Sympathy

One of the blogs I read (no - I'm not going to link it; he's seen enough nutters already!) just happened to mention the two Canadian lesbians seeking judicial review about their partnership akin to marriage. Nothing extreme in his views. His comment box was overfilled with postings such as this.
That the posters held strong objections to something they see as undermining marriage is OK by me. What cracks my walnut, is the archaic language used. Clearly, they are denied the right of personal expression and are forced to rely upon doctrine.
That it comes from a group with 'Protestant' in it's title amuses me. Most of us think that the Roman faith is quite dogmatic. I'm tempted to start grafitti "Loyola was innocent. Jesuits OK"

Cartoon moment

View my airforce army troops men comic (make your own HERE)!

Take Five

I can understand what Wandering Brain is saying in his blog. I have almost identical thoughts and reservations.

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The Wandering Brain sets out his stall

Electronic Friends Part the Second

I wrote a few days back about Electronic Friends.

Seems I'm not the only one to notice how these work. The bit below comes from something I have just read.

This is the first time that an entity hitherto known to me only in the disembodied typewritten word has presented himself in the flesh, so to speak. In other words, he's the first real live blogger I've ever actually met in person!

We sat on my deck with refreshments and chatted about everything under the Sun that we like: computers, cameras, cars, blogs, our respective locales, life in general - oh, did I mention politics? We dual-computed and showed each other pictures. I conned advised him on a lovely route to take when he heads back east. Death Valley is involved, so if we don't hear from in the next few weeks we'll go look for his bleached bones. Dibs on his Exploder.

He's a nice guy. We had a great visit and he's welcome back any time.

We correspond all the time over these internets with folks we don't know much about: what they look and sound like, where they live, etc. None of that really matters. We find folks far removed from us that are of like mind and intellect, a nation-wide linkage if you will, and we know from this that we are not alone in our thinking. To get to actually meet one of the best of 'em, not to mention actually liking him, was a big thrill.

Seems I've lost the link to where I got this. Sorry guy but good perception skills.

Can you show me to the Exit door please?

If I still retained any of my Get Up and Go, I'd be on the next 'plane, boat, unicycle or whatever out of this damned morally defunct country. My rant is made worse by an old friend who has just emailed me from a mountain top outside Sedona, Arizona but it is basically prompted by moves from Swiss Tony (B Liar) the car salesman. He and his equally corrupt mate from Ireland are asking Dubya to allow Sinn Fein/IRA to resume collections in USA.

Thankfully, one of the Shaved Chimp's men is resisting. B Liar will win of course - who could resist that simpering look, the rolled up sleeves, the mug of tea in hand style more commonly seen amongst pseudo-males who hang around outside public lavatories in parks.

To reward the front men of a vicious organisation to cease their illegal actions is, in my book, recognising moral blackmail in its most corrosive form. " Please stop hitting me" "I've stopped - now give me your money"

It's not as if I can adjust my position to take account of the supposition that, surely, this bastard will be deposed in the near future. Glib talk of Conservative Opposition overlooks the fact that there is no Opposition. Any so-called other party that fails to make as little ground with the assistance of all the latest sleaze revelations as has Cameron's is as effective as disk brakes on a toboggan. The husband of Big Bag Mouth is set on establishing a precedent that will annoy us even into the future. A state funeral for Maggie Thatcher. He cares not a lesbian's tit about her departure. He will ask for the same treatment when his time comes. Well, sooner the better say I. Just a shame I do not have a plot of small-holding so that I might offer burial space in the pig wallow.

I am off to take my tablets and go into the rubber-lined room.

Gawd blimey guv!

I never imagined that I would feel the need to run a preview of a play on the London stage. However, that day is now.

Means little as a preview to someone looking in from goodness knows where in the world but it captures perfectly the spirit and style of the town where I was raised - or, should that be 'was dragged up'?

Whilst the period of the play is long lomg after Romford had it's influence on me, I can see all the things I recall.

Can you prove it's yours?

Public service announcement!

One hears much about lack of police attention in the event of a crime. Thankfully - touching wood and crossing fingers - I cannot comment. Given the figures for crime, looking at force strengths and committments and the paperwork they face, I believe that we cannot be getting the service we used to.

One thing that just might assist in attracting their attention is to inform them that property stolen from you is readily identifiable in the event of recovery. There are various hi-tech ways of doing this but maybe the easiest is to log the necessary details with a central database that can be accessed by police.

Have a look at the blog.

