I Was That Child

I was the child who would lie on his back
And wave to the trees, and the trees waved back
Long days in the sun.
I was the boy with his jar and his net
Bringing tadpoles home, his clothes all wet
Nature was fun.
I was the lad who was far too tough
To be caught enjoying this nature stuff,
All kaftans and rice.
I was the youth who enjoyed the thrill
Of discovering man has the power to kill.
Not very nice.

We all need the trees and the birds and the bees
And the frogs and the flowers
And the choice can be ours
But we're taking too long to decide what its worth
Remember, we've borrowed the Earth

Of course, there were times when the truth shone through
With the setting sun, or a sparkling dew
Beautiful sight
And now I'm a man who is happy to cry
When the swifts return to my favourite sky
Screaming in flight.
When I'm an old man with time to spare
How much of my wildlife will still be there
Its vanishing fast.
Will there still be larks in the summer sky
And returning swifts that can still make me cry
How long will they last?

We all need the trees and the birds and the bees
And the frogs and the flowers
And the choice can be ours
But we're taking too long to decide what its worth
Remember, we've borrowed the Earth

We're in danger of losing the earth.

Words: Chris Baines; 1987

I'm On Holiday!

As of today, I am officially 'on holiday'!

Some would say that is a pretty permanent situation as far as I'm concerned, but don't listen that sniping. At work, just like a swan, I may look calm, quiet and perhaps not doing very much, but there is a lot going on underneath!



For two weeks I escape the boss, the customers, the hassle of systems that don't work, other departments that don't work and colleagues that don't work! For two weeks my emails can pile up. For two weeks the whinging and whining of my staff will be someone else's problem. For two weeks I don't care. For two weeks, I don't have to catch the same crowded, smelly train to work staring at the same bored looking group of commuters. (The last is not quite true as my train's regulars are a bit of a jolly bunch and most of us do chat to pass the time.)



What am I going to do with this golden opportunity - nothing, as far as possible. Some bike rides, some walking, a trip down to London to see my sister and some work of my own on the computer.

The only downside to all this is that it's only for two weeks!

Anti-Semitic Or Justifiable Criticism

When attention turns to the Middle-East and the methodology of violence presently being purportrated, discussion very quickly starts to follow an egg-shell strewn path.

Let me, as clearly as I can, nail my colours to the mast. I have no time for extremism of any kind. The mess in the Middle-East is as much our fault, by that I mean the Western International community, as it is the participants presently wreaking havoc, death and misery to thousands in South Lebanon and Gaza.

In the early 20th Century, after the fall of the Turkish Ottoman Empire, under the terms of the Sykes-Picot Agreement, Palestine was mandated to the British, while Syria and Lebanon were mandated to the French. In November 1917, before Britain had conquered Jerusalem and the area to be known as Palestine, Britain issued the Balfour Declaration. The declaration was a letter addressed to Lord Rothschild, based on a request of the Zionist organisation in Great Britain. The declaration stated Britain's support for the creation of a Jewish national home in Palestine, without violating the civil and religious rights of the existing non-Jewish communities.

The British Mandate contained Jordan, Gaza and the "West Bank". Because no other peoples had ever established a national homeland in "Palestine" since the Jews had done it 2,000 years before, the British "looked favourably" upon the creation of a Jewish National Homeland throughout ALL of Palestine. The Jews had already begun mass immigration into Palestine in the 1880's in an effort to rid the land of swamps and malaria and prepare for the rebirth of Israel. This Jewish effort to revitalise the land attracted an equally large immigration of Arabs from neighbouring areas who were drawn by employment opportunities and healthier living conditions. There was never any attempt by the British, to "rid" the area of what few Arabs were there or those Arab masses that immigrated into this area along with the Jews!

During the years of the Palestine Mandate, from 1922 to 1947, large-scale Jewish immigration from abroad, mainly from Eastern Europe took place, the numbers swelling in the 1930s with the notorious Nazi persecution of Jewish populations. Palestinian demands for independence and resistance to Jewish immigration led to a rebellion in 1937, followed by continuing terrorism and violence from both sides during and immediately after World War II. Great Britain tried to implement various formulas to bring independence to a land ravaged by violence. In 1947, Great Britain in frustration turned the problem over to the United Nations.

