Ranking the movies I have watched

I suspect that this is the start of a long posting that will take me an indefinite time to complete.

I joined criticker.com. This was in response to several Facebook Friends using a disappointingly shallow movie compatibility Facebook widget. Whilst I found Criticker through Facebook, I registered independently, and then created a link from my Criticker profile to my Facebook profile.

To date, I have ranked 208 movies, and listed them clumsily here below.

My Score
Film Name
Date Ranked
Comments
100
Amélie
Mar 08 2008, 20:00
100
Stalker
Mar 08 2008, 13:52
99
Rashomon
Mar 08 2008, 19:58
99
Shakespeare in Love
Mar 08 2008, 08:31
98
Drowning by Numbers
Mar 08 2008, 13:55
98
Much Ado About Nothing
Mar 13 2008, 00:25
98
Shirley Valentine
Mar 08 2008, 13:53
98
Solaris
Mar 08 2008, 13:54
97
The Lives of Others
Mar 13 2008, 00:21
97
Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels
Mar 08 2008, 08:27
97
Spirited Away
Mar 08 2008, 13:57
96
12 Monkeys
Mar 07 2008, 01:13
96
O Brother, Where Art Thou?
Mar 08 2008, 00:10
96
Delicatessen
Jul 06 2009, 21:47
96
Princess Mononoke
Mar 08 2008, 12:25
96
Ran
Mar 08 2008, 08:24
95
Cinema Paradiso
Mar 08 2008, 14:04
95
I Heart Huckabees
Mar 07 2008, 01:13
95
Jurassic Park
Mar 07 2008, 01:13
95
Jurassic Park III
Mar 07 2008, 01:13
95
Memento
Mar 07 2008, 01:13
95
Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring
Mar 08 2008, 08:33
95
Witness
Mar 13 2008, 00:27
94
Contact
Mar 08 2008, 00:14
94
Grave of the Fireflies
Mar 08 2008, 13:58
94
Howl's Moving Castle
Jul 12 2008, 08:20
This anime is Miyazaki on top form. It is creative and imaginative. It moves along at a fast pace. The way that the character of Howl is only slowly revealed is masterful. Equally, we are left wondering throughout the movie whether Sophie is able to break the spell. It is wonderful to see a movie that really detests warfare.
94
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
Mar 07 2008, 01:13
94
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
Mar 07 2008, 01:13
94
Lost in Translation
Mar 08 2008, 12:30
94
Pan's Labyrinth
Jul 12 2008, 08:15
Although dark in subject matter, tone and lighting, this remains a magical movie. It feels to me to have a gritty existential feel to it, despite its exploration of magical realism. The military tension of just-post-Civil War Spain is well captured (also see El Espiritu de la Colmena). The acting of the central characters is good.
94
Whisper of the Heart
Mar 08 2008, 14:00
93
The English Patient
Mar 08 2008, 12:26
93
Manon of the Spring
Mar 08 2008, 13:50
93
Trainspotting
Mar 07 2008, 01:13
93
Twister
Mar 08 2008, 08:27
92
2001: A Space Odyssey
Mar 08 2008, 12:28
92
Blood Simple
Mar 08 2008, 09:25
92
Chicken Run
Mar 07 2008, 01:13
92
Death In Venice
Aug 16 2009, 16:08
92
Pitch Black
Mar 08 2008, 12:30
91
The Abyss
Mar 08 2008, 09:23
91
Bringing Out the Dead
Mar 08 2008, 09:22
91
Fargo
Jul 12 2008, 08:28
91
Fiddler on the Roof
Mar 08 2008, 20:02
91
The Lion in Winter
Aug 16 2009, 15:53
91
Smoke
Mar 07 2008, 01:13
90
The Bourne Identity
Mar 08 2008, 08:19
90
The Bourne Supremacy
Mar 08 2008, 12:31
90
The Fifth Element
Mar 08 2008, 20:03
90
Independence Day
Jul 06 2009, 21:46
90
The Lost World: Jurassic Park
Mar 08 2008, 12:33
90
Minority Report
Mar 07 2008, 01:13
90
Sideways
Mar 07 2008, 17:34
90
Stargate
Mar 08 2008, 12:27
89
The African Queen
Aug 16 2009, 15:55
89
The Chronicles of Riddick
Mar 08 2008, 14:05
89
Dune
Mar 08 2008, 08:23
89
Enemy of the State
Mar 08 2008, 09:25
89
Pulp Fiction
Mar 08 2008, 00:20
89
Sneakers
Mar 13 2008, 00:32
88
The Blues Brothers
Mar 08 2008, 00:16
88
The Rocky Horror Picture Show
Jul 06 2009, 21:48
88
The Thomas Crown Affair
Mar 08 2008, 08:34
88
Titanic
Mar 08 2008, 00:18
88
Working Girl
Mar 08 2008, 14:02
87
Ferris Bueller's Day Off
Mar 08 2008, 00:12
87
Groundhog Day
Mar 08 2008, 09:24
87
Lost in Space
Mar 07 2008, 01:13
87
Mission to Mars
Mar 08 2008, 12:34
87
Phone Booth
Mar 08 2008, 08:25
87
Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back
Mar 08 2008, 12:26
86
American Beauty
Mar 07 2008, 01:13
86
Educating Rita
Mar 08 2008, 14:01
86
The Full Monty
Mar 08 2008, 00:19
86
Mercury Rising
Mar 08 2008, 12:32
86
The Thomas Crown Affair
Aug 16 2009, 16:10
85
War of the Worlds
Mar 08 2008, 00:10
84
Cast Away
Mar 08 2008, 12:29
84
Four Weddings and a Funeral
Mar 07 2008, 01:13
84
The Sixth Sense
Mar 07 2008, 01:13
83
Die Hard
Mar 08 2008, 00:11
83
Die Hard 2
Mar 08 2008, 12:25
83
Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope
Mar 08 2008, 00:08
83
The Transporter
Mar 08 2008, 00:13
83
Wasabi
Jul 12 2008, 08:29
82
Gone in 60 Seconds
Mar 08 2008, 08:35
82
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner
Aug 16 2009, 15:54
82
Jean de Florette
Mar 09 2008, 00:12
81
Beverly Hills Cop II
Mar 08 2008, 12:32
81
Event Horizon
Mar 08 2008, 08:25
81
The Hours
Mar 08 2008, 00:21
81
I, Robot
Mar 07 2008, 01:13
81
Resident Evil
Mar 08 2008, 08:24
81
Sleepy Hollow
Mar 08 2008, 08:37
80
Citizen Kane
Mar 08 2008, 12:28
80
The Day After Tomorrow
Jul 06 2009, 21:44
80
Grosse Pointe Blank
Mar 08 2008, 00:08
80
Saturday Night and Sunday Morning
Jul 15 2008, 21:15
80
Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace
Mar 08 2008, 08:20
80
Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones
Mar 08 2008, 00:11
80
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith
Mar 08 2008, 00:09
80
Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi
Mar 07 2008, 01:13
79
Alfie
Jul 15 2008, 21:16
79
The Big Lebowski
Mar 07 2008, 01:13
79
The Castle in the Sky
May 02 2009, 21:58
79
Kundun
Mar 08 2008, 08:36
79
Manhattan
Mar 08 2008, 12:33
79
Psycho
Mar 07 2008, 01:13
78
K-PAX
Mar 08 2008, 00:18
78
Patriot Games
Mar 08 2008, 12:26
78
The Philadelphia Story
Aug 16 2009, 15:56
78
Terminator 2: Judgment Day
Mar 07 2008, 01:13
77
Deep Impact
Mar 08 2008, 08:27
77
Gladiator
Mar 08 2008, 08:34
76
An American Werewolf in London
Mar 08 2008, 08:31
76
Beetlejuice
Mar 08 2008, 12:29
76
One Hour Photo
Mar 08 2008, 12:30
76
When the Wind Blows
Mar 08 2008, 14:00
75
Being John Malkovich
Mar 08 2008, 08:26
74
The French Connection
Mar 08 2008, 08:36
74
Mad Max
Mar 08 2008, 08:27
74
Ocean's Eleven
Mar 08 2008, 08:32
74
Speed
Mar 08 2008, 08:22
73
The Hunt for Red October
Mar 08 2008, 00:13
73
Training Day
Mar 08 2008, 12:29
72
Ghostbusters
Jul 06 2009, 21:42
72
K-19: The Widowmaker
Mar 08 2008, 19:57
72
Signs
Mar 07 2008, 01:13
72
The Terminator
Mar 08 2008, 08:37
71
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Mar 08 2008, 08:37
71
Midnight Run
Mar 07 2008, 01:13
70
Tron
Jul 06 2009, 21:42
69
Kill Bill: Volume 1
Mar 08 2008, 09:25
68
Casino Royale
Mar 08 2008, 09:22
67
Analyze This
Mar 08 2008, 08:33
67
A Beautiful Mind
Mar 08 2008, 08:36
66
Murder by Numbers
Mar 08 2008, 08:18
66
Pleasantville
Mar 08 2008, 12:34
66
Radio Days
Mar 09 2008, 00:07
66
Speed 2: Cruise Control
Mar 08 2008, 12:34
65
Crocodile Dundee
Mar 08 2008, 12:30
65
Van Helsing
Mar 08 2008, 00:10
64
Jaws
Mar 08 2008, 08:32
64
The Mask of Zorro
Mar 08 2008, 08:31
63
Hudson Hawk
Mar 08 2008, 12:27
62
Grease
Mar 08 2008, 08:32
61
Notting Hill
Mar 07 2008, 01:13
60
Armageddon
Mar 08 2008, 12:25
60
Duel
Mar 08 2008, 00:15
60
The Matrix
Mar 07 2008, 01:13
60
North by Northwest
Mar 08 2008, 12:27
58
The Wicker Man
May 02 2009, 21:55
57
The Da Vinci Code
Jul 12 2008, 08:10
This movie is pulp with little style, although much of that is down to Dan Brown's pulp novel: the conspiracy is simply not much of a deal (cf. Enemy of the State). Was Tom Hanks on holiday when he acted in this movie - he remained unbelievable throughout. Audrey Tautou seemed out-of-genre. The only role I enjoyed was Ian McKellen when he was camping it up on his first appearance. Few of the sets are especially attractive, but I do not know whether this was due to the dark, muddy palette.
57
Men in Black II
Jul 06 2009, 21:46
56
Mary Reilly
Mar 08 2008, 09:24
55
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines
May 02 2009, 21:57
54
The Terminal
Mar 08 2008, 00:15
53
Kill Bill: Volume 2
Mar 07 2008, 01:13
52
Maid in Manhattan
Mar 07 2008, 01:13
51
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
Mar 08 2008, 09:24
51
Fahrenheit 451
Jul 06 2009, 21:44
51
Firefox
Mar 08 2008, 08:30
51
Men in Black
Mar 07 2008, 17:34
51
Robocop
Mar 08 2008, 08:38
50
Demolition Man
Mar 08 2008, 08:19
50
Mr. and Mrs. Smith
Mar 08 2008, 00:17
50
Saving Private Ryan
Mar 08 2008, 00:17
50
Ten
Mar 08 2008, 12:29
49
Lethal Weapon
Mar 07 2008, 01:13
49
Look Who's Talking
Mar 08 2008, 12:27
49
Mrs. Doubtfire
Mar 08 2008, 08:22
49
The Sting
Mar 08 2008, 08:37
49
Thunderball
Mar 08 2008, 12:32
48
Analyze That
Mar 08 2008, 00:16
48
Flight of the Navigator
Jul 06 2009, 21:43
48
Young Frankenstein
Mar 08 2008, 08:22
46
Singin' in the Rain
Mar 08 2008, 08:35
45
Back to the Future
Mar 07 2008, 01:13
45
Back to the Future Part III
Mar 07 2008, 01:13
45
The Breakfast Club
Mar 08 2008, 08:21
44
The Railway Children
Mar 09 2008, 00:10
42
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Mar 08 2008, 12:32
42
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Aug 16 2009, 16:06
42
Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory
Mar 08 2008, 09:23
41
As Good As It Gets
Mar 08 2008, 00:18
39
Predator
Mar 08 2008, 00:21
38
Goldfinger
Mar 08 2008, 00:16
37
Babe
Mar 07 2008, 01:13
36
Finding Nemo
Aug 16 2009, 16:06
36
Ice Age
Mar 08 2008, 08:23
36
Monsters, Inc.
Mar 08 2008, 08:20
36
Shrek
Mar 07 2008, 01:13
36
Toy Story
Mar 08 2008, 08:21
35
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
Mar 08 2008, 00:20
35
Stuart Little
Mar 08 2008, 12:31
34
101 Dalmatians
Mar 07 2008, 01:13
34
The Lion King
Mar 08 2008, 08:22
34
Pinocchio
Mar 08 2008, 08:26
33
The Golden Child
Mar 08 2008, 08:36
33
The Neverending Story
Mar 08 2008, 08:31
32
Babe: Pig in the City
Mar 08 2008, 08:23
30
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
May 02 2009, 22:08
25
Bridget Jones's Diary
Mar 07 2008, 01:13
20
Dr. Dolittle
Mar 08 2008, 00:07
18
Robin Hood
Mar 08 2008, 08:33
12
All Dogs Go to Heaven
Mar 08 2008, 00:12
9
Scooby-Doo
Mar 08 2008, 08:19
1
Ace Ventura: Pet Detective
Mar 07 2008, 01:13

