T P P

The news on TV and in the dailies have been awash with stories about TPP. What exactly is this TPP?

According to Wikipedia, "The Trans-Pacific Partnership is a proposed expansion of the 2005 Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership Agreement (TPSEP or P4), a trade agreement among Brunei, Chile, New Zealand, and Singapore. It seeks to manage trade, promote growth, and regionally integrate the economies of the Asia-Pacific region." The TPP intends to enhance trade and investment among the TPP partner countries, promote innovation, economic growth and development, and support the creation and retention of jobs.

The TPP according to PUBLICCITIZEN [www.citizen.org/TPP] "is a massive, controversial "free trade" agreement currently being pushed by big corporations and negotiated behind closed doors by officials from the United States and 11 other countries – Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam. 

Again, from Wikipedia, we are given to understand that "Global health professionals, internet freedom activists, environmentalists, organized labor, advocacy groups, and elected officials have criticized and protested the negotiations, in large part because of the proceedings' secrecy, the agreement's expansive scope, and controversial clauses in drafts leaked publicly" 

What exactly is wrong with the TPP agreement? Well PUBLICCITIZEN says that "Although it is called a "free trade" agreement, the TPP is not mainly about trade. Of TPP's 29 draft chapters, only five deal with traditional trade issues. 

One chapter would provide incentives to offshore jobs to low-wage countries. Many would impose limits on government policies that we rely on in our daily lives for safe food, a clean environment, and more. Our domestic federal, state and local policies would be required to comply with TPP rules." Also, "

The TPP would even elevate individual foreign firms to equal status with sovereign nations, empowering them to privately enforce new rights and privileges, provided by the pact, by dragging governments to foreign tribunals to demand taxpayer compensation over policies that they claim undermine their expected future profits."

A number of the participating nations joined the TPP willing whilst some were strong armed into it. Japan however, has proven once again that its government can and would listen to the voice of its people. After all, if the people do not want their country participating or becoming a member of TPP why force it upon them?

The people know better what is good for them and their government knows better what is good for its citizens than any foreign government would ever know. 

The general consensus amongst the people is that Japan needs not and should not join the TPP. As a matter of fact, the Japanese government is very careful about this TPP issue as it is one that is indeed TRYING PEOPLES' PATIENCE (TPP) and the government does not want to keep TESTING PEOPLES' PATIENCE (TPP) especially after the tax hike from 5% to 8%.

I think that the government is right to listen to the voice of its electorate and not allow itself to be strong armed into a program that its citizenry is 10001% AGAINST.

Everywhere I visit these days, I am not surprised to be greeted by the "STOP TPP" posters.

I guess, well, if you can't beat them, join them. So,

  

                                                         STOP    TPP

Just because I am BLACK !

Some of the definitions of "Black" as defined by the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary are;

1. having the darkest color there is, like night without light.

2. bad, without hope

These are just a few of the meanings of the word black. Not that all the meanings of the word black are bad or negative but the world seems to prefer to see everything black as bad.

 Take for instance a caucasian would NEVER be judged or held to the same standards as a Black fellow.

It is the intention of a great number of individuals to keep the black race in subjugation to other races.

According to history slavery was initially color blind but after a few years, it became a position carved out in society with the intention that it be filled by the black race.

The black race has therefore been kept down in more ways than one

1. Economically

2. Psychologically

3. Spiritually

4. Historically

5. Socially

The economics of the world had been so designed to make sure that the black man cannot rise out of the bondages of poverty. So that black people are prone to celebrate one of their own, if that one is seen to have broken through the barriers that have been put in place to put them down. It is made to look like the BLACK race does nothing but BEG for handouts. The Black race are seen as a group of individuals who contribute nothing to society.

This lack of contribution to society by the black race is the main focus of this piece which I predict would be a few weeks long considering the various aspects that have to be dealt with.

The history of black people has been systematically destroyed and a new one put in its place that denigrates the achievements of the black race.

