When Donald Trump launched his unilateral attack on Iran, the UK Prime Minister, Kier Starmer, was slow in giving his permission for American planes to use British bases for their attack. Like a petulant bully who did not get his way, Trump turned to insults to show his annoyance. In diplomatic circles, certain words are often used to mask the deeper disagreement between parties, but this American president is not known for his diplomacy.  He uses words as he likes, regardless of their effects on the receivers, especially women. He wanted to belittle Starmer because he felt entitled to get what he demanded, and there was someone standing in his way, preventing him from acting macho and powerful. Disrespecting Starmer by comparing him to the great Churchill seemed the next best thing. But should we ignore the words people speak? Did Trump's words really matter, or are they trivial in the scheme of things? Well, they are not trivial. Words embrace, exclude, damn, and uplift. Words ca...

I joined the Green Party three months ago because, for the first time in my life, I was truly fired up by the possibilities of what hope could achieve over hate in our divided country. The spectre of Reform marching to any kind of victory with its depressing band of failed Tories, and demoralising message of hate, was enough to show me that we needed new and fresh perspectives for our country. The results of the Gorton and Denton by-election dramatically confirmed that.  In fact, the Greens message of hope reminded me of a quote by someone else who also emphasised the power of hope and self-belief when he made an audacious bid for the White House, former President Barack Obama . In a moving statement, he said then: "Hope is not blind optimism. Its not ignoring the enormity of the task ahead, or the roadblocks that stand in our path. Its not sitting on the sidelines or shirking from a fight. Hope is that thing inside us that insists, despite all the evidence to the contrary, that ...

I have never been a political person. I have tended to leave political parties alone  though I have felt it an absolute duty to vote. Many women suffered to get that vote, so I bear that in mind when I am tended to be cynical and not exercise mine. But being a fully paid up member of a political party has never appealed to me - until now. Zack Polanski of the Green Party changed all that virtually overnight! Since he came into my consciousness, I have watched Zack's progress with fascination and awe at the sheer possibilities that could lie ahead under his leadership. I believe that after the debacle of the empty, scandal-ridden Tory years, the need for change is now. That need couldn't be greater and it is blowing on a wind of hope towards us, which gives an exciting feeling of anticipation in the air. Through my membership and support, I felt I wanted to show the effect Zack Polanski, a virtual unknown to me, has already had on people like me (a woman and a minority) who had...

My boyfriend told me this interesting, and somewhat sad anecdote about one of his colleagues who was trying to draw his attention to a woman who was sitting with another group. The guy kept trying to find all kinds of descriptions to let my boyfriend know which woman he was trying to identify, taking ages to do so, while skirting round the obvious fact that the woman was not only Black, but she stood out because everyone else around her was White! It seems that the guy did not want to mention her colour, as he thought it might be offensive, and he too felt self-conscious at ‘making her different’ from the others. Being White himself, my boyfriend added that he, too, would have done the same before he met me! Yet such a seemingly ‘inclusive’ approach begged more questions than it answered. Many people, predominantly White, often pretend that outward appearances do not matter. In fact, some take great pride in professing to be 'colour blind' to others. Colour is supposed to...

Some time ago, Dominique Strauss Kahn , the former chief of the IMF, had everything going for him: money, wealth, the most prestigious global position one could have, a great achiever for a wife, and was even a kind of leader-in-waiting for France. Yet he was caught with his pants down, and accused of rape, kicking off an embarrassing scandal, especially for one so high-powered, well established and respected, which ultimately lost him his job. Worse still, it emerged that he had a string of liaisons, and treated women none too greatly, perhaps like his own candy shop where he could always help himself and with no questions asked. But he was not unique. At the same time, in the United States Congress, other lawmakers were also allowing their brains too move south too, especially Anthony Weiner (who used his phone to send "crotch and bulge-revealing photos" to women, including a high school girl) ) and David Wu (who was accused of having sex with a supporter's 18 year...

It was Eleanor Roosevelt , the amazing 32nd White First Lady of the USA, who once said, “No one can make you feel inferior without your permission.” And she was so right. The serene, responsible Barack and Michelle Obama , without doing anything negative, is still showing White supremacist, Donald Trump , how true leaders conduct themselves; that he cannot make them feel inferior, no matter what he does.  Trump has always felt inferior to the Obamas because of his low self-esteem and obvious envy and greed. And we won't even mention that Nobel Peace Prize he craves which President Obama got. Not having received public acknowledgement or acclaim from them, especially as he secretly seeks their approval, he has turned on them over the past year in a vicious way that only a rabid, obsessed person is capable of doing. This latest gutter action from the President of the United States, depicting the Obamas as apes (and I won’t dignify it by reposting it here) has come about for ...