Halcyon day

Trudging once again the footpath that follows the icy riverbanks into Durham City this morning, approaching the Maiden Castle footbridge, I was blessed with the electric-turquoise streak of a kingfisher.

Misdirection

I remember with some affection an old Quaker man named Bill. We served together on a committee, and talked on many occasions. In particular, I have never forgotten him telling me that for the first forty years of his life his mind was incredibly active, "like a steam train", but then he slowed down - as though he had run out of steam. He died some years ago, I think in his 80s, having been unwell for a short time. He died because he was old and tired, and his body found a way for him to let go. The focus of attention in the talk around his death, however, was directed towards the possibly-hospital-acquired-infection that killed him. Such talk was innocent, and understandable in the context of someone precious whose presence was missed.

An online article published on the BBC news website: http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_8448000/8448807.stm
discusses a recently published report of research undertaken concerning the impact of grey squirrels on UK bird populations. The premise for the research was that various rarer species of bird are in decline because of predation by grey squirrels. The research, however, demonstrated that despite both red and grey squirrels helping themselves to the occasional nest egg, and snacking on unfortunate fledgelings, there is little if any evidence even to suggest, never mind show, that grey squirrels adversely affect any species of bird. Interestingly, the two bird species that suffer the greatest squirrel (both red and grey) predation are blackbirds and collared doves. Interesting, because those are the two bird species that are most in evidence in the village where I live, and there are letters in the local newspaper bemoaning the amount of noise made by the collared doves. It seems that, in line with the national population of collared doves, the number of local collared doves has increased. Significantly, this increase has been at a time when my sightings of grey squirrels, which were barely in evidence at all in Durham when I arrived in 1976, have become more frequent. It is not grey squirrels that are the predation threat to local avian life, it is domestic cats (including my own). Other research some years ago showed that domestic cat populations represent a significant threat to local populations of garden birds.

