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Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Limited Expectations.
When the BBC does actually film a classic - 'Great Expectations' by Charles Dickens, as it did last Christmas - you expect it to be a rather special costume drama.The write up (see url) in The Telegraph found other points of criticism.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/bbc/9050451/BBCs-Great-Expectations-left-the-humour-out-says-writer-Andrew-Davies.html
Michael Gove Is On The Ball.
What have 'Fish Husbandry', 'Horse Management' and 'Nails Technology' all got in common?Radio Humberside reports that Michael Gove has stated very fairly that these subjects may remain on the curriculum but will NOT appear on school exam success lists.
The Third Test.
Normally, I look forward to test matches. The third test beginning this week is very much an exception.
The manner of England's Test disasters in Dubai against Pakistan have been sickening.
William Shakespeare - Ever Heard Of The Dude?
If you have not heard of William Shakespeare, the fault can be sited neatly at the feet of either the Exam Boards, who have curtailed his appearances on Literature papers over the last 40 years, or the BBC.
It is difficult to know which is the more at fault.
In a refreshing spirit of anti-elitism the exam boards have tended to display writers for study who have few credentials in the various fields of literary merit but who are either gutter-mouthed or committed to 'a sound socialist philosophy'.
Thus ends for literally millions of pupils, a connection to our literary heritage. If it were just Bill Shakespeare ....As for The Beeb, would it really be too much to ask for one Shakespeare play a month? - If funding be the problem - turn this into a virtue by paying a small sum to amateur theatrical companies to film their performances. There is much which is truly excellent to be found amongst those who act for the love rather than for the cash.
Cameron: This Blog Predicted Ongoing Sellouts To The EU.
'David Cameron was accused of appeasing Nick Clegg and was even compared to John Major yesterday as he waved through the same European treaty he had vetoed in December.
The Prime Minister said a deal to impose fiscal discipline on profligate EU nations was vital because the risks of doing nothing ‘are too great’ for the world economy.
But furious Eurosceptics compared the Premier to his predecessor Mr Major after he agreed eurozone countries could use the European Court of Justice to police the rules of their new fiscal compact to prop up the single currency.' (Mail.)
Monday, January 30, 2012
Santorum To Split The Vote In Florida?
I just cannot believe that the GOP cannot find better candidates than this bunch - but at least the fight is not without interest.
Quakers.
The more I hear, read and see from The Quakers, the more difficult I am finding it to believe that they are still a Christian group. Already accepted by many as the most liberal end of 'liberal christianity' - I was shocked to hear a broadcast by a gentleman who seemed to be no more than a single step from embracing pure 'multifaith'.
'I am the way, the truth and the life' said Jesus. Not 'A' way!
Perhaps those who are simply well-meaning can too easily fall into doctrines of 'salvation by works'.
Attenborough Backtracking?
On Desert Island Discs yesterday, renowned 85 year old atheist David Attenborough admitted that 'there might be a God'.
Oscar Wilde it was who said: "When a man is going to be hanged in the morning - it concentrates the mind wonderfully."
Maybe - hitting 85 has the same effect. I have prayed daily for this gentleman for many years and thank God that, at the very least, he is moving in the right direction!
I wonder if you can guess which other specific figures in the public eye I pray for.
Oscar Wilde it was who said: "When a man is going to be hanged in the morning - it concentrates the mind wonderfully."I wonder if you can guess which other specific figures in the public eye I pray for.
We Don't Do Languages.
As somebody who taught modern languages for over 30 years - I am unsurprised by the BBC report that this nation is so poor at producing linguists.
If 'Ministry of Guesswork' figures contain any grain of truth, then seemingly our lack of skills costs the UK £17 billon annually!
Smartie Mum.
There has been a report on Radio Humberside about a mother who sent a young child to school with a smartie sandwich.
It appears that finally, parents are beginning to make a few improvements to their childrens' diet!
What Kind Of World Do We Inhabit?
'Police will no longer be able to ignore homeowners whose lives are being made a misery by yobs, the Home Secretary is set to announce.
Once three separate complaints have been lodged, officers will have no option but to take action, Theresa May will say.
The same will apply if five individuals from five different households in the same neighbourhood complain about the same issue.' (Mail.)
THREE? - FIVE?
Once three separate complaints have been lodged, officers will have no option but to take action, Theresa May will say.
