What now and how?

Given the volume of debate as to where the origins of recent events may lie, I had a wander round the ether to see if I could find anyone else’s ideas on the matter. In general, I stayed away from those which had any Muslim-bent as there is no shortage as to what our Islamic neighbours want. It is all defined in their Koran anyway – world domination. As an aside, I’m old enough to remember the last little Shitler who sought that jewel. Maybe I was attracted by the URL of this guy but here is his take on the subject.

Much has been written in the last few days about the growth of Islamic fundamentalism in Britain and how radical jihadis are operating with impunity in British society. In fact, London has come to be known as “Londonistan” for the wave of Muslim immigration that is changing the politics of not only England but nations on the continent as well:
Radical Muslims soon learned to ask for asylum for political persecution, to guarantee a long, taxpayer-supported vacation in Britain. London became “Londonistan,” the biggest European haven for Islamist indoctrination and recruitment. The terrorist enablers are the hard Left and its propaganda organs, notably the hallowed British Broadcasting Corporation. British ratepayers recently paid for the BBC to produce a “documentary” to peddle the bug-eyed notion that the terrorist threat was just a right-wing plot to scare people. That was pure disinformation, just one piece of a daily BBC propaganda stream that nurtures, protects, and rationalizes yesterday’s murders.
The question is what, if anything can be done about it. The howls of rage that would result in a crackdown on either immigration or radical Islamists from both Muslim “civil rights” groups and their left wing enablers in the media would seem to make any solution to the problem of inviting terrorists to take up residence in Britain – or the US for that matter – problematic. Richard Fernandez points out the dangers of doing nothing:
A politically correct policy that requires Europe not to know who is in the 5th column will inevitably force it to assume guilt in those of a certain persuasion in a moment of mortal danger. Internment and mass deportation is what governments resort to when they don’t know who the real spies are. Political correctness is the practice of requiring ignorance indefinitely against the calculation that the moment of moral danger will never come because nobody knows what the hell they are going to do then. It’s at that moment, as Steyn observes, that farce, farce and farce becomes tragedy.
As western Muslims continue their campaign to portray our War on Terror as a war against Islam, it will become more and more difficult to crack down on the radical Imams who are not only actively recruiting for al Qaeda but also poisoning the minds of other Muslims to America and the west. And until the MSM wakes up to the danger and begins to broadcast the truth about these terror apologists and fellow travelers, we’ll continue to experience more numerical nightmares like 9/11, 3/11/ and 7/7.
Well, he got the last bit right as we now know after 21/7.
Next, I think I will see what is out there as to how we can correct he situation the multi-culturists have got us into; maybe I can drag some blame to the multi-ethnic as well. There are two problems here as I see it – we have to stop any more flooding in (swamping as Blinkett said) and what to do with those already here who will not see the light.

Bred to be versatile

The Germans bred short-haired pointers to be versatile at everything needed in a hunting dog. They achieved it in my example. Anything from great big birds to this ........













Well done that dog!

Thanks but no thanks

Just got an e-mail in my spam catcher. Subject is "Viagra. $1.67 for a dose"
Tempted to reply that I'm in need of the Viagra but do not want a dose.

That's the way

Seems the events of yesterday have stirred up a real hornets nest in the police gardens. Too soon to be sure if the guy they killed was not just a non-ticket passenger but it certainly showed that the new rules of engagement in respect of suspected suicide-bombers are effective.
I suppose yesterday's events confirm my (bigoted - yes, I suppose so) ideas as to the nature of those who attack us. They are incompetant in making a proper bomb and then abandon their desire for martyrdom very quickly.
From a source likely to know but who must remain 'hush', I hear that the final stages of the shooting on the train were recorded by one of the officers on his mobile phone. Truly a 'happy slapping'. Nice to see the force using all available resources. Five rounds - must have had a stoppage?

Not quite like that Mr Editor

This is from today's Daily Telegraph. Long and rather narrow in appeal but it gained second editorial in a responsible newspaper and got my liver moving towards a dangerous episode. As I said elsewhere, 'if you prick me, do I not bleed'

Who protects soldiers?(Filed: 22/07/2005)
The Special Investigation Branch (SIB) of the Royal Military Police is feared throughout the Army. No harm in that. Recently, however, it is becoming hated - and that is highly undesirable. The hatred stems from its use by the civil legal authorities to prosecute cases against soldiers serving in the field. That is not what soldiers believe to be the SIB's proper role.
Historically, the SIB concerned itself with misappropriation of public funds, theft of valuable stores, sexual predation by seniors against juniors - what the Army recognises as "crime". In recent years, however, "crime" has come to include offences against human rights legislation, as defined by the International Convention on War Crime. At present, the SIB is proceeding against several soldiers of the Irish Guards and the Parachute Regiment, and is mounting a major case against the commanding officer and several soldiers of the Queen's Lancashire Regiment for offences allegedly committed against civilians in Iraq.
Six former chiefs of the defence staff spoke in the House of Lords last week to denounce this development. As Admiral Lord Boyce put it, expressing a collective view, the motivation for the latter case appears to be subservience to political correctness. No one is suggesting that soldiers who mistreat prisoners or civilians should escape legal penalty. Equally, however, no one should suffer legal penalty because the Government seeks to demonstrate to its international partners, particularly to the legal panjandrums of the European Court, that it is marching in step with current legal fashion.
Soldiers are aggrieved by the SIB's detachment from any sense of soldierly fellowship. No one wants military law to be tempered by cronyism. What the accused are encountering, however, is a chilling loneliness. The SIB is dilatory in bringing charges and in pressing investigation, it is suddenly reviving cases that appeared to be settled, it is unfrank in its methods and secretive in its use of evidence.
Soldiers who find themselves in the toils of the SIB discover that they have no friends in high places on their side.
It is entirely characteristic of the current highly undesirable situation that it was left to retired officers to speak up. Senior serving officers have demonstrated that they think discretion the better part of valour when it comes to defending their own men. They should currently be examining their consciences. It will add to the disgrace of the spectacle of British soldiers cowering before the threat of legal penalty for bearing arms in an unpopular war if those to whom they look for protection are currently more concerned with protecting their retirement privileges than their own soldiers.

Let me declare an interest. I was a member of the SIB from 1953 until retiring as a WOI (RSM) in 1974. During that time I served in most of the places where the British army was engaged in anti-terrorist-type operations. From mid-1970 until the end of 1971 I was in charge of the unit deployed to Northern Ireland. The relationship between the SIB and the Army was often difficult. Soldiers did not want to see a career ruined by a criminal record and commanding officers were not keen in having the problems of their unit published far and wide. These attitudes were acknowledged and, in the main, SIB was able to function to meet the responsibilities allocated to them. One thing should be made clear – the Branch does not charge soldiers and does not even decide what offences may have been disclosed. Reports go to a legal authority who frame charges to be brought by the offender’s Commanding Officer. Where the editorial claims “In recent years, however, "crime" has come to include offences against human rights legislation, as defined by the International Convention on War Crime” is a touch creative. What has really happened is that someone has been unlawfully killed, injured to some physical degree or forced to undergo some humiliation. These are criminal offences well covered by the laws of the country. They may, in certain circumstances, fall within what are described as crimes against human rights because an international organisation has lumped them together in such a manner. The actual SIB investigations go to prove or disprove whether a homicide has taken place, someone has been injured or humiliated. These are perfectly normal enquiries albeit they took place within the fog of war or warlike situations.
I am quite certain that no one would be satisfied if the investigations were undertaken in anything less than a rigorous and professional manner. Think here of the criticism that police services have come under in cases such as Lawrence and the Yorkshire Ripper. There is often someone who will suggest that freemasonry has involved itself in police discipline matters. Investigators from SIB have excellent training and resources. The army has very few serious criminals within its ranks as such individuals are ejected without sympathy or the resources devoted to civilian offenders. They are fully aware of the boundary between what is self-protection and what is criminal behaviour in battle-field type circumstances. Talk of the heat of the battle is rarely appropriate when one thinks back to the circumstances surrounding those offences we know of such as Camp Breadbasket where civilians were given a taste of service discipline. Offenders have to be recognised and dealt with. To delegate such matters to some other police service would remove, even further, the investigator from any experience of military life and attitudes. Given the length of time the Iraq confrontation has been running and the large numbers of troops deployed, the few soldiers mentioned in the editorial does not suggest a major discipline problem. If the vast majority can carry out their duties in a proper manner, why should the name of the British army be desecrated by a few irresponsible soldiers?
More attention should have been given to explaining to commanders and soldiers why SIB have to do what they do and why the Whitehall warriors – who, believe me, certainly exist – engage in second-thinking and persist in flogging a near dead horse. Someone said recently that the crimes of the war in Iraq reach right up to 10 Downing Street – but that is politics and there I do not really know what I am talking about. By all means, see the SIB as the jolly Laughing Policeman or a Run Them In musical comedy parody but they never have been Svengali-like self-righteous bigots seeking or deserving hatred.

