tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-379412212024-03-14T18:49:21.302+00:00Blogpower- Defending the Blogospheredefending the blogosphereColin Campbellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14991363859883869289noreply@blogger.comBlogger363125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37941221.post-5187208701993474372013-07-28T11:20:00.001+00:002013-07-28T11:32:27.092+00:00Goodbye BlogpowerThis post just reflects the fact that the reasons for having this site have passed. What was a great, small, fairly global online community, with vibrant and often intense interactions, has now done its dash. Great memories and many fantastic connections. We miss you Mutley.Colin Campbellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14991363859883869289noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37941221.post-80127770117738337392011-12-26T14:35:00.001+00:002011-12-26T14:45:26.508+00:00On Christmas 2.0, Or, Who Might Be The New Santa?I’ve been thinking a lot about the evolution of Christmas, and I’ve been thinking that there is a lot about the current practice that we can admire.<br /><br />Peace and good will, of course, and cookies and candy canes, and happy kids – and this is also the time we think the most about those less fortunate, as do Jews and Muslims, who also have holiday celebrations this time of the year that include a component of charity.<br /><br />But if there is anything that I could change about the modern practice of Christmas, it would be the installation of Santa Claus as an icon of consumer spending, more or less to the exclusion of everything else.<br /><br />As an intellectual exercise, I started thinking about what a different Santa might be like; today’s story lays out who a few candidates might be for “Santa 2.0” and why.<br /><br />So go grab a cookie, and, perhaps, a refreshing beverage…and let’s have some post-Christmas fun.<br /><br /><blockquote>Chipmunk Family Reunion…<br />…someone stole the nuts…<br />…squirrel jail… <br />…Justice.<br /><br />--“Flo”, the Progressive Insurance Representative, in a <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqvKOez0XV4">recent commercial</a></blockquote><br /><br />To help everyone understand my choices, I’m partial to the kind of Santa who might be inclined to be a force for good in society, even when Christmas isn’t around; that concept’s central to these selections.<br /><br />I also tried to pick folks who would make the gift-giving role Santa fills interesting and, above all, fun; with all that in mind let’s jump right in and see where this thing goes:<br /><br />In a tough economy, you want to save where you can, with that in mind my first nomination for the new Santa is Michael Moore, if for no other reason than he fact that he already fits the suit.<br /><br />He’s from Michigan, you know, so the cold weather up there at the North Pole is something he’s already used to – and you can imagine that the Elves will finally be getting the health care and retirement benefits that they’ve been negotiating for these past several years.<br /><br />But beyond that, I could see Mike coming down the chimney and giving people jobs if he could apply the Santa power that way, and I figure he likes cookies and milk, too, so we wouldn’t have to change that part of the deal – and all that suggests he’d be really good for the economy.<br /><br />Plus, if he had all of Santa’s powers, he’d always know <a href="http://dogeatdog.michaelmoore.com/synopsis.html">where Roger is</a>, and that’s pretty cool, too, eh?<br /><br />Now our next choice is a bit unusual, but I think we’re on the right path nonetheless, and that’s <a href="http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/thu-september-9-2010/meghan-mccain">Meghan McCain</a>, daughter of the Senator from Arizona.<br /><br />She seems to be a really nice person, which is a good place to start, she’s blonde, which, again, works with the red suit, and I get the impression that she’d be OK with dealing with kids all day.<br /><br />As for her Santa power…she’s an outspoken critic of the Crazy Right, and it’s entirely possible that she’ll bring some degree of rationality and reason from way up North to the GOP, which would be a present we could all use.<br /><br />Some of y’all might be a bit put off by the idea that she appears to be the kind of person who, if a 13-year-old boy asked, would get him a gun, but I got a Godson who was given his first rifle younger than that, and he turned out to be a nonviolent person, so, you know, maybe Santa would turn out to support the Second Amendment, but that doesn’t automatically have to be a bad thing.<br /><br />For our next nomination, we’re going way off the track to select someone you’ve probably never heard of: Yetta Kurland.<br /><br />Ye-who What, you say?<br /><br /><a href="http://www.kurlandassociates.com/kbaattorneys.html">Yetta Kurland</a> is an attorney in New York City, and for the past few years, if you are a member of the LBGT community, and you’re interested in civil rights litigation, Yetta Kurland’s has been a pretty good name to know.<br /><br />But beyond that, Yetta’s been working as a member of the National Lawyer’s Guild as one of the on-site <a href="http://current.com/shows/countdown/videos/occupy-wall-street-yetta-kurland-on-the-battle-for-zuccotti-park">attorneys for Occupy Wall Street</a>, right down there at New York City’s Zucotti Park – and that means our Santa nominee’s been working day and night, literally out on the barricades, fighting for the rights of every one of us.<br /><br /><a href="http://newyork.timeout.com/arts-culture/gay-lesbian/42358/yetta-kurland-runs-for-city-council">Animal rights</a> are also a big focus for Yetta, and that suggests a Santa who would be thinking about <em>all</em> the kids, even the ones covered in fur…and that also means a Santa who might be particularly interested in bringing good homes to abandoned animals, which is as worthy a cause as anyone could wish for.<br /><br />The best part is that Kurland is already interested in the arts, as is the potential Ms. Claus (Kurland’s partner, <a href="http://recessionartshows.com/about/past/past/americanidolatry/aiallsaintsdinner/">Elizabeth Koke</a>); that’s good news for the Elves going forward, and for anyone who would be getting presents designed and manufactured at the North Pole Workshops. <br /><br />Finally, the nomination for Claus 2.0 that I consider the most serendipitous – and potentially the most interesting of all: Lady Gaga.<br /><br />She’s already known, loved, and admired around the world, which is exactly what you want in a Santa, she’s bound to do something interesting to the costume every year, which seems like a “great leap forward”, and she’s already used to dealing with great volumes of fan interaction – and if Lady Gaga were the next Santa, you could expect social media to become a big, big, deal at the North Pole.<br /><br />It was entirely coincidental, but I happened to catch <em>”<a href="http://www.ladygaga.com/news/default.aspx?nid=36497">Gaga by Gaultier</a>”</em> the other night, and as it turns out Gaga is looking to recreate <a href="http://societeperrier.com/london/articles/the-factory-warhol-and-his-circle-proud-chelsea/">The Factory</a>, the storied workshop and studios of Andy Warhol…which could not be more perfect for a Santa with artistic ambitions, since the North Pole Workshops are full of skilled technicians who have been cranking out a mixture of art and fun as long as there’s been a Santa Claus, for Goodness sake.<br /><br />As for her Santa power: imagine if someone could visit all the bullied boys and girls, all in one night, just to let them know that things can “<a href="http://www.itgetsbetter.org/">get better</a>”…and leave coal and access to social services for the bullies…well, that’s a pretty good power, and if Santa could do all that while singing <em>“I Was Born This Way”</em> – then I think we may have a winner. <br /><br />So how about that? Four alternative Santas, each with a set of unique qualifications, all of whom could make things fun even as they’re stirring things up a bit, and all of whom bring their own interesting personality characteristics to this thought exercise.<br /><br />Toss it around in your head a bit, see what you think, and let’s have a bit more fun fleshing out the thinking here in an effort to see who might really be the best choice for Santa 2.0.<br /><br />In other words, now that I’ve reported – you decide.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37941221.post-6628242378087654652011-12-19T17:50:00.003+00:002011-12-19T18:53:01.224+00:00On Helping Republicans, Or, Next Time You Need A Bad Idea, Try TheseI have spent a number of years complaining about the interactions between Democrats and Republicans, but after the recent events involving the Keystone XL and civil liberties cave-ins, I’ve decided it’s time to stop complaining and embrace the madness.<br /><br />But I also feel like there’s an ugly edge to all this…that hasn’t really been fully exploited.<br /><br />I mean, Republicans have tried to force through a lot of disgusting ideas this Congress as they’ve held various bills hostage, but it seems like, if they really tried, they could do so much more.<br /><br />But I’m not here to complain, I’m here to help; that’s why today we’ll be trotting out a few ideas of our own that Republicans can attach to bills throughout 2012, with the assistance of certain errant Democrats.<br /><br />It’ll be fun, it’ll be festive, but most of all…it’ll be an exercise in Civic Responsibility, and in these difficult times, that’s something we could sorely use.<br /><br /><blockquote>1) Above all, the needs of the army need to be taken into consideration. For instance, it will scarcely be possible to avoid, here and there, leaving behind some trade Jews who are absolutely essential for the provisioning of the troops, for lack of other possibilities. But in each case the proper Aryanization of these enterprises is to be planned and the move of the Jews to be completed in due course, in cooperation with the competent local German administrative authorities. <br /><br />--From a planning document written in 1939 by Reinhard Heydrich, as reported in the book <em>“<a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=4_4PlAy7kdwC&lpg=PA172&ots=aM9rxFgvPM&dq=Documents%20of%20the%20Holocaust%2C%20arad%2C%20gutman&pg=PA173#v=onepage&q=Documents%20of%20the%20Holocaust%2C%20arad%2C%20gutman&f=false">Documents of the Holocaust</a>”</em>, edited by Yitzhak Arad, Israel Gutman, and Abraham Margaliot</blockquote><br /><br />So let’s start with the economy: the Census Bureau tells us that nearly <a href="http://presstv.com/detail/216053.html">half the population</a> is now poor or near-poor, and something needs to be done. With that in mind, I’d propose the “Economic Freedom and Upward Mobility Act” (HR 4377), which would establish a series of military catapult sites along the US border where carefully selected poor folks would be given, literally, economic freedom and upward mobility, even as we instantly reduce the number of impoverished persons in the United States.<br /><br />Civil rights are important, but not at any cost; that’s why the “Election Cost Control Act” (HR OU812) would allow States to empower local officials to preselect winners in various elections, saving the taxpayer the time and expense of having to count the votes for all those losing candidates. <br /><br />Messaging matters, and there’s no reason Republicans have to be the bearers of all the bad news: Mississippi Congressman Hatesem Lotsabunch confirmed to me in a phone call yesterday that he will take my suggestion and introduce the “Voter Education Act”, which would require President Obama to wear a giant red, white, and blue dog whistle on a thick silver chain every time he appears in public between the date of passage and November of 2012. (For the record, I actually suggested a gold chain; he thought that was a bit “uppity”.)<br /><br />We have a serious immigration problem, but I think we can take a page from the Newt Gingrich playbook and introduce the “Guest Worker Protection and Identification Act” (GWIPA). <br /><br />Here’s the idea: Gingrich has proposed creating a class of persons (“worker residents”?) who are allowed to live and work in the USA, but are never going to be allowed to have US citizenship. The problem is that it will be impossible to quickly tell who is a legal worker resident and who isn’t. Under GWIPA, government-issued armbands would be provided for all legal worker residents to hold their photo ID; as long as they always wear the armband, they’ll be protected from having to show papers to law enforcement officials as they go about their daily business.<br /><br />Governors as diverse as Rick Perry, Jan Brewer, and Robert Bentley have demanded that the Federal Government finally get serious about “securing the border”; the “Nuclear Assault Mine/Border Legislation Act” (NAM/BLA) is my “if you’re crazy enough to support Rick Santorum, why not this?” proposal to make that happen. The new law would order the Department of Energy and the Department of Defense to work together to develop, manufacture, and deploy small “assault-sized” nuclear land mines along the Mexican border as a way to deter illegal immigration. <br /><br /><blockquote>"Well you look perfectly idiotic in those clothes!"