As you can tell from my previous blog posts, I have been following these elections quite thoroughly and with Obama having made history as the first black candidate from a major party, contending for the position of President, I’m just hoping he goes even further to win the whole presidency itself.

I have to rate Hillary Clinton though. She’s fought a good, long and arduous fight and she didnt give up so yeah I take my hat -right at this moment I’m wearing a bandana- so I’m taking my bandana off to her. But she’s still kind of riling me though- I mean its clear she’s lost- ok been defeated- Obama has reached the number of delegates needed to win the candidacy. However, Clinton’s still refusing to admit defeat- seems like a case of sour grapes to me but still, as a woman, I’m proud of her that she came this far and that, but as a black person, I am absoultely ecstatic that Barack Obama has taken such a step towards HOPEFULLY becoming the first black President of the United States of America.

Gwarnnnn Barack…braaaaaappppp….YES WE CAN!!!!!!!!!!

On Saturday, 12th of May, Jimmy Mizen died after being attacked by another customer in a bakery shop in South-East London. He had just celebrated his 16th birthday the day before, and was out to buy his first lottery ticket. He died after trying to intervene in a confrontation between the other customer and the shop-owner; which led to the other customer smashing a wooden sign-board through the window of the shop, and attacking Jimmy with broken glass when he tried to intervene.

On Monday, 12th of May, in broad daylight on the busiest shopping street in the UK, 22-year-old Steven Bigby from North London was killed with a single stab wound to his chest. At first, the police believed that the incident which occurred just outside McDonalds in Oxford Street was a dispute between Steven and another man. However, it has just come to light that Steven had his life ended after a row over a thrown drink.  Police officers say that two groups of black men clashed outside the restaurant after the incident, leading to Steven being killed.

Just last week, two murder trials were held- one for Kodjo Yenga, and the other for Paul Erhahon.  Kodjo was 16 when he was attacked by a gang of black youths; after being challenged to a one-on-one fight, he arrived at the location, only to find himself ambushed by several youths wielding knives, baseball bats, and one even carrying a pitbull terrier. He died from a single stab wound to the heart after he was attacked in Hammersmith Grove, West London, in March 2007. On Friday, 9th of May 2008, five teenagers- two 14-year-olds, two 17-year-olds, and one 15-year-old- were found guilty of his murder. On that same friday, the murderers of 14-year-old Paul Erhahon were also brought to justice. Paul was stabbed in the heart with a samurai sword, after being set upon by a 17-strong in Leytonstone, East London, last April. It is believed he was killed after accidentally stepping into ‘rival territory’- killed over something as trivial as different postcodes.

All in all, 13 teenagers have become victims of Knife and Gun crime since the beginning of the year, and we’re not even halfway through yet. All but four of those teenagers were black boys.

On New Year’s day, 17-year-old Henry Bolombi became the first victim of knife crime of the year, after he was chased by a group of boys in Edmonton, North London, and stabbed in the chest. He was with a group of his own friends, when they became involved in a row with another group after getting off a night bus. This incident sent shivers down my spine when I first heard about it, as I kept thinking it could have happened to even me. I was out with my group of friends on New Year’s Eve, and when we got on the night bus, we got into an argument with a group of black boys on the bus. Luckily, with the bus driver threatening to call the police, the other group got off the bus; but what if the bus driver hadn’t been so quick to act, and threaten us with police action- who knows?

Just four days later after Henry’s death, 18-year-old Faridon Alizada was killed at a flat in Erith, South-East London.

On 21st January, Boduka Mudianga, 18, was killed with a single stab wound to the chest after getting involved in a confrontation with several other teenagers in Edmonton, North London.

On 28th January, 19-year-old Fuad Buraleh from my own hometown of Hayes, West London, died from head injuries after being hit on the head with a blunt object, in nearby West Ealing.

On 19th February 2008, 15-year-old Sunday Essiet, died after being found with serious stab wounds in Woolwich, South-East London.