Lets talk about education for instance, the black race are seen as uneducated, illiterates, in fact as SAVAGES.

Firstly,most people do not know that the first UNIVERSITY in the WORLD was in AFRICA and the it is that educational system that has been mimic even till this very day. And the very people whose educational system is mimicked are looked down upon as savages.

Secondly, lets take the history of paper into consideration,paper has a long history, stretching back to ancient Egypt in the third millennium BC but paper in its present form has its history set in China in the first millennium BC. It is not hard to see that the very first place the earliest form of  paper was ancient Egypt which of course is in Africa.

Third, the Negroes of America whom have been stereotyped as a general representation of ALL things BLACK race are considered lazy, apathetic, always looking for a handout. People forget that it is the sweat and blood of these black folks that thrust America into greatness. A nation where the main business of the day was SLAVERY.

Slaves were more expensive than cotton and all the other products that America had for export in those days and slavery was a very lucrative business.

These slaves were forced to work from very tender ages on the cotton fields of America and were denied the basic rights and access to simple education but still from amongst them arose great inventors.

These black inventors contributed and still are contributing immensely to making the world a better place.

When you drive everyday, you must encounter the "STOP" sign, see the brake lights or tail lights

A few of the African-American or "BLACK" inventors include;

Elijah McCoy (1843–1929)  who invented an oil-dripping cup for trains. His invention was so good that  other inventors tried to copy McCoy's oil-dripping cup. But none of the other cups worked as well as his, so customers started asking for "the real McCoy." That's where the expression "Is that the real McCoy?" comes from.

Lewis Latimer (1848–1928)worked in the laboratories of both Thomas Edison and Alexander Graham Bell. He invented an important part of the light bulb — the carbon filament.

Jan Ernst Matzeliger (1852–1889) invented a shoe making machine that increased shoe making speed by 900%!

Granville T. Woods (1856–1910) invented a train-to-station communication system.

George Washington Carver (1860–1943) Carver was born a slave. He didn't go to college until he was 30. He developed peanut butter and 400 plant products!

Garrett Morgan (1877–1963) invented the gas mask. Morgan also invented the first traffic signal.

Otis Boykin (1920–1982) invented the electronic control devices for guided missiles, IBM computers, and the pacemaker. Boykin invented 28 different electronic devices.

Henry Blair (1807 - 1860), the only inventor to be identified in the Patent Office records as "a colored man." Blair was born in Montgomery County, Maryland around 1807. He received a patent on October 14, 1834 for a seed planter and a patent in 1836 for a cotton planter. He was the second black inventor to receive a patent. The first was  person to do so was Thomas Jennings in 1821 for a dry cleaning process.

Because he could not write, he signed his patents with an "x".

There are many more and would be a great many more "BLACK" inventors and geniuses so please stop equating black with wanting "a handout" or stupidity, ignorance and laziness. Let's get along, give the blacks some respect. They also bring and have a lot more to bring to the TABLE.

MEDICAL PRACTITIONERS AT LUNCH, THE WARD COAT CULTURE !

Have you ever visited a clinic or hospital and stayed till about lunch time?

You felt so hungry you did not want to go outside the hospital to get lunch so you opted for the hospital's restaurant or cafeteria?

How did you feel when all the medical geniuses came to get lunch or coffee?

Standing up and looking around you, you see the cafeteria has transformed into an ocean of white.

How did you feel? Elated, happy, uncomfortable, out of place or just plain disgust at the fact that these geniuses did not bother to take off their ward coats after seeing various patients in different conditions of health?

Nope, they just came in with these coats to coffee of some meal and inadvertently create more patients.

I have looked around, and noticed that this is a flourishing culture.It matters little how well read and educated  these medical professionals are.

 When it is lunch time you would find that they all belong to the same tribe. Yes, the tribe that puts on it's ward coat at lunch, making them rather indistinguishable from the chef in the kitchen except for the fact that the chef's buttons are placed in a distinguishing patter.