What more is there to say?

After hearing that the state of South Australia changed its opinion
and let a Muslim woman have her picture on her driver's license with her
face covered prompted this editorial written by an Australian citizen,
published in an Australian newspaper.

He did quite a job; didn't he? Read on, please... you decide if you
agree.

Quote: "IMMIGRANTS, NOT AUSTRALIANS, MUST ADAPT".
I am tired of this nation
worrying about whether we are offending some
individual or their culture.
Since the terrorist attacks on Bali, we have
experienced a surge in
patriotism by the majority of Australians.

However, the dust from the
attacks had barely settled when the
'politically correct' crowd began
complaining about the possibility
that our patriotism was offending others.
I am not against immigration, nor do I hold a grudge against anyone who is
seeking a better life by coming to
Australia.

However, there are a
few things that those who have recently come to
our country, and apparently
some born here, need to understand. This idea
of Australia being a
multicultural community has served only to dilute
our sovereignty and our
national identity. As Australians, we have our
own culture, our own society,
our own language and our own lifestyle.

This culture has been developed
over two centuries of struggles,
trials and victories by millions of men and
women who have sought freedom We speak ENGLISH, not Spanish, Lebanese, Arabic,
Chinese, Japanese, Russian, American or any other language. Therefore, if you
wish to become part of our society, learn the language!

'In God We
Trust' is our National Motto. This is not some Christian,
right wing,
political slogan. We adopted this motto because Christian men
and women, on
Christian principles, founded this nation, and this is
clearly documented.
It is certainly appropriate to display it on the walls of
our schools.

If God offends you, then I suggest you consider another part of the
world as your new home, because God is part of our culture. If the Southern
Cross offends you, or you don't like (A Fair Go), then you should
seriously
consider a move to another part of this planet We are happy
with our culture
and have no desire to change, and we really don't care how you did things where
you came from.

This is OUR COUNTRY, Our Land, and Our Lifestyle, and we
will allow
you every opportunity to enjoy all this. But once you are done
complaining, whining, and griping about our Flag, Our Pledge, Our National
Motto, or Our Way of Life, I highly encourage you take advantage of one other
great Australian freedom, THE RIGHT TO LEAVE.

I figure if we all keep
passing this to our friends (and enemies) it will
also, sooner or later get
back to the complainers, let's all try, please.

Steady, steady now

Some confusion on the early reports that I have seen but it looks as if the Islamic Idiot Army have had another go at terrorising us. There seem to be reports of a guy with a knapsack running away from an explosion but the questionis whether they intended a punishment raid like last time or just publicity and to warn us they are still about. "Oh look, those nice terrorists haven't blown anyone up. Give them what they want"
Whatever it is, and whoever they are and whatever they want - they can get stuffed.

Hant ponders.....

Got a bit carried away with my bullfight blogs but I had wanted to mention this guy. He has a recent column dated 10 July that got me where my funny bone lives. I spent some times in Kentucky amongst the dips and hollers - bit like the very best parts of Devon. My host was a very long term resident and he knew the moonshiners so we had to go see. The story Fred writes reminds me of those times and I commend it to you - you need to look in the listing at the extreme left for 'Hant ponders....'

A los Toros

My photo-blog of yesterday sent me back in time to 1952'ish. I was stationed in Gibraltar. The town just across the Spanish border was La Linea which offered everything a young male might desire. Also on offer - desired or not - was bullfighting where the season ran from Easter to early September. There was then no resistance to the idea of what amounted to torturing dumb animals. I had no great desire to see a bull fight as such but it was obviously something that drew huge crowds and I wanted to see why.
The fights are held on Sunday afternoons. The large circular bull ring dominates the town and on fight days there is a great excitement as the spectators stream in. Most are dressed en-fete; all go - grandma, grandad, little kids - everyone. As La Linea was at the extreme south end of Spain there were not many tourists. As one nears the stadium the sound of a rackety old brass band is heard playing what one imagines as typical Spanish music. The sound of this band is heard all afternoon as it is used to signal the changes in the various parts of the fight.

The photo above illustrates another aspect. One buys entry to three areas; sol (sunny), sombre (shady) or sol e sombre (yes, that's right, sun and shade because the sun moves during the afternoon) The lady supporters spread their lace shawls over the barrier in front of them and get ready to applaud their favourites. There will be three fighters and each will kill three bulls if all goes well. The music changes and the grand parade opens. All of the bullfight personnel passage from one side of the ring to the other starting with the most-basic job guys and ending with the major performers. As the front of the review gets to the far side of the ring, they break formation and just wander around. The matadors will search the shawl of their favourites and stroll over to them. I say 'stroll' but that is the wrong word - these guys are proud as pish personified and have all the swagger one can imagine. Their costumes - their 'suit of lights' are splendid with vivid colours, sparkly bits and cords all skin tight on good male figures - doubtless with the addition of a pair of spare socks down the front of the tight tights.

Another change of music and the ring clears. Lesser decorated figures come in and the first bull is released. It comes out of a dark tunnel into the bright light and it's manner of entry signifies what sort of bull it will be in the contest ahead. Some run out at high speed and attack everything in sight. Others walk slowly into the ring - heads high and smelling the new atmosphere. They will not have had this experience before. Their pedigree will have been tested from their mothers who will have shown what they can do in a ring on the breeders' farm. The peons have large capes and attract the attention of the bull. This is to allow us and the matador to see what the bull will do. Does he hook to the left, to the right or upwards? Does he stand and then bolt forward or run from a way back?

Another change of music in response to the signals from the President for the day - a local worthy. Now enter the picadors. They have long lances and are mounted on horses which have considerable padding on one side and under their belly. They get the bull to charge them and place their lances into the upper neck muscle of the bull. This is to weaken it and lower the head. There will be three lancings before another change in the music.
Now come the bandilleros. They have short canes with a barbed point. They challenge the bull and run directly at it - placing their spears into the neck muscle. Again, three darts are planted. The idea is that the darts will swing and stir the bull into charging the next human that he sees in front of him.
The music that is played this time is traditional and always the same with off-key trumpets in the main part. Now enters the star of the show - the matador. He has a smaller cape and uses this to attract the attention of the bull. As the bull goes past like an express train, he demonstrates various classical movements. The objective is closeness of the bull and the fluency from one move into another. This gradually leads to his dominating the bull.

On my first visit, it was about this time that I was getting ready to depart after the bull was killed. The spectacle was worth seeing but I did not see it really as any sort of fight. I knew there was one more music change - again traditionally the signal for the bull to be killed. Here the matador takes a much smaller cape and executes smaller and tighter turns and passes until he decides the animal is ready for a full frontal approach where the human will force a sword into the neck and down into the heart of the animal.
This stage came. The very first cape movement went somehow wrong. The bull caught the man full on the crown between his horns and sent him six or seven feet into the air. It stopped and looked up like a footballer getting ready to volley the ball into the net. As the man came down, the bull caught him in the chest with one horn and then shook him off like a loose sock. The guy was dead as he hit the ground.

There was all sorts of kerfuffle then. The band played on. Peons distracted the bull. The body was removed. Another bull-fighter was called to the ring and, after a few passes, despatched the animal cleanly and efficiently. This is what has to happen. The bull cannot live to fight another day. He knows what humans do and would be too dangerous. A team of oxen come and drag the dead bull out, blood-stains are sawdusted over and the music starts all over again. By this time, I was as hooked as the dead man had been. The idea that it was a foregone conclusion was obviously wrong. The posing and prancing of everyone seemed more daring when one saw what the bull could do if things went wrong. A whole new dimension came into play. I think that, had I not seen the death in this very first visit, I would not have gone again.

As it was, I went every time possible and even went to the stadium a little way inland at San Roque where the ring was the smallest in Spain and even more heart-in-the-mouth inducing. I had a young lady who did my washing sort of thing and we had glorious afternoons with wine and doorstep sandwiches whilst watching Hemingway's Death in The Afternoon brought to life. I saw quite a few serious injuries but not another human death - the threat was always there though.

After I left, things went downhill. The bulls were smaller, the horns were shaved to make them sensitive, the animals were kept without water - what we would today consider as nobbled. I was recently e-talking with an old friend who lives in La Linea. The bullfights continue but mainly for tourists. The Spanish now look to football for excitement. I don't think I'd go back. Maybe I'm frightened I'd see a very old laundry woman sitting in the sol e sombre somewhere.

