The rise of rampant opportunism

It never cesaes to amaze me that no matter what the political or economic climate there are always those who will take advantage of the situation to make money. Looking at our current situation here in the UK we have a coallition government and are still trying to climb out of the recession caused by the collapse of the banking industry, and yet we still have a position that the banks, who were a major contributing factor to the position are currently making it increasingly difficult for individuals and businesses to borrow money, and charging higher interest rates than before the current problems. They provide reasons for this state of affairs which at first glance appear to have validity in terms of reducing lending to high risk groups, and charging an appropriate interest rate, but interbank borrowing is the cheapest it has been for a very long time, the Bank of England base rate remains at record low levels, and the argument that inappropriate lending has been reduced is a nonsense highlighted by the continued existance and advertising of pay day loans, perhaps the most inappropriate borrowing there is.

If we look further we see the the utilities companies, freed of the controls of state ownership, have, rather than increased competition and therefore given customers a fairer deal, apparently colluded to raise prices far above the rate of inflation, or indeed above increasing costs. Looking at Centrica, formerly British Gas and their posting of £1.3bn profits one has to question whether price rises to the extend they have been seen are justified. Now, the company itself, along with the rest of the industry say that such profits are required for the massve amounts of investment the industry needs, but if these profits were not channeled into shareholder pockets, that would not be the case.

Another example is the insurance industry. How many times do you receive a quote for insurance for your car, your home, whatever only to phone up and question the price and have it instantly reduced. If it could be reduced without apparent difficulty, why try to get away with the original inflated price? Again it smacks of profiteering at the most fundamental levels. We live in a world where a benefit cheat who has had to commit fraud to survive gets longer jail time than a millionaire politician who decided that he would fraudulently claim expenses paid by taxpayers just to further line his already plush nest.

This country, and, I would argue, most of the World is tarnished by the machinations and profit motivations and money grabbing tactics that have become endemic from the top down. Without strong leadership in the form of scrupulously honest, society aware leaders, we seem doomed to keep making the same mistakes and thereby undermining the progress and success that we, as a species have enjoyed for quite a while. Some say that it is just a part of our nature, that greed and appetite are bred in the bone, but if this is the case why have society at all? Why not revert to a winner takes all anarchic system? If society is supposed to serve one purpose it is to give our populations an opportunity to rise above our base instincts and develop more fully into the protectors and guardians of our world that we should all be.

There is no cause for the rampant opportunism that we curerntly endure, it has no sustainability, and therefore no future but destruction, and it needs to stop now....

Trance states and creativity.....

There is an aspect of the creative process that historically was an integral part of that process but seems to have been missed more recently. That part is the use of trance or meditative states as a precursor or preparation for creativity. We have historical accounts of master makers of musical instruments spending a period of contemplation before starting a great work, anecdotal stories of the great artists spending time in darkened rooms prior to begining a new work, master blacksmiths sitting alone in the forge before even heating the metal. If we look at the modern reconstruction of Druidry, based on the 15th century Christian writers accounts we see a tradition of meditating on spirit guides before composing in the bardic style, and even when considering the writing of great works like the Torah or the Koran where scribes meticulosly copy out the text we see a pause each time the name of God is used for contemplative prayer for inspiration. The image of the artist waiting for the muse to descend, and at times assisting that proces with alcohol, hallucinogenic drugs and similar is one that resonates strongly.

The first question is, why is this the case? There is a thought that the process of contemplation, or meditation changes the levels of alpha and beta waves within the brain that can change the way in which the brain processes sensory input, and the way that neuro-chemicals and neuro-transmitters work send signals, but is this enough to enhance creativity or is something else at work? My gut instinct is that this is at the core of the process, in that by taking time to induce an altered mind state the way in which sensory inputs are rendered by the mind is also altered to give a greater "feel" to the artist, allowing him or her to interact with their medium in a small but significantly different way. By taking the time to develop this interaction the art is enhanced.

