tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-63940951760811031982024-03-05T16:20:11.870+00:00bloggingthebobOne man's opinion on everythingBobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18420100571218818245noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6394095176081103198.post-88360803747649973182013-01-19T20:38:00.000+00:002013-01-19T20:48:45.077+00:00Why I am a Socialist<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmGKTOHLreT82nJJTuZjlBjfdwaLQK4cgPfQ3CduKaDJ5A0KezRe0pYBGI5OS57TwKI6wv_cJYOOSLKyzGXyTZMjQ_zfec_-yqg5WuwpYm2oK1fFCr6R8fW5wbryIXm1l5iDGKIeq4_eg/s1600/hammer-and-sickle.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmGKTOHLreT82nJJTuZjlBjfdwaLQK4cgPfQ3CduKaDJ5A0KezRe0pYBGI5OS57TwKI6wv_cJYOOSLKyzGXyTZMjQ_zfec_-yqg5WuwpYm2oK1fFCr6R8fW5wbryIXm1l5iDGKIeq4_eg/s320/hammer-and-sickle.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Socialism - The worldview where everyone is equally rich.<br />
Or is that equally eating out of bins?</td></tr>
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Did I make that title, <i>Why I am a Socialist</i>?<br />
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My mistake, what I meant to type was, <i>Why I am <b>not</b> a complete fucking idiot, IE, a Soshialistisheskia.</i><br />
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Read on to find out why it's better to be a dead, potted plant than a Socialist...<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>T</b><span style="font-size: small;">he <span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">problem</span> with </span></span></span>Logic is, it's forever proving people to be wrong. And the same can be said for the Socialist's argument for Socialism.<br />
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When debating with a member of the Reds, it's often good practice to leave the brain at the bottom of a compost-heap. For you can be quite assured that you're about to witness a spectacle, much akin to a Yorkshireman tell you why it makes sense for everyone to speak Yorkshireish, with a mouthfull of Pies and Gravy. And that is, a Red tell you that Socialism is good for everyone.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwAt9pxHoUjjEfxKuOABF6BH_nFBiq2ovs43Af5LHctObjHhOXQ9n3Axh19eWfZQQTvBh3LRERW8XHnR7bY_REfuMbPy5GIZ-QEf8-fhfUyYVW4y7VhFxNeIZKP7UVMgH55pwheCcO24s/s1600/Vladimir-Lenin-9379007-1-402.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwAt9pxHoUjjEfxKuOABF6BH_nFBiq2ovs43Af5LHctObjHhOXQ9n3Axh19eWfZQQTvBh3LRERW8XHnR7bY_REfuMbPy5GIZ-QEf8-fhfUyYVW4y7VhFxNeIZKP7UVMgH55pwheCcO24s/s200/Vladimir-Lenin-9379007-1-402.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">" </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">When one makes a Revolution, </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">one cannot mark time; </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">one must always go forward - or go back. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">He who now talks about the "freedom of the press" goes backward, </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">and halts our headlong course towards Socialism.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span><span style="font-size: x-large;">"</span></div>
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<b> -</b><i>Vladimir Lenin</i></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">LOGIC & WEALTH</span><br />
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When Thatcher made her last speech in Parliament in 1990, she pointed out very clearly the logic of the Socialist. A logical conclusion which states that the Socialist would rather the wealth gap be little but everyone be equally poor, as opposed to a greater wealth gap but overall wealth increased, even in the poorest strata.<br />
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The video of her making this point is viewable on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okHGCz6xxiw" target="_blank">YouTube</a>.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK4Ti55d4BKQzfzS4SX2GvJH6_O_cFjEiP5GqGuHesmUClEfaKed5ij3vA67YhhNBgu14uJ6Vl9ukExTqTLfd02tkjZqe6GtQJ9PDDuMew8s4JSbU5NzisPbl7-u6x9c6LjtDvikZ72aU/s1600/Thatcher.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="145" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK4Ti55d4BKQzfzS4SX2GvJH6_O_cFjEiP5GqGuHesmUClEfaKed5ij3vA67YhhNBgu14uJ6Vl9ukExTqTLfd02tkjZqe6GtQJ9PDDuMew8s4JSbU5NzisPbl7-u6x9c6LjtDvikZ72aU/s200/Thatcher.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: x-large;">"</span><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Yes, you would rather have the Poor poorer <span style="font-size: x-small;">provided</span> the Rich were less rich.</span></i><span style="font-size: x-large;">"</span><br />
- <i>Margaret Thatcher</i><br />
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Or, to conclude, to embrace Socialism is to force every single Man, Woman and Child a life whereby they are all equally poor, with no ability for the Child to ever grow to be a wealthy Man or Woman.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">GOVERNMENT INTERVENTI<span style="font-size: x-large;">ON</span></span><br />
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Another serious flaw within the worldview of Socialism, is the limitless reach of the Government's control over even the tiniest of details of its people's lives. The utter dictation of all speech, clothing, media, entertainment, news and even the type of house a person may live in. That said, this is a trait which can apply equally to the furthest right as well as the furthest left, that said, you have to go <i>extreme</i> right to begin such intrusion, whereas the left-persuasion will enter such control slightly earlier on the scale.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmusT8OapLFob88iH-rdxHbPrgnyho2-oYaZmzi-sYC4Z8Ma5zMe_6JrPKK7Dcjfg799wzkoPd54K-_iwNLz6myUMYVdAVywnmxnpy3HIJwHQ0IZLHtuuhM00nmrE132l9_P7XWpKRuq4/s1600/Belbaltlag--1932.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="152" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmusT8OapLFob88iH-rdxHbPrgnyho2-oYaZmzi-sYC4Z8Ma5zMe_6JrPKK7Dcjfg799wzkoPd54K-_iwNLz6myUMYVdAVywnmxnpy3HIJwHQ0IZLHtuuhM00nmrE132l9_P7XWpKRuq4/s200/Belbaltlag--1932.gif" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fancy a duvet-day? Think again.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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Finally, one of the Government's most intervened aspects to its economy, is the work which its people conduct and, more crucially, the speed at which it is conducted.<br />
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Let's take the USSR's 5 year plans as an example. When people are told to mine <i>x </i>amount of Coal each day and, when they fail to do so, are <i>shot</i>. When people pull a duvet-day, they are <i>shot. </i>Survivors will be shot again. Or maybe sent to a Gulag where they'll be worked until they either A) die of exhaustion and malnutrition, or B) are <i>shot.</i><br />
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<a href="http://stevehollier.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/stalin1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="195" src="http://stevehollier.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/stalin1.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">"</span><span style="font-size: x-small;">One death is a tragedy. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">A million deaths is a statistic.</span><span style="font-size: x-large;">"</span></div>
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- <i>Joseph Stalin</i></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">CONCLUSION </span><br />
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Personally, I would rather meek out a poor existence in a free society than live a supposed 'rich' existence in a society whereby I am not allowed to read books on why wheat can't be grown in January.<br />
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It is up to the reader to form their own conclusions about the perils of Socialism. In this article, merely a few aspects have been covered about a worldview which deprives its people of choices, knowledge and freedom.<br />
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Perhaps a Red would care to respond to this article offering reasons to my contrary. Though I suspect any such argument will be filled with mantra around the majority of capitalists work for and constantly increase the wealth of the superrich.<br />
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That said, civil liberties are to me more important than my wallet.<br />
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Which is why I'd rather be a dead, potted plant than a Socialist.Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18420100571218818245noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6394095176081103198.post-89750899819804711752011-01-21T21:26:00.000+00:002011-01-21T21:26:30.811+00:00What Are Modern Countries' Agendas?<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a0/Clausewitz.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a0/Clausewitz.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
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</tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;">Carl von Clausewitz - They don't make 'em like that no more.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">The Kingdom of Prussia was one of Europe's most formidable empires. It rose in the early years of the last Millennium, something to do with the Arabic world, I think, and then proceeded to form what is now the Germany of Today. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">The Witz was their most famous and successful Leader.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Whilst reading up recently about a Prussian military victory over the German city of Mainz and how Clausewitz's force of some 40,000 men and 200 cannons captured it within a matter of weeks from the 17,000 men & 170 cannoned Garrison of French.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">In traditionally French style, they marched out of the town whistling La Marseillaise, flying the sort of flags you might see on a Persil advert.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">The French somehow considered this whopping great defeat to be a whopping great victory...</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">And then I began doing a bit of further reading into other Military victories - of which there are thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, that have collected over the past two thousand years. Us Europeans are a greedy bunch. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">All it takes is for you to run out of milk and before you can make it back from the shops, there's a fleet of Spaniards, sailing up your lawn.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Fucking Spaniards.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Anyhow.. - so I was reading about all these military victories, from great victories still celebrated today, such as the Battle of Stanford Bridge - where one drunken Yorkshireman fended off, like, ten billiontrillion Vikings, with a stick, to some of history's greatest arsekickings, such as the British efforts in 1940 Dunkirk.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Then a thought occurred to me. What are we fighting for today?</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">I don't mean Afghanistan or Iraq - I mean on the Grand Scheme of Things - what are we fighting for?</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Back in the 'old days', IE, pre 1901, the end to the Boer War - in my opinion the last 'land grab' war, Countries had Agendas.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Look at the Spaniards during the Armada years - their Empire was not to be trifled with and they controlled the continents of the Americas. The French had their foothold too - in India, where they were a bloody pest to us, and other Caribbean Islands, where they were also a bloody pest to us, and also in Canada... where again.. they were a bloody pest to us.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">At the end of the day - Britain won. She did better than the rest.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">But yet, I talk about all this in the past tense - because it is in the past. In this modern World, there no longer exists any form of Agenda apart from Economy. OK - it's good that we no longer have enormous slaughtering matches like those of Ypres, WWI. May such a bloody battle never occur again. Half a million men lost their loves over one town - which ultimately was removed from the map due to the fighting that killed those men.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">But it will happen again. And again, and again, and again.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Where are our Countries going?</div><div style="text-align: left;">When will the lines of the modern Map change?</div><div style="text-align: left;">In what direction will they change?</div><div style="text-align: left;">How many men will die making them change?</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Because rest assured - WWII is not the last, great war. It is simply the greatest war we know.</div>Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18420100571218818245noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6394095176081103198.post-1896643593957690192010-06-14T20:52:00.000+01:002010-06-14T20:53:23.864+01:00Seven billions?! We're all doomed<i style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;"></span></i><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_3VV_LuAIteknoTQFLttzjYHvVHAmYLyxdgAWbk1TUCI2Ub8cq6nFbogdr2sGMq9Hr7jQTdgc08cvKvPYGFaITVP_5mQuExEdqeBPwX9GKHLfOULD4KCSAJL0q7WQkYNi_1Xp5Ufnvxo/s1600/linearpopgrowth.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_3VV_LuAIteknoTQFLttzjYHvVHAmYLyxdgAWbk1TUCI2Ub8cq6nFbogdr2sGMq9Hr7jQTdgc08cvKvPYGFaITVP_5mQuExEdqeBPwX9GKHLfOULD4KCSAJL0q7WQkYNi_1Xp5Ufnvxo/s320/linearpopgrowth.jpg" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Natural Selection, n~ </span></span></i></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The process by which forms of life having traits that better enable them to adapt to specific environmental pressures, as predators, changes in climate, or competition for food or mates, will tend to survive and reproduce in greater numbers than others of their kind, thus ensuring the perpetuation of those favorable traits in succeeding generations.</span></span></i></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">- Dictionary.com</span></span></i></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">S</span>ome scientists will affirm that it took the modern-day <i>Homo-Sapien</i> (human) 100,000 years to evolve from our predecessor. Some scientists affirm the first 'Homo' genus (us) evolved from apes, 6,000,000 years ago.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;">Estimates approximate we reached the milestone population of 1bn humans on the year 1803. To assume this is all correct, that meant it took us 5,999,793 years to reach the population of 1bn. Then it took us <i>only</i> 207 years to reach SEVEN billion.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;">The above graph details this very clearly and it's fair to say that the world, which we blindly in our daily scavange live in, is undergoing some radical change.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">Start hitting the gym</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;">Natural selection, whether you believe it to be 'law' or whether you believe it to be 'God's will', is evident. In nature, as demonstrated by Charles Darwin in many different ways, it is the smartest, the fittest and the quickest that will always prevail it's existance. Luck plays a part, IE, where you are born - but regardless - if nature decides all the dandelions in a field will perish/flourish - then they will do so.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;">That is unless, of course, a human decides to kill the dandelions with pesticide, or plant some dandelion seeds and bring further life. In the long-run however, nature will eventually get her way, long when the humans are gone.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;">And contrary to the graph above, not all of us, but a lot of us, are going to go.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;">The general concensus for this topic is that we're all fucked. I'm not a tree-hugger but I understand trees are taller than me, harder than me, older than me, better at living than me and given the choice, mother nature would probably rather have 7 billion trees than 7 billion me's.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">"It'll never happen to me!"</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><br />