After looking at various alternatives, the UN proposed the partitioning of Palestine into two independent States, one Palestinian Arab and the other Jewish, with Jerusalem internationalised (Resolution 181 (II) of 1947). One of the two States envisaged in the partition plan proclaimed its independence as Israel and in the 1948 war expanded its territory to occupy 77 per cent of the territory of Palestine in defiance of that resolution. Israel also occupied the larger part of Jerusalem. Over half the indigenous Palestinian population fled or were expelled. Jordan and Egypt occupied the other parts of the territory assigned by the partition resolution to the Palestinian Arab State which did not come into being.

In the 1967 war, Israel occupied the remaining territory of Palestine, until then under Jordanian and Egyptian control (the West Bank and Gaza Strip). This included the remaining part of Jerusalem, which was subsequently annexed by Israel. The war brought about a second exodus of Palestinians, estimated at half a million. Security Council resolution 242 (1967) of 22 November 1967 called on Israel to withdraw from territories it had occupied in the 1967 conflict which, again, Israel has failed totally to honour.

In 1974, the General Assembly reaffirmed the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people to self-determination, national independence and sovereignty, and to return.

Events on the ground, however, remained on a negative course. In June 1982, Israel invaded Lebanon with the declared intention to eliminate the PLO. A cease-fire was arranged. PLO troops withdrew from Beirut and were transferred to neighboring countries after guarantees of safety were provided for thousands of Palestinian refugees left behind. Subsequently, a large-scale massacre of refugees took place in the camps of Sabra and Shatila.

In September 1983, the International Conference on the Question of Palestine, which was widely attended, adopted inter alia the Geneva Declaration containing the following principles: the need to oppose and reject the establishment of settlements in the occupied territory and actions taken by Israel to change the status of Jerusalem, the right of all States in the region to existence within secure and internationally recognized boundaries, with justice and security for all the people, and the attainment of the legitimate, inalienable rights of the Palestinian people.

In December 1987, a mass uprising against the Israeli occupation began in the occupied Palestinian territory (the intifadah). Methods used by the Israeli forces during the uprising resulted in mass injuries and heavy loss of life among the civilian Palestinian population.

A peace conference in Madrid convened in October 1991 led to a "land for peace" agreement and Israeli recognition of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation and the development of Gaza and limited parts of the West Bank as Palestinian homelands. Israeli distrust of the PLO and it's leader Yasser Arrafat, along with the PLO's apparent inability to control Hamas, led to a deterioration of relations culminating in Israel sealing the border to Gaza and the building of a security wall in 2000 - 2001. At the same time, Israeli re-occupation of the West Bank started in defiance of UN resolution 338.

When one looks back over this history of hatred and violence, one is left with the feeling that Israel developed a rod for its own back. I have only skimmed the surface and highlighted a few of the more significant events, but weak British leadership in the 1930's and 40's allied with significant support from America under tremendous pressure from its indigenous Jewish population meant that Israel was allowed to become, almost, unfettered in it dominance and power. It's military might supplied by the US and the tacit encouragement it gets through lack of any real criticism, along with the lack of International support for the Palestinians, means Israel feels it can throw its weight around with impunity.

Israel's bully-boy tactics over many years has turned friends into enemies and enemies into terrorists. If only it could have learnt to live with neighbours instead of dominating them, and the International community had stood up to the fledgling Israel, then the history of the Middle-East could have been a lot different. Israel has stoked up a lot of anger against it, and until it recognises that, they will never find the peace and security it says it seeks.

Its most recent tactic of bombing and shelling indesciminately, only means that more terrorists will be created, and peace and security will be even more difficult to attain.

Maybe that is what the Israeli government actually wants - a state of war to perpetually exist. As Bush has discovered, it provide a wonderful opportunity for repression and atrocity

School Holiday Activities

Looking for something to occupy your children. It would seem that parents in the Middle-East might have the answer. See the happy expressions on these Shiite children as they sign their names on rockets that will shortly be blasted off to kill and maim Isreali children. Look how proud their mother looks in the background as she takes pictures of her children enjoying themselves.

