Britain is such a lover of horses that we race them, keep them as pets and occasionally make a pie from them but the one we love most is the high one that we clamber upon regularly to shout at other countries for their human rights record.
While we like to hit places like China and Iran over the heads regarding how they treat their own and other peoples citizens, we don't like to mention that sometimes it is our disregard for human rights that get a closer look at, such as this week when the UK faced some uncomfortable from a UN panel who decided the UK's human rights record since 9/11 deserved some closer scrutiny.
Charges of complicity in abusive interrogation, renditions to Libya, the mistreatment of prisoners in Iraq and the enquiry into the treatment of terrorism suspects that has been kicked into the long grass all came under the microscope although we did our best to delay things by a few years by dragging our feet submitting the requested evidence.
Once it got underway the Chinese diplomat complained that the UK delegation's responses were evasive and gave non-answers to his questions and the Italian committee member became angry and accused the British government of perverting the UN convention against torture to evade its legal responsibilities.
There were also questions about the enforced removal of Sri Lankan asylum seekers who were then subsequently tortured and doubted the impartiality and independence of a Ministry of Defence enquiry into the abuse of Iraqi prisoners and the attempt to have legal claims by veterans of Kenya's 1950s Mau Mau insurgency struck out on time-limitation grounds to be contrary to international law.
The committee is due to publish its conclusions later this month which should make interesting reading and if a copy finds it's way to China or Iran then the next time we mention human rights to them our high horse may not look quite so lofty.
Thursday, 9 May 2013
Learning Doesn't Need To Be Boring
Exactly what the minister was objecting to was a 'culture of low expectations in English schools who have been using Mr Men characters to teach 16-year-olds about Adolf Hitler.
'Too many teachers were treating young people on the verge of university study as though they have the attention span of infants' Gove said saying that students should be using worksheets, extracts and mind maps, books, sources and conversation in history.
As usual he hasn't done his own homework because the Mr Men project comes after the students have done all the books, worksheets, essay writing and sources as a consolidation exercise of the previous learning, not as a way of learning about history.
Obviously the Education secretary was far too busy to read the online resource for history teachers before shooting off his mouth, the activity is described as 'a great way of rounding off or revising the Rise of Hitler with IGCSE students.
They produce a 'Mr. Men' book about the topic and then read these to primary school / Year 7 students in a team challenge'.
Nothing like the dumbing down that Michael Give is trying to paint it as, just a fun exercise at the end of the learning which shows history doesn't need to be about pouring over books and memorising dates but can be shown in an interesting and entertaining way.
Michael Gove should watch Horrible Histories sometimes which is shows that History can be entertaining and educational and need not be boring and stiff as he wants.
Bye Bye Alex Ferguson
It isn't easy to give any credit to the red-nosed Manchester United manager but even i have to grudgingly admit that Alex Ferguson did a great job at the club.
Yes he was a miserable sod but he won everything there was to win in club football so kudos to him, well done and all that and enjoy your retirement and watch another Scot, David Moyes, try and replace you.
Such a shame it is David Moyes because i liked him and what he was doing at Everton but now that he is Man Ure's manager, there is no choice but to flip into wildly disliking him and hoping that he has a nightmare time and Man United fail magnificently under his leadership.
Probably won't happen and the reds will carry on dominating the top end of the Premier League for many a season yet but it would have been so much sweeter if they had appointed someone we already disliked to the effort. Very inconsiderate of them.
Yes he was a miserable sod but he won everything there was to win in club football so kudos to him, well done and all that and enjoy your retirement and watch another Scot, David Moyes, try and replace you.
Such a shame it is David Moyes because i liked him and what he was doing at Everton but now that he is Man Ure's manager, there is no choice but to flip into wildly disliking him and hoping that he has a nightmare time and Man United fail magnificently under his leadership.
Probably won't happen and the reds will carry on dominating the top end of the Premier League for many a season yet but it would have been so much sweeter if they had appointed someone we already disliked to the effort. Very inconsiderate of them.
Tuesday, 7 May 2013
Kerry Does Moscow
John Kerry turns up in Russia just as the UN panel investigating human rights abuses in Syria say it's the rebel forces throwing around the Sarin.
