Plastic pollution of the oceans

I was in Geneva this Summer for ten days and my husband was doing very political things and I then decided after hearing about the plastic in the Pacific ocean was if you pushed all the Islands together it would be an area as big as Germany! also there is an area in South America as the rivers are pushing the rubbish together. David Attenborough I thought would be the man to contact. David Attenborough's Blue Planet makes people aware of this thorny issue: what happens next to all the plastic. There is talk of a machine that can hoover all the Plastic into one manageable bunch. The plastic is leaching onto the sea bed, and contaminating all those in the sea. If you go for sea salt in the Supermarket that too has minuscule bits of plastic in it and as to the prawns they too are contaminated. When we think that these creatures from the sea are at least pristine and fresh.
We only have one planet and whether you believe in Global Warming or not, the ones that have put this fragile planet at risk are us. So we have to do something about it!
We have to all use less plastic, but that is difficult as may be we all use plastic toothbrushes.
We raised this issue on our Facebook page and it had a huge impact with over a thousand likes. This issue really concerns people, and thank heavens it does.

See this link for more information

Veronica Morris

Plastic Fish!

There is in the Pacific Ocean an Island that is as big if all the islands were dragged together are as big as Germany! This is all made of Plastic discarded by people who threw them away! Do you have a plastic tooth brush? And I do so this  a hard thing to do. We all seem to be wedded to our plastic!
I have written to David Attenborough asking for advice. I am sure that he is away filming for Blue Planet 2 a remarkable man.
There are many people who have heard about it, but what can we do one feels so impotent it is such a huge problem, and will be buried under a huge bonfire of Plastic! Which is the last thing we want to happen. If there is anyone that can think of a way of solving this problem do let me know!
We all want know!
Veronica Morris

Skeleton Fish

One of the things that concerns me is that if were you to gather together all the plastic in the Pacific, you would have a great Plastic Island the size of France. All this stuff is plastic discarded by the consumer societies of the West.

This is a huge area and could almost be called a country in itself. To have as much plastic in the sea, an accumulative area as large as an island, and growing exponentially every day, is obscene. Thus there are those of us who want to have this great virtual country registered as a state by the United Nations, as it is critical that the UN is made aware of phenomena happening amongst us. 

If you feel the same you could write a letter to the UN. I am here now at the UN in Geneva, partaking in the 36th session of the Human Rights Council, and I would most like to see some progress made on this extremely important case.

It saddens me, that this phenomena is having a disastrous impact on fish in the sea. It saddens me further that my children's children, and their grandchildren, may not be able to witness the beauty in our seas that we have today.

One thing is for sure, this “virtual country” shows what a disposable society the West is, and how we have do not have the moral high-ground to tell others how to live in other parts of the world. 

For the sake of the planet, I would like to have a question or two asked about this virtual Plastic Island.

Yemen and Afghanistan a Forgotten part of the World!

Any one seeing the news a few nights ago would have seen Lyce Doucet and Jeremy Bowan talking about Yemen. One is aware that this has been hardly been mentioned by the people that are news reporting.

Meanwhile Josh Lederman writes yesterday that Donald Trump has done an U Turn on Afghanistan, but this is an area which is tribal based, and is not easily ruled. In fact the Russians have failed as have the US, and I saw in Phoenix last night Donald Trump was speaking about the fact there was misreprsentation in the printing of this article.

Donald Trump faces many of the same challenges that have faced previous presidents. Now The Taliban is resurgent and the Afghan forces are too weak without US help. The nation is Tribal led and this could be the reason that the Russians and US was not able to overcome the area.
He said at the weekend with the Afghan government and others, that he laves the door open for an eventual peace deal with the Taliban. Some day it will be possible to have a peace settlement that includes the elements of the Taliban.

Boko Haram moves again!

Nine suicide bombers blew themselves up killing 19 people in a series of attacks that targeted girls and young women. They concentrated on marketplaces and the girl suicide bomber aimed at a tea vendors cafe. The north eastern city Maiduguri, the birthplace of Boko Haram's eight year insurgency.
"One of the suicide bombers was female she actually crept to the sand bag post of our boys at Molai and before they had realised what was happening she detonated herself and killed three of our boys"
This was reported by State Police Commissioner Damian Chukwu. Some young women who escaped extremist groups have said that the girls were drugged and forced to carry out suicide missions, we do not have verification that this is true.
After the kidnapping of those girls from Chibok, the School girls have been released in small batches,
unfortunately, Boko Haram seems to be going strong, although I believe that Nigeria would like to be free of them, that might take longer than we think.

Good News as girls were released!

From the Guardian report: 'Amazing joy' as Chibok schoolgirl is reunited with family in Nigeria

The negotiator, a lawyer who had once acted for Mohammed Yosef founder of Boko Haram, was able to pick up the girls who had been released yesterday and it was expected that the remaining girls would be released later that day.

Nkeki, Vice Chair person of the Chibok parents group was a Primary School Teacher at a nearby school. A number of Boko Haram members were released in exchange for the school girls. There was so much excitement as the girls were released. They went to the Red Cross where they were inspected for their well being. Having followed this story since the girls were kidnapped 2 years ago, I feel such relief that for some the ordeal is over. 

The Rise of Boko Harem in Kenya again!

Just when life for some was becoming more settled Boko Harem seems to have flexed their muscles and unlike the petition that was started by the girls that were kidnapped from the Prestigious school in a forest in Northern Kenya and the village called Chidak, some girls have escaped and one has a baby.
Yesterday April 4th 22 girls and Women were kidnapped there were two raids one in the village of Pulka and the other incident was in the Village of Dunber, the girls will end up as wives of the fighters. 

 A boy on the news yesterday that he had nothing to do, where are all the youth clubs? As the old saying goes the devil finds work for those with nothing to do. It seems that we are a very selfish generation, thinking of none but ourselves. The trouble is that we are a generation that appear very selfish. It was Volunteers day a few weeks ago, and where are all the people that became Scout Masters or Mistresses, or Brown Owls or leaders of teenagers in Church, it can seem daunting to some people, but can be rewarding. It keeps people in touch with how the youth is thinking, that can help in troubled times.

An FGM clinic Closes.

I have discovered today that a clinic specialising in FGM, a lifeline for a great number of Women suffering from this barbaric practice, is closing. This was at a doctors' surgery in Acton and a lifeline to many women in that area. Ealing Council is closing their Well Women clinic which was a great support.for that area. So where is the closest clinic? There needs to be a series of clinics for this problem which is a hidden but a growing problem. There is a rumour that this clinic may stay open as there are so many people that were horrified by this and so many families it affected.

Little irritations

• On Phones: I was with Initiatives of Change at the weekend and was amazed how the MOBILE phone had taken over.  A friend said at meal times they had to leave their mobiles in another room, so they could eat together.
• On Women's rights: It is difficult at this time and working in the Middle East for women to have the same rights as some men. I was listening to someone on Radio 4 this morning who was writing songs and she felt that the music business was totally man driven and that people took no notice of what women thought. The ladies who became Suffragettes laid down their lives to get the vote.
• On Organophosphates: Andy Burnham MP was looking into the effects Organophosphates have on any one who has sheep dipped. He was the only person that highlighted this problem which effected a small but unheard section of the farming population. There are many that have taken their own lives because of how it had effected their lives. 
• On FMG: How FGM had been such a pivotal action in the being of so many families here and the middle east. It needs to outlawed world wide. I even met someone in London who was saying this last week!

Lets hope that for most it is
A Happy New Year ! ! !
Veronica Morris.