The same will apply if five individuals from five different households in the same neighbourhood complain about the same issue.' (Mail.)
Cameron Is Wrong.
It seems that Mr Cameron is crowing with delight about a certain upward movement in the economy. He apparently bases this, to a significant extent, on the 5,000 new jobs which will be created by ASDA. This is not sound thinking.
Okay, in the building of new stores there will be a welcome boost to the construction industry for a year or two - but that is all.
The job creation within the stores is largely illusory. ASDA is simply trying to tap into the same market as the other supermarket chains and consequently, in the longer term the labour required will reduce as the sales drop in the likes of Tesco, Sainsburys et al.
One must also recall there will be collateral damage to smaller local enterprises with the inevitable negative effects to employment in these.
The only time when we can be truly happy is when manufacturing jobs are created.
The reshuffling of employment is presented as a positive but is no more than political sleight of hand.
Okay, in the building of new stores there will be a welcome boost to the construction industry for a year or two - but that is all.
The job creation within the stores is largely illusory. ASDA is simply trying to tap into the same market as the other supermarket chains and consequently, in the longer term the labour required will reduce as the sales drop in the likes of Tesco, Sainsburys et al.
One must also recall there will be collateral damage to smaller local enterprises with the inevitable negative effects to employment in these.
The only time when we can be truly happy is when manufacturing jobs are created.
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Mr Genor: Well Done You Good & Faithful Servant!
Heard this sound piece today at church and it nearly 'blew my mind'. It lasts 9 minutes but may I strongly, strongly, strongly recommend that you listen to it all the way through!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ew1srubCw_0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ew1srubCw_0
The EU - Again!
'The EU will have to agree the national budgets of heavily indebted countries under a deal to be signed tomorrow at a summit in Brussels attended by David Cameron.
The move will mean Greece losing control over its own budget, after Germany and the International Monetary Fund laid down increasingly harsh conditions for the indebted nation to receive its second £100 billion eurozone bail-out.' (Telegraph.)
True to type, the ever rancid EU uses every situation of any kind to increase its powers. These will NEVER be relinquished as a result of the acquis commaunitaire which was the single most important item in the highly toxic Treaty Of Rome!
The Falklands.
The Falkland Islands have much more to do with us than does Afghanistan. Is it not time that a medium-sized military presence were switched from the one theatre to the other?
If the Argies find this provocative - then TOUGH!
The islanders have a democratic right to our continued protection.
The Game Is Almost Up For Mitt Romney!
Mitt Romney's family apparently baptized Ann Romney's atheist father into the Mormon church a year AFTER his death.
I do not see that this can do much other than lose him the bulk of Christian voters! (A lot of atheists may be less than enchanted.)
I Suppose That This Is A Giant Oil Company Plot!
The supposed ‘consensus’ on man-made global warming is facing an inconvenient challenge after the release of new temperature data showing the planet has not warmed for the past 15 years.
The figures suggest that we could even be heading for a mini ice age to rival the 70-year temperature drop that saw frost fairs held on the Thames in the 17th Century.
Based on readings from more than 30,000 measuring stations, the data was issued last week without fanfare by the Met Office and the University of East Anglia Climatic Research Unit. It confirms that the rising trend in world temperatures ended in 1997!
The figures suggest that we could even be heading for a mini ice age to rival the 70-year temperature drop that saw frost fairs held on the Thames in the 17th Century.
Based on readings from more than 30,000 measuring stations, the data was issued last week without fanfare by the Met Office and the University of East Anglia Climatic Research Unit. It confirms that the rising trend in world temperatures ended in 1997!
Meanwhile, leading climate scientists yesterday told The Mail on Sunday that, after emitting unusually high levels of energy throughout the 20th Century, the sun is now heading towards a ‘grand minimum’ in its output, threatening cold summers, bitter winters and a shortening of the season available for growing food.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2093264/Forget-global-warming--Cycle-25-need-worry-NASA-scientists-right-Thames-freezing-again.html#ixzz1kpekhASr
Prince Andrew.
'Prince Andrew has risked causing another political controversy by poking fun at EU nations plunged into chaos by the collapse of the euro.
The Duke of York told entrepreneurs at the Davos summit in Switzerland that foreign firms should invest in Britain, not other European nations, because ‘unlike them it is open for business’.'
