Truth will out. I hope

I see that some chickens are returning to the roost. The legality of the war against Iraq.

I have recorded my opinion on the whole sad matter. (Troops Out - 18 December) Be nice to see some justice done for a change. Maybe less attention to little old ladies who feed pigeons and some attention to matters which stain the whole nation.

Nearly lost her briefs?

Or should we say that she lost her appeal?

Cannot work won't work

Report of two youngsters and their life sans employment.

So, what is missing? The work ethic or pride in themselves? The history of the chap's parents would be enough to destroy any idea that work is what we were put on this earth to do. They are surrounded by pals in the same state as themselves so shame does not come into it. I cannot see the Job Centre ever finding work for two people so unqualified as these two.

Mind, I did read something very interesting just the other day. I cannot now find it so you will need to trust me and appreciate that the figures are approximate. An economist did some research and found a couple an income of something in excess of £500 a week. This involved the male doing a specialist cleaning job for three days and two nights. She would have contributed money from a carer job that entailed getting an old lady to bed and up again in the morning. Minimal qualifications needed for both of them with training on full pay. Within five miles of where they lived. Neither of them had the confidence (or get up and go) to follow up on his research. That is the sort of thing that Job Centres should be doing with directed labour back-up. Have a genuine go or lose your allowances. Losing the dole is the one thing that seems to motivate people such as the two in the link.

Dead Mum

I have negative thoughts about the preservation of a brain-dead mum until such time as her baby could be taken from her by Caesarean section. It is, to me, an example of medical procedures going just too far. I realise I am just about the only one thinking this way so I'll not elaborate. Put me down as weird.

What it did do was cause me to look up the Caesarean process. I had imagined it to be a relatively modern innovation. Not so:

1794: Elizabeth Bennett delivers a daughter by Caesarean section, becoming the first woman in the United States to give birth this way and survive. Her husband, Jesse, is the physician who performs the operation.

He was pressed into service after Elizabeth, struggling with a difficult labor and believing she would die, requested her attending physician to perform a Caesarean in the hope of saving the baby. The doctor refused on moral grounds, so Jesse stepped in.

Conditions were crude. The procedure was performed in the Bennett home, deep in the Virginia backwoods. A sterile environment was out of the question: The operating table consisted of a couple of planks laid across two barrels. Jesse Bennett resorted to laudanum — lots of it — to knock out his wife.

Despite these limitations, the surgery went smoothly. Bennett extracted a healthy girl and he closed the incision, but not before taking the opportunity to remove his wife's ovaries, saying he "would not be subjected to such an ordeal again." Elizabeth quickly recovered, but her feelings about Jesse's excursion into her ovaries were not recorded.

Although the surgery was successful, Bennett didn't immediately report what he'd done. He apparently feared being ridiculed as a liar, given the primitive conditions under which such a dangerous operation had been performed. Nevertheless, the details eventually came to light and Bennett (not to mention his intrepid wife) entered the annals of obstetric history.

Even in the Bennetts' time, the Caesarean section was not new. What was new was the idea that both mother and child could survive the ordeal. The operation itself dated from antiquity, but with very few exceptions was only performed when the mother was dead or dying. The first recorded Caesarean where both mother and child survived was done in Switzerland, in 1500. That was also a husband-wife affair, although in this case Jacob Nufer was a swine gelder, not a doctor.

Before the 19th century, the success rate for physicians performing C-sections in the hope of saving both mother and child was very low. Even with advances in medicine it remained a relatively high-risk procedure into the 20th century.

Times have sure changed. Now, Caesareans are so routine that some critics believe they are often performed unnecessarily, as the "delivery method of choice" even when natural birth presents no unusual danger.

The World Health Organization agrees, recommending that Caesarean rates should not exceed 15 percent of all live births in any country. In the United States, roughly 31 percent of all births are done by Caesarean section, including an increasing number that are performed as an expedient alternative to natural birth. Now, why would anyone opt for major abdominal surgery without a sound medical reason?