So why was this research on the impact of grey squirrels considered necessary? Supported by Charles Windsor, an outspoken voice for conservatism and rural autonomy, there have for a number of years been loud calls for the slaughter of grey squirrels 'to protect populations of indigenous red squirrels'. I remember in my childhood there were stories about the invasive North American grey squirrel driving Tufty to the edge of extinction. There was anecdotal evidence that grey squirrels, being larger, would beat up the red squirrels. (Would this have anything to do with the Second World War?) Squirrels fight, whether red or grey; I know because I have watched them. However, again, research undertaken thirty years ago showed that the decline in red squirrel populations tended to precede contact between the two populations: where Tufty had moved out leaving an ecological vacuum, the grey squirrel moved in. The anti-grey squirrel lobby countered with evidence showing that the red squirrel has no immunity to a virus (the parapox virus) to which the grey squirrel is immune. However, because the two squirrel populations have little contact, it is not principally the virus that has the red squirrel population in decline.

The main reason for the steady decline in the number of red squirrels in the British Isles is habitat degradation: the impact of people, industry and agricultural practices. Whilst grey squirrels are happy to live in Regent's Park, London, red squirrels cannot cope with people. Every area of the UK where red squirrel populations are hanging on is an area with a low human population density - this can been most clearly seen in Scotland where there are red squirrel populations either side of the Forth-Clyde corridor. There are few red squirrels in England.

It may be too late to preserve any natural populations of red squirrels in England. Their only chance may be managed reserves from which all environmental pressures have been removed. However, Tufty's fate is like that of the caged canary taken down a coal mine. The red squirrel lives or dies according to the ecological appropriateness of their habitat. The industrialisation of agriculture, including the use of herbicides, pesticides and genetically-modified crops; the 'management' of forests; the encroachment of industrial estates, trading estates and housing estates; the transformation of wildernesses into playgrounds for quad-biking, paint-balling, shooting hand-reared game birds (which seems all-pervasive around Durham): have together devoured the barely-touched and the out-of-the-way places. Wilderness has become urban hinterland, suburb, or an agribusiness resource. That is why the red squirrel has all-but-vanished from England. Yet, rather than challenge our own understanding of British society, and give thought to how it could and should be, well-resourced vested interest groups instead shout noisily about the cast of usual suspects, once again directing our attention to the grey squirrel.

Nationhood (2): thoughts out loud

This posting is an edited version of a timed and dated journal entry written in Caffe Nero, Silver Street, Durham City UK. This version was first written on 17 July 2008, and has since been updated several times.

I want to look again at issues of nationality, not least because I am aware that some of my thoughts have moved on in response to attempting to resolve some cognitive dissonance on the matter.

(10 August 2008: it is not clear to me whether the people of South Ossetia simply wish not to be governed by Georgia, or if they wish to form their own independent government, or if they wish to form an independent government with the people of North Ossetia, or if they wish to be under Russian (military) protection.)

I believe that people should be free to govern themselves, to form their own government, and should not have to be subject to government by another people. Despite the apparent reported despotism of the Mugabe regime, I believe that the people of Zimbabwe (as Rhodesia, a former British colonial possession) should be free to govern themselves, as should the people of Algeria (a former French colonial possession), Burundi (a former Belgian colonial possession), Poland (a former Russian Soviet client state), Latvia (a state formerly occupied by the Soviet Union) and Tibet (occupied since 1960 by the People's Republic of China). What about Ireland? Scotland? Wales? Cornwall? Brittany? Flemish Belgium? Quebec? Lombardy? Greek Macedonia? Turkish Cyprus? Kurdistan? How is the geographical area of self-government to be determined? What about the European micro-states of Andorra? Monaco? Vatican City? San Marino? Lichtenstein? How self-governing are the Channel Isles (Jersey, Guernsey, Sark) and the Isle of Man? Where do micro-colonies fit in, such as Gibraltar? Ceuta?

Beyond consideration of geographical area, there is for me also uncertainty about what I mean by government. At a simple level, the Westminster government is sovereign. However, federal government in Washington DC is not legally competent over every aspect of legal process in the US. In Germany, the lande possess legal competence not shared by the federal government in Berlin. In the UK, the Westminster government devolved some of its power to the Scottish Parliament, and the Welsh and Northern Ireland Assemblies. Further, although under ultimate control by Westminster, city- and shire-based local authorities wield considerable power through their budgets, as do devolved institutions such as the National Health Service, the national rail network, and a plethora of quasi-non-governmental organisations. However, at an international level much of the legislation enacted by the UK government must conform with legislation enacted by, and directives from, the European Union; with the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade; with NATO; and with the United Nations. There are probably any number of international organisations about which I know little or nothing that have specific competence regarding areas of UK governance, and this is to ignore bilateral agreements and understandings, such as the recent military adventures undertaken by the US and UK in Iraq (seen, perhaps erroneously, by many people in the UK as the Westminster government acquiescing to the expectations of the US White House). Whilst pariah states (e.g. Burma and North Korea) and states under siege can run against the pack, at least for a period of time, states central to major world institutions, such as the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Japan either lead the world or else conform - mostly the latter. The exceptions seem to be the superpowers of the US and China, and formerly the Soviet Union, but even these states are under considerable international pressure to conform, as evidenced by the reluctant progress of the Bush administration to acknowledge the human contribution to global warming. So whilst there is a fiction of national sovereignty, there is also an actual dispersal of powers to international organisations. Significantly this de facto ceding of power is not to a world government, but largely to organisations competent in one realm, such as GATT, the World Bank, the IMF, NATO. The major exception to this is the United Nations. However, the UN achieves its authority only from the Assembly of national governments, not from some superior, independent organisation. The European Union, which is an attempt at pan-European government, uses a hybrid version with a combination of pooled national state authority, and trans-European democratic authority. Sadly, the popular democratic aspects of the EU are both weak and undermining of the enterprise. The UN, EU and NATO also make extensive use of experts.

A further international-scale blurring of the sovereignty of nation states is the power wielded by trans-national corporations in every field of finance, commerce and trade.

The foregoing also presupposes that national governments, as though by divine right, have always had sovereignty. A different reality is that they busily acquire power. In part, national governments have acquired authority in novel fields, such as the regulation of television (and thereby, in the UK, the opportunity to tax viewers) and radio communication (and thereby, in the UK, to sell bandwidth to cellphone companies). In part, national governments have acquired authority from other bodies: in (part-)nationalising some UK banks, the Westminster government has also bought itself an important voice in the UK banking industry. In part, national governments have acquired authority by removing the legal competence of autonomous bodies to regulate themselves. (The HPC [Health Professions Council, a UK government body], has recently regulated all psychologists in the UK, despite there being a pre-existing competent body. The HPC has now turned its attention to counsellors and psychotherapists, despite the BACP [British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy] having an effective accreditation scheme.)

To be continued ...

Shrinking U.S. Cities Find Splendor in Green

The article below is one of several I have seen recently along the same lines:

World Environment News - Some Shrinking U.S. Cities Find Splendor in Green - Planet Ark

I am aware that there are many millions of people, particularly in South America, Africa and parts of Asia, who would experience a vast improvement in their quality of life were they to be given the opportunity to live in these abandoned neighbourhoods. Is it ethically more sound to raze the houses to make green space, or to provide shelter for people who have none?

