On This Day – 20th March 2003

On the 20th of March 2003 the US launched missiles on Baghdad.

I was opposed to the war then and I am still opposed to it.

I have no doubt that the ‘Verdict of History’ will find Bush, Blair and Howard guilty of Crimes Against Humanity, my only sorrow is that they will never stand trial in their lifetimes.

Please note that I have nothing but admiration and respect for the soldiers who were and still are being sent to  fight and die in this war which was based on the lies and deceit of men who thought they were above the Will of their people.

Friday Night and we are here? Redux

It’s just a thought that crossed my mind
What are we doing for mankind?
We’re blogging here on Friday night
When humanity is in such plight.

Could there be new paths to seek
If we, as folk were not so weak?
Charity begins at home
Could you not compose a pome? Continue reading “Friday Night and we are here? Redux”

When Will We Ever Learn

Bermondsey Workhouse 1900

It was always an obligation of Christianity to provide for the poor.  With the loss of monasteries and other such institutions it became  necessary for the State to intervene and provide for their welfare. In 1562, Justices of the Peace were authorised and empowered to raise compulsory funds for the relief of the poor who were put into different categories:

  • those who could work but would not: the idle poor.
    They were to be whipped through the streets, publicly, until they learned the error of their ways.
  • those who would work but could not: the able-bodied or deserving poor.
    They were to be given help either through outdoor relief or by being given work in return for a wage.
  • those who were too old, ill or young to work: the impotent or deserving poor.
    They were to be looked after in almshouses, hospitals, orphanages or poor houses. Orphans and children of the poor were to be given a trade apprenticeship. Continue reading “When Will We Ever Learn”

The Grand Unveiling

Ferret :

Kevmart is a bit of a wierd name choice but whatever floats your boat chum, as for your MyT ID, I always assumed that was a label you chose specifically to annoy a certain breed of bigot and therefore not necessarily a name that would suit on this site.

SPOT ON!!!

It seems incorrectly I assumed that ‘profiles’ were visible to others therefore in my profile under the info section it clearly states who I am. Bearsy kindly corrected this misunderstanding for me.

I’ll be honest I was initially loathe to join this, viewing it as yet another extension of ‘MyT’, again this turned out to be an incorrect assumption on my part …. (time to slap myself silly). However having looked in a few times I note that this place has a more civil tone than that other place. Long may this continue. The last thing I want and I hope you all want is to bring external strife on to these hallowed pages …. long may this (also) continue.

There is much we can learn from each other, none here (at least I don’t think so) can claim absolute knowledge in all things. Let this be a happy medium for learning.

Now the moment you have all been waiting for – wait for it … read more …

Another century

In the bank today I suddenly came face to face with a walking bin-liner. It really is a most unpleasant experience to see only two eyes staring at you from behind a wall of black.  Should the bank even have let her in? Handy disguise for a bank robber, I’d have thought.

Then I remembered that on Monday during our day trip to Morocco I’d have quite welcomed something that spared me from the persistent attentions of all the street hawkers. I wouldn’t have gone for the all-enveloping niqab though. It was disappointing that nothing much seemed to have improved since our last visit to Morocco five years ago. The guide was not interested in showing us anything like the royal palace in Tetouan but just wanted to take us into the medina where he could lead us to a carpet shop. Apart from the fresh food everything on sale in the market was ‘tat’ and the clothes stalls looked as if some one had hijacked an Oxfam collection.

If asylum seekers/illegal immigrants can scrape up thousands to pay people -traffickers, they would do better to put the money towards a decent education for themselves. How can they expect to find a decent job in a western country without it?  This culture still looked light years behind. Western tourists are for fleecing and thus the whole western world is supposed to hand out baksheesh.

That EPA thing…

On July 17, 1998, United States District Judge William L. Osteen vacated Chapters 1-6 of and the Appendices to EPA’s Respiratory Health Effects of Passive Smoking: Lung Cancer and other Disorders, EPA/600/6-90/006F (December 1992).

Judge Osteen wrote, “In conducting the ETS Risk Assessment, disregarded information and made findings on selective information; did not disseminate significant epidemiologic information; deviated from its Risk Assessment Guidelines; failed to disclose important findings and reasoning; and left significant questions without answers. EPA’s conduct left substantial holes in the administrative record. While so doing, produced limited evidence, then claimed the weight of the Agency’s research evidence demonstrated ETS causes cancer.” – More>

Experiment

No Hockey Today
1970’s KGH

Across the sports-hall floor
in aertex blue shirts
short, navy gym-skirts
and sugar bag pants
all girls together,  we dance.

We change from Scottish Reel and dozy doe
to Waltzing and quick- quick- slow
us tall girls reluctant as men
holding our partner just ‘so’
giggling and treading on their toes.

Pull yourselves together, girls, says Mrs G
or it’s hockey on the top field-
the snow won’t bother me.

Slightly intrigued

Does anyone else look at the stuff at the bottom of the page on the dashboard? The fastest growing blogs, latest posts, that stuff?

I do sometimes and I have yet to see any post from this page or any of the others linked to here. I was wondering about the fastest growing ones, so took a look at a few. None that made me want to read on, but one had a hits counter, 8,175 it said. So I looked back here and this page has many more hits.

So how does that work?

Happy St. Patrick’s day to you all

A happy St. Patrick’s day to all at DNMT

I knew what to expect, our local agents of Guiness didn’t disappoint, every drink purchased included a scratchcard and every card was a winner.

On the left is what I came home with today, a stupid hat (I would have loved to wear it at this years World Cup, but perhaps another time,) a T-Shirt (that I actually like and will wear often,)  a key-ring, a stupid badge (not shown) which I gave away to one of the kitchen staff and believe it or not free beers, five of my cards entitled me to another Guiness, sort of defeats the object I thought, I gave mine away!

Continue reading “Happy St. Patrick’s day to you all”