Shebrain vs. Hebrain

There was a question in a comment a while back asking if I had seen a TV programme regarding differences between male and female brains. I did answer this by, more or less, saying that I did not need a TV programme to convince me of this fact.
Now we have this report circulating

Women's Brains Really Are Blown By Orgasms
An orgasm is literally a mind-blowing experience for a woman, scientists have revealed.Much of her brain shuts down when she reaches a sexual climax.The discovery was made during experiments in the Netherlands when couples' brains were scanned during lovemaking.
Neuroscientist Dr Gert Holstege, from the University of Groningen said it appeared that shutting down the brain during orgasm ensured that obstacles such as fear and stress did not get in the way.
"When you are fearful or have a very high level of anxiety, then it's hard to have sex because during sex you really have to give yourself and let go."
Men were studied in the same way but because the male orgasm typically takes such a short time it
was difficult to obtain meaningful brain scan data.
A total of 13 women and 11 men, ranging in age from 19 to 49, took part in the experiments at Dr Holstege's laboratory.
Since it was vital to remain completely still in the
scanner, volunteers had to have their heads restrained while being stimulated.
The rest of the body was free to move.
Participants lay naked on a table with their head inside the scanner - but had to wear socks to avoid cold feet.
And there could be a connection with the aphrodisiac effect of alcohol.
"Alcohol brings down the fear level," said Dr Holstege. "Everyone knows if you give alcohol to a woman it makes things easier"

This possibly explains one reason for the difference

THE HORMONE WARNING:

The Hormone Hostage knows that there are days in the month when all a man has to do is open his mouth and he takes his life in his own hands! This is a handy guide that should be as common as a driver's licence in the wallet of every husband, boyfriend, or significant other

DANGEROUS: What's for dinner?SAFER: Can I help you with dinner?SAFEST: Where would you like to go for dinner?ULTRASAFE: Have some chocolate

DANGEROUS: Are you wearing that?SAFER: Wow, you look good in brown.SAFEST: WOW! Look at you!ULTRASAFE: Have some chocolate

DANGEROUS: What are you so worked up about?SAFER: Could we be overreacting?SAFEST: Here's my paycheck.ULTRASAFE: Have some chocolate

DANGEROUS: Should you be eating that?SAFER: You know, there are a lot of apples left.SAFEST: Can I get you a glass of wine with that?ULTRASAFE: Have some chocolate

DANGEROUS: What did you do all day?SAFER: I hope you didn't over-do it today.SAFEST: I've always loved you in that robe!ULTRASAFE: Have some more chocolate.

Self-inflicted injuries.

This is extracted from an article in today's Daily Telegraph. I like it because it supports what I have been saying for some while (irony) but I still think it is worth some thought. The full article is here.

A victory for multiculti over common sense
By Mark Steyn
(Filed: 19/07/2005)

The London bombers were, to the naked eye, assimilated - they ate fish 'n' chips, played cricket, sported appalling leisurewear. They'd adopted so many trees we couldn't see they lacked the big overarching forest - the essence of identity, of allegiance. As I've said before, you can't assimilate with a nullity - which is what multiculturalism is.

So, if Islamist extremism is the genie you're trying to put back in the bottle, it doesn't help to have smashed the bottle. The 7/7 murderers are described as "Yorkshiremen", but, of course, there is no Yorkshire: Ted (Heath) abolished that, too.

Consider the Bishop of Lichfield, who at Evensong, on the night of the bombings, was at pains to assure his congregants: "Just as the IRA has nothing to do with Christianity, so this kind of terror has nothing to do with any of the world faiths." It's not so much the explicit fatuousness of the assertion so much as the broader message it conveys: we're the defeatist wimps; bomb us and we'll apologise to you. That's why in Britain the Anglican Church is in a death-spiral and Islam is the fastest-growing religion. There's no market for a faith that has no faith in itself. And as the Church goes so goes the state: why introduce identity cards for a nation with no identity?

It was the Prime Minister's wife, you'll recall, who last year won a famous court victory for Shabina Begum, as a result of which schools across the land must now permit students to wear the full "jilbab" - ie, Muslim garb that covers the entire body except the eyes and hands. Ms Booth hailed this as "a victory for all Muslims who wish to preserve their identity and values despite prejudice and bigotry". It seems almost too banal to observe that such an extreme preservation of Miss Begum's Muslim identity must perforce be at the expense of any British identity. Nor, incidentally, is Miss Begum "preserving" any identity: she's of Bangladeshi origin, and her adolescent adoption of the jilbab is a symbol of the Arabisation of South Asian (and African and European) Islam that's at the root of so many problems. It's no more part of her inherited identity than my five-year- old dressing up in his head-to-toe Darth Vader costume, to which at a casual glance it's not dissimilar.

Is it "bigoted" to argue that the jilbab is a barrier to acquiring the common culture necessary to any functioning society? Is it "prejudiced" to suggest that in Britain a Muslim woman ought to reach the same sartorial compromise as, say, a female doctor in Bahrain? Apparently so, according to Cherie Booth.

One of the striking features of the post-9/11 world is the minimal degree of separation between the so-called "extremists" and the establishment: Princess Haifa, wife of the Saudi ambassador to Washington, gives $130,000 to accomplices of the 9/11 terrorists; the head of the group that certifies Muslim chaplains for the US military turns out to be a bagman for terrorists; one of the London bombers gets given a tour of the House of Commons by a Labour MP. The Guardian hires as a "trainee journalist" a member of Hizb ut Tahir, "Britain's most radical Islamic group" (as his own newspaper described them) and in his first column post-7/7 he mocks the idea that anyone could be "shocked" at a group of Yorkshiremen blowing up London: "Second- and third-generation Muslims are without the don't-rock-the-boat attitude that restricted our forefathers. We're much sassier with our opinions, not caring if the boat rocks" - or the bus blows, or the Tube vaporises. Fellow Guardian employee David Foulkes, who was killed in the Edgware Road blast, would no doubt be heartened to know he'd died for the cause of Muslim "sassiness".

Oh, well. Back to business as usual. In yesterday's Independent, Dave Brown had a cartoon showing Bush and Blair as terrorists boarding the Tube to Baghdad. Ha-ha. The other day in Thailand, where 800 folks have been killed by Islamists since the start of the year, two Laotian farm workers were beheaded. I suppose that's Bush and Blair's fault, too.

But in the end Cherie Booth and Dave Brown and the Bishop of Lichfield will get you killed. Best of British, old thing.

Why bombs when chopsticks will do?

Well, big surprise today. Not. The Chinese with whom Rover was in 'last minute talks' when it was put into receivership have now submitted plans to resurrect some production in the UK. Lot less employees. They had previously got hold of some essential bits. So, set a company up for a fall, push it into the abyss and then get it for peanuts - or noodles. If it is this easy to knock over our industry, why bother with all that illegal stuff with explosives and knapsacks then? When you see how Chinese live in conditions where we would not be allowed to walk pigs, you can see just why the economists are forecasting big things from Asia. Plus they will be competing for the diminishing oil which will have to come from where we currently get ours.
I thought pokeynose had learnt a bit of a lesson the other day. However, whilst we were at the beach today, she started stalking a great big gull and manouvered it into a corner ready for a kill - which I stopped. She did the same to a crow the other day - about the size of a small chicken. As it took wing, she jumped up and caught it in her mouth. It lodged with its head and shoulders down her throat. Normally, the first bite down kills whatever she has hold of but I think she was surprised by the size of this bird. She had the front end in her chops but the wings were flapping ninety to the dozen and the legs were scrabbling like a gurkha going uphill. I could do little for laughing but she released it, held it down with a paw for a better grip and that was the end of the escape bid. My fear today was that Jonah gull would swallow her from the inside.

Follow-up to my cat post

What do you mean by I'd make a nice doorstop?

Support we could well do without.

I think this is the kind of support we can well do without. Although, given what the Chatham House survey claims, this might be spin from someone at No 10?
Monday, July 18, 2005
51% of Americans want the U.S....to attack with military force: Republicans, favor attacks by a 7-to-1 margin
"51% Want Military Response to London Bombing Survey of 1,500 Adults July 15-17, 2005 July 18, 2005--In response to the terrorist bombings in London, 51% of Americans want the U.S. and its allies to attack with military force. A Rasmussen Reports survey found that 25% believe the appropriate response is to withdraw US and British troops from Iraq.Just 7% believe the allies should negotiate with terrorists.As with most issues relating to the War on Terror, Republicans are largely united, while Democrats are divided.Republicans, by a 7-to-1 margin, say that military attacks are the appropriate response. Thirty-five percent (35%) of Democrats share that view while 39% favor withdrawal of troops from Iraq. Nine percent (9%) of Democrats favor negotiations.
There is a Pravda connection so this also could just be sweetbreads but it sounds convincing to me. Only thing not identified seems to be where this attack should be aimed. Cuba - ostensibly for high price of cigars. Argentina - finalising the Falklands thing. Possibilities - with this sort of mindset - seem limitless. Just so long as it does not have oil; I'm fed up with that conspiracy theory thread.
Don't like this?
Well, you will love this then

From The American Conservative, 1 August 2005, p.27Philip Giraldi writes:In Washington it is hardly a secret that the same people in and around the administration who brought you Iraq are preparing to do the same for Iran. The Pentagon, acting under instructions from Vice President Dick Cheney's office,
has tasked the United States Strategic Command (STRATCOM) with drawing up a contingency plan to be employed in response to another 9/11-type terrorist attack on the United States. The plan includes a large-scale air assault on Iran employing both conventional and tactical nuclear weapons. Within Iran there are more than 450 major strategic targets, including numerous suspected nuclear-weapons-program development sites. Many of the targets are hardened or are deep underground and could not be taken out by conventional weapons, hence the nuclear option. As in the case of Iraq, the response is not conditional on
Iran actually being involved in the act of terrorism directed against the United States. Several senior Air Force officers involved in the planning are reportedly appalled at the implications of what they are doing—that Iran is being set up for an unprovoked nuclear attack—but no one is prepared to damage his career by posing any objections. Philip Giraldi, a former CIA Officer, is a partner in Cannistraro Associates

Normal service will be resumed ...........