On 23rd February, 17-year-old Tung Le was stabbed in the heart outside a club in Westminster. He later died in hospital on 2nd March.

On 29th February 2008, 16-year-old Ofiyke Nmezu died two weeks after his skull was fractured in Enfield, North London.

On 13th March 2008, 18-year-old university student Michael Alexander Jones was found dead at his home in Edmonton, North London with severe head injuries and a stab wound to the chest.

The very next day, 19-year-old Nicholas Clarke was shot in the head in Brixton, South London.

Approximately two weeks later, 17-year-old Devoe Roach was stabbed in Stamford Hill, North London. On the same day that Devoe was killed, 14-year-old Amro Elbadawi died in hospital after his throat was slashed in Queen’s Park, West London.

Now, just over a week ago, Lyle Tulloch died in Peckham, and then on Saturday, another London teen was cruelly taken from the world; this time it was the unfortunate turn of Jimmy Mizen.

Look at the list- I repeat just take at look at the list of young men cruelly snatched from the world- these are people’s sons, grandsons, nephews, brothers, and possibly uncles. Why did they deserve their fate? Why did they deserve to be so cruelly snatched from their loved ones? The fact is, they didn’t deserve this at all; they were the innocent victims of lost boys trying to act like they’re big just because they carry a shank (knife) or a gat (gun). All these boys lost their lives either for no reason at all or completely trivial matters like postcode beef (fight). There was a time when fights were settled using fists and not knives and guns.

As I previously mentioned, all but four of the victims were black boys. Why are we doing this to ourselves my brothers and sisters? Why are we eliminating ourselves from the world for no good reason at all? We are the same black people that complain that the Government and the Police are all too quick to blame black people for being gun-toting and knife-wielding criminals- but can we really blame them? Isn’t it about time that we acknowledged that perhaps we have brought all of this on ourselves by killing each other?

Speaking from experience, I know of black boys that seem to think that if they carry knives, this makes them a big man or something. I know black boys that try and start beef just to get rated by their bredrins. I know of black boys that try and hype it just because someone was screwfacing at them. This is all just so pointless though. Instead of coming together, we’re turning against each other and for what? Mothers are losing their sons- children they carried for nine months and brought into the world, children they have cared for and nurtured but unfortunately not for a long time. Sisters are losing their brothers just because someone had a score to settle or someone wanted to “earn their spurs” to the leader of a gang.

Black boys- teenagers in general -WE NEED TO PUT THE WEAPONS DOWN!! Too much blood has been spilt over the last few months- too much blood of innocent people has been spilt and no matter how many times you wash your hands, their blood will remain on your hands. We need to stop this FOOLISHNESS and BULLSHIT right now- killing people’s children for no damn good reason is just STUPID beyond belief. Put the weapons down!!

Oh yeah Hillary Clinton won Indiana…wow…whoopti-friggin-doo…someone pop open the champagne-NOT!!!!!She won Indiana not even by that much (“a few percentage of the votes”, according to MSN News). As an avid Obama supporter, this lady is reeeeeeaaaaaaalllllyyyyyy starting to piss me off…when is she gonna give up and just let Obama take it?!?Yeah yeah I understand that I’m being biased but oh wellllllll!!!!I mean come on man think about it though, her husband was President; she’s already had her turn in the White House.

That reminds me…in one of my previous posts about the US Presidential Elections, I received comments saying that I had stated in my previous blog that I wanted Obama to win because he was a black man. I still stand by that statement; however it seems that some people perceived it to be an ignorant statement with me implying that the only reason he should be made President was because he was a black man…noooooooo…of course not!!If people had actually READ ACCURATELY, I stated in the blog that personally, I was supporting him because he was a black man; I wasn’t trying to imply that I felt this was the reason why Americans should vote for him as their next president.