Well. Since his obviously valiant conduct in The Falklands, I've seldom been impressed by the crass behaviour of Prince Andrew.
On this occasion however, he seems to have 'ruffled feathers' more in the mode that would have been employed by his admirably unPC Dad. Well done! He seems to be on our side.Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2093265/At-weve-currency-Prince-Andrew-pokes-fun-EU-nations-suffering-collapse-Euro.html#ixzz1kpcmPb00
Discipline. David Lammy? - Nods Knowingly.
'Former Education Minister David Lammy, who represents the Tottenham area of North London where last summer's disturbances started, says working-class parents need to be able to discipline their children physically to deter them from joining gangs and getting involved in knife crime. Calling for a return to the Victorian laws on discipline, Mr Lammy said parents were 'no longer sovereign in their own homes' and lived under constant fear that social workers would take away their children if they chastised them.'
A Labour MP? - Incredible stuff! Nonetheless, great care must be taken to ensure that only 'reasonable chastisement' ever takes place. When it has not, that is the only point where society should be allowed to meddle.It worked previously - it should work now. Don't tell me about the exceptions - I have heard them all. But let us not get into 'throwing out the baby with the bathwater'.
Prisons Full?
'Prisons in England and Wales are nearly full, the Ministry of Justice has said, partly due to the "significant rise" in people sent to jail over last summer's riots.' (Huffington Post)
Now. Let me see if there might be a solution. Perhaps we could tip some people out of prison who have served nearly a third of their sentence; perhaps we could release a few more dangerous people who are a proven threat to the public good; maybe we should stop sending very many wicked people into prisons in the first place.
Oh sorry. I thought that this was original but apparently the coalition cabinet (aided by Kenny Clarke, of course) were right there ahead of me!
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Professor Trigg.
Leading philosopher Roger Trigg, a Professor at Kellogg College, Oxford, has warned of an increasing tendency in UK courts to prioritise equality above religion, thereby undermining religious freedom.
China: Just Like The Good Old Days. Sigh.
Chinese professor calls Hong Kong residents 'dogs of British imperialists'. (Guardian.)
Afghanistan? - Leave NOW!
Britain's military says a UK soldier has been shot dead by insurgents in southern Afghanistan.
The Ministry of Defence says the soldier from 1st Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment was shot on Friday during a foot patrol in the Nahr-e Saraj district of Helmand province. (The Guardian.)
What? - Will All The Corruption Stretch Out To The Crack O' Doom?
POLICE and prosecutors are still examining the expenses of three parliamentarians, it has been disclosed.
A panel consisting of senior figures from Scotland Yard and the CPS is considering whether further action should be taken in the cases. (Daily Record.)
Muppets!
Sentamu Is Usually Right On The Button - And Is Again.
David Cameron will be acting like a “dictator” if he allows homosexual couples to wed, Archbishop of York Dr John Sentamu says in an interview with The Telegraph.
Cameron 'Selling Out' - As Predicted Ad Nauseam On This Blog.
Cameron has apparently agreed that the European Court of Justice should be used to enforce limits on Eurozone spending. Nice volte face. And soooo unexpected! 
He and Barraso have cooked up a deal to be completed on Monday. This thrice-cursed court will now be able to impose fines on any eurozone country that fails to toe the party line.
He and Barraso have cooked up a deal to be completed on Monday. This thrice-cursed court will now be able to impose fines on any eurozone country that fails to toe the party line.
Christian Persecution In Nigeria? - Yes, And Try Nearer Home!
'Dr Hans-Christian Raabe is a man of gentle demeanour and firm principle who cares deeply about his patients in the deprived area of Manchester where he works as a GP. Indeed, he chose to serve a community where unemployment is high, drug problems endemic and gang warfare rife because he wanted to make a difference.
‘I wanted to care for people in areas of most need, so I opted to work in a disadvantaged community with a high prevalence of social problems,’ he says. ‘And at the root of many of these problems are drugs.’
‘I wanted to care for people in areas of most need, so I opted to work in a disadvantaged community with a high prevalence of social problems,’ he says. ‘And at the root of many of these problems are drugs.’
‘Every day I see the devastation substance abuse causes to individuals, families and communities. I see huge numbers of patients whose lives — whether directly or indirectly — have been ruined by the misuse of drugs.’