I have given in to the music trend. Next thing is need is a chav's Burberry hat to go with my nice new 20GB iPod. What I have to do now is load my CDs into this machine and then move them across to the little white box. I have a fairly good collection of disks but do not listen to them as often as I would possibly like 'cos it means sorting them, loading them into the player, getting settled and then pressing play. I've already got a set of ear-phones that fasten onto ears like oysters; I found you need teenagers ears to use the supplied ones. I can go back to the days when we used to tune in, turn on and drop out but not with exotic substances this time. What I reckon is that even when I've loaded all my music it will not be 20GB and I can sell the CDs to Barter Books and most likely get back the money I paid for the iPod. Another benefit is that I can cover my decreasing hearing syndrome with pretence that I'm chillin' with Willie or perving with Parton.
So, normal service will be resumed when all is loaded. Go - maestro.

Degrees of darkness

This Mark Urban guy is supposed to be a pretty smart cookie. However, someone dug up this comment from him:'Of course, many people are saying they made the mistakes they did because they were relatively inexperienced suicide bombers’ I suppose he can now add a Degree for stating the bleeding obvious to his CV.

This is a real cat

I may have given the impression here that I am exclusively a dog man. This is no more true than the suggestion that I am a (belly dancer's) belly man. It is just that I find cats incommunicative other than when scrounging. However, this is a cat that did get through to me. It was a feral cat in Bahrain. I imagine that being a free-spirit cat is hard at the best of times but in Bahrain it must be something like Superman. The heat is terrible and the locals are handy with heaving bricks at things.

This based itself near our office bungalow. In time, it got used to most of us but no one could get within ten feet of it. We used to throw food to her but she would refuse it all the while we remained in sight. Once we retreated, she would dash in and devour whatever we left - even quite fierce chicken curry. In appearance, she was exactly like the sort of cats one sees in ancient Egyptian manuscripts. A long neck with small head carried high.

She was obviously not totally feral as we saw her shape change and realised she was pregnant. We threw out odds and ends of woolen items and uprated the food. She had the one kitten - wth her above. She did not mature with any maternal instinct but the kitten did not have any inborn fear of humans. It would happily come into the office and the greatest game was to attack the keys of the typewriter when one was trying to write reports. She also enjoyed ataking the paper screwed up into a ball when she  distrated the typist. Mum would come just to outside the door and just put her head round the corner with loud moaning. I don't know what hapened to her as she was still there when I left but I often think back to her spirit of independence in making her own way.

Rolling in the blogs

Since 7/7 (why did we have to adopt the American system of marking disasters with a date?), I’ve started to get an insight into just how effective blogging can be. Hundreds of sans-pied journalists have contributed to just about every aspect of the events of that day. Some of those injured have set out their stories and I can imagine that that has helped with some of the obvious PTSD. We have had Islamic apologists, condemners of Muslims, pro- and anti-Iraq war warriors, conspiracy theorists. Hordes of people are expressing themselves without going through the filter of professional journalism. Given that the main media is subject to the slant of Murdoch, Ted Turner or whoever owns a network and to the curse of political correctness (BBC bombers not terrorists), this can only be a good thing. Some of those blogging may well move into the reporting profession and, hopefully, will take their freshness with them. I think I can say that I have spent more time reading blogs than I have reading the two newspapers we get everyday.
Looking back over that last paragraph, I’ve roused something that does grip my goat with some bloggers. They are the sort who cannot be bothered to do anything other than Here’s a good story (link), what do you think of this (link) so that one is constantly switching hither and yin. If it’s good, stick it on the side as a blogroll. Then there are those who write ‘Me and Janey hooked up late last night and after a boozy reunion we ……… (read more). Another irritant are those who somehow restrict the number of topics one can get to at one time so that it needs constant dragging back from archives. I’ve seen one or two where the daily etc. entries scroll down as they would in a paper diary rather than trying to catch-up on a story by having to go back up when one wants the next instalment.
Another thing that I find amazing is the spread of subjects on which people blog. I’ve spent a lot of time using Google to input all sorts of random word followed by blog. I’ve not yet had a negative report. Even using the rude words seems to work. Already there are loads of blogs on what I suppose one might call the sleazy side of life. I read a while back the supposed story of the high rate hooker who went by the fromage-name of Belle de Jour. This struck me as identical to the porno books published in Paris at the start and mid-50s – Story of ‘O’ and that sort of thing. She has many imitators who – I use the word purposely – exhibit a better knowledge of the velvet brothel than Belle. I spoke about the release that bomb victims might get and I suppose the same applies to these writers who seem to be, in the main, female Some have no qualms about identifying themselves. A lady who lectures on the finer parts of fellatio advertises her book on the same subject – on special at Amazon no less. I go back to a time when women were referred to as lay-dees and I am still surprised when I find a woman/lay-dee expressing her desires and most intimate moments in basic terms on paper or – even more so – on the Internet. Back in a past life (now, sadly, no more), I occasionally had to read peoples’ diaries and personal letters and came across much free expression. But, to find this sort of self-revelation on the web is rather like being told that Maggie Thatcher practised frottage. Not that such things took place but – really – involving her!

John Wayne is not dead

I think this young man owes someone a few hours on his knees in the praying and giving thanks position.

Tanks but No Tanks

I have been thinking more about my fish tank project. It seems rather daunting; there is talk of nitrogen cycles and much other stuff not seen by me since upper Sixth days. Even filling the tank with water has its own mysteries. The water has to be changed by a seriously complicated procedure.
My experience as a kid with fish was dead simple. We had three big fat goldfish – Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill. They lived in a galvanised water storage tank in the garden. No air pumping, no plants, no feeding. Nothing at all in the way of care. They occasionally froze when the temperature went down but resumed their full aquatic life when things got warmer. Nice, simple and uncomplicated.
As I read the care and attention required to keep a few slices of carrot alive, I realised that all I wanted was the end experience of seeing neon-glowing objects moving about in abstract patterns. It is not that I could not soon get up to speed on the requirements; I’m just not interested in that part of the project.
So, the fish thing is dead in the water.
I now have to think of something else, or, horror of horrors, decline any sort of birthday present. Maybe if anyone knows of a shiny pole and a lady dancer?

Letter from America

Recent events have caused many to reflect on what makes Muslims tick. What makes a suicide bomber? How do the really see us?
I may have found something that goes toward getting an insight - certainly how one Iraqi woman feels after a fairly prolonged stay in America. Of all the Islamic 'experts', this woman strikes the best chord with me.

Is murder Islamic?

Read the Friday entry from this guy. He has got the situation just right for my money.

No further comment

It was us who sent the convicts there

Maybe this is why I don't like Australians? The guy may well be right and I certainly support his right to say it, but, does he need to say it right now?

Sun worship

Thanks to Charles Russell, his heirs and successors and any copywright holder for this painting which - I think - well illustrates the theme of sun worship. After the past seven days we have been well served by Ra. One might even say Ra Ra. Whilst this part of Scotland really is Bonny at this time of the year, everything looks so much nicer when shimmering in a heat haze. The horrible oily acid-yellow sheen from the rape has gone, there is not too much plastic growing in the fields and the cereals are a lovely gold. Now is the time to haunt the farm shops looking for the best of the vegetables.
Who knows - maybe even the farmers will be a little bit happy despite the rumours of hard times ahead. The talk of hill farmers being heavily pressed is bad news. They are the guys who really know how to bully the land into production through the jaws of the sheep. If they go, we will be left with large swathes of the land doing nothing. Dept. for the Eradication of Farming Anywhere seem to think the hills will be taken over by vast queues of black, Asian and multi-ethnic people fighting to roam at will, so, that will be another concept of the wonders of multi-racial Britain down and round the pan.
Don't know about you dear Reader, but the world seems dull after the media overload of last week. We were being - sorry about this - bombarded from all sides with news that was horrible in content but almost unique to us here on our "precious stone set in the silver sea, this sceptered isle". It started to have a fascination all it's own when many were shown what goes on in some of the darker spots behind curtains drawn all day and night. Slightly less precious I think although, thank the Lord, still sceptered. For a while, even the unlikely happenings in the soap-operas seemed normal run of the mill events. It is sobering to think that in a number of places around the world, actions such as the attacks on our transport system are quite commonplace, everyday events.