 I wonder how these doctors would feel if a mechanic worked in or better still if mechanics in their oil soiled overalls swarmed into a restaurant where these doctors were feasting. The doctors of course would feel disgust that these mechanics dared not take off their soiled overalls.

But the question here is "how are these doctors different from the mechanics?"  What or how should a regular individual feel about the visible oil stains and dirt on the mechanics' overall compared to the invisible bacteria and virus on the seemingly clean white coats of the medical practitioners at lunch.

We would look down on the mechanics for their seemingly dirty outfit but respectfully at the doctors because of the seemingly "clean" white ward coats. As a matter of fact some of these seemingly clean ward coats had probably been in contact with patients, or if they are on students, just come out of the dissection room where these medical students had been dissecting (cutting up) a cadaver.

Which of these two have the potential to make you sick? I reckon you picked the ward coats. To who should we appeal, the restaurants or the doctors to ensure that they take off their ward coats when they are at lunch.

Maybe the restaurants need to provide hangers and lockers so that doctors can hang their ward coats securely before getting into the restaurant proper for their meals.

Whilst I am not saying that doctors are deliberately untidy as regards putting on their ward coats at lunch, I think that they need to be reminded to take them off and that a secure place be provided for them to hang their precious ward coats. I know diseases don't jump off clothes but it is bad manners to sit down to lunch still putting on your ward coat(s) as I am sure no doctor would go to lunch or have lunch still putting on gloves.

What's your take?

HISTORY IS A SET OF LIES AGREED UPON.

I love books. I love reading books. As much as possible I do not let the title of the book or the cover page artwork determine whether or not I would read the book.

One topic that fascinates me is history. I always wonder how people who most of the time where not present during an event can give accurate descriptions of the various occurrences during the event.

As we all know, there are always two sides to any story just as there are two sides to a coin. This however, is not the case with history. When it comes to history there are many sides to that coin. The reason being that there are usually a good number of people involved who, most of the time do not see, hear or perceive the same thing(s).

Where one sees black, another might see grey, another would probably sees ash and someone else would have seen a very dark color but didn't really think it was black and then there would be the group that did not see but heard, followed by those who heard from "an authoritative source" and then, there would be those who think that they heard but are not sure and then, those who heard from someone who heard from someone who heard from someone who saw or thought he/she saw but isn't exactly sure !

Over time and with the examples above stated, it is clear that history is bound to be distorted or contorted in one way or the other. So, what happens is that a standard of agreement has to be reached beyond which distortion of the facts may not be condoned or lets say appreciated.

This is the problem that China, Japan and South Korea have faced and are still facing. They have not been able to come to a point or to reach a standard of agreement for what and what did or did not happen during the war years. Whilst it may appear that one group or party seeks to over estimate and exaggerate the issues that happened, there is also this  impression that the other party seeks to underestimate and also downplay the facts of the events of the war years.

This bickering back and forth and all around on issues that occurred before most of my readers (myself inclusive) were born makes this rather painful. It  feels like when we think the wound has healed, the actions and stories in the media cause the wounds to burst open afresh though small, the tear may be it still is indicative of a wound that might be impossible to heal given the pervasive circumstances. Although, we believe that time does heal all wounds, this one seems to be defying time's healing hands.

I think China, Korea and Japan need to come together and agree about some, if not all the facts of the war years, accept those facts as the facts. Apologize to one another and then forgive one another. We do after all practice the same religions like; Buddhism, Christianity, e.t.c where forgiveness is taught or preached !

This generation is one that does not need wars or strife. Japanese, Koreans and Chinese have inter-married to a reasonable degree and it would not be healthy for us to start shooting at one another because of things that happened [out of ignorance] almost a century ago or because of the resources that we met on earth and would leave on it [no one is going to take crude oil or diamonds or gold or money to the afterlife].

It's time to AGREE to what our history was [or is] and should say in the books.

Like Napoleon Bonaparte said; "HISTORY IS A SET OF LIES AGREED UPON.

Let's choose the least damaging lies so that we can move forward easily, happily and in peace.