Recently in International Category

Was that too strong? I'm sorry but I thought I should get straight to the point. World football chief Sepp Blatter has outdone his own previous 'foot-in-the-mouth' moments this week by claiming that racism doesn't exist in football and that racial issues can be settled with a handshake.

What?!

The FIFA boss couldn't have picked a worse week to trot out his latest piece of rubbish; with separate high profile cases fought by Black players in England, Anton Ferdinand and Patrice Evra who accuse John Terry and Luis Suarez respectively of racial abuse.

I would love to know what qualifies this privileged White man from a different place and time to speak on issues of race. But I suppose him hurriedly digging out and releasing to the media fabricated photos of him cuddling up to the nearest Black man he could find makes everything alright again?

With so many football figures having criticised Blatter's latest gaffe, why can't the other national football authorities around the world join them and force the resignation of this horrible individual?

Football chiefs you need to grow a pair and get rid of Blatter. With all the issues that need to be addressed in society, we can do without a clown like Blatter muddying the water.

The right-wing press have already gone nuts at the revelation that the UK government is to pay £38 million to help save Ethiopia from its worst drought for a decade, where 2.3 million people are in need of emergency aid.

Yes, we are in a recession here in the UK.

Yes, there's much need to be met in this country.

But many of the problems in Africa are down to the fact that European countries spent close to 400 years taking the best of it's people and natural resources through slavery and imperialism. The charge was led by the UK. Then after World War II bled the UK dry, it simply got off, left a mess behind and looked back wondering what's wrong.

The UK and co cannot physically, emotionally and economically rape these countries' and destroy countless generations of its people and their culture over such a long period of time and expect everything to be OK.

Yes, there are continuing problems with civil war and corruption in Africa, but when countries like the UK stretch forward a bloody hand to offer a little recompense, please don't think of them as generous.

The cash they are giving back to just one of the many African countries they helped destroy is a tiny payback.

Amongst the horror and devastation of the recent Japanese earthquake and tsunami, I was reminded me of the strength of the human spirit and how blessed many of us are in comparison.

The other day I saw a news clip of some of the Japanese people, whose lives and belongings have literally been washed away, as they suffered from extreme stress, shock, bitter weather and hunger. Yet they stood in orderly queues to collect precious food and supplies from rescue workers.

None of the victims could be seen rioting or looting but literally standing together in their collective moment of need. How many of us would act like that in that situation? Would I?

Hmmm.

This brings me back to January 2005, when poor old I thought myself hard done by having been made redundant from a job I loved the previous Christmas.

Don't get me wrong, it was a bitter blow but nothing compared to what the people of the south Pacific were going through, after being hit by a tsunami.

Also, much closer to my Handsworth home, in fact on the same street where I lived, was a friend who was fighting for her life and livelihood after having a stroke.

She was just 31.

So both half a world away and just across the street were examples of people who were standing strong as inspirational figures to anyone who dared look their way.

I'm so happy to know that my friend and fellow Christian, Maizetta Trotman, is winning that battle against that cruel stroke, so much so that her story is featured in a recent edition of The Birmingham Mail and is currently among a collection of inspiring stories from local people on Christian Media Services' website, www.faithlivesinbrum.org.uk.

It's is times like this when I count it a real blessing to be working in the media and to be able to bring out good news despite the presence of the bad.

I am sure we all hold out the hope that the survivors in Japan will, like Maizetta, one day fill the pages of our newspapers and websites to tell the story of how they overcame too.

God bless you,

Veron