Daesh is an acronym for the Arabic phrase "al-Dawla al-Islamiya al-Iraq al-Sham" (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant - ISIL). It's another word for ISIS - but apparently one that ISIS militants dislike because it is similar to the Arabic words 'Daes', 'one who crushes
something underfoot' and 'Dahes', translated as 'one who sows discord'.
The world is full of discord, conflicting & mis information, pain, sadness, fear & death. It isn't surprising that many see this as the "end of days".
Matthew 24:7
- For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom:
and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers
places. The concept of an apocalypse is known by Jews, Christians, 7th day Adventists, Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses & Muslims.
Islamic eschatology is the branch of Islamic scholarship that studies Yawm al-Qiyāmah (pronounced yome-ul-key-ah-mah; Arabic: يوم القيامة "the Day of Resurrection") or Yawm ad-Dīn (pronounced yome-ud-dean; يوم الدين "the Day of Judgment").[1] This is believed to be the final assessment of humanity by God (Allah), consisting of the annihilation of all life, resurrection and judgment.
The capacity of man to kill, maim & torture fellow human beings goes back to the earliest times. It seems to be inherent within us, but usually dormant until triggered by events. We seem to have the capacity to do unspeakable things & worse, justify them to ourselves, usually through religious belief.
The problem is that when something like Paris happens we are shocked into an emotional reaction & can easily behave in a way which exacerbates the situation. For example, while I understand the Tricoleur campaign on Facebook & the singing of the Marsellaise, I think on reflection they were ill advised.
We should respond to all killing of innocent people in an evenhanded way. Civilians, women and children have been dying appallingly in the hotspots of the world for years now. Europe & the West hasn't exactly stood shoulder to shoulder with them in the same way. Look at the mis management of the refugees by Europe. Killing non combatants is unacceptable wherever it happens. We should make that clear. Otherwise it looks as if we only think that killing Westerners is important.
At least 210,000 Afghan, Iraqui & Pakistani people have died in those conflicts.
At least 220,000 Syrians have died in their civil war.
What happened in France is tragic and dreadful. It is the act of brainwashed criminals. But, it should be seen as part of a whole & put in context.
Thursday, 19 November 2015
Saturday, 14 November 2015
Oxford Pavement Rage
I may well deserve a prize for grumpiest 70 year old woman.
I walked to see friends who live 10 minutes away yesterday. On the way I had to negotiate undulating & sloping pavements caused by tree roots & access to parking in front of houses, where kerbs have been lowered. I also avoided potholes & broken paving.
It was bin day so people's wheelie bins were not just on the pavement but the binmen pull them out to the kerbside ready for the lorry. This means pedestrians have to weave in and out because the pavements are too narrow & there are bushes in front of houses over lapping the pavement. (I am actually tempted to go along the streets I walk & trim all the hedges & low tree branches, but no doubt that would be illegal.) You actually have to go out into the road.
In addition there are cars parked all along most roads, so you have to walk out in the middle of the road. Here in affluent North Oxford many of them are vast status symbol 4x4s totally unsuitable for city driving. In theory cars are parked in designated marked resident parking areas. In practice everyone plays Russian roulette with the parking wardens & cars, vans and & even huge lorries are parked on double yellows straddling the kerb. There is imminent danger of walking headlong into the mirrors of lorries. Again often the pavements aren't wide enough to walk past.
Then there is the perennial infestation of skips in North Oxford to negotiate.
Bikes are a constant silent hazard because cyclists ride up one way streets the wrong way & weave in and out of pedestrians on the pavement. Apparently warning bells are no longer de rigeur. If you walk at night you realise that neither are lights! Then there are the ubiquitous scootering children whizzing up & down.
Finally there are the pavement hogs. Groups of adolescents, families, friends who amble along chatting, taking the whole width of the pavement regardless of people trying to pass or approaching.
It really isn't pleasant walking the streets. I am surprised that there aren't more accidents, although I did see an elderly cyclist knocked off his bike by a carelessly opened car door this week - parked illegally.
I really don't know how parents with pushchairs or the elderly needing "wheeled walkers" manage. I have only seen a couple of elderly people on motorised scooters since I have lived here, it just isn't a practical option. Anyone on crutches takes their lives in their hands.
