Despite my general aversion to war and conflict, we live in a world where for numerous reasons (greed and power usually play a part somewhere) wars and conflicts play out on an almost daily basis, and there comes a time when you have to defend your liberties, freedom and life, if others aim to squash them.

So i commemorate those brave men & women who have died by the millions in battles and conflicts present and past.  I'm sure there are many of us around today who wouldn't be, and those who would who aren't. 

To the fallen.

from the delightful, and far to happy, duchess of fiddle fart's page.

One day, we'll wake up

Technology (that bridling beast, laconically thrashing before breaking loose from its  maddened masters maws, and devouring everything planet-side), was supposedly enabling the groundwork for massive improvement in the lives of inhabitants within advancing 21st century nations: increased leisure times, moments for citizens to think and ponder - which it does for those clever enough, lucky enough, hard-working to be successful enough, or inherited enough; however, each year a substantive population are forced into heedless servitude, forced to work harder to produce more, forced to work longer for less: to bolster the artificial economic reality, as they work competing with those elsewhere who have to work longer, for slightly more so they can compete with... whilst those nibbling away at the edges, wonder exactly what to do with those many figure bank balance assets - whilst hundreds of millions around the world starve, or die, from preventable diseases.

Time and major catastrophe permitting, the laconically padding surly beast will cure our ills; but the current road'll ensure those who can't afford it (law of the jungle/the market - take your pick) will fall by the wayside, leaving those who can (first paragraph provisions permitting) working harder each year to pay for it, or briefly bypassing introduced regulatory hurdles stopping the manufacturing of nothing, wrapping it in nothing and promulgating it as first class investments, as another artificial construct means you take home less than you did the year before, and more of what you buy is just that little bit more expensive than the month before, (unless you live in a hyper-inflating construct, then every second's more expensive) until something's tweaked stopping people realising they're playing with loaded dice, suddenly noticing every-thing's really nought, except a pile of doings.

Until that day, happy snoozing. 

Yay,how appropriate this is the 300th iffy post of tripe, just need to flick through those brochures for something nice and new and shi- oh dear, computer says no.

Stopping Smoking Anniversary

Hurrah?

The one year anniversary of quitting smoking (apart from one stressed out, abortive, puff and gag attempt around the latter part of 2009), arrived and passed two months ago today, and i’m still waiting to see/feel the benefits.

Since cold-turkey-ing, my skin now alternates between shades of grey and full colour, but that's probably more to do with my "vampiric" lifestyle (i.e. simply keeping out of the sunlight and not actually claiming to be “one of the night”), but  more likely it’s the 24/7 belching pollution that permeates this triangular patch of loveliness.

But for those that experience the quitting process, you know when (after abortive attempts) you have properly quit, as you don’t have that rabid and immediate ex-smoker response when someone around your does light up – karmic peace.  Indeed, when friends complain about smokers, i instantly poo-poo their negativity (see i can be positive and upbeat) and jump to the smokers defence. 

If people cared or knew that much about the harm particles were doing they would be more vociferous in wanting a cut in vehicle emissions (did someone say bloody buses?), and a hiking of tax onto air-travel.

I might disagree with what your spouting and actions your taking, but if your actions don’t harm another (without their mutual consent), or encourage the unaware to harm others, then off you pop;  in the meantime, go vitamin d deficiency!

Security vetoes blood soaked hands?

Amazed at the shocks revereberating around the "developed" world that two permanent members of the security council vetoed the implementation of sanctions against Zimbabwe...

Let's see now?

Russia! Oh yes, a poster child for democracy. Not poisioning ex-spies it disagrees with, nor grabbing assets that under a different premier would have been sold off for cheap trinkets - like a tantrum child. Nor showing how manly and muscular it can be by posing with upper torso exposed whilst fishing. With a tenuous, almost Mugabgiesque view of what democracy should be, that's permanent member security veto number 1.

Then there's China, sigh. Ivory back on the market, promoting quiet diploamcy whilst buying up the "developing" - as if the entire world is not in a continual state of developemnt - world's resources, but unlike the Mugabe regimie more likely to imprision for decades as opposed to have the army or ex-army go around and kill them. Duff them up a bit yes. Kill them? No! Well, if you don't take into account Tibet, or the Tiananmen Square massacres (nearly 20 years ago - strange that it still feels like yesterday), or the Falun Gong 'sect', or "AIDS activists have been followed by police and beggars rounded up." And there we have permanent member security veto number 2.

So with all that and China soon to be in bed with Russia over oil & gas, supply and demand, then it should come as no surprise at all ,that things went the way they did in the UN security vote.

And there's obvioulsy going to be no surprise when the 1920's recession clips our chirpy wings, bringing us down from the heady clouds of the never-never we (oh so seemingly briefly) inhabited, to the scrabbling scorched earth of the never-never again.

IndyMac Bank, with perhaps Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae going the same way and destroying 50% of the US mortgage backed guarantees, the green back is looking, as each day passes, more the sick puppy that will soon be on its back in the advanced stages of rigor mortis; with everyone saying 'how did it happen?'

Well those who wouldn't be giving thanks that the great satan has been laid low.