Merry
Christmas 2008
I came across this the other day when reading a student
newspaper from Harvard in the late 60's .... I thought it
was quite a good piece to share
The Paradoxical Commandments
People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered.
Love them anyway.
If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior
motives.
Do good anyway.
If you are successful, you will win false friends and true
enemies.
Succeed anyway.
The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow.
Do good anyway.
Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable.
Be honest and frank anyway.
The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be
shot down by the smallest men and women with the smallest
minds.
Think big anyway.
People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs.
Fight for a few underdogs anyway.
What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight.
Build anyway.
People really need help but may attack you if you do help
them.
Help people anyway.
Give the world the best you have and you'll get kicked in
the teeth.
Give the world the best you have anyway.
If
you haven't had one recently, get a smear.
They save lives.
Maybe even yours.
If you're a bloke, have one by proxy.
Just do it.
Robbie my dog is now clear of cancer and hopefully on the
road to recovery. It was a rotten time and thanks to all of
you who asked after him and me. Thanks also to the fabulous
Caroline Ficker, London's only home visit vet. I'm
convinced with her he wouldn't be alive now. You can find
her web page at Home Visit
Vet About our Mobile Veterinary Service. Thanks also to
Sean and his team at Village Vets were they did the surgery
and looked after him so well.
This is Robbie last week when he accompanied me to
Manchester for my birthday to see my friends Sharon and
Keith.
Virgin Trains were bloody marvellous (they always are with
dogs) and we got a great deal on a first class ticket. So
here's our film of him travelling first class on virgin
(Right click and save as...)
MOV00085
January 2008 -
For those who have asked, the cartoons
on the back of my business cards are by a guy called Hugh
McLeod. You can find out more about him by going to
www.gapingvoid.com. You can see his latest cartoon simply
by clicking ..... here.....
Christmas and all
that
In case you're one of those people who's
sent me a christmas card - thankyou - and are now expecting
one back off me, I'm afraid I don't do them. This year I've
sent a donation instead to
Playgrounds for
Palestine - UK - Home
"Playgrounds for
Palestine promotes the human rights of Palestinian
children. It is an affirmation of their right to childhood.
It is a minimal recognition of their humanity.It is an act
of love. Playgrounds for Palestine supports children
growing up in refugee camps and under occupation in
Palestine. Life for these children is harsh and unkind, and
they have little opportunity to play in a safe and creative
environment. Our goal is to build them playgrounds to play
in. Existing installations have already demonstrated clear
benefit to the children and to their communities who have
taken on continued responsibility for the
playgrounds."
Conditions in the Occupied Territories are deteriorating
again. The impact of the restrictions on fuel supplies by
the Israeli government in a country like Palestine where
there are no reserves of wood or coal or any other fuel is
drastic. Hospitals cannot operate, schools close. Add this
to the horrors of everyday life in somewhere like Gaza and
you have a recipe for huge human suffering.
One wonders if Jesus Christ were born in Bethlehem today -
now cut off from Jerusalem and most of its agricultural
land by the Israeli Wall would he have not actually wished
for Herod instead?
Please remember the Palestinian people at this time of year
- and all the civilians on all sides of the conflict. If
you would like to understand more about the situation in
the occupied territories please visit
Palestinian Centre for
Human Rights who
tell us the following about the lives of palestine's
children:
 |
Palestinian children play in Khan Younis refugee camp Photo: PCHR field worker
" Palestinian children are the most tragic victims of the Israeli occupation policy: Their collective childhood is stolen as they are subjected to traumatic incidents which leave mental as well as physical wounds they will carry for the rest of their lives. On an almost daily basis Palestinian children are subjected to humiliating treatment at checkpoints, bombardment from Apache helicopters and F16 fighters and shelling from tanks. Furthermore, they are often prevented from reaching their schools or from going to hospitals due to the internal closures. In more severe - but not rare - cases children experience loss of their homes when Israeli bulldozers destroy them as an act of collective punishment for so-called "security reasons". Closure has prevented Palestinian men from working in Israel; the resulting high unemployment rate has had a severe impact on the living standard of children – according to a survey released in August 2002 by USAID and Care International 19.7% of all Palestinian children between 6-59 months suffer from anemia, 9.3% of the total population suffer from malnutrition. The World Bank estimated in February 2002 – before the Israeli Operation Defensive Shield and Operation Determined Path and the following periods of closures and curfews - that 84.6% of Gazan families and 57.7% of West Bank families live below the international recognised poverty line at 2 dollars per day. This dire economic situation - and in cases where the father is either dead or disabled - often forces children to start working from a young age in order to help support the family. The impact on the mental health of Palestinian children has been catastrophic. A 2001-survey conducted by Gaza Community Mental Health Programme on children living close to major checkpoints in Khan Younis and Rafah in Southern Gaza shows that 54.6% of the children show symptoms of severe Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). More than 50% had seen dead or injured people – in 23% of the cases the person was a family member. The Israeli government's actions that have caused such trauma constitute violations of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child as well as grave breaches - namely war crimes - of the Fourth Geneva Convention. The most central sentence in the conventions is "the right to life" - a right that is violated far too often by the Israeli army that uses not only rubber bullets but also live ammunition and tear gas against stone throwing children. "
Really the least we can do is give them a playground. Playgrounds for Palestine UK only need another £2000.00 to build their first playground. How much are you spending on food, booze, and christmas tat this year?