The second question is, is it possible in the hectic world that we currently live to take this idea and incorporate it into the business world? I would argue that there is still an element of this in some contemporary artists work, but not in all. Tracy Emin for example develops her artistic concepts from a blank canvas to completed project as an ensemble piece from an initial idea that comes as a flash of inspiration. As I understand it this is very much an accepted method of working amongst proponents of post impressionist modern art, the altered mind state being replaced by a sense of frenetic energy and movement that is carried through into the work. By contrast an artist like the South African sonic installation artist James Webb subscribes to the aforementioned principle of pre-commencement contemplation. When we move to the business world where life is by definition fast paced and hectic, it would at first appear that there is little time, or indeed inclination to utilise this technique, but there are exceptions. If we consider companies like Vax or Dyson, formed around a true creative we see examples of where the meditative principle is alive and well within successful industrial businesses.

It would be interesting to see how far this principle could be taken in the wider commercial world....

Working under pressure....

Life is full of pressures, some large, some small, some about money, some about time, some about competition for resources. Pressure is part of life, it is one of the key drivers of environmental evolution and is a part not simply of all human life, but all life. If we think of the word pressure, and what it means we can imagine a great weight crushing us, but it is far more subtle than that. Pressure can be a gentle breeze, barely noticable, but with a perceptible effect, or it can be the crushing pressure of the ocean depths. Through our ingenuity and inventiveness we, as a species have been able to design and develop methods of surviving on the ocean floor under almost mind boggling pressures of hundreds of tons per square inch, and in the vacuum of space where there is almost no pressure at all. These are methods of dealing with physical pressure, but the principle surely applies in much the same way to psychological pressure. Some people seem to be able to glide through life largely unaffected by even the most severe pressure, whilst other crumble under something that may at first glance appear relatively trivial. It is my contention that by applying the same principles as used to deal with physical pressure it should be possible to find better ways of dealing with other pressures.

If we think of the developments in both space, and sub-oceanic exploration we can see that there was analysis of the problem, measurements of the parameters, materials testing, safety considerations, planning, testing, modifying and improving, pushing the boudaries of exploration step by step. I wonder if it is possible to address psychological pressure in the same way. Can we quantify pressure in the same way. What psychological pressure is applied by the loss of a parent say? or by the loss of a job? The problem as I perceive it is that the effect is not static. If anyone dives into the ocean and swims deeper and deeper the pressure increases at a known rate, and consequently the effects on the human body can be mapped and understood, and traeted accordingly. When we move to consider psychological pressure the way that we each as individuals respond to a set amount of pressure will be variable based on our existing coping mechanisms, our experiences and our perceptions. This situation is further complicated by the issue of perception of pressure. What I perceive as being low pressure may differ from yours. If we are both given the same time critical task lets say, but I have a more confident attitude to the task than you, I may perhaps perceive the task as being less pressured than you do.

However these are primarily issues around defining variables, and given the progress made in working with chaotic systems using advances in computing power, I would suggest that these are not insurmountable. Given the damage caused to society be people failing to cope with pressure, isn't it time we gave serious thought to investment in this research? Just a thought......

Anger is an energy.....

Follwoing on from the theme of yesterdays blog post, I am quite certain that the shift through the 1960's and '70's towards a loved up, pacifist mentality that tries to find compromise and seek mutually acceptable resolution to conflict is a wrong headed approach. I am aware that this may not be a politically correct option and that there has been a tremendous history in our species of the negative effects of anger, but for me this is something of a misinterpretation. If we consider many of the conflicts throughout history these have certainly been aggressive acts expressing anger, but that anger has been driven by another emotion, fear, jealousy, panic, greed, whatever, the point is that they were not an act based in anger as a pure and isolated emotion. For me, the isolation or compartmentalisation of discrete emotions is crucial to the use of the energy of that emotion in a productive way. There is something delicious about the raw, screaming rage that comes from a very primal part of the brain unfettered by any of the emotional baggage that usually surrounds an anger response, unshorn of the concerns of appropriateness or concern over consequences.

To scream ones rage to the wind is one of the purest expressions f our animal energy and it is a gift that should be treasured rather than repressed. Anger is not a negative emotional state, it isn't ugly or false, it is something that we all experience and personally I would contend should allow ourselves to experience fully, embracing it as we embrace happiness, craving it as we crave love or companionship. I am convinced that it is the repression of our most instinctive emotions and mind states that is at the root of many of the current mental health issues that are reaching epidemic proportions in the Western World.