Source: Time magazine

Gaza

I have held off commenting on the situation in Gaza. I am biased.
However, that does not mean that I cannot suggest articles by my betters that - in my humble opinion - do not go a long way to explain how the heck they got where things are now. Both sides of the argument are represented.

Should it not be re-named?

As the Judas Medal rather than Presidential Medal of Freedom?

And just remind me - how many pieces of silver was it the other guy got?

No need to consider War Crimes in Israel all the while these two comedians walk free.

Authors as authorities

Well, the novel 1984 was long on prediction but failed to come about when we saw that year for ourselves.
Do not write all novelists off as seers for the future.

Little Norm - RIP

Rare nowadays that my life ties in with events in the wider world but I had a most unwelcome contact this morning. I was reading through one of my forum where the humour is rude and raw and suddenly came across a news report from a Dallas newspaper.

May seem strange that I have referred to a 16 stone man of 6'4" as Little Norm. His father was of the same stamp and also a Norman so he was Big Norm. We served together in Benghazi, Northern Ireland and Hong Kong so my son grew up alongside Little Norm. After retirement, Big Norm went to America with his then wife who we visited and met up again with Little Norm and his wife. They were a lovely couple and it was clear that he had settled so very well into his life with Dallas Police.

The Big and Little bit was appropriate in matters other than just size. Big Norm was totally fearless and had two gallantry medals to prove it. He had the gift of relating to those with whom he came into what I suppose one must call confrontation and solved many hot spots with a rough quip and ready tongue. His own upbringing had been hard and Little Norm was treated fair but with no molly-coddling. It was reflected in his growing up in the mould of his father. Now that mould is broken.

It is a shitty world.

Casualty

Our home is like the A & E area of some TV medical soap. Norma has bronchitis and I am still suffering from the virus thingy. We move around like zombies or cold blooded animals who have given up coping with low temperatures. We must be using all our water rate in drinks to try and keep some moisture in fevered bodies. Both on penicillin - God bless Alexander Fleming all those years ago. I think I am a strong supporter of the Atheists bus - He is not making himself evident to me right now.

Question Time

Ignoring my normal reservations about the meme yesterday was quite amusing over and above the diversion into things on which I do not normally ponder. I thought I might alter Gemmak's format slightly (lese majesty!) and extend it a bit.

Firstly, I've drawn up a set of questions (below) so that those who play know what they are getting into and to allow some comparisions of responses to the same queries. Individuals can go for as few or as many as they wish.

Again, I realise that the way we have done this in the past bars those who have Internet access but no blog. (If you want a damned fine blog all set up and ready to go, check out Gemmak's page). To get round this, I'm issuing email to likely suspects and have stuck this proposal on my Facebook group. (The shame of it - admitting membership. Blame my granddaughter) They, and others, can respond using the Comment section of this particular posting.

So - here come the questions. 1 2 3 Go!

QUESTIONS

Questions choice

When suggesting innovation or change, assume your recommendation will be implemented.

 1           If you could change one piece of legislation, national or inter-national,              what would it be and why? Would you just kill it or amend it?

2        If able to remove all mention of one individual from all media, who would it be and why? I have already done Simon Cowell, Bruce Forsyth and Michael Winner.

3        What has been your most memorable meal and why? Was it the food, the company, the occasion celebrated or – what?

4        You may go on vacation to anywhere you choose. Where, why and with whom?

5          Ignorance of the law is no excuse. Do you believe that? If so, why do     we have appeal courts?

6           Girl friends or dogs – which are the most loyal and loving?

7           If doing good resulted in personal danger or inconvenience, would you still try?

8          Who had the most influence on you during your growing up period? Mother, father or A.N. Other. Why?

9       What will you do tomorrow that you would not have done this time last week?

10       In your life to date, which were the best of times? Why?

11       Burial, cremation, leave body to science?

12       What on earth made you buy THAT dress/pair of trousers?

Interviewed

Not normally one for Social Interaction; you know, those memes that ask intrusive questions that are then visible to the whole Internet World. My normal answer is, 'Sod off and don't be so nosey!' However, the individual who posed the challenge this time is someone who, from experience, I can totally trust and with who I feel comfortable. She did what she suggests - that is good enough for me. In her own words

I did this a few years back but I thought another go might be fun. This version comes via Mr Nighttime and it works like this;

If you want to be 'interviewed on your blog' drop me a mail or a comment and I will mail you five questions, you answer them in a blog post and send me the link. I think originally the rules said to mail the originator the reply as well as post it but just a link seems simpler."

