A Call for Peace By Michelle Dee Clark

Martin Luther King had a dream. His dream was crushed by jack booted, hooded ignorance. There has always been wrong in this world. From the trials in Scottsboro* Alabama in the 1930's to more recent events in Jasper Texas in 1998**. We are all guilty. When you talk of Kosovans and Iraqi's you focus on what the media want you to then project that onto everyone, be it ethnic minorities or anyone who is just different.

Of course the Kosovans and other ethnic minorities on Spring Bank hang about in large groups but have you considered that they might be intimidated by the number of white folk around them and so seek solace in each others company? Is it because you see more men than women, do you find those large groups of foreign men a threat? Would you react the same way to a large group of white men standing on the street corner?

Take the Dutch Government, for example, they are deporting failed asylum seekers after ten years of inaction on their applications. Some of these people are integrated into the Dutch way of life and have children who have been born and raised in Holland. Is this fair? Do we live in a world that is so hung up on the idea that deportation will solve all the problems? These people are not criminals, they are trying to become citizens of Holland. It is inhumane to uproot a family after ten years and expect them to go quietly to places of the world which are at best unstable and more often life threatening.

Every day we show ourselves to be prejudiced. I for one continually rant against cap heads and trendies. They in turn call out mosh, mosh get a wash. Then there is the pervasive nature of prejudice about sexuality. The gay community face an uphill struggle on a daily basis. Same sex couples in long term relationships cannot have a legally binding marriage. The age of consent differs for heterosexuals and gay people.

Bear in mind this is now 2004! So next time you hurl abuse or speak ill of someone ask yourself why. Is it because that's what your parents taught you or because everyone else is doing it and god forbid, you'll stand out. Is it just because society is founded in bigotry and fear or has it become second nature to attack anyone who is different?

* A hideous farce that altered the face of the American Justice system. http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/FTrials/scottsboro/scottsb.htm ** For more details of the horrific events in the town of Jasper go to: http://www.texasnaacp.org/jasper.htm to see the pain of this small community.

Opinions - Life in a Modern World By Darren Sant
	Some of my thoughts on bizarre aspects of our modern world.. Unreality TV Is it me or is the world getting weirder? This is a world where people watch TV programmes like Big Brother. People sit around on a settee watching the telly watching people sitting on a settee. I'm beginning to get a headache. Now if they all had little cages on their heads Read more...

Opinions - Invitation
	by Editor If you have an opinion about something in or about Hull, then here's your chance to air it on www.thisisull.com. Spill the beans here. You got a beef? slice it here.

Opinions - Refill Not Landfill
	By Cilla What do you think about the price of printer cartridges? I can't afford them. My printer has long periods of rest between bouts of frenzied use while the colours still give any semblance of anything other than black and white. The very idea of the printer being useable is a treat for the whole family! Read more...

Articles - Death On Camera By Nicholas Boldock
	I have just watched Death On Camera, the BBC documentary about Christopher Alder, who died in police custody in Hull in 1998. If you missed the programme and don't already know the case, here are the facts: Christopher Alder was in Waterfront Nightclub on the night of April 1st, 1998. There was an altercation inside the club Read more...

Articles - Made In Hull - Part One - Arundel Street Days By Maurice Fairfield

	My story begins in Arundel Street and wanders away to the shallow end of Holderness Road next door to the tram sheds and opposite the old Astoria Cinema, which was at that time the New Astoria Cinema. Then to Hedon for a time, then back to Arundel a couple of years before the outbreak of the war. Read more...

Articles - Digging Up The Past By Cilla

	Months ago we published an series of articles written by a man who was witness to the events in The Cod Wars. His name is John Boldock and his story is an honest account of what life was like for him as a young man in what were dangerous and terrifying times. After the story had been published on the site Read more...

Places to Visit - Our Samhain Visit to Avebury by Janie Spencer
	Before we start on our journey, let me give you a bit of background on Avebury. It is a beautiful stone circle, so big that you can in fact fit a village inside it, as you can see from this overhead map! As well as being a tourist spot, it is both a home and a gathering Read more...

Places to Visit - Burton Constable Hall.
	Burton Constable Hall has collected several ghosts and stories from its 450 year history, the most frequently seen ghost being that of Nurse Dowdall, a much loved nanny to the children of the household during the 19th century. Read more...

Places to Visit - A day by the beach - Bridlington Harbour.
	This Sunday I was spoilt for choice - either to visit a Buddhist centre in "Kilham" or attend a strawberries and cream party. Opted to go and find Zen so duly arrived with my offspring (Katie and Oliver) at my friend's house (Cilla) punctually (for a change) at 11.30. Read more...