My break from blogging continues. I have not been posting in or reading the comments sections. I am told some people have been worried by some posts there purporting to be from me. They are not from me, I am in good health and have not discovered any “bugs” or phone taps – someone is posting nonsense comments in my name.
Anyway here is a photo of my bed, to help explain why I am taking a break.
And here are some pictures of the rest of the house, which had been illegally converted to bedsits and substantially trashed.
Here is Ingo working on reinstating an original mable fireplace and open fire. Unfortunately by the time I took one this one the plaster dust had got into my Blackberry as it has got everywhere else.
We only have a few weeks left to get the house habitable for the family. We work from dawn to dusk. We haven’t got television or the internet or indeed, much of the time, electricity and water. It is simply not practicable to blog sensibly at the moment so I am concentrating purely on the building work until we are past the worst of it.
I really wish you’d get an rss-feeder installed on the weblog, so that one could be notified whenever u add sth to it. (I’m halfway through Catholic Orangemen and it’s one of the most interesting books I’ve read in years).
all my best
a fellow historian
Thanks again, dreoilin. Yes, those quotes are super!
The other thing I wanted to say on a more general point of a slightly different sort (not in response to your post but as a tangential matter) was that there seems to be a campaign on the part of reactionary elements in Pakistan and a large part of the UK mainstream media to demonise the current (yes, flawed, but no more so than any previous military or civilian government in that country) government in Pakistan, a govt which seems constantly to have to fight actually to govern; no such concerted attempt to undermine the ruling regime was made during either Zia ul Haq’s or Pervez Musharraf’s military rule to whom the same elements seemed constantly to give the benefit of the doubt. I think that while the problems are immense, much of the anti-govt/ anti-Pakistan coverage is being generated by ‘retired’ Army officials and other assorted Right-wing (and nearly always Islamist) political elements.
I could be wrong, but I believe that anti-Pakistan coverage has affected the amount of aid being donated to the flood victims, which is far short of what’s needed. People can be subconsciously affected. Some of us on Twitter are trying to jizz up donations to the DEC and Concern Worldwide.
Tell me why I’m wrong in thinking this… if a country is short of (say) helicopters, I can understand – but why does a country than can pay for a massive army, and nuclear weapons, need money off working class people in Britain? I mean, come on! Either they need to help their own people, or they need to be a nuclear power – have we got to stick our hands in our pockets, so they can be both?
Humanitarian Warfare in Pakistan:Bombs not bread
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=20641
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-10977400
The drones are still delivering their payloads and the hideous Hillary Clinton is talking up the likelihood of terrorrrrrrrrrrrrrists using the opportunity to insert themselves into the stricken communities.
dreoilin, your’re right. Absoluetly right.
dec, it’s about people helping people, not govts giving govts weapons. There needs to be a redistribution of wealth and resources in Pakistan. But this flood disaster would tax even a highly developed country; it’s not about ‘working class people in Britain being robbed’ (as it were); it’s about working class people showing solidarity with other working class people; it’s about helping to save dying children – that ought, I’d argue, to transcend national barriers and other overtly political matters. I completely agree about the armies and nuclear weapons. That does not preclude us helping PEOPLE.
The only terrorists in Pakistan are the murederous C.I.A. black ops twats. Hillary Clinton didn’t have one bad word to say on Israel about the vicious execution of an American citizen on the Gaza flotilla. How much more proof do people want that Israel owns the U.S.A.? Everyone needs to wake up to the fact that it’s the Israeli mafia behind 9/11, 7/7, the fake War On Terror, the Iraq suicide bombings, the sinking of the South Korean ship, the destabilisation of Pakistan and the upcoming aggression towards North Korea and Iran. Just how dumb are some people? To clarify, the Israeli mafia isn’t the Israeli population who are just brainwashed slaves to their masters. We need to roll the tanks into Tel Aviv and Jerusalem to liberate the Israelis!
Just an amusing clip for anyone twiddling their thumbs. Can anyone say they looked at it, who hasn’t seen it before, without smirking? :-0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVgWoeC0Eh4
Whilst home on weekend hols from the dusty hellhole of Ramsgate manor, I’d better give you an update on whats going on there.
Having restored three marble fireplaces,putting a dampcourse into a wall, preparing the main staircase to be decorated, I have now risen to the dizzy heights (second floor) tiling one of the bathrooms. No doubt more diverse chaws will be put in front of us in the coming two weeks.
Anybody who would like to help and exercise their digits with a little more than the usual pitter patter keyboard staccato, can come round and talk to us about melting girders, the melting/de construction of US society or the lack of action against tax avoidance,
is free to do so, just get in touch with Craig.
Those concerned with the ills and woes of the current administration of increasingly rightwing machinators and their wrigglin’ on Dr.Kelly’s untimely demise, as well as the next failed attempt to talk peace in the middle east, without Hamas, about to happen in Washington, will have to talk to each other for a while, we are busy and too knakered by the end of the day for any blooging.
Craigs fine and is enjoying the break from blooging. That said, there is no danger of his hands developing callouses or blisters, disabling his wiritng abilities (:-)……
“The only terrorists in Pakistan are the murderous C.I.A. black ops twats…” Jaded at 5:19pm.
I’m sure you’re correct that those forces are indeed operating there, but they’re not the only terrorists in the country – there are a number of groups of systemic murderers, some ethnically-based, others religion-centric, others organised criminal (and/or criminal/political) networks, others gangs which are being manipulated by various state agencies. All of them conduct black ops.
I think that seeing Israel as all-powerful in the manner you suggest actually risks detracting from the struggle of the Palestinians for a just settlement to the land and human rights issues in Palestine/Israel.
I was talking about the current destabilisation Suhayl. That’s the frickin C.I.A. and only the C.I.A.. If the C.I.A. weren’t skulking aroung there it wouldn’t be happening.
I don’t see Israel as ‘all-powerful’. I was just outlining what I see as the power they possess and what they are responsible for. Do you disagree with my opinion on this?
Lol, I just saw the ITV news headline. ‘Textbook suicide’ and ‘definitely suicide’. Ha ha ha. BULLSHIT!!!
Okay, thanks, Jaded (I think it’s Jaded, above).
No problem, but do you agree that the Israeli elites have a lot of responsibility for these events?
Well, I’m not an expert, Jaded and have no more knowledge on these matters than the next person. I’ve heard stuff about Israeli organised crime syndicates as well as the military-industrial complex in which Israeli companies play an important role. The elites there obviously have their fingers in many pies and have done for a long time – Israel and apartheid South Africa being a prime example. There is no question that these elites (in tandem with the often interchangeable neocon pals in the US power structure) were hugely in favour of the invasion of Iraq and their covert military forces were involved. And of course, Mossad goes about assassinating almost at will, anywhere in the world. There is no reason why they would not be involved in some way and at some level in Af-Pak too.
The problem is that when you discuss international affairs with many (educated) people in, eg. Pakistan, r among some in Muslim communityies in the UK, quite often you get some really silly myths about ‘The Jews’ thrown at you. It’s very difficult to be calm and strategic when you’re trying to argue about the MI complex/ US power and yet argue against these daft and bigoted myths.
Perhaps that goes some way to explaining my circumspection in this area.
I think that Israel loves to project itself as invincible – but look at its Lebanon war of 2006. Some of these myths, etc. play into that propaganda of ‘Israeli invincibility’. I’m not suggesting that you are doing this, though!