<br />"These aren't my clothes!"<br />"Well, where are your clothes?"<br />"I've lost my clothes!"<br />"Well, why are you wearing these clothes?"<br />"Because I just went GAY all of a sudden!" <br /><br />--Cary Grant, as David Huxley, from the 1938 movie <em>“<a href="http://www.reelclassics.com/Actors/Cary/cary.htm">Bringing Up Baby</a>”</em></blockquote><br /><br />Finally, let’s take a moment and consider one of the vital social issues of the day.<br /><br />It is apparently still possible to lock down some GOP votes by going “hard negative” on the LBGT community, if what I’m hearing from the candidates is to be believed (I was particularly struck by Mitt Romney’s ability to twist on this issue: in the last GOP debate, in one single sentence, Romney said he felt there should be no discrimination against the LBGT community…but that there should be no same-sex marriages), and I have a proposal that allows the GOP to appear to be moving to a better place while ensuring that nothing ever changes at all:<br /><br />The “Mitt Romney Legal Access Beyond Intimidation Act” (MRLABIA) would do two things: it would repeal the Federal Defense of Marriage Act – and, in the Mitt Romney tradition, it would also add a new provision into law that prevents same-sex couples from entering into contracts for the purposes of marriage, thus ensuring “a perfect flip-flop, every time”, as they might say on an infomercial somewhere.<br /><br />So there you go: instead of relying on the usual “poison pills”, I’m challenging the GOP to try out a few of these ideas – and I’m also challenging much of the American media to try and tell the difference between some of these ideas and the present reality; just at the moment that won’t be easy, and, all humor aside, I think that might actually be the saddest part of this whole exercise.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37941221.post-25888638459015957132011-12-08T20:31:00.001+00:002011-12-08T22:33:17.727+00:00On The Question Of Virginity, Or, “Starter? I Can’t Make Her Stop!”I got a weird little story about my friend Blitz Krieger to bring to you today.<br /><br />He’s had a crazy car problem, he has, and over the past few months he thought he had found a solution – in fact, he thought he had found the solution of his dreams – but in the end, he’s discovered that the things you dream about often don’t go according to plan. <br /><br />The way it’s worked out for him so far, it’s been a lot of anticipation followed by a sudden wave of frustration, but I feel like he’s a lot better off having his particular problem with his car…because if he’d had cancer instead, he’d surely be dead by now. <br /><br /><blockquote>The community is always embarrassed by the drag queens because straight society says, “A faggot always dresses in drag, or he’s effeminate.” But you got to be who you are. Passing for straight is like a light-skinned woman or man passing for white. I refuse to pass. I couldn’t have passed, not in this lifetime.<br /><br />--Sylvia Rivera, describing the founding of Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (STAR), quoted in the book <em>“<a href="https://blogs.libraries.iub.edu/glbtlibrary/2011/10/19/lgbt-history-month/">Becoming Visible: An Illustrated History of Lesbian and Gay Life in Twentieth-Century America</a>”</em></blockquote><br /><br />So here’s what happened to Blitz: he waited forever to buy his first car because he wanted, more than anything else in life, to drive his “perfect” car: a <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tymGc9PWJ5A">1982 American Motors Eagle SX/4</a>. <br /><br />It’s a wild car: it was designed as a small hatchback…with a V-8 engine…and “switchable” 4WD…which allowed it to <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBjecIfCBks">travel easily in snow</a> in a way that virtually no other passenger car at the time could manage.<br /><br />So he waited all this time, and two years ago, in California, he literally found a little old lady from Pasadena who sold him his “Dream Car”, which, ironically, was the same brown color as Al Bundy’s Dodge.<br /><br />It drove great for about six months, but it’s been suffering from a strange malady that presents as a horrible grinding noise when he tries to start the car. He has no idea what to do – and standing in the way of a solution is an obsession that I find a bit strange:<br /><br />He is absolutely determined that he is not going to go to just any mechanic.<br /><br />Instead, Blitz told me that since it’s the first time the Dream Car needs to be repaired, he intends to go to a mechanic who has never worked on any car before his – and he says he wants to do this because he feels the experience of having the work done this way will make it more “special” for the both of them.<br /><br />It took him almost a year to find someone, but when he did, it was truly perfect: he met a woman named Jenna Talia who wanted more than anything to be a mechanic.<br /><br />She’d been studying through one of those “learn at home” programs, and, amazingly, she had an attitude similar to my friend Blitz’s: she knew about how to fix a car from what she’d read in a book, but she refused to actually repair one until she got the chance to work on her Dream Car – and even more amazingly, her Dream Car…was a 1982 American Motors Eagle SX/4.<br /><br />They actually met on the bus (Blitz, naturally, refused to drive any other car except the Dream Car), and after a few months of knowing each other, Blitz proposed that Jenna might work on his car in his garage, and she agreed.<br /><br /><blockquote>Fun Fact I Just Made Up: In a recent poll, 32% of voters thought the Iowa Caucuses were a country located near the former Soviet Georgia.<br /></blockquote><br />So we’re going out last Saturday night, and I get a call from Blitz asking if I could come by and pick ‘em both up there at his house, and I’m OK with that, because with two drinks in a night being a big evening for me I’m more or less a permanent designated driver. <br /><br />I was wondering how it was going with the car, and what I saw was stunning: the upper half of the engine was sitting in the living room, entirely disassembled. There were rockers and rods and all kinds of stuff there, neatly arranged for easy reassembly, and it looked like they had really put a lot of effort into the thing, but it was clear that they just couldn’t get it quite figured out…which isn’t surprising, considering it was the first time for both of them.<br /><br />And you could see, in just that first second, that the two of them were some kind of frustrated. But it gets worse: Blitz told me that this was her third “diagnosis”, and that, now that she was actually face-to-face with a real car, she seemed to be entirely confused about exactly what to do.<br /><br />Apparently things had gone so bad that Jenna wouldn’t even leave his house at night to go home until she could get things figured out…and, from what he’s telling me, he’s ready to throw her out, buy a different car, and get that car fixed by a mechanic who’s been there and done that – a <em>lot</em>.<br /><br />To put it another way, he’s ready to dump his virgin mechanic…for a slut.<br /><br />Now here’s the really crazy part of the story: I’ve had a bit of experience with cars breaking down over time, and I knew what was wrong from the beginning, as many of you probably did, too: the starter was bad – and that’s located on the very bottom of the engine, not the top, which means everything they’d been doing was pretty much pointless.<br /><br />But I couldn’t tell them that in the beginning…because, again, it would’ve just spoiled the experience…and I sure wasn’t gonna say “I told you so” now…so even though I could have offered them both useful advice about how ignorance ain’t bliss, they surely didn’t want to hear it.<br /><br />So look, folks, we could have a lot more fun following out this comic premise, but there’s a bigger point: I don’t want a virgin mechanic, and surely not a virgin doctor – and they don’t even <em>allow</em> virgin pilots to carry passengers.<br /><br />What is it about sex (and politics, for that matter) that makes people think they’ll be able to simply “get it” with no experience at all? What is it that makes them think that celebrating their own ignorance is the best way to show they’re ready to take on something that, frankly, requires a bit of trial…and error…before you really get it right?<br /><br />I don’t know the answer, but the next time someone tells you how their ignorance makes them a lot smarter about something, do me a favor and think about Blitz and Jenna and the Dream Car – and the living room full of engine parts – and if that person’s running for office, run the other way. Quickly.<br /><br />I’d appreciate it; so will you – and if I know Blitz, he will, too.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37941221.post-49560459739919140302011-11-29T07:42:00.002+00:002011-11-29T08:08:40.420+00:00On The Emergence Of China, Or, Zhou Knew This Was ComingAfter doing a bit of mountain hiking a few days back, I had a chance to get involved in a great afternoon conversation with the Alliance for American Manufacturing’s Mike Wessel, who also serves as a Commissioner with the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission; the conversation was about how we’re doing when it comes to our relationship with China.<br /><br />As it turns out, the two events went well together, because what I’m hearing from these guys is that we have a great big ol’ mountain to climb if we hope to get back to a level playing field in our interactions with this most important country.<br /><br />There’s news to report across a variety of issues; that’s why today we’ll be talking about trade, human rights, cybersecurity, poverty and development, and the methods by which you can apply “soft power” to achieve hard results.<br /><br />The entirely unanticipated result: all of this will reveal the <em>naïveté</em> of Ron Paul when it comes to foreign policy; we’ll discuss that at the end. <br /><br /><blockquote>The King of China's daughter<br />So beautiful to see<br />With a face like yellow water<br />Left her nutmeg tree<br /><br />--From the song <em><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VId1DffyvlU">“The King of China’s Daughter”</a></em>, by Natalie Merchant</blockquote><br /><br />So let’s start with the background stuff: the <a href="http://www.uscc.gov/">U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission</a> exists today because of the legislative wars surrounding China being granted Most Favored Nation status back in the day.<br /><br />At the time, there were concerns about the way China does business on the international stage, and the Commission provides a follow-on monitoring program to examine questions regarding the Chinese human rights record, issues related to economics, cybersecurity issues, the intentions of the Chinese military, and lots more.<br /><br />The Commission issues annual reports to Congress, and <a href="http://www.uscc.gov/annual_report/2011/annual_report_full_11.pdf">this year’s report</a> has just been released.<br /><br />Now normally I would present a point of view, followed by a counterpoint; today, we’ll do the opposite: there are folks I listen to out there, including Thomas P. M. Barnett, who would tell you that you are not going to be able to keep spending $900 billion a year on the defense budget if you can’t find an opponent worth $900 billion a year, and China looks like that kind of opponent, in a number of ways that Al Qaeda never could…even if, in Barnett’s opinion, China is a <a href="http://www.esquire.com/features/china-political-future-0111">great big paper tiger</a>.<br /><br />Al Qaeda will never build aircraft carriers, or intercontinental ballistic missiles; they’ll never put to sea in submarines or build a stealth fighter, and they darn sure aren’t going to be mounting military operations in space or engaging in cyberwarfare.<br /><br />And yet, if you’re a defense contractor, a General, or an Admiral, that’s where all the money is; naturally, if the money goes away, some of those Generals and Admirals are not going to have the chance to “graduate” from the military and become defense contractor representatives themselves.<br /><br />Put it all together, and some would tell you that the biggest battle facing the Military/Industrial Complex today…is making sure we’re always nervously looking under our beds at night, just to be safe. <br /><br />You should also know that our first Secretary of the Treasury, Alexander Hamilton, convinced his brand-spanking-new country to put in place a series of protective tariffs. The intent was to foster manufacturing in the then-agrarian United States; this was intended to create a climate favorable for non-farm businesses and to allow a far more disparate group of immigrants to come to the new Nation than what would have occurred if the only major business activities around the country were farming-related.<br /><br />So with all that in mind, let’s talk China.<br /><br />The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission (the USCC) wants you to know that China is very much on a knifedge: the country is ruled by the Chinese Communist Party (the CCP) and the People’s Liberation Army (the PLA).