John Terry verdict draws near!

Should former England captain and Chelsea footballer John Terry be found not guilty of charges pertaining to racial aggravation there will be an audible sigh from more than the defendant himself. The non-selection of Rio Ferdinand during the Euros led to professional footballers and national coaches speculating that Ferdinand was left out of the national squad for reasons other than football. Despite the England team manager's protestations it certainly seemed that there was no rational explanation by Hodgson for the exclusion of Rio Ferdinand from his England squad.


 Hodgson’s continued reluctance to include Rio ( despite the injury of Gary Cahill during the euro’s) seemed certainly suspicious – a great example of institutional racism unfolding before the eyes of the nation.


 The verdict in the John Terry case will be returned today and there is no doubt there is a lot riding on the outcome. Terry’s denial of the charges has amounted to as much as a little miscommunication by the Chelsea stalwart. However, with Doreen Lawrence lending her support to Anton Ferdinand and his family so publicly there is little reason to believe that this case is anything other than a serious historical moment for UK race laws.
 The UK prides itself on justice, liberty and the right to be presumed innocent until found guilty. If John Terry is convicted in the next 60 minutes the response of the footballing community, FA and the mainstream public will be equally telling about the UK’s views on racist criminal offences.

UK no go areas!

Apparently, if you live in Birmingham, Manchester or Liverpool you should take extreme caution before stepping outside your front door to make the school run, taking a trip to the supermarket or heading off to work. A short stroll down to the shops could be far more perilous than you could ever have imagined. Forget the Brazilian favelas, Johannesburg slums and Jamaican ghettos - the inner cities of the UK are the real no-go areas of the world. There is a real danger of being kidnapped off the streets by the local drug cartels; having your Ford Focus accidently peppered with automatic gunfire by warring drug factions; or even worse – being mistaken for a rival drug dealer, executed and having your head left on the bollards outside Liverpool’s ultra-fashionable Cavern Walks.


Cartel victims left in Liverpool's town centre and a placid Acapulko shopping centre!





Professor Hamid Ghodse, the UN’s drug chief, gave his impressions of the UK’s inner cities ahead of the publication of the International Narcotics Control Board's annual report on drugs around the world. Professor Ghodse has compared Birmingham, Manchester and Liverpool as being on par with Mexican and Columbian hotspots and said that these UK cities were undergoing a “vicious cycle of social exclusion and drugs problems and fractured communities. Professor Ghodse summarised the fate of these UK cities as inevitably being governed by drug traffickers, drug users and organised crime.
Whilst Merseyside and Greater Manchester police have vehemently rejected Professor Ghodse portrayal of the UK, as of yet, we are still waiting for Birmingham police force to issue a response!




Professor Hamid Ghodse




Professor Hamid Ghodse, is credited with more achievements and titles than the entire length of the above article – just goes to show what they say about education and a little common sense!
Professor of Psychiatry and of International Drug Policy, University of London (since 1987). Director, International Centre for Drug Policy, St. George's University of London (since 2003); Medical Director, National Clinical Excellence Awards (2006); President, European Collaborating Centres for Addiction Studies (since 1992); member of the Executive Committee of the Federation of Clinical Professors, United Kingdom (since 1994); member of the Scientific Committee on Tobacco and Health, United Kingdom (since 2000); Director of the Board of International Affairs and Member of the Council, Royal College of Psychiatrists (since 2000); Non-Executive Director, National Clinical Assessment Authority of England and subsequently patients safety agency (since 2001); Chairman, Higher Degrees in Psychiatry, University of London (since 2003); member of the Medical Studies Committee, University of London (since 2003).
Recipient of the following degrees: Doctor of Medicine (M.D.), Islamic Republic of Iran (1965); Diploma Psychological Medicine (D.P.M.), United Kingdom (1974); Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), University of London (1976); and Doctor of Science (D.Sc.), University of London (2002). Fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists (F.R.C.Psych.), United Kingdom (1985); Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians (F.R.C.P.), London (1992); Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh (F.R.C.P.E.), Edinburgh (1997); Fellow of the Faculty of Public Health Medicine (F.F.P.H.), United Kingdom (1997). Member of the WHO Expert Advisory Panel on Alcohol and Drug Dependence (since 1979); Adviser, Joint Formulary Committee, British National Formulary (since 1984); Honorary Consultant Psychiatrist, St. George's and Springfield University Hospitals, London (since 1978); Honorary Consultant Public Health, Wandsworth Primary Care Trust (since 1997); Director, Regional Drug Dependence Treatment Training and Research Unit, London (1987-1993); Director of the Education and Training Unit and of the Research, Evaluation