tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-60445302009-10-14T11:58:25.540+01:00What I am doing and thinking!Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13272873298110158359noreply@blogger.comBlogger121125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6044530.post-36716074616152344342009-09-24T21:37:00.001+01:002009-09-24T21:39:35.396+01:00

It has taken a long time: thanks to all my visitors!I must write more, more, more!There is fierce competition in the Blogosphere!

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13272873298110158359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6044530.post-65616326322144889412009-09-24T21:29:00.002+01:002009-09-24T21:36:42.362+01:00

Obama avoided Gordon Brown today at the United Nations. Brown (whose aides tried to arrange a meeting all day) says that is was not a snub; the Special relationship remains strong.Is he really so naive? Does he think that the Special Relationship still exists?Does anyone care?At least Brown received his award: International Statesman of the Year, and praised the unspeakable Henry Kissinger.Gordon

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13272873298110158359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6044530.post-70534963242767175342009-08-20T17:28:00.003+01:002009-08-20T17:40:27.951+01:00

Scottish Justice Minister Kenny MacAskill has made the correct decision in releasing Lockerbie Bomber Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi on compassionate grounds.Al-Magrahi has not been pardoned or declared "not guilty"; he has been released because he will die in a few months time. Scots law believes in compassion.Macaskill has thought long and hard; and has made his own decision, as it is his duty to

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13272873298110158359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6044530.post-72910181875401457822009-08-17T17:38:00.002+01:002009-08-17T17:54:17.139+01:00

The fact that the UK Border Agency prevented the Lahore Pipe Band attending the World Piping Championship in Glasgow indicates the type of society that Britain has become. The members of the band have been in Scotland before; but the sinister Agency banned their taking part this time without giving any rational explanation.First Minister Alex Salmond protested; he was ignored.Scottish Secretary

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13272873298110158359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6044530.post-56231757394889497852009-08-15T18:48:00.002+01:002009-08-15T19:01:27.531+01:00

Seems that the bonus culture is not dead. After receiving enormous government bail-outs, bankers are once more candidates for massive bonuses.We discover that the CEO of the Royal Bank of Scotland, Fred Goodwin, had a smaller salary than more than 200 persons who worked for the bank.We are soft touches; these people would be on the streets if their banks had not received our money. We shall be

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13272873298110158359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6044530.post-86418443829426089452009-08-03T23:42:00.003+01:002009-08-04T00:08:43.555+01:00

So George Galloway has been censured for lack of impartiality in a Press TV programme about the Gaza conflict.We live in a strange world where every party has to be treated in a similar way. If this broadcast had occured during WW2, would Hitler have been given the same time for his views as the Allies?The conflict in the Middle East has been dogged with the notion that it is between equals or

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13272873298110158359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6044530.post-64853595063480650192009-07-04T14:11:00.007+01:002009-07-05T12:10:37.784+01:00

She was a marvellous actress; and brought us much joy! "Are you being Served?" is a veritable classic which always merits watching repeatedly. Mrs. Slocombe was always concerned about her pussy, of course: this type of humour is ancient and none the worse for that! There is still a place for the double entendre and being oblique. Modern humour is so often aggressively confrontational.Mollie rest

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13272873298110158359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6044530.post-76083809946590924782009-06-25T19:09:00.002+01:002009-06-25T19:20:20.668+01:00

Who won? That is the question. No evidence has been produced to prove falsification on a massive scale. repeated allegations fom interested parties do not constitute evidence. There is catch 22 for the Iranian Givernment: ratification of the result is taken to be self-interest; a new election would be an admission of guilt.The candidtes are hardly disinterested in such a situation. Is the West

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13272873298110158359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6044530.post-27422813926636593832009-06-13T19:08:00.004+01:002009-06-16T22:01:09.424+01:00

It is rather extraordinary that David Miliband has now confessed that he was on the verge of resignation, as he is a member of a cabinet which has been persuaded to support Gordon Brown through hell and high water.What can his motivation be? Is he warning Gordon about the need for gratitude because he decided not to resign? Is he involved in a campaign which will make him PM before the next

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13272873298110158359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6044530.post-10569330698767766962009-06-16T21:44:00.002+01:002009-06-16T21:59:26.227+01:00

Perhaps it should be tweeting world! But I suppose you get my point. The phenomenon exists at all levels. Some individuals record the minutiae of life, and exercise no discretion; or perhaps think that no-one reads what they post. I have some friends and colleagues whom I follow, and am pleased when they point me to something of interest or express a stimulating point of view. i also follow some

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13272873298110158359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6044530.post-19027570799308112902009-06-06T23:47:00.003+01:002009-06-16T21:43:44.621+01:00

Been experimenting for 3 days or so after reading a library IT article about value of Twitter. Confess to being impressed; so will continue to experiment. It is certainly more than a toy, and complements blogging!