<br /><br />The USCC would tell you that the primary goal of the CCP and PLA leadership is to “protect their phony-baloney jobs” and the corruption that goes with ‘em (thanks for the line, Mel Brooks), and that they have to do a few things to keep those jobs safe: they have to find a way to make 900 million near-peasants into a middle class, quickly, because the peasants have seen how the other 300 million live, to secure markets and resources China has to begin to project power around the world, by military or other means, and they have to make extra sure that nobody in China, except the CCP, gets the opportunity to take over the political conversation – in other words, ensure that the “Arab Spring” doesn’t become the “Jasmine Spring”.<br /><br />There’s more: in a country without something like Social Security, China’s population will age faster than any in history, and many of the 900 million seem to want to move from the country to the city in numbers so large that they literally can’t build cities fast enough. <br /><br />So how does the Chinese Government deal with all this?<br /><br />What China has been doing is seeking internal “quietude” by growing the economy through manufacturing, and they have decided to choose certain industries as the linchpin of “valuing up” that growth, so that China’s low-tech manufacturing becomes more high-tech. (Think computers and telecommunications, space, alternative fuel vehicles, aviation, green energy technologies, that sort of thing.)<br /><br />China has decided that virtually the only way a foreign company can do business in any of the “chosen” areas is to mandate technology transfers that allow Chinese companies to obtain the methods and tools needed to compete with the foreign supplier down the road. (This is officially against WTO rules; China disputes that assertion. The USCC says they now make these demands in subtle ways that are less “enforceable”.) Chinese buyers are told to give preference to “state-innovated” technologies.<br /><br />China also uses their currency as a way of “preferencing” the local economy. The Renminbi (RMB) is, according to most observers, deliberately undervalued in order to make Chinese goods cheap overseas and imported goods expensive at home. Mike Wessel would tell you it’s about 40% undervalued, and that that “trade tax” (my term, not his) costs the US budget about $500 billion a year, with a similar impact on State budgets. Despite much USA pressure and some recent upward valuation (roughly 6% last year), it looks like China is not going to move much on the RMB anytime soon.<br /><br />Wessel anticipates China will spend about $1.5 trillion on anti-poverty subsidies to quell unrest over the next 5 years; that would become a lot more difficult if a revaluation were to occur.<br /><br />During the 1990s China began to move to a free-market model that emphasized the growth of privately-owned businesses; Wessel says today China is going back to promoting the State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) to the detriment of a free market.<br /><br />This has been bad for our own industrial strategy, such as it is, which assumed we would be selling China lots of high-tech goods, even as they sold us cheap goods. That has not worked out; in fact, China is now the largest market for cars and cell phones, among other products…and those products are not being manufactured in the USA.<br /><br />It’s reported that the theft of intellectual property is the normal way business is done in China; as an example Wessel notes that something like 80% of the software on Chinese corporate computers is stolen.<br /><br />We are told that the PLA is looking to create an “area of influence” that extends from the South China Sea to space; to this end the first <a href="http://en.rian.ru/world/20110810/165679359.html">Chinese aircraft carrier</a> is being readied for service, a stealth fighter is in development, antiship missile systems are being upgraded, and a “counterspace” capability <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/19/world/asia/19china.html?pagewanted=all">has been demonstrated</a>. (The idea is that Chinese satellites explode near other satellites, thus disabling them. The USA and Russia seem to have similar capabilities.) <br /><br />Chinese military doctrine, Wessel tells us, advocates shutting down the “network-centric” model of US military operations; it is believed that a significant campaign of computer-based intrusions and attacks on the USA have already taken place, including <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2062755/Real-life-Star-Wars-Were-Chinese-hackers-attacks-U-S-military-satellites.html">two events</a> that took place at Department of Defense-operated satellite-control facilities that seem to have been external attacks. <br /><br />Wessel anticipates that a war with China would begin with China attempting to disable various USA computer networks and infrastructure; the resulting confusion would be used to China’s advantage.<br /><br />Beyond that, Wessel worries that we’re buying so much of our telecommunications and computing infrastructure from China that we may be vulnerable to being spied upon by our own laptops; he cited two examples of this problem: a computer sale to the State Department that involved Lenovo laptops and classified data, and a sale of network equipment by <a href="http://www.fiercewireless.com/story/report-sprint-excludes-huawei-zte-bids-network-project/2010-11-05">Huawei</a> to Sprint that might have allowed classified computer traffic to be compromised.<br /><br />Chinese spying, Wessel would tell you, is widespread and not limited to government: trade secrets are up for grabs in a big way, and even the US Patent and Trademark Office had to upgrade its security after it discovered patent applications were being snatched out of the system and appearing as Chinese products, with Chinese patents, before the applications could even be acted upon in the USA.<br /><br />Wessel also wants you to understand that China uses “soft power” to advance its interests: there are lots of “hosted” opportunities to study in China, former military officers of various nations, including the USA, are <a href="http://thetaiwanlink.blogspot.com/2010/08/taiwans-sanya-initiative-pla-targeting.html">recruited</a> as “representatives”, and there are lots of “<a href="http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2009-12-08-1Achinesestudents_VA_N.htm">get to know us</a>” opportunities that have been created around the world; all of this is intended to “sell” China in ways we do not. <br /><br />And with all that said, let’s talk about Ron Paul.<br /><br />Paul’s attitude toward China seems to be that we should allow free, unimpeded trade, and that the currency manipulations about which many complain would not exist if we went back to a gold standard. Paul <a href="http://www.thepoliticalguide.com/rep_bios.php?rep_id=47384468&category=views&id=20110314124343">stated</a> in 2001 that:<br /><br /><blockquote>Concern about our negative trade balance with the Chinese is irrelevant. Balance of payments are always in balance. For every dollar we spend in China those dollars must come back to America. Maybe not buying American goods, as some would like, but they do come back and they serve to finance our current account deficit.<br /><br />Free trade, it should be argued, is beneficial even when done unilaterally, providing a benefit to our consumers.</blockquote><br /><br />If I’ve been paying attention during the recent Republican debates, this is still what Paul believes about China, and here are a couple of thoughts about how he’s got it entirely wrong:<br /><br />Paul may not like it, but Hamilton succeeded when he used tariffs to jump-start a manufacturing economy in this country, and not having free trade is working pretty well for China as well. Unfortunately, it’s working very badly for us.<br /><br />On the one hand, Wal-Mart and all the others who import less-expensive products from China have done a great job of masking the fact that incomes have been either stagnant or declining for about 99% of us, but Wessel would say that’s been at the cost of sending millions upon millions of jobs to a country that is working hard on every level to ensure we can never again compete as a manufacturing nation – and while we thought we would make up that difference with our high-tech advantages, theft and spying and a devalued currency and “partnerships with benefits” and protectionist “state-innovation” rules have made sure we don’t.<br /><br />A gold standard won’t fix this, and simply advocating that we allow China unfettered access to USA markets while they rob us blind seems a bit like suggesting everyone leave their houses unlocked so that the market can more efficiently decide which ones are the best for burglars. <br /><br />So we’ve covered a lot of ground today, and let’s wrap this thing up with a summary of where Commissioner Wessel says we’ve been: <br /><br />We have a competitor in China who will do more or less anything to keep its current political leadership in power, even as that leadership is forever worried that 900 million of its citizens will discover that you can overthrow a government.<br /><br />The PLA is busy as well, with the South China Sea and everything above being the “area of influence”; computer warfare seems to be the next phase.<br /><br />“Soft power” is also being applied; we have former military officers and Chinese language students and lots of other folks either hearing or telling China’s story all over the world and we don’t do a good job of answering back.<br /><br />All the while, the CCP is working hard to create a higher-tech Chinese economy, by hook or by crook, and that’s putting the future of our own economy at risk, not to mention the operations of our government.<br /><br />We, as a people, seem to be unaware of all of this, and that plays out in the form of ignorance in our politicians, with Ron Paul being a recent prominent example.<br /><br />So now it’s up to you to figure out what all this means: is this really a substantial threat that we have to defend against (and there’s lots of evidence to suggest it is), or is this an effort to find a way to keep spending that $900 billion every year?<br /><br />My take: Wessel’s not a defense lobbyist, even as he is trying to promote manufacturing in the USA, and there is a lot of evidence to support his thinking; with all that in mind I’m more inclined to believe he’s sending a warning we better pay attention to than he is seeing Commies under the bed. <br /><br />Nonetheless, there are lots of folks who would like to keep stackin’ that big cheddar, at your expense, and even as we think very hard about China, we better also keep in mind that Northup Grumman could be just as dangerous.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37941221.post-23456641658423184222010-09-22T01:25:00.002+00:002010-09-22T01:41:40.069+00:00On Fear: The Islam Edition, Or, Do You Know My Friend Wa’el?We last got together about ten days ago, when I put up a story that hoped to explain to the Islamic world that, Qur’an burning aside, we don’t really hate either them, or our own Constitution.<br /><br />I pointed out that, just like everywhere else, about 20% of our population are idiots, that this means about 60,000,000 of us might, at any time, be inclined to burst into fits of random stupidity, such as the desire to burn Qur’ans to make some sort of statement, and that the same First Amendment that protects the freedom of stupid speech also protects the rights of Islamic folks to freely build mosques…and finally, that this apparent “paradox of freedom” is exactly why the US is the kind of country that many Islamic folks the world over wish they lived in as well. <br /><br />I then went off to enjoy my Godson’s wedding, and I ignored the posting until the next Monday.<br /><br />On the two dozen sites where it could be found, this was apparently considered to be a fairly innocuous message…with one giant exception, which is what we’ll be talking about today.<br /><br />Long story short, some portion of this country’s population has some bizarre ideas about Islamic folks…but maybe if they knew my friend Wa’el, they might see things a bit differently.<br /><br /><blockquote>This world is a comedy to those who think, a tragedy to those that feel<br /><br />--<a href="http://en.academic.ru/dic.nsf/enwiki/8002">Horace Walpole</a>, Fourth Earl of Orford, in a <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/4609">letter</a>, August, 1776</blockquote><br /><br />So all of this took place at Newsvine…and if you’re not familiar with how things work there, users may “seed” a story that they find of interest, so that it may attract the interest of others. What happens is that the user reposts a shortened version of the original story, along with a link back to the source.<br /><br />My <a href="http://fakeconsultant.newsvine.com/_news/2010/09/09/5081416-on-living-with-idiots-or-an-open-letter-to-islam?threadId=1069951&commentId=17720921#c17720921">original posting</a> on the site had fewer than ten comments, but by Monday Newsvine user <a href="http://btco.newsvine.com/">btco’s</a> seeded version of my story had about <a href="http://btco.newsvine.com/_news/2010/09/13/5100443-on-living-with-idiots-or-an-open-letter-to-islam?pc=25&sp=50#discussion_nav">300</a> comments; today there are more than 625.