Deplomacy And The Forgotten Hostage

BBC journalist Alan Johnson was kidnapped by person's unknown while working in the Gaza Strip three weeks ago.

A spokesperson for the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) denounced the kidnapping of a BBC correspondent in the Gaza Strip back on the 13th of March
The leftist DFLP described as this as “outside the context of the values and ethics of the Palestinian people's struggle.”

Alan Johnston, a British national had been working for the BBC in the Gaza Strip for three years. He was aware that numerous journalists who were kidnapped during 2006. Most of whom, were released within hours or at the most within a few days. No one was injured and demands ranged from jobs in the Gazan economy devastated by closure, or the release of political prisoners.

Is he safe NOW? Nobody knows? An unconfirmed report a week after his abduction stated he was well but how could anyone truly know?

Every news report starts with "15 hostages in Iran" which while important to their families and also important that we as a nation deal with this issue quickly, we must not neglect the forgotten hostages yet we have?

It is obvious why Iran will not realease the UK hostages and it has nothing to do with "Not showing respect rubbish"

Iran wants the world to accept that our troops were in THEIR waters and not Iraq's desputed waters. This area is long argued about and apparently this marine hostage taking tactic occurred in 2004 but Blair produced evidence to state that the troops were in Iraqi waters and the marines were released. Hasn't worked this time then? How fortunate for Iran when the 15 marines checked a Iranian merchant ship in this desputed sea! You then have yet another crisis which the UK have to deal with and it takes the focus off the fact that Iran is at the centre of highly critisized nuclear programme and even the Russians, their former ally is in danger of abandoning them.

What else does Iran have to gain with this act?

Why keep Faye Turney on the TV all of the time humilating her and the UK government?

The poor woman is in obvious distress and it is a disgusting ploy. Iran is not keeping our service people in accordance to the rules of the Geneva Convention but then again I did not think that was likely.

Disgusting........

Last time we had to work with Iran, it was over that baffoon of a man Salmon Rushdie and his Satanic Verses. That took 15 years of diplomatic bridge building to get back to square one. We have to remember that we live in different worlds and have different beliefs too. But I don't think the hostage taking has anything to do with what we believe in. It is much bigger than that.

Humilliating our great service people who give their lives for our country and humiliating our government is Iran's little game Our government I am sure are working behind the scenes and the UN has now stepped in to critisize Iran. Maybe sanctions or should I say further sanctions may help? Problem there is they only hurt the poorest people and they are the ones who you need to help. I wonder if Blair decided to call upon his best mate over the pond? There is no way that Iran would wish to upset the USA........Sometimes it has paid to be buddy buddy politcally with Mr Bush (whether agreeing with him is another matter).

Who on earth is going to help Alan Johnson?

My last words are for him. A pray for his family who must be worried sick for his safety, lets hope wherever he is, he's healthy and will be home soon.

Mugabe

I can't work out why world leaders are not shouting - SCREAMING from the rooftops about this man?

Maybe Zimbabwe is not as valuable as Iraq or I'm sure there would have been an excuse to bomb it by now and remove the evil dictator who runs the country with an iron fist spreading hatred and fear.

So why I ask again isn't South Africa for instance yelling. You'd think as the closest neighbour that at least they would have something to say but yet again nothing......It is almost as though the World is keeping quiet and hoping Mugabe would drop dread (which I've never wished for anyone apart from him). Karma is a wonderful thing isn't it?

I have been trying to think of the good things Mugabe has done for his country but I can't think of any? There is no democracy, his citizens are starving and his policies are crucifying them further.

Torture for some - Literally!

So who's going to speak out for the citizens of Zimabwe?

No one it seems...........

Stay on till 18 or PRISON?

WHAT?

The government has announced it's new rule that it wants kids to stay on at school till the age of 18 or failing that they have to find some sort of training scheme. If not these unlucky souls face being given an anti social behaviour order and if they still can't find a job then they face the prospect of PRISON!

I have a sneaky feeling that Alan Johnson MP, and Minister for Idiotic Ideas....sorry Education Secretary, has been drinking heavily or maybe he has a serious drug problem because this solution to a problem is absurd?