Playgrounds for Palestine - UK - Home
Music - December 2007
Here you go, three unbeatable download recommendations ...
First off, Rufus Wainwright Does Judy Garland at Carnegie Hall ... or something like that. I don't know if I love this cos I love Judy Garland, Rufus wainwright, or was there in Feb 07 at the Palladium in London when he reprised this. Whatever, its great fun.
Next, The Wombats are NOT just another Liverpool novelty indie band .... oh ok they are then, but they're a bloody decent one. A Guide to Love Loss and Desperation is great fun. Especially recommended is "Lets Dance to Joy Division". Warm, funny, grand, scouse. And yes, I know they'll all be working in higher education or community centres within about 10 years ...
Finally Anti Depressant by Lloyd Cole is a beautifully produced piece of work - witty and poignant. Does just what it says on the label .....
Football - November 2007
"Rafa Confiamos - in Rafa we trust."
Robert November 2007
Robert is a strikingly handsome Tibetan terrier/golden retriever cross born in Toxteth in 1997. The picture above is just after a haircut and the short movie below, just before! In case you're wondering he was named by one Archie Dalgliesh Hird then 8 years old after Robbie Fowler.
(movie removed temporarily)
Resistance is Surrender November 2007
New article by Slavoj Zizek has been published in the LRB. Its got some real resonance for the drugs field - particularly when read alongside Peter McDermott's piece about Transform in latest edition of DrugLink. Check it out here -
LRB · Slavoj Žižek: Resistance Is Surrender
Holidays November 2007
I've just got back from a week on the island of La Gomera. Its a few miles off the coast of Tenerife but it bears about as much relationship to Tenerife as the island of Mull does to the West End of Glasgow. Its a beautiful place - all black sand beaches and these strange terraced valleys. There's only one resort hotel on the whole island - though there's a couple of apartment blocks. It feel really undeveloped. There's a smattering of German nudists and some hippies who forgot to go home, but that's about it for foreigners. In the small town we stayed in I think there were 8 bars and 4 restaurants. No one spoke English. In the interior of the island there's this huge mountain range and a world heritage site rain forest. Its a bit of a trek to get there - fly to Tenerife, bus to the ferry and either 1 hour on the ferry and two hours on the bus or 1.5 hours on the hydrofoil depending on the time of day, but its so worth it.
Anyway here's a few Gomera photos to tempt you ..... NO! What am I doing! I don't want any of you to go! Stop looking right now. Go to Gran Canaria. You'll love it ....
This is the view down La Valle Gran Rey to the sea
This is the Playe Des Ingles in Valle Gran Rey
This is the same beautiful beach at sunset
Remind me why I live in London will you ?
London November 2007
I've lived in London for about 6 years now - and I'm happy here. I never cross the Thames without being hugely impressed by the place - it is a beautiful city.
This is of course a big contrast to the first time I came to London when I was about 11. I was down in Kent from Merseyside (St.Helens to be exact) to stay with my best mate who'd just moved away and her mum let us come into town on our own. I was dead keen to see the river. I loved the Mersey and thought there might be ferries on the Thames too. God I was disappointed! Call that a river I thought - the brook at the end of the school field is wider than that ...
But here I am - and though I retain a great deal of affection for Liverpool and Yorkshire (where I also lived for a few years) - I reckon I'll be in London for a while yet.
I'd like it less if I lived on the outskirts, but I'm right in the middle of town - near Kings Cross station, and I love it. Having said that, its smelly and sometimes ugly and there are far too many people - but its not (contrary to popular belief) unfriendly. At least not if you live here.