The easy way to swerve that matter is to say: 'We are highly sceptical of any suggestions that the opposition used chemical weapons. We think it highly likely that Assad regime was responsible' as the White House did today completely ignoring the people doing the investigating. Funny how movable that the red line is.
Then Israel, not much liked for good reason at the best of times, had a go at provoking a response from the Assad Government by sending its jets into Syria to drop a few bombs resulting in a swift international rebuke from everyone including the UN and two of Syria's mains regional rivals, Turkey and Saudi Arabia who called for: 'swift action by the UN security council to stop these Israeli attacks on Syrian territories'.
To top it off a group of UN peacekeepers were detained in the Golan Heights by the same rebels who kidnapped 21 UN peacekeepers rebels last month before releasing them with the weak excuse that they were 'holding them for their own safety' as there was some 'clashes and heavy shelling' going on.
Why the Americans, Brits and French are so keen to boot out Assad and impose a bunch of jihadists on the Syrian population is anyone's guess but i trust Putin and Kerry chat will go along the lines of the Russian telling the American that he can whistle if he thinks he will support them in helping Al-Queada in Syria into power.
The hand of the forces wanting to bring murder and mayhem to Syria as they did in Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya is getting weaker with every passing day as the rebels show themselves to be worse than the people they are hoping to replace.
The West has backed the wrong horse and is too pigheaded and arrogant to admit it but it won't stop John Kerry trying, we can just hope he gets back on the plane with a Russian flea in his ear.
Dear HAARP
Dear People of HAARP,
I live on the south coast of England and it's only May and already i have a sunburned shoulder and been attacked by a pair wasps after my milkshake as i sat innocently in the park today.
We all know that it is you guys making earthquakes and causing volcanoes to explode all over the World because it is all over the internet and David Icke has said it is you controlling our weather and he was a sports presenter on the BBC once so he should know so no point in trying to deny it.
Please can you either stop fiddling with our weather so it is so hot us pale skinned Brits get sunburned as soon as we step outside our door in early May or fiddle with it some more so that we get some cooler weather until about September, either is good by me.
Thank you
Lucy
PS...If you want to 'quieten' David Icke for spilling your secrets, he lives in Ryde on the Isle of Wight if you want to cause an earthquake there.
I live on the south coast of England and it's only May and already i have a sunburned shoulder and been attacked by a pair wasps after my milkshake as i sat innocently in the park today.
We all know that it is you guys making earthquakes and causing volcanoes to explode all over the World because it is all over the internet and David Icke has said it is you controlling our weather and he was a sports presenter on the BBC once so he should know so no point in trying to deny it.
Please can you either stop fiddling with our weather so it is so hot us pale skinned Brits get sunburned as soon as we step outside our door in early May or fiddle with it some more so that we get some cooler weather until about September, either is good by me.
Thank you
Lucy
PS...If you want to 'quieten' David Icke for spilling your secrets, he lives in Ryde on the Isle of Wight if you want to cause an earthquake there.
Sunday, 5 May 2013
Chemical Weapons In Syria
It seems that Benjamin Netanyahu has been paying attention to Barack Obama because he has copied his line about 'game changing weapons' as Israeli jets strike at targets close to Damascus.
The game changing weapons were apparently sophisticated Fateh-110 missiles bound for Hezbollah which would bring all of Israel into range but Israel's game changing weapons are different to Americas which where chemical weapons which the Syrian administration was loudly accused of using a few weeks ago in Homs, we were also treated to pictures of civilians foaming at the mouth as proof.
The story, as expected, was not quite as clear cut as that and the accusation has been repeated less loudly as it emerged as reported here on CNN that the Americans own U.S. State Department investigation showed Syrian government did not use chemical weapons against the residents of Homs, but the symptoms shown by the civilians was a 'riot control agent that was not designed to produce lasting effects, but became more dangerous when it was released in dense areas and was not dispersed in the air quickly'.
A senior Turkish diplomat told CNN that Turkey also conducted its own investigation into the chemical weapons allegations and found the claims to be unsubstantiated.