My questions

1. You have the opportunity to donate a large sum to a charity, which charity would it be and why?

No great problem here. I've made that decision already. It would be the charity Help for Heroes (H4H). They raise funds for injured servicemen. Injured in mind or body. Instead of complaining about the dark, H4H aims to light a candle. It is no secret that the attention given to our wounded and harmed is sadly lacking. There used to be a formally accepted idea of a Military Covenant. Because there are few other jobs where the ultimate sacrifice is part of the Job Description, the authorities undertook to be especially caring to members of HM Forces. Unfortunately, for reasons I will not detail here, the Covenant has been broken. H4H fills the gap. And does it very well.

2. If you could choose to meet one person from history who would it be and what would you say to them?

Tough one. I have made three or four choices but when it comes to the 'what would I say', I realise that there is a need to connect with others to maybe check the answers given or to add another dimension. So, the just one is a buggeration. Another complication is 'where does the talking lead to?' Salome was a consideration! Having once been in what is now called 'a relationship' (at the time, it was known as 'shacked up') with a quite famous Lebanese belly-dancer it would be nice to meet an originator of that art form.

As a former soldier, my aim would be directed towards military men. Air Marshall Arthur Harris was the founder of the World War II strategy of massive air power being used on civilian targets with a view to fomenting dissent between enemy civilians and the German authority. There has been ferocious argument about both the tactic and its effectiveness. Whatever, it was a massive change from the concept of honourable war - if one can attach that word to war anyway. I would want to know his own explanation and assessment. The idea of bombing a nation into submission is outmoded - despite ongoing events right now.

If Harris was 'unavailable for comment', set me up for Cromwell or Wellington or Rommel.

3. Would you back the underdog even if you knew you couldn’t win?

Having been an underdog on numerous occasions, it would be a natural reaction. Apart from that, I am a confirmed adrenalin junky and the impulse in fight or run conditions that adrenaline creates has always been to fight. Regardless of the prospects of winning. When I come to think of it, the prospect of losing has never come into the debate so I suppose the support of the underdog is not so meritorious as it may seem. More self-serving.

4. You are a fire-fighter, you rescue an individual from certain death, risking your own life in the process only to discover the person you rescued, far from being grateful, is angry and abusive toward you because they set the fire in an attempt at suicide. In the knowledge that arson is a criminal offence but also that this person is very disturbed, do you report your knowledge to the authorities or not?

Instant answer - yes. I do not subscribe to the belief that all suicides are selfish but I do expect that those who choose this route out do it with some discretion and not involve third parties. I cannot think that the risk to my life would be of great consideration; it's adrenaline generating as well as being an opportunity to put into practice what I had been taught. All professionals welcome that.

I have written instant answer. I have to say that I might just as likely give him a forceful punch on the nose!

5. If you could have changed your profession what would you have made the change too and why?

More quibbling! I have changed my profession. I was a soldier for 23'ish years and then worked as a civilian Facilities Manager for 23'ish years. Both of them were totally fulfilling. Had I been able to soldier on for the 46 or so years of my working life, I would have done so. More than willingly. Even now, I refer to myself as a 'former soldier' and do not think in terms of being an 'ex-soldier'. It is like a vaccination mark - once it has 'taken', it never leaves you.

The role of a Facilities Manager did not exist when I entered the employment world. Indeed, I was in on the very start of it in UK working with one of the major players. Here again, it was something I would have been able to do for that 46 years. No two days were the same. That adrenaline injection is always in the background. One is responsible for a number of office buildings. The systems within that building that sustain life and support the work of the other occupants. The premises' efficiency and safety of the occupants and visitors. Responding to emergencies and planning works. Writing, presenting and adhering to Budgets. Inter-personal relationships.