It certainly keeps them out of trouble!

Or maybe they are Isreali children writing a message to their counter-parts in Lebenon.

Whether Isreali or Hezzballah, these pictures are sick.

Is it me, or has the world finally gone mad!

A Summer Sunday

Today has been a truly lovely day. The weather perfect. A great opportunity to chill out and relax.

The day kicked off with the annual charity bike ride between Manchester and Blackpool, a ride of 58 miles in aid of Christie's Cancer Hospital in Manchester. Most of the people cycling past looked pretty happy, but the day was still young, and it was going to get decidedly hotter. I wish them all well, and hopefully achieve their objective - Blackpool Tower. I intend to join them next year. There is further information on the Bike Events web site. There is another ride in September, - the Manchester 100. You can choose either 100 miles or 100 kilometers. I know which one I'm going to choose (I think kilometers is a great way to measure distance!)!

After we waved most of them by at the end of our road, Christine took the girls walking to drop Bethen off at her friends for a sleep-over. I decided to check out my newly serviced and updated bike (new saddle [about time], new panniers and new extension to the handle-bars) and so took it for a quick spin along the tow-path. It was amazing. I managed speeds I've never done before on this bike. Everything felt tight and slick - a real joy to ride. Afterwards, we all met up, - minus Bethen, at the Kirkless Hall pub for lunch, and spent the afternoon watching canal boats going through the locks.

A classic, perfect English summer's day.

Another Anniversary

Today is the anniversary of the London Bombings of July last year. 52 lives were lost, hundreds more were injured to varying degrees, hundreds more directly affected. It has left a trail of blighted lives, - husbands, wives, fathers, mothers, daughters, sons all taken on that day. All those people are in our thoughts today, and pray they find the strength to continue to strive for a fullfilling and peaceful life.

Has it changed us? Have we as a people changed? Certainly the Government thought we had and attempted to bring in draconian "anti-terrorist" legislation, - most of which has faced intense opposition from the population. For most of us, radically changing our lives and the basic principles upon which we define ourselves as a society, would mean that the terrorist would have won.

Terrible things will happen, and those who perpetrate those atrocities need to be hunted down and punished, but what we must never do is surrender to the terrorists which seems to have happened in America, and has almost happened here. We are a freedom and liberal loving society, and will resist all attempts of the executive where we can to use spurious and cycnical means to apply governmental control - for which I give thanks.

Independence Day

Taking this opportunity the thank America for the vigorous celebration of our 14th wedding anniversary. You really shouldn't, you know. You really should save your money, - lets face it, you've got a war to pay for and Haliburton share price to support, but we don't begrudge the effort.

The years seem to have flown by since then, and we have been joined by two fellow travelers in life, - our girls. Both of us have waited a long time before tieing the knot, and I for one do not regret a minute of it. When I look back at where we've traveled and how far we've come, I can't wait for the next few years.

So if you can, make one of those rockets for us. Thanks

Father's Day

Last Sunday was Father's Day, - not a traditional English celebration, but an American creation by Sonora Smart Dodd in 1909 and subsequently exported, and was designed to ensure that Dads also had their day and, more cynically, card manufacturers have another contrived day to make a profit! Personally, it doesn't really mean a lot to me, but I go along with it.

However, my kids did get me a card, and I felt it was rather good. It lists 10 things that Dads only ever hear in their dreams:

• "Dad, you must teach me some of your funky dance moves."
• "Dad, is there anything I can do for you?"
  
• "Dad, here's that fiver I borrowed from you."
• "Dad, nice shirt, could you give me some fashion tips?"
• "Dad, I couldn't possibly accept any more of your hard-earned cash."
• "Dad, don't give me any pocket money, treat yourself."
• "Dad, I'm listening."
• "Dad, I agree, that's enough of my cheek."
• "Dad, I won't be needing a lift tonight, you're not a twenty-four hour taxi service."
• "Yes Dad, you're right as always!"

Wouldn't all of the above help to make this world a better place? Ah well, at least I can dream.

The Football World Cup

Although football is not my most favourite of games, we are in the midst of a football and beer drinking fest, of which the England Football team are taking part (they are playing football, I'm drinking the beer!).