Peaking between 1348 and 1350, the Black Death is estimated to have erradicated anywhere around 25% of the <i>total population of humans on planet earth</i>. Estimates approximate 60% of those deaths occured in Europe - the place where 'medicine' and 'technology' was most advanced at that time.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;">Now, we may think ourselves invincible. People will argue against me here - "Look at the technology we have!", "Look at the medicines we have discovered!". While we look back at the 14th century and know just how primitive life was back then - it's fair to say, they probably thought themselves invincible too. Then the strong arm of our mother, like a callous grim reaper, feeding off the decay and stench of death - swept us a crippling blow that saw us deplete by 100 millions in the space of around 2 years.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;">They were not invincible back then and despite advances, we are not invincible now.</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: large;">I hate standard form, but I still did this...</span> </span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;">Water is lifted from the rivers and streams to the clouds where it rains down upon us. It is collected and drank and will eventually enter the same perpetual motion that has existed for billions of years continues.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;">Estimates claim we humans use only 1% of all water on Earth, or between 7bn people as a percentage, each that's<b><b> </b></b>1.42857143 × 10<sup>-10%</sup></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><sup><br />
</sup></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><sup><span style="font-size: small;">But what about when the population reaches 14bn, 28bn, 56bn. Sure, we could probably create our own rain clouds using gasses and electricity, but really, do you <i>honestly</i> believe the human existance could reach 52 <i>billion</i> people, given the current strain we have already put on our resources?!</span></sup></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><sup><span style="font-size: small;">Oil is all but run out - in 60 years, there will be no more oil. Then gas will run out. What will fuel the billions of cars then? Hydrogen? Exactly what will we make the hydrogen-storage-tanks from that we haven't yet invented? Sticks? I doubt it.</span></sup></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><sup><span style="font-size: small;">What about timber? Each year, we currently munch through the rainforests in south America at a rate of an area the size of England every year. There are only going to be so many quarries the size of small countries that we humans will allow before we switch to an alternatives of bricks and mortar. Then what? Horse-shit houses again?</span></sup></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><sup><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></sup></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><sup><span style="font-size: small;">I doubt our successors will settle for horse-shit houses - we won't even do that.</span></sup></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><sup><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></sup></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><sup><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: large;">At our current rate - it's simply unsustainable.</span> </span></sup></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><sup><span style="font-size: small;">We just about get by with 7bn people - 56bn?! An absolutely laughable figure.</span></sup></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><sup><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></sup></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><sup><span style="font-size: small;">Thank the Lord for penacillin. How many millions of lives has that miracle-drug saved? It cures just about everything!</span></sup></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><sup><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></sup></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><sup><span style="font-size: small;">Already, after 50 years of using mosquito-spray to help combat malaria in Africa, have the bugs began fighting back. Malaria is already changing its genetics to aid it's survival against our war and the mosquitos are becomming immune to the pesticide at an alarming rate.</span></sup></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><sup><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></sup></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><sup><span style="font-size: small;">Alexander Fleming first discovered the properties of Penicillin in 1928. Penicillin is only 82 years old! What happens when common tonsilitis is no longer combatable by Penicillin? It <i>will</i> build its own antibodies to our drug, it's only a matter of time.</span></sup></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><sup><span style="font-size: small;">What about something a little more sinister like Syphilis? You probably laugh as you read that - but you laugh only because of Penicillin's ability to eradicate it. What happens when Penicillin is useless against Syphilis? We will use another drug to treat it - but what about when <i>that</i> drug becomes useless?</span></sup></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><sup><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></sup></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><sup><span style="font-size: small;">There are only so many drugs we can discover in time quick enough to eradicate disease before disease eradicates us.</span></sup></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><sup><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: large;">Conclusion? </span></span></sup></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><sup><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></sup></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><sup><span style="font-size: small;">The question is - what disease will dwindle us? When will it dwindle us? And how bad will it dwindle us?</span></sup></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><sup><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></sup></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><sup><span style="font-size: small;">And what about humans ourselves?! Already we have through wars, killed over a hundred million of our own kind! If that's what we do to ourselves, what will we do to other species?! (that we haven't yet made extinct).</span></sup></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><sup><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></sup></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><sup><span style="font-size: small;">In the history of planet Earth's known existence, we are merely a blip. Not even a splodge of ink on a page, not a single blade of grass in a football field.</span></sup></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><sup><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></sup></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><sup><span style="font-size: small;">It is my personal belief that we are not here to stay - as much as we'd like to. And unless we take action against;</span></sup></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><sup><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></sup></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><sup><span style="font-size: small;">1) Our consumption of the natural environment, IE, logging, gas & oil, timber and minerals and;</span></sup></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><sup><span style="font-size: small;">2) The rate at which we reproduce, IE, by effective and enforced means of contraception be it voluntary or involuntary;</span></sup></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><sup><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></sup></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><sup>Then simply, we're fucked.</sup></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><sup><span style="font-size: small;">Evenin' all. </span></sup></div>Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18420100571218818245noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6394095176081103198.post-82473602686479416212010-05-14T23:02:00.000+01:002010-05-14T23:03:33.046+01:00Language - The reason of treason?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHf_bTowhFyQW-logdOFvWQwM9cvP2vqZUCScFZGq9DNuCa1qjNF7Yq1tavk5VauhN_yS-KlDIhu7AbhXsXvbrsJ0W_axci4zkjpcdRBvwzO0UzvRKe-36j3duceMS7MJweYYAlQIWZuk/s1600/lmfao.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHf_bTowhFyQW-logdOFvWQwM9cvP2vqZUCScFZGq9DNuCa1qjNF7Yq1tavk5VauhN_yS-KlDIhu7AbhXsXvbrsJ0W_axci4zkjpcdRBvwzO0UzvRKe-36j3duceMS7MJweYYAlQIWZuk/s320/lmfao.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><i>"Not on my watch"</i></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;">- Ukraine's equivalent to Ian Paisley</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><br />
</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;">The Greek debt crisis is rather bad. The British debt crisis is even worse.</div><div style="text-align: center;">So why, when Britain has twice the debt with even harsher spending cuts, that we don't take to the streets with pitchforks?</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Different cultures - of course - but what led us to be the way we are?<br />
<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><a name='more'></a><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">A</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">pparently we're all equal, according to modern-day leftist ideology. "Everyone is the same" children are taught. But let's face it, we're not all the same. Every land on the planet shares only one thing in common - that is, we all speak <i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">a</span> </i>language.</span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><i><br />
</i></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">When Ukrainian parliament met last month to discuss the continuation of Russian naval presence in Ukrainian waters, let's just say, words were said. Some politicians even managed to verbalise their thoughts on the matter with eggs and smoke-bombs.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Indeed, it is fair to say from the view of 'civilised society', that the Ukraine is lacking mannered decorum. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">I wonder what Ukrainians would have done if a man called Gordon Brownski was made their premier tomorrow, despite not having been voted by the electorate.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Would they waken up the next morning to a bowl of cornflakes and go about the next 3 years, endless complaining and bickering over the specifics of the situation, or would they dawn their lynching gloves and go for a stroll to 10 Downingski Street?</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Maybe they wouldn't be that hasty - but let's face it - they'd have done more than any English speaking country.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Really, when was the last time an English speaking country had a bust-up in Parliament?</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">And I think I may have an idea, why.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">I'm by no means Angela Merkel, but I know enough about the German language to know that words, which when translated from German to English, lose a lot of the real meaning.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">It's hard to say exactly what I mean here, but bare with me for the next few wild tangents, and hopefully I can mean what I say.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><i><b>"My philosophy on life is..."</b></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><i>"Meine Philosophie am Leben ist..."</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><i><br />
</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><i><b>"My opinion on sport is..."</b></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><i><br />
</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><i>"Meine Meinung am Sport ist..."</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><i><br />
</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><i><b>"My feeling on Music is..."</b></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><i><b><br />
</b></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><i>Mein Gefühl am Musik ist..."</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><i><br />
</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><i><b>"Meine Weltanschauung am die Volks ist..."</b></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><i><b><br />
</b></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><i>"My... something meaning all of the above, on the people is...</i></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Pronounced "Velt-an-shau-ung", Weltanschauung means literally all the above English words and more. When translated to English, it will give 'opinion', although, so does Meinung... so while we have two or more words in English that mean opinion (which we do) they each have their own more subject specific meanings, whereas, opinion is kind of how you describe something in your eyes, philosophy is your outlook on the world and civilisation, feeling is how you sense the social acceptability of a topic.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Although they all mean much the same thing - they are all used in different ways - therefore, giving them each their own, what I will call, "perceived feelings".</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">What I mean by perceived feeling is, that even when two or more words mean the same thing, when perceived by the listener, depending on the listener's 'Weltanschauung', then that will depend on how the listener interprets the speaker's word.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">So perhaps those who speak other languages have minor differences in what we consider to be the translated meaning.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">For example, in English, when judging a thief in a court of law, the Jury may cry "let <i>Justice</i> be served".</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">This is a phrase which is safe to assume that it means the exact same thing in every language. And it does, supposedly. Justice looks very similar when you translate it to a lot of languages, such as German and French... so why does Justice mean 18 months in Wandsworth to a Londoner but hanging from a tree to an Afghanistani?</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">The reason I believe, is because the <i>perceived feeling</i> of Justice to an Afghanistani is very different to the <i>perceived feeling</i> of Justice to a Brit.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Things get lost in translation, surely, like our German word Weltanschauung. But why do different cultures and civilisations have such wild variances of the perceived feelings of words which are, when translated, of great likeness in either language?</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">There absolutely must be something at the absolute root of thinking which alters how we react to certain things and perceive the world around us and more importantly, <i>understand, </i>the world around us.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">How do we perceive the world around us? By thinking. How do we think? We talk to ourselves inside our heads. So what is thought dependant on? Language. If languages change, will thoughts change?