So, no. I would not have changed. Mind you, I do think of myself as a ex-Facilities Manager so that suggests where the love lay.

Reversal of the train

Satire. But there is that grain of truth .................

A Swiss man paralysed five years ago in a skiing accident has chosen to end his life early in the UK after shunning the local suicide clinic a few minutes drive from his home. ‘I want to end my life,’ said Max Friedland today, ‘but I don’t want to actually commit suicide. Which is why I have chosen a routine minor operation in an NHS hospital.’

Friedland, has an appointment in February at a London hospital for the removal of a benign mole on his back. ‘I am hoping that this short overnight stay coupled with the surgery will be enough for me to contract one of the many viruses present in NHS hospitals, C Diff, Norovirus, MRSA, I don’t mind as long as death is quick and relatively pain free.’

Yes but ......

Article in today's Grauniad refers to something that has been exasperating me for some while.

This -

As Cameron's Conservatives become more trenchant in their criticism of what Cameron termed " Labour's debt crisis", the edict has gone out that Tories must not appear to revel in the political opportunities provided by the downturn. And the media-savvy Conservative leader knows that audiences will turn away from a negative message. They want to hear some good news.

That may well be true but what I want is some sign that he has worked out the consequences of his silence. If his forecasts are right about just what troubles Brown is storing up down the road then the sooner he does something to bring about a change, the better. The government must be brought to face an election. Then we will see just how the public see Brown's policies. If they support them, then everyone in any position of influence should sign up with the programme and get on with it. I used to be the simpleton who thought the task of the Opposition was to oppose but Dave has changed that. By just acquiescing with Brown he is, and will be, as guilty as NuLabour of the consequences. If something is wrong, it must be exposed and brought to an end. Tantamount to commenting on Gary Glitter that it is a matter for him and the parents of the kids.

Funny old paper that Grauniad. In the same issue they have comment on Cameron's style from Pretty Polly.

Sense spoken here

We should breed from this man!

Buddha Basics

I've mentioned somewhere on here about my Buddhist Retreat. A long week-end in an atmosphere conducive to learning by instruction and learning by observation of the inmates of the Retreat centre. Being a pedant, I have problems with religion but if I were to consider changing this, I would try to be a Buddhist.

I read something today which sums it up for me. See what you think. For those who do not 'do' links, here is an extract.

When I first started reading about the Buddha's life, I was disappointed to learn that the existence of God was one of the subjects on which he declined to make a definitive comment. At the time, this seemed to me either rather unfair or something of a cop-out – surely this was exactly the kind of topic that an awakened being should pronounce upon, for the benefit of all. However, after the last couple of years of amusing but unproductive pantomime debate ("oh yes he does, oh no he doesn't"), I am beginning to get a sense of how not answering may well have been an enlightened response.

Pressed further, the Buddha is said to have explained that dwelling on such a question is not conducive to the elimination of suffering, which was the sole purpose of his teaching. He asked whether, if we had been shot with a poisoned arrow, we would want to know who had fired it, why, and what type of bow was used, before deciding to have it removed? "If the person who was shot were to seek the answers to all these questions," he told the monk Malunkyaputta, "he would be dead before he found them." Touché.

The tussle over God is marginally more entertaining than getting shot, but the protracted diversion created by its war of words could nevertheless be more of a hindrance than a help. Not only has the stream of agitated comment brought us no closer to finding an answer, it hasn't even enabled us to formulate agreed terms for the question. Part of what makes the argument so comical is how the concept of "God" onto which atheists project is rarely the same as the one defended by believers. Part of what makes it tragic is how, at the extremes, each party insists that their denial of what they think the opposition believes is enough to make them correct, to the point of misrepresenting the traditions they seek to uphold.

You're a nasty nasty child. Go away!

Two items from the 'please flush before you leave' news category today'

Shadow home secretary Dominic Grieve believes the public should rely less on the police when dealing with low-level antisocial behaviour by young people. He told the Independent newspaper members of the public need to lighten police officers' workload by no longer constantly running to them for support. Most of the complaints being made by the public are about quite low level antisocial behaviour issues about children and adolescents," he said.