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13272873298110158359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6044530.post-40976296216373348912009-06-05T20:17:00.002+01:002009-06-05T20:31:01.951+01:00

It is a mystery to me that when he he finally became Prime Minister Gordon Browndid not try to be more radical than Tony Blair. He missed a golden opportunity because Blair's reputation was becoming tarnished; he was considered a Tory even by moderate progressives. It was widely believed that Brown was more left-wing than Blair. There were tiny indications at firsr of Brown seeking a radical

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13272873298110158359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6044530.post-6529520708859364182009-04-10T18:39:00.003+01:002009-04-10T18:48:56.649+01:00

The police and the security services have arrested 12 persons in northern England, 11 of whom are students from Pakistan.Already they have assumed to be guilty.Commentators are speaking at length about the problem of radical students from Pakistan.Hardly anyone is mentioning that no no-one has yet been accused of anything.In the past there was great circumspection about such matters: no more, I

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13272873298110158359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6044530.post-5529309631621968012009-02-16T19:47:00.003Z2009-02-16T20:01:25.380Z

I have just read another assertion concerning extraordinarily quick language learning. The language on this occasion was Icelandic! The learner was not a banker!I remain resolutely sceptical about these claims, having spent many an hour learning diverse languages. English itself remains less than fully learned by me; I am, as yet, no Shakespeare!I learned Esperanto more quickly than any other

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13272873298110158359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6044530.post-18757439993140497692009-01-09T19:21:00.003Z2009-01-26T12:20:33.742Z

I am not normally reduced to silence; but the Israeli assault upon Gaza takes my breath away.Proportionality is obviously not a Hebrew word; and the Hebrew for defence must mean attack.Poor little Israel with its enormous fire-power and its desire to kill at a proportion of 100 to 1.Every victim must, of course, be a militant; and of course only Israel is allowed to resist.Bush supports Israel

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13272873298110158359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6044530.post-63177484061150422092009-01-26T10:55:00.004Z2009-01-26T11:13:32.487Z

The decline of the BBC continues.BBC reporting of the War against Gaza was a disaster; the reporters stood at the border and tried to interpret clouds of smoke. If not doing that they were obsequiously interviewing members of the Israeli government.Now they refuse a humanitarian appeal from the Disasters Emergency Committee: acceptance would impair their impartiality!So the Gazans who have so

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13272873298110158359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6044530.post-87409261363652502432008-11-22T16:10:00.002Z2008-11-22T16:24:53.991Z

Yesterday there was snow in the Scottish Highlands; today snow is expected in East Anglia; tomorrow it may strike the English Midlands.In the United Kingdom there is always a panic reaction to such meteorological events; so undoubtedly civilisation will not come to an end.However, sceptics such as myself wonder how this early snow flurry is really compatible with global warming.Especially as 2008

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13272873298110158359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6044530.post-88019004715608126162008-10-12T17:16:00.002+01:002008-10-12T17:22:42.621+01:00

One thing is certain in the present economic crisis: banks never show contrition; to do so would be weakness, of course!Did we really expect anything else?Governments cannot citicise banks: they never apologise for anything!We need a new economoic order.

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13272873298110158359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6044530.post-83881992404163229482008-08-29T18:14:00.003+01:002008-08-29T18:27:12.800+01:00

I suppose that almost anyone would be better than George W. Bush; and certainly Barrack Obama has been spelling out a liberal domestic policy with considerable eloquence.He shows gravitas even when addressing the puerile Democratic Convention.However, his foreign policy still worries me. Part of the problem is the lack of any policy;part of the problem is his silence concerning crucial matters.He

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13272873298110158359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6044530.post-45763281962981905082008-07-02T20:34:00.003+01:002008-07-02T20:52:36.143+01:00

I read recently that the United States is attempting to prevent British companies trading with Cuba. This is done by threatening British banks.Britain officially favours trade with Cuba; but the United States is dedicated to the destruction of the country: a policy which it has pursued ruthlessly for almost fifty years. The General Assembly has voted upon the matter many times: the results are

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13272873298110158359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6044530.post-38078410266807964322008-06-13T20:17:00.003+01:002008-06-13T20:22:47.487+01:00

According to the British Government one of the indications of economic difficulties is the sharp fall in house prices.So hyper-inflation is a good thing concerning house prices; but a disaster concerning other matters?We live in an age which is dominated by irrationality!

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13272873298110158359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6044530.post-34560073364294775872008-03-06T17:02:00.004Z2008-03-06T17:20:24.728Z

A Report published today by UK human rights organisations indicated that the situation in Gaza is calamitous.This comes as no surprise to anyone who has been following Israel's blockade.Israeli officials show no remorse whatsoever; this is also no surprise.Israel, of course, believes that it should never be subjected to moral censure.We are now approaching the 60th anniversary of the

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13272873298110158359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6044530.post-30311469547182269142007-12-20T18:01:00.000Z2007-12-20T18:27:49.977Z

Contemporary football is of little interest to me: it is now not a sport but an industry.However, the appointment of Fabio Capello from Italy as the new English manager caught my attention. It was not really what he said about his tasks; it was his assertion that he would learn English in a month.Some of us have been working on the language for somewhat longer, and are not quite Shakespeares! We

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13272873298110158359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6044530.post-38985962118899746022007-11-28T20:42:00.000Z2007-11-28T20:49:26.364Z

Below is a Press Release from the Scottish Friends of Palestine. I am a member of the SFoP, and endorse this cogent statement. Scottish Friends of Palestine expresses its severe reservations with regard to the prospects of the forthcomimg Annapolis conference. Attempts at peace negotiations which ignore a majority stakeholder - the Palestinian people - is ultimately doomed to failure.

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13272873298110158359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6044530.post-54122978951591883762007-11-24T19:46:00.000Z2007-11-24T19:58:29.974Z

The defeat of John Howard in the Australian election is certainly a cause for celebration: Howard pursued singularly unenlightened policies and was, of course, a member of Bush's band of devotees.Hopefully the Labor Party, led by Kevin Rudd, will pursue left-wing values. His desire to leave the morass of Iraq is certainly welcome.However, after seeing the swing to the right of the British Labour

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13272873298110158359noreply@blogger.com0