As a result of this first-hand experience — and because he felt a public-spirited compulsion to help tackle a national crisis — Dr Raabe volunteered for an unpaid post on the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD).
However, he had barely taken up the three-year voluntary position as a Government adviser when a witch hunt against him began.
Disseminated by internet, the campaign swiftly gathered speed. Then the Home Office weighed in: in February 2011, Dr Raabe was dismissed before he had even had a chance to attend an ACMD meeting. He was given no right of appeal.
What happened? Had he committed a crime so heinous that no amount of self‑justification could exonerate him? Actually, he had not. Dr Raabe, 47, was merely guilty of holding unfashionably uncompromising anti-drugs views — namely that legalising drugs merely normalises their usage, and that we should instead try to create a drug-free society by focusing on drug prevention.'
Friday, January 27, 2012
Jesus Back In The Forefront.
(The Christian Post seems to really like it.)
Enlightened - Dawkins?
"We can have our own enlightened secular values." (Richard Dawkins on humanism.)
Well. I've examined this bigot's social values. His definition of 'enlightened' and mine are clearly NOT the same!
If people choose to be atheists - that's their loss and for them to justify before God at the end of their lives but Dawkins is just something else!
Bad To Worse In Nigeria. Please Pray!
| Jan 24 2012. |
The Islamist militants, who have ordered Christians to leave the north of the country, bombed two churches in Bauchi state in the early hours of Sunday. This followed a series of blasts in Kano state on Friday which killed 160 people – mostly police and military. The final death toll from the weekend's violence is expected to exceed 200. (Release International.)
Exam Shambles Building Up A Head Of Steam.
Figures show that fewer than half – 44 per cent – were even entered for separate GCSEs in English, maths, science, a foreign language and either history or geography. The disclosure will reignite the debate over the education of England’s brightest children amid concerns that too many are being allowed to coast in mixed ability schools. It will also lead to renewed fears that schools are failing to promote rigorous academic subjects in favour of less demanding qualifications to improve headline results.
Chris McGovern, a former headmaster and chairman of the Campaign for Real Education, said the figures represented a “betrayal of a generation”.
Househusbands.
It would seem that the numbers of househusbands in the UK has trebled in 15 years.
And why should this turn any heads? What is the problem? There are more women in employment than men in the UK so this is simply inevitable.
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Psalm 34.
"The face of the LORD is against evildoers, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. When the righteous cry for help, the LORD hears, and rescues them from all their troubles." Psalm 34.vs. 16-17.
The psalm clearly teaches that God punishes evildoers and saves the righteous." This has NOT been changed in the New Testament.
However, heavenly mercy only applies where there is: A) Evidence of repentance and B) A personal acceptance of Christ's sacrifice for us at Calvary.
Socially - we must expect to pay the price for all our misdeeds. Being a Christian or finding faith will not absolve you - and nor should it.
'Sin' and 'crime' obviously overlap - but are not the same thing.
The psalm clearly teaches that God punishes evildoers and saves the righteous." This has NOT been changed in the New Testament.
However, heavenly mercy only applies where there is: A) Evidence of repentance and B) A personal acceptance of Christ's sacrifice for us at Calvary.
Socially - we must expect to pay the price for all our misdeeds. Being a Christian or finding faith will not absolve you - and nor should it.
Somali Pirates.
Why are there countless annual atrocities by Somali pirates? The answer is simple - they usually have absolutely nothing to fear. The killing of nine in a raid to free a hostage yesterday by US forces is most welcome but still only represents a tiny 'drop in the ocean'.
These people must be hunted down and destroyed. It is profoundly immoral to allow them relative freedom to carry on with their self-serving evil when it means that so many of their victims are happily sacrificed on the ultra liberal altar of political correctness.
Do the liberal left elites around the world have any notion whatsoever of the difference between right and wrong: justice and injustice?
Do the liberal left elites around the world have any notion whatsoever of the difference between right and wrong: justice and injustice?
I've Always Said: 'Justice Delayed Is Justice Denied.'
'I laugh at you self righteous clowns and I spit in the face of your so called justice system. The state of North Carolina has sentenced me to death but it's not real.'
Danny Hembree (Mail) talking mockingly in a letter to a newspaper - boasting about his 'luxurious lifestyle' in prison.
Imagine the intensity of grief this will have caused to relatives of his victim/s.