It seems ridiculous that pedestrians in cities are marginalised & can't walk safely on pavements. It's a really difficult problem to solve. Roads have to have drainage & presumably a camber, but I do wonder whether it's possible to do away with kerbs altogether in residential streets. It would cost a fortune though.
The fact is that our cities are unable to cope with the conflicting needs of people & modern life.To quote - this is "No Country for Old Wo/Men"
I walked to see friends who live 10 minutes away yesterday. On the way I had to negotiate undulating & sloping pavements caused by tree roots & access to parking in front of houses, where kerbs have been lowered. I also avoided potholes & broken paving.
It was bin day so people's wheelie bins were not just on the pavement but the binmen pull them out to the kerbside ready for the lorry. This means pedestrians have to weave in and out because the pavements are too narrow & there are bushes in front of houses over lapping the pavement. (I am actually tempted to go along the streets I walk & trim all the hedges & low tree branches, but no doubt that would be illegal.) You actually have to go out into the road.
In addition there are cars parked all along most roads, so you have to walk out in the middle of the road. Here in affluent North Oxford many of them are vast status symbol 4x4s totally unsuitable for city driving. In theory cars are parked in designated marked resident parking areas. In practice everyone plays Russian roulette with the parking wardens & cars, vans and & even huge lorries are parked on double yellows straddling the kerb. There is imminent danger of walking headlong into the mirrors of lorries. Again often the pavements aren't wide enough to walk past.
Then there is the perennial infestation of skips in North Oxford to negotiate.
Bikes are a constant silent hazard because cyclists ride up one way streets the wrong way & weave in and out of pedestrians on the pavement. Apparently warning bells are no longer de rigeur. If you walk at night you realise that neither are lights! Then there are the ubiquitous scootering children whizzing up & down.
Finally there are the pavement hogs. Groups of adolescents, families, friends who amble along chatting, taking the whole width of the pavement regardless of people trying to pass or approaching.
It really isn't pleasant walking the streets. I am surprised that there aren't more accidents, although I did see an elderly cyclist knocked off his bike by a carelessly opened car door this week - parked illegally.
I really don't know how parents with pushchairs or the elderly needing "wheeled walkers" manage. I have only seen a couple of elderly people on motorised scooters since I have lived here, it just isn't a practical option. Anyone on crutches takes their lives in their hands.
It seems ridiculous that pedestrians in cities are marginalised & can't walk safely on pavements. It's a really difficult problem to solve. Roads have to have drainage & presumably a camber, but I do wonder whether it's possible to do away with kerbs altogether in residential streets. It would cost a fortune though.
The fact is that our cities are unable to cope with the conflicting needs of people & modern life.To quote - this is "No Country for Old Wo/Men"
Tuesday, 10 November 2015
Hughs War on Waste & Famine in Ethiopia
Don't these two news items just say everything about how f.....up our society is?
Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall is trying to stop us & the Supermarkets from wasting vast amounts of perfectly edible food. On the other side of the world Ethiopia is again heading for an even worse famine than in 1983 - 85 when more than 400,000 people died.
http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2015/aug/25/un-ethiopia-need-food-aid-after-poor-rains
While we squander precious resources Ethiopia is in the grip of drought which will make 4.5 million people need food aid and be close to starvation.
How do we tolerate this?
We don't actually see it - it's a film on the TV - we are distanced from it. We don't have to look into the eyes of people who literally have nothing. We don't have to watch children die in front of us. It doesn't really touch our lives.
We are not responsible for the drought or the famine, but we are sure as hell responsible for our own wasteful actions in a country of plenty. We are guilty of complacency & think that donating a little money is enough - It isn't.
We have to tackle the root problem of a world of two very different halves - the Have's and the Have Nots. The Have's must give up their wasteful ways & over indulgent choice & be prepared to equably share all the worlds resources. We don't own the land, the food, the water, the natural abundance we are blessed with. We are just custodians. Unless we are prepared to adjust the huge imbalance that rabid consumerism brings & give freely to the developing world there may come a time when they say enough is enough & rise up and take their fair share.
I for one wouldn't blame them.
Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall is trying to stop us & the Supermarkets from wasting vast amounts of perfectly edible food. On the other side of the world Ethiopia is again heading for an even worse famine than in 1983 - 85 when more than 400,000 people died.
http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2015/aug/25/un-ethiopia-need-food-aid-after-poor-rains
While we squander precious resources Ethiopia is in the grip of drought which will make 4.5 million people need food aid and be close to starvation.
How do we tolerate this?
We don't actually see it - it's a film on the TV - we are distanced from it. We don't have to look into the eyes of people who literally have nothing. We don't have to watch children die in front of us. It doesn't really touch our lives.
We are not responsible for the drought or the famine, but we are sure as hell responsible for our own wasteful actions in a country of plenty. We are guilty of complacency & think that donating a little money is enough - It isn't.
We have to tackle the root problem of a world of two very different halves - the Have's and the Have Nots. The Have's must give up their wasteful ways & over indulgent choice & be prepared to equably share all the worlds resources. We don't own the land, the food, the water, the natural abundance we are blessed with. We are just custodians. Unless we are prepared to adjust the huge imbalance that rabid consumerism brings & give freely to the developing world there may come a time when they say enough is enough & rise up and take their fair share.
I for one wouldn't blame them.
Monday, 2 November 2015
Remembrance (Sunday)
I am conflicted about Remembrance in the way we accept it currently. It is "to commemorate the contribution of British and Commonwealth military and civilian servicemen and women in the two World Wars and later conflicts". (Commemorate - honour - keep alive).
1914-18 did not just butcher a generation on the fields of Flanders, those events became synonymous with mud and murder. On the plus side World War One was also central to the enfranchisement of women, the extension of democracy, the origins of the welfare state, the cleaning and rebuilding of decayed Victorian towns, the acceptance of pacifism as legitimate politics of protest, improved social mobility and increased social unrest, and to the ultimate end of Empire.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-24610481
All wars involve far more people than just the armed forces fighting battles for causes they believed were just & right. Support for the armed forces, which is high, doesn't preclude our doubts about the wars in which they are engaged, for which we blame not them but politicians & generals. Everyone is involved in one way or another. Everyone risks death, some just risk it more than others. Many people play heroic roles & are prepared to sacrifice everything.
Jeremy Corbyn denounced "spending shedloads of money to mark the 100th anniversary celebrations of the First World War. (Celebrate - rejoice, have special festivities). How can you celebrate the "mass slaughter of millions of young men on the Western Front and all other places"?
I think the time has come to re-evaluate what we do and how we do it. We need a real discussion about whether the current status quo should continue indefinitely or whether we should find a better way forward rather than an arguably fairly pointless, ceremonial, harking back.
We do need to remember & learn from our history. We just don't seem to be very good at the latter. We repeat the mistakes over and over. Just look at the conflicts in the world today. Now we have euphemisms for the slaughter - (Collateral damage - unintentional deaths, injuries, or other damage inflicted incidentally). The danger is that it de-humanises the cost & we accept it. TV news is a video game as is drone warfare.
1914-18 did not just butcher a generation on the fields of Flanders, those events became synonymous with mud and murder. On the plus side World War One was also central to the enfranchisement of women, the extension of democracy, the origins of the welfare state, the cleaning and rebuilding of decayed Victorian towns, the acceptance of pacifism as legitimate politics of protest, improved social mobility and increased social unrest, and to the ultimate end of Empire.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-24610481
All wars involve far more people than just the armed forces fighting battles for causes they believed were just & right. Support for the armed forces, which is high, doesn't preclude our doubts about the wars in which they are engaged, for which we blame not them but politicians & generals. Everyone is involved in one way or another. Everyone risks death, some just risk it more than others. Many people play heroic roles & are prepared to sacrifice everything.
Jeremy Corbyn denounced "spending shedloads of money to mark the 100th anniversary celebrations of the First World War. (Celebrate - rejoice, have special festivities). How can you celebrate the "mass slaughter of millions of young men on the Western Front and all other places"?
I think the time has come to re-evaluate what we do and how we do it. We need a real discussion about whether the current status quo should continue indefinitely or whether we should find a better way forward rather than an arguably fairly pointless, ceremonial, harking back.
