Soon I shall write up a manifesto of the goals I intend to achieve within the next year or so.

This will include things like making my home town, Fleet a Fair trade town, making UCL a fair trade university (although that may require more work ;)). Also I shall endeavour not merely to simply update you on what you could find on the sites I have links to, but also to seek out my own news, send letters to various corporations and generally become more involved.

Some more quotes for you:

"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."
Martin Luther King

And something not directly related but I thought it was so awesome.

"If a man is called to be a streetsweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the host of heaven and earth will pause to say, here lived a great streetsweeper who did his job well."
Martin Luther King

Anti-terror bill

A little background for you.

A law has been passed, following terrorist actions which allowed the Government to hold foreign terror suspects indefinately without trial. 10 people are currently held under this law. But these 'emergency powers' run out on monday.

Tony Blair and Home Secretary Charles Clarke now want to pass the 'Anti-terror bill' which will continue these powers without any further concessions.

Now, as is always the case in politics at the moment, Michael Howard tries to say something meaningful to appeal to the masses but not actually disagree, saying Tony Blair is trying to make it seem he is the only one 'tough on terror' and Charles Kennedy accuses Tony Blair of putting his political pride over civil liberties (Who would you vote for?).

Anyway, regardless of me starting my campaign for the Liberal Democrats (support, I'm not running, though maybe I should...:) ) this debate I think will raise many issues to come.

For example, this bill has been (if not opposed, then concessions made of it) by the Law Lords, the House of Commons and now suffers further defeats in the House of Lords. But this thing keeps on going. I wonder where the point is when they would say to one another:
"You know, if this many people, over this amount of time think this is a bad idea, maybe we should take t back to scratch and try again with these ideas."

But of course, bureaucracy and democracy being what they are, it takes a long time to agree on anything so people are unwilling to go back to the drawing board.

I am of course thankful that (unlike the Patriot Act in the US) this thing isn't passed late a night with nobody reading it.

"So what is your point Ram?" I hear you ask. Well, it was partly to bring your attention to a bill which allows the Government to detain you without telling you why for an indefinate period of time because they have 'reasonable suspicion' you may be involved in terrorism.

It was also to draw your attention to the REAL opposition in the House of Commons, the Liberal democrats. With Labour becoming more right wing every moment, the Tories cannot mount opposition so they try to be MORE right wing and appeal to the everyman. The Liberal Democrats are the ones fighting for civil liberties, democracy, etc.

VOTE LIBERAL DEMOCRAT!

(Thanks to BBC news for reporting the news properly, in non-rant form)

Cigarette or see your Grandchildren grow up?

So you puff that last cigarette down right to the stub and then chuck it in the bin. The last one you'll ever smoke. You are now a 'non-smoker.'

But what happens next?
After:
20 minutes-Your blood pressure lowers and returns to normal. Your pulse rate slows back to normal.

2 hours- You begin to crave nicotine

8 hours- The levels of nicotine and CO in your bloodstream are halved. Oxygen levels increase and return to normal.

24 hours- Your lungs start to work more efficiently and clear mucus and other gunk out of your system.

48 hours- The nicotine is gone. Your sense of taste and sense sharpen.

One week-Nicotine withdrawl symptoms should be gone.

2-12 weeks-Your circulation improves and your overall energy increases.
Within three months-The cilia in your lungs which were paralysed by tar (yuck) begin to clean your lungs so you can cough it up (Coughing at this stage is therefore a good thing)

3-9 Months-Your lung function has increased by 10%. You have less breathing problems, less coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath and sinus congestion.

5 years-Your risk of having a heart attack or cancer of the mouth or throat is halved.

10 years- Your risk of getting lung cancer is half that of a smoker.

-------------------------------------------------------------------
You take a puff and blow it right in my face.

You cause me:
Eye irritation
Headache
Sneezing, coughing, sore throat
Nausea and dizziness
Increased heart rate and blood pressure

And in the longer term:
A reduced ability to take in oxygen
Higher probability of Lung cancer, heart disease or a stroke
Longer term breathing problems.

Now, I know I've felt all the short term things. What will you do if one of the long term things happen to me?

DON'T GIVE UP GIVING UP
Make a clean start of day one.
Destroy those cigarettes, throw out your ashtrays, clean the car and buy yourself a present. You are now a 'non-smoker'. :)

I recommend 'www.whyquit.com' for more helpful hints.

BE PROUD-ACT LIKE TO HAVE EVEN ONE MORE CIGARETTE WOULD GET YOU HOOKED

(And I don't even smoke).