Point one, only a few short weeks ago the government stated there were no spaces in the country's prisons and young offender centres; point two, it is difficult enough to catch the kids who are 'bunking off' and they still haven't got that right yet.

I wonder with this government if they sit in their parlimentary rooms eating hash cakes, drinking trebles and making the most ridiculous decisions because of this. Nothing makes sense anymore and it appears as though the Labour party have put their hands in the air and are saying "We don't want to be in charge any more" We're cr*p and let someone else take over".

"Education, Education, Education" were the buzz words at the beginning of the Labour party rule and now the only answers we have are old man Liberal and fuddy fuzzy Tory.

Can I emigrate?

The Chimp Hero

I have had many happy weekends down in Dorset and we always go along to Monkey World

http://www.monkeyworld.co.uk/topic.php?TopicID=1&Template=standard

to see the chimps, orangutans and assorted primates. The kids then go off to the play area and hang on the ropes and play on the slides and look just like the chimps we've just visited.

We have watched Monkey World grow from in 1987, being a small primate sanctury set up by Jim and Alison Cronin which was set up to rescue Spanish chimps from being abused, to being a world renowned rescue centre.

Sadly Jim Cronin died on Saturday 17 March in his home city of New York. But his legacy will live on with all of the primates he and his wife saved from abuse not only from the streets of Spain but Tailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and the list goes on.

Respect to you dear Jim

Heather Mills Grrrr

This is more about the rule than about her but I still can't stand the woman. In fact she should be more sensitive and is only out to look out for number one. She's always in the press and uses her own rule of her "Conservation issues". What rot! But I digress.....

Heather Mills lives in the same part of the world as me and she because she has had an amputation she has a 'Blue Badge'. This blue badge allows the person who owns the car to park it where ever they would like as long as the car is not parked in a loading area. Blue badges are difficult to get hold of and you are only supposed to have them if you fulfill a strict criteria and admittedly having an amputation is one of the rules and so Heather deserves a badge in that case; that said, I have a friend who can hardly walk due to chronic and severe daily pain and cannot get a blue badge from the same city authority that gave the baddge to Heather? My friend does not have an amputation and has to fulfil another rule of "Not being able to walk 50 or 100metres (depending on the authority) without severe pain" Sometimes my friend can walk this distance and she does not want to lie, yet other times she spends her days in bed.

Heather Mills scored 18/30 on America's Dancing with the Stars so is she disabled or is she able-bodied? Does she deserve that blue badge and SHOULD people with amputations have to fulfil the same criteria as those without amputations because I feel the rule is a farce.

This is not the first time that Heather Mills has made me angry and it has nothing to do with what the press print. I can watch a TV and see what comes out of her mouth and I do not like it. She's out for what she can get, (IMHO) I cannot be the only disabled person to be angry with her and her gigantic 4X4. I'll be honest I do not even park it on double yellow lines like she does!
I know I'm having a good old moan here but it has been building up for some time. I felt sorry for her and even liked her at one point, however not any more.

Heather Mills, do some good for good causes and stop publisizing YOURSELF!
(No picture and no further mention of the woman)

The Tragedy Of A Mother

Sally Clark aged 42 died Thursday night her family have announced. To those in other countries, you will not know who Sally Clark is? To those in this country, do you remember?

(Sally Clark at the beginning of her trial with the 2nd photo at her release)

Sally Clark was a solicitor who was found guilty of murder, not just any murder but that of her two baby boys. The conviction was squashed and the Paediatricain who gave evidence has since become his own victim because his evidence does not have any! Other cases have been quashed, another mother convicted of murdering two of her children, Angela Cannings, also walked free after this Paediatrician's evidence was found to be unsafe.

So we go back to Sally Clark. She'd been released from Prison in 2003 back to her husband and remaining baby boy. It seems Sally never got over the death of her babies and it is too soon to say how she died. The coroner will give his reasons, but Sally had no major illnesses but was not well if that makes sense. The rumours are of an alcoholic who binge drank.

Whaever the rumours I hope she is at peace now. This case opened up so many other cases and many other parents were released from prison because of it. Some people are still in prison and obviously sometimes parents do commit terrible acts and those have to serve their time (Forever in my view).

As I said.....Hope she is at peace.

Charity

Tomorrow is Red Nose Day...........

