Stuck in San Fran

Its 0715 & I have a world class hangover. Today is going to be a long old day.

On This Day ... in 1918 & Others

Following the death of every non-commissioned officer in a Rifle Brigade platoon on the Western Front, Private Beesley took charge of the surviving men. He made a lone attack on a German post, killing four and taking six prisoner. Then, he and another private manned a Lewis Gun, holding the position for several hours against German counter-attacks. His comrade fell wounded, but Beesley held on alone until night. He then carried his wounded colleague back to the British lines. Beesley received the Victoria Cross.

Why do men die first?

This is a question that has gone unanswered for centuries, but, now we know. It requires a bit of explanation, first:

If you put a woman on a pedestal and try to protect her from the rat race ... you're a male chauvinist.
If you stay home and do the housework ... you're a pansy.
If you work too hard ... there's never any time for her.
If you don't work enough ... you're a good-for-nothing bum. If she has a boring repetitive job with low pay ... this is exploitation.
If you have a boring repetitive job with low pay ... you should get off your lazy behind and find something better.

Pump it up

If you were to take a little look on Guntrader, a cursory glace would reveal that of the 2,464 rifles that are for sale, only 21 are pump actions. Unlike our American cousins, for no real reason us stout bulldogs don’t consider them to be ‘part of the woodwork’. Indeed the same said search of Guntrader would reveal that most of the ‘pumps’ that are for sale are old Brownings such as this

that are in the rack at £150, less dealer discount. So, cut to an undisclosed location in Texas just over a month ago when I had the opportunity to shoot a Taurus thingy or to give it its full title a Model 62C-SS

On This Day ... in 1765 & Others

A new First Rate ship of the line was launched for the Royal Navy at Chatham. However, the completion of HMS Victory was delayed, and she did not enter service until 1778.

Of peasants & piss poor economics

I am typing this in the business class cabin of a 747 en route from London to San Francisco. I am making this journey not because I need to rack up the airmiles or indeed, that I particular enjoy British Airways’ coffee, the quality of which should at the very least be considered a crime against humanity. However in the absence of hearings in The Hague, I am making this trip to make money: not just small amount of money but great big pots, overflowing with the filthiest of lucre. I am currently at 36,000 ft over Greenland with the expressed intention of over the next few months, delivering a lot of shareholder value. & that should cheer you up if your pension fund holds shares in our company, which I can guarantee you it almost certainly does.

In my luggage I have a spare laptop, a brace of BlackBerrys & 3G card with global coverage & enough financial modelling software to ‘arb’ just about any market you care to mention. Next week I will be in Hong Kong & the week after in China. I am globalisation. My carbon footprint can crush entire tribes of illiterate indigenous peoples who are still several hundred years away from discovering the benefits of soap let alone dental floss. I am become big business … or at least its willing accomplice.

Now on the subject of progress, last week saw the launch of the 4th incarnation of the computer game, Grand Theft Auto or GTA4 to use the vernacular. Its release was heralded by a luddite-like reaction from the usual sandal shod suspects. Apparently this computer game is going to bring about the destruction of the entire Western canon in a hail of violent plasma screen graphics. More than one commentator seems to be calling for the digital ducking stool to be broken out. Turn back the clock, up go the arms of anguished protest in the meejar section of The Guardian … burn the Playstation … smash the xBox … all hail the hop scotch sqaures, all hail the yo-yo.

In a saner world & happier times, this posturing brouhaha could be treated with distain, a barrage of personal abuse directed at the liberal left mainstream media outlets or a fusillade of No.6 shot depending upon your own viewpoint, disposition & level of medication. Yet in the face of reality, the sack cloth & ashes routine goes on. All the column inches are proof, as if it were needed, of the lengths that some people will go to deny reality. You can’t turn the clock back. Pandora’s box is well & truly open. You can’t uninvent the persistent nerve agents, long haul travel, the internal combustion engine or even computer games. The genie won’t go back in the bottle, mainly because he’s just boosted some wheels & was last seen in da’hood doing a drive by. Fo’shure.

Sadly exactly the same mentality is applied to agri-economics. Yes, an acre used to be the amount of land that a team of horses could plough in a day: currently an acre is roughly 1/60th of the area that man & machine can cover in the equivalent time. It is progress, efficiency, not starving or being beholding to those that control the land & the means of food production. A few hundred years ago we completely revolutionised the agricultural economy that culmination of which gives us the ability to feed the world’s population of 6 billion.

Back to San Fran

I checked into my hotel an hour or so ago

I seem to recall that the weather was just as grey when I was last here, just over a month ago

On This Day ... in 1776 & Others

Charles Douglas arrived at Quebec with a British relief fleet; Thomas and the Revolutionary American forces abandoned their siege and retreated up river to Chambly

Cheerleading

Girls who dislike playing competitive games will be allowed to trade in their hockey sticks for pompoms in an effort to bring American-style cheerleading to English schools. Children in Plymouth, Leicester and Hertfordshire are among those already being trained in “cheer dance” – the beginner’s form of cheerleading that includes pompom routines, chants and athletic manoeuvres, such as the splits.