We have just completed the group stage which consists of a round-robin of matches with three other teams, - the top two going through to the knock-out stage. We have, so far, failed to have been fully convincing, but the important thing to remember is that we have come top of our group; we haven't lost a match; we've scored 5 goals with only 2 against. Although it has been frustrating, we are in the best position we could ever hope to be in at this stage.

Who said, supporting England would be easy!

Let's hope they are working hard as I type. On the whole, our defense and mid-field would seem to be pretty solid and with the possibility of Ferdinand and Neville coming back niggles and knocks, some of the indecision in defense is likely to be eliminated. Ferdinand and Terry are true World class.

Mid field, Gerrard seems to be firing on all cylinders, and Lampard is getting into shooting positions - eventually one will go in! My only doubts are up front. Crouch, at this level, looks a little off the pace, but he does hold the ball up well, Rooney is not yet fully match fit, but I'm sure he will start to make a real impression. What we need is to start playing as a team. We have the players, we just need the team-work.

Time to get behind them, and the beer in for Sunday's match against Ecuador. Well done England so far.

Is This The Sensible Way To Deal With Paedophiles

First off, I am a father of two children, and the thought of anything happening to them brings me out in a cold sweat and gives me sleepless nights. The idea of any pervert getting their hands on them frightened me, and if anyone did do anything, I would probably commit some offences of my own!

For some time, a tabloid newspaper , I suspect in search of sensationalist headlines, has been campaigning for something it calls 'Sarah's Law' after the assault and death of Sarah Payne six years ago and modeled on 'Megan's Law' in America.

Now I don't know how it works in the US, but from what the paper has said should happen would, I believe, lead to vigilantism and the driving of these people under-ground. Sure, those charged with protecting society should be fully aware of these people and where they are and what they are doing, but the rest of us? Do I really want to know that someone round the corner has a conviction for child abuse? If I did know, how would that effect the way I live, and how I parent my children? Would I want to do something about it? I honestly don't have an answer, but what I do know is that we shouldn't, at the whim of newspaper sales, destroy a cornerstone of British justice quickly and without sensible thought.

Moreover, the police are not happy with the way the debate in this country is going. Chief Constable Terry Grange told BBC News he was extremely concerned the Home Office had "surrendered" power over [child abuse] policy to the News of the World [newspaper].

When viewed emotionally, Sarah's (Megan's) Law would seem to be the answer, but intellectually, I feel it would be taking the wrong road. Child abuse and murder is an horrendous crime, and needs to be dealt with carefully, and with wisdom, not headlines.

Six years ago, the tabloid press, by 'outing' paedophiles, caused some of the worst scenes of vigilantism this country has seen in a centuary, and brought about the deaths of two people who had been mistakenly identified.

Finally, 90% of child abuse is perpetrated by someone the child knows, and is often a relative!

Suicide Is A PR Stunt!

Colleen Graffy, a senior foreign policy official in the Bush administration, has stated that three illegally detained people at Guantanamo Bay, 2 Saudi's and one from Yemen, killed themselves as part of a PR stunt! She said that the deaths were "... good PR move to draw attention," and, "a tactic to further the jihad cause."

The base commander and war criminal, Navy Rear Admiral Harry Harris, said that the suicides were "...not an act of desperation but an act of 'asymmetric' warfare against us".

Dr Muhammad Abdul Bari of the Muslim Council of Britain, said: "The deaths of these three men does not represent an 'asymmetrical act of war' as the Americans unbelievably claim, but rather an act of absolute desperation."

Former British inmate, Shafiq Rasul, added: "There is no hope in Guantanamo! The only thing that goes through your mind day after day is how to get justice or how to kill yourself.

"It is the despair - not the thought of martyrdom - that consumes you there."

I can't believe how far the people in the American administration have sunk in their view of humanity. There can be NO excuse to accuse those who have been interned illegally for years, of carrying out PR stunts. I agree that there is a message here. It is one of people without hope. People who have no other means of escape from the mental, and probable physical, torture. Of people who feel as if the world has abandoned them.

And of course, the moral tone of the administration is set by those at the top.