And all around the country (except in my daughter's school because the don't do Red Nose Day!) People will be doning red attire and doing daft acts of daftness; Comic Relief Does Fame Academy will come to an end and Tara Palmer Posh-kinson may just walk away with it as she is that bad. The TV extravaganza will start at 7pm with the all those famous comedians we all know and love presenting the show for the next 34 thousand hours........And God willing millions will be raised for charities in our country and abroad.

And I'm moaning? I think Comic Relief is a good charity in itself but there are so many charities and how do we know as customers which ones are more beneficial to those who need it and those who are more full of greedy managers. I wish there could be a star chart (can't you tell I'm a mum?) or some sort of recognition for how charitible organisations are run? I never know who to give to and so I end up not giving to much at all. The last one was Children in Need.

The big ones always do well and that also bugs me.........Too many choices.

And What Did Your Child Learn At School Today?

The UK Government has now announced that the teaching of languages is to become compulsory from the age of seven. Great!

My son is in a class where he has children who struggle to speak English and to demand they learn a second language is an absolute joke; and he's in a school where there are not too many children where English is a second language! Kids should be busy playing until they're six but in this country we try and cram them ful of facts as early as possible and so many of them switch off.

EDUCATION EDUCATION EDUCATION was Tony Blair's forceful first words when he first became Prime Minister. I've been a school governor for the vast majority of the time that he has been Prime Minister and as far as I'm concerned his words are hollow. The bright ones succeed as they always will but the others? WHAT ABOUT THE OTHERS?

I've been writing in my journal about how upset I have been because my daughter is failing to gain subject knowledge in most of her classes because she is a quiet child in general but she likes to chat with her friends in class. She's not naughty. No one will say she's naughty, only chatty but all her teachers like her. There will be thousands upon thousands of other children like MY daughter who are passing under the radar and underachieving. Teachers do not tell you until the end of the year when it's too late. teachers have hundreds of kids at senior school and they cannot contact every parent......Some WILL NOT contact parents because their self esteem is so low because they are worn down by a terrible education system.

Far from fixing an education system, this government is now pulling it apart. Publishing SATs tests do not work. All they do is make schools push those bright kids to get the high grades. I'll be honest here, my daughter is just as bright as my son but my son will fly because he has a confidence in himself. Maybe if these tests were taken away from kids at such a young age and children were not pushed to succeed, children like my daughter, would not feel under so poorly about themselves?

Maybe we should be looking at changing other parts of the education system and not adding unnecessary aspects to it? Who is going to be teaching the kids French? Where is the money to pay for this? Speaking as a governor, what normally happens is this; the Government gives schools a sum of money to pay for this sort of thing for the first year or sometimes two. Then it withdraws 40% and expects the governing body of the school to find the 40%. The following year it will be a 60/40 split and then 80/20 and of course after about five years the governors have to ask the parent to help pay for the teaching because the Government have reduced the support to NOTHING.

We all know Jamie Oliver and how school meals have supposedly changed and the government have put money in? How much you ask? They reduced the money from other areas to put it into the Jamie Oliver pot AND parents in general are having to pay an extra TWENTY PENCE more for their child's meal. Also, some schools have to pay more because their governing body's are not subsidising the costs. We had to subsidise our school meals and the governing body took money out of another cost area to pay for this. Last year we lost a member of staff because we could not afford the level of staffing we had. We had NO MONEY LEFT and went into the red. Every school in our area went into the red and the government did not care. They did nothing to help us.

In those immortal words of ABBA,
'MONEY MONEY MONEY, MUST BE FUNNY, IN A RICH MAN'S WORLD'

Bed Bugs

Little Luke Day holds one of the saddest records in history.

Just 36 hours after his birth, he was the youngest person to die after contracting the hospital superbug MRSA.

