There’s no doubt that ‘land’ has been a major issue in our recent difficulties. In fact land has been an issue in every society. All over the world. Usually as their population increases to the point where subsistence farming can no longer support a reasonable standard of living.

What marks out the societies that succeed from those that fail is how they deal with it.

Why’s that? Well, land’s the basis of life in a rural society. Land offers work, income, prestige, and continuity with the community. Anyone without land in an rural society feels the need for it acutely. There’s also endless competition for land: for dwellings, subsistence, pastoralism, water catchment, large scale farming, trade and industry… Continue Reading

What is it about politicians? We love, admire, envy – and hate them by turns. Because politics is not like real life. It’s all about appearances. Politicians have to be able to convince us that they have principles. And to be able to conceal that they’ll willingly abandon every principle there is for more power or money. And as a result we don’t trust them. In fact most people rate the trustworthiness of a politician close to that of a used car salesmen! What politicians do – and what they say they do – are two very different things. Fortunately we all know that. So spend a little time watching and analysing what they say and do. It’s very revealing – and great fun… Continue Reading

D’you watch TV? Of course you do. Everyone loves watching – and there’s no doubt it enriches our lives. It informs, teaches and provides entertainment. It can inspire. But some of us watch a heck of a lot! We rarely notice just how much – but the sheer amount of time can be astonishing. Lots of us spend more than three hours a day in front of a TV. More than any other activity except work and sleep.

In fact, some of us are addicted.

Mostly we think of addiction in terms of drugs, alcohol or smoking. But actually it doesn’t have to involve chemicals. Gambling can become compulsive. So can sex, work or aerobics. Psychologists diagnose addiction in terms of the behaviour of the addict. For example, that they spend excessive amounts of time doing something. More than they intend. That they neglect other activities – like social, family or work obligations. That they think about reducing whatever it is – and try to. Repeatedly and unsuccessfully. And suffer withdrawal symptoms. These definitions apply to people who watch a lot of television. Continue Reading

We all lie, for lots of reasons, some good some bad. But when our children start lying to us we get upset! Should we be?

Probably not. Because all children lie, usually starting around three years old. Their first lies can be truly absurd, because small children often don’t realise what they’re saying isn’t true. For a three year old, fact and fantasy are all mixed up – as in pretend play. And they’re not really trying to mislead you, because small children believe that adults know everything.

But as they figure out that adults can be misled, they begin to lie deliberately. So seventy percent of three year olds will own up to doing something wrong if you ask, but only twenty percent of four year olds and very few six year olds. And as children get older, they learn to lie better and stick to their story for longer!

Children’s lying peaks when they’re around four to six, when they tell endless whoppers for no apparent reason at all. It’s because they’re experimenting! They’ve just learned about lying and are trying it out. But as they slowly realise that it also has it’s downsides, they get more subtle and lie less often. Continue Reading

People feel strongly about kissing. Actually, not just kissing, but any kind of affectionate physical contact. Such as hugging, stroking or holding hands.

Because all these gestures are ‘tie signs,’ part of a group of behaviours called Public Displays of Affection which signal a couple’s relationship to those around them. We subconsciously watch out for them all the time – and they make it easy to spot whether a couple’s happy together, for example, or have just had a row. Continue Reading

The media, amongst other functions, has a duty to protect the innocent from public ridicule and derisive speculation that would emanate from running a story. It is this reasoning that is applied when stories of victims of sexual crimes are published or when “sensitive stories” for example those featuring children are published. KTN Prime went against this spirit of a socially responsible media when it chose to publish the faces and the real names of the parents of  Daniel Chege Gichia, one half of the first couple in British history to be recognized under the 2005 British law on same sex relations. It preyed on an innocent and aging couple without any regard for their right to privacy. What follows for the couple is a wicked kind of intrusion that will forever set then apart as the parents of the man who has “done what cannot be spoken about”. Their sunset years rudely interrupted by information brought by the inquisitive, nay heartless and plain nosey, reporter. Where is your pathos? Or has a journalist no heart in the sight of such humanity? What now for Daniel Gichia’s parents? Continue Reading