I am slowly but increasingly persuaded that no-one should be given the right to exclude other people from land that is not theirs: Israelis should have no right to exclude Palestinians from living in Israel; nor supporters of the British National Party [Front Nationale, Vlaams Blok/Belang] to prevent people with darker-coloured skin from living in western Europe. I guess that there are residents of Flint, Michigan, who would object to people from elsewhere in the world (such as refugees, asylum seekers and economic migrants) taking up residence in abandoned neighbourhoods.

A related, though separate, issue concerns social welfare. Were familes say, from Timbuktu, to relocate to Flint, Michigan, or to Pennywell, Sunderland, who would be responsible for their social welfare?

[To be continued ...]

Inauguration of a president

The United States has a new president. The world has a new leader. Arguably the single most powerful person on this planet is attempting to change the key in which the superpower, of which he is head of state and commander-in-chief, is humming to itself and singing to the rest of the world.

As I watched the inauguration, I realised that at any other enthronement present would have been presidents, other heads of state and prime ministers from around the world. The government of the US is so significant to the rest of the world that it could be reasonably, if light-heartedly, suggested that everyone in the world should be entitled to vote in the US presidential election.

One part of the world where engagement by the US is of utmost significance is the Middle East. Human rights and justice appear to be under attack from all sides. If ever there were a region crying out for wise, confident, informed, understanding and compassionate leadership, it is the Middle East. I hope that President Obama, Hilary Clinton, George Mitchell and their team are able and willing. Conflict de-escalation and depolarisation would seem to first steps. One group pleading for these is Jewish Voice for Peace:



Were Obama, Clinton and Mitchell to achieve nothing else but to restore hope, justice and human rights to all people in the Middle East, their legacy would be of historic proportions.

Come and See

I wrote the following in comment to a review on Amazon.co.uk regarding the Russian movie by Elem Klimov called Idi i smotri (Come and See). I have posted the comment here because I wish to develop a few ideas from it.

"Whilst what you have written may well be true, fair and balanced, Klimov's movie is intended only as true - it is you who place on it the burden of being fair and balanced. Whilst some art clearly does attempt to achieve balance, I am not sure that a painting such as 'Guernica' would be improved were it to attempt a panoptic perspective. Maybe a BBC documentary about the Second World War in Byelorussia would feel more satisfactory as accurate reporting and fair analysis."

The US Presidential election

1. When I was in the US during August, it was already absolutely clear to me that John McCain would win the election.

2. Subsequent to my return home, the appointment of Sarah Palin as McCain's running mate, whilst considered inexplicable from the perspective of European commentators, finally brought fully on board the rednecks, the gun lobby and the evangelicals, all of whom had viewed McCain with suspicion as being somewhat liberal. Whilst it still shocks me that there are Christian people in Britain who would have voted for McCain simply because of his Christian beliefs, I know that the same is much more intensely true in the US.

3. During August I saw John McCain start to change his presentation from being the obviously polite, considerate man that he is, to being a person with clear-cut, no-nonsense, straight-down the line answers to any and all questions. I watched the man transform his presentation from appealing pleasantly to conservative people to appealing to rednecks, pro-lifers and evangelicals. Had he been elected to the White House, it is not him about whom I would have felt concern, but all the lobbies to which he owed allegiance.

4. One of the catch-phrases in the movie Sliding Doors, and I think probably from Monty Python before that, is "No-one expects the Spanish Inquisition". The so-called credit crunch began in September. President Bush, and by implication, the Republicans in general are seen as having handled the US economy badly, whereas Bill Clinton is seen (perhaps fairly, perhaps not) as having handled the US economy remarkably well. I feel certain that Barack Obama has benefited from this perception without having earned that trust.

5. Prior to September, John McCain was doing well in the polls because of his military background. On the other hand, Barack Obama was seen as weak and flaky, as too understanding, as "nuanced". The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are not viewed by people in the US as anything like the liability that they are seen by almost everyone in Europe. The credit crunch turned an important issue into a very minor issue.

6. When I was in the US, I was struck by how similar Barack Obama is to how Tony Blair was back in 1997. To many, Tony Blair turned out to be a Tory in Labour livery. On the other hand, Hillary Clinton has a Senate track record of attempting to push through liberal welfare reforms. I believe that had Hillary Clinton been chosen as the Democratic Party nominee, she may well have won the election had the credit crunch not happened. I still rue the fact that she was not selected.

7. Since its much-celebrated birth, the United States has been a nation comprised almost entirely of immigrants from all over the world. Moreover, the overwhelming majority of the people were the poor and dispossessed: displaced native Americans, slaves of African ethnicity, and peasants from Europe, from Asia and from Latin America. Having visited Boston, New York City, Philadelphia, Washington DC, Florida and Chicago, I know that white-skinned people are a minority in the US, and will soon not even be the largest minority. White-skinned male patricians do not outnumber other groups in the US, yet this is the category of people from which the two political parties have typically selected their candidates. Martin Luther King's dream was 40 years ago. There is part of me that is appalled that "the world and her lovers" are rejoicing about the skin colour of the person elected to be the next US President. Is it really true that these times are still so benighted?

8. The excitement and razzmatazz around Obama has enthused many people, and raised expectations into geostationary orbit. I wonder how long he will be given before people realise that he is merely the Commander in Chief of the US military, and not Superman, Father Christmas, the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny and Jesus Christ merged into one super-hero.

9. I hope and believe that the world is much safer for having a Democrat, rather than a Republican, White House.

10. Had I been able to vote at a Democratic primary, I would have voted for Hillary Clinton. Had I had a vote in the US Presidential election, I would, without a shadow of a doubt, have voted for Barack Obama.

Postscript (18 July 2009)

My overall, if no-longer well-informed, sense is that Barack Obama has done a stirling job during the first six months of his office. In comparison, the UK government under Gordon Brown appears to have stumbled from crisis to crisis in remorseless succession. Whilst Obama's administration inspires hope for the future, the UK is sinking ever deeper into the mire. I should find it much easier to be proud to be American than proud to be British.

Was this evil?

The following story is edited from the BBC News website

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/wales/7631234.stm: 2008/09/23 14:33:28 GMT

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/wales/7631734.stm: 2008/09/23 15:55:25 GMT

A 32-year-old woman has been found guilty of murdering her four-year-old disabled daughter.

Joanne Hill, from Connah's Quay, in Flintshire, had admitted drowning Naomi in the bath last year but denied murder due to diminished responsibility. Hill was jailed for life with a minimum term of 15 years. Chester Crown Court was told she had been unable to cope with Naomi's mild cerebral palsy.

Naomi's father Simon Hill described his wife's actions as "evil".

During the two-week trial, the jury heard hard-drinking Hill was ashamed of Naomi's condition, which meant the little girl had to use callipers to help her walk.

Judge Elgan Edwards told Hill there was no excuse for what she did. He said the aggravating features in the case were the vulnerability of Naomi and the breach of trust between a mother and daughter. He said: "You killed your own daughter because you could not cope with her disability. You had other pressures upon you, a disintegrating marriage and you decided to kill your own daughter by drowning her."

Because of the murder conviction Hill will not return to a secure unit but go straight to prison, the judge said. He commented on Hill's "sad" history of mental health problems and said he hoped she would be transferred back to hospital very soon. He added: "This has been a very sad case. Sad for you, for your husband, for the child you killed. "There can be no excuse for what you did."