When I was in hospital in 2005, the man in the bed next to me - Terence was his name and an absolutely lovely man he was, he had also contracted MRSA. He was suffering from cancer and having treatment too and he had this superbag BUT he was in the bed next to me with an extremely violently runny tmmy and all night I could hear the outcome of this. OMG it was dire however being British I put up with it and in fact Terence and I became good buddies over the next week. Terence managed to bag himself a private room, unforetunately without it's own loo and he had to walk through the lady's ward to get to the bathroom. Before you think it he was no pervert, just a decent mature gentleman and we made each other laugh........He still had his bugs though. When I was in hospital, a TV show that had been recorded earlier at that exact hospital, was shown. It was not the same wards but it could had been. I felt ashamed to watch it but I did...and so did the nursing staff. They knew that poor nursing happened and they knew that poor cleanliness happened too. I for example wanted a shower but because it was a ward of older ladies, the shower was never used. They used to bring the old dears a bowl and that was it. The staff had to clear out the shower room and once they had done that, other ladies decided they also wanted showers too but some of them needed help and this put more pressure on staff. I was actually shunned by a couple of the staff because I was the one who started 'SHOWERGATE'.

I managed to pick up a UTI which would not shift and in fact I ALWAYS pick up a UTI!

Last time, I picked up some sort of virus which left me with a cough, sore throat and husky voice and it still hasn't gone? I wonder if a 'virus' is the reason for my lack of monthly! (lol)

Sadly little Luke did not stand a chance and I wonder if his parents knew what they were letting themselves in for? I have actually choosen PRIVATE SURGERY over the national health service locally because the hospital is so bad! My last two surgeries were further afield and alas I'm in need of a minor op locally again..........Bless little Luke and I wish lessons were learned but they never are?

The bugs are still running the National Health Service.

Saturday Night Fight

Boxing is on the TV and for some odd reason I enjoy watching two grown men beating the c**p out of each other? I have no idea when this strange facination started - Maybe it's something about the brutishness that we do not allow in modern society anymore but only in the boxing ring? Maybe there's something about a man sweating and taking part in a truly masculine sport that turns me on? Nah it's not that! I'not turned on at all by it, but enjoy it and will stay up to watch a match and watch all of the matches at the Olympics too. In fact I like those more because there is less likelihood of someone being hurt.

Oh look, it's a boxing match on the TV on a Saturday night! Not anyone I recognise apart from the referee (Oh I am sad). It's John Simpson (Champion of GB) Booed by crowd V Derry Matthews 17 wins WBU Featherweight champion of the WORLD? Blimey never knew there was a WBU?

Off I go to watch the match......Good ref that.

Score later.

Endemol Et al....

Following this communication Five was contacted yesterday evening by Cheetah Television, a production subsidiary of Endemol UK and maker of Five’s afternoon quiz series, who raised an issue regarding this programme...........

Yet ANOTHER scandal involving a UK television company erupted into the public domain today when Five were forced to withdraw a phone in show and 'look into' all of their phone ins whether they are fake or not? Every channel now has had some sort of scandal attached over the past couple of weeks and WE the general public, have spent our hard earned money phoning in to competitions or attempt to speak to celebrities when there is absolutely no chance of succeeding as the shows would be recorded OR the winners already selected OR we would be told to ring yet another premium line after already ringing a premium line OR a person would be 'selected' and then told "Sorry you've not won this time, try again next time". The call rates vary and some are extremely OTT.

I am a big fan of Big Brother but this is another show where I have huge grievances. Endemol are the company behind this show and I've viewed the posts on forums bitch about Endemol and I am never one to follow the crowd and never join these particular threads. However, I cannot help feel it is time Endemol were put in the stocks for their treatment of the general public. Whilst we all have free will, many are duped into believing they HAVE TO call these high rate numbers to vote off contestants (who half way throught the week walk out after people have voted for them to go etc). BB have lost their sponser and not because of this nightmare but because of another nightmare of the so called 'racism row' which never was. How much longer that show can run is beyond me?

TV companies need to stand up and be responsible but so do WE. I've had my gripe about the former and now the latter must learn that they cannot always have something to blame! We live in a society where we do not take responsibility for our actions and it is about time we looked after ourselves. I was duped by BBC's Saturday cookery show at first but it soon hit me after a couple of weeks and James saying "We don't have time to take any calls today".....oh again James? Is this recorded? I didn't believe it was recored straight after the previous show though! I believed that when the BBC said that WE the public had equal chance to phone up and win the opportunity to be a guest on the show each week that was the truth.....Not the truth at all. So I was duped too. Other shows are easier to spot. Never phone up 20 times to a show which costs 75 pence a call. Utter madness but many people do.