<br /><br />Those who were not liking the story basically came down to one of a few categories of responders; here’s one example…<br /><br /><blockquote>…I live a few minutes from Dearbornistan in Michigan and I can tell you that, as a place with a great deal of Muslims, they barely speak out against the Islamofacists that kill. There is outrage; however, but that outrage is aimed at America instead of the Islamofacists that should be the target of the aforementioned outrage. In fact, Dearborn has seen Muslims verbally attack Christians and forbid them for handing out Christian pamphlets, their 1st amendment right to do so, as this goes against the @!$%#ed up Sharia Law. Until Dearbornistan demands that they will abide willingly with the constitution and ignore the racist and misogynic crap that is Sharia law, then Dearbornistan Muslims side with the enemy and that enemy is Islam.</blockquote><br /><br />…and here’s another:<br /><br /><blockquote>Christianity underwent reformation and was tamed by enlightenment period (during which, BTW, was harshly criticized).<br /><br />Islam is in its original forms, claws and all.<br /><br />And people like you, who for some dubious reason think it should be allowed to be what it is are doing great disservice for Muslims whose minds are set for the reforms and who want to live like normal, 21 century people, but are forced to "submit" to medieval dogma.</blockquote><br /><br />The idea that all Islamic folks worship a Moon God, that neither democracy nor any other religion can co-exist alongside Islam, that after beating them, all Islamic men send their four wives out to distribute “<a href="http://www.leftinalabama.com/diary/6878/on-homeland-security-or-we-visit-a-terrorist-gathering-place">terror tomatoes</a>” among the infidel population, and that, for adherents of Islam, both the Bible and the Constitution are immoral and corrupt all seems to be accepted wisdom for a bunch of the commenters (except for the “terror tomato” part, which I made up myself); it all seems to come from an apparently long-circulating <a href="http://throwingstones.wordpress.com/2008/02/01/can-muslims-be-good-americans/">email</a> that was posted in the comments over and over that purports to prove that Muslims can’t be good Americans.<br /><br />So is all this true?<br /><br />Well…let’s start with the question of whether Islamic people can co-exist with democracy…and to help answer that question, let me introduce you to my friend Wa’el.<br /><br /><a href="http://weekite.blogspot.com/2008/07/sex-files-emotional-deficit.html">Wa’el Nawara</a> has been trying to advance the interests of democracy in Egyptian politics for many years now, in the form of his work for the <a href="http://www.mrt-rrt.gov.au/ArticleDocuments/75/egy35912.pdf.aspx">El-Ghad Party</a>, in the face of an Egyptian Government that has been ruled, since the end of King Farouk’s reign, by just one political party, the (secular) NDP. The founder of El-Ghad, <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/4558054.stm">Ayman Nour</a>, was imprisoned and tortured for basically getting 8% of the vote in a 2005 Presidential election against the current President, Hosni Mubarak.<br /><br />To prevent this from happening again, it is also alleged that the Egyptian Government helped to orchestrate a temporarily successful “<a href="http://www.egypttoday.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=8271">takeover</a>” of the party from within. (This is not uncommon; the Egyptians security apparatus has acted against numerous parties, including the long-banned <a href="http://www.cfr.org/publication/9319/muslim_brotherhood_and_egypts_parliamentary_elections.html">Muslim Brotherhood</a>.)<br /><br />Shortly after Wa’el and I became acquainted (I had been <a href="http://www.bluenc.com/node/11972">researching</a> a <a href="http://www.texaskaos.com/diary/5626/">series</a> of <a href="http://www.washblog.com/story/2008/11/17/17927/281">stories</a> about <a href="http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/12/30/121410/39">Egyptian politics</a> when we were introduced) he was inside the offices of his own Party, which were burned by a mob that was <a href="http://www.omraneya.net/node/69520">allegedly</a> associated with Egyptian State Security (an event that was recorded, <a href="http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2638924032741082426&hl=en#">live</a>, by people across the street). Afterwards Wa’el, along with many of the 30 other people who were in the building, were arrested and detained for…you guessed it…suspicion of arson.<br /><br />It’s not just Wa’el, or the other members of his Party…nor the other members of <a href="http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=ar&u=http://www.al-ahaly.com/index.php%3Foption%3Dcom_content%26view%3Darticle%26id%3D2918:-lr-q-q-%26catid%3D60:2010-02-27-09-30-56%26Itemid%3D628&prev=/search%3Fq%3Del%2Bbadeel%26hl%3Den%26clien">other Parties</a>, either.<br /><br />If were to take the time, you’d find out there’s a <a href="http://www.democracyinlebanon.org/">Center for Democracy in Lebanon</a>, you’d discover that Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, and even Saudi Arabia have <a href="http://www.aqoul.com/archives/2006/05/democracy_in_th.php">all</a> held recent local elections, and you’d find out there’s even a debate in the <a href="http://www.thenational.ae/article/20090419/NATIONAL/743093680&SearchID=73351653028706">UAE</a> as to whether adopting democratic reforms might be appropriate.<br /><br />Outside the Gulf, India’s current President is their <a href="http://www.milligazette.com/Archives/01082002/01082002075.htm">third</a> Muslim President, Indonesia, which is 80% Muslim, elects their <a href="http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/home/indonesian-president-condemns-attack-on-christians-in-bekasi/396044">Presidents</a> (even as they struggle with sectarian violence)…and all of that tells me that anyone who thinks Islam and democracy are incompatible should do some more reading.<br /><br />Can Islam accept the presence of other religions?<br /><br />One answer can be found in what is today’s Spain, but what used to be Andalucía (or <a href="http://www.sephardicstudies.org/islam.html">Al-Andalus</a>, if you prefer Arabic), where Moors ruled for centuries over Jews with far more compassion and respect than they ever received under Christian dominion; another, in today’s Egypt, where Christian Copts and Muslims have lived together for thousands of years, even as tensions have <a href="http://www.economist.com/blogs/newsbook/2010/09/egypts_copts">increased recently</a> between the two groups. <br /><br />Does Wa’el beat his four wives?<br /><br />Not as far as I can tell—and if his one wife ever found out he had three other wives…I’m guessing that wouldn’t go so well for Wa’el.<br /><br />Is the Bible corrupt to those who follow Islam?<br /><br />Those who follow “mainstream” Islam <a href="http://www.gkindia.com/worldreligions/understandingofjesuswithinislamandchristianity.htm">believe</a> that Jesus was the Messiah, but they don’t believe that Jesus was the Son of God, or that He was crucified. Is that corruption? I don’t know, and I guess you’ll have to decide that one for yourself.<br /><br />Now we need to be fair here, and acknowledge that one branch of Islam does indeed represent much of what my most conservative friends are afraid of: Wahhabi Ikhban. <a href="http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/loc/sa/wahhabi.htm">Here’s</a> what the Library of Congress has to say about the sect:<br /><br /><blockquote>Muhammad ibn Abd al Wahhab was concerned with the way the people of Najd engaged in practices he considered polytheistic, such as praying to saints; making pilgrimages to tombs and special mosques; venerating trees, caves, and stones; and using votive and sacrificial offerings. He was also concerned by what he viewed as a laxity in adhering to Islamic law and in performing religious devotions, such as indifference to the plight of widows and orphans, adultery, lack of attention to obligatory prayers, and failure to allocate shares of inheritance fairly to women. <br /><br />When Muhammad ibn Abd al Wahhab began to preach against these breaches of Islamic laws, he characterized customary practices as <em>jahiliya</em>, the same term used to describe the ignorance of Arabians before the Prophet. Initially, his preaching encountered opposition, but he eventually came under the protection of a local chieftain named Muhammad ibn Saud, with whom he formed an alliance. The endurance of the Wahhabi movement's influence may be attributed to the close association between the founder of the movement and the politically powerful Al Saud in southern Najd (see <a href="http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/loc/sa/saud_wahhabi.htm">The Saud Family and Wahhabi Islam, 1500-1818</a> , ch. 1). <br /><br />This association between the Al Saud and the Al ash Shaykh, as Muhammad ibn Abd al Wahhab and his descendants came to be known, effectively converted political loyalty into a religious obligation. According to Muhammad ibn Abd al Wahhab's teachings, a Muslim must present a <em>bayah</em>, or oath of allegiance, to a Muslim ruler during his lifetime to ensure his redemption after death. The ruler, conversely, is owed unquestioned allegiance from his people so long as he leads the community according to the laws of God. The whole purpose of the Muslim community is to become the living embodiment of God's laws, and it is the responsibility of the legitimate ruler to ensure that people know God's laws and live in conformity to them. </blockquote><br /><br />So what have we learned today?<br /><br />Well, we learned that there is a community of Americans out there who are profoundly afraid of Islam, or anything connected with it, and the odds are that they know very little about the religion, other than what they’ve seen and copied and pasted, over and over, in a particularly ignorant email.<br /><br />My friend Wa’el, on the other hand, lives a life that disproves those myths: in addition to being the target of a mob, he’s been jailed, along with many of his friends and associates, for trying to create a more democratic Egypt, he has just the one wife, who lives as an equal in their house, and his own country, Egypt, is one of numerous Islamic countries that have other religions well-established within their borders.<br /><br />We also learned that numerous countries with Islamic populations are countries with varying degrees of representative democracy…and that the world’s largest democracy just inaugurated their third Muslim President.<br /><br />Now the question that we’re addressing today is whether Muslims can be good Americans—and the fact is that Wa’el and his family would make great Americans…even though they’re not…and if I can point to Muslims who would make great Americans and live halfway around the world…how much you wanna bet we can find tens of thousands more in the heart of Dearbornistan?Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37941221.post-53905372452283513872010-05-23T16:03:00.010+00:002010-05-23T22:47:44.865+00:00Sad News for Blogpower -- Mutley<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNeWKLrubLggVEUQQN0JYT4d6MPe42yJxN7VZMbCDYPyVwra8h5QPtymlxEsnB_mnX2jzp2uVQjfdc0VgiiPtoMstg96C3KwTmZLPD15Q8kCdD4AvhnI457Gt5OBY0B-e9TRPb/s1600/Mutley.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 220px; height: 165px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNeWKLrubLggVEUQQN0JYT4d6MPe42yJxN7VZMbCDYPyVwra8h5QPtymlxEsnB_mnX2jzp2uVQjfdc0VgiiPtoMstg96C3KwTmZLPD15Q8kCdD4AvhnI457Gt5OBY0B-e9TRPb/s400/Mutley.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5474501942010796402" border="0" /></a><br />The following news was left on the post below early this morning:<br /><br /><p style="font-style: italic;">To all readers of Mutleythe dogsdayout<br /><br />I am so terribly sorry to break this news:<br /><br />Rob, the author here on blogger of mutley the dog, and my beloved partner in life died peacefully in his sleep in the early hours last Friday, the 21st of May.<br /><br />I would have preferred to email readers privately. That would have been best, I know. So sorry. Simply it is this - I am heart-broken.<br /><br />At some near time I will post properly, as Rob would wish - a celebration!<br /><br />Regards<br /><br />Kate</p> <p style="font-style: italic;" class="comment-timestamp">9:22 AM, May 23, 2010</p><p style="font-style: italic;" class="comment-timestamp"><br /></p><div style="text-align: justify;">Mutley was such an integral part of Blogpower for so long and his humourous and sometimes silly posts always brought a smile to our faces. He had a large following who always entered into the fun with equally amusing and outrageous comments, every one of which he answered.<br /></div><br />Our condolences to Kate and to his beloved children.<br /><br /><a href="http://robert.chambers.gonetoosoon.org/"><br />http://robert.chambers.gonetoosoon.org/</a>jmbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13563252743976699923noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37941221.post-2217580931882023292010-02-07T03:53:00.001+00:002010-02-07T03:53:47.777+00:00Intermission<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1K209wDFqPtsHkv76zlgKO1OtQWGlS0qfSeC5loxyfncSlhCrqR8G27FKsn6KC8CIG0O7PJOeEd4JMeDZ7VFmepXALOmT1_MdhoIPqkT_CeOLDe8AxeS22rryRbbxvVODIWtnaw/s1600-h/TCFscan_medium.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1K209wDFqPtsHkv76zlgKO1OtQWGlS0qfSeC5loxyfncSlhCrqR8G27FKsn6KC8CIG0O7PJOeEd4JMeDZ7VFmepXALOmT1_MdhoIPqkT_CeOLDe8AxeS22rryRbbxvVODIWtnaw/s320/TCFscan_medium.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Colin Campbellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14991363859883869289noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37941221.post-61012531496473488092010-01-11T08:20:00.000+00:002010-01-11T08:20:31.854+00:00Theo brings some advice for 2010Old Farmer's Advice:<br />