On 26 November, 2007, Hill collected Naomi from a child-minder and took her home. The court heard how Hill had run a bath, adding bubble bath and came down for a glass of wine. When the bath was full, Hill put her daughter in the bath and drowned her by holding her head under the water for up to 10 minutes. The post-mortem examination found Naomi had died by drowning and also found facial haemorrhages which pointed to the girl's head being forcibly held under water with her face against the surface of the bath. Hill then dressed the little girl and put her in her car together with a bottle of wine before her husband returned home from work. She then drove around for eight hours.

The following day, Hill arrived at the Countess of Chester Hospital with her dead daughter in her arms, shouting for help.

The court heard how it was unclear what Hill was doing in the eight hours leading up to her arrival at hospital with Naomi dead in her arms. Police established she visited a petrol station at about 2330 BST that night and the jury were shown CCTV footage of her smiling and joking with the sales assistant.

Speaking after Hill was convicted by a unanimous jury, her husband Simon said: "Joanne is a non-swimmer with a fear of water. To be held under water is her biggest fear. "What she did to my princess Naomi was evil. There's not a minute that goes by without me wishing that [Naomi] was still here. She was my constant companion, she was my best friend, she was my little princess."

Hill's mental health issues first became apparent in the early 1990s when, aged 17, she saw a child psychiatrist for anxiety and repetitive thoughts. In 2000, she attempted suicide and throughout the year she was prescribed a medication for anxiety, depression and sleeplessness. In January 2003, shortly before Naomi was born, Hill was diagnosed with chronic anxiety and immediately afterwards, suffered a severe form of post-natal depression.

In a statement North Wales NHS Trust said a full review was to be conducted under the control of the Flintshire Local Safeguarding Children's Board. "Until these formal processes have concluded it would be inappropriate for the trust to make any detailed comment and the trust is also bound by the rules of patient confidentiality," the statement read.

A spokeswoman for the disability charity Scope, which focuses on people with cerebral palsy, said they were "saddened and appalled by this case". "Naomi's death is a tragedy," Alice Maynard said. "However, this case raises the wider issue of how many disabled parents still don't get the support they need in bringing up children and how society continues to portray disability in a negative light, creating shame and stigma around impairment. "Tragically, in this instance, this combination of factors proved lethal."

The jury in the trial of Joanne Hill, who has been convicted of murdering her disabled daughter, had a crucial decision to make about the 32-year-old's state of mind.

Hill, of Connah's Quay, Flintshire had killed four-year-old Naomi but the jury had to decide whether she was ill on the day she killed her daughter.

The defence case rested on proving that Hill, who had a history of mental health problems, was suffering "an abnormality of mind" when she drowned Naomi in the bath.

But Michael Chambers QC, for the prosecution, said Mrs Hill's behaviour in the months and days leading up to the killing had been considered normal and rational.

He said Hill should be found guilty of murder, rather than manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility, because she had made a "deliberate and conscious" decision to kill her daughter.

Naomi was disabled, having mild cerebral palsy, and Hill could not cope with it, claimed the prosecution.

But deciding whether somebody is mentally ill at a particular time is a complex task.

During the trial at Chester Crown Court, Dr Aideen O'Halloran, a consultant forensic psychiatrist, said Hill's behaviour in the weeks leading up to Naomi's death indicated she was having a relapse of her mental health condition.

The court was told Hill had a history of mental health problems which first became apparent in the early 1990s when she was 17 years old and saw a child psychiatrist for anxiety and repetitive thoughts.

In 2000, Hill twice attempted suicide and throughout the year she was prescribed medication for anxiety, depression and sleeplessness.

In January 2003, shortly before the birth of Naomi, Hill was diagnosed with chronic anxiety and the following April, she had a "hypermanic" episode.

After Naomi was born ten weeks prematurely in a "difficult" birth, Hill suffered a severe form of postnatal depression, although she did respond to treatment.

On Boxing Day 2006 she suffered a severe relapse and left the family home to be cared for by her parents.

Once again Hill recovered, returning to work part-time in the March and full-time a month later.

In June, doctors decided there was no need for further involvement by her local Mental Health Team and in August her case was closed, although she remained under the care of her GP and on several types of medication.

In November, it was recorded that she was drinking heavily, increasing the risk of depression and the likelihood that she would stop taking her medicine.

Later that month she killed Naomi.

Dr O'Halloran concluded that Hill was suffering from depression and was able to "disassociate" her feelings, a combination that was "an abnormality of the mind" in her view.

But Dr Paul Chesterman, a consultant forensic psychiatrist, told the jury Hill's actions had not suggested a mental disorder at the time of the killing last year.

Hill had enjoyed a night out and had sex with a workmate on the Thursday before Naomi was killed, behaviour that Dr Chesterman said was "incompatible" with clinical depression.

Away from the trial, Gordon Huntley from the charity Wrexham Mind office sympathised with the jury's difficult task.

"When it comes to mental health it's far more difficult. When it's a physical illness, it's quite visible," he said.

"With mental health it's not quite so easy because the person doesn't necessarily understand what's going on themselves.

"It can be really difficult for jurors to come to any sort of understanding, let alone decision, about why somebody might want to do something like that."

And the complexity of the issue can lead to very different conclusions, even from experts, about a person's state of mind.

"I don't always agree with some of my colleagues in health on occasions," said Mr Huntley.

"I work closely with them and I'm quite friendly with a number but they do face quite difficult decisions in terms of what is happening to an individual.

"'What diagnosis do I give them and therefore what treatment can I give them or is available, is it the right one?'

"It's quite difficult and can be quite a lonely position for them to carry that burden."

Mr Huntley said it was also incredibly difficult to predict whether somebody with a history of serious mental health problems was likely to commit an extreme act.

"The stigma that people face with mental health issues is significant but it's not warranted, but unfortunately there are incidents that lead to tragic circumstances," he said.

"While for the vast majority, that's not the case, there are some of those events and sometimes people fall through the gaps."

European invasion of the Americas (1)

My two visits to the Smithsonian Museum of the American Indian, Washington DC, prompted me to consider the ethics of the European invasion of the Americas from 1492 onwards. I have been journalling about this issue in detail on paper, but have been reluctant to date to commit any of my thoughts to publicly-accessible electronic form. However, having just read the article reproduced below, I thought that it would make a good start to the process of placing my thoughts about the issue in the public domain. The article is in Planet Ark, world environment news, which I believe to be a subsidiary of Reuters.

***

BRASILIA - Isolated native Indians in the Amazon forest of Brazil and Peru remain threatened by advancing loggers despite growing international attention to their plight, a senior Brazilian official said on Thursday.

"Pressure from Peruvian loggers continues, it's a concern," Marcio Meira, head of the government's Indian affairs agency, Funai, told the foreign press association in Brasilia.

Brazil's Acre state along the border with Peru is one of the world's last refuges for such groups, but increasing activity by wildcat miners and loggers puts them at risk.

Dramatic pictures of pigment-covered Indians from the region threatening the photographer's aircraft with bows and arrows were carried in May by media worldwide.

The Peruvian ambassador to Brazil subsequently told Meira his government was concerned about the issue and preparing measures, without detailing what these were.

Brazil has 26 confirmed native Indian tribes that live with little or no contact with the outside world. There are unconfirmed reports of an additional 35 such groups.

Many of them live in the forest like their forefathers did centuries ago, hunting and gathering.

More than three months after the photographs sparked an international media frenzy, Funai officials continue to witness logging activity in the region. "There is evidence. We see timber floating down the river which originates in Peru," said Meira.

Survival International, a group that campaigns for tribal peoples' rights, said last week that the Peruvian government had not lived up to its promise of publishing an investigation into accusations of illegal logging.