Quality Blogging Time

It is really weird, but this self-imposed task to blog is slipping a bit in recent times and I feel guilty!

Why should I feel guilty? For those who regularly visit, it has probably been noticable that I've recently been doing less and less blogs. Not because there is less and less going on in the world, nor is it because I am getting bored or lazy. It's just that my hours at work have changed, which means I get back at a more 'normal' time and the weather has been superb. The idea of sitting at the computer trying to think of something to say, is not as appealing as sitting in the garden with a pint of beer, listening to the birds (there are some blackbirds nesting in our hedge and the chicks are pretty noisy) and the children out playing.

Please check back from time to time, because, being Britain, it will rain at some time, and so I will be returning to the blog.

However, my main guilt in all this is that I've not gone visiting as much as I should, and for that I do apologise. I haven't forgotten you, and I will catch up soon.

Take care everyone.

Do We Never Learn

A London Assembly inquiry into the London bombings in July 2005 has found the in the initial moments, lack of communication and overall organisation very rapidly became a major problem when coping with the atrocities. They also found emergency first-aid points set up for just such an incident were empty of equipment, and people were having to go to local chemists and pharmacies to get bandages and plasters and antiseptics etc.

Eighteen years ago, a major fire took place at King's Cross underground where exactly the same circumstances were found. Reports then, stated that the number one priority was to ensure the ability of agencies to talk to each other both above ground and below, and, critically, between those at the surface and those down below.

They had 18 years to get it installed, tested and working properly, - why didn't they? I bet it had something to do with money!

It is important to state, that those who were first down and attended the injured, performed heroically, and used good imagination and thought to provide the best level of care they could give, given the circumstances, but they could have had much better back-up, resource and direction had the lessons of King's Cross been learnt and implemented.

The Seas Turn Red

Over the past few years, Japan has been actively lobbying fellow members of the International Whaling Commission and would appear to have a majority of the countries on its side to facilitate a return to commercial whaling.


For the past 20 years, only Norway, Iceland and Japan have been allowed to hunt and slaughter whales, supposedly for "scientific" purposes (though it seems strange that they need to take so many each year, and somehow end up in restaurants!). However, of the 60 country Commission, Japan now seems to have about 35 in its pocket.

A lot of these countries have never had whaling industry (some don't even have a coastline), such as Belize, Mali, Togo and Gambia - yet they will support Japan at the next Whaling Commission's meeting in St Kitts in June. Much of this support has been bought through lavish and cheap aid / loan agreements.

I just hope the whales appreciate this lavish attention! However, it is proof that you can't be complacent, even if you think the battle is won!

I make no apologies for the pictures!

Real Tragic News

News is coming through that Britain's oldest brewery is to be sold and all brewing to cease when a merger between two of the UK's foremost real-ale brewers merge.

The 400-year-old Ram Brewery in Wandsworth, London, is to be sold by Young & Co in a tie-up with Charles Wells, - the brewer of Bombardier Bitter. This will probably mean that approximately 90 jobs will be lost when Young's brewery operation is transfered to the Well's site at Bedford.

Is this a start of consolidation in the real-ale world. I hope not. I think I need a beer!

Are Dell Keylogging For America's Home Security Services

Quick post. Came across this on Moxiegrrrl's site which made me sit up and think. Someone dismantling their Dell Laptop came across a little gismo that sits between the keyboard and the integrated ethernet board, - an ideal position to intercept keystrokes!

Do read the article. It may be nothing, but in this day and age, it might very well be something. The letter this guy has from the DOHS would indicate they know something about it!

Iraq - An Exercise In Self-Delusion

Monday saw a surprise and secret visit to Bagdad by Tony Blair offering his support to the newly elected and installed Iraqi government. He flew in by helicopter direct into the Green Zone - that extremely heavily guarded enclave in Bagdad to deliver an up-beat message. It does seem strange that the worse things get in Iraq, the more positive Blair and Bush's pronouncements are on the subject!