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Your fences need to be horse-high, pig-tight and bull-strong. <br />
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Keep skunks and bankers at a distance.<br />
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Life is simpler when you plow around the stump.<br />
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A bumble bee is considerably faster than a John Deere tractor.<br />
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Words that soak into your ears are whispered...not yelled.<br />
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Meanness don't jes' happen overnight.<br />
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Forgive your enemies; it messes up their heads.<br />
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Do not corner something that you know is meaner than you.<br />
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It don't take a very big person to carry a grudge.<br />
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You cannot unsay a cruel word.<br />
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Every path has a few puddles.<br />
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When you wallow with pigs, expect to get dirty.<br />
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The best sermons are lived, not preached.<br />
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Most of the stuff people worry about ain't never gonna happen anyway.<br />
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Don't judge folks by their relatives.<br />
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Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.<br />
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Live a good, honorable life.. Then when you get older and think back, you'll enjoy it a second time.<br />
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Don't interfere with somethin' that ain't bothering you none.<br />
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Timing has a lot to do with the outcome of a Rain dance.<br />
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If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop diggin'.<br />
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Sometimes you get, and sometimes you get got.<br />
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The biggest troublemaker you'll probably ever have to deal with, watches you from the mirror every mornin'.<br />
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Always drink upstream from the herd.<br />
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Good judgment comes from experience, and a lotta that comes from bad judgment.<br />
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Lettin' the cat outta the bag is a whole lot easier than puttin' it back in.<br />
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If you get to thinkin' you're a person of some influence, try orderin' somebody else's dog around..<br />
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Live simply . . . Love generously . . . Care deeply . . . Speak kindly . . . and don't never pick a fight with an old man. If he is too old to fight, he'll just kill <br />
you.Colin Campbellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14991363859883869289noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37941221.post-86868804440726839412009-12-25T01:21:00.003+00:002009-12-25T01:38:50.686+00:00The Twelve (Alt Text) Days of Christmas - Cafe Grendel<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiulOcYoCalyZ5Ou9B_y_Vy5zfTq9uqIEhQT3IAYFKeC3PYUgYFJw4Sr2S9wBo9VZ9a6QN7aqaqcwLpH-MA5NJoA1XWytO0OXCZiAxfycjACtOMw_I22H346Js7JA1AwP6u4KD2Qg/s1600-h/drunk+santa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiulOcYoCalyZ5Ou9B_y_Vy5zfTq9uqIEhQT3IAYFKeC3PYUgYFJw4Sr2S9wBo9VZ9a6QN7aqaqcwLpH-MA5NJoA1XWytO0OXCZiAxfycjACtOMw_I22H346Js7JA1AwP6u4KD2Qg/s400/drunk+santa.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><br />
From Grendel.<br />
<br />
As you may know, most web sites use alt-text, or alternative text to describe key images that can be used by people with vision impairment to enrich the online experience. Not a lot of people notice alt-text and sometimes it may not always be what you expect. Take this example from a website depicting the well known “12 Days of Christmas” carol.<br />
<br />
<b>On the first day of Christmas, my true love sent to me A partridge in a pear tree.</b><br />
alt="What a crappy tree! The image shows a bloody twig with a curled leaf and a partridge that looks like a magpie has ripped half it feathers off. If this was my true love I’d be wondering what message they are trying to send"<br />
<br />
<b>On the second day of Christmas, my true love sent to me Two turtle doves, And a partridge in a pear tree.</b><br />
alt="Same tree and ragged bird but this time beside it are two ratty looking pigeons that have crapped all over the twig the author laughingly refers to as a ‘tree’"<br />
<br />
<b>On the third day of Christmas, my true love sent to me Three French hens, Two turtle doves, And a partridge in a pear tree.</b><br />
alt="There’s enough in frame now that the image is landscape and in addition to the existing birds three battery hens are depicted looking like refugees from an animal rights ad for free range"<br />
<br />
<b>On the fourth day of Christmas, my true love sent to me Four calling birds, Three French hens, Two turtle doves, And a partridge in a pear tree.</b><br />
alt="Yawn, this is one of those images that makes me envy those reading this who have a vision impairment. The authors have added four tired-looking budgies to the already sad collection of avian specimens"<br />
<br />
You can read the rest <a href="http://cafe-grendel.blogspot.com/2009/12/twelve-alt-text-days-of-christmas.">here. </a><br />
<br />
I know that this is all a bit geeky, but in the spirit of trying it out I have included some alt text in this Traditional Scottish Advent Calendar. Hope you all have a great holiday season and a good 2010.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6Kivq02FGnDqFbCJXvSaj9mU9bm7oZgtk-CtPKzOi4PSD6N4nkcQxGMxj1rPhNjWK1o_u-jZS0ZGykqibW1NnH6z4OqQZ_g9QYwVFoMuGtQdaM_q8clgoSR181InLvb0NvZarug/s1600-h/Scottish+Advent.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img alt="On behalf of the management committee of Blogpower may we wish you all a happy celebration season and don't drink them all at once" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6Kivq02FGnDqFbCJXvSaj9mU9bm7oZgtk-CtPKzOi4PSD6N4nkcQxGMxj1rPhNjWK1o_u-jZS0ZGykqibW1NnH6z4OqQZ_g9QYwVFoMuGtQdaM_q8clgoSR181InLvb0NvZarug/s400/Scottish+Advent.jpg" /></a><br />
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<div class="zemanta-pixie" style="height: 15px; margin-top: 10px;"><a class="zemanta-pixie-a" href="http://reblog.zemanta.com/zemified/08f26a6f-1c67-4f7e-a867-54cd0c61d4de/" title="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]"><img alt="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]" class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=08f26a6f-1c67-4f7e-a867-54cd0c61d4de" style="border: medium none; float: right;" /></a><script defer="defer" src="http://static.zemanta.com/readside/loader.js" type="text/javascript">
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</div>Colin Campbellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14991363859883869289noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37941221.post-20892637403822820482009-11-26T22:25:00.000+00:002009-11-26T22:25:32.935+00:00Getting to Grips with Depression - Ellee Seymour<blockquote><a href="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/columnists/article6930126.ece">Depression</a> is one of those terrible illnesses we <a href="http://elleeseymour.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/image25.png"><img align="right" alt="image" border="0" height="244" src="http://elleeseymour.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/image_thumb24.png" style="border: 0px none; display: inline; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px;" title="image" width="157" /></a>handle so badly. <br />
Mental illness is sadly still tabooed, and it is only when we hear about those who can no longer live with their tortured minds and commit suicide, like Germany’s famous goalkeeper <a href="http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,660579,00.html">Robert Enke</a>, or the beautiful Korean model <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091120/ap_on_re_as/as_skorea_model_death">Daul Kim</a>, that this difficult issue is publicly debated.<br />
But what can be done to help those suffering from <a href="http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/depression/Pages/Introduction.aspx">depression</a>, those poor, helpless souls who would rather be anywhere instead of plummeting deeper their dark abyss? <br />
These were two young and talented people who seemingly had it all with their successful careers. But they couldn’t cope with their depression, like countless others. Their fame and fortune couldn’t save them.<br />
Tragically, even when you work in the profession, it seems little help is at hand, as this poignant letter in <a href="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/letters/article6930182.ece">today’s Times</a> describes, written by the bereaved father of a man who was severely depressed:<br />
<em>Sir, Your leading article (“</em><a href="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/leading_article/article6927568.ece"><em>Working minds</em></a><em>”, Nov 23) about the need for depression to be accepted in the workplace has particular resonance for my wife and me because we lost our son to a severe depressive illness in 2005. He was a clinical psychologist, but as his illness developed he was desperate to keep it secret from all the mental health professionals who knew him or might have contact with him in the future. He insisted that his career depended on this because there was a strong prejudice in the profession against anyone who had suffered from mental illness: they were perceived as not “tough enough” for the job. </em><br />
<em>We found this hard to believe — the mental health profession seemed the last place on earth where such attitudes were likely to be found — but we were assured by others that it was so. Not only did this worry add to the burden of an already terrifying illness, whose features are so accurately and movingly described by <a href="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/mental_health/article6925762.ece">Giles Andreae in times2</a>, but it made our son reluctant to seek treatment and, when he did seek it, prevented him from making use of good local facilities that might have helped him. The treatment which he did accept was unsatisfactory and, in the end, unavailing. </em><br />
<em>Surely it is clear that someone who survives a depressive illness is enhanced rather than diminished by the experience, and that the insight which results may be of advantage, particularly in the field of mental health. </em><br />
<em>Richard Oerton <br />
Bridgwater, Somerset </em><br />
</blockquote><div class="zemanta-pixie" style="height: 15px; margin-top: 10px;"><a class="zemanta-pixie-a" href="http://reblog.zemanta.com/zemified/d3827858-1836-4647-9b2b-97e819aa8f30/" title="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]"><img alt="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]" class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=d3827858-1836-4647-9b2b-97e819aa8f30" style="border: medium none; float: right;" /></a><span class="zem-script more-related pretty-attribution"><script defer="defer" src="http://static.zemanta.com/readside/loader.js" type="text/javascript">
</script></span></div>Colin Campbellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14991363859883869289noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37941221.post-88752256304907688082009-11-23T16:59:00.000+00:002009-11-23T16:59:42.939+00:00Hey Rupert (You speak with Forked Tongue) - Fake Consultant<blockquote>Our favorite irascible media tyrant is in the news once again, and once again it’s time for me to bring you a story of doing one thing while wishing for another.<br />
<br />
In a November 6th interview, Sky News Australia’s David Speers spent about 35 minutes with the CEO of NewsCorp, Rupert Murdoch; the conversation covering topics as diverse as software piracy, world economics, the role of Fox News (and Fox NewsPinion©) in American politics, a strange defense of Glenn Beck, and, not very long afterwards, an even stranger defense of immigration.<br />
<br />