TV companies need to clear up their acts and so do those people we need to learn from this too. Nothing is free.

Goodbye John Inman

I'M FREE! Yes I can hear those camp overtones now and the impressions ring out around the country today after the death of actor John Inman, 71 was announced.



I'm not going to do the pun about 'not free anymore' because that's vile but I couldn't help thinking it and I imagine him thinking it too. I was also trying to rack my brain to think of any other shows I could remember John Inman from but only his stint with the imaginary Grace Brothers came to mind. Back in those days he was not openly homosexual but a camp, middle aged man who lived with his mother (who he adored). No references were ever made to sexuality and it's made me think back to those ridiculous 70's sitcoms but oh how I STILL love them now! Give me a bit of Bless This House and I'm as happy as a pig in the preverbial or Reggie Perrin even better!

Goodbye Mr Inman. I suspect that Are You Being Served will be shown in tribute sometime this week and quite rightly too. John Inman and "I'M FREE!" were an institution.

John Inman
28 June 1935 – 8 March 2007

Soup-er Gran!

It's all over the UK news today but you have not heard (or live in another time dimension), Patricia Tabram, the grass growing granny, has been spared jail and is now said she will be standing against Welsh Secretary Peter Hain in the future election. She'll be running the country next.


Patricia Tabram, a retired chef aged 66, had admitted possessing cannabis with intent to supply and had said that she had brought the cannabis in bulk for herself and for four friends. They all take the drug to relieve medical problems and Mrs Tabram had added the cannabis to her home-made biscuits, casseroles and soups and distributed these to her friends in need. The Judge today sentenced her to six months, suspended for two years because he did not want to make her into a Martyr by sending her to prison. Soup-er Gran is now saying she is going to stand against Mr Hain in his Neath constituency for the 'Legalise Cannabis Alliance'
She's quoted as saying; "There are quite a lot of candidates standing for the Alliance in Wales because the Welsh seem to know more of the facts and the history of cannabis. If I'm voted for, I'm going to promise people in this country I will fight for the rights of every man and woman to receive safe medication. It's going to be a hell of a long journey and I'll probably be dead before we win the argument."

YOU GO GRAN!

Granny cannabis-role has also written a book called 'Grandma Eats Cannabis' and is hoping to have it published and I PROMISE no more puns on the drug theme.

Mrs Tabram was introduced to a spliff in February 2004 and has found cannabis very helpful for her own needs. She has depression after finding her son dead back in the 70s and has neck and back pain from a car crash. I'm with her on this but there is a law in this country and the judge had to abide with it. This particular case has been rolling on for over two years or at least that's what it looks like from my reasearch. Mrs Tabram has had lots of press coverage but not much national exposure. Today she has certainly done that.

I was told by an um-named Doctor that my own pain needs are similar in some ways to MS patients and he then went on to say that he knows some patients who use cannabis to relieve their pain. He went on to say that if I could by chance ever get hold of some of this medically dubious drug, it may help me?

A friend has offered to make me hash biscuits. I've said no up until now however I would dearly love to get off those horrible drugs but not to become dependent on another one.

Well done Granny Pat.

Take That to my blog!

A bit of a light hearted entry today.

I used to be a secret Take That fan basically because I was too old to be a real Take That fan and it was not trendy then to be taken seriously. I don't know if it's trendy now and don't care but the good news is;
SINGLE NUMBER TWO IS NUMBER ONE!

Could it be magic? Ahhh I love the puns and I could let them roll of my tongue for hours if I had the energy but alas I have an MRI tomorrow and a six hour drive just to have the thing done. Again I know that I can have the MRI done at a more local Palace of the NHS but I prefer to travel on the government roads to nowhere.

Let it Shine! AHA Well done Take That and well done on your come back you clever boys.

Angelina another Mia Farrow?

According to reports, Angelina Jolie is about to adopt yet another child. This time it is a 3-4 year old Vietnamese boy she has already located.

So my topic and gripe is not only celebrity adoptions but people who think it is right to take children from their own countries and cultures and drop them in the middle of their (normally wealthy) families. Asian/ Afro -Carribean children will look different(obviously!) if adopted by white families and feel different no matter how many times they are told they are part of that family.

