So long, farewell
Posted on | November 4, 2011 | No Comments
Keeping a blog or website demands time and effort- qualities which I’ve run out of over the past couple of months.
So this site will be closing soon.
Thanks to the readers and visitors who’ve contributed by way of comment- complimentary or otherwise-over the past couple of years.
Best wishes,
Dominic
40% of youth prisoners are black
Posted on | October 26, 2011 | No Comments
How on earth did we end up in a situation like this?
According to the Chief Inspector of Prisons, young black men now account for nearly 40% of the population of youth jails in England and Wales. Yet the population of black people in the United Kingdom remains less than 10%.
The report highlights are set out in The Guardian, but there is little discussion as to an explanation for the high figure. It would appear that black youths are being caught up in the criminal justice system very early and are more likely to be sent to jail; an increasing number – 53% now, compared with 39% last year – of young men are being sent to prison for the first time.
Read the report here.
I’m lucky to be white, says actor
Posted on | October 24, 2011 | No Comments
Life's good if you're a white guy
Actor Vincent Kartheiser has spoken openly about how his white ethnicity has made his life easy. The actor made it clear that being a white man comes with a huge set of advantages that are not afforded to most people throughout the world.
“It’s pretty easy. I’m a white American,” Kartheiser said. “We’re all kind of born with a silver spoon in our mouth. We’re all much luckier than people born in Bolivia or West Africa.”
“I’m the luckiest guy in the world. I would love it if you would put this in your magazine,” he said to Vulture Magazine. “I realize that my career is 99 percent luck, if not 99.9 percent luck. The fact that I’m born in America, and America has control over all these other colonies, and enslaved all these other countries — I mean, there are so many things that have happened in my life that make me so lucky.”
Starkey sticks to his guns- ‘Ask Darcus Howe’ he says
Posted on | October 4, 2011 | No Comments
Starkey
Howe
BBC Newsnight will not face any action following complaints about comments made by historian David Starkey on the show last August.
Ofcom ruled that the program’s presenter, Emily Maitlis and other other guests on the night, had sufficiently challenged Starkey.
During his appearance on Newsnight in August, Starkey spoke of “a profound cultural change” and said he had been re-reading Enoch Powell’s rivers of blood speech. ”His prophesy was absolutely right in one sense. The Tiber did not foam with blood but flames lambent, they wrapped around Tottenham and wrapped around Clapham,” he said.
Starkey has stood by his comments. Speaking at a fringe event at the Tory party conference in Manchester, he said the summer riots were the result of: ”a gang culture that began amongst blacks and spread among whites.”
“If you don’t believe me, ask Darcus Howe,” he said, adding that “In the south of England and the midlands there is a complete vacuum of identity.
“Rioting did not take place in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, nor the poorest parts of northeast England and Yorkshire,” he said. “These places have a clear idea of who they are.”
He said many of the problems in England were due to a lack of common identity and common purpose. “The rich in this country behave as monstrously as they do because there is no sense of common purpose,” he said, claiming: “The City of London has become a city state, complete with a fool jester despot in Boris Johnson.”
Help save a life by giving blood
Posted on | September 20, 2011 | No Comments
The ACLT and National Blood Service (part of the NHS Blood and Transplant) would like to invite you to support the ACLT’s 3rd Daniel De-Gale Blood Donation Week (3rd to 7th October 2011) and to encourage the Black & Mixed Race community to register as new and regular blood donors by donating a unit (475 mls) of blood for transfusion purposes, even if you may already be on the bone marrow register.
This is the 3rd year the ACLT has had the honour of showcasing this week long programme of blood drives up and down the country, held in tribute to Daniel’s life, legacy and untimely passing on the 8th October 2008. We would like you to join us in celebrating all that he achieved in his life by encouraging the community to help save lives by donating blood on a regular basis to help the thousands of people requiring frequent and sometimes life saving blood transfusions and at the same time to consider becoming potential bone marrow donors if they have not done so already.
Donations really do make a difference. During the last 3-4 years of Daniel’s life he had been diagnosed with Haemolytic Anaemia (abnormal breakdown of red blood cells) and became reliant on receiving 3-5 units of blood every week. The generosity of the (primarily) white British community, helped to preserve Daniel’s life, enabling him to continue his degree in Sports Physiotherapy at the London Metropolitan University in North London. Without this life line, Daniel’s life would have been cut much earlier and he would not have reached the age of 21.
Every minute of every day someone somewhere needs blood for life saving treatments and the daily demand is for 8,000 units of blood. However 4% of the UK population give blood and shockingly, only 0.45% of these donors are black individuals. Yet so many people rely on blood for a variety of reasons such as treatment of cancers, transfusions for Sickle Cell Anaemia patients, during child birth, major surgery and other life threatening conditions including victims of gun and knife crime. With just one unit of blood having the ability to save 3 lives, we’re asking all members of the African and Caribbean community to do something small in order to achieve something really big by becoming a life saver. Watch the ACLT Video about registering as a donor called “My Brother’s Keeper” or Comedian Eddie Kadi showing how easy it is to give blood.
Attendance is by appointment only so please, Call the ACLT on: 020 8240 4480 40 minutes of your time is all it takes to save someone’s life. Do it during your lunch hour or break, before, during or after work, university and college or on your day off. Will you please step forward NOW to start the change the Black or Mixed Race community needs today?
Daniel De-Gale Blood Donation Week
Please note: General good health. Age to register and donate blood is 17-65 years. Age to register as a bone marrow donor with the NBS’s (British Bone Marrow Registry) is 18-49 (staying on the register till your 60th birthday). If you have Sickle Cell Trait (carriers) you CAN give blood.
DATES: Monday 3rd October to Friday 7th October 2011
Central London (West End)
Croydon
Birmingham
Leeds
Nottingham
Liverpool
Manchester
Bristol
Leicester
Remember, we are here to answer any queries, fears or concerns you have about becoming a donor in confidence, please give us a call on 020 8240 4480, drop us an email info@aclt.org or visit our website www.aclt.org. Thank you for your support.
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