Message to my readers

I began publishing my views and opinions in my blog in January 2007. When I created the blog, I decided that it would be appropriate to give my readers an opportunity to express their own views and opinions on the topics I write about. Since then, readers have expressed their views and opinions in my blog and to me personally via my email address. I have even found their comments about my articles in their own Blogs and websites. I found their views and opinions enlightening and in some instances, I have made corrections and additions in my own blog at their suggestions.

As you can see from reading my articles in my blog, I don’t pull any punches when I write my views and opinions and I am not squeamish about referring to some of the people I write about as being stupid or bad with respect to what they did to merit such commentary on my part.

I don’t expect everyone to accept my views and opinions although I try to be as accurate in the facts I submit as I can be while researching the topics before I publish them.

I willingly accept criticism from my readers providing that the criticism is valid and deals directly with the topic I have written about. I much prefer sincere, respectful and honest criticism to compliments alone. It is from such criticism that we all learn where we may have erred. However, I draw the line with respect to being personally insulted. I will not permit the publishing of insulting comments in my blog.

Recently, a reader said in his comment that he or she was surprised that I wrote a specific statement in an article in my blog considering that I am advocating human rights and justice. In my opinion; such a comment is not insulting at all. It is criticism that is reasonable and fair.

Critics who choose to be insulting in their comments are like blackheads. They do nothing for the article just as blackheads do nothing for the face. An honest and reasonable critic can find himself or herself in the piece he or she is commenting on whereas an insulting critic will find his or her comments obliterated. On the 6th of March, one of my readers was quite insulting in his or her comment and said (amongst other comments) that I was a buffoon. I may be many things but I am not a buffoon. I have subsequently removed his/her comment from my blog. I welcome comments on the topics I write about but if the comments are insulting, I will remove them just as I would remove a guest from my home if he or she too was insulting.

If you think that I have made an error in the facts, advise me what the error is and give me your source of information and I will check it out. If I am satisfied that the information you have given me is correct, I will return to the article in question and update the new information. Make sure that when you are commenting on a specific article, that you give me the title of the article and the date it was published so that I may go directly to it to make the changes. Recently, one of my readers made a comment about one of my articles but didn’t give me the title of the article I wrote. I didn’t intend to open almost 400 articles trying to find out which one he was commenting on so I ignored the comment.

Meanwhile, I shall continue to write my informative and no doubt, sometimes contentious articles. Whatever my readers may think of them, I am sure that they don’t find them boring.