Anyway, my campaign for Barack will be continuing:-)Yeah I’m slowly counting down the days (which hopefully will be very soon), when Clinton will step down,lol, but that lady’s tough man…I guess Obama will just have to defeat her before she gives up…and he will…OBAMA IS MY HOMEBOY!!!!!:D

Sarcastically trying to explain Senator Obama and Senator Clinton’s absence from the dinner, he said perhaps Senator Clinton “was caught up in sniper fire” lol. This was in relation to the LIE (yeah cos that’s what it was though… a blatant lie) Clinton told a press conference regarding a trip to Bosnia. Senator Clinton insinuated that the arrival to Bosnia had been pretty dramatic, with sniper shots being fired at her plane and so forth; making her arrival to the country seem rather like a scene from an action movie.

However, when TV news stations showed coverage of Senator Clinton’s arrival to Bosnia, it showed that she had…ermmmm ok lets see a nice way I can put this…she had bended the truth…ahhh forget it…SHE WAS SOOOOOO BUSTED!!! I certainly didnt see any sniper fire, and she was even greeted with flowers by a young girl.Talk about exaggeration!!

With regards to Senator Obama’s absence from the dinner, President Bush suggested that perhaps “he’s in church”. LMAO!!!!!!!I mean I am a fully-fledged Barack Obama supporter but naaaaah man I have to admit that was funny lol. For the people that don’t get it, basically he was having a pop at Senator Obama, who was recently in hot water due to some negative comments about White America made by his local preacher Jeremiah Wright.

Not the biggest George Bush fan here but I think the man just finally proved to me that maybe…JUST MAYBE..he might have a small tissue that could almost be called a brain in that head of his.

Josef Fritzl confessed to police that he had imprisoned his daughter, now 42-years-old, in the cellar under his house. Fritzl also admitted to incest by fathering seven children with his daughter. One of the children-one of twins-died during childbirth. Fritzl insists that even though he  did cause incest, there was no force regarding the sex.

Mr Fritzl’s wife was said to be blissfully unaware of what was happening below her house-she was not even aware of the existence of such a cellar. Herself and her husband lived in the house with three of Mr Fritzl’s children/grand-children, whilst the other three children had to endure pain with their mother in the cellar below the house. Mr Fritzl’s wife never questioned the appearance of any of the other three children as Mr Fritzl had placed them infront of their house just after their birth, and made it appear that they had been abandoned by their parents. The Fritzl’s henceforth raised the kids as their own, with Mrs Fritzl unaware that she was raising her grandchildren/step-children.

According to the Mr Fritzl’s now 42-year-old daughter, her father drugged her, then dragged her to the cellar, before forcing her to write a letter to make it appear that she had run away from home.

This is one of the most shocking, and disgusting news stories that I have ever come across, and I’ve only been alive for 18 years. Wow!!!Like sooo many questions are just popping up in my head right about now…questions like didn’t Mrs Fritzl find it not even the slightest bit weird that three babies had been “abandoned” on her and her husband’s doorstep on three separate occassions. And I’m guessing the kids must look like either their mum (Mrs Fritzl’s daughter) or their dad (her husband)…was there not even a slight resemblance between the kids and her husband and daughter that made her think…mmm hold up, something’s not quite right here.

This isn’t the first imprisonment story to come out of Austria. I remember the case of Natascha Kampusch, the 18-year-old who was snatched on her way to school as a 10-year-old, by Wolfgang Priklopil-who subsequently committed suicide by jumping infront of a train after realising Natascha had escaped.

No offence to any Austrians out there but is it something in the water cos gosh…these imprisonment stories are just crazy!!!!I find this one soooooooooo much more disturbing than the Natascha one-mainly because of the incest involved. Oh my gosh and those poor children…especially the three that were imprisoned along with their mum.

For real, sometimes the evil that human beings can commit is just beyond unbelievable…I mean how could someone do that to their own flesh and blood?!? Naaaah that man needs to be hanged…or no actually cos that probably wouldn’t be painful enough…he should be left to rot in some disgusting,grotty jail. Perhaps then, he could feel just a tiny shred of what he put his own daughter through for the last 24 years.

