Author: coldwaterjohn

CWJ travelled extensively with his family, having worked in eleven countries over thirty years. A keen photographer, holding a Private Pilot's Licence, he focuses mainly on landscape and aerial imagery. Having worked in the Middle East extensively he follows developments in that region with particular interest, and views with growing concern, the radicalisation flowing from Islamic fundamentalism, and the intolerance for opposing views, stemming from it.

BBC News – NHS accused of bias against private sector

BBC News – NHS accused of bias against private sector.

So why am I not surprised at this news?

God help the NHS if it was ever subjected to healthy competition from a Private Sector offering to carry out the same operations at NHS costs.  No wonder they are frightened it would impact on NHS hospitals, with their grossly inefficient management structures.

Mark Steyn: Do-gooders in a land with no good guys

http://articles.ocregister.com/2011-03-25/news/29193259_1_military-action-gadhafi-arab-league

Mark Steyn usually has a take on politics which very much is in accord with my own – why else would I enjoy his writing, I suppose you could ask…
Continue reading “Mark Steyn: Do-gooders in a land with no good guys”

“No more Dictators” Demonstration – report from the Front!

Saturday afternoon strolling towards and through George Square in Glasgow, I noticed a few banner-carrying pedestrians heading in its direction, and a number of police, in twos, converging on the square. What’s going on? I asked a couple of young policemen. A demo in favour of the opposition in Libya and so on, they told me.
By the time we returned through George Square, the demo was in full swing – a good natured small bunch of demonstrators, watched by just two police constables, of which one was female – the only ones in sight within a half mile of George Square. Now, that is sensible policing. Continue reading ““No more Dictators” Demonstration – report from the Front!”

Mantlepieces: What does your mantlepiece tell us about you?

BBC Radio Four link
Driving past Loch Laggan and through Lochaber, and by Loch Linnhe through Glencoe this morning on a personal photoshoot, I had the car radio tuned to BBC Four. Woman’s Hour was on. My attention was drawn to an item about mantlepieces, and what human beings choose to put on them. Continue reading “Mantlepieces: What does your mantlepiece tell us about you?”

Fourth Photography Results

Some great shots in very difficult weather conditions, in the UK at least – and some brave attempts to cope with what was a very specific brief.
Low Wattage’s Dawn over Pond, Pseu’s Blue skies, Bootsy’s vivid red skies, Tocino’s pink twilight all appealed to me, as did JM’s valiant Embra evening image, but in the end it came down to Sipu’s Mozambique Beach Dawn and Bravo’s Moscow Winter Dawn, both non-UK entries.
Sipu’s composition and subject attracted the popular vote, scoring 4/9 votes, and I liked it very much, however the one which appealed most to me as Judge was Bravo’s Moscow Dawn, which had an unusual and well defined foreground and the soft pastel skies of twilight, which is what swayed my own decision.
Over to you, Bravo!