only to find I was on the wrong day but I was able to see the good work being done by the Red Cross in Rochdale.  From there I walked up Yorkshire Street to do business in a couple of banks.  I passed a man sat outside the Halifax who although he do not ask for money, had a cup in front of him for money. Further up I passed a man offering to shine shoes for payment and someone else getting prepared to busk for money.  On my return from the top of Yorkshire Street I passed the the last two people I mentioned but hoping to give the first man some loose change I could not see him where he had been originally.  Whilst contemplating whether to visit the market I looked up Yorkshire Street to see the man I was looking for trudging down the road with his possessions.  I told him I had hoped to see him as I wanted to give him a couple of coins, which he fumbled, dropping one, before managing to find a pocket to put them in.  His dishevelled appearance made him look older than my 74 years but he could have been about 50.  His appearance was made worse by a raw wound to his forehead.  When asked how he got it he said he had been resting on a bench when a man came up to him and hit him without any provocation.  He said he had been moved on from where I had seen him previously by Enforcement Officers but philosophically he said I had not received much money because he felt Rochdale people were hard up themselves!!  He was on a waiting list for a shelter but in the meantime I told him about the Red Cross where he could get a hot drink and on that day a free haircut.

  OK. common story but having watched the last of a series on rough sleepless and homeless, this one in Glasgow,  I was like the undercover journalist, impressed by how pro-active the city was in dealing with the problem.  This in one of the poorest cities in Europe.  They were fast-tracking people into accommodation and although there were many people having to use shelters the number living rough was down to around 30.  The Enforcement Officers have a job to do but we need to be more humane in how we deal with this issue which, though I may be wrong, as big an issue here as in some other towns and cities.

  My question is are these rough sleepers being identified, supported and found a shelter quickly enough?  There will always be a minority who refuse help but many like the man I met are genuinely destitute and wanting help.

John Wilkins 

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Reply from Rochdale councillor X:

Good afternoon John,

As a society we should not turn a blind eye to what we are seeing on the streets in our towns and cities and clearly John, you are one of the many compassionate people who do not 'walk on the other side of the road’.

Since my election in May, the issue of Enforcement Officers moving people on in Rochdale, who they perceive to be begging, has been highlighted by elected members on at least two occasions, who took the same view as you, that these vulnerable people need help and support, in order to persuade them that there are alternatives available. I do know that the Enforcement Officers have been made aware about our concerns.

From September I’ve been working Monday mornings at the Lighthouse Project foodbank, doing the ‘meet and greet’.  I’ve met several rough sleepers, who have been helped with permanent housing or temporary accommodation in hostels.  The majority, as you would imagine, do accept the help, but I know of at least one, who is unwilling to engage.

I can reassure you that officers and elected members, take the issue of rough sleepers, very seriously and they are being pro-active in their efforts to help and support, those who are clearly in need.

A motion was passed in the Council recently, that called upon the Chief Executive to write to the Government, asking for powers to be extended to Andy Burnham, to enable him to raise a local tax from people who stay in hotels, which would then be used to fund more projects to help with rough sleeping.  Although it’s very unlikely the Government will agree to this,  I think it does send out a message that concerns are growing about the ongoing problem, which is being made even more acute by the government’s austerity programme.

Kind regards,

…................................    

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Patriotism versus Nationalism.