I say the egg did because; if there was no egg, there wouldn’t have been no chicken in the first place to produce another egg.

Ok yes…this is how bored I am,lol

According to the policemen (two of whom were black themselves), they were investigating an alleged prostitution ring they suspected was occurring at the strip club that Mr Bell and his friends had visited to celebrate his last night as a batchelor…not knowing it was going to be his last night period. The policemen also ‘believed’ that Mr Bell and his friends were armed and about to carry out a drive-by shooting…HOW???!!!!???…because they were a group of black men coming out of a strip club or what exactly???

So as Mr Bell and his friends get into their vehicle, they are followed-or should I say ‘chased’ for want of a better word-by the policemen, who then begin to fire shots at Mr Bell’s car. Subsequently, Mr Bell sped up his vehicle. I don’t know about you all but I know for a fact if i was driving and all of a sudden someone started spraying bullets at my car, I wouldn’t exactly slow down-I would speed away for my life.

Unfortunately for Sean Bell, he sped away but was unable to save his life. His friends were also unlucky as they ended up in critical conditions in hospital, but Mr Bell, the unluckiest of them all, the man who was supposed to be marrying his high-school sweetheart in a few hours from the incident, the man who was looking forward to spending the rest of his life with the woman he loved and their baby, was RECKLESSLY gunned down….not with one or two stray bullets or anything…but 51…yes I repeat…51 carefully-aimed bullets.

Last week, all three policemen-one of Latino descent, and the other two of African-American descent-were cleared of all charges by a New York judge, who claimed that the policemen had “acted in the line of duty”. WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAT???!!!!???Ok,I’m not an American, and I certainly don’t know how the police system works, but I am a human-being and I know for a fact that no matter what, you cannot fire 51 BULLETS at an INNOCENT,UN-ARMED man and say you were doing your job-if this is the supposed requirements of being “in the line of duty” as an American policeman, then I’m sorry but they shouldn’t be called policemen.

After the incident, there was no gun or any weapon found in Mr Bell’s car- nothing to suggest that the policemen had a right to fire at him with 51 BULLETS (I keep writing 51 BULLETS in capital letters just to emphasise how ridiculous the situation is-the fact that an UN-ARMED man could be fired with 51 BULLETS just because these ‘policemen’ thought him and his friends were armed). Ok, so they fired at Mr Bell and his friends because they ‘assumed’ that the group were armed and about to carry out a drive-by shooting…but these are the same policemen that said they were stationed outside that particular strip club because they were investigating a prostitution ring that they thought was occurring within the premises of the club. So why didn’t they keep on investigating,why is it that as soon as Mr Bell and his friends stepped out, they decided to ‘drop’ this prostitution ring investigation and follow this group of black men as they ‘APPEARED’ to be armed and they looked like they were about to carry out a drive-by shooting. I haven’t ever witnessed a drive-by shooting and I don’t know what kind of planning goes into one but surely the last thing any would-be drive-by shooter would want is to draw attention to themselves or make their intentions clear to anyone-especially the feds.I mean there was me thinking it’s called drive-by shooting so that the would-be shooters could carry out their deed quickly and unsuspectingly.

I know most of you might think it would be stupid and ignorant of me to suggest that racism played a part- as two of the policemen were black themselves- but that does’t mean NOTHING to me,I’m still going to suggest that racism was involved. The reason I believe racism was involved is because I have personally had experience of my fellow black people, who are prepared to treat their fellow black people like unfairly, just so the white man’s perception of them as an individual can rise. Basically, what I’m trying to say is I know a lot of black people that suck up to the white race, just because they feel it will get them ahead or whatever. Im soooo sorry if this sounds like I’m being racist to white people…this truly isnt my intention but I’m just trying to get my point across of how perhaps the Sean Bell case had racial elements in it-regardless that two of the policemen that shot him were black.