There are children in our countries desperate for homes. They also come in all shapes and sizes! (Please excuse me there but if you want to be trendy you can). There are so many needy kids who are crying out for love and it grates on me when I see these celebs swanning around and saying "It's OK".

IT IS NOT OK.

While I am certain the children are given love and every need is catered for which would not happen in their own country; why can't the people who have money, plough finances into the angencies that support children in their own countries? Surely this would be better?
Madonna's recent aquisition for instance is a good example here and I use my words wisely because that is how I see it. Little David's father still went to see him at the orphanage at every opportunity but now has no chance. He may think of his son being educated at a nice school etc but he must have loved his son to had made that journey to see him regularly. I hear Madonna supports agencies in David's home country and good for her.......I guess it is more Angelina Jolie who gets me more angry as she seem to think children are like a box of chocolates; she can have a child from every nationality!

Killer Weather

I have many friends Stateside and so when I turned on the TV half an hour ago to this 20 minutes ago to this news it stunned and terrified me. I knew of one friend who was completely snowed in and most of that area had been declared a 'state of emergency'.

But tragically the weather has taken even more of a turn in the US states of Alabama, Missouri and Georgia where At least 11 people have been killed after a series of tornadoes hit overnight.
President Bush has offered federal help to the affected areas.

Five people died when a school building was torn open by the twister in the southern Alabama town of Enterprise. The state's Emergency Management Agency said earlier that 17 people had died in Enterprise. But it later lowered the state death toll to seven, blaming initial miscommunication among officials.

At least three people died during storms in Georgia - two in Americus, when the Sumter Regional Hospital was hit by an apparent tornado.

Another tornado killed a girl in a mobile home in the Missouri town of Caulfield, officials said.
Alabama Governor Bob Riley, who sent 100 National Guard troops to Enterprise, said rescue workers has been moving debris to search for survivors at the school.

Television news footage showed helicopters landing near the wreckage.
The shredded building was surrounded by broken trees and overturned cars.
Emergency officials told local television that at least one teacher was among those killed at the school.

CNN quoted an eyewitness as saying he carried the bodies of two young girls out of the building.
Thursday's storms came just a month after a tornado killed about 20 people in central Florida.

My thoughts and prayers go out to all Americans who are having to face this devastating force of nature. Weather plays terrible tricks on us and there is absolutely nothing we can do.

Dirty petrol?

There's a probe into contaminated petrol (gasoline) brought from the Morrison and Tesco Supermarket petrol stations after complaints that it has caused damage to sensors in some car fuel systems. The effect is to cut power to prevent damage to the engine this in turn puts the car into 'Limp home' mode which my little car has and I know too well as I have had a damaged sensor which caused my car to go into limp home mode! Effective yes, Frustrating too and costly to repair if not insured or under warranty.

When I say some cars, it rather strangely is the more select cars ie Mercedes, Saab etc and the more elite cars within the middle of the range car sector?
Now there could be some truth in this story but so far tests have revealed NO irregularities.

Motorists in the south-east of England have been warned Today to be wary of engine problems after filling up their tanks. Those who's cars have been affected have been told by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, to keep their petrol receipts who also said: "Our advice is that motorists should keep all fuel receipts and note the mileage for each purchase.”
The SMMT advised drivers whose cars appeared to be affected to contact their car dealer or their car manufacturer’s customer service department for technical advice, and the Trading Standards Office for legal advice.

At least Tescos and Morrisons have held up their hands and said their have been some complaints (about 100). No other Supermarkets as of yet have said there is a problem with their fuel so it could be a small issue contained to a small amount of petrol stations? Lets hope so.

I have a diesel engine and we go to Sainsburys (thankfully) but as a total coincidence, we have had to have our sensor monitor replaced on a recall because my car went into limp home mode constantly from NEW. That had nothing to do with what we put into it.

I am concerned however that some people will catch on to this as a money making scheme and pretend that their issues with their cars are caused by 'contaminated petrol' and look for a quick buck?

The question is; are the extra additives which are put in be the supermarket own stations causing the problem? The fuel is much the same as what is supplied to other companies but this is a story that has legs.