Now, don't get me wrong, anger for the sake of anger is pointless, anger that spills over into aggression towards others should be anathema, anger that is allowed to fester as resentment is to be avoided, but these are allowing the pure emotion to be corrupted. There has been a link with repressing anger associated with the major World religions, but one only has to look at the parable of the casting out of the money changers in the bible to see that within Christian dogma there is a place for pure anger and rage, but it was anger directed and focused and used for a specific purpose. Looking at the other major faiths we see a constant refrain of anger used for constructive purposes, as seen in the story of Odin being given the secrets of the runes, his anger being the driving force that kept him going through his challenge.

So, if you want a happier and more creative mental state, embrace anger, understand it, work with it rather than against it.....but a note of caution....without understanding, anger is nothing, without understanding and control anger can be and will only be, negative and unproductive. Learn to love your anger, learn to accept it and acknowledge it, work with it, embrace it.........

Love and light ;D

The energising effects of anger....

A very good, and much underated poet and artist, Joolz Denby once wrote "It takes control to be angry, you must be precise, grip the twisting screaming thing each day and leash it tight, otherwise you burn up inside and nothing gets done, you die". I spent a long time listening to Ms. Denbys poetry, backed by Justin Sullivan of New Model Army, and I must confess, at the time, as an angry young man her words made my blood race and my anger simmer more than a little. What I learned from this period was that anger was not in itself destructive or creative. Anger is simply a force, it drives the mind and body by triggering neuro-chemical changes and the related physiological changes associated with that. For me, as my awareness of my own anger grew, the realisation dawned that whether the anger was destructive, or constructive was at root a choice that I could make internally. Without concious effort on my part my anger appears to be, by deafult destructive, but but a focused effort of will I can channel that same anger into creativity and energy.

This discovery was something of a revelation, and although I am by no means perfect at controlling my anger. particularly when it spills over into rage, I am a lot better than I was, and the change it has made has been marked. It is an ongoing project, but as my Gran used to say, the day you stop learning and growing is the day you go in the ground, so I'm happy with my progress so far, and happy that I have more progress to go. This may all sound pretty obvious stuff, but sometimes it takes the genius of an artist to allow you to see the obvious. Maybe that is the "true" genius of the artists, taking the mundane, the profane, the every-day and making it special, making it art, transforming it into something with meaning, with a message, with relevance.

I don't profess to be any sort of expert on art and artistry, or on the artistic mindest, being personally as creative as a fairly short blank, but just occasionally something resonates with me, and if, by sharing my insights, someone else can benefit, then that makes me a happy boy......Oh, and a quick plug, Joolz writes some great books and creates some beautiful tattoos too......have a look at her website, I'm pretty sure she won't mind :)

Imitation is the finest form of flattery.....

As a concept this seems fine, but what happens when that imitation is uncredited. I recently gave a talk to a group of business people, and about a week later I happened to be at a social gathering where one of my former audience happened to be in attendance. I overheard him chatting to a small group and was quite pleased to hear him using an amusing anecdote that I had introduced during my talk. It is always gratifying to know that you have had an impact even in just a small way. I was just smiling quietly to myself when I heard one of the group as they broke up say, whilst patting this chap on the back "Great story buddy" to which the response came "Thanks, it's one of those stories that just come to me sometimes...."

Now maybe I'm just being precious, but would it really have hurt for him to say something like "Yeah, I really liked it when I first heard it"? I have no issue particularly with being a quiet influence rather than having my name plastered everywhere. I don't particularly need any additional marketing, but it does rather annoy me when someone else claims my work as their own. I'm pretty certain I ma not alone in this. I know several comedians who guard their jokes jealously, even resording to law suits when ownership of a joke is in dispute. I know writers who are always on the lookout for plagarism, sometimes to the point of obsession. I know that my case is somewhat different since my livelihood doesn't depend on my rights as owner of my intellectual property, but that isn't really the point.

It is more a question of ethics and moral standards. I would never claim someone elses work as my own, in the same way that I would never take credit for someone elses success, and perhaps naively, I expect those that I interact with to act in the same way. Perhaps I need to be more ruthless and litigious about such things, but why should I have to? I think perhaps a better soultion is to have a little rant, get the feelings off my chest and move on to bigger and more important things. I knew there was a reason for writing a blog ;)

Going it alone in business.......