In a unusual twist that has not been heard so much about, it was the Syrian Government who alerted the UN to the rebels using chemical weapons in Allepo's Khan al-Assal which killed 25 people and injured 86 others on March 19, urging the UN to dispatch an investigation team.
The UN agreed to investigate claims and appointed Ahmet Üzümcü, a Turkish diplomat who was previously Turkey’s consul in Aleppo, ambassador in Israel and the representative of Turkey to NATO. Syria and Russia said they did not trust a team led by somone with so many ties to the countries critics and more headlines hit that Syria was blocking a UN investigation into the use of chemical weapons, not mentioning that it was the Syrian Government who requested the investigation in the first place.
While further stories include Syrian soldiers turning up in hospitals suffering from the effects of 'inhaling a strange gas', it is all very reminiscent of the Iraq build-up.
The Obama administration seem to be playing a game of waiting for proof and international backing may be in part due to the to the lessons learnt from Iraq or it could be playing the same game as it did in Libya, wanting to be seen to be a reluctant partner while Britain and France lead the call for more war.
Now that Israel has become involved, it may force Americas hand to become more involved, it was the Israeli's who bought the chemical weapons 'evidence' which has now been dismissed and by being the aggressor and striking out at the Syrian regime, it may prompt a Syrian response which will open the door for America, France and Britain to change yet another regime and weaken the real enemy Iran in the oil rich Middle East.
Just don't believe that whatever justification is finally settled on, it is for the benefit of the Syrian people because the people they are looking to replace Assad with are the same ones that are presently bringing mayhem to Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya.
The game changing weapons were apparently sophisticated Fateh-110 missiles bound for Hezbollah which would bring all of Israel into range but Israel's game changing weapons are different to Americas which where chemical weapons which the Syrian administration was loudly accused of using a few weeks ago in Homs, we were also treated to pictures of civilians foaming at the mouth as proof.
The story, as expected, was not quite as clear cut as that and the accusation has been repeated less loudly as it emerged as reported here on CNN that the Americans own U.S. State Department investigation showed Syrian government did not use chemical weapons against the residents of Homs, but the symptoms shown by the civilians was a 'riot control agent that was not designed to produce lasting effects, but became more dangerous when it was released in dense areas and was not dispersed in the air quickly'.
A senior Turkish diplomat told CNN that Turkey also conducted its own investigation into the chemical weapons allegations and found the claims to be unsubstantiated.
In a unusual twist that has not been heard so much about, it was the Syrian Government who alerted the UN to the rebels using chemical weapons in Allepo's Khan al-Assal which killed 25 people and injured 86 others on March 19, urging the UN to dispatch an investigation team.
The UN agreed to investigate claims and appointed Ahmet Üzümcü, a Turkish diplomat who was previously Turkey’s consul in Aleppo, ambassador in Israel and the representative of Turkey to NATO. Syria and Russia said they did not trust a team led by somone with so many ties to the countries critics and more headlines hit that Syria was blocking a UN investigation into the use of chemical weapons, not mentioning that it was the Syrian Government who requested the investigation in the first place.
While further stories include Syrian soldiers turning up in hospitals suffering from the effects of 'inhaling a strange gas', it is all very reminiscent of the Iraq build-up.
The Obama administration seem to be playing a game of waiting for proof and international backing may be in part due to the to the lessons learnt from Iraq or it could be playing the same game as it did in Libya, wanting to be seen to be a reluctant partner while Britain and France lead the call for more war.
Now that Israel has become involved, it may force Americas hand to become more involved, it was the Israeli's who bought the chemical weapons 'evidence' which has now been dismissed and by being the aggressor and striking out at the Syrian regime, it may prompt a Syrian response which will open the door for America, France and Britain to change yet another regime and weaken the real enemy Iran in the oil rich Middle East.
Just don't believe that whatever justification is finally settled on, it is for the benefit of the Syrian people because the people they are looking to replace Assad with are the same ones that are presently bringing mayhem to Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya.