We have heard a lot about the…how can I put this politely…<em>challenges</em> Murdoch seems to face associating factual reality with his reality, and we could have lots of fun going through his factual misstatements—but instead, I want to take on one specific issue today:<br />
<br />
Rupert Murdoch says he hates it when people steal his content from the Internet to draw readers to their sites…which is funny, if you think about it, because he has no problem at all stealing my content (and lots of yours, as well) for his sites.<br />
</blockquote> More <a href="http://fakeconsultant.blogspot.com/2009/11/on-murdoch-and-google-or-hey-rupert.html">here </a><br />
<div class="zemanta-pixie" style="height: 15px; margin-top: 10px;"><a class="zemanta-pixie-a" href="http://reblog.zemanta.com/zemified/cfc77afc-d6f4-4d57-87b4-6cd2e20fddf2/" title="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]"><img alt="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]" class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=cfc77afc-d6f4-4d57-87b4-6cd2e20fddf2" style="border: medium none; float: right;" /></a><span class="zem-script more-related pretty-attribution"><script defer="defer" src="http://static.zemanta.com/readside/loader.js" type="text/javascript">
</script></span></div>Colin Campbellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14991363859883869289noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37941221.post-64510201934061343472009-11-16T20:58:00.001+00:002009-11-16T20:59:03.082+00:00Berlin Wall Juke Box - Pub Philosopher<blockquote>Another installment in the occasional Friday Pub Juke Box series.<br />
<br />
In my post on Monday I said that, on the whole, I believe that the collapse of the Eastern Bloc was a good thing. That's not to say that there weren't winners and losers though. I don't often agree with Seumas Milne but he <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/nov/11/lessons-of-1989-new-alternative" linkindex="213">makes some good points here</a>. The experiment in bandit capitalism which followed the break up of the Soviet Union was a disaster. Replacing apparatchiks with oligarchs is not what Russian and east European dissidents died and went to prison for.<br />
<br />
So today's juke box reflects the opposing views of 1989. The first is the optimistic "Winds of Change" from Germany's Scorpions, which became the <a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jhsZwO0i1i_9rIvfG46gJPBVVw8A" linkindex="214">unofficial anthem</a> of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Inevitably, <a href="http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/World/Story/STIStory_452367.html" linkindex="215">they were playing it on Monday evening</a> in Berlin.<br />
<br />
The second is the less well known and much more pessimistic Lurhstaap from Britain's New Model Army. Written in 1989, Lurhstaap warned that 'these changing winds can grow cold and hostile'. <a href="http://www.newmodelarmy.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=124:lurhstaap&catid=30:lyrics&Itemid=44" linkindex="216">The lyrics</a> might seem eerily prescient to those who feel they were robbed after 1989. <br />
<blockquote dir="ltr">And in the shadows of the crowded square, a thousand paper deals go down<br />
And hungry sharks from everywhere smell the blood and head for town<br />
</blockquote><div dir="ltr">I like both tracks, which perhaps reflects the mixed feelings I had then and still have now. On the whole, I'm glad communism collapsed but we really missed an opportunity afterwards.<br />
</div></blockquote><div dir="ltr"><br />
</div><div dir="ltr"><a href="http://pubphilosopher.blogs.com/pub_philosopher/2009/11/berlin-wall-juke-box.html">Da Videos Ya? </a><br />
</div>Colin Campbellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14991363859883869289noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37941221.post-20293928012022042142009-11-11T10:04:00.000+00:002009-11-11T10:04:17.673+00:00Show Us Yer Tits! Mutley hits the big Four Double O<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn7rEA95zQKPGGMO112sEzpVi31T5naKa476pIdd8dqSM3RcuhyebftnNZ3grSyfS1A4XKrT7Z2Iz8kU40WDrQ_nyKuRBhXU9_clnnQvSKhTNo2LdAXvZKyHl_S4L-z5OH364wKw/s1600-h/tits2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn7rEA95zQKPGGMO112sEzpVi31T5naKa476pIdd8dqSM3RcuhyebftnNZ3grSyfS1A4XKrT7Z2Iz8kU40WDrQ_nyKuRBhXU9_clnnQvSKhTNo2LdAXvZKyHl_S4L-z5OH364wKw/s320/tits2.jpg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiryPKNGFXtWyPzeNvkeoTA8YD29QSnJhPDRUHVn4DJzFZm8KxT2FAYif1tGZVAwCbauj_fXWQVygZu0r9gSIp3nHJz116xim1M_rL43aR9RqDjVpGRwHQ8tQcwmudO-zCtIKV5Pw/s1600-h/ManTits.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiryPKNGFXtWyPzeNvkeoTA8YD29QSnJhPDRUHVn4DJzFZm8KxT2FAYif1tGZVAwCbauj_fXWQVygZu0r9gSIp3nHJz116xim1M_rL43aR9RqDjVpGRwHQ8tQcwmudO-zCtIKV5Pw/s320/ManTits.jpg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhccddFukLScLAtiNrbC2c6zRGPiOQ2yaqXVwmNq_Cpuy_2jWf1aMXM1-oIzBf8IR2nkf92E3IkTAfDlPEffROTGAXa9scxAX8LLwug0E7zfqb54cUwYBS8Qsof24AHSTnVL2H-rQ/s1600-h/Blue_Tits_Parus_caeruleus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhccddFukLScLAtiNrbC2c6zRGPiOQ2yaqXVwmNq_Cpuy_2jWf1aMXM1-oIzBf8IR2nkf92E3IkTAfDlPEffROTGAXa9scxAX8LLwug0E7zfqb54cUwYBS8Qsof24AHSTnVL2H-rQ/s320/Blue_Tits_Parus_caeruleus.jpg" /></a><br />
</div>Congratulations to Mutley for his contribution to Blogpower and the overall tit blogging experience. Here at Defending the Blog we are not far behind. That said, this blog is a good deal more boring. So in the spirit of sharing...<br />
<br />
<blockquote>"Many famous people have viewed your Blog - which is somewhat infamous because of your irritating inane comments on other peoples blogs, over the last 400 posts - and if you had just once written something insightful, moving, witty, clever, sexy, charming or funny you would have been at least been mentioned in The Guardian or The Sunday Times as they are desperate for copy. But as you are a boring tit, you have squandered this opportunity by writing such complete inconsequential shit!" My friend Mr Beast confided this in me over a pint of his favourite port, tequila and <a class="zem_slink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domestic_sheep" rel="wikipedia" title="Domestic sheep">sheep</a> milk at my 400th post blog party last weekend. I am afraid he was rather in his cups, as we say in the South, and there was a distinctly unhealthy sweaty sheen to his skin. <br />
<br />
However, my whip thin friend Giles a.k.a Lady Ga-Ga seemed also determined to bury the knife deep. He went on and on about how my tedious interest in Supermarkets and toothache was enough to drive a Nun to suicide (which I once did - but thats another story!) and that 'I should welcome the comfort of obscurity' - odd turn of phrase if you ask me. <br />
</blockquote><br />
Much more great stuff <a href="http://mutleythedogsdayout.blogspot.com/2009/11/4-0-0-p-o-s-t-s.html">here.</a><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="zemanta-pixie" style="height: 15px; margin-top: 10px;"><a class="zemanta-pixie-a" href="http://reblog.zemanta.com/zemified/e49afd98-9d7a-49cf-a142-301fae400a97/" title="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]"><img alt="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]" class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=e49afd98-9d7a-49cf-a142-301fae400a97" style="border: medium none; float: right;" /></a><span class="zem-script more-related pretty-attribution"><script defer="defer" src="http://static.zemanta.com/readside/loader.js" type="text/javascript">
</script></span></div>Colin Campbellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14991363859883869289noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37941221.post-78729912128181456942009-11-08T21:06:00.000+00:002009-11-08T21:06:15.738+00:00Ruthie reflects on Fort HoodSo here I am, writing my thesis about how domestic terror attacks are made foreign in the media, when <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Hood_shooting">this</a> happens. Some (probably not very articulate) musings:<br />
<br />
<ul><li>I've been studying these kinds events for almost two years now, and after writing three papers on the subject and reading thousands of news articles and transcripts (which, I should mention, have driven me back into the arms of reality TV, if only for my own sanity), one big trend I'm noticing is that after one high-profile event (a major school shooting or an attack like the one on Fort Hood) there is almost <i>always</i> another attack, if not several more attacks, within a week. There were weeks in 2007 and 2008 when there were 3-4 shootings. Then none for months. The day after the Fort Hood attack there was a major rampage shooting in Orlando. <br />
<br />
Anyway, I think the copycat phenomenon is alive and well.</li>
<li>Articles like <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125755853525335343.html?mod=rss_whats_news_us">this one</a> annoy me to no end. All of a sudden, the military is "rethinking" Muslim soldiers? Really? Because William Kreutzer, ANOTHER soldier who opened fire on a military base, was a Christian... and so was Sgt. John Russell of the recent Camp Liberty shootings... to name two. But did those shootings somehow force the military to rethink Christian soldiers? No.</li>
<li>The Fort Hood shooter was as American as I am. Relatively recent immigrant roots, but born here. Raised here. If someone with my ethnic and religious background (Italian, European, Christian, Protestant) committed this kind of attack, how would the narrative be different? I know it would be. I'm just more interested than ever in finishing my thesis. The topic has suddenly become more relevant than it was last week.</li>
</ul><div class="zemanta-pixie" style="height: 15px; margin-top: 10px;"><a class="zemanta-pixie-a" href="http://reblog.zemanta.com/zemified/da7984b2-cad2-4548-aced-1d501b57ffb7/" title="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]"><img alt="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]" class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=da7984b2-cad2-4548-aced-1d501b57ffb7" style="border: medium none; float: right;" /></a><span class="zem-script more-related pretty-attribution"><script defer="defer" src="http://static.zemanta.com/readside/loader.js" type="text/javascript">
</script></span></div>Colin Campbellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14991363859883869289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37941221.post-3303552512733621112009-10-25T21:40:00.001+00:002009-10-25T21:41:29.539+00:00Should the Scots have their own Tundra Time Zone?As summer kicks in in the Antipodes the combination of grimmer oop north weather and the changing of the clocks has Pub Philosopher grumpy. Does it make sense for the UK to align with the rest of Europe in <a class="zem_slink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_zone" rel="wikipedia" title="Time zone">time zone</a>?<br />
<br />
<div class="entry-body"><blockquote>Pitch dark by 5 o'clock today. <br />
</blockquote><blockquote>I've <a href="http://pubphilosopher.blogs.com/pub_philosopher/2008/10/now-is-the-winter.html">said</a> all I'm <a href="http://pubphilosopher.blogs.com/pub_philosopher/2007/10/into-the-darkne.html">going</a> to <a href="http://pubphilosopher.blogs.com/pub_philosopher/2006/10/back_to_the_dar.html">say</a> about the annual stupidity of putting the clocks back to <a href="http://pubphilosopher.blogs.com/pub_philosopher/2005/10/daylight_wastin.html">daylight wasting time.</a> The case for keeping our clocks one hour ahead of the sun in winter is <a href="http://www.ifm.eng.cam.ac.uk/people/ewg/gmt_cronin_garnsey_rev_oct09.pdf">overwhelming</a>. Our lives are different from those of our ancestors. We get up later and go to bed later. <br />
</blockquote><blockquote>As Sir Alistair Horne said, if the Scots want to have their own <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/8321809.stm">Tundra Time</a>, let them go ahead. Just don't drag the rest of us into the dark too.<br />
</blockquote></div><br />
<div class="zemanta-pixie" style="height: 15px; margin-top: 10px;"><a class="zemanta-pixie-a" href="http://reblog.zemanta.com/zemified/159c6ed2-3ba7-4897-a84c-d61679b7ac29/" title="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]"><img alt="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]" class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=159c6ed2-3ba7-4897-a84c-d61679b7ac29" style="border: medium none; float: right;" /></a><script defer="defer" src="http://static.zemanta.com/readside/loader.js" type="text/javascript">
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</div>Colin Campbellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14991363859883869289noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37941221.post-37476632156637393672009-10-17T20:37:00.001+00:002009-10-17T20:38:32.094+00:00The Last Ditch: Tom's day of heavenly peaceTom has an interesting account of his first trip to Beijing and a chance to see some of the city.<br />
<br />