"The Peruvian government must not be allowed to bury this issue, or to turn their backs on the uncontacted tribes," said Survival's director, Stephen Corry.

The issue will be discussed at an international conference on native Indians in Georgetown, Guyana, later this month, Meira said.

Advancing loggers also threaten isolated tribes in Brazil's northern Mato Gross state and along the upper Xingu river in Para state, Meira said.

(Reporting by Raymond Colitt, editing by Ross Colvin)

Story Date: 15/9/2008

***

New camcorder: review

This is the review I have written for Amazon about the new little camcorder I bought for my daughter to use.

***

I already have three camcorders of different ages, as well as a video recording function on my SE P990i, and I should like to buy an HD camcorder: I am not a novice.

The Busbi Video Plus Camcorder is a kind of 'Amstrad' camcorder - unadorned with bells and whistles, but extremely easy to use, and represents good value for money. It feels like using a cellphone to record video, but the resulting images are far superior. The control buttons are completely intuitive: we have not yet opened the instruction manual. My wife and my daughter's care worker have also been using the camcorder to make short videos without instruction.

The picture quality is fine and stable, although the picture becomes grainy in poor light. The colours are good. The 2x zoom is useful for framing, although being digital not optical results in some loss of image quality. The sound recording from the internal microphone is impressive.

Linking the camcorder's bundled short USB cable to a digital photoframe, we were able to watch our video clips with ease. Connecting the camcorder's bundled video cable to the television was equally straightforward and satisfactory.

I used the camcorder's USB port and the camcorder's own (presumably flash-loaded) excellent software to download the 11 video clips we have made: amazingly straightforward. The camcorder creates .AVI files, at about 20 MB / minute when set on HQ (high quality). I bought a 2GB flash memory card to support the camcorder's onboard 500 MB. The one clunkiness is that video clips are not automatically saved onto the flash card. Just to complete the process, I intend this weekend to edit and upload onto my YouTube channel a short movie based on some of the clips.

Reservations:
1) There is no lens cover.
2) The monitor screen swivels only around one axis - for example, to record oneself, and not around two axes - useful, for example when filming over the heads of people, or when shooting from close to the floor.

Uncertainties:
1) How long will the batteries last? I shall be happy if they can do a day's tourist filming.
2) How long will the camcorder continue to function? I shall be happy provided it lasts a full 12 months.
3) How robust is the camcorder? After all, most of us have dropped a cellphone at least once

For the time being, we are very happy with the Busbi Video Plus Camcorder. Should things start to go wrong, I shall write another posting to set the record straight. I award it five stars not because it boasts a high specification, but because it is highly functional, easy to use, and at GBP70 (now reduced to GBP65) it represents very good value for money.

Having visited Auschwitz-Birkenau

One of my sisters recently visited Auschwitz-Birkenau. I have never had the courage to visit that grim place, and I respect her for doing so. In response to her visit she found herself asking versions of the primary questions listed below that she was kind enough to e-mail me. I have added some searching, self-reflective supplementary questions because that is my nature. It is not my intention to remove anything from her experience by developing her material in this way. Rather, my purpose is to engage with her material in ways that are relevant to my process. As recorded elsewhere, I am currently active in considering a new non-religious ethical framework for society. It is in this context that my supplementary questions can best be read.

Q1. What is the character of someone who believes that other people are a sub-species and unworthy of life? Are there occasions when I treat someone, or some group of people, with less than the full respect that belongs to humanity?

Q2. What possible ethical framework could permit medical doctors to perform "experiments" on living people, and subsequently kill those people with phenol injections? In what ways do I behave unethically towards people, even if those people live in a different continent? I buy electronic goods that I suspect were manufactured in Chinese sweat-shops; I buy food staples that may have been grown and harvested by poor and oppressed people working the farms and estates of trans-national corporations.

Q3. What did the recipients of second-hand clothes / false limbs/ glasses / suitcases / etc., believe about their provenance? Do I always enquire about the provenance of the clothes I wear and the food I eat?

Q4. How could anyone feel okay about making cloth from the hair, and lampshades from the skin, of people for whom they have contempt, and what kind of person would want to possess objects made from those materials? What will people of the future think about the choices I have been making during my life?

Q5. Why did the Nazi machine go to the lengths of transporting Jewish people from places as far away as Greece and Portugal (taking up to 10 days in freight trains) to Birkenau, only then to murder them?

Q6. How did the tens, or even hundreds, of thousands of people who were involved at some level in the premeditated murder of Jewish, Roma, gay and disabled people across Europe, subsequently reconcile themselves with the wickedness in which they had participated, or at least with which they had colluded? How do I reconcile myself with knowledge of the hurt and pain I have caused people during my life?

Q7. Why didn't the Hungarian 'underground resistance' disseminate the news from escapees about what was happening in Birkenau, and thus prevent half a million Jewish people from being transported there in 1944? How guilty am I for allowing people to believe what I have known not to be true.

Q8. To what extent did the UK and US governments keep quiet about Auschwitz-Birkenau? Why do I stand by without complaint and permit the UK government to deport from the UK refugees from strife-torn parts of the world?

Q9. Are the Italian authorities currently dehumanising the Roma people, and thereby moving in the same direction as the Nazis? Is my conscience as squeaky clean as I should like people to believe?

Q10. By what signs could I recognise that the people around me have gone a step too far? Would I be prepared to recognise that a line had been crossed? What would I do about it were I to see it happening?

***

The following poem is widely attributed to Pastor Martin Niemöller (1892–1984) about the inactivity of German intellectuals following the Nazi rise to power and the purging of their chosen targets, group after group.

Original

Translation

Als die Nazis die Kommunisten holten, habe ich geschwiegen; ich war ja kein Kommunist. Als sie die Sozialdemokraten einsperrten, habe ich geschwiegen; ich war ja kein Sozialdemokrat. Als sie die Gewerkschafter holten, habe ich nicht protestiert; ich war ja kein Gewerkschafter. Als sie die Juden holten, habe ich geschwiegen; ich war ja kein Jude. Als sie mich holten, gab es keinen mehr, der protestieren konnte.

When the Nazis came for the communists, I remained silent; I was not a communist. When they locked up the social democrats, I remained silent; I was not a social democrat. When they came for the trade unionists, I did not speak out; I was not a trade unionist. When they came for the Jews, I remained silent; I wasn't a Jew. When they came for me, there was no one left to speak out.

***

In 2003, American punk rock band NoFX paraphased the poem in the song "Re-gaining Unconsciousness" on the album War on Errorism

First they put away the dealers,

keep our kids safe and off the street.

Then they put away the prostitutes,

keep married men cloistered at home.

Then they shooed away the bums,

then they beat and bashed the queers,

turned away asylum-seekers,

fed us suspicions and fears.

We didn't raise our voice,

we didn't make a fuss.

It's funny there was no one left to notice

when they came for us.

***

"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil, is for good men to do nothing." (frequently misattributed to Edmund Burke.)

