Mars One update

As I follow this project with interest, I find it curious that although the Mars one expedition only requires 4 people and have accepted thousands of applicants from very normal backgrounds with no specific requirements but now asks for the following ready for their preparation expedition being based in the Canadian Arctic:

Firstly they ask for volunteers to compile a team of six members when the original expedition only accounts for a 4 man team.  Secondly the original expedition asks for  no special requirements. No science skills, no engineering skills and anyone could apply.  On this expedition  however "Applicants will need to pass a physical exam and must be cleared by their personal physician to participate. Applicants must be non-smokers ... Dedication to the cause of human Mars exploration is an absolute must, as conditions are likely to be very difficult and the job will be very trying...one field support person will also participate in the expedition in and out of simulation role. This person should have excellent field mechanic and wilderness skills." cited from http://www.marssociety.org/home/press/announcements/ma365-call-for-volunteers

This new expedition seems to focus on how the team will work together however they are already overlooking the differences in the terrain and psychological aspects of these two very different teams on two very different missions.

Firstly the team being brought together for the Canadian Arctic expedition have been through university to gain the qualifications on geology, engineering, and the various other skills they are looking for.  Already, this gives this team a psychological advantage as their cognitive abilities are able to deal with academic pressures with more efficiency meaning they will be able to deal with pressure with more ease.  Secondly, this team will be in contact with a remote team whenever they need support which means that psychologically they are not alone with only three other companions to support them.  

When you look at the circumstances for the Mars one team, they have access to a remote team however it is highly unlikely that communication will be instantaneous due to the distance between Earth and Mars.  This leaves the team with no instant support, no cognitive ability to deal with complex engineering issues or scientific issues and only each other for support on a constant basis. 

My worry here is that the two teams are not really testing psychological impact or group work; although the terrain is apparently very similar to the terrain in Mars, the situation each team is being placed in is far from similar.  To measure anything in the preparation expedition will not show any true significant correlations between these variables and leave the project totally unprepared for the launch of Mars One. 

Because the children are Scotlands' future.

I don't pretend to know everything there is to know about the 'No Campaign' as quite frankly every time I read something about the 'No campaign' I become frustrated at the lack of evidence they supply in order to support their statements.

I have however done a lot of reading about the 'Yes campaign'  who have supplied a fully detailed manifesto of what the plans are and how they will achieve them.  The 'Yes campaign have made no promises of a bed of roses or a magic fix to our current situation in Scotland, they have however outlined a clear plan of action and within the manifesto and you can see the evidence to support their idea's.

Throughout this whole campaign the 'Yes campaign' has talked about solutions and reminded us that nothing will change if we remain together, they have pointed out key area's where things could get worse if we don't vote yes and this is all fine.  On the other side however, the 'No campaign' continues to throw scare tactics at us, threats at us and generally treat us as stupid.  They have even been caught on record, several times, saying we are not educated enough to make this type of decision.

Throughout all of this; I, being Scottish and too uneducated to make this type of decision,  have been watching what is going on behind the smoke screen being created by the no campaign.

Did you know that organisations and charities who slander our current government can now be punished? Did you also know that there are plans to cut out TV licences and bus passes for pensioners if the Tory's get back in in the next election.
Did you know that food banks are on the rise and that there are 15,000 children in care in Scotland with a further 3.5 million children living in poverty. the Tory's blame this on the unemployed however as of this month there are 2.34 million unemployed.
Do you remember the two men who won their case regarding workfare and yet its crept back in again....

The new plans by Ian Duncan Smith are linked below and are bleak to say the least for anyone unemployed. the new plans target unemployed once again cutting even more benefits and causing even more child poverty. You can see there is a difference of  1.16 million between child poverty and unemployment and yes there are often more than one child in a family but you cannot tell me that there are not working families living in poverty as I am one of them.  My man works full time and I am a student but we still find that financially it is a never-ending struggle to pay for child care, buy clothes, shoes, winter coats, summer clothes and shoes, and deal with birthdays and Christmas too.  The children that are being driven towards poverty are from working families now as the families relying on benefits to keep them fed are already suffering and have been for quite some time.  We will start to see a drop however as the definition of children living in poverty is reworded and therefore certain children will no longer be counted !

More and more children will end up without breakfast, without lunch and without the proper clothes to wear in winter because of this.  This will only lead to ill health as each child becomes older costing more on the NHS ...but wait, they are selling that off in parts too aren't they.  How long will it be before we have no welfare state?

I for one, do not want a child growing up in a country were the government use a blame culture to divert attention from what's really going on.  I do not want a child growing up in a country where a government cannot be trusted because they pass laws where you are not allowed to say your piece.  I am also extremely aware of how Hitler got around the Reichstag (the German equivalent to our houses of parliament) and how Cameron is getting around are straying dangerously close to misusing the houses of parliament  to get his own way.   I am also very aware that the Labour leader and the Liberal democrat leader have seemed to dissolved into thin air, why is this, what game is Cameron playing that would shut the opposition up just like that.  In some cases the opposition are even backing Tory policy, why?

Quite frankly all of this scares me more than any 'No campaign' junk thrown at us. There are too many closed doors, too many quiet 'opposition' leaders and a growing amount of authoritarian attitudes being taken by the people that are suppose to look after the States citizens.

Cameron is leading the way into a hard core dictatorship and it terrifies me to the core when I think of what the children of Scotland will suffer if we stay together.  I have put links below if you want to look at the evidence I have supplied. Like I said at the beginning I do not pretend to know everything but I do know that for an uneducated Scot who is not programmed to make a political decision I totally defy this uneducated slander by stating that I am quite capable of voting and I will be there on September the 18th later this year to do so.

The choice on which way to vote it totally yours but please do vote.  I will vote but not for me...the future belongs to today's  children and we owe them sanctuary from a dangerous dictator so I for one will be voting yes to save Scotland children from a future of hell.



References used for this article 

http://www.snp.org/

http://www.scotreferendum.com/

http://www.cpag.org.uk/child-poverty-facts-and-figures

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-26255696

http://www.barnardos.org.uk/what_we_do/our_projects/child_poverty/child_poverty_what_is_poverty/child_poverty_statistics_facts.htm

http://johnnyvoid.wordpress.com/2014/02/27/more-workfare-more-sanctions-iain-duncan-smiths-brutal-and-barmy-plan-to-end-child-poverty/

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/politics/celebrity-hairstylist-nicky-clarke-scots-3188406

http://www.bbc.scotlandshire.co.uk/index.php/city-news/676-scots-not-genetically-programmed-to-make-political-decisions-reveals-astonished-lamont.html

http://www.snp.org/media-centre/news/2014/feb/westminster-fiddling-figures-child-poverty

http://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/riseofhitler/dictator.htm
Quote taken form above website:  "For Adolf Hitler, the goal of a legally established dictatorship was now within reach. On March 15, 1933, a cabinet meeting was held during which Hitler and Göring discussed how to obstruct what was left of the democratic process to get an Enabling Act passed by the Reichstag. This law would hand over the constitutional functions of the Reichstag to Hitler, including the power to make laws, control the budget and approve treaties with foreign governments."