</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">The logical answer would be yes.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">All of this to me is startling. At first I thought it perfectly logical, but then I thought in depth further and have pondered the potential implications of perceived feeling going awry when it is needed most.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Let's say, hypothetically and for talk's sake, a French person is arrested and imprisoned overnight for calling a police officer a dickhead.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">To us, that's a bit of a faux pas. But to our unwitting Frenchman, dickhead could be 'along the same lines' but 'not even half' as harsh as the British perceived feeling of the word.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">So when he was locked up, was that fair? Although the same word, the 'dickhead' the Frenchman used, was not the same 'Dickhead' the British policeofficer perceived.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">To no fault of the Frenchman, he has found himself in jail for the night because the perceived feeling of a word was lost in translation.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Surely, you could argue that the Frenchman should abide by British culture - but how do you teach to someone else the differences of perceived feelings of words?</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">It's not like a moral conduct such as theft. If the Frenchman had have stolen from a shop, irrespective of where in the world he may be, then justice would be served. But one word to Tom isn't the same word to Harry.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Anyway, I can't explain it any better than that, so if I've failed, then it's not your fault, or mine, perhaps we just share different perceived feelings of words.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Or you're a dickhead.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">----</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Related links</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1269139/Egg-bombs-hurled-Ukraine-parliament-Russia-Black-Sea-fleet-deal-ratified.html">Ukrainian version of PMQs</a></span></div></span></span></div></span>Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18420100571218818245noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6394095176081103198.post-6866691387852692102010-01-19T03:06:00.000+00:002010-01-19T03:25:47.026+00:00Better safe, than sorry, or are we?<div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaqC6lHFT8HpNeIA8Tynbd-XooviqCiEnFhSejrdBLyykWxFvEeF1nu7T0Q3IXv33988nkzmHmeioLwgps3iGS1jNE5-9XsT7u1F4o4Gpz3xPhfa5TwDDco9XTx9FHmyhh8gvZdQccFzY/s1600-h/DDT+graph.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaqC6lHFT8HpNeIA8Tynbd-XooviqCiEnFhSejrdBLyykWxFvEeF1nu7T0Q3IXv33988nkzmHmeioLwgps3iGS1jNE5-9XsT7u1F4o4Gpz3xPhfa5TwDDco9XTx9FHmyhh8gvZdQccFzY/s320/DDT+graph.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><br />
<b>It's an interesting thought I think.</b><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>"Better safe, than sorry" - Is it really good advice?</b><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Concluded from some thinking, me personally, I'm not so sure.</b><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><a name='more'></a><div style="text-align: left;">Every single day we take risks. From waking up in the morning and commuting to and fro our place of work, to coming home and putting on the stove.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">There are certain things which we as humans do and have done for a very long time. We never stop and giv it a thought, but our lives are completely ruled by risk assessment.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Not the stupid type of risk assessment as is conducted in the office by over-zealous, flourescent-jacket & white-hard-hat-wearing, office inspectors, who explode with rage and hysterical fear, while simultaneously breaking down into tears shouting, <i>"The world is going to end!!!", </i>at the mere sight of a trailing wire.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">I'm talking about the risk assessment that we subconsciously undertake in our daily monotony.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">And that's when risk gets truly risky. It's also, when we humans, are at our most illogical when we need least to be.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Consider this thought for a brief second.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">After September 11th, 2001, after the twin towers were attacked, the American people went absolutely ape-shit about boarding a plane anywhere. People were so convinced that the plane they would travel on would be destined for a building somewhere in New York, that they opted for their cars instead.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>"Better safe than sorry" </i>is probably something they said once or twice.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">We humans are habitual creatures. Because of our habits, we often care not to give risk any real consideration.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Perhaps if we try something new and risky, say, climbing & abseiling, we will then consciously weigh up the possibility of something going awry and resulting in injury or our own death.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">But because we are so wound-up in our habits, we forget to perform this risk assessment on menial, frequent, tasks.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">When was the last time you considered the <i>real </i>numerical<i> </i>risk involved, in crossing a road? And what about crossing the road without the aid of a pelican, or even more deadly, zebra crossing?<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">We simply don't ever consider it because we've done it thousands of times and are well accustom to the routine which has become hard-wired in our memories, as being a 'safe' action.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">It is for this very reason, that Americans took to their cars in the thought that it was safer than flying. Little did they consider, that the chances of an American crashing their car in 2001 was 1 in 1,000. Versus the chances of death-by-flying at being 1 in 46,000.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Because of what they witnessed on television, and God-forbid, on the very street they live on, their gut instinct suddenly branded flying as being a one-way-ticket to certain death.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Though the real risk was much higher to drive than it was to fly. 46 times higher, in fact.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Due to their "better safe than sorry" attitude, they took the riskier option, and that's why exactly a year after the twin towers, there were an additional 3,500 deaths on the road ontop of their normal road traffic accident expectations from the previous year.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">That number meant more people died on the roads in America, as a result of the twin towers being attacked, than there were people actually killed <i>by</i> the twin towers being attacked.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Another example I can think of is the now-outlawed chemical, DDT, or <i>dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane</i>, if your tongue has the two holes in its either side which would enable you to pronounce such a mouthful of a word.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">DDT was an absolute wonder when it was first synthesised in 1874. It was soon banned, just short of its 100th birthday, in 1972.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">During the second world war, it was noted that DDT was absolutely wonderful at combating malaria and typhus, and also extremely effective at killing the mosquitoes and lice which carried both diseases.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">So effective was it, that by the latter half of WW2, it had effectively rid the entire of Europe and America of the deadly malaria and typhus that both infected rampantly and with fatal outcomes in most cases.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Europe, while still battling the Nazis, had won the fight against disease and illness.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">To reiterate just how good a chemical and how effective it was at treating malaria, the founder of its ability to kill malaria and typhus, was in 1948, awarded the Nobel peace-prize.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">People <i>loved</i> DDT.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">It was then discovered to be the most effective pesticide and became the norm, at an at the time unknown risk to birds and the ecosystem in general.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Then along came a woman called Rachel Carson who wrote a book called <i>Silent Spring, </i>which claimed that DDT was a major contributor to destroying the environment and killing wildlife, especially birds, and had DDT banned while effectively getting the ball rolling for the modern day environmentalist movement.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Personally, I think she was probably one of those left-wing, climate-change zealot, vegetarian, lesbian, types. But whatever, her book sold very well, and DDT was soon seen as a potential cancer-causing, bird-killing, chemical of death, despite its accomplishments.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Due to Ms Carson, DDT would eventually become banned under the Stockholm Convention, preventing its use in Africa, a country which could have benefited from some effective malaria treatment.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Now the people who had it banned, knew that it killed birds, that much was true, but what they truly weren't sure about is whether it caused cancer. They found that people with cancer had, what the environmentalists called, 'contamination in the body', from DDT.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">What they failed to mention was, that said contamination was unlikely to be the cause of cancer, because it was never found to be any more than 1 part per billion in most people. Some, trillion.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">It wasn't likely that DDT was causing cancer, let's put it that way.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Though what the envioronmentalists said to the government, which they could not argue with, was that it "might" cause the cancer, and that it is "better safe, than sorry".<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">The birds began to flourish again, now that their habitats and food weren't soaked in chemicals.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">At a cost to Africa becoming dominated by malaria as its biggest killer, despite the rest of the world being virtually cured of the disease, solely due to DDT.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">The environmentalist's "safe than sorry" attitude, would go on to kill millions, if not billions more people, in the years that followed DDT's ban, due to its non-use. A complete opposite result to its desired effect.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">So again, is it really better to be safe than sorry? The very attitude killed more people than the twin-towers attacks and has resulted in Africa becoming a malaria cordon-zone<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">More often than not, there is more risk in not acting than there is in acting the actions we consider to be 'risky'.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">If the world had considered the use of DDT as being 'possibly somewhat risky', but decided to keep its use, in light that it may rid the <i>entire</i> plant of malaria, then the chances are, nothing would have changed much today, except a lot of people would be cured from malaria.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Maybe one person in a thousand would have died from DDT. But surely this is better than the millions that are killed each year due to malaria.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">I could definitely drag this on even longer, but I think with those examples it should be blazingly obvious that it's not always better to be safe, than it is to be sorry.<br />
<br />
So the next time you consider taking the 'safe' route, just ask yourself, what knock-on effects could this safe-route have? And will those knock-on effects be riskier than the initial risky incident that caused you to take the safe route in the first place?<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Some food for thought.<br />
</div>Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18420100571218818245noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6394095176081103198.post-22956440022498268052009-12-12T07:22:00.000+00:002009-12-12T07:31:28.781+00:00Europe - The greatest place that man can conceive<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnJNJeeQYaE-6Nlep9JDQrz0DBy2P_IB5AipTWiZB6xtEgYYaK4ltXYD-qsRrBFoqo1ikpCk5I1G3omx63YxADK0ghicq0iT6hLnlN8i80V6hy6o3YlWKXhMqjrJg-ACBgBrTmQ2O3aso/s1600-h/P19-07-09_16.10%5B02%5D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnJNJeeQYaE-6Nlep9JDQrz0DBy2P_IB5AipTWiZB6xtEgYYaK4ltXYD-qsRrBFoqo1ikpCk5I1G3omx63YxADK0ghicq0iT6hLnlN8i80V6hy6o3YlWKXhMqjrJg-ACBgBrTmQ2O3aso/s320/P19-07-09_16.10%5B02%5D.JPG" /></a><br />
</div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>"Ahhhhhhhhhh"</i><br />
</div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Perhaps had I have spent 35 days in south-east Asia, I would consider it the greatest place in the world. As it happens, I didn’t spend 35 days in SE Asia this summer past, I spent them travelling Europe by rail.<br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Let me make it known that no words in the English language or any language for that matter can explain exactly just how brilliant, how awe-inspiring and how beautifully intricate Europe is.<br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">From bullet ridden buildings in Bosnia to the ornate and magnificent Habsburg parliaments in Vienna, Europe offers a completely different flavour, a completely different texture, a completely different sight, a completely different smell, a completely different world – and all you have to do is cross a border and all these things will take on a brand new and exciting form.<br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Its people, its history, its food, its music, its art, its architecture, its pleasure, its business, its night, its day, its politics, its reformists, its views, its sounds, its smells, its tastes.<br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">They all make up the continent of Europe but yet, they are all irrelevant. The reason I say this is because every single country has something else; something new, something better, maybe different, but never worse.<br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">When my mind drifts back to my time in Europe, my imagination lifts off like Concorde and it flies through a mountain gorge, it dives through the deepest clear waters, it gallops through dense forests and meanders through towns and cities. I try to explain my feeling through rhetoric but honestly, I’ll never be fully satisfied with this text because it will never paint the full accurate picture. Now, it is a time restricted to my memories, and every time I think of them, I’m lost within.<br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Many times I’ve tried to analyse why I loved my time in Europe so much and I think the best explanation I can come up with, is that it’s the only time in my life when I didn’t have to consider.<br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Consider what? You may ask. To my reply; anything.<br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The only thing that I planned was where I was going to sleep. Not where I was going, just where I would sleep when I got there.<br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>This church in a suburb of Bratislava is an example of many hidden gems in Europe.