We do need to remember & learn from our history. We just don't seem to be very good at the latter. We repeat the mistakes over and over. Just look at the conflicts in the world today. Now we have euphemisms for the slaughter - (Collateral damage - unintentional deaths, injuries, or other damage inflicted incidentally). The danger is that it de-humanises the cost & we accept it. TV news is a video game as is drone warfare.
Wednesday, 28 October 2015
Tax Credits & a Living Wage.
Tax credits help low-paid families. There are two types: Working Tax
Credit (WTC) for those in work, and Child Tax Credit (CTC) for those
with children. The Conservatives want to cut the income threshold for WTCs from £6,420 to £3,850 a year from April 2016. The income threshold for those only claiming CTCs will
be cut from £16,105 to £12,125. The rate at which those payments
are cut is also going to get faster. Currently, for every £1 claimants
earn above the threshold, they lose 41p. This is known as the taper
rate. But from April, the taper rate will accelerate to 48p.
There will be similar reductions for those who claim work allowances under the new Universal Credit.
Opponents of this say millions of existing recipients, many of whom work but are on low incomes, will be £1,300 a year worse off. Ministers say that taking into account other changes, such as the introduction of the new national living wage, further increases in the personal tax allowance and an extension of free childcare, the majority of existing claimants will be better off.
I agree that tax payers shouldn't be paying for employers who don't pay a living wage to their workers. What I don't get is how the Conservatives think that they can introduce the cuts well before any ameliorating benefits come into force. The new National Living wage doesn't come in till April 2016, but only for workers over 25. There will be a gap during which many people who are already struggling, will find it much harder to make ends meet, putting an extra 200,000 poorer families into working poverty. The Institute for Fiscal Studies estimates that the number of children living in poverty has increased in the last three years from 2.3 million to 2.5 million. It estimates that the measure outlined above would increase that to 2.8 million. The poorest tenth of society will lose around £800 a year as a result of tax and benefit changes in the years up to 2019 - equivalent to almost 7 per cent of their net income
No wonder the Lords asked the Govenrment to think again. Someone had to.
There will be similar reductions for those who claim work allowances under the new Universal Credit.
Opponents of this say millions of existing recipients, many of whom work but are on low incomes, will be £1,300 a year worse off. Ministers say that taking into account other changes, such as the introduction of the new national living wage, further increases in the personal tax allowance and an extension of free childcare, the majority of existing claimants will be better off.
I agree that tax payers shouldn't be paying for employers who don't pay a living wage to their workers. What I don't get is how the Conservatives think that they can introduce the cuts well before any ameliorating benefits come into force. The new National Living wage doesn't come in till April 2016, but only for workers over 25. There will be a gap during which many people who are already struggling, will find it much harder to make ends meet, putting an extra 200,000 poorer families into working poverty. The Institute for Fiscal Studies estimates that the number of children living in poverty has increased in the last three years from 2.3 million to 2.5 million. It estimates that the measure outlined above would increase that to 2.8 million. The poorest tenth of society will lose around £800 a year as a result of tax and benefit changes in the years up to 2019 - equivalent to almost 7 per cent of their net income
No wonder the Lords asked the Govenrment to think again. Someone had to.
Friday, 23 October 2015
Responsibility & Expectation
"There is only one way to salvation, and that is to
make yourself responsible for all men's sins. As soon as you make
yourself responsible, in all sincerity, for everything and for everyone,
you will see at once that this is really so, and that you are in fact to
blame for everyone and for all things.”
Fyodor Dostoyevsky, The Brothers Karamazov
What an oddly negative point of view. I can only be responsible for myself - for my own actions or non actions. I can be responsible for the effect my behaviour has on other people or things. I can cause great pain & hurt to others by thoughtlessness or ignorance. I can change the course of events by what I do or don't do. Multiply that by the population of the world & you immediately see that we are in a constant state of flux and change, and really not masters of our own destiny.
I can attempt to behave responsibly and recognise that what I do or don't do is important. Probably not earth shattering, but each person's behaviour does make a difference. I can try to think of the impact I can have and think before I act. Most importantly I can recognise that I am human, not perfect. I will make mistakes. The trick is to know a mistake when I see it & do something about it before it's too late.