***

14:50 Wednesday 16 July 2008, Cafe, Murray Library, Sunderland

My sister visited Auschwitz-Birkenau last weekend. I am filled with tears simply imagining the experience. I wish never to visit the place which is as close to hell as I ever need to hear about. Besides, my credentials go a long way to excusing me the ordeal. As a lifelong pacifist, a Quaker for 25 years and a vegan for nearly 15 years, it would be difficult to mistake where I stand on issues relating to the wickednesses perpetrated in that evil place. On most of the occasions when I have visited Amsterdam I have been in the Anne Frank House, which I have also browsed online. I have visited the holocaust memorials in both Paris (several times) and in Berlin (where I should also like to visit the new memorial to the gay people who were murdered by the Nazi regime). Also in Berlin I have twice visited the harrowing Topography of Terror exhibition next to the Martin Gropius House. In both Sunderland (Crowtree Centre) and Newcastle (a gallery off Pilgrim Street) I have attended holocaust exhibitions. I have not only attended the anti-apartheid demonstration outside the South African Embassy in London when white-skinned people ruled South Africa, but I have also picketed Barclays Bank in Durham for its collusion with the apartheid regime. Perhaps more controversially, I make a point of reading the website of the far right British National Party in order to understand their poison. I have attended anti-racist training workshops, although I have never led any. However, I have led gay-awareness and mental health awareness workshops. My daughter has multiple disabilities, and as one response, I use British Sign Language. During the first five years of my life I was brought up in close proximity to a Jewish family (Marion and David Bernard and their three children) in north-west London. As a counsellor I have examined in detailed, and hold up for ongoing examination, my opinions, attitudes and thoughts. As a Quaker, my beliefs are subject to perpetual examination. Superficially, then, my credentials appear kosher. However, I have written almost nothing about any of this in a way that positions me in relation to other people - I rarely stand up to be counted. I am, in fact, indistinguishable from the narrator or Niemöller's poem. Neither do I do much that makes a practical, positive difference. It is not sufficient that I have a preference for the light of truth and love, and that I reject the darkness of ignorance, fear and hatred. I have lost sight of the fact that it is my duty to be creating light, and my responsibility to be shining as a beacon against the darkness of falsehood and hypocrisy. Compared to the bleak days of the 1930s and 1940s, I live in blessed times. Compared to the darkness that enshrouds the populations of Zimbabwe, Burma and North Korea, the UK is "summertime, and the living is easy" ... but I have, for too long, chosen to sit on my hands. My comfortably-won credentials do not, in fact, excuse me from visiting Auschwitz-Birkenau. The first question for me to ask now is whether I am able to stir myself into action before making that grim pilgrimage.

An existential morality

From the material below I shall create a new weblog posting.

To the extent of my privilege I am existentially obliged to live not only true to my nature and values, but also to improve the world. Why? Because my existence exacts a significant price on the world. Unless I mitigate my existence, I shall leave the world a worse place.

I do not believe that I am privileged to be alive: I had no choice in the decision (or 'mistake') that brought me into existence; I choose not to end my life just yet. I am privileged in that I live in the 21st century AD not BC; that I live in the UK where I have many freedoms, including that of speech, and not in Myanmar, North Korea, Zimbabwe or Colombia; that I live in the economically-developed western world, not in the economically developing world; that I have climbed out of an economically-impoverished and socially-marginalised community in Brent into a professional, intellectual, middle-class life-style. I have no doubt that I am privileged, as are many other people. My privilege gives me power that I can choose to use as I wish. A person with less privilege may have little if any power at their disposal.

My existentialism demands that I live my life true to my own nature. I believe that many people internalise values that are not their own, fail to examine those internalised values, and live their lives at variance from their true nature.

Rights belong to formal or informal legislative frameworks. There is nothing inherent about human rights, consumer rights or birthrights. God-given rights are only for those who believe in a god, which I do not. I claim no rights, although the law of the state and the framework of the community and society in which I live grant me rights. I am granted the right to life until that right is withdrawn (for example, were I to be found guilty of a capital offence).

One of my values is respect for life. I live this in that I am a full pacifist, I oppose capital punishment around the world, and I am a strict vegan. I also respect a person's desire to die.

I recognise that my continued existence is costly. The world is a worse place for my continued existence: my carbon footprint being a topical example; I consume resources such as copper in the cables that power this computer; people feed me by sowing, reaping and processing soya beans; my GP prescribes me blood pressure medication; my daughter is taught at school. Being a westerner, I consume much more than the average person. Being a westerner, and therefore have privilege, I command more power than a refugee in Africa or south-east Asia. Whether I like it or not, the west rests on the bounty of the Earth and on the backs of the world's poor. I feel obligated to mitigate those burdens in the ways that are in my power and that I choose.

Some thoughts about a non-religious ethical framework

This post is in the process of being moved to its own website:

http://www.newethicalframework.googlepages.com/home


Some thoughts about a non-religious ethical framework

Introduction

It is my fantasy that in times long past, when life for most people was uneducated, tough and frighteningly easy to lose, the various Christian churches played an important role in developing an ‘ethical framework’ that has led to what is currently the aging ‘ethical scaffolding’ of UK and western society. However, despite their former value to society, the role of churches passed its sell-by date at least a century or two ago. Our world is not the simple, fixed world of Genesis, although there are many in different churches who would have it otherwise. Our complex world is the creation of Copernicus, Galileo, da Vinci, Newton, Lavoisier, Priestley, Lyall, Hume, Watt, Stephenson, Armstrong, Darwin, Curie, Rutherford, Einstein, Marconi, Freud, Crick, Watson, Pauling, Sagan, Hawking, Berners-Lee, Gates and ten thousand others.

The vacuum left by the departure of the churches from the centre ground of social existence has long now been occupied by a consumerist materialism (including the use of legal and illegal stimulants), the consumption of passive and voyeuristic entertainment (Hello-style journalism and television), and an obsession with glamour and celebrity (including royalty), sport and get-rich-quick competition. I believe that the ethical values to which these concerns point serve well the organisations that profit from them, and serve poorly the needs of ordinary people to negotiate the hurdles, perils and disappointments of life, and to live satisfying and fulfilling lives.

It is also possible to hear much criticism of some churches for providing too little public steer on issues of the day, and yet encounter other churches (e.g. fundamentalist Right and the conservative Amish in the US; Jehovah's Witnesses in the UK), and religious sects (e.g. the Taleban in Afghanistan; radical Madrassas in Pakistan) that insist on such a rigid steer that individual people are granted little freedom, and non-followers may be at risk (e.g. attacks on doctors who run abortion clinics in the US; Islamic terrorism). A new ethical framework would encourage searching for information and understanding when considering contemporary issues, would prize compassion, and would provide the principles for addressing the issues.

Although a non-religious ethical framework would in time replace past religious ethical structures, it would also build on many aspects of their insights, ideas and philosophy. For example, the Mosaic 'commandments' and the Christian 'beatitudes', although expressed in a manner unattractive to many people, address a wealth of important ideas such as respect for self, for family members, for community, for people who are disempowered or powerless, for strangers. Lifting rocks that now overlie the variously-identified virtues and vices (for example, the 'seven deadly sins' and their complementary virtues), long-mocked because of the sham and hypocritical authority to which people were made accountable, reveals a treasure trove of personal values. Buddhism is built on an impressive foundation of ideas and values. However, this is not to suggest that a non-religious ethical framework would be merely an eclectic hotch-potch of recycled ideas. It is important that the framework would be underpinned both by a deep existential philosophy, and some congruent theoretical principles.

Sin

Within a new ethical framework there would be only a weak concept of sin. Instead there would be both the recognition that most people most of the time are doing what they think best. If they are acting in ways that others consider to be wrong, there is likely to be a reason for it. However, the person who is acting in a manner than meets with the opprobrium of others may be acting out of a lack of compassion for other people. One of the central tenets of a new ethical framework would be the explicit balancing of looking after self with compassion for other people: neither total selfishness nor total selflessness are sufficient. Therefore the concept of sin would be largely relegated to a need for a rebalancing. Similarly, a new ethical framework would avoid generating a sense of guilt. Not only would there be no concept of original sin, but the entire framework would try to avoid opportunities for feelings of guilt. A new ethical framework would be tolerant of personal weakness (e.g. transgression and superstition).