</i><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg3C1EybxZk6jpiqy2Su-jKWpAnE3UzqNxckI6fS_s-LtDJPh6sBpdoXfASiJsOii3rEOoKGrSFzWmIXSLfWanigrEA22vIWY2l6KLJIVcpfXnoV6-Thc69nHnRuiQUmRCTDFyURkA398/s1600-h/brat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg3C1EybxZk6jpiqy2Su-jKWpAnE3UzqNxckI6fS_s-LtDJPh6sBpdoXfASiJsOii3rEOoKGrSFzWmIXSLfWanigrEA22vIWY2l6KLJIVcpfXnoV6-Thc69nHnRuiQUmRCTDFyURkA398/s320/brat.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">As I hovered over my Europa road-map purchased in Belgrade, in a Swiss hotel lobby, I decided my next move would see me in Liechtenstein. After a swift booking of a bed in a very alpine looking lodge, perhaps I would go for lunch, or just a dander for a cigarette by the river, or maybe I would visit the sights or simply walk around and wait for a hidden gem to fall on my lap, as happened in Basel, Switzerland, when I came across the military tattoo. Hundreds of Scottish looking chaps all dressed in kilt tooting their bagpipes. T’was like I never left the UK at all. And for the first time I missed home. Though the misery was soon swept aside by the world’s fattest sausage with the most strong-tasting mustard I have ever had the pleasure of wallowing my face in - and a pint. <br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I would probably literally kill for just one more sausage/mustard/pint combo.<br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Other examples I may offer are of the spontaneous nature that travelling will submerge you in. While I walked the Munich streets after lavishing on a burger king, I decided that I would simply lift my bags from the hostel and take a train to the black forest and camp the night under the stars in nothing more than a plastic bag. As it happened, I got on the train, fell asleep and then awoke in Frankfurt airport which was a confusing mess – “This isn’t a forest” – but was soon heading south on the train for Basel, where I would simply hop off at the black forest en-route.<br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I boarded my second train from Frankfurt and after a chat with a dim-witted American army reserve as to why Britain and America are the greatest nations on Earth – I was soon fast asleep and on my way to missing my stop completely and arriving at Basel, a city I had no intention of ever visiting. <br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">“Oh well. I’m here now.” (It’s probably this attitude which I treasured most)<br />
<br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">There were many times while walking through Europe that I thought to myself, “I’m not appreciating this”. I thought to myself, “You are in Europe, you can go anywhere you want any time you want and money is no issue. Yet, I am not appreciating this.”<br />
<br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">It was at these times when I stopped to reflect and I came to the conclusion that it was those times that I would remember most, above all else. And I was right.<br />
<br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">When my eyes receive the pleasure of a map of Europe, the movie theatre in my mind becomes alive with people and acts. I picture the insignificant things. The fish I ate in Lille sitting outside with the awning protecting me from the lashing rain. The view from my one-car-train taking me from Vienna to Braunau-am-Inn, in the west of Austria, across open fields and farmland. Staring down from the train at the most brilliant colour of blue I have ever seen, rushing over the rocks and dancing around the riverbank and looking up to see soaring, snow-covered mountains reaching high into the Alps.<br />
<br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I don’t know what I had hoped for from Europe – but whatever it was, I got it – and was given much more.<br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">If only my words portrayed thought and my images portrayed emotion – because without ever embarking on the same journey – it is impossible for you to understand.<br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">All in all, 17 countries (some not on labelled on map, IE, travelling from Italy to Croatia by car when I first arrived, we drove through Slovenia. We stopped for food so that counts! But not enough to label it...) and 35 days outside of the UK.<br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Travel Europe.<br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">You won’t regret it.<br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>Click <a href="http://img199.imageshack.us/i/europemapt.jpg/">here</a> for larger image and THEN click the image to make it larger, again. Cities in blue have been visited on separate occasions.</i><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKYqbhuxtTu1U8C5ZzDzrliqGRO_iVA3OAKI2vijchq3z9xJar9E-2vXDD5tpqFXQGFoQreNfKcw79jnCAv8c-A1q5CAXKxP_MtW-vC_FnlL3cJGSuouyrGskmpXWBlXT4cM0TskYyuO8/s1600-h/Europe+map.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKYqbhuxtTu1U8C5ZzDzrliqGRO_iVA3OAKI2vijchq3z9xJar9E-2vXDD5tpqFXQGFoQreNfKcw79jnCAv8c-A1q5CAXKxP_MtW-vC_FnlL3cJGSuouyrGskmpXWBlXT4cM0TskYyuO8/s320/Europe+map.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i><br />
</div>Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18420100571218818245noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6394095176081103198.post-33896444795752262572009-12-08T10:46:00.000+00:002009-12-08T11:36:22.102+00:00How the UK could manage cannabis and illegal drugs with non-criminal status<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFFq88iP7Gvb0kKR-M3aa46Ad48ihlia1pZEuXeL5cRziZpgBEkH5hnsQvflqlnBO2X_eOY0QduQBeO9JxPGughSaC8NUng8iMw_w-FDzHPKCWtx_ChjxWDhZFdF1Sw29JBJ9lQ_QDRWU/s1600-h/weedco.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFFq88iP7Gvb0kKR-M3aa46Ad48ihlia1pZEuXeL5cRziZpgBEkH5hnsQvflqlnBO2X_eOY0QduQBeO9JxPGughSaC8NUng8iMw_w-FDzHPKCWtx_ChjxWDhZFdF1Sw29JBJ9lQ_QDRWU/s320/weedco.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>"Every little.................... I want chocolate"</i><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">It’s taken a while for me to formulate what I think would be a better way to handle Britain’s drug problem, but I might finally have an idea on how to do just that.<br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I would recommend all to read <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/markeaston/2009/07/how_portugal_treats_drug_addic.html">this bbc article</a> where Portugal’s now 8 year old decriminalisation of all drugs policy has seen a marked improvement in drug use, addiction and knock-on effects such as HIV Aids and other minor ailments, death etc.<br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">So how do you take a nation like Great Britain’s – one where binge is the centrifuge – and introduce a policy whereby people are no longer criminalised by drug use and ridiculous amounts of taxpayer money is spent on a wasted drug war and turn it into a country with sensible policy to help addicts and also to decrease public spending on a system that has irrefutably failed its intended mission - without a huge increase of drug use?<br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I’m not going to claim hallelujah that I’ve solved the problem, but below is a list of how I think the problems could be alleviated or at least be better dealt with.<br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">1)<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span><span style="font-size: x-large;">HEALTH & CRIME </span>- First and foremost, drugs need to be taken from the crime pool and placed into the health pool. Why drugs are even dealt with as a criminal issue is baffling, when drugs affect the user’s health – not the quality of life of others – which ultimately a crime is – something that negatively affects anyone but the instigator. IE, the instigator is the rapist and the victim is the girl. In drug terms, the instigator is the user and the victim is… also the user? So how does that warrant a criminal label? When it doesn’t negatively affect others, except perhaps the family members of hardened drug addicts which are affected anyway.<br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">The only possible way to do this is to at least decriminalise drugs, so addicts are not afraid to ask their local hospital for help with the fear of the police finding out. My model I will describe, will work on the basis of complete legalisation of cannabis and could equally be applied to all drugs though I do not advocate that any other illegal drugs beside cannabis be handled in this manner, as I only thought of this model with cannabis in mind.<br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">2)<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span><span style="font-size: x-large;">REGULATION</span> – The model in which I picture drugs being handled in a safe, legal manner, is how alcohol is treated already here and how cannabis is treated in the Netherlands (coffeeshops).<br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">While cannabis for one, as an example, is illegal, the purity of the substance is seriously compromised.<br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">A drug dealer could earn £10 from an 8<sup>th</sup> of an ounce of pure, uncontaminated cannabis. Or he could earn £20 from the same batch – by cutting it in half with whatever undetectable-to-the-naked-eye substance he finds under his kitchen sink.<br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">Some studies have uncovered glass, silicone, washing up powder, sugar, petrol, methyl spirits, rubber, plastic, crude oil, concrete powder (mortar), wood, metals and the list goes on.<br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">While cannabis and all drugs remain illegal, the incentive will always be there for dealers to offer quantity over the quality of their drug. Why would a selfish, criminal drug dealer want to offer a product at a certain price, if he could double or even quadruple his profits by throwing a little Daz brilliant white into the equation?<br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">If cannabis and all drugs alike where handled in regulated outlets (Called ‘Coffeeshops ‘(cannabis only) in Netherlands and ‘Dispensaries’ (cannabis only) in the USA) then this would mean that contamination is not a requirement, as a legal business will be striving to offer the best product possible, IE, clean and free from pollutants, as there would be no incentive whatsoever for anyone to offer quantity over quality.<br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">3)<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span><span style="font-size: x-large;">THE SOCIETY </span>– So how do we stop our country from degenerating into a drugs-mecca like ‘The Dam’? Well firstly, it’s simple enough to refuse the sale of drugs to people without a living/working/studying visa. IE, simple visitors (tourists) to a country, cannot be served drugs in any outlets.<br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">How do you stop them from getting served? Impose a mandatory display of Passport and PASSPORT ONLY upon purchase – or no purchase – simple as that. Anybody with a permit to live in the UK would also display this as proof that they’re not just popping in for a quick drugs transaction.<br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">4)<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span><span style="font-size: x-large;">THE INDIVIDUAL</span> – So how do you stop your average Joe going into an outlet and purchasing enough drugs to knockout a Roman coliseum? An obvious thought to legalisation is that people will be purchasing mass amounts at a time to mail the drugs to traffickers in other countries, in exchange for cold, hard currency.<br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">Again, it’s simple. Limit the amount of drugs available to any one person at any given time.<br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">While passport display would be mandatory, there could be a ‘stamping’ system, whereby the outlets make note of the user’s passport number and PASSPORT NUMBER ONLY, as this does not give away any personal details and cannot be used in ID fraud, and when a certain passport number tries to buy more than say, £150 worth of cannabis in perhaps five consecutive days, then the alarm bells are rung and the sale is refused.<br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">While some may argue that self discipline is key – well, we Britons aren’t known for our self disciplining abilities.<br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">Also, an 18 year old age limit would apply. <i>NB, I had considered 21 but a large minority of users are aged between 18 and 21 and to force them out of the legal market will only encourage the underground market.</i><br />
<br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">5)<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span><span style="font-size: x-large;">“THE MAN”</span> – Now even though the vast, vast majority of people using the system would be doing so within the law, there will still be the man who wishes to make drugs for those who should not be getting drugs, IE, 10 year olds and anybody outside of the UK with a wallet.<br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">Firstly, this happens anyway and secondly, there are measures that could be taken to ensure this remains highly illegal.<br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">One idea would be to require a license for all who are choosing to grow their own cannabis/other drugs, with limits set in place. For example, in the United States, anybody with a medical marijuana card is given a license to grow up to six plants at a time/2lbs in harvested weight. Those who breach this, lose their license for good and face jail time.<br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">Random inspections on these license holders would not only be beneficial in helping to curb crime, but it would create jobs for these inspector rolls and also it would be a hell of a lot cheaper than shelling out £5.3bn on drugs, as we did last year (2008).<br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">Anybody with a commercial license would be permitted a much higher ceiling (based upon projections?) or no ceiling at all.<br />
<br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">Now as I stated, I’m not shouting hallelujah that I’ve figured out some wonderful system to end all our problems and make us all billionaire royalties. All I am trying to do here, is to form an answer to the question I often get asked when fighting the pro-legalisation corner, “What do you think we should do about it then, and how best?”<br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">I’m sure there’s going to be a few areas I haven’t thought about and for that reason I would love <span style="font-size: x-large;">love</span> <span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>love</b></span> to hear from any readers as to what amendments could be made to my schematic.<br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">Either way, Portugal and 10 other EU countries have all seen marked improvements by decriminalising ([in some cases and Portugal’s case] – all) drugs, and without a doubt, it’s about time that we in the UK started doing the same for the sake of our wallets and our addicts who are at the minute, afraid to ask for help in a lot of cases, for fear of prosecution. Probably one of the reasons we have so many addicts right now.<br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast">Again – comments are greatly welcomed.<br />
</div>Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18420100571218818245noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6394095176081103198.post-46729326174607650102009-12-06T03:56:00.000+00:002009-12-08T11:37:33.924+00:00Legalise drugs, prostitution and gambling to stimulate the economy?<span style="font-family: Arial;">Be</span>fore I begin with my normal sweeping statements and opinionated drivel, please ensure you watch <i>every second</i> of this video. Otherwise, just click the X located on the top right of your screen, please. For those of you with ADHD, it's only 2:13.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><b><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqIxrDaBlHU">THE VIDEO</a></b><br />