Setting up, and running a new business, whether it is your first or your hundredth is a process of experimentation, trial and error and learning. It starts with the business idea, and for a new entrant to business ownership, this in itself can be fraught with difficulty. Is the idea a good one? Has it been done before? Is it commercially viable? Is it something one can do day in day out, working long hours in the initial period, i.e. is it something at least passably enjoyable? Having worked through these and all the other questions around the initial concept, it is all about the business plan. This, for a business owner is perhaps the most important document you will ever write, more important than sales orders, purchases, staffing, everything, because your business plan is not just the document that your incorporation and financial backing is based on. It is the document that sets out your plan for your business through the initial period. It defines your goals and strategies, your fundamental ideas and goals, and it may well be the only thing that keeps you on track when things get tough.

It may need modification as you realise that something that you were certain of working turns out not to work, a surprisingly common occurance, but without a properly structured and complete business plan, there really is no way to maintain control on the business. We saw a classic example of this on this weeks episode of the apprentice where the teams had to create and launch fast food outlets. One team had a business plan, working out costing, sales projections, budgets and so on, and the other team didn't.....guess who won? So you have an idea and a business idea and a business plan, but then you need to keep monitoring how the business is stacking up against the business plan, how close or otherwise you are to meeting targets, the speed of progression towards goals, and everything else. At the same time, you have to keep track of the financials, is the new business approaching viability? How is the trading position on a daily, weekly, monthly basis? Can you cover the bills and still take a little something for yourself?

There are a tremendous number of demands for time and consideration within any new business, on top of actually running the business itself, and the best advice I can give to anyone thinking of, or actually starting their own business, is to accept that there has to be time to run the business, and time to learn how to run the business, in essence two full time jobs, and you can take my word for it, if you are going to successfully do two full time jobs, you are going to need to be incredibly well organised, well supported and perhaps most importantly, really, really good at managing yourself, both in terms of working, but also in terms of making sure you look after yourself so you are able to do all that work.....

.....Setting up your own business is not for everyone, but if you can get it right it can be the most rewarding way to work. All I can say, to anyone thinking of going down this route is good luck, and make sure you get the work/life balance right....

Looking forward to Google+ but wheres my invite?

So, Google is working through the beta testing phase of their answer to Facebook, and the feedback I'm getting from those lucky few who are exploring this new virtual World is that it is going to be something pretty special. Automatic picture uploads, automatic tagging, an easier and more user friendly communication system within the community, better control over security settings and so on. It all sounds wonderful and marvelous, but of course I am only reporting this second hand, because I, alonfg with many other interested parties am currently unable to see what all the fuss is about.

I get the whole testing phase thing, I work with websites as part of my day job, and I am familiar with testing procedures, but when it comes to this particular new shiny, knowing that isn't helping! I want to play! I have seldom wanted anything more than I want an invite to continue to worship at the feet of the Great God Google (or GGG as it will henceforth be called - the www is dead long live the GGG!) So come on Google - hurry up and get my invite out to me! I want it, I need it, I crave it......I am sorry that I have been on Facebook behind your back, I freely and without reservation recant my errant Facebookery and plead for redemption and the sweet heavenly bliss of googles vision of heaven.....

Interviewing techniques

I do quite a bit of interviewing in my day job, and I've been interviewed a fair few times, and it never ceases to amaze me the variety of tactics that people use to control their nerves. I'm not sure whether this is a positive or negative thing, ut I have never suffered from nerves before or during an interview, afterwards is a different matter, but certainly not during. I have seen people doing simple things like taking a deep breath before answering a question (odd but effective) to clamping hands together in the lap to prevent obvious shaking (not too effective when it just transfers the shaking to the shoulders). I have always taken the view that if the interviewer is trying to catch me out at this stage then I am unlikely to want the job, and if the interviewer isnt trying to catch me out then I might as well just be myself and enjoy the opportunity to have a chat with someone who can give me a job.

The idea of getting nervous never really occurs to me, but I see it so often, and particulaly in the type of roles I am interviewing for (primarily sales roles) what I am most often looking for is confidence, the one thing that is hidden in people who are overly nervous. My best advise? Practice interviews, find someone who will role play with you, go over typical interview questions over and over again until you are certain that you can answer them easily. Make sure you feel prepared, and that you know something about the company you are interviewing for. Have a couple of questions, and use them even if they have been answered during the interview. I never mind this, and I am something of a pain for interviewees, being very good at pre-empting questions in my opening introduction to the interview.