The hope is that cheerleading will liven up the PE curriculum and encourage those pupils turned off by competitive sport to exercise.“Cheerleading has a broad appeal because it combines so many elements like dance, gymnastics and music,” said a spokesman for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, which is behind the initiative.

If it were down to me (& its just as well it isn't) I'd say that "Cheerleading" already has a (ahem) "broad appeal"

Imperial Medley

I’ve had this little collection of pics kicking around in My Pictures folder for a number of months now. Happier days eh?

Hangovers & flights

So I could tell up that the weekend was spent at Badminton Horse Trials but if the truth be known, I never got further than the beer tent. I took this picture at about seven thirty on Saturday morning not long before my first pint …

Anyway, today is a Bank Holiday but that doesn’t mean that there is any peace for the wicked & terminally hungover. In a few hours a car will come to collect me & whisk me off to Heathrow.

Another week in the States beckons …

On This Day ... in 1811 & Others

Marshal Massena, attempting to relieve the besieged town of Almeida, attacked Wellington's army at Fuentes de Onoro. The French VI Corps did well and was on the verge of breaking Wellington's right wing when the British Light Division arrived on the scene after a forced march and reversed the situation, despite a considerable French superiority in numbers. Massena was forced to withdraw to Salamanca, and Almeida fell to Wellington within the week.

On This Day ... in 1889 & Others

During an attack on a fortified Burmese village, Surgeon Le Quesne went to the aid of a badly wounded officer lying only 15 feet from the enemy stockade, and, ignoring enemy fire, dressed the officer's injuries. Unfortunately, despite the Surgeon's efforts, the officer did not survive. Le Quesne then went to assist another casualty, and whilst doing so was himself hit and severely wounded. He received the Victoria Cross.

On This Day ... in 1815 & Others

The Polish Kingdom was established. According to the resolutions of the Congress of Vienna, it become part of the Russian Empire

FILTH 2: Return to the (former) colonies

So 2 weeks ago, there I was, comfortably ensconced in the BA First Class lounge, little drinkie-poos in one hand, when the phone goes. Damn, it’s the boss was my initial reaction but then remembering that for some lamentable reason it was only my first come back sharpener I took the call.

Fifteen minutes later, it transpires that immediately after my next little West Coast junket which is next week, I have to get myself on a flight going the other way & head for Harry Honkers.

Five months unaccompanied. Yippeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! Wanchai … fi de la, ummmmgoy sai

See, the credit crunch is nothing new

New header

Thanks to the sterling efforts of The Englishman, this morning dear readers, we have a new header. I hope you like it ... I'm back out to the fields now

On This Day ... in 1497 & Others

John Cabot set sail from Bristol to find what he thought was Asia; Cabot's expedition reached land on June 24th, likely at Cape Breton, then made his way along the south coast of Newfoundland

Local Government Elections

Oh lorks-o-lordy, today is local election day. To say that I am currently feeling detacthed from the political process would be something of an understatement. Indeed, ever since Mrs FM subjected our local Lib-Dem candidate to a few hours of waterboarding, word seemed to have got out amoungst the canvasing community that ours was one farm to be avoided if you didn’t want of enjoy the full Fritzl expirence.

Actually, I don’t care if that b*stard Brown is going to take a shoeing

Gordon Brown faces the first electoral test of his premiership today, with Labour chiefs braced for the party’s worst showing at the polls in a generation. Ministers fear the loss of London and scores of council seats across the country as voters cast the first ballots since Mr Brown was anointed Prime Minister and ducked an early general election. Labour strategists fear that the party could record its lowest share of the vote in local elections since the 1970s, falling as low as 25 per cent and finishing third behind the Tories and Liberal Democrats - a humiliation for Mr Brown.

Or if Mr Never Done A Real Days Work In His Life Cameroon (who incidentally is to the left of Brown on a number of topics) gets more seats on the Parish Council or whatever we a supposed to be voting on

Gains of 200 seats in today's local elections and a victory for Boris Johnson in the London mayoral contest would enable him to claim the Conservative party's most important breakthrough while in opposition. Mr Cameron is looking for the Tories to record more than 40 per cent of the vote – a share which could see the party elected to Government if repeated at a general election.

In London, the choice is even more unappealing: you can vote for Red Ken (the corrupt one), Boris (big on amusement value & that’s about it) & then there’s the other one. Frankly, the London electorate get more choice down at the Golden Arches.

It doesn’t really matter where which end of the political spectrum that you look at, nowhere can you find a commitment to low taxes & individual freedoms. In fact these days candidates of every shade seem to want to claim bragging rights for how much their respective parties are going to spend. That’s why I have a large flask of coffee & some sandwiches made up …

My sort of mechanic

Surveillance Britain - Now its cameras for lollipop patrols

Kirklees Council in West Yorkshire has mounted mini cameras on lollipops, one facing forwards, the other backwards. The pictures can be used as evidence against drivers who hurl abuse or put the children crossing the road at risk

(I know that I have posted this pic before & again apologies to wherever I originally right clicked it from)

Germans are being given a lesson in the new meaning of

''serving the Fatherland '' by the Austrians

15 years in the cellar for Hughie for that one

On This Day ... in 1689 & Others

Admiral Arthur Herbert, with twenty-two ships of the line, attempted to disrupt the landing by the French of men and supplies for James II at Bantry Bay. However, the French escorting fleet of 24 ships held Herbert to an inconclusive draw, without loss to the supply effort.