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Know what you have. Simple and effective.

Service message

Disregard what follows. I'm told it will drive the web spiders mad and spread my word in search engines.

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Soldiers! Don't you love them.

Bit of a military day today - don't know why. Maybe because I'm feeling in need of some of that military sense of humour. Hope those who never served understand this one.

Just what the soldiers need!!

Someone knew what would happen

Even someone with my modicum of Middle East experience knew what would happen if we went into a Arab country as invaders. Our Government had a reserve of excellent knowledge available to it from those who had served as their representatives in Islamic countries - the so-called 'Camel Corps'.

So, nice to see what that old warhorse TE Lawrence (of Arabia) had to say. Shame that Dubya and B Liar did not have the Lawrenc of Arabia video to hand.

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See how The Grauniad tells it.

That shooting

My Guest blog this time round got my attention by the phrase about normal Press reaction 'lets find the liar in a blue uniform and blame him'' However, his blog is more than a glib quote.

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Read all about it!

Telling Times

The Times has a name as the newspaper of record. If it happened - it's there. If it's there - it is what happened.
Sad then to read this account of how standards slipped in a overseas edition.

Lesson planning

I think these are five lessons from Iraq for America. However, if Toothsome Tony thinks that we should accept too many of them as lessons for us, we will get into an even worse mess.

Still, doubtless, the Pope is praying for him. I see that old satchel mouth got to go along along on a freeby.

Get digging

Down at the beach today exercising Old Pointy Nose the dog and came upon a guy with a metal detector. I saw him pick up and examine three ring objects which he put into his pocket. He saw me looking and said something about what a lovely looking dog I had.
I told him that as he seemed an intelligent person, I would ask him a question. What did he find with his machinery?
Seems that in just one 3 day period last Summer - just after a holiday weekend - he had found over £137 in just a two hundred yard stretch of beach. Only three days ago, he found seven £1 coins all together. He showed me the rings and they were nicely engraved but well corroded. He also produced a pre-decimal three penny piece that was the same sort of shape as the current 50P coin.
We discussed the life of a detector man. Seems he comes across quite a few interesting items on the beach. When I thought about it - which is rarely - I had imagined that detecting in a newly ploughed field would be more productive given the extent of warlike action over our landscape. Seems that one could spend one's while lifetime in a ploughed field and get nothing.
All that knowledge from just a snide remark. Great value.
What a wonderful world we live in!

No meat-ing of minds

I am a meat eater. Lots of it. Rare and bloody or well done and crisp. All offal accepted.

I cannot understand vegetarinism. Usual claim about 'Nothing against them but...'

Not all people are as tolerant as I am!! (not)

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More tofu vicar?

Customer Service

Just a small item that some of you might like - especially if your work brings you into contact with the public. If it is Joe Public in a stress situation; here is a fine basic course in how to deal with them

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A guy with a lot of right ideas in facing up to the public?

Dirty linen in public

Just wondering if the Guvmint has found that event that will divert attention away from all that nasty Prescott sort of stuff?

To what end?

I'm quite happy to be called a sort of latter day Luddite. It took a long time for me to make the effort to become even moderately computer literate. I took up a PDA as a nice shiny toy/gadget long before I admitted that it was an asset.

So, that may be why I just cannot see the point of the research in my Guest posting. I assume it took up the time of learned individuals. These things cost money. Their site is pleasantly low-geek. But, can anyone tell me - to what end? What or whom does it serve?

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See if you can see a need for this

Paint it black

In the absence of any credible independant information, I have no views on the whys, whats and wherefores of the actions of the US Marines in Iraq. The whole concept of war is mad. Dealing with a civilian insurgency brings weapons of death closer to both sides than any World War ever did. Western worlds may claim to have very high moral standards and, in general terms, are way above the almost ritual slaughter that passes for life in Iraq. Who knows what the effects of this total lack of respect for the sanctity of human life on the part of their enemy can have on those who have just witnessed the violent death of a comrade. Is someone who may have dealt out death without justification at very close range any more guilty than one who sits 50,000 feet above the ground and uses so-called 'Smart' munitions?
However, that said, I can appreciate the validity of what this guy says about the spin-offs that will result.

Getting it right

Dangerous work requires attention to detail. Soldiering is dangerous work. Military personnel practise and appreciate attention to detail. They expect it of the politicians set over them.

This lady makes her point well - might almost have been a soldier! (sarcasm or irony - you sort it out. I'm just making a point)

When will it end - if ever?