Silence

I was very impressed by the 2 minute silence yesterday. The television reports from around the world showed large crowds all observing this united mark of respect to those who were involved in the events of last week. I did not see even one person fail to halt what they were doing. Drivers got out of their vehicles and all were standing. Even small children were quiet and still. There have been other calls for such a demonstration after other tragic events that were not universally answered and I feared this one would be ignored in the same way. The other thing was the inclusion of all races so it was not just a Bulldog Spirit sort of thing.
We may yet have to face further cowardly attacks on innocent citizens. Were I a terrorist (or, as the BBC avers - a bomber) I would save my efforts and go elsewhere. The 'We Are Not Afraid' banners said it all. It was as much this spirit of resistence as it was respect that impressed me.

Another source of pride has been the police investigation. Evidence sought was prioritised and the work of the CCTV viewers was amply rewarded. There may be criticism about the lack of warning; and that is not a matter for right now anyway, but the enquiry officers may rightly hold their heads high. The simple image of our Queen will be with me for a long time. With her, showing solidarity in this manner is inherited from her parents who were fastidious about showing themselves during the Blitz period of the last war. No shall we, should we, faffing around as there was at the time of Diana's demise. As a Brit it is not in my background to be too demonstrative but right now I'm very proud to be one.
Respect and sympathy to those who have to live on in the absence of loved ones who have gone before to join the Great Majority.

Visits round the World

Removed

USA - Places visited

Removed

Options for Death

http://www.guardian.co.uk/notesandqueries/query/0,,-10562,00.html

Interesting - but is it true?

Note the date - back in 2004. Cohen (I will frown at that name in connection with Islamist plotting) does not say whether this is a reporter-speak collection of theories or totally factual. I repeat it with that proviso but I have not found any retraction of the report. The Luton connection back in 2004 was lucky if this is just bullsh*t.

Terror on the dole By David Cohen, Evening Standard 20 April 2004
Four young British Muslims in their twenties - a social worker, an IT
specialist, a security guard and a financial adviser - occupy a table at a
fast-food chicken restaurant in Luton. Perched on their plastic chairs, wolfing
down their dinner, they seem just ordinary young men. Yet out of their mouths
pour heated words of revolution.
"As far as I'm concerned, when they bomb
London, the bigger the better," says Abdul Haq, the social worker. "I know it's
going to happen because Sheikh bin Laden said so. Like Bali, like Turkey, like
Madrid - I pray for it, I look forward to the day."
"Pass the brown sauce,
brother," says Abu Malaahim, the IT specialist, devouring his chicken and chips.
"I agree with you, brother," says Abu Yusuf, the earnest-looking financial
adviser sitting opposite. "I would like to see the Mujahideen coming into London
and killing thousands, whether with nuclear weapons or germ warfare. And if they
need a safehouse, they can stay in mine - and if they need some fertiliser [for
a bomb], I'll tell them where to get it."
His friend, Abu Musa, the security
guard, smiles radiantly. "It will be a day of joy for me," he adds, speaking
with a slight lisp.
As they talk, a man with a bushy beard, dressed in a
jacket emblazoned with the word "Jihad", stands and watches over them, handing
around cups of steaming hot coffee. His real name is Ishtiaq Alamgir, but he
goes by his adopted name, Sayful Islam, meaning "Sword of Islam". He is the
24-year-old leader of the Luton branch of al-Muhajiroun, an extremist Muslim
group with about 800 members countrywide, who regard Osama bin Laden as their
hero.
Until recently, nobody took the fanatical beliefs of al-Muhajiroun too
seriously, believing that a British-based group so brazenly "out there" could
not be involved in something as "underground" as terrorism. The group is led by
the exiled Saudi, Sheikh Omar Bakri Mohammad, from his base in north London.
Yesterday, in a magazine article, Bakri warned that several radical groups are
poised to strike in London.
For all its inflammatory rhetoric, al-Muhajiroun
has never been linked to actual violence. Yet, with the discovery last month of
half-a-tonne of ammonium nitrate fertiliser - the same explosive ingredient used
in the Bali and Turkey terror attacks - and with the arrest of eight young
British Muslims in London and the South-East, including six in Luton, extremist
groups such as al-Muhajiroun are under the spotlight like never before.
Detectives fear that the "enemy within", the homegrown extremists leading
apparently normal lives in suburbia, now pose the greatest threat to security in
Britain. Sayful and his friends fit this "homegrown" profile: three were born
here, two came as young children from Pakistan; all were educated in local Luton
schools; and they grew up in families of full employment - one of their fathers
is a retired local businessman, two are engineers, and two worked in the local
Vauxhall car plant.
The question is: how worried should we be? Is
al-Muhajiroun nothing more than a repository for disaffected Muslim youths who
have adopted an extreme interpretation of Islam - perhaps to cock a snook at the
white establishment - but who are essentially posturing? Or does the group also
perform a more sinister function, sucking in alienated young men and
brainwashing the more impressionable into becoming future suicide bombers?
Although none of the arrested Muslims - aged 17 to 32 - appear to be current
al-Muhajiroun members, rumours have circulated of informal links to the group.
Moreover, parents of the arrested men have spoken anxiously of the "radicalising
influence" of al-Muhajiroun militants who " corrupt" their children at mosques.
Nowhere has this public confrontation between radicals and moderates been
more apparent than in Luton, which has the highest density of Muslims in the
South-East - 28,000 out of a total population of 140,000 - and has long been
regarded as a hotbed of extremism.
Sayful Islam, for one, is particularly
proud of his contribution to Luton's hardline reputation. His exploits include
covering the town with " Magnificent 19" posters glorifying the 11 September
suicide bombers. "When I joined al-Muhajiroun four years ago, there were five
local members," he says. "Now there are more than 50 and hundreds more support
us."
The strange thing is that four years ago, Sayful Islam was a jeans-clad
student completing his degree in business economics at Middlesex University in
Hendon, north London.
The son of a British Rail engineer who came to this
country from Pakistan, Sayful grew up in a moderate, middle-class Muslim family
in Luton. At the local Denbigh High School, he is remembered as one of the
smartest kids, and was selected to attend a science masterclass at Cambridge
University. He would go on to marry, have two children and find work as an
accountant for the Inland Revenue in Luton. He was thoroughly uninterested in
politics.
THEN he met Sheikh Omar Bakri Mohammad at a local event. Within
two years, he had swapped his decently paid job as an accountant for an unpaid
one as a political agitator. What turned him into an extremist? And how far is
he prepared to go to achieve his aims?
Prior to seeing the group at the
fastfood restaurant, Sayful meets me at his semi-detached rented home in Bury
Park, Luton's Muslim neighbourhood. He no longer works, even though he is
able-bodied, he admits, preferring instead to claim housing benefit and
jobseeker's allowance. He smiles sheepishly and says the irony is not lost on
him that the British state is supporting him financially, even as he plots to
"overthrow it".
"I made a decision that I wanted to follow what Islam really
said," Sayful begins, sitting on his sofa in his thowb (a traditional robe) and
bare feet. "I went to listen to all the local imams, but I found their portrayal
of Islam was too secularised. When I heard Sheikh Omar [the leader] of
al-Muhajiroun speak, it was pure Islam, with no compromise. I found that
appealing.
"At the same time," continues Sayful, "wars were happening in
Bosnia, Kosovo, Chechnya, Afghanistan. People were being oppressed simply
because they were Muslim. Although I had never experienced racism in the UK, it
opened the eyes of a lot of Muslims, including mine."
But it was the events
of 11 September that crystallised Sayful's worldview. "When I watched those
planes go into the Twin Towers, I felt elated," he says. "That magnificent
action split the world into two camps: you were either with Islam and al Qaeda,
or with the enemy. I decided to quit my job and commit myself full-time to
al-Muhajiroun." Now he does not consider himself British. "I am a Muslim living
in Britain, and I give my allegiance only to Allah."
According to Sayful,
the aim of al-Muhajiroun ("the immigrants") is nothing less than Khilafah - "the
worldwide domination of Islam". The way to achieve this, he says, is by Jihad,
led by Bin Laden. "I support him 100 per cent."
Does that support extend to
violent acts of terrorism in the UK?
"Yes," he replies, unequivocally. "When
a bomb attack happens here, I won't be against it, even if it kills my own
children. Islam is clear: Muslims living in lands that are occupied have the
right to attack their invaders.
"Britain became a legitimate target when it
sent troops to Iraq. But it is against Islam for me to engage personally in acts
of terrorism in the UK because I live here. According to Islam, I have a
covenant of security with the UK, as long as they allow us Muslims to live here
in peace."
HE USES the phrase "covenant of security" constantly. He attempts
to explain. "If we want to engage in terrorism, we would have to leave the
country," he says. "It is against Islam to do otherwise." Such a course of
action, he says, he is not prepared to undertake. This is why, Sayful claims, it
is consistent, and not cowardly, for him to espouse the rhetoric of terrorism,
the "martyrdom-operations", while simultaneouslylimiting himself to
nonviolentactions such as leafletting outside Luton town hall.
He denies any
link between al-Muhajiroun and the Muslims arrested in the recent police raids.
But, as I later discover at the fastfood restaurant, not everyone attaching
themselves, however loosely, to al-Muhajiroun draws the same line. Two members
of the group - Abu Yusuf, the financial adviser, and Abu Musa, the security
guard - scorn al-Muhajiroun as "too moderate".
"I am freelance," says Abu
Yusuf, fixing me with his piercing brown eyes. What does that mean? I ask.
"The difference between us and those two," interjects Abu Malaahim, pointing
to Musa and Yusuf, "is that us lot do a verbal thing, [but] those brothers
actually want to do a physical thing."
Referring to the latest truce offered
by Bin Laden, and Britain's scathing rejection of it, Abu Malaahim adds: "He
tried to make a peace deal. When terrorism happens, you will only have
yourselves to blame."
How far are you prepared to go? I ask.
"You want
to know how far I will go," says Abu Musa, his high-pitched lisp rising an
octave. "When Allah said in the Koran 'kill and be killed', that's what I want.
I want a martyr operation, where I kill my enemy."
Are you saying, I probe,
that you are looking to kill people yourself ? "Yes," Abu Musa says, "to kill
and to be killed." He emphasises each word.
What's stopped you doing it? "As
you know from watching the news," intones Abu Yusuf, "there are brothers who do
leave the country and do it." He is referring to the four Muslims from Luton who
died fighting for the Taliban in Afghanistan, and the two British Muslims, said
to have had ties to al-Muhajiroun, who last April left to become suicide bombers
in Israel. "In-shallah [ Godwilling], there will be a time to go."
It is
hard to know whether Musa and Yusuf are deadly serious or just pumped full of
misguided, youthful bravado. Though I see coldness - even ruthlessness - in
their eyes, I sense no malice. Both young men agree, perhaps foolishly, to be
quoted using their real names, though they decline photographs - thus
illustrating their uncertainty of which way to jump.
Muhammad Sulaiman,
president of the Islamic Cultural Society, the largest of the 14 mosques in
Luton, dismisses al-Muhajiroun as "verbal diarrhoea".
"They are an extreme
Right-wing group - the Muslim version of the BNP," he says disdainfully. "They
think Muslims should dominate, just like the BNP thinks whites should dominate.
They use Islam as a vehicle to promote their distorted beliefs, particularly to
unemployed young bloods who are vulnerable."
ALTHOUGH unemployment in Luton
is just six per cent, the rate among Muslim youths is estimated at 25 per cent.
"They are no more representative of our Muslim community than the BNP are of the
white community."
Sulaiman insists that Sayful Islam and his crew are not
welcome at the mosque. He cannot prevent them praying there, but he will never
give them a platform. "I've told Sayful to bugger off and ejected him many
times," he says brusquely. "Even Sayful's father, who I know well, thinks his
son has been brainwashed."
But Sayful and his friends laugh at the idea that
they are local pariahs. "The mosques say one thing to the public, and something
else to us. Let's just say that the face you see and the face we see are two
different faces," says Abdul Haq. "Believe me," adds Musa, "behind closed doors,
there are no moderate Muslims."
They also mock the idea that they are
attracted to al-Muhajiroun because they have suffered alienation from white
society. "Do we look like scum?" they ask. "Do we look illiterate?"
As they
call for the bill, Abu Malaahim flicks open his 3G mobile phone and, with a
satisfied grin, displays the image, downloaded from the internet, of an American
Humvee burning in Iraq.
Abu Yusuf says: "That's nothing. I downloaded the
picture of the four burnt Americans hanging from the bridge." It's oneupmanship,
al-Muhajiroun style.
Sayful, the only married one in the group, prepares to
go home to his wife and children. Before he departs, he says he has a message to
deliver.
"I want to warn that the police raids - if repeated - could create
a bad situation.
"Islam is not like Christianity, where they turn the other
cheek. If they raid our homes, it could lead to the covenant of security being
broken.
"Islam allows us to retaliate. That would include" - he tugs his
"Jihad" coat tight against the night air - "by violent means."