Apparently, this man without a single grain of genuine remorse feels that he will ultimately escape execution.I still pray that he will tap into God's mercy - but on the social level, he must pay for his crime!
Alaskan Airlines.
After 30 or more years of giving out prayer cards with every flight meal, apparently Alaskan Airlines have decided to end the practice. In the great scheme of things, it may not be 'a biggie' but I find it rather sad that a tiny handful of complaints from 'the usual suspects' should deprive so many of a little comfort - and perhaps in particular, those who have a fear of flying.
How often in our world does the tail wag the dog!
No Tax On Incomes Below £10,000?
Nick Clegg is thought to be about to demand that income tax for basic rate taxpayers is cut so that the first £10,000 in earnings would be tax-free.
If this indeed the case - a hearty three cheers for finally listening to UKIP!
If this indeed the case - a hearty three cheers for finally listening to UKIP!
BUT this is only true wisdom if he then begins to follow the UK's best party on the really big issue. (Okay - I know full well that comparatively that 'best' may not mean a great deal - especially when you look at the others!)
So what is the said issue? - Readers will be unsurprised to find that that would be our withdrawal from the main body of the EU to being self-determining members of the EEA.
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Croatia - A National Death Wish?
Lying.
La verdad Sospechosa is the best example of Alarcón's contribution to Spanish, Golden Age drama.
I studied this text at university and it is all about a young, well-born man who tells lies. His father is informed of this in a most roundabout and careful way with the words 'No siempre dice la verdad.' - 'He doesn't always tell the truth.' Note the gentle way this ignoble vice is presented to a shocked and horrified parent.
Reports over the last few days suggest that lying in our nation is now endemic. What a downward spiral we are in.
I studied this text at university and it is all about a young, well-born man who tells lies. His father is informed of this in a most roundabout and careful way with the words 'No siempre dice la verdad.' - 'He doesn't always tell the truth.' Note the gentle way this ignoble vice is presented to a shocked and horrified parent.
Death.
Rowan Pelling's article about dealing with 'death issues' is not without interest but an old pastor of mine regularly used the phrase 'You are not promised tomorrow.' This was not so much a threat as a very friendly warning.
It never fails to astonish me that people who live under heaps of insurance policies dealing with 'what might happen' are often so slow to deal with what WILL happen - their ultimate departure from this mortal coil.
How can you 'chance it' that Christians are wrong?
How can you make a wild guess or risk a potentially deadly assumption?
Attending four weddings and a funeral would make you an expert in the Christian Faith, would it?
Why do people think - or perhaps I should say hope - that if they have been wrong about God - it will all turn out just fine? After all 'He is a God of love' didn't you tell me?
Think of all the other areas of life where people would never dream of operating to the same criteria.
Consider this analogy: a hurricane warning is given and so you ignore it. Just think of the ramifications and make a comparison.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/9035916/If-the-plane-crashes-I-want-to-know-where-Ill-end-up.html
The ECHR - A Little Bit Of The Tragic History.
Our Nation Is Run By The Terminally Mad.
'Not a single penpusher has been sacked under Ministry of Defence job cuts despite the 'grotesque' axing of hundreds of troops, a damning report reveals today.
MPs say it is 'stark and shocking' that no bureaucrats have been made compulsorily redundant yet 40 per cent of the military personnel culled were forced out.'Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2091304/Fury-MoD-sacks-hundreds-troops-job-cuts--penpusher.html#ixzz1kRgS6Jn2
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Capitulation To The Criminal Classes Is Near Total.
Caught with six kilos of cannabis and you could still avoid jail! (Telegraph.)
Drug runners and dealers could avoid prison even if caught with heroin, cocaine or thousands of pounds worth of cannabis.
Sentencing guidelines issued today say that offenders who play a “limited” role in gangs could face community orders for intent to supply Class A drugs. Dealers caught with 6kg of cannabis, valued at £17,000 and enough to fill 30,000 joints or keep an average user in supply for 17 years, could also avoid prison. The sentences on drug “mules” will be cut substantially, while workers in small cannabis “farms” could escape custody. Courts will be told for the first time to reduce sentences for cannabis possession if it is being used for medicinal purposes.
Only the last sentence contains any sense at all! If I hear the expression 'the war on drugs' again - I think I'm going to scream - we are not even having a minor skirmish.
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