Saturday, 4 May 2013
The Great Gatsby
There are some books that are claimed as classics and are well deserved of the title and some that feel as if they have been slapped with a sticker marked classic by literary types but don't really live up to it and that's how i feel about 'The Great Gatsby'.
Now that a film of the book is showing at our cinema's the book is being discussed once again and i'm quite perplexed by the insistence to build the book up to be mentioned in the same breath as 'To Kill A Mockingbird' or 'Of Mice and Men' which were amazing books.
The Great Gatsby was a decent enough novella, set in one summer of Roaring Twenties America, the high end of society at the time, it is a slow builder with a brutal ending and the author, F. Scott Fitzgerald, does a very good job of creating the era in your minds eye.
I do recall a story of how the book was largely ignored at the time it was originally published in 1925 and it wasn't until the book was given away free to US soldiers during the second World War that it became widely read and that is where i believe the term 'classic' comes from.
The book, read by the 150,000+ military, became synonymous with America WW2 in much the same way that whenever i hear certain songs it takes me back to a certain time and place and my good or bad experiences of that time so The Great Gatsby will hold many memories for the soldiers of that time, passed onto the next generation and that was how this 'classic' was born, a great PR move.
I may be wrong but that's how i see a good, if short, book becomes elevated to a status that it doesn't in all honestly deserve.
That said, i would recommend it as a decent read but i do plan to give the film a swerve.
Now that a film of the book is showing at our cinema's the book is being discussed once again and i'm quite perplexed by the insistence to build the book up to be mentioned in the same breath as 'To Kill A Mockingbird' or 'Of Mice and Men' which were amazing books.
The Great Gatsby was a decent enough novella, set in one summer of Roaring Twenties America, the high end of society at the time, it is a slow builder with a brutal ending and the author, F. Scott Fitzgerald, does a very good job of creating the era in your minds eye.
I do recall a story of how the book was largely ignored at the time it was originally published in 1925 and it wasn't until the book was given away free to US soldiers during the second World War that it became widely read and that is where i believe the term 'classic' comes from.
The book, read by the 150,000+ military, became synonymous with America WW2 in much the same way that whenever i hear certain songs it takes me back to a certain time and place and my good or bad experiences of that time so The Great Gatsby will hold many memories for the soldiers of that time, passed onto the next generation and that was how this 'classic' was born, a great PR move.
I may be wrong but that's how i see a good, if short, book becomes elevated to a status that it doesn't in all honestly deserve.
That said, i would recommend it as a decent read but i do plan to give the film a swerve.
Friday, 3 May 2013
UKIP Split Rightwing Vote
It is quite funny to see the Conservatives trying to tear down the UK Independence Party who have been drawing away the Conservative voters.
Both on the right, the UKIP and Conservative Parties are scrapping over the same votes and all they are doing is splitting the same voters between them, they are not attracting voters across from the Labour Party who are more Pro-Europe then either UKIP or the Tories.
The effect is that the two right of centre parties damage each others chances while the Labour Party remains on the sidelines watching and waiting for 2015 and the General Election.
While the zinger from Kenneth Clarke that UKIP are made up of 'fruitcakes and loonies' is probably justified, long may there rise continue because while they will never be a threat to the main parties, they are damaging the Conservatives enough to reduce their chances of getting into power and that has to be a good thing.
Both on the right, the UKIP and Conservative Parties are scrapping over the same votes and all they are doing is splitting the same voters between them, they are not attracting voters across from the Labour Party who are more Pro-Europe then either UKIP or the Tories.
The effect is that the two right of centre parties damage each others chances while the Labour Party remains on the sidelines watching and waiting for 2015 and the General Election.
While the zinger from Kenneth Clarke that UKIP are made up of 'fruitcakes and loonies' is probably justified, long may there rise continue because while they will never be a threat to the main parties, they are damaging the Conservatives enough to reduce their chances of getting into power and that has to be a good thing.
Thursday, 2 May 2013
e-cigarettes
I am not in anyway affiliated to any e-cigarette manufacturer or earn commission or are paid by the e-cigarette industry for using and advising their products, but i should be.