Male chauvinist pig

Someone commented that I made a sexist remark. Yeah, well, that sometimes happens. My attitude in this respect has not been critiqued since the good old days when such comments were taken as the sign of a male chauvinist pig. That is some way back now. A supervisor who worked for me was fervent disciple of Gloria Steinem and had studied at her feet. Having been through many debates and discussions with her, I can say that I may not agree with the Movement but I would defend to the death their right to talk about it.
If I were to have serious sexist remark intentions there would be more of this sort of thing

There’s a big plasma screen in this hospital emergency room that’s used as a
tracking board, and the PC it’s attached to is in a nearby closet. An ER nurse
watches as IT pilot fish pulls the mouse through the doorway to adjust the
active window on the screen. “We didn’t know that the mouse cord could stretch that far,” nurse tells fish. “Whenever we want to use the mouse, we’ve used two people -- one moving the mouse blindly, the other yelling ‘right,’ ‘left,’ ‘up’ or ‘down.’ ” Comes from here.

Yes- I know the nurse might have been a male. Still, this is enough explanation from me. Sorry if I 've taken a gentle comment as something that merits all the above and, yes, sometimes I am thin-skinned. "If you prick me, do I not bleed?" as the man said (no insult to those of the Hebrew faith)

Whilst it is own-up time, I'd better admit that I sometimes say things which might be - in these modern times - racist or even bigoted. What I am not is mealy-mouthed about it.

No comment needed!

Oldhorsetailsnake tells me this sort of thing is big in Japan.

What I have to suffer

The story to this is that I wanted to have a photo for my picture blog. I briefed Norma that
My head and cap were to be main feature of the shot.
They should occupy the bottom left hand corner of the frame
The head and cap should be almost life size
No buildings should appear in the background. Water and trees only
I set the camera up in wide angle. I stood Norma where I wanted her to be. I put the camera in her hand with the lens pointing outwards. I then told her to go for it.
Ten minutes later I am still posing waiting for OK. I got fed up thinking I must not have heard OK. As I move Norma squeaks that I moved while the picture was being taken. What you see is how she responded to my brief and instructions.
Women - only good for childbirth!
Had the photo worked it would have been captioned 'Forward my Panzer Korps'

Silk purse from pig's ear?

I hold no brief for anyone who attacks my country or countrymen. Black, white or khaki – immaterial. However, despite this I am a little amazed by the sort of outcry we now have that the guys who did it were British, How could they etc. What has gone wrong de dah. My thinking is that nationality has absolutely nothing to do with what they did. Had they been young lads in red tunics who died attacking the evil Mahdi we would have said they died for their country. Had one of the F1 drivers at a Grand Prix had his last sudden pit stop, we would say he died doing what he enjoyed most. How do we know that any of the four did not think they were doing it for their country or were enjoying their self-imposed martyrdom?
What is worthy of debate is the way they attained their nationality. Being born in a country does not make children representative of their birth-place any more than kittens born in a laundry basket are dirty socks. This is where the ‘do they play cricket’ test comes into play. British nationality is something to be earned and not dished out to the progeny of any woman who can drag her distended belly ashore at Dover. There must be proper assimilation into the British culture and way of life. Maintaining a, say, Pakistani life style in the middle of Manchester will only ensure that the characteristics merge and we have some sort of mongrel that is neither Pakistani nor English. The deaths of the bombers emphasise that they had no idea of the English attitude that suicide is wrong. We, the British, are mostly surprised that they thought their deaths would influence anything or anyone.
All this said, what happened does require reasoned thought and action. Just exactly why did they think they needed to do anything? Were they influenced by some older and more evil master? Did they form their own opinion that what they did was the only course of action open to them? If Iraq was the root of things, we need to get some better propaganda out into the public mind. Even – heavens forefend – admit that it was a genuine mistake. My own experience is that, in the end, terrorists win. Kenya. Cuba. Rhodesia. Northern Ireland. Aden – the list is long. They may not get all they want but they make gains. The government realises it cannot defeat terror without taking such extreme measures as will lose it popular support. The terrorists admit that they will never defeat the armed forces against them. They negotiate and both sides compromise. That must be our agenda. What is the position that both sides can accept. Formalise it. Implement it. And then get on with living together – if needs be, even in mutual distrust that does not degenerate to conflict. There are far better things to do than carry bombs about or opening fire ‘to defend one’s self or comrades’.
There is an interesting point of view here.

I may regret this!!

