Seems strange to me that we're (as it us whichever way you choose to spin it) going to kill him. I know there's the argument about justice (or closure if you prefer) for victims, but I'm not convinced in his case. Sure he was a bad man but allowing him to face a life in prison seems more of a punishment to someone who's probably not worried about being killed for most of his life.

Anyway with our transatlantic cousins running the show - what else would you expect. Well let me correct that - what else would you expect currently. Yes the argument against the death penalty is slowly gaining traction in the US too - thank goodness.

Happy new year all

# posted by preet sangha @ 2:16 PM 0 comments

Come on guys why the f@ck are we so messy? Don't you care about the environment around you? No I don't mean 'The Enviroment' - the global ecosphere and all the issues aroung CO2 and what not. No, I mean your environment - that small space on the planet that provides parking for your arse?

Don't you want so see nice clean surroundings? Wouldn't you feel more like being in a place where you could see the ever decreasing places of nature around? I don't want to lecture but it really doesn't take much effort.

Don't just put your rubbish in the bin, also pick up one small piece of somebody elses litter and put it in the bin each day. "WHAT!!" - I here you say? "Pick up someone ELSES rubbish?"  Well yes - thats what I say.

You might think its just kids and the lower classes who drop litter  - think again. Based on the Broken Windows Theory - if you create small amount of disorder then things deteriate rapidly. If you create a small amount of order then people will gravitate around it and make an effort to preserve. I think it has a resonance with one of the most fundemental laws of physics The 3rd law of thermodynamics. Put simply this means that the tendency to the state of chaos is the natural state of being, unless effort is put in to maintain current state.

If you (and I) pick up just one piece of litter, say once a day or so. Then you applying the effort to stop chaos from encroaching. As the environment becomes cleaner - more people put in an effort to preserve it. Just look at the local paper when developers what to buldoze a park or green land.

Here's an example I saw today. A workman was relaying a pavement tile. He brushed the sand in all around, then took out a dustpan and brush and swept the excess sand up.

Every little bit helps - it really does.

If you pick up just one piece of rubbish your making a massive cha

# posted by preet sangha @ 8:56 PM 0 comments

I see lots of reports in the newspapers and on late night tv regarding how much of current television output is crap.  

My retort is why the f@ck not! Good TV is not a god given right. It not enshrined anywhere that I can think of - not even in my copy of the British Constitution. TV is not there to inform - it's there to entertain and if you're like any other reasonable human being I know that's a very subjective thing. What floats my boat may not be anyone else's cup of tea (to mix a metaphor or is that simile, or two). TV is a broadcast medium and it has to cater for us all.

The biggest cause of ire seems to be reality TV. You know, putting people who are genuinely stupid of in some cases stupid and famous into slightly odd circumstances. Circumstances that will lead to them providing wincingly good emotional overindulgence for the ever present cameras. We brits are better at enjoying schadenfreude than most other people I've met - though I must admit that our cousins across the pond seem be excellent at providing the emotion.  

Everyone like's a good gossip - regardless of any pretensions you may otherwise have. We all like a laugh - and the programme makers know this. Just because it is not a bunch of professionals with lines written for them (preferably by some dead guy)- some commentators will pour derision on to reality programmes.  They say that we should have high brow TV - stuff to enlighten us, educate us, but most of all entertain them. That's right they want broadcasters to pander to them and not others. What they don't appear to understand is that TV is same as it always was. Society is more tolerant of differing lifestyles now and this reflected in our TV.

I' always eager to learn new things - especially how people deal with problems around them.  How society reacts to the weak and different is a measure of how good that society is. What I mean is that reality TV is an empowering move away from the elite (watch what we think is good for you) to the the masses (that's me on the telly...).

Well I'm drawing a line in the sand and saying "Hurray for crap TV" - it's what we the voting-with-our-money public want and long may it live.  You may not think its good but it is - and if you cannot see this then watch it with an optimistic mind.

You may think that I don't see beyond the editorial trough that the programme makers present us with, but that's always been there - we always see things in bad light - after all that's what's interesting.

# posted by preet sangha @ 3:09 PM 0 comments

The world's in shit creek and space for optimism seems to be limited - time for a resurrection. I've decided that no matter how bad things many get in life - I'm going to fix the worlds problems right here.

Therefore if you are a world leader or even a wannabie - check back here regularly and find all the solutions to your problems.

I plan to sove the worlds problems in an order not based on priority - that would be too boring and not nearly abstract enough.

# posted by preet sangha @ 2:08 PM 0 comments