<b></b><br />
<b></b><br />
<b></b><br />
<b><a name='more'></a></b><b><br />
</b><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">Now that guy had balls. He just asked one of the most powerful men in the world (as much as I hate to admit that an American be one) the most socially unacceptable question the world.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Legalising all drugs, prostitution and gambling - to stimulate the economy.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Now there's a doozy of a question.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>We'll just continue this article and pretend that Obama actually addressed the question. Which he didn't. Anyway.</i><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">As you expect - I have a concrete... or at least a wet concrete opinion on this matter.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">The reason it's a wet concrete opinion on the subject raised by given college student, is because I am very pro some things and very anti some other things.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Unfortunately for me, the things which I support pro-legalisation of, often [wrongly] get assumed to be one in the same [with other things].<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Anybody who knows me will know I am talking about cannabis.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">But surely if...</span><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br />
</span><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">So over the past while when I came to educate myself on the facts about cannabis, there's been a few people (to say the least) that have questioned my opinion and my findings.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">And that's OK. Because everyone, like me, is entitled to their own opinion (whether their opinion be factually sound is another point - but another time, perhaps).<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Aye, so, nothing like a jolly good argument to rouse the senses.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">One of the most common stumbling blocks I have often encountered with prohibitionists is the (what they, for some reason, believe to be a valid point) is "But surely if you legalise cannabis, then you'll have to legalise all drugs and gambling and prostitution - they don't hurt anybody - why not legalise them?"<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">To which I answer - "Well, the thing about cannabis is, uhhhhh, it's not having sex with a stranger every night or the week and uhhh.. it's not quiet heroin and nahhhh it's not quite betting your house on a game of cards either....... it's ya know.... just a plant that chills a few people out..."<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">But yet, people are adament that because I support the <b>complete legalisation of cannabis </b>that I therefore support the complete legalisation of all drugs, prostitution and gambling.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">This is probably the single most <b>stupid</b> prohibitionist argument that I have <b>ever</b> encountered, <b>in my entire life</b>. Those who claim this statement should, to no loss of mankind, be hung.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Firstly, those who compare cannabis to gambling, prostitution and drugs like heroin, are stupid. It's completely different on so many levels (not to mention that cannabis is a drug and prostitution & gambling are not drugs, for a start)<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">The same way flyers are different to newspapers and porno mags are different to general magazines. They are not comparable.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">It's just like saying "well, if we legalise euthanasia, we may as well legalise murder".<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">This is obviously a completely stupid statement to make as they are both completely different things.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
And that's the major problem I encounter with people who hold a cannabis-prohibitionist POV <i>point of view.</i><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br />
</i><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">They seem to think that the word 'cannabis' means 'all drugs' and the word 'legalise' means 'stuff down the throats of everyone else'.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Let me get this straight;<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">IT DOESN'T</span><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br />
</span><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">I have been to Amsterdam twice in my life and only on the second trip did I come to realise what Amsterdam was. It is a heaving cesspool of all that is unsavoury.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">While yes, Amsterdam [and the Netherlands] <i>do </i>have the lowest drug usage in all of Europe and yes they <i>may</i> have some of the cleanest people around (IE, low rate of STDs in Dutch people - not including the tourists) and it may ALSO have no known gambling problems - this <b>does not</b> mean that I support legalisation of prostitution and gambling.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Understandably, this leaves me in a difficult situation. Why should I support the legalisation of cannabis - but not other drugs and not prostitution?<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">To which my answer is simple.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">It is, believe it not, possible to be liberal on some things and conservative on others.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
As it happens, I'm a conservative.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">That's right - I'm one of those bastards who in their spare time, in-between lynching black people and immigrants, likes to launch offensives against gays and lesbians. I am a stark raving conservative. And you know what? There'll be no ankle-showing at my pimms parties on the lawn - because as much as I ridicule the paper for its utter scaremongering, I, am unfortunately, a Daily Mailer.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">However, unlike most Daily Mailers, I don't see the legalisation of cannabis as being an equivalence to nuclear holocaust.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">I do however, see the legalisation of <i>real</i> drugs (heroin, cocaine, crack, etc) as being a true thorn in the paw of society.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Sure, to legalise all drugs would reduce user harm as exemplified in Switzerland and many other countries worldwide and while yes, Switzerland were able to manage <i>all </i>drugs in a clean, safe fashion - this does not mean that I wish to accept this policy to my own country.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
I agree that legalising all drugs would earn the government more money than it costs it to prohibit drugs (evidence supports this - google it - don't come whinging for sources, please, the evidence is there in abundance)<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">And yes, I agree that legalising prostitution would, to the absolute horror of my fellow Daily Mailers, actually reduce sexually motivated crimes against non-consenting females (see: rape) by a large degree and yes it would reduce the amount of STDs on our streets as the now illlegal (which, to the ill-knowledge of some people, are operating anyway in mass numbers) brothels would become legal and regulated - removing the risk of illegal immigrants being forced to work in brothels and would mean that all workers <i>must</i> be screened for STDs, thus, removing all infected prostitutes from the market - reducing the STD rate (see, again, Amsterdam)<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Just because my morals force me to think on the side of the liberal, does not mean I agree with all that the liberal says.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">And that's where I think one of the biggest stumbling blocks in my pro-cannabis argument lies.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">People think that to legalise cannabis <b>must</b> mean that I want to legalise heroin, gambling and 'that suzie down the street'.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Not by a long stretch.</b><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
And the sooner that prohibitionists come to realise that there's a difference between plants, women and money, the better - because I'm sick of hearing the whole "But surely if" argument.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">It's stupid - it's not logical - and it's a broad statement to a specific problem.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Legalise cannabis.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Keep prostitution illegal.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Keep all other illegal drugs, illegal.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">It <b>is</b> possible - believe it or not.<br />
</div></div>Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18420100571218818245noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6394095176081103198.post-14428479893411858452009-11-29T05:09:00.000+00:002009-12-05T12:42:47.101+00:00Das Dritte Reich und die verrückte Leute<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy1mCiDarxN-WcwGx2a30ncEXaru8_FFmrmCWV9awBpnmcwCqwGEa01v9Z93GxqSjvau4W1ELa8ocgn6XR7wY23cZFGGPTl6EHZbExfbdvqvG40DhyphenhyphenSK8vAKLaFlIcItPM6tGbrbHVX4E/s1600/idiot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy1mCiDarxN-WcwGx2a30ncEXaru8_FFmrmCWV9awBpnmcwCqwGEa01v9Z93GxqSjvau4W1ELa8ocgn6XR7wY23cZFGGPTl6EHZbExfbdvqvG40DhyphenhyphenSK8vAKLaFlIcItPM6tGbrbHVX4E/s320/idiot.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><b><br />
</b><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><b>"The Third Reich and the crazy people"</b><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>-title</i><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">When boredom gets to the point that you're searching for Adolf Hitler on facebook, it's probably time to go to bed and leave the blogging to the morning.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">As it happens, the 120 year old is alive and kicking and is staging a comeback with the advent of the internet and a small group of wannabe Nazis.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">As soon as I clapped eyes on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/apps/application.php?id=120966616046&ref=ts">the Furher's facebook profile</a>, I knew I was in for a shock and a laugh. Both of which were only a click away.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Now, in a bid to try and understand how Hitler thought and to gain knowledge in his reason, I purchased a copy of Mein Kampf on Amazon about a year ago. After reading it, I can safely say that for the most part, it's complete fungus.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Though one thing I did learn was that he didn't go to war <i>just </i>because he was a derranged looney, but that he went to war because, in a nutshell, Europe, particularly the frogs, treated Germany like shit for most of history and he was simply pissed off. <i>In all fairness, Europe had been treating Germany like a prostitute for quite a long time and many times, the French broke treaties with Germany and the German statesmen allowed it to happen in exchange for money. You'd be pissed off.</i><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">And au-contrare, he didn't decide upon systematic slaughter of six million jews because one refused him entry to art college, he simply believed that they were taking over the world and, "not on my watch".<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Was ist das?</span><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br />
</span><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Along with a 15 year old pretending to be a Kreigsmarine with an air-rifle (pictured above), by far the most insulting and incredible comment comes from a genuine Aryan. You know.. one of the black ones.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">For fear of the third Reich coming to kill me, I won't type his proper name in case it gets indexed in search engines, but it does contain the Dutch city, Rotterdam.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">His comment is clearly articulated as <i>"WE ARE ARIANS - WE ARE JEWISH KILLER - WE ARE NAZI".</i><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br />
</i><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">I don't know what's worse - his comment or his grammar and inability to pluralise his words. A clear indication of the intelligence of today's Hitler followers.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">But who's worse?</span><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">While Mr. Rotterdam's comments are certainly vulgar and highly offensive - it beggars the question - is he worse than the modern-day left-vegetarian-jewish-lesbian, who at the simple mutter of the word 'Hitler', 'Adolf' or 'Nazi', will fly into an uncontrollable fit of "WHAT THE FU&*%$##!??!!!???!!!!"<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">It's quite clear when you see the comments that there a few people who are, to a laughably stupid degree, taking it upon themselves to "better" the Nazis with intelligent comments like; <i>"hitler was a gay lolololololollolfmaomfolololo gay nazi lololasolfololmmolmo"</i><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br />
</i><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">And while I may tend to lean on the side of the left-vegetarian-lesbian-jew in the case of liberals V nazis, if the intellect behind the comments, for example, from user J. Rutherford, was the average for that group - then I am awfully sorry - but give me a pointy hat and a red armband, because that sort of carry on is even more stupid than Mr. Xenophobe's.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">The point I'm trying to get at here is that people who are ultra-right wing are usually [with exception] (at least the ones I've met and seen on that page) quiet about their opinion or at least will reserve their opinion to only one or, if staunch, two comments.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Liberals however, can't be equal in their opinion. They have to go absolutely mad when somebody brings up the subjects of Nazis and even begin to shout and scream "HITLER WAS AN EVIL DICKHEAD. I'D HAVE KILLED HIM IF HE WERE ALIVE TODAY".<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">An appropriate answer to that would be, "No, you wouldn't. You'd be enslaved in a labour camp you silly little bitch. Now fuck up.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Lefties are just as bad as righties and it pisses me off that firstly, the right-wing is seen as some reserve pool for xenophobes and xenophobes only and secondly, that lefties seem to think they have some sort of moral highground in society just because they like vegetarian lesbian jews more.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">If you ask me; Hitler is dead. He's not coming back (no, believe it or not, Hitler didn't create that facebook page, some idiot called Rolf did and I've messaged him asking why) and most of all, we <i>are</i> all equal. Left is equal to right.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Next time a leftie flys into a fit of rage, heil them, laugh, and leave before your IQ slips down a drain.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Meine zwei Cent.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>My two cents.</i><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br />
</i><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-large;">ALSO</span><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br />
</span><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">I'm very curious to find out what the wannabe Kreigsmarine in the photograph gets up to in his spare time, so I've added him as a friend in the hope that he'll accept. Will report back if he does.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Peace out, fools.<br />