"I don't believe these problems didn't exist in the past, but in the past they were controlled because adults felt confident in tackling these problems themselves, not by being vigilantes, but by being sensible citizens." Mr Grieve is concerned people should not be so concerned about telling children to behave themselves. And he suggested part of the reason for this tendency may be because they are so "regulated and controlled in every other way".

"History shows that if you go out and tell ten- and 11-year-olds who are misbehaving to stop misbehaving or you will call the police, they will stop," he added. The shadow home secretary warned police believe "their discretion has been eroded" because of onerous paperwork requirements. "If somebody comes in to a police station and makes an allegation clearly of the most trivial character they nevertheless have to record it, to investigate it, go through a process of dealing with it which may involve going round and confronting the person against whom the trivial allegation has been made," he said. "Equally, the public seem to have become tremendously willing to go running off to the police to bleat about the most minor matters."

And then there is this:

Members of the white working class feel their views are being ignored by the government, Hazel Blears has warned.

The communities and local government secretary's comments came as her department published a report based on anecdotal evidence suggesting growing concerns about immigration.

Interviews with people living on estates in Birmingham, Milton Keynes, Thetford, Runcorn and Widnes revealed many believe it is easier for refugees and single mothers to find a house than a white working class person. The research also suggested many fear being branded racist if they attempt to point this perceived injustice out to the authorities. "White working class people living on estates sometimes just don't feel anyone is listening or speaking up for them," Ms Blears, whose constituency is Salford, said. "While they might not be experiencing the direct impact of migration, their fear of it is acute." She said it was important to debate these issues in the open so that myths about council housing could be dispelled. Ms Blears added: "If we don't do that people from the far right will be able to pedal the kind of myths that they do and it will get some traction."

Shadow community cohesion and social action minister Baroness Sayeeda Warsi said the investigation showed Labour had "completely lost touch with their so-called roots. The danger for the rest of us is that this has now created a ticking time bomb of racial and class prejudice," she commented. Baroness Warsi suggested Labour would pursue what she called "a new 'white relations industry'" to woo back its core voters. "This should be a call to focus on the real core problems of worklessness, debt, welfare dependency, family breakdown and drug and alcohol abuse," she added.

My view is that the first 'statement' shows that not only is it the Labour party that has lost touch. The idea of sensible citizen has led to death. "A judge has warned that an obsession with rights had created a society "bedevilled by feral youth". Judge Ian Trigger spoke out amid a wave of anger over the murder of devoted family man Garry Newlove in a vicious gang attack.He also attacked the policy of releasing violent offenders on bail - the case with the ringleader of the gang who kicked 47-year-old Mr Newlove to death outside his Warrington home" And there is more in the same report "Judge Trigger went further, warning of a generation apparently out of control. His attack came at Liverpool Crown Court, as he sentenced a teenager who smashed a woman over the head with an iron bar while he was out on bail for a knife attack. The judge said: "It is the fault of politicians that bail is so readily granted, rather than judges or magistrates. Parliament and its woeful and indeed dreadful concentration on rights forgets duties and responsibilities. It has meant people like you have the right to bail in these circumstances. We are living in a society which is bedevilled by wild feral youths such as you" These are the sort of youngsters who end up in court. Butter would not melt in their mouths?

Certainly, there have been changes in the law which was introduced to deal with situations where those defending their property were more likely to be prosecuted than the attackers.

The self defence provisions of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 will make clear to the public, prosecutors and the police that those who use reasonable force to protect themselves or others should not be prosecuted. As long as they use no more force than absolutely necessary, people should have confidence that the law will support them, so long as:

• they acted instinctively
• they feared for their safety or that of others, and acted based on their perception of the threat faced and the scale of that threat
• they acted to effect a lawful arrest or to prevent the escape of a person lawfully detained, and
• the level of force used was not excessive or disproportionate in the circumstances as they viewed them.

