North of the Stupid Line

“Overpowering benevolence has already inflicted too much harm.” (( Lawson, A and Gooding, C, eds., “Disability Rights in Europe: from theory to practice”, Hart Publishing, 2005, at 18 ))

Ain’t that the truth?

There has been considerable debate in recent years about the conflicts instigated by the USA and the UK in Afghanistan and Iraq. The aim of this post is to ascertain just exactly what it’s all about.

Afghanistan

Strictly speaking, the war in Afghanistan began with the September 11, 2001 attacks. Attributed to Al-Qaeda, an international alliance of militant terrorist organisations established in 1988 by Osama bin Laden, the attacks prompted the US to declare war on Afghanistan on 7 October 2001. This was the beginning of the war on terrorism.

A curious thing apparently occurred following the attacks. Members of bin Laden’s family, who were in the US at the time of the attacks, were granted extraordinary White House privileges to fly out of U.S. airspace. According to Vanity Fair, at least four flights with about 140 Saudis, including roughly two-dozen members of the bin Laden family, flew to Saudi Arabia that week without even being interviewed or interrogated by the FBI (( Propaganda Matrix, “Bin Laden family allowed 9/11 leave” )). It is almost certain that at the time, bin Laden was a main suspect for the September 11 attacks, so why arrange for his family to be flown out?

An aerial bombing campaign was initiated against Afghanistan by the US and the UK, with the ultimate aim of capturing bin Laden, destroying Al-Qaeda, and removing the Taliban regime which had provided support and safe harbour to Al-Qaeda. The Taliban regime was overthrown, but the invasion has largely failed, with the future of Afghanistan now hanging in the balance. It has a weak government, Taliban forces are re-emerging and the poppy fields are ripe with opium.

So then, what was the point of invading Afghanistan? Osama bin Laden is apparently still at large and Afghanistan is the largest supplier of heroin world-wide – 90% of the world’s opium comes from Afghanistan (( Baldauf, S and Bowers, F, “Afghanistan riddled with drug ties”, The Christian Science Monitor )). The invasion has elevated human rights infringement of women somewhat, but with the resurgence in Taliban forces, these rights are again under threat.

(more…)

It’s that time of my life again, where I search for jobs, apply and hear nothing.

I’m looking for a Newly Qualified position as an Employment Solicitor/Lawyer in the Cardiff and Bristol area, and would be prepared to commute as far as Swansea, Gloucester, Cheltenham and Bath, as I am due to qualify on 27 May 2007.

I don’t like the way they recruit solicitors. Most law firms recruit using recruitment agencies, and there are literally hundreds of them specialising in legal recruitment. Advertisements are usually anonymous, so you don’t know which firms you’re applying to. If a law firm is advertising through multiple agencies, you don’t know whether you’re applying for the same position in the same firm.

When a seemingly new position that I’m interested in pops up in my searches, I apply, and then I hear nothing. Communication is non-existent. If I apply for a job through a recruitment agency that I haven’t had contact with before, they usually ring me up the next day enthusiastic about my potential, get a few details and send me a letter in the post asking for a copy of my passport for ID purposes. I do as requested, and then hear nothing from them.

There are a number of positions I am particularly keen on, but I don’t hear anything, and as I don’t know the name of the firm, I can’t contact them to check whether they’ve received my application. How do we really know that the recruiters are actually submitting our CVs? It scares me to think that I could be missing out on opportunities.

I really don’t know how to handle this. I guess I’ve just got to plow ahead and hope that my luck will come in one day soon.

I would post, but it’s the first time in a while I’m actually in bed before 11pm, and I’m just gonna go to sleep before it gets too late!

After all, I do wake up at 6.45am ….

What has happened to the Federation for Deaf People (FDP)? Their website at fdp.org.uk is down, and we’ve not heard a peep out of them for years.

Are they still in existence? Can anyone answer? Does anyone know?

Seeing as the FDP were instrumental in the BSL marches of 1999, 2001 and 2003, it would be a damn shame if they were to disappear into the echelons of history. The organisation is needed more than ever, as Deaf activism in the UK needs to be re-ignited, to force the Government to enact a BSL Act.