<br />
<i>Update</i>: Mr. Kreigsmarine has seemingly accepted my facebook friendship request and then cancelled it, as I cannot get on his profile. He has also, since, removed his comment from Mr. Hitler's profile.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;">UPDATE</span>Dec 4th<br />
<br />
Got a response back from the chap who started Mr. Hitler's facebook page and he's not a complete asshole as was expecting.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Me</b><br />
<br />
<i>Rolf, I don't mean to ask this as a "what the hell are you doing" question, I'm merely interested in your reason as to why you created an Adolf Hitler fan page.</i><br />
<i><br />
</i><br />
<i>I respect your opinion and am merely curious.</i><br />
<i><br />
</i><br />
<i>Paul.</i><br />
-<br />
<b>R. Holmberg</b><br />
<br />
<i>I don´t know what you´re talking about! I have not created such a site. This must be a bad joke!</i><br />
-<br />
<b>Me</b><br />
<br />
<i>Please see http://www.facebook.com/apps/application.php?id=120966616046&ref=ts </i><br />
<i><br />
</i><br />
<i>It states you as being the developer.</i><br />
-<br />
<b>R. Holmberg</b><br />
<br />
<i>Ok, now I grasp what you mean. This is a quiz!! That doesn´t mean I´m a fan of Hitler! I made a quiz about Stalin, he is an equel murderer as Hitler, so you see the point, do you?</i><br />
-<br />
<b>Me</b><br />
<br />
<i>I get exactly what you mean. Stalin killed more people than Hitler if I remember right but yet he's not the world's greatest asshole. Weird isn't it..</i><br />
-<br />
<b>R. Holmberg</b><br />
<br />
<i>Sure is! It´s all about to be on the winning side, everything flow then. It´s not politically correct to critisise Stalin, because he was on the side of the allied. As Mao also was!</i><br />
-<br />
<b>Me</b><br />
<br />
<i>"History always favoured the winners" - some guy...</i><br />
<i><br />
</i><br />
<i>But yea, just because Stalin was on our team, people overlook the atrocities he inflicted on Russians/Asians which were far worse than the ones Hitler did on the jews. Still though, people wear those USSR and CCCP tops like it's some sort of fashion but the guy with a NSDAP t-shirt will be burnt on the stake</i><br />
-<br />
<b>R. Holmberg</b><br />
<br />
<i>Yeah, that´s how it´s like. The winner takes it all, as ABBA sung!</i><br />
-<br />
<b>Me (I was very drunk and equally stoned when I thought this last comment was a good idea)</b><br />
<br />
<i>hahaha yea. And I'd like to see Abba take over Europe!!!</i><br />
<i>-----------------</i><br />
<i><br />
</i><br />
So there you have it folks. I think we finally got to the bottom of it that err... Hitler was bad. Real bad.<br />
<br />
</div>Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18420100571218818245noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6394095176081103198.post-79944710378182734442009-11-26T05:57:00.000+00:002009-11-26T05:57:08.497+00:00America - Mind your own bees wax<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipFXlR2ewwT6tKajpUXY1XWPRTKLQF1R7TmsUd9gurtwYKxVMQqBN8G8sLWwvREDd6Wrjulf2V3bc76KiQKK3b0pqHszbx2McqibFsXCItW7O5m1izfSK9CkDEcoZdl2mFUiqhqLBLsNo/s1600/swiss-flag.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipFXlR2ewwT6tKajpUXY1XWPRTKLQF1R7TmsUd9gurtwYKxVMQqBN8G8sLWwvREDd6Wrjulf2V3bc76KiQKK3b0pqHszbx2McqibFsXCItW7O5m1izfSK9CkDEcoZdl2mFUiqhqLBLsNo/s320/swiss-flag.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: auto;"><br />
</div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: auto;">It is the backbone of their economy – The only thing people can associate to the country – A very good reason for investiture if you’re mega rich – The Swiss bank account.<br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><a name='more'></a><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">So here’s the thing. People love Switzerland and the Swiss, and if you’ve got a bank account there, you know why. It’s because, unlike the great big overweight capitalist with a nose like a periscope, IE, America, the Swiss keep themselves to themselves and don’t go about medalling in other country’s business. Least of all, they don’t go disclosing <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">your</i> personal details to other people.<br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The Inland Revenue Service (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">IRS - US)</i> decided that enough was enough with privacy and they bullied the country, founded upon yodelling, into handing over the details of more than 500 clients belonging to Swiss bank, UBS. Originally, they wanted 50,000.<br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Their reason for this direct invasion of people’s lives, was to combat against tax-evasion within the US.<br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Now, stop me if I’m wrong here, but if you sell a product and decide to whistle as you walk past the tax man by lodging all proceeds to a tax-haven, surely this is the problem of the countries which the deal was made, not the problem of the country where the bank account is…<br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The reason the US are bullying Switzerland into tarnishing their own reputation, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“There was no alternative to this solution”- Swiss Justice Minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf </i>– is likely because of America’s inability to police their own. When they fail at determining the problem they move right on to plan B which usually involves somebody else being muscled out of money/land/rights/alloftheabove.<br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">So how about this America; fucking suck it up. So a few people broke the law by dodging the tax man. You can’t prove it. Now get over it. There’s really no need for you to go bullying other countries, especially ones as internationally friendly as the Swiss, into doing what you want.<br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">A great way to exemplify American policy is to look at Guantanamo Bay.<br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Firstly, let me make it quite clear that I agree with detention centres <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">like</i> Guantanamo and I also feel that those who are <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">rightfully</i> detained within such centres be hosed with bleach and branded with iron twice a day, but why, oh why, did you feel it absolutely necessary to put such a place on the soil of a country that doesn’t fucking belong to you?<br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Get the fuck out – and stay out – of Cuba. It’s no wonder they banned you burger-inhaling <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>tubs of lard, because if you don’t sink the country with your immense physical weight you will almost certainly destroy it with your stupidity and foreign policy.<br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Back on topic – Guantanamo is a perfect example of how the American government think, that is;<br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Please read the following in some weird Texan-style accent;<o:p></o:p></i><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">“<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Hey Lance, get in here and take a look at this cotton-pickin, communist. This mother-fucker right here done think he did gonna fly soma them there planes into them there big tall houses in New York City plus he DON’T DRIVE A DODGE. Now <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t wanna put them god damn towel-heads in the same prison as ma sister who’s also ma wife, so what ya’ll gonna do instead is just I dunno some load of bulllllllllllllllSHIT where we done put em in another country and forget about em. Maybe torture em too.”<o:p></o:p></i><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><i><br />
</i><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“What about Cuba, sir?”<o:p></o:p></i><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><i><br />
</i><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“CUBA?! – GOD DAMMNIT LANCE, YOU DONE GO MAKIN UP WORDS AGAIN”</i><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">And thus, Guantanamo Bay detention centre was founded.<br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Imagine a world where the Americans were like the Swiss. Peaceful, respectful and completely satisfied with the way things are. Sure, it’s good to have international influence and it’s good to have a large, dominating military.<br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">But Switzerland has none of that and anybody who has been to Switzerland and sampled some of their 15 franc beer, (£9), and seen their 2 million franc alpine mansions (which according to google is the AVERAGE house price!), will come to realise that their economy is doing rather well for itself and GET THIS – They’ve never even invaded Iraq!…<br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">America, take note.<br />
</div>Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18420100571218818245noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6394095176081103198.post-80819715784643678412009-11-18T23:57:00.000+00:002009-11-19T00:04:00.424+00:00Police attempt to restore order - Why not use math?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqxQDN9UzBA1SzYSkRInLXdxkLsSJML144Urx6YSsiMvsnDFJRN4KGXSAYFeJqqC-eoh1NLgcxIa2nXMuNsGaKhGxyKqENCWMXgbMrAjUdUvKiZZY8DVpVRtHeCuz_hWGRYK-67Am5axU/s1600/statistics.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqxQDN9UzBA1SzYSkRInLXdxkLsSJML144Urx6YSsiMvsnDFJRN4KGXSAYFeJqqC-eoh1NLgcxIa2nXMuNsGaKhGxyKqENCWMXgbMrAjUdUvKiZZY8DVpVRtHeCuz_hWGRYK-67Am5axU/s320/statistics.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><br />
Unfortunately it is today's world that sees the elderly continually getting the short end of the stick - be it from poor hospital treatment or nursing home fiasco - to plain and simple daylight robbery.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
How such sick wankers can bring themselves to break into the homes of and rob the elderly, is beyond me. But it happens.<br />
<br />
Understandably, the elderly generation aren't quite up to speed with modern day society. In the 1950s, Britain had virtually no murders. Rapists were few and far between and crime extended to missing church on Sundays.<br />
How our dear Grandparents feel today, I don't know, but 'shocked, confused and victimised', is probably on or around the mark.<br />
<br />
Since November 13th of this year, there have been coincidentally, 13 robberies (with or without assault) conducted on 'those of a pensionable age' in Northern Ireland (that is, 60 for women and 65 for men).<br />
<br />
Now while this is appalling that such atrocity happens, the irrational reaction by the media creates a frenzy amongst the population, especially the elderly in this case, because unfortunately for us, newspapers don't print "No Pensioners Robbed Today" as their daily headlines.<br />
<br />
So how do we stop our loved ones from fearing a knock on the door?<br />
How can we reassure our parents and grandparents and great grandparents that robbery and assault is not imminent?<br />
How do you tell a hysterical 90 year old woman that her dog won't be stolen and sold?<br />
<br />
I'll tell you how;<br />
<br />
Blind em with science.<br />
<br />
Every day I check several news websites to keep me up to date with the latest media drivel. While I maintain a firm stance of "assume the opposite of whatever the papers say", to check the media daily at least gives you an idea of what the nation's flavour of the month is, be it paedophiles or rapists or many other blown-out-of-proportion topics.<br />
<br />
Today was no exception as I browsed the Belfast Telegraph website to encounter <a href="http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/police-try-to-calm-fears-as-two-more-elderly-people-are-attacked-14565606.html">an article about the elderly being robbed and the police trying to calm their nerves.</a><br />
<br />
Of course the politicians came out of the woodwork for this one, demanding what gets them votes - that is, insisting police presence be stepped up as this is absolutely sure to deter any willing criminal (sarcasm).<br />
<br />
I would like to also add that, get this (quote the BT article), "The man who heads up PSNI investigations into thefts from homes has insisted the number of burglaries in the province is down compared to five years ago."<br />
<br />
That's right, you heard right - "The man". Now, excuse me for being nosey, but who the <i>fuck</i> is <i>"The Man"</i>?<br />
Doesn't that strike anyone as being strange, that this supposed head of a department in our police service isn't a human with a name but is in fact a large, male chromosome that tries to delude the people whom which he serves - in that he may be right in saying that burglaries are down compared to 5 years ago, but what he didn't tell you is they are up almost 10% from last year.<br />
<br />
Unless the police put 2 officers on every street in the whole country, there's no real way of decreasing these sorts of attacks.<br />
So in that case, the very best we can do is try to get on with it and hope for the best.<br />
In order to aid doing so, I took the liberty of crunching some numbers that you can show your Nana over tea next Sunday.<br />
<br />
<i>Please note there are no statistics offered by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) that reflect upon 'elderly crime', so I had to work with what I could find.</i><br />
<br />
In order to work out the problem, I found out what NI's population is, what percentage of that population are pensioners/elderly (apparently these have 2 different meanings) and finally, how many robberies were conducted upon these pensioners/elderly in the last financial year (that is April 6th 08 to April 5th 09)<br />
<br />
Let me explain first of all. What NISRA define as a pensioner is a woman who is aged over 60 or a man aged over 65. An 'elderly person' is somebody aged 85+. NISRA claims that 16.7% of our population of 1.775 million are people of pensionable age, and it would be sensible to assume this 16.7% also includes the categorised 'very elderly' at 85+.<br />
Domestic Burglary stood at 7,351 over the last financial year.<br />
<br />
Ok, so. What are the chances of grandma being robbed this week?<br />
<br />
<br />
16.7% of 7,351 burglaries commited = how many crimes were on pensioners = 1,227<br />
16.7% of 1.775M = population of elderly in NI = 296,425<br />
Pensioner population / crimes on pensioner = Chances.<br />
<br />
Drum roll please....<br />
<br />
And the chances of your Granny being robbed is; 1 in 241 or 0.41%<br />
<br />
It's amazing how the newspapers will run media frenzy and the police will go apeshit and the politicians will hold meeting after meeting, yet if they simply just looked at the figures they would come to realise that;<br />
<br />
<b>Firstly) -</b> While the crime in question is despicable, it's really not that big a problem that it requires media attention or any sustained police action and;<br />
<b>Secondly) -</b> The chances of it happening to somebody you know is so slim, it is almost <i>de minimis</i> (being a number so small in relative terms that it's basically zero or can safely be assumed to be zero)<br />
<br />
So next time your Mum is running around the house worrying sick about her Mum, just tell her that she's probably more likely to be run over by a car and everything will be fine.<br />
<br />