I can expect other people to behave as well as possible. I can expect them to treat me with respect & care. But I have learned in 70 years, that expectations can be both a good thing and a complete waste of time. Other people will behave as they see fit. Sometimes completely selfishly & unkindly. So I try not to expect now.
I don't think I believe in salvation, although there is always the possibility of redemption. I do believe I am a grain of sand blowing in the wind. But grains of sand can cause great discomfort in a shoe.
All I can hope to achieve is to do no real harm.
Tuesday, 20 October 2015
Royal Mail - Track & Trace
This should mean exactly what it says to my mind. Not to Royal Mail seemingly.
They seem to have lost my Sat Nav. It was logged in to their system on the 9th October & I still haven't received it 9 working days later.
I have sent emails asking where it is. This is the response - "Royal Mail Signed For mail travels with ordinary mail and is only tracked once delivery has been attempted so I regret that I am unable to confirm the whereabouts of your item at this time".So what is the point of me having a "tracking number"? Apparently my parcel "has not yet been confirmed as being delivered". I had worked that out for myself.
My point is that anyone paying for this level of service would expect what the private companies do deliver, (excuse the pun. I am not really amused at all). You are given a tracking number & they can tell you exactly where the item is in their system. It's not rocket science - in any sense of the phrase.
I have to wait for 10 working days after the due delivery date, which is 3 days after posting. Then "if your item still hasn't been delivered ....you may wish to consider submitting a claim for the loss of the item". But what proof can I provide, I didn't post it. It's not a new Sat Nav, it had been repaired, so was as good as new. Will they pay for a replacement? Apparently not. I haven't got a clue what it's actually worth, except that it's worth a new one to me & that's what I'll have to pay for. Plus paying for the repair & postage.
The whole thing is very frustrating & a huge waste of my time & effort. How do they manage to lose items within their system? I've tried to find how many items are lost per year, but been unable to do so. No wonder the private companies are doing so well at Royal Mail's expense.
PS
My postie tried to deliver it yesterday, 14 days after posting, but I was out. According to the Track & Trace info it had been to Heathrow & then Swindon. I wonder why. The sender said Royal mail know there is a problem at Ipswich & he had had more parcels lost and delayed recently than in years.
PPS
It's just arrived. Royal mail have offered me a book of 6 first class stamps as compensation for taking 2 weeks to get a parcel from Suffolk to Oxfordshire.
They seem to have lost my Sat Nav. It was logged in to their system on the 9th October & I still haven't received it 9 working days later.
I have sent emails asking where it is. This is the response - "Royal Mail Signed For mail travels with ordinary mail and is only tracked once delivery has been attempted so I regret that I am unable to confirm the whereabouts of your item at this time".So what is the point of me having a "tracking number"? Apparently my parcel "has not yet been confirmed as being delivered". I had worked that out for myself.
My point is that anyone paying for this level of service would expect what the private companies do deliver, (excuse the pun. I am not really amused at all). You are given a tracking number & they can tell you exactly where the item is in their system. It's not rocket science - in any sense of the phrase.
I have to wait for 10 working days after the due delivery date, which is 3 days after posting. Then "if your item still hasn't been delivered ....you may wish to consider submitting a claim for the loss of the item". But what proof can I provide, I didn't post it. It's not a new Sat Nav, it had been repaired, so was as good as new. Will they pay for a replacement? Apparently not. I haven't got a clue what it's actually worth, except that it's worth a new one to me & that's what I'll have to pay for. Plus paying for the repair & postage.
The whole thing is very frustrating & a huge waste of my time & effort. How do they manage to lose items within their system? I've tried to find how many items are lost per year, but been unable to do so. No wonder the private companies are doing so well at Royal Mail's expense.
PS
My postie tried to deliver it yesterday, 14 days after posting, but I was out. According to the Track & Trace info it had been to Heathrow & then Swindon. I wonder why. The sender said Royal mail know there is a problem at Ipswich & he had had more parcels lost and delayed recently than in years.
PPS
It's just arrived. Royal mail have offered me a book of 6 first class stamps as compensation for taking 2 weeks to get a parcel from Suffolk to Oxfordshire.
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