This is supposed to be a semi-serious personality test. I've been through a few of these on management etc. courses and they all seem to say much the same. There's a link at the bottom if you have this sort of morbid interest. Disorder Rating
Paranoid:	Moderate
Schizoid:	High
Schizotypal:	Moderate
Antisocial:	High
Borderline:	Low
Histrionic:	Moderate
Narcissistic:	High
Avoidant:	Low
Dependent:	Low
Obsessive-Compulsive:	Moderate
-- Personality Disorder Test -- -- Personality Disorder Information --

Catch up

Nice to see that the Met can still hack it when it comes to big investigations.
I mentioned a young woman a couple of days ago with hope she would have an answer quickly. Yvonne has now been informed that her partner did in fact die on the bus.
BBC are reported to have edited some reports where they spoke about 'terrorists'. Said it was too emotive a word and they have susbstituted 'bombers' Let us hope that when they come to deal with the final reporting they will be accurate and refer to 'Islamic fundamentalist murderers' This adjustment of history can be a bad thing. We saw what happened when the false story about Himmler got into the National Archives. The BBC has made some very good history programmes (especially the ones about the 39-45 War and Auschweitz). These used film from those times. The validity of any programme about this period may be corrupted by this attention to what is considered to be political correctness. Words mean what they say. If someone causes terror - they are a terrorist. OK, they did it with bombs so they become terrorist bombers. What is so difficult about that?

Voices, voices.

There are voices in my head.
They speak to me.
Telling me to say inappropriate things.
At unsuitable times.

I was in the Mojave Desert branch of Morrisons today. Checking out the very large eggs to ensure that all six in the box were unbroken. Alongside me, similarly engaged, was a lady who I took to be somewhat older than me. Very elegant in general manner, handkerchief/Liberty/Tana lawn cotton shirtwaist dress, sensible shoes, pearl necklace. I had a bad box, she replaced two boxes. As she started to move away I said, “Better times when the little girl assistant in Liptons checked things” She smiled and answered, “You are showing your age” My inner voice said out loud, “I’d show my bum if it got me better service” She burst into giggles, tapped me on the arm and toddled off. Doubtless the bridge club will hear of it tonight.
I used to play bridge when I had a brain. It was consigned to ‘used’ as I got fed up with the post-mortem after every hand and I came to the conclusion that the attraction was the debate and chat. Same thing put me off golf. I was taken to a very posh club as part of some corporate hostility day. I lasted as far as the sixth hole before I was forced to declare that an old whore wound was being aggravated by the swinging. There was no way I could have continued listening to the faux compliments and debate on shots taken. I don’t think I could ever get into something played in what I considered to be a quasi-religious manner. The only time I took part in team sports involved rowing and cycling. Both very much spit and sawdust activities where the post-race festivities are confined to wine, women and song.

Fame by association

My daughter is a whizz at marketing? Well, ain't that great?

Description to remember

Just pulled this off another guy's blog.

My brother Mokiejovis and his
free-with-the-purchase-of-two-fill-ups-at-Exxon wife

Now that is a phrase I MUST try and work into a conversation!

Phew - it's getting warmer.

Today has been really hot. Not too much cloud so we have the full benefit of the sun. The morning walk today started at 6.20 and it was already hot at that time. Normal lunch time walk today was at Berwick beach but when we got back, we were just as hot as when we went - even with the air conditioning going full blast. We had a quick lunch and then ran off to the picnic place where it was cooler with a breeze and we could laze about in and around the water. Thankfully, the humidity seems to be lowish so we do not get the temperature rise from that.

Heatwave

At last we have got into summer.
Don't quite know what temperature we have got to but it is certainly quite hot. There is a lot of cloud here right now so the sun is not too hard to bear. I went to the picnic area for a paddle and pointy nose had prolonged bout of swimming so that is us two sorted. Next item on the agenda is a long soak in a tepid bath with book and gin and tonic - lots of ice, no lemon.
Now the semi-hysteria of the bombing has died down a bit the papers are worth reading again so it looks as if we have again, with our indominatable spirit, triumphed over evil. Let us hope we do not have to do it again.

Danger - Rally cars

The Jim Clark Rally is here this week end. Based in, this year I think Kelso, it follows a number of road-closed mini-circuits around Duns. It is well supported both in terms of competitors and spectators. It coincides with the end of the Duns Festival which also draws quite a few people.

Drawback is that the roads that we are all used to as quiet and friendly suddenly fill with rally back-up such as mechanics, stewards, doctors etc. and people coming for a open-air sing song and individual BBQ. The actual rally cars are no problem other than adding to the traffic. The non-rally guys tend to think they have a long way to drive and not much time.
One also gets the burke with a three-year old Corsa who has put a drainpipe over the last few inches of his exhaust and thus thinks he is the dog's dangly bits. One has to be aware that said idiot is likely to find himself running out of his side of the road on many of the quite sharp little bends one associates with a agricultural area. I tend to stay off the road this week-end. I was interested in rallying when I drove but watching a section of maybe 100 yards whilst being regularly peppered with gravel does not cook my bacon.

So - what next?

Now that the initial drama concerning the events of Thursday is over, we are getting some very perceptive think-pieces in the newspapers and on the areas of TV free from Big Brother and Apprentice. As one might expect, a large proportion are band-wagon jumpings reference national ID cards, civil liberties and intelligence. Noddy’s friend Clarke has already said that ID cards would not have prevented what happened. It also seems that intelligence was lacking insofar as this attack was concerned. So, if we cannot rely or use comprehensive documentation of those we know to be here and on any successful spying, what do we have as a defence? Suspicion would be nice maybe. Were I to see a burly man, wearing a mask, dressed in a striped jumper and carrying a bag marked swag in the area of my house, I would devote some attention to him. But it is never that simple.
Even that sort of simple check for suspicion has been made inefficient in current times. Were I to suggest to an officer of the law that stripey-jumper nicked my Palm pilot, doubtless I would be admonished on the grounds of inciting hatred of blokes in striped tops. A very senior police officer said in a Press briefing that we should not associate Islam and terrorism. Well, right now – who else do we associate with terrorism of this style and extent? Not the IRA surely. They were always most fastidious about giving warnings – even though they were at times late or inaccurate. Their agenda was to spread terror of attacks. This last lot gave no warning and clearly intended to kill as many as they could possibly involve. When we hunted for IRA, we looked in specific places. If we are not to associate Islam with terrorists – where do we look? Whilst there are Muslims who deprecate what is done in their name it has to be admitted that the agenda in their Holy Book includes a lot about infidels and striking them very hard. The Bible has some pretty warlike bits (Judges and James I think?) but death to non-Christians is not part of Archbishop of Canterbury’s everyday preaching. If anything is to be achieved, there has to be very serious inquiry amongst Muslims in this country. Right now though, the police are indoctrinated that they must not hold any such opinion or suspicion.
The plight of those unable to trace family and loved ones at this stretch of time is quite harrowing. Those who have any experience of these sorts of incident can very well guess why they are kept in ignorance – not all bodies are just as if the deceased had died in bed. I was particularly taken by the story of Yvonne – the blond girl. She is so very patient and has obviously done all she can to publicise the absence of her partner. He phoned to say he was on a bus. His mobile phone was found on the bus that was blown up. One feels the need to take her on one side, wrap her up in a big bear hug and tell her the facts of life rather than prolong her agony.
As for intelligence gathering and civil liberty conflicts, I am convinced that the protection of life and limb over-rides all concerns about liberty. We should make it clear that if we feel the need to investigate you and your lifestyle, we may do anything that it takes. If this proves the case, it may all be used without debate provided it comes within the definition of evidence (everything other than mere argument that goes to prove or disprove). If we get it wrong, sue us. We’ll assist and make it easy for you – ONCE WE KNOW YOU ARE INNOCENT. Suggestions that this will make us a police-state as depicted in 1984 are simplistic. The basic personality of our race will keep things clean. We are not Nazi, Franco-supporters or Stalinists.

One under every stone

Sorry, I forget to mention this before.
If you are looking for wild theories about the bombings, have a look at this site. Who did it, warnings given, or - as the Screws of the Weird used to say, all human life is here.

Blitz

The events of yesterday are still unfolding as the forensic work develops. When one remembers the conditions underground at the time of the Kings Cross fire, one can begin to appreciate the dedication of those working on this. Damaged bodies decompose much quicker in the heat underground.
I lived through the London blitz at an impressionable age and can remember the spirit of the people who were under attack then. It was very much a cheery-, cheeky-Cockney sort of thing. There was also the Dunkirk spirit where set-backs did not dishearten us. With the dilution of the British stock arising from immigration and the softer life style of today, I had thought that both the Cockney and Dunkirk spirit were no more - or at least, much reduced.
It seems that I was mistaken to some degree. The reports in the media seem to show that there is still the attitude that we will not let the bastards grind us down. There are already jokes about what happened. Some of the more jingoistic columnists seem to be writing for Captain Mainwaring and Dads' Army but that is a good thing if it increases our endurance and fortitude by harking back to our past.
I was especially pleased that HM the Queen had visited hospitals today. Her parents were particularly keen on this and it was then, as now, a great morale booster.
It is important that those who carried out these killings see that they do not have the effect they might have in, say, some middle-eastern country with all the wailing and knashing of teeth that ensues. Ken Livingstone has also grown in my estimation although I am to some extent happier now he has seen at first hand what comes from the sort of violence he has sometimes appeared to espouse and support.