by John Wilkins

I THOUGHT there needed to be a discussion about how people interpreted nationalism as opposed to patriotism after campaigning in the referendum last year.  A member of the public did not agree with my views he called me a traitor.  This annoyed me as I could not see why I could not be both patriotic and still stay in Europe.  I told him that my father, who was shot down over France a month before I was born, could definitely be called a patriot.
The recent outburst on twitter by President Trump over the 'kneeling protests' by NFL players, seemed to echo the views and anger shown by the right wing extremist I had met.
I was impressed by the calm and eloquent way Osi Umenyiora, ex NFL star and tv pundit spoke on the subject prior to tv coverage of a game.  Osi is a Nigerian American who said he valued the opportunities given him in the USA and claimed he would be prepared to give his life for his adopted country.  Commenting on Trump's tweet when he referred to the protesters as 'sons of bitches', Osi said he did not remember Trump using such language about white supremacists, one of whom killed a woman and injured others by driving his car into the counter protesters at a fascist rally in Charlottesville.
NFL players knelt for the national anthem in a respectful manner to highlight the numbers of black lives that had been lost to police violence.
The sport's national association issued a statement saying 'Sports are a unifying influence in our society, bringing people of differing backgrounds and beliefs together.' and 'Our respect for the national anthem has always been a hallmark of our pre-match events.'
Osi claimed that Trump had behaved contrary to the values of the founding fathers of the country with regard to the First Amendment of the Constitution.  This states there should be no 'abridging the freedom of speech,.....or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.'  He therefore argues it is the President who is unpatriotic in not upholding citizen’s rights under the Constitution.
To help me distinguish between concepts of nationalism and patriotism I turned to dictionary definitions.
Nationalism. 'Extreme pride in the history, culture and successes of one's nation'. Chambers.
'Identification with one's own nation and support for its interests, especially to the exclusion or detriment of the interests of other nations'.  (Oxford.)
'Advocacy of, or support for the political independence of a particular nation or people'. Oxford.
Patriotism. 'Loyalty to one's nation'.  (Chambers.)
'The feeling of loving your country more than any others and being proud of it'.
(Cambridge.)
Groups like The English Defence League take the first two definitions of nationalism to an extreme. President Trump does also in pushing through protectionist legislation on the economy and in his attitude to refugees.
Much of the world seems currently to reject the third definition when we see current struggles for independence of Catalonians, Biafrans, Kurds and Palestinians.
Patriotism comes into play when a country experiences war, takes part in sporting events, or celebrating achievements.  It needs to be shown now in the UK as we move out of Europe, whether we voted to leave or not, it is important that we show loyalty to our nation.
Patriotism can soon turn into a tribal form of nationalism in sport though.  It is possible to be loyal and patriotic to country or club without insulting, or showing aggression towards the opposition.
It is worth pointing out that November 2nd. is the 100th. Anniversary of the Balfour Declaration which led later to the creation of Israel.  The UK soon lost sight of their promise in 'the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavours to facilitate the achievement of this object, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine'.  Here I struggle to define myself as a patriot except that it should, like a true friend, be possible to point out mistakes our country has made.
I will finish by looking at our National Anthem, some verses contain some of the worst examples of nationalism.  We usually only sing the first verse but I remember Billy Connolly pointing out the sixth verse which is an example the first of the Oxford Dictionary definitions of nationalism.
Lord grant that Marshall Wade
May by thy mighty aid
Victory bring
May he sedition hush
And like a torrent rush
Rebellious Scots to crush.
If we have to have this outdated anthem I prefer Verse 4 and would be happier if that was retained and Verse 6 taken out.
Verse 4.
Lord make the nations see
That men should brothers be
And form one family
The wide world over.
It is our duty as citizens to be patriotic to our country but curb the excesses of nationalism. The world is shrinking as travel becomes easier and as 'no man can be an island unto himself', no nation can survive without creating relations with other

Appeal for Rohingya in Myanmar

Dear Foreign Minister Boris Johnson and Ambassador Sir Tim Barrow,


I am appalled at the apparent lack of political pressure, to date, from the
UN over the treatment of the Rohingya minority in Myanmar over a long period
of time. This has obviously been seen as a 'green light' to the military
leaders in that country to commit even greater atrocities.
It is not a sign of weakness to admit our training and arming of Myanmar
forces was wrong, as indeed is our selling of arms to Saudi Arabia to be used against civilians in Yemen.  I quote, hopefully correctly, David Davis MP, 'A democracy that cannot change its mind ceases to be a democracy'.
Please send a clear message to the UN that the situation in Myanmar is
ethnic cleansing and the UN has an obligation to take strong action on this
matter. It is pleasing that the UK has shown the way by suspending training
of the military in Myanmar, but more needs to be done.


--
John Wilkins (BOLD: Building Our Local Democracy)
[United Kingdom]