<blockquote>I walked around the city for five hours. At several points, I paused to reflect how lucky I am to have such a life; to have the chance to visit the far-off places I dreamed of as a boy. My whole family has lived in one square mile of what is now Wales, probably, since prehistory. It seems to be my destiny to improve our averages when it comes to travel.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSVnMpesEugjGGolK-4gLnQI3gZFwjyMWLzxp0I_9HZX09OBlAwWQMlhafnYyS7SPO6jv86BjDVQPLZ4VmPrN00dXi2cmtRZQRsNNkdrqsx9Gz5AWZRTNxRuSVr21ufPSgAUMsvA/s1600-h/forbidden.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSVnMpesEugjGGolK-4gLnQI3gZFwjyMWLzxp0I_9HZX09OBlAwWQMlhafnYyS7SPO6jv86BjDVQPLZ4VmPrN00dXi2cmtRZQRsNNkdrqsx9Gz5AWZRTNxRuSVr21ufPSgAUMsvA/s320/forbidden.jpg" /></a><br />
</div>The Forbidden City was not quite what I expected. Yes, it's huge and impressive and oozes history. Yet it also feels rather sad. It's as if the Emperor had just walked away and no-one had quite decided what to do with it. Renovation of such a complex must be a huge burden. It covers 7.8 million square feet and comprises 980 buildings. It is a city within a city. A city that feels, in parts, abandoned and neglected. Some structures are quite dilapidated, although crews were working on others. The task of maintenance is eternal. While it's a "World Heritage Site" and rightly so, I can't help feeling it would be better put to use. Such wonderful spaces should be occupied and enjoyed, not just gawped at by the likes of me. The occupants would also pick up on minor repairs that would otherwise become major while waiting for scheduled maintenance.<br />
<br />
It was crowded, particularly at entrance and exit where I was pressed closer to a mass of strangers than any Englishman can well endure (yet without ever feeling in danger, or worrying about my wallet). After a while, the masses de-merged into family groups and I could observe the Chinese at leisure. My main impression was of extended families. I saw some old people so thin and drawn that it was hard to believe they were mobile. Yet they were cheerfully led, or pushed around by their families and looked happy in their company. The welfare state in Britain has destroyed so much. Such skeletal specimens would be in a "home", out of sight and out of mind. Here they cheerfully chatted to the family's infants, who seemed completely relaxed (as they should be) in the company of the old and frail.<br />
<br />
Basking happily in the bright sunshine in their leisure wear, many Chinese wore English slogans. I never understand why our language has such glamour for strangers. Apart from the usual brand names (paid for or otherwise) there were random English words. One lady had "Praisworthy" (sic) emblazoned on her blouse. I don't know why our scruffy leisure costume has been adopted at all. Traditional Chinese clothes are so much more attractive, but I only saw a few people - usually very old - wearing them. Even most of the very elderly sported trainers and jeans. I noticed the cheap and brightly coloured baseball hats handed out by tour organisers so they can recognise their flock in crowds were lined with the attractive check that Burberry has now pretty much had to abandon, so "common" has it become.<br />
</blockquote><br />
<a href="http://lastditch.typepad.com/lastditch/2009/10/a-day-of-heavenly-peace.html#comment-6a00d83451f09b69e20120a5f0885f970b">More here</a>Colin Campbellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14991363859883869289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37941221.post-2617597533629984802009-10-17T00:52:00.000+00:002009-10-17T00:52:18.229+00:00Pauli Finds Out People Just Want To Have Fun<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/2lXh2n0aPyw&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/2lXh2n0aPyw&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br />
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Thanks PauliColin Campbellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14991363859883869289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37941221.post-89292625278957871392009-10-09T13:53:00.002+00:002009-10-09T14:28:30.018+00:00Garbo Dissects the Tory Conference -Wardman WireIf the Labour <a class="zem_slink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labour_Party_%28UK%29_Conference" rel="wikipedia" title="Labour Party (UK) Conference">party conference</a> was expected to be a disaster but in the end turned out just about alright, you might say the expectation for the Tory conference were very high, but the results have been very similar to their counterparts. This week has been just about alright for the Tories, nothing like the barnstorming affair we might have expected but certainly not a disaster either.<br />
Things kicked off in the traditional manner – a row over Europe. This is a debate that will run and run and will continue to plague the Tories. It is not a so much a matter that the Tories are split or wrong or anything else. It is more that they simply do not have a coherent policy. They want to change Europe but at the same time do not want to be part of it. They want a referendum on Lisbon, but at the same time won’t commit to one. They have a leader who knows that Britain needs Europe but a party who does not want to be dictated to by it. It is a problem that has only been slightly eased by the Irish yes vote, but only very slightly.<br />
<br />
Then came the cuts talk. As I wrote yesterday, Osborne should be applauded for taking the bull by the horns. But it has not pleased much of the party faithful. <a class="zem_slink" href="http://www.davidcameronmp.com/" rel="homepage" title="David Cameron">David Cameron</a>’s suggestion that if the deficit has not been scratched by cuts, then taxes will have to rise. Well Osborne’s announcements tackled just 12% of one year’s deficit over a five year period. That sounds like tax rises are on the way then. It has been said before – if the <a class="zem_slink" href="http://www.conservatives.com/" rel="homepage" title="Conservative Party (UK)">Conservatives</a> are not the party of low taxation, then what are they? It is an honest and tough approach, and the polls suggest they have not been too harmed by it just yet. But it has provided the government with plenty of ammunition and very probably upset grassroots supporters and a few floating voters alike.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.mattwardman.com/blog/2009/10/08/the-tory-conference-so-far-as-seen-by-garbo/">Continues here</a> <a href="http://www.mattwardman.com/blog/2009/10/09/david-cameron-offers-his-vision-to-britain-by-garbo/">and here</a><br />
<div class="zemanta-pixie" style="height: 15px; margin-top: 10px;"><a class="zemanta-pixie-a" href="http://reblog.zemanta.com/zemified/bee638c0-ab55-4189-be43-2f82bb6eae48/" title="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]"><img alt="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]" class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=bee638c0-ab55-4189-be43-2f82bb6eae48" style="border: medium none; float: right;" /></a><script defer="defer" src="http://static.zemanta.com/readside/loader.js" type="text/javascript">
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</div>Colin Campbellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14991363859883869289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37941221.post-10315055415973831352009-10-02T21:43:00.000+00:002009-10-02T21:43:13.170+00:00Graccii on Roman Polanski<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #632035; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Something worries me about the Roman Polanski case- and it is not his arrest, it is the reaction to it. As far as I can see, Polanski admitted to comitting a crime thirty years ago, he then fled before he could be punished- now at last justice has caught up with him. You may think that there should be a statute of limitations as in Italy and that is a fair view but it is not a view to be argued about right now because of the emotiveness of this case. There seems to be no doubt that there is no miscarriage of justice involved here: simply put a fugitive from justice has been arrested and placed in a cell prior to extradition to the jurisdiction which originally condemned him. It is for the courts to decide what punishment to administer.<br />
<br />
And yet apparantly petitions are being drafted, the French society of film actors is talking about freedom of speech and Whoopi Goldberg about rape rape as opposed to rape. I find this rather strange. There is no freedom of speech issue here: Mr Polanski's crime was to have sex with an unwilling teenage girl- rape is not as far as I can remember freedom of speech and nor is it included in any meaningful definition of this film. Secondly the<a href="http://www.sacd.fr/Le-cinema-soutient-Roman-Polanski-Petition-for-Roman-Polanski.1340.0.html" style="color: #bf277e; font-weight: bold;">petition</a>: again what injustice are they petitioning about- if Mr Polanski were not guilty of the crime or if he were being prosecuted for something that should not be a crime I could understand it, but the petition is being drafted apparantly because he is Mr Polanski. He is a child rapist full stop- you either believe that child rapists should face punishment and therefore that Mr Polanski should or you do not, can we take it that anyone who signs this petition- Mr Scorsese, Mr Allen, Miss Argento and others- beleive that child rape is acceptable? I do not think they do, but their actions are worrying.</span><br />
<span style="color: #632035; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br />
</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #632035; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">More <a href="http://gracchii.blogspot.com/2009/09/roman-polanski.html">here</a>.</span></span>Colin Campbellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14991363859883869289noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37941221.post-69547042952340847972009-09-24T21:58:00.003+00:002009-09-24T22:00:31.301+00:00Duck Joke from Tuscan Tony<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small; color: rgb(61, 129, 238); line-height: 20px; ">A woman brought a very limp duck into a veterinary surgeon. As she laid her pet on the table, the vet pulled out his stethoscope and listened to the bird's chest.<br /><br />After a moment or two, the vet shook his head sadly and said, "I'm sorry, your duck, Cuddles, has passed away."<br /><br />The distressed woman wailed, "Are you sure?"<br /><br />"Yes, I am sure. The duck is dead," replied the vet.<br /><br />"How can you be so sure?" she protested. "I mean you haven't done any testing on him or anything. He might just be in a coma or something."<br /><br />The vet rolled his eyes, turned around and left the room.<br /><br />He returned a few minutes later with a black Labrador Retriever.<br /><br />As the duck's owner looked on in amazement, the dog stood on his hind legs, put his front paws on the examination table and sniffed the duck from top to bottom. He then looked up at the vet with sad eyes and shook his head. The vet patted the dog on the head and took it out of the room.<br /><br />A few minutes later he returned with a cat. The cat jumped on the table and also delicately sniffed the bird from head to foot. The cat sat back on its haunches, shook its head, meowed softly and strolled out of the room.<br /><br />The vet looked at the woman and said, "I'm sorry, but as I said, this is most definitely, 100% certifiably, a dead duck."<br /><br />The vet turned to his computer, hit a few keys and produced a bill, which he handed to the woman. The duck's owner, still in shock, took the bill. "£ 250?" she cried, "£ 250 just to tell me my duck is dead?"<br /><br />The vet shrugged, "I'm sorry. If you had just taken my word for it, the bill would have been £ 20, but that's the price with the with the Lab Report and the Cat scan."</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3D81EE;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3D81EE;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small; line-height: 20px;">Ta Da</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3D81EE;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3D81EE;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small; line-height: 20px;">Thanks <a href="http://tuscantony.blogspot.com/2009/09/duck-wit.html">Tony</a></span></span></div>Colin Campbellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14991363859883869289noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37941221.post-32265536607346299732009-09-17T22:34:00.003+00:002009-09-17T22:41:38.474+00:00Keith Floyd Tomato Sauce Inspiration for Welshcakes RIP<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWDoxMahSe1jiYhzxN35rqGSg2GU8CP-B7NeH7t4_nJ7iDFmkVbKCHXRO9qGsGyofu332prQIuEU9oGHMrscFw4Uh1cjqQByX5Ur-UpoU5VJZ-D_h29Gp4epbe1pCRxkhPAtuzQQ/s1600-h/keith+floyd.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWDoxMahSe1jiYhzxN35rqGSg2GU8CP-B7NeH7t4_nJ7iDFmkVbKCHXRO9qGsGyofu332prQIuEU9oGHMrscFw4Uh1cjqQByX5Ur-UpoU5VJZ-D_h29Gp4epbe1pCRxkhPAtuzQQ/s400/keith+floyd.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5382569922608783602" border="0"></a><br />Welshcakes remembers a culinary influence.<br /><br /><blockquote><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keith_Floyd">Keith Floyd</a>, author, flamboyant TV chef and bon viveur par excellence, died of a heart attack last night. I loved his style; the man even managed to die stylishly, having enjoyed a last meal of oysters and partridge with champagne. I had a Bristolian's affection for this honorary West Country man who opened his first restaurant in that town of my childhood. And what a "cook's cook" he was, rarely giving precise quantities, instructing you to "whack this in there" or "throw some of that in the pot", encouraging you to have the confidence to make your own judgements, as often as not with a full glass in his free hand as he did so.