Thought for the day?

Even on the day on which we actually die we shall probably be assuming that we shall not die and be making plans for the next day!

Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Introduction to Buddhism

London has explosions

Reports are that there are deaths and many serious injuries in some six explosions in London this morning.
Nice timings guys! Either AQ or PIRA lost no time in following upon the 2012 Olympics award to demonstrate that the transport infrastructure we boasted about in our presentation was vulnerable. I can imagine the fuss at NSY. Doubtless, a few of the Anti-Terror guys will have deployed to G8. Six crime scenes is a lot to handle forensically so helicopter activity at the G8 site will have increased as they try to get bomb squad blokes back to the Met. If this gets publicised, it will add another dimension to the concern that the bombers sought. Hopefully, the one on the bus - which seems out of the pattern - was an own goal but the benefit of this must be limited if is Muslim extremists who happily suicide bomb anyway. Any structural engineers out there who can comment on explosion in a tube train tunnel - how long is that likely to put them out of service?

Off in another direction

Wander away and look at this - only in beta at the moment so not too much bitching please.

Oh Blimey!

Just heard announcement that London will organise the 2012 Olympics. Jolly good news and all that but.... We will no sooner be free of media hysteria about G8 and MPH and the Olympic bandwagon will start up. The Olympic minister Greasy Towel will be getting her heart out to show us at every opportunity. Ken Livingstone will want as much mileage out of it as possible because it is in his backyard. Lord Coe will be asked to stand-in for the Queen at the State Opening of Parliament. And so on and so on and so on. Thankfully, we should soon be getting the report on Diana - was she or wasn't she murdered - and that might give us a break. I have much more to say but, what the hell, I've got seven years to bitch should I be spared.

48 years!! My God!

Well, I am reliably informed, today is the 48th anniversary of my (one and only) wedding. Never mind it is an old joke but I really would have been out of prison by now if I'd committed a serious crime instead.

I don't think I've any regrets - none that have surfaced anyway. Just to show how stupid I am, I would do it all over again in pretty much the same format. So, thanks Norma for coming on the roller-coaster with me.

 

Edinburgh - inside info

This is from a guy in a position to know

G8 GOING COMPLETELY ACCORDING TO PLAN
Just to prove I’m not privy to any special
intelligence sources, my predictions that G8 would entail sitting on carriers dressed in code 1 and playing cards have been shown to be err… slightly wide of the mark. I’m reluctant to tell you all the latest canteen gossip from the boys who are in Scotland, for fear of being accused of undermining the war effort.All I should really say is that the senior Scottish officers who are reassuring you on Sky News are probably sweating off-camera. Things are not quite going as planned and there is much sniggering from police lines. I’m concerned that when the officers get back on shift, we’ll never hear the end of all the war stories.

Light of my life has dimmed

This was not really so long ago. The good old dear used to struggle up the steepest hills - even on hands and knees sometimes. Now, she is knackered after one flight of stairs. Never mind - she still tries and we cannot ask more than that.

3/10 for performance

One of the demonstraters at the Edinburgh shindig. Don't think too much of what he is demonstrating! Don't think it will get any better if you click on it either.

Hard Times

Nearly caused demise of old fellow dog walker this morning. We were just nattering when he brought up the mess in the park that had obviously been caused last night whilst the Reiver thing was on. He blamed the 'kids of today' for having no sense of responsibility. I replied that they had it too easy - "not like us. Six of us brought up in a rolled-up newspaper" He laughed, turned laugh into choking and turned choking into cynosis. I thought he was a goner. Of course, my comment was a follow-on from this so not very original at all really.

Oops!

Before the hitsquads call at my door, I'd better make it clear that THIS person will NOT be excluded from anything that happens on 14th July.

Due warning!

Just because I have gone soft over 4th July should not be taken to mean that the cheese-eating surrender-monkies will get even treatment when 14th July arrives. Given that they will most likely win the Olympic vote on Wednesday, they will be dancing around in their smelly clothes without needing any endorsement from me.

4th July

Just a small thing to share with any Americans who may be viewing or passing through. Relationships seem to have become a little strained of late - mainly, I suspect, because their President is thought to have influenced our B Liar to go into Iraq. However, even if true, that is just one man - or a relatively small clique - who is wrong. I have met a considerable number of Americans; I worked for an American company for five years. I cannot recall meeting a single one who I would describe as evil or mad. They have a strong sense of right and wrong and religion is more widespread there than in England. I can see they have problems but put this down to a lack of knowledge of things outside USA. A large percentage has never been outside their country; many never travel outside of their state. They - generally - live in good conditions and at ease with their government and cannot realise that there are many parts of the world where this is not so.
Congratulations and respect.

Knights of old

We saw groups like this a number of times over the week-end. The fluttering pennants made them look like ancient knights riding into battle with their ladies pennants on their lances.

Good dog!!

Might be a funny looking perisher but he's got the right idea when it comes to cats. Rock on!

Nightmares

I quite often have nightmares. Sometimes, they are so realistic and vivid that they become night terrors and the images stay with me even when I am sitting bolt upright with my eyes wide open. I can deal with these - sort of - but please, please, please good God, never let me have a terror that this lady is in my room with a bottle full of Viagra.

I'll say no more

About the value of the Live8 and Make Poverty History. Simon Jenkins in The Sunday Times says exactly what I have been trying to get across as my take on the whole thing. Just a few out-takes from his item -

Geldof is to fast politics what McDonald’s is to fast food. He is simply good at it. How can you do nothing, he screams, “watching people live on TV, dying on our screens!”.

The G8 is not a decision-making body but a “conversation” between rich nations. It has no constitution and no executive. The United Nations, not the G8, is the proper forum for collective action onworld poverty.

Geldof is quoted in the International Herald Tribune as claiming that something must be done “even if it doesn’t work”. For him, doing something useless even if harmful is a moral advance on doing nothing

Am I REALLY a dog lover?

Going through the results of my Stat counter, I came across an entry supposedly from Taiwan. I say 'supposedly' as I very much doubt the origin report after Taffy in Russia etc. Anyways, as I was saying, this blog popped up. I have to say loud and clear, that this 1st July entry shows a dog that I positively, absolutely, no way Jose, could ever tolerate. Whoever has doubts about doggy euthanisia should look at this.

Right carry on

My 'cures all pain God knows how' bracelet had lost most of it's magnetism. Whilst it still worked, it was leaving a bright green stain around my wrist so one objective at the Scots Fair was to find a replacement. There seemed to be two places selling them. I didn't like any of the ones at the first place so had to settle for the only alternative. The guy at the stall was a bit flamboyant in the style of his shirt and hair but I thought nothing of it until he was showing me exactly how the dinkie little real brass pin thingy went into the very well designed hole in the strap. He was making a bit too much out of helping me choose a 'tasteful' design for the bracelet. I decided to buy one of those on show. This led to much flustered looking for pen and sales book. Then there was the production of the instructions with salient points being drawn to my attention. I was warned to start off wearing it for no more than three hours, to be aware it might cause tingling in my fingers or a mild headache and that I would feel thirsty the first time I wore it. This was when the devil stirred within me. I put my hand on his wrist and asked in a concerned voice, "It won't make my willy go funny will it?". 'Ooh no - nothing like that. No. No' Perfect match of Frankie Howard and our dear old Ken. Sorry now that Sandy or Julian was not there to share the moment.
I think that Sandy and Julian from Around the Horne show did much to open up the gay world. Their very much over the top performances showed people another side of that inclination that confused many men. Certainly, it was a way of dealing with homesexuality that avoided the risk of a right smack in the mourf and brought them into the general community. I have no concerns about outright gay - and lesbian - people. It is the ones who remain closeted that I distrust. Though maybe Peter Tatchell goes a bit too far with his style of outing, I can see where he comes from. I once had to question a guy who had gay issues. This was in Egypt where we wore shorts - see picture at left. Whilst I was writing his statement, he was stroking my knee. Shame really, I think it was my including this in my evidence that led to him getting a relatively heavy sentence.
Oh yes - back to the new wristband. It works perfectly. Science or subtle suggestion? Don't know and don't care. I had a 'dead' tip on my little finger which is now back to normal. No - it did not (so far) make my willie go funny either.

We don't need no thought control

I can see absolutely no point in B Liar's new attempt to run his little world. All the while that carrying them is optional, no one will bother to produce them if asked. All the fancy bio-metrics will be to no avail if PC Heartbreak wants to check your card in the middle of truly rural England. Don't get involved in protesting very often but this deserves to die a death.

A loving father - many many times over

This is a story that did not seem to make our papers. Given their ability to generate 'news' from any sort of trivia, I would have thought they would have been covering this like flies on a cow-pat. Strange but it was only in Tennesse and, maybe, Georgia that I got the feeling that there were families living somewhere like this. We had friends in Kentucky who used to suggest we not go to somewhere because it was 'tacky' but what they meant it was weird.