Quite a few weasel words there though. I've emboldened them. It would not take any great prosecutor to tie someone in knots by asking questions to expand upon those points. Add in the fact that the person who took action will most often be alone and dealing with a number of trouble makers. They will certainly know what story to tell that puts them in the best light and the problem solver in the worst. Stand by for some complaint of sexual abuse if there is a female in their group.

And, what about Dominic Greave himself? Thanks to the democracy of the Internet, we can get some idea of what makes him tick. His voting record as 'Rebel' changes with his Shadow appointment. His voting record (scroll down the link) suggests he is the sort of person who would not get my vote even if he had not come out with such arrant nonsense as his rubbish effort that started this blog. I had always thought that the Boy Dave was my biggest turn-off. No longer. His assertion " History shows that if you go out and tell ten- and 11-year-olds who are misbehaving to stop misbehaving or you will call the police, they will stop" says it all for me. What history? The ten and 11 year olds know the police will not come. They know just how a big hulking adult will be regarded if he uses almost any force to arrest them - they will gleefully embroider this as they give their well rehearsed and fabricated 'evidence' all fresh faced and innocent in their school uniforms. The only stopping they will do is when they grow tired of kicking the adult's head like a football.

Gaza

The situation in Gaza seems really serious this time. But then, the Russians and Cheznia is/was worse and no one in the wider world community did anything about that. There is much condemnation but I cannot see just what can be done that would work. All sorts of attempts in the past that have been made to resolve things end up back on the old roundabout of cease fire, agreement, breach of truce and renewed Israeli actions.
The one thing I can understand relates to the apparent lack of balance between Israeli deaths and Palestinian losses. People say "only four Jews killed". What does not seem to be understood is having to live in an environment of multiple incoming rockets on a daily basis into wholly civilian targets. As a kid I lived through the Blitz of the '39-'45 War. The bombings and, even more so, the attacks of the 'V' weapons of doodle-bugs and rockets. The stress of knowing these things would buzz overhead until the engine shut off and the silent count of four until the bang. The sudden and totally unannounced arrival of the rockets. My memory is that these were far worse than the aircraft raids. The inability as a civilian to do anything; not being able to fight back. So, as I see things, it is not the totality of the fatalities that is a measure of suffering but the strain of living with the constant threat of sudden death. I can understand why the Israeli government decided that enough was enough and embarked once again on the only thing that experience has shown them as having any effect.

Breaking news - no euthanisia for Gordon Brown

So - Gordon Brown is against assisted suicide? Given his situation where assassination would be no bad thing, I can understand that.

He is intent on using his political position to push his beliefs and attitude. An unelected functionary on a non-manifesto topic? Surely he is the same as me - one man one vote? His upbringing should not define what the people of this country must do or have to accept.

I support what seems to be the policy of the prosecuting authorities where no charges are brought against those who assist in the trip to Switzerland and oblivion. It is my life to determine; hopefully whilst still in a fit and competent mental state. Deciding that continuing life has no attraction and many pains and mental anguish is as much a choice as, say, a marriage partner or a career choice.

There is an alternative. All the while tall buildings and high cliffs exist, fast heavy lorries run and gin with a side order of readily available drugs is available, the suicide choices exist. Some of these present danger to others beside the person seeking a route out. Not all have a fully guaranteed outcome. Dignitas solves all these complications and, I understand, has decision making paths far in excess of a desperate person at that high building, cliff etc.

Obtaining money under false pretences

I was wondering when someone would raise this. My thoughts exactly

Mr Blair has visited the Middle East for a week each month since taking up the envoy’s primarily economic role when he stood down as prime minister. But he has not made a trip into Gaza and postponing a visit to see a new sewage treatment works in northern Gaza last July for security reasons.

Ed Davey, the Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokesman, told the paper: “At this crucial moment for the Middle East, Tony Blair has been conspicuous by his absence.

"As Middle East peace envoy he has the authority to put pressure on both sides for an immediate ceasefire.

"Tony Blair’s efforts to improve security and the economy on the West Bank have so far produced less than modest dividends. It’s time he started earning his salary.”

Time for the Truth