<br /><br />A fitting tribute to Floydie on this blog, I feel, would be to write about some of my favourite Floyd recipes and so I shall do just that:<br /><br />I think the first Floyd TV series I followed was Floyd on France and from the 1987 book of the series I was inspired to cook, for the first time, a chicken roasted with masses of garlic. I have tried many recipes for such a dish since, and many of them - their authors losing their nerve, it seemed to me - told you to count your garlic cloves and use 12, or at the most 20. Any experienced cook will realise that this is ridiculous, as the authors cannot possibly know how pungent the garlic is in your part of the world, or how big the cloves are. There's no such wimping out in Floyd's book, however, and you are instructed to use a kilo of the stuff. And it is to Floyd's recipe that I return again and again.<br /><br />From Floyd on Italy [1994] I learnt to make tomato sauce and it is this recipe that forms the basis of my own to this day. In the introduction to this volume, Floyd writes:<br /><br />"What is Italian food? Spaghetti bolognese, lasagne with coleslaw and deep-pan pizzas filled with culinary garbage? No. A thousand times no...... Whereas thinly rolled dough spread with chopped tomato and topped with anchovies and cheese and zapped into a wood-fired oven is heaven - you just don't need prawns and artichoke hearts, mushroom and chicken tikka pieces in a pastry shell and even if you do you can't call it a pizza. "<br /><br />He goes on to describe what Italian food really is and I have yet to read a better description.</blockquote><br /><br /><a href="http://sicilyscene.blogspot.com/2009/09/floydie.html">More Floydie memories here.</a><br /><br /><div style="margin-top: 10px; height: 15px;" class="zemanta-pixie"><a class="zemanta-pixie-a" href="http://reblog.zemanta.com/zemified/a1592785-8c2b-4b8d-b82b-dd08110f3134/" title="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]"><img style="border: medium none ; float: right;" class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=a1592785-8c2b-4b8d-b82b-dd08110f3134" alt="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]"></a><span class="zem-script more-related pretty-attribution"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://static.zemanta.com/readside/loader.js" defer="defer"></script></span></div>Colin Campbellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14991363859883869289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37941221.post-48365796751173385902009-09-10T23:20:00.004+00:002009-09-10T23:25:32.243+00:00JMB Goes to Washington<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfAUkFSE_azgWXWcTgiKTbTToukuw9lMIhAg7VPc2mq2XlCld2UMoEOvMXpiFqSGcBzcHeCfDODgDAug85ar_sVJYYOmDLnmlOYrLYA8vDxDw4N7aeYiUwwIDwZnsjBUdp30IbDw/s1600-h/White_House_view_with_crowd.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfAUkFSE_azgWXWcTgiKTbTToukuw9lMIhAg7VPc2mq2XlCld2UMoEOvMXpiFqSGcBzcHeCfDODgDAug85ar_sVJYYOmDLnmlOYrLYA8vDxDw4N7aeYiUwwIDwZnsjBUdp30IbDw/s400/White_House_view_with_crowd.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5379983067651926194" border="0"></a><br />I lived in the Washington DC area off and on for over ten years. I never did snare a White House invitation. JMB was able to have a look around. She tells the story on her blog.<br /><br /><blockquote>We were very lucky to obtain tickets for a tour of the <a class="zem_slink" href="http://www.whitehouse.gov" title="White House" rel="homepage">White House</a> since usually they can not be obtained closer than one month to the date. Our friend arranged it through the office of the Senator for whom he works so we were I think considered visitors from Maine.<br /><br />We fronted up very early on the morning and were checked off the list and had to show our passports and go through all kinds of security before we were conducted through a long corridor filled with photos of presidents lining the walls. As I said previously I could not take photos so these are all thanks to Wikimedia.<br /><br />Only a few public rooms of the White House are included on the tour which is to be expected. But let me begin with a few facts about the house. It is the oldest public building in Washington DC and every president except George Washington has conducted business there. Although it has undergone many changes the basic structure, which was begun in 1792, has been kept. It was not occupied until 1800 when John Adams did so after the capital was moved from Philadelphia to <a class="zem_slink" href="http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=38.8951111111,-77.0366666667&spn=0.1,0.1&q=38.8951111111,-77.0366666667%20%28Washington%2C%20D.C.%29&t=h" title="Washington, D.C." rel="geolocation">Washington, DC</a>, even though the building's interior was not completed at that time.<br /><br />In 1814 the British forces captured Washington and burned the White House and the sandstone walls and interior brickwork were all that was left standing. But it was rebuilt by 1817 and over the years many other presidents have made structural changes to make it what it is today, including the addition of a third floor in 1927.</blockquote><br /><br /><a href="http://nobodyimportant-jmb.blogspot.com/2009/09/tour-of-white-house.html">More here</a><br /><br /><div style="margin-top: 10px; height: 15px;" class="zemanta-pixie"><a class="zemanta-pixie-a" href="http://reblog.zemanta.com/zemified/9bf61324-5c28-45b9-a42c-1c4dd1ddaa00/" title="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]"><img style="border: medium none ; float: right;" class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=9bf61324-5c28-45b9-a42c-1c4dd1ddaa00" alt="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]"></a><span class="zem-script more-related pretty-attribution"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://static.zemanta.com/readside/loader.js" defer="defer"></script></span></div>Colin Campbellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14991363859883869289noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37941221.post-53480230535050286132009-09-03T21:03:00.003+00:002009-09-03T21:10:03.365+00:00Tom Paine: A Very British DeathContinuing our occasional highlighting of Blogpower bloggers, I came across this on The Last Ditch. Interesting and confronting reading.<br /><br />I didn't know how to be more than vaguely uneasy about this story when I read it yesterday. Anna Raccoon (post linked above) explains from a position of knowledge and experience. If you are a British reader, there is a very high chance that she is describing how your life will end; put onto a "care pathway" (a euphemism for being deprived of food and water under sedation) by state employees as a form of healthcare rationing.<br /><br /><blockquote> The Mental Capacity Act 2005 has been enlarged and updated to include medical care for similar reasons – to provide legal cover for Doctors and Nurses to take the actions they have always taken; but because we wouldn’t allow an honest debate regarding euthanasia or assisted suicide, it took the only route open to it – that of empowering Doctors to follow the ‘Bland‘ formula, and starve you to death when you were no longer economically sustainable.</blockquote><br /><br />It is important to note that food and water administered by a doctor counts as "medical care." As Anna says;<br /><br /><blockquote>Dying of malnutrition – starvation – or lack of hydration – extreme thirst – is a painful and obscene manner in which to die. It has now become the ‘gold standard’ in end of life care. It has come about because as a nation we refuse to discuss euthanasia or assisted suicide in a reasonable or responsible manner. We become both emotional and obscurist, hiding our true views behind a cloak of carefully crafted language.</blockquote><br /><br />The rest is in the <a href="http://lastditch.typepad.com/lastditch/2009/09/the-gold-standard-for-an-obscene-death.html">linked article</a>.<br /><br /><div style="margin-top: 10px; height: 15px;" class="zemanta-pixie"><a class="zemanta-pixie-a" href="http://reblog.zemanta.com/zemified/15f02cc3-6a04-4d9a-aa85-83e6822a767a/" title="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]"><img style="border: medium none ; float: right;" class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=15f02cc3-6a04-4d9a-aa85-83e6822a767a" alt="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]"></a><span class="zem-script more-related pretty-attribution"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://static.zemanta.com/readside/loader.js" defer="defer"></script></span></div>Colin Campbellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14991363859883869289noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37941221.post-73569011926101899022009-08-08T22:21:00.001+00:002009-08-08T22:22:25.924+00:00Only a Dog<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_fXZxwkF1T9M/SnyMqsQ0MWI/AAAAAAAABhI/0Dh8Syuk_xo/s1600-h/dog.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_fXZxwkF1T9M/SnyMqsQ0MWI/AAAAAAAABhI/0Dh8Syuk_xo/s400/dog.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367319520982872418" /></a><br />It was a grey and blustery October morning, half term, and as a house parent I had decided to make the children go out with the dog for a walk along the beach. At Whitstable steep pebble beaches descend to greet the waves between high wooden breakwaters. On that day we were walking along the waterline with a sucking tide falling rapidly – the sea green and grey and a surf that was rough and bounding.<br /><br />I saw a plank in the surf, a heavy one like might be used for floors or for roof beams. In a second I simply gave it a kick and it floated momentarily in the tide, before the rip of the outgoing wave took it. In the same moment the dog had grabbed it and was afloat, a corner gripped with grim determination to return it to the shore. It was his game after all. Jump in the sea and bring back things. A great game. <br /><br />In a moment the plank was beyond the end of the breakwaters, rolling in the deep waves, already out of depth. The little dog holding tight of course. And after that the rip tide took the wood. It was out of my control anyway but not of the tides. I was in the ice cold sea up to my waist then my chest shouting. To no avail. The water took the plank and its passenger – heading out into the sea towards the distant Isle of Sheppey. All at once the waves intervened and the sodden head of the dog was disappearing at a fast pace on his doomed vessel. <br /><br />All at once a man was by me shouting.<br /><br />“ I have told the bloody coastguards – bloody idiots – I said there's a dog lost in the waves – they said we cant scramble a lifeboat for a dog, its only a dog” He paused, eyes angry. I remember he had white stubble on his chin, and some kind of hat. The sky was silver and grey behind him. “Only a dog– only a dog?” Her seemed lost for words. Catching in his throat.<br /><br />I was strangely calm. Already ice cold with exposure. Imagining seeing my working wife !”How was the day – ok -went for a walk drowned the dog, came home....”<br /><br />In the leaping waves the dog is almost lost – up to a mile out I later learnt.. “Only a dog?” My friend is muttering under his breath. And as I watch there's one final wave and the tiny almost invisible white spot which is all that's left of the dog is gone. And for an aching moment he is gone. Then suddenly – a little white spot reappears moving slowly on the water between the waves. Unbelievably his course is exactly a reverse of that which took him out into a busy shipping channel. Its much too far for him to see and the waves too high. He's following his own scent trail still hanging in the air. Now. Imagine the strength to fight a roaring Thames rip tide and the courage to even try. And then against all odds . He is getting closer – now the children were in hysterics. Crying and shouting – he's been gone thirty minutes easy. Its a long winding course and he keeps vanishing beneath the surf, for seconds at a time. He is close and I wade out out to meet him- waves breaking against me. And as his curve took him into the land he suddenly spotted me and his tail flew like a flag - one final wag. <br /><br />And I had him suddenly, surprisingly in my arms. Safe. <br /><br />And My God he puked. Great body wrenching shuddering. He had always known it was OK, he would be safe, just find his safety. Of course he couldn't stand up and I was ice cold, shivering. I would never see him in such a weak and damaged state again until his last few days. We staggered home thankfully only a few short yards and lit the gas fire and placed his little person like an offering. And roasted stewing steak to nourish him and booked one of his few vet visits to be diagnosed with salt poisoning. And of course he did get better. He ate his steak and gazed around with groggy eyes, but the next day rare autumn sun warmed the day and he was up and about as usual – though he eyed the sea with newly learnt respectAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com5