Then duck from the incoming dinner plate.Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18420100571218818245noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6394095176081103198.post-51505433595444870592009-11-12T01:38:00.000+00:002009-11-12T01:46:44.987+00:00Never fear! Health and Safety are here!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaGlsUIJ-WN920Dk6dM49HybeRa9UlXdDHz63MjhmmRT37vvsqs_nvVUYIpqzAhobwqXodecHTUiyR2uyfSl23NMYPIqETgwH92ZG43rRgJu_hEJ0GliIONzZ5QTv1jFh4w6gfkFl3IHY/s1600-h/worker.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaGlsUIJ-WN920Dk6dM49HybeRa9UlXdDHz63MjhmmRT37vvsqs_nvVUYIpqzAhobwqXodecHTUiyR2uyfSl23NMYPIqETgwH92ZG43rRgJu_hEJ0GliIONzZ5QTv1jFh4w6gfkFl3IHY/s320/worker.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 13px;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 13px;"><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>"There's gold in them thar hills!"</i><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">"According to the concept of transofrmational evolution, first clearly articulated by Lamarck, Evolution consists of the gradual transofrmation of organisms from one condition of existence to another." - Ernst Mayr</span><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">And how we did it all without the fluorescent jacket, we'll never know.</span><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;"><a name='more'></a></span><span style="font-size: medium;">I think it's fair to say that the biggest and most stupid religion of them all, is 'Health & Safety'.</span><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">What a load of shit.</span><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Sure, it's good if you work down a mine, or fight wars in Iraq - but for most of us who will wind up working in an exciting office environment, H&S, well, it kind of takes the piss, doesn't it?</span><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">When I think back to my beloved year within the Civil Service, I remember the H&S folks. It was a comedy show.</span><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Watching a load of high-vis jacket, hard-hat-wearing white-collars, scurrying around the office at lightning speed like rats scavenging for meat - except they're not scavenging for meat, they're scavenging for piles of paper under desks, water-coolers that are out of place and the old H&S holy-grail of a trailing wire.</span><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">It's all a bit much, isn't it?</span><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I sit here, writing this, laughing my ass off at the latest junk-mail sent to me by the Scouting organisation that I proudly associate myself to.</span><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">This junk mail in particular is more junky than normal, as they've included an activities risk assessment.</span><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Thank God for that, I mean, I'm almost certain that a Friday night in the scout hall would result in certain death for all involved should I fail to carry out this risk-assessment.</span><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Professor Idiot from the Ministry of the bleedin' Obvious</span><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Firstly, I'd like to point out that I'm not fucking blind. I can see the lowered headroom, there's really no need for the 'MIND YOUR HEAD' sign, taped with a whole fucking roll of duck tape, not to mention the 7 billion lights all fitted for my convenience so I don't bump my head. - and even if I was blind, I'm still fucked, because no matter how bright those 7 billion lights shine, I'LL STILL NOT BLOODY SEE IT.</span><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Bumping your head is bumping your head. It's all a part of life. Some days you bump your head, some days you don't. Some bumps will be big, some will be small. But if I bump my head, the last thing I want to see is an enormous larger-than-life warning sign, laughing down upon me as I rub my head in despair.</span><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqso1C5N8o9CYTNBdGhYt1P-HABSyPlBjdlgem4PAQ7vPjPvDS3B__bQEiVTPpyW9OnIMJFyoWdU0eRBoGtO8EDPdZ7lzkWrEisthmIwxDIW7rsiplEyR0jlvOZXrlfiQQumL5rR-9YSs/s1600-h/highvis.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqso1C5N8o9CYTNBdGhYt1P-HABSyPlBjdlgem4PAQ7vPjPvDS3B__bQEiVTPpyW9OnIMJFyoWdU0eRBoGtO8EDPdZ7lzkWrEisthmIwxDIW7rsiplEyR0jlvOZXrlfiQQumL5rR-9YSs/s320/highvis.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;"><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Robert, confidently sporting his high-vis jacket, as he walks on the main London-Oxford line.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>"them there trains there will just there pass right there through me there, hey"</i><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Unfortunately, Robert realised later that day, high-vis jackets don't make you transparent to trains. First Great Western have refused to comment on his death, stating only that "he was within the FGW H&S guidelines, despite walking on the tracks"<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">We asked a few of his colleagues to comment on his death.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>"Robert was a health and safety hero. I remember back in the early days, he ensured that all pens were in the cup-holders, all paper was filed in cabinets and there wasn't a trailing wire in a hundred yards. He may be one death, but it's obvious that he's saved many"</i><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br />
</i><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>"Robert, Rob as we called him.. he was the nicest guy ever. His death was tragic and will never be forgotten. On the plus side, we did get his jacket back."</i><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br />
</i><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">ANYWAY</span></i><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br />
</i><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">I think I've dragged this one on a bit now, basically, the whole nanny-panny molly-cuddling state we've all scared ourselves into needs to stop right now. Just calm RIGHT down.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Just because your milk's expiry date was yesterday, doesn't mean you'll grow a third arm if you drink it.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Just because there's a trailing wire in the office, doesn't mean somebody is going to trip and break their leg and die.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Just because there's reduced headroom, doesn't mean that every visitor is guaranteed to leave with a concussion.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Any Norman raider would be appalled at the level of signage on trip steps these days.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">H&S, give it a rest will ya?<br />
</div></span><br />
</div></span></span>Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18420100571218818245noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6394095176081103198.post-80068757440095345492009-11-05T02:22:00.000+00:002009-11-05T02:22:27.593+00:00Are you a black, transgender Catholic? You're hired!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvv7zvRSjMyZyKxNUNNWpSK8j4qdRLnxx5b8RDZFr5IMMpw_AEwGmSzWsKzmtksjeaFQ8jhDnNlGXRp8ctrd6w6td4rmFnC_zw-axUSY7EcTlzdwiRDx1adXqgUJEeLwgES2R6XiXXR9w/s1600-h/minorities.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvv7zvRSjMyZyKxNUNNWpSK8j4qdRLnxx5b8RDZFr5IMMpw_AEwGmSzWsKzmtksjeaFQ8jhDnNlGXRp8ctrd6w6td4rmFnC_zw-axUSY7EcTlzdwiRDx1adXqgUJEeLwgES2R6XiXXR9w/s320/minorities.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">Can you guess what this one's about?<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">That's right; Political fucking correctness.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><a name='more'></a><div style="text-align: left;"><i>"As Roman Catholics and women are currently known to be under represented within this occuptation group across the NICS, applications from Roman Catholics and women would be particularly welcome."</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br />
</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>- </i>The Northern Ireland Civil Service recruitment website on some job advertisement.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Now let me get a couple of things straight for any readers who don't know me personally.</div><div style="text-align: left;">Firstly, I'm Protestant and secondly, I'm male.</div><div style="text-align: left;">So that rules me out for the enviable position of 'greenkeeper' within our beloved government.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Back in the wonderous days of yore it might have been possible for anyone to get a job, but it seems now that the preference is given to black,catholic,transgender,inbred,taliban women with 5 dependants, 3 limbs and no British passport.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">What about a job advertisement for, "White, middle class, protestant, British males"?</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">And even if you are so lucky as to be a member of this, often called, 'racist' group, you will soon fall upon the trick question asking you whether you have eligibility to work in the UK.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">The correct answer is quite clearly, no.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-large;">Don't worry, majority.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Because if you are a white, middle class, protestant male, it's more than likely that Mr. Brown's government will be happy to accept you into their police force.</div><div style="text-align: left;">That is, assuming there's a few Catholics in the mix.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Then again, the major problem with Northern Ireland is that Protestants and Catholics, well, don't exactly mix.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">It's for this reason that the PSNI <i>police service of Northern Ireland</i> (after rejecting NIPS - sadly) will only commence training if there are exactly 50% prods/catholics.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Should you be one of the lucky few who makes it to training, rest assured that you're not safe yet. </div><div style="text-align: left;">If you are a prod, and a catholic decides he doesn't like the police any more and quits - they'll cut a prod, too. Visa versa.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">After all, this is 2009! There's no such thing as racism, sexism or homophobes! We all get along now. So well in fact that even if your country is made up of 95% white protestants, the second a single Muslim enters your country you can expect to pay for the world's biggest mosque outside of India! (see: Birmingham).</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Also, please expect your courts to respect Shyria law.</div><div style="text-align: left;">Even if it does state that murdering your wife is legal given circumstances and you can kill her for 'reading poetry'.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">And don't forget to turn off your Christmas tree lights for good, as several counties in England did so as not to offend anyone.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Black pudding is being called dark pudding.</div><div style="text-align: left;">"Merry Christmas", on certain British television shows was referred to as "Happy Holidays" in xmas of 08.</div><div style="text-align: left;">Spotted Dick is called Spotted Richard in school canteens.</div><div style="text-align: left;">And may you be sentenced to eternal damnation if you 'Snigger' at the Beano!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-large;">"Political correctness gone mad"</span></i></div><div style="text-align: left;">- Daily Mail.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Couldn't have said it better myself.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Have a good chri...holiday season my fellow brethrens. Be sure to be generous this winter - when you see a minority, don't be a bastard and give him everything you own and change your society to suit him.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">I'm sure he'd do the same for you :) </div>Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18420100571218818245noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6394095176081103198.post-61670043441743107942009-10-30T02:34:00.000+00:002009-10-30T02:55:18.838+00:00London's burning with boredom, now<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6If12rKTn-qoNajz_eefEiztRoq0BawYVQZO614aGqFxgDvKBemWWhm-v2z5a-iiAcv9QlLt9n84B_MnhDrThaVVVhdSuXVmpdEg9GB45jlXZw0_3dKQOMtaauxaVm65t2jtoS0rdbDg/s1600-h/theclash.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6If12rKTn-qoNajz_eefEiztRoq0BawYVQZO614aGqFxgDvKBemWWhm-v2z5a-iiAcv9QlLt9n84B_MnhDrThaVVVhdSuXVmpdEg9GB45jlXZw0_3dKQOMtaauxaVm65t2jtoS0rdbDg/s320/theclash.jpg" /></a><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">When Paul Simon trashed his guitar on stage at The Palladium, New York, in September of 1979, he may well have performed, in my opinion, the most symbolic display in history.<br />
</div><br />
An outcry of boredom and rage - a direct reflection on how many feel today about society and our governing minority.<br />
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<a name='more'></a><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">"His head hit the ground sounding like cracking an egg in a frying pan"</span><br />
</div><br />
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Every single day we hear about anti-socialism on our streets. Be it fuelled by alcohol and drugs or simple absent-mindedness, it has cost the lives of many innocent Britons.<br />
<br />
One of the latest and most notable occurrences of degeneration in our youth was the incident involving James Alford, the Paisley (Scotland) 43 year old who dared to stop two youths from vandalising his car - in return - kicked to death after he fell over, hitting his head on the pavement.<br />
<br />
What makes his death even more tragic was the fact that he gave up his job, a lorry driver, to look after his cancer-stricken mother, Mary Fearns.<br />
He is proceeded by his six children, now bastardised because of two thugs who are victims in their own right of today's society.<br />
<br />
The only thing which stops me from turning this blog into a swearing ensemble of anger is the fact that the two dickheads, Jay O'Neill, 21, and Scott Milroy, 17, have been reduced to complete mental-retardation no thanks to the towns and cities that have an ever increasing population without the amenities to supply.<br />
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It should be noted that the two sperm-defects that are O'Neill and Milroy were not charged with murder. They pleaded guilty to lesser crimes and received heftily shortened sentences.<br />
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Turns out if you murder someone but admit to stealing a Wispa bar beforehand, you'll only be made to pay 49p.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>Rule Britannia, Britannia rule the waves</b></span><br />
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If Lord Palmerston, a gunboat-diplomatic Prime Minister from 1855-58 and 1859-65 were alive today his stomach would boil quicker than the Royal Navy engines that he dispatched to anyone he didn't like the look of.<br />
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When asked by Perceval to be his Chancellor of the Exchequer, an enviable position in modern-day politics, Palmerston refused, in favour of being the Secretary for War.<br />
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In really short, Palmerston didn't fuck about.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>Britain's policies today</b></span><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Things have changed slightly from the 17th century, unfortunately, and today's society is a far-cry from the one Perceval and Palmerston drank their Indian slave-laboured tea in.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Back then it was safe to assume that Britain had an agenda. It had the biggest Navy the world had ever seen, more politicians than anarchists care to conceive and it was on a mission to dominate Earth.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Today however, Britain's mission seems to be allowing every tom, dick and harry into the country, offering them all the benefits on display in the many free-bank-accounts-for-immigrants that we call our social security offices.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">You were warned...</span></b><br />