Law

A new ethical framework for society would not replace legislation. This is important for several reasons. First, legislation is usually about requirements and prohibitions, whereas a new ethical framework would attempt to be empowering. Second, legislation is mostly made at the national, regional and local levels, often reflecting the will of the people, whereas a new ethical framework would attempt to be universal. Third, most legislation is about protecting other people (recognising that to eveyone else, I am also 'other people'), whereas a new ethical framework would focus on self , and would almost certainly propose much higher standards of conduct than is usually required under legislation. It might be hoped that a new ethical framework would, in time, influence legislation.

Texts

A new ethical framework would not be a code, or rule, by which to live. It is important that the spirit of the framework, not the words used to describe it, is what is prized. Therefore, there would not be one text alone that defined the ethical framework. Indeed, in a general sense, every text ever written, every image ever created, every movie ever made, would contribute to the understanding of the framework. For example, the written works of Adolf Hitler show us something about what can go so badly wrong, how people can so easily be scapegoated, and how easy it can be to slip into that way of being. The 'Godfather' movies may show us that a thoroughly despicable ordering of society offers attractions that may beguile. However, much more specifically there would need to be some comprehensive texts that outlined, explained and described the framework. Like some temples and shrines in Japan, and like many dictionaries, these texts would be extended, revised and updated with regularity and frequency. These texts would be publicly available online. There may need to be simple texts for people with little education, whether young or not, texts aimed at educated adults, and texts for more academic people, as well as co-ordination between the texts. There would also need to be a vast, annotated 'reading' list pointing people to existing works that could help to explore specific issues. Included in this list would be the religious texts of the major religions the world over: the Tao Teh Ching, the Baghavad Gita, the Bible, the Koran, the later Sikh Gurus, the Tibetan Book of the Dead, and so on. Each annotation would caution against revering individuals in such a way as to sanctify, or worse, deify, them.

Values

I should like to contribute to the development of a new, positive, dynamic, responsive ethical framework, wrested from the clutches of institutions such as the church, state and corporate capitalism. This new ethical framework would be based on the altruistic values of charities, the internationalism of NGOs, the work values of trusts and co-operatives, the environmental values of Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth, the relationship values of person-centred counselling, the social awareness values of minority cohesion groups, the justice values of community action groups, the self-improvement values of the WEA and the Open University, spiced with a celebration of craft and artistic endeavours of all kinds.

Putting together the above, how is it to be presented? The written and oral traditions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, condensed into rigid canons, have become weapons with which to defend and attack. That is a bad model. Deification of a person or a cabal is an even worse idea. The new ethical framework would need to be flexible enough to be expanded/contracted and changed to respond adequately to circumstances. It would be in the hands of many, and not merely an elite, but neither would it be merely populist (no 'beauty-contest' cell-phone voting).

Some words describing the ethos of the ethical framework

Harmony, resonance, spiritual, inspiration, aspiration

Compassion, love, truth, authenticity

Diversity, heterogeneity, pluralism

Path, way, journey

An ethical framework for the everyday and for seeking deeper meaning

One of the faults of much organised religion is that it attributes greater significance to people who are able to engage more fully in religious activities and who are able to run the organisation: popes and bishops, imams and rabbis, priests and monks. A new ethical framework would not focus on the individual but on processes. A person might involve themselves for much of the time at an everyday level of ethical awareness, for example taking decisions informed by their ethical principles. That same individual might spend some time seeking after deeper meaning. On other occasions that some person might lead others in their exploration. Although many religious clergy might claim that they are no more special than any member of their congregation, that is not how most people view them. The new ethical framework, in focusing on processes, would refuse role titles, and would only describe processes. These processes would include:

everyday functioning

seeking truth / meaning

leading others in their search for truth / meaning

Person and self

A deep respect for self would be good, so that self-aggrandisement at the expense of other becomes no longer necessary. Self-development would become a permanent aspiration, and counselling would be seen as a valuable activity in which to participate. The material, emotional, intellectual and spiritual needs (Maslow) of each person would be elevated. Without safety, food and a place to live, a person has little opportunity to achieve their full potential.

Relationship to others

To replace the sneering, contemptuous, cynical, exploitative attitude that appears to pervade public discourse worldwide, a new ethical framework would focus on one's relationships with family, community and society, alongside a deep respect for people. Courtesy and politness, as found in Japan, would be prized. Fundamentally permissive, a new ethical framework would prize social diversity, and would consider social conformity to be unnecessary and often unhelpful. Nationalism in any form would not be encouraged at the everyday level of processing, and at other levels of processing would be discouraged.

A respect that acknowledges their experience, their story, their aspirations, their reality. The Kantian ethical principles of beneficence, non-maleficence and justice would serve well, providing a framework for looking after family, neighbour, community, society, the world community and the natural environment. Attitudes of self-respect, humility and giving dignity could replace the Pop Idol -type aspirations that has come to infect the 21st century West.

Relationship with the natural environment

There would also be a deep respect for the natural world, including land, sea and air, animals and plants. To pollute would be as though to soil one's own home. To treat living things callously would be as though to treat one's parents, siblings and children with contempt.

Spiritual dimension

Esteemed places are already reserved for wonder, awe and mystery. Superstition, however, will play no part in this new, humanist ethic, neither pagan astrology nor theistic beliefs. Souls, an after-life and reincarnation will be acknowledged as concepts that distract and make truth more elusive. From dust my body was formed, and to dust it will return. From oblivion I was created, nurtured into awareness, until I am annihilated. De facto, I live the interval between oblivion and annihilation in a spirit shaped by interaction. Like piano strings resonating to sounds in the environment, my spirit resonates with the spirits of others, and maybe in turn causes the spirits of yet others to resonate. Spirit may live on, through dance, images, music, words, and for a short while in memory. However, at death my life is over: there is no longer an 'I', no 'me', no awareness. No place for the concept of an immortal soul.

Nor is there any requirement for a god. The concept of a deity is unhelpful as it turns away from the spirit. Therefore there would be no need for mediators of religion in the form of priests, bishops or popes. However, a new ethical framework would be permissive, for whilst not requiring theistic and other religious beliefs, neither would it exclude the believer. A new ethical framework would also permit a personal morality to sit within the framework.

Creativity bubble

I have been experimenting using Bubbl.us. It is an online mind mapping program, currently free of charge. I find it intuitively easy to use. It allows printing, import and export, pasting onto web pages and weblogs (see below), and aspects of the appearance are customisable. I have created four bubbles to date, including the bubble reproduced below. Looking at the embedding coding, the program uses Shockwave, so if you cannot see the bubble sheet below, it might be because the computer on which the bubble is being viewed does not have Shockwave loaded.

I have been using Bubbl.us with the Firefox browser, and have found that the program keeps eating RAM without releasing any (I tracked memory usage using Windows Task Manager). This has resulted in my laptop running so slowly as to require exiting Firefox after a while. I do not know whether this glitch belongs to Firefox or to Bubbl.us. (Later: I am convincing myself that the problem is Firefox-related.)

Whilst I appreciate many art-forms such as painting, sculpture, photography, movies, theatre, opera, ballet and dance, I am not a creatively artistic person, as I cannot draw, paint, sculpt, act or dance. I do not consider myself to be especially creative, although I enjoy being creative.

I used Bubbl.us to create the following bubble about my creativity. The image is live, and using the controls in the top left hand corner, can be scaled and re-centred. Also, by holding down the left-mouse button while the cursor is over the image, it is possible to move the sheet around.