What I found interesting was what he had to say: "We have a government of national unity that crosses all boundaries. Iraqi people are able to write the next chapter of their history themselves". The irony here is that as he was speaking those words, two car bombs exploded killing nine people along with the reported deaths of 23 others in various attacks bringing the death toll, so far in May, to 848. This is on top of the kidnappings and sectarian torture that is the daily fate for many who now exist in this American/UK generated mess.

There just seems to be so much ad odds with reality in what Blair was saying. First off, the fact that Iraqis do not have the ability to determine there own future is so obvious. The first Prime Minister, Ibrahim al-Jaafari, was basically forced out by the US who thought he wasn't suitable for their purposes. Secondly, yes there is a cross-sectarian government, but the government seems so divided that each ministry is basically run and staffed by the party that runs it. Funds are being milked and corruption is rife, but no-one can be sacked because that would upset the delicate balance that presently holds. Moreover, there is a Ministry of Tourism, but no Ministry of the Interior or Defence!

I am so angry about the mess these two idiots have made in the world. It is going to take generations to put right, and in the mean time everyone suffers either through cost (us) or death (the Iraqis).

Europe, - Centre Of Culture

On Saturday night, my family and I settled down to watch that pinnacle of culture, - the Eurovision Song Contest. In brief, it is a contest where European countries each enter a song (and singer(s), group etc) with the aim of selecting through a democratic process, the best song.

A number of problems with this is the political nature of the voting, - Greece won't vote for Turkey or vice versa, the Balkan countries all vote for each other, but not for Serbia, the Balkan states also all vote for each other, and also for Russia so they aren't offended. Ironically, the only country to give us maximum points, considering our history, was Ireland!

But this year, there was only ever going to be one winner, a Finnish 5-member combo who sang an up-lifting little number called "Hard-Rock Hallelujah". What made me want them to do well was that a Finnish right-wing politician thought they should be withdrawn. Anything that upsets a right-winger is alright by me!

But what really appealed were the conservative, but imaginative costumes of the members of the band. Not something you would see in Gap! I thought they looked lovely and would make very good ambassadors of European culture.

Where's My Silver Lining?

I've not been in the loop a lot recently, and not been able to get around or do very much in blogland over the last week or so.

Work has been manic, including coping with a customer who called us and then went into an epileptic fit while on the phone. Ordering an ambulance in Manchester for an address in Edinburgh was a bit of a novel experience.

With so many staff off on holiday or sick, I've hardly had any time to scratch my bum, let alone take a decent breather. Customers, contrary to all established dictacts, are not always right. In fact, they are generally wrong on most things, ordering items or services they are neither knowledgeable or competent to have or use! On top of that, being asked for advice by colleagues about this and that every five minutes, and for which they should know the answer, just adds to my general feeling of mallaise! Sometimes, it feels I'm in charge of school classroom, except, children seem to have some idea of what they are doing, whereas my team don't!

At present, I'm looking for a new job in a company with prospects, but that in itself is just as stressful, and I feel it is 2 steps forward and 1 step back. I don't hate my job, but I want one where I can see where I could get to over the next 10 years and I have a team of staff that have some idea of what they should be doing and why they are there.

But all this has given me little time and inclination to blog in any meaningful way. The same old b*****ds are telling the same old lies and playing the same old games, and in the meantime, we, the ordinary sods who really keep this world going, get more and more dumped on us.

What I need is some hope!

When Are We Going To Stop Letting The Terrorists Win?

Each and every day brings yet another government attack on our hard fought and won civil liberties. Tony Blair is furious that the courts can go against government decisions based solely on the rule of law! The government want some Afghan hijackers to be returned to almost certain death in Afghanistan, which the courts disagreed with. The totalitarian Britain of Tony Blair's dreams is on hold for a little longer.

But a much more cogently argued attack on Tony Blair's position on civil liberties and rights was argued in the Observer this weekend. I would recommend every one to have a read of it as it talks a lot of sense. Tony Blair (along with Bush in America) has set himself up as the protector of British "way of life", but seems ignorant of the fact that our "way of life" includes honesty, probity, fairness and the rule of law.

Every time we chip away our fabric of civil rights and liberties, the terrorist wins, and it is this intolerant and dictatorial government that glorifies terrorism.

This weekend, I got a copy of Neil Young's Living with War. Well worth listening to.