</div><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">The 1980s saw the uprising of the punk-era. A generation of hate-filled youths, bored to the teeth with the lack of understanding that adults have for the young.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">They [government & society] blamed the music.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">They blamed the media.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">They blamed the clothing companies.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">But they never blamed themselves.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">And all it would have taken was for someone to listen.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">The Clash in my opinion voiced perfectly what youths since have been feeling.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">By no means are the Clash responsible for today's binge-drinking, drug-taking, elderly-robbing, house-braking, car-stealing, petrol-bomb-throwing, baseball-bat-yielding youths.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">What the Clash, to the dismay of elders and the government said was, <b>"FUCK YOU, WE'RE BORED, AND WE'RE NOT DOING WHAT YOU TELL US".</b><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">The problem with being young is, nobody listens to you.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">While yes, elders may have more life experience, but the young have life <i>to</i> experience.<br />
<br />
Society today is a concoction of races. The population has and is increasing yearly but the demands haven't been met.<br />
Our council estates have grown, but without extra amenities to amuse.<br />
<br />
Our population has exploded, but yet, we don't see any new youth-groups set up in churches or buildings where the young can go to make entertainment, safely, out of the way.<br />
We are more tolerant than ever to other cultures - and suppressing our very own in the name of.<br />
<br />
Cap immigration - build more leisure amenities and give us, as a young generation, something to do. If you ignore our demands - we'll give <i>you</i> something to do and believe me, you don't want that (see: James Alford).<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">God save the Queen.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8Bnz-E_iOIKTYLmrzqtej4klIRRkBIMSpqsSwBxZY9E1J16mFP0pvy8HSx6O4sLSYG2ztjHpQNmB_mHMqSzSSKNN5riilqnRQp8Wo6EyR-DvhkDntimFHOvs3szQKNeYeWSy_Fp3Sxnc/s1600-h/flag.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8Bnz-E_iOIKTYLmrzqtej4klIRRkBIMSpqsSwBxZY9E1J16mFP0pvy8HSx6O4sLSYG2ztjHpQNmB_mHMqSzSSKNN5riilqnRQp8Wo6EyR-DvhkDntimFHOvs3szQKNeYeWSy_Fp3Sxnc/s320/flag.jpg" /></a><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i>RELATED LINKS</i></span></b><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/128489">Daily Express article on James Alford's murder</a><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_clash">Who the Clash are, for the musically challenged</a><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_John_Temple,_3rd_Viscount_Palmerston">Lord Palmerston's Wikipedia page</a><br />
</div>Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18420100571218818245noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6394095176081103198.post-42647894116762990282009-10-28T18:08:00.000+00:002009-10-30T02:58:31.489+00:00California's bill 390 - Legalise, tax and regulate marijuana.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhma7oLc8coJDNe4bRJ8Gq4XdNeXDK6xaLgTIJ2apY7khnl40IgsVENUD8RjpdmGQHJRFMX80MS_mt8FC984GJ1ftlh38WoWbUiRSulZwKLEVxxWl_jqeyQueG9kN_z9QAyyXkK0CRnwds/s1600-h/shocked.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5397721788020926226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhma7oLc8coJDNe4bRJ8Gq4XdNeXDK6xaLgTIJ2apY7khnl40IgsVENUD8RjpdmGQHJRFMX80MS_mt8FC984GJ1ftlh38WoWbUiRSulZwKLEVxxWl_jqeyQueG9kN_z9QAyyXkK0CRnwds/s400/shocked.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 312px;" /></a><i></i><br />
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<i><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: normal;">"<i>Are you mad?!" - </i>Betty (above) on bill 390.</span><br />
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<i><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><br />
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</div></i>We all know the truth when it comes down to drugs. <br />
<div>They're evil vices that grip the lives of thousands and squeeze with so much might that whatever human is left in these creatures is too suffocated to survive.<br />
</div><div><br />
</div><div>The drug addict is a sickly sight. A bane on the working classes and an eyesore for the middle.<br />
</div><div><br />
</div><div>Drugs, are bad. It's as simple as that.<br />
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</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">PROHIBITION</span></b><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><br />
</b></span><br />
</div><div>I think it's safe to say, prohibition is a complete success. Look at the facts... since prohibition was introduced on most drugs during the 40s and 50s and later, 70s, in the UK, drug use has rapidly declined, drug farms are few and far between and let's face it - prohibition doesn't make you want to take drugs.<br />
</div><div><br />
</div><div>The end all; <b>Prohibition, i<span style="font-weight: normal;"><b>s a </b><i><b>complete</b></i><b> success</b>.</span></b><br />
</div><div><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">WAIT A SECOND...</span></b><br />
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</b></span><br />
</div><div>No it's not...<br />
</div><div><br />
</div><div>As it happens there are an abundance of facts available to the lay-man that the government has been kind enough to allow us to see, that show us that cannabis is in fact relatively safe when compared to alcohol or tobacco and can, to Betty's shock and horror, actually be <i>good</i> for you!<br />
</div><div><br />
</div><div>First of all, there's its industrial uses. The <i>first ever </i><i>car</i> made by Henry Ford, was made from the hemp fibre. Its plastic, derived from hemp oil, can be up to <i>ten times</i> stronger than <i>steel</i>.<br />
</div><div>The biodiesel which is derived from the oils of the hemp seed were used to power this car!<br />
</div><div><br />
</div><div>It was a completely renewable source of energy... and there was lots of it to be had (4 harvests a year, to be had, exactly)<br />
</div><div><br />
</div><div>For the first, and the last time, cars pretty much grew on trees.<br />
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</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-weight: normal;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5397731550592034386" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9OT3K4ObrKIS_VPxj8AN6ZBpv87Jwn5VWST4aqDv8Z3uxMoMVuY988Qg_8rwq6P7Hlhp5aQqL99neXY5vM_Gh0hOZsnOAWj9UK8eym2a-oQRG9JVIhy9-G3NoFzSVJ_Eu4k2kPgyuT7U/s200/anslinger.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; height: 200px; width: 160px;" /></span></b><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-weight: normal;"></span><span style="font-size: x-large;">HARRY ANSLINGER</span></b><br />
</div><div><br />
</div><div><b><span style="font-weight: normal;">Was the asshat American drug tsar/Bonito Mussolini lookalike, who first made it illegal in the 30s. He produced a film, <i>reefer madness,</i> that depicted pot smokers as rapist, violent thugs who degenerate family, friends and society in every way, usually involving an axe or two.</span></b><br />
</div><div><br />
</div><div>Then at the fall of war, America decided that a swift U-turn was in order, where they then produced a video called <i>Hemp for victory</i> that portrayed cannabis as being the saviour of America and the world during WW2 for its industrial uses.<br />
</div><div><br />
</div><div>At the break of war, the USA made it a <i>legal requirement</i> for <i>ALL</i> farmers to grow hemp! Because it was so useful and the country simply needed it... talk about a change in opinion.<br />
Once the war ended, again, even industrial hemp (that can't get you high) became illegal once more.<br />
</div><div><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">COMMIES</span></b><br />
</div><div><br />
</div><div>A far cry from Reefer Madness' depiction of a rage-enducing drug, during the cold war the Americans, again, set to work on yet another new blockbuster film about cannabis.<br />
</div><div><br />
</div><div>It was now apparently, since the beginning of the cold war, no longer violent at all! Instead now, it made you a<i> </i><i>communist</i>.<br />
</div><div><br />
</div><div><i><span style="font-style: normal;">That's right, they said it will make you a "placid communist" and "the Russians are importing cannabis to America to spoil our military's efforts by making our servicemen too placid to fight against communism".</span></i><br />
<br />
Over the period of 60 years, the US government had changed their stance on cannabis not once or twice, but three times.<br />
Funnily enough, each time there was a shift in opinion, it seemed to 'fit' the times.<br />
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</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">WHEN IN CALIFORNIA...</span></b><br />
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</b><br />
</div><div>Today (October 28th, 2009), at 10:00am, Californian congressmen sat down to have a nice chat about cannabis.<br />
</div><div>I still am none the wiser as to the verdict, but the prospect looks good.<br />
</div><div><br />
</div><div>In REALLY SHORT, California state law made medical marijuana legal in 1996, however federal law prohibited it. The state law allowed people to get high on the basis of medicine, whereas the feds would still arrest you.<br />
</div><div><br />
</div><div>Now, they want to go the whole hog. <br />
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</div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: small;">"It is not a drug, it is a leaf"</span></i><span style="font-size: small;"> - Schwarzenegger on cannabis.</span><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>"And look what it's done to him!" - </i>Betty</span><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">SOOOOOOOOO........</span></b><br />
</div><div><b><br />
</b><br />
</div><div>Legalisation, regulation and $$ KER-CHING $$, taxation.<br />
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That's right folks (Betty would be rolling in her grave, assuming she's dead, bless her) California are going to LEGALISE WEED.<br />
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And with sensible policy, too.<br />
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You have to be over the age of 21.<br />
</div><div>$50 stamp duty per oz sold<br />
</div><div>$5,000 commercial license one off payment, $2,500 each year thereafter<br />
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Assuming 1oz will be around $100 (50 for the tax stamp, 50 for the profit) then that means you only have to sell 50oz, or just over 3lbs of herb before the money begins to flow in.<br />
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In relative terms, that is <b>absolute fucking peanuts</b>.<br />
</div><div>Any dispensary in California, at the minute, will likely be selling that each day, if not more.<br />
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</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">THAT'S A LOT OF MONEY.</span></b><br />
</div><div><b><br />
</b><br />
</div><div>And there's <b>EVEN MORE MONEY TO BE SAVED</b> by legalisation.<br />
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The cost of the 'war on drugs' reaches into the billions each year. 85% of all drug-war money spent in the UK last year was on cannabis alone.<br />
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<i>Eighty five per cent!</i> That's a staggering amount.<br />
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It's money which would be saved and;<br />
<br />
<ul><li>Invested into budget, especially in an economy of public spending cuts.</li>
<li>To the education system</li>
<li>Our beloved National Health Service</li>
<li>The police. These guys have <i>real</i> criminals to catch.</li>
</ul></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>TOO LONG; DIDN'T READ</b></span><br />
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</div><div>Main reasons prohibitionists defend in order keep cannabis illegal:<br />
<br />
<ul><li>To prevent a rise in usage</li>
<li>It <i>might</i> be bad for your mental health</li>
<li>To set a good example to our children</li>
</ul><div>Main reasons to legalise cannabis:<br />
</div><div><ul><li>The economy - The tax generated from <i>sales alone</i> would soar into the billions</li>
<li>Spending cuts - With planned spending cuts, legalising cannabis would reduce the war on drugs spending by a possible 85% (UK) - it currently stands at £5.3bn (2008)</li>
<li>Health - As cannabis is illegal, purity is a <i>serious</i> problem, with dealers even adding shards of glass and silicone to the herb so as to add weight. Legalising cannabis will reduce this incentive to offer quantity over quality, thus eliminating the need for extremely harmful pollutants.</li>
<li>Every survey that ever asked the same question to young teenagers "is it easier to buy drugs or alcohol" the answer was drugs every time. Unlike your local liquor store, drug dealers do not check for ID. Nor do they regulate content. Are you <i>really</i> doing your child justice by maintaining a prohibitive stance?</li>
<li>Medicine. It's well documented, and anecdotal evidence comes by the gallon - cannabis makes people feel better. From Multiple Sclerosis to cancer to AIDS to comparatively humble back pains, cannabis helps it all. Taken with the correct dose, cannabis is a very powerful anti-emetic (meaning it stops you vomiting) which is why cancer and aids patients prefer it as "the only drug that stops the pain and vomiting". Some cancer patients even reported gaining weight during chemotherapy while using cannabis!</li>
<li>Recreation. Given the example of Amsterdam's coffeeshops - another place to meet new people and relax and socialise with friends.</li>
</ul></div><br />
</div><div>The list could go on and on and on but that should surely be enough to make you think, is cannabis really that bad?<br />
Is it worth penalising law abiding citizens every year for doing something they chose freely to do, at absolutely no cost or harm to anyone else?<br />
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You decide.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>OH BY THE WAY...</b></span><br />
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Did I mention it's only a <b><span style="font-size: x-large;">PLANT</span></b><br />
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</div><div><i><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">RELATED LINKS</span></b></i><br />
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</div><div><i><a href="http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/09-10/bill/asm/ab_0351-0400/ab_390_bill_20090223_introduced.html">Official Assembly bill 390, introduced by Tom Ammiano, Feb 23rd, 2009</a></i><br />
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</div><div><i><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/talking_point/1425723.stm">A fantastic BBC Article (2001) whereby Peter Lilley, former deputy to the conservative party, speaks out against the war on drugs. Note, the massive amount of comments from readers, clearly in favour of legalisation.</a></i><br />
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<i><a href="http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/health/article14544981.ece;jsessionid=97DBFAA855065589F3EDAD8CFB2A469B?postingType=posting&mode=thanks&postingId=14545072#postcomment">Belfast Telegraph article on Professor David Nutt, the CURRENT chief drugs adviser to the UK Government giving the low-down on harm. A very worth-while, short article.</a></i><br />
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</div><div><i><a href="http://norml.org/">National Organisation for Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML - USA)</a></i><br />
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</div><div><i><a href="http://www.lca-uk.org/">Legalise Cannabis Alliance (LCA - UK)</a></i><br />
</div>Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18420100571218818245noreply@blogger.com0