Above all, try to let something of your personality come through at the interview. Even if you don't think you have a great personality, it is going to come out once you are working, and it is far better to know whether you will fit in or not at interview stage rather than 2 weeks into the job. Be yourself, be engaging, be polite, be punctual, and please, please, please try to relax and enjoy the interview. I'm not an ogre, honest....

Post graduate studies from the University of Life

Some people say that the best education one can receive is the route through the school of hard knocks, moving on to the University of Life, but at this point for most people the metaphor seems to break down. By the time one has reached this level, the suggestion it seems is that lifes lessons have been learned and one should be in a position to cope. I am unconvinced that this is the case, and feel that there is scope for post-graduate studies, possibly at the University of Life, School of self-improvement studies. The question, as with all post grad studies, is what area should I specialise in? There is a huge choice out there, for some it is learning how to cope with bereavement, for others it is coping with rejection, there are courses on financial management and control, and relationship studies, the list is endless, and whilst many courses are a rehash of previous studies, they take the subject further forward and enhance existing skills.

Life is a process of constant learning, constant refining of processes and methodology, a constant stream of analysing, reviewing, growing and building, and once that process stops, there is only entropy left, a reduction in faculty and function, a decay of ability and a slow decline to death. No matter how well or badly we are currently doing, there is always room for improvement, always room for further skill development and there has never been a better time than now to explore further studies. Everything that has gone before is history, everything yet to come is opportunity, now is the only chance you have to prepare for the future. Enrol in one of the post graduate courses at the School of self improvement today. The process is easy and the courses can be free. Start at your local library, get a book, any book, doesn't have to be on any particular subject, our reading list is extensive. Read that book, and then go and get another, and another, and another. You don't have to memorise anything unless you want to, there aren't any exams, all coursework is mark by continuous assessment, and we operate a self marking policy.

Join us today for a free bonus offer, choose one self improvement study course and we will throw in absolutely free a trial sample of our latest product "Feeling better about yourself"......enjoy....


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The problem with blogs.....

And bear in mind this is a blogger writing this, but there is something that has been worrying me for a little while. As a society we are very used to what we read, and particularly what we see, when it is presented as news, or information, being in the main accurate. There is a wealthy of anecdotal evidence that there are sections of society who will believe pretty much anything, taking the most inane nonsense at face value, and therein lies the problem. You, gentle reader, fellow internet explorer, have very little way of knowing if I am a 30 year business verteran with insights to divulge, a high flying scientist with detailed knowledge of my subject area, or a 14 year old culling all of my information from Wikipedia and rehashing erroneous stories. It is an interesting dilemma, particularly when you consider the amount of erroneous information out there.

Sure, Wikipedia is a great basic resource, articles being regularly amended and updated, it is even starting to turn up in the references of Phd theses but it is only really a start point, in the same way that a traditional encyclopedia only provides basic information. The point is that it is often difficult to sort the wheat from the chaff and to find sources of quality information and insight without having to spend hours filtering and reading and double checking and analysing. What works for me when I am wearing my internet browsing hat is, having found something I like, to bookmark it and keep track of it so that I can over time develop a portfolio of the content that I like.

Google is already starting to assist with this process by building up a search history for logged in users over time so that extra relevance is given to sites that are similar to sites that the user has been to before, but for me, bookmarking still works well.This is one site that I particularly like....

Freedom of the press?

So, News International is once again in the news, and once again we, the public who fund these organisations have been let down. If the allegations surrounding the hacking of Millie Dowlers mobile phone and the deleting of voicemail messages are to be believed then there is no excuse, no justification for such an act. The arguement that always seems to be trotted out at times like this is that if we want exposure of politicians wrongdoing, for example, we have to be prepared to put up with intrusion into other areas for this to be possible. This arguement is nonsense since in any system of morals or ethics there are boundaries and limits, otherwise you have no morals or ethics and should expect short shrift.