A prime example to highlight what I mean when i say that are some black people that treat other black people bad, just so they can suck up to a white person is a personal story- not of me myself but my friend. My friend has recently started a job at our local McDonald’s, where there is a black woman who is an Assistant Manager. Whilst talking via MSN not long ago, my friend told me how the black Assistant Manager keeps giving her cuts (dirty looks) for no reason, and being particularly rude to her when instructing her to do something. This doesn’t happen to the other members of staff who happen to all be white-it just happens to her-by her fellow black woman. Don’t get it twisted I’m not suggesting she should be getting any special treatment because she’s black and the Assistant Manager happens to be black as well;all I’m saying is,if the Assistant Manager is able to be nice to all the other employees, then what did my friend (the new employee) do to her that was so bad for her to deserve such attitude within her first few days of the job?!?

Personally, I think even though black people can come together sometimes, I also believe there are times when we are jealous of each other and this perhaps causes some ‘black-on-black’ racism. I know it sounds stupid but this is just my opinion.

I could make parallels between the Sean Bell case, and that of Jean-Charles De Menezes, the Brazilian man shot in Stockwell tube station because police thought he was a terrorist. The main issue that led to both these men being gunned down was a case of mistaken identity-note i say the MAIN issue not the only issue.

I just don’t see how it’s right that a person’s occupational status can give them the right to end someone’s life, and then claim that they were just carrying out their job. Seriously yeah, to me that sounds about as ridiculous as a doctor who is perhaps carrying out a transplant operation and puts the organ in the wrong place…what would their excuse be then…”Oh,I was just doing my job;in situations like this its inevitable that such mistakes can occur”…ermmmmm naaaaaaaaaaah don’t think so!!

In both of these cases, I feel sorry mainly for the victims, but also their families, who have to deal with knowing that their loved-one was killed for NO REASON AT ALL!!Especially with the Sean Bell case, a young woman who’s life was shattered just hours from what should have been the happiest day of her life,  now  shehas to raise a young child alone and is now faced with the hard task of one day having to explain to that child that the reason why daddy is not around is because three policemen were “acting in the line of duty”.

Jas-min Pickett’s sister Narissa came to the UK, to help her brother-in-law care for her nephew.

She has now been told by immigration officials to travel to Heathrow and leave the UK by 8pm tonight.

Gordon Brown also announced that the rate for 18-21 year olds will increase £4.60 to £4.77. The 16-17 year olds wage will also rise from £3.40 to £3.53.

Speaking in Parliament, the Prime Minister said: “Some people said the minimum wage would cost us two million jobs. We have a rising minimum wage and we have created three million jobs.”

The Labour Party has additionally added a further boost to the funding for enforcing the National Minimum wage. Tough new penalties are also being planned for employers who underpay their staff.

Since October 2007, the minimum wage for adults, along with working tax credits, and other benefits has guaranteed a higher income for most families.

The implementation of the Minimum Wage Act has therefore enabled many families in Britain to come out of poverty.

Lifetime Homes is a new housing strategy looking to change the way in which the residents of neighbourhoods communicate with each other. It is also seeking to build homes that will be able to provide great support to elderly citizens.

Building of the new homes will begin from 2013, and will include features such as wider doors, improved designs of bathrooms, and staircases which will be wide enough to be able to facilitate stair lifts.

As of 2011, the Government aims to ensure that all social housing will be built in the manner of the Lifetime Homes properties. This is so that providing more support for elderly citizens in their homes will begin to take effect.

The Prime Minister said this in relation to the new plans: “This strategy sets out a package of measures that will enable older people to live in high quality, warm environments that are suited to their needs – homes that help to make life easier, and to turn the challenges of ageing into opportunities.”

The Government is also planning more ‘age-friendly’ neighbourhoods. These neighbourhoods ill include ten planned eco-towns, which will be among the first to meet new standards for older people.