We are here seeing more Protestant refusal to progress towards what might be regarded as even a moderately civilised country. Catholics scorned again. Their inclusion in this service is perfectly justified. As a Catholic serving in RUC, they were in constant danger. On duty, at home, in their community - everywhere and always. The degree of courage to keep this up over a considerable period of time is tremendous. Quite often, they were alienated from relatives and even loved ones. They were not always made welcome by their brother officers. Those who have never served in something like a disciplined service cannot understand how vital it is that one can rely on ones comrades. Many Catholic policemen were denied this support.

The sun has got his hat on

Well, is it too much to think that we are about to have a spell of settled good weather? Pretty much the whole East coast is basking in the sun up here in Scotland. We are due for a week over on the West coast next week and good weather is the cream on top of the coffee over there.
I suppose it is a plot to suppress further discussion about Prezza whilst they wait for some Tory cock-up so as to redress the balance. I never cease to wonder at the way sunshine improves everything (except the dust under my desk!). Given the time I used to spend happily wandering the hills in quite atrocious weather, one might think it immaterial.

Freeze or fry

I have little trouble with the concept of global warming, ozone depletion and the ned of the world as we know it. My time remaining here is limited. I have sufficient trust on the native cunning of the human race that when push comes to shove they will come up with something that will keep away the water or whatever.

One thing that does worry me is the degree to which an unknown future impacts upon our now. We have quite a few wind farms here in Scotland. They are, mostly, sufficiently remote as to cause little damage to the scenery or are in areas where they are out of sight because of the landscape. We got past one farm adjacent to the A68 that is all hillocks and dips such that the turbines look like effects in a War of the Worlds film set. Some great cars are being outlawed.

Now, I see that it may all have been a mistake anyway. Or, at least a miscalculation. Damn!!

Spare a copper guv?

There is much discussion about what police should and should not do and how they should do it when they have decided that. This, of course, is before the prosecutors have their decision and implementation debate. And then comes the judiciary. My guest blogger helps lift the veil on how things are done.

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Games police people play

Strong women

No - sorry. No lewd accounts from me here.
I had often sought out the work of this woman. I liked her style of writing and the way she went about her work. Like her or not like her, the actual writing was strongly put and created it's own dynamics regardless of cubject matter.
I came across this item because I still scope her name. What makes it for me now is her description of her meeting with the then head of Iran. What she did took a very high level of courage and must have required a strong sense of purpose. Her description of the man totally reflects what I have noticed in many Arabs. They have this Godly effect. Grips one. Read it.

Garden becomes an allotment

Seems someone has finally recognised that Kent is no longer any sort of garden, still less the prime Garden of England.
Well - don't blame me. I moved away almost five years ago and it was buggered then. The quoted article gives a number of reasons. It was just the over-crowding that drove me out. Not only the number of humans. It was the sort of human being. Apart from immigration overload being pushed down the line, we had the horsey set.
At one time I could walk anywhere I wished all around my house. I knew the farmers and they knew me. The hop fields and orchards were safe from me. Changes in farming and the pressure of subsidies changed the nature of what was grown. Horse owners moved in. They bought up swathes of country and fenced it off in a pale imitation of Kentucky. Footpaths were reclaimed and rights of way denied to protect horseflesh. Chubby little girls rode out of their Ponderosa enclaves and onto narrow and twisty country lanes where they had to risk space with motor cars. Don't forget - chavs first bred in Kent and they also had a part in my disenchantment.

Titles

My female side (huh!) sometimes causes me to stray over to where they congregate. I think I miss the cut and thrust of those early days of the female movement and go there to see if there are any embers I can fan into life. They were very good at debate and argument.

What I am on about now, is the title I found there. I don't know what it is that leads us to choose the titles we do. Designed to intrigue people and attract them? To describe our emotions when we start blogging? Whatever.

This is one I would love to have chosen.

Learn something new everyday and you know you're not dead!

Fragrant Harbour

I am told by those with sufficient interest to care, that Hong Kong translates as Fragrant Harbour.

Well, sorry. From my knowledge of things in mid '70s, I am at one with Sir Peter Ustinov. I have always liked a comment attributed to him, upon visiting Hong Kong.

When confronted by the unmistakeable stink that heralds high summer, he remarked to his companion, “What on earth is that stench?” which elicited the reply, “I’m afraid its sh*t, sir.” Ustinov quickly quipped, “I know that, but what the hell have they done to it?”