The stranglehold that the media has in the Western World, and particularly that held by News International means that there is little that we as consumers can do, other than vote with our wallets, and stop putting money in Mr. Murdochs pocket. The problem that I have is that this is just another in a long list of intrusions and wrong decisons by the mainstream media, and here I am not just thinking of the tabloid/gutter press, but across the media in generally, and we as consumers seem to have a very short memory in terms of holding these news outlets to account. There can be no question, that if proved, these allegations deserve to result in serious reprecussions for everyone involved irrespective of current position or power, but I strongly suspect that this will not happen and that once again we will see token gestures and in a couple of weeks it will all be forgotten.

I am with labour MP Tom Watson who last night on newsnight surprised Mr Paxman by attacking not just the coalition leaders but his own leader, and called on them to form a united front to bring the media to heel in this specific area of abuse of the defenceless and innocent, and further I would suggest that anyone paying money to the News International organisation is, by association, accepting that what appears to have been done in this case is acceptable, or at least acceptable enough to not cancel Sky. Personally I am making a stand. I have cancelled my Sky TV subscription, and am boycotting News International media outlets. I am not going to alter this position, irrespective of the outcome of any investigation as I have reached my limit and enough is enough....

Rantings on environmentalism

Do our politicians and media types think we aer stupid? Do they think we have no ethical, moral or social sense? Do they assume that we are a bunch of self-centred, narcissistic hedonists? It would appear so if the latest batch of programmes and articles are anything to go by. There seems to be a movement at the moment to question the work that is currently being done in the name of environmentalism, and to suggest that we are doing it wrong. We know! We have known this for a long time, but we are doing the best we can in a difficult situation. We need to consume less, we get that but it takes time to change the habits of a lifetime. We need to share more globally, but there are complications in getting what we share to where it is needed without it being hijacked. We need to use our resources more efficiently, but that is challenged by the need to maintain an overpopulation. We are not stupid!

We understand that there are comprimises that at this stage have to be made in order to prevent the breakdown of society as we know it. We are torn between trying to save the planet and trying to save ourselves, and we know that the two are not mutually exclusive but are intrinsically linked. We know what we should be doing better, and different, and we are working on it. What we don't need is some politician or campaigner reminding it of this in such a way that we are discouraged from keeping on trying! Right now we have to keep focused on doing what we can to make the world a better place, and we have to try to work around the compromises that have to be made.

So protecting an endangered species puts pressure on indigenous peoples? We know this, we don't need it pointing out, and we certainly don't need to be told that what we are doing is wrong. Life doesn't work that way. We have to be clear that we are making an effort and that we are making a difference in order to keep going, and we need clear unambiguous information in order to take the descisions we have to make. What we don't need is rhetoric and sensationalism.....

Why therapy doesn't work

There are so many people of my generation who are, or have been under the care of a therapist of one sort or another. The choice is vast, NLP, CBT, drug therapies, electromagnetic therapy, colour therapies and all the rest, but there are two things that all of these share in common. Firstly they currently have little or no basis in medical fact, and secondly they, like most medical treatments are designed to deal with symptoms, not with causes. This second point is contentious because the claims for many of these therapies is that they address the deep seated issues that are at the root of many neurological conditions, but I would content that this is a nonsense. Having experienced several of them, what they offer is a series of coping strategies to deal with the worst of the symptoms. The idea as I understand it being that by alleviating the symptoms, one is better able to function and therefore deal with the underlying condition.

However, there does not seem to be any direct method offered by any of these therapies for doing that, so one is left in a position where the symptoms are diminished but one is left to try to resolve the causes alone. This often causes additional stress which causes the symptoms to re-emerge, thereby negating any beneficial effects. It should be pointed out that there are questions over the prevalence of mental illness in the first place. It has to be asked why there has been an upswing of epidemic proportions in the cases of mental illness in many categories in the last 20 years. There is an arguement that we better understand the brain and are therefore better able to assess and analyse abberant mental states, but this can only be part of the story. If we go back to our parents and grandparents generation, can we honestly say that they faced any less stress than we do? Were they spared any of the tradgedies that we deal with? I would argue that if anything they had it far tougher than we did, but certainly in my own case, my parents were expected to just get on with life, and in the main they did.