I have been using e-cigarettes for around 9 months now and if got paid by the person that i have driven to the e-cigarette business i could afford to start smoking again.
It is surprising the amount of people i see standing around puffing on a fake cigarette with a glowing red light at the tip now and as i was a guinea pig for e-cigarettes, many friends and colleagues waited to see how i got on with them before diving in themselves.
Now there there is a small collection of us who stand around the bike sheds blowing out nicotine tinged water vapour and more joining all the time and i pass on my experience which is don't go for the smaller pen type ones such as the 510, you won't get enough of a hit from that and you will be forever charging the battery and go for a big one such as the Ego or the Riva.
What seems to happen is that most people (me included) start on the small ones and then find out about the bigger ones later and end up buying one of those so save yourself paying out twice and go straight for the bigger one, the battery lasts 4 times longer, has a better throat hit and you get twice as much vapour as from a 510 style cigarette.
As Imperial Tobacco announced that tobacco net revenues are down 5.9%, it seems that smokers switching to e-cigarettes are actually affecting their profits.
The whole reason for this post is to give some advice to anyone, and there seems to be lots of them about, who is considering packing up smoking and trying e-cigarettes and my advice is to do it but be choosy.
The last time i posted about e-cigarettes i got comments from people linking to their own e-cigarette sites and they were all the 510 small type which are about the size of a real cigarette.
My own experience is that these are not very good and if i hadn't deleted them i could have listed them here as ones to avoid so save your money and go for these types straight away, this is the one i and my colleagues use and this is the bad boy you should be looking for. Good luck and if the e-cigarette retailers turn up leaving messages and links to their sites, ignore them, they are mostly pushing the types to avoid if you seriously want to stop.
Just to make it simple for British readers, here's the one i use but there are plenty of others available.
If anyone from Vapeescape stumbles across this post then some nicotine as commission for the hundreds of pounds of business i have put your way would be gratefully accepted and guarantee future recommendations. You're welcome.
I have been using e-cigarettes for around 9 months now and if got paid by the person that i have driven to the e-cigarette business i could afford to start smoking again.
It is surprising the amount of people i see standing around puffing on a fake cigarette with a glowing red light at the tip now and as i was a guinea pig for e-cigarettes, many friends and colleagues waited to see how i got on with them before diving in themselves.
Now there there is a small collection of us who stand around the bike sheds blowing out nicotine tinged water vapour and more joining all the time and i pass on my experience which is don't go for the smaller pen type ones such as the 510, you won't get enough of a hit from that and you will be forever charging the battery and go for a big one such as the Ego or the Riva.
What seems to happen is that most people (me included) start on the small ones and then find out about the bigger ones later and end up buying one of those so save yourself paying out twice and go straight for the bigger one, the battery lasts 4 times longer, has a better throat hit and you get twice as much vapour as from a 510 style cigarette.
As Imperial Tobacco announced that tobacco net revenues are down 5.9%, it seems that smokers switching to e-cigarettes are actually affecting their profits.
The whole reason for this post is to give some advice to anyone, and there seems to be lots of them about, who is considering packing up smoking and trying e-cigarettes and my advice is to do it but be choosy.
The last time i posted about e-cigarettes i got comments from people linking to their own e-cigarette sites and they were all the 510 small type which are about the size of a real cigarette.
My own experience is that these are not very good and if i hadn't deleted them i could have listed them here as ones to avoid so save your money and go for these types straight away, this is the one i and my colleagues use and this is the bad boy you should be looking for. Good luck and if the e-cigarette retailers turn up leaving messages and links to their sites, ignore them, they are mostly pushing the types to avoid if you seriously want to stop.
Just to make it simple for British readers, here's the one i use but there are plenty of others available.
If anyone from Vapeescape stumbles across this post then some nicotine as commission for the hundreds of pounds of business i have put your way would be gratefully accepted and guarantee future recommendations. You're welcome.
Wednesday, 1 May 2013
Mad
A five-year-old has accidentally shot dead his two-year-old sister as he played with the rifle which he was given as a birthday present last year.
Five year old, rifle as a birthday present. Mad. mad, mad.
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