I know that were my parents alive today and in their prime, my father would be diagnosed with depression and addictive personality disorder and my mother would almost certainly have a diagnosis of paranoia and obsessive compulsive disorder amongst other things. Yet they successfully, in the main raised two children, one of whom had a developmental disorder, held down jobs for the most part, created a relatively safe and secure relationship and generally just got on with things. They both coped with the stress of termainl illness, they coped with the stress of infidelity, they coped with the nightmare that is now described as a "difficult" child, so why are they so different from me, my friends, my peers? I would argue that they aren't, they just didn't have our resources......

......Which brings me back to my opening point, therapy is a waste of time and money, resources that would be better spent teaching children to cope with the ups and down of life.....

Is there a place for trade unions in the UK?

We are curently, in the UK seeing the start of the latest round of public service indystrial action organised by the Unison trade union. The current strikes are a protest against changes to pension rights, moving from a final salary pension scheme to an average salary pension scheme. Clearly this is going to cause issues for staff, the bulk of whom have chosen to remain in the public sector, where salaries are traditionally lower than the private sector because the pension schemes were so good. The response of the trade union has been to ballot members on strike action, and following sufficient support, to organise trike action. I have only one issue with this, it doesn't work. It didn't work through the 1970's and '80's and it doesn't work now. All it does is alienate the rest of the population who are predominantly guided by the mainstream media, and lend fuel to the politicians who are anti-union by allowing them to suggest that the unions are out of touch with Britain through the economic aftermath post 2008.

I am not, by default a fan of free market economics as a rule, believing that in generally this policy leaves the most vulnerable in society unprotected, but in a case like this, I believe that a better solution for public service employees whould be to allow market forces to take effect, leading to mass resignations rather than mass strikes. This would send a far clearer message to the council leaders and politicians who seem to see their staff as a resource to be utilised as they see fit. If the goal posts have changed sufficiently that the financial incentives to being a public servant have been removed, there is really only one course of action, and if it taken by enough people, the status quo and balance of power will shift without union intervention.

Unless unions have the ability to develop new weapons to combat unfair treatment of union members, their purpose is negated and they have nothing more than a limited role in society. The situation is complex, and resources are increasingly scarce. As long as unions fail to understand that they need to change they will not succeed....

The use of the word ritual by archaeologists

It used to be a running joke within archaeological circles that anything that was discovered that didn't have an obvious mundane purpose was ascribed a ritual significance. A classic example of this was an antler device with a hole bored through one end that had for many years been described as a talking stick. Further analysis has suggested a couple of much more mundane uses, most likely as a tool to get a better grip on a thick rope. There is good evidence for ritual practices throughout the neolithic and into the bronze and iron ages, particularly in the creation of stone axe heads that would have been far too fragile to actually be useful, and were significantly overworked. The development of heavily stylised statuary as seen in the Willendorf Venus lends further credence to this supposition. However it is undoubtedly the case that many of the practices ascribed a ritual importance are in fact unlikely to be such.

This is particularly the case with the evidence for ritual de-fleshing of bodies. It is reasonably well established that in the neolithic bodies were left on platforms in the open to be stripped down to the bone by birds and animals. Moving into the bronze age and later through the iron age, generally inhumations were of cremated remains, or dressed burials. The evidence for defleshing by human agents is limited to the appearance of cut marks on long bones and skulls found in caves and pits. One of the more famous are those found in Goughs cave in Cheddar in Somerset but there are plenty of others. When these bones were recently re-analysed it was suggested that the position and type of the cuts were more akin to those found in butchery and the disarticulating of a carcass prior to consumption.

This would make more sense, as, contrary to common opinion, cannibalism has historically been more widespread than is generally accepted. There is, of course an argument, backed by anthropological evidence, that cannibalism can be in itself ritualistic, the eating of defeated enemies hearts is a prime example, as is the consumption of human brains as a source of spiritual power. There is however more evidence that cannibalism is a routine stage of most civilisations in times of hardship, having been seen across the world during periods of extreme environmental stress. The practice has even been shown to exist in the modern age in severe survival situations, so would this perhaps be a better interpretation than the old cliche of ritual activity? Of course, ritual allows the creation of far more interesting stories, and it is often the case that those archaeologists who are also folklorists tend to be more prone to buying into these stories and thereby propogating them further.

In archaeology, as in most things, the military mantra should perhaps be the first port of call - KISS Keep It Simple Stupid....