Mauser G33/40

This mornings gun porn is a Mauser oddity, the Mauser G33/40 which was usually issued to the Alpenkorps

The G33/40, is a shortened and lightened version of the K98 rifle. Built by Waffen Werke Brunn it was only in production for 3 years, from 1940-1942. It fired the exact same 7.92mm round, and had the same Mauser 98 action. However, that is where the similarities end.

The G33/40 had several different parts that were not matching with the K98. These included: the bolt, stock, cleaning rod, sight hood cover, upper hand guard, barrel bands, sling, and even the bayonet.

This particular survivor is fitted with a ZF41 scope it would have been issued to a marksman for short distance sniper duties.

Just because you are paranoid, doesn’t mean they are not out to get you

Saudi Arabia v Wales

A popular Saudi blogger who was detained by the authorities in December has been set free. Fouad al-Farhan had used his website to criticise alleged corruption and call for democratic reforms in his country. No official explanation was given for either the detention or the decision to free him

Meanwhile Wales …

A blogger who "let off steam" about the way he was treated by police has been convicted of posting a grossly offensive and menacing message

Now there is no doubt in my mind that Gavin Brent is a very unpleasant piece of work who deserves everything he is due

In February, Brent was charged with 19 offences of theft and two charges under the Proceeds of Crime Act involving internet purchases. The court heard how detective constable Steve Lloyd conducted interviews, but was not present when Brent was charged because his wife was having a baby.

Prosecutor Liz Bell said someone unfortunately told Brent why the officer was absent. Brent then ranted about his perceived mis-treatment at the hands of police and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). His posting ended: "P.S. - D.C. Lloyd, God help your new-born baby".

but when our much vaunted judicial system starts to behave like the Saudi authorities, forget the fact the average price of petrol is now £5 a gallon, you know its time to leave

Danger: Vermin shooters at work?

On This Day in 1789 ... & Others

George Washington is inaugurated as the first president of the United States of America

IT Security

When you read stories like this (via Guido)

As the government contemplates a law to criminalise "reckless" losses of data it is worth reflecting on the sophisticated data security employed by Harriet Harman to prevent hacking of her blog:

username : harriet
password : harman

It makes you realise that its no wonder that this happened...

What an utter utter nanger!

(Pointed out by EX_STAB)

What to do with an old BSA?

There are lots of ‘em kicking around, old BSA .22s, for the most part, unused & unloved, consigned to the back of the gun safe gently gathering dust & worse. The fact that there is still such a supply of these rifles that haven’t now been produced for several decades, is an indication of how well they were put together in the first place. However both time & shooting fashions have somewhat passed the venerable BSA Martini by. Even me, Mr Black Plastic have to confess that there is something about these old rifles, even though I sold mine a few years ago.

Anyway, on Sunday night as I whiled away the evening half watching television but mainly surfing gun porn & fantasising about future gun purchases, I came upon this up for sale by one of my local dealers

Now at £595 it is way way too spendy given that whilst cute, even the glass is nothing special (it is sporting an Optimate 6x44). Then again, just look at that walnut stock

With a 21” barrel & sound moderator fitted, to my way of thinking, you could while away many a happy afternoon just plinking away at either tins or targets. The only down side that I can see is the way the scope is mounted

With the rear bell sitting so far back over the action, swift reloads might prove a little fiddly & this in turn might any serious vermin control slightly difficult. But then, a little more research revealed this which is currently for sale by the same dealer that I bought my Mauser & Ruger 1022 Evolution from

& the credit crunch continues

On This Day ... in 1802 & Others

The Marines were awarded the honour of "Royal" in their offical title for meritous service by George III

Local government elections are only a couple of days away ...

The UK's 2006-7 Gun Crime Statistics

In GFWland (the United Kingdom) there were 18,489 firearms offences reported in 2006-7 & that in a country where politicians of every shade take pride in bragging about how ‘tough’ our gun laws are. However, despite all the bans, the erosion of rights & seizures of private property, as the chart below shows

at least 46% of all gun crime is perpetrated by illegally owned weapons. Yet hardly a week goes by with there be calls for more bans, more seizures of private property from what is statistically the most law abiding (& I would add, responsible) portion of the population.

I could write reams of badly punctuated invective about how unfair it all is, but instead, I would like to compare and contrast the treatment of two different minorities by our self-styled political class. We are repeatedly assured that it is only a tiny minority of Mohammedans that have or want to commit terrorist offences in this country & that it does not behove us to hold the wider Muslim community to account, for the actions of the few.

This same level of (ahem) understanding does not extend to the UK’s shooters. In stark contrast, the Government is only too ready to hold anyone that owns a firearm guilty by association for the actions of 2 individuals. This is music to the ears of the legion of gun-grabbers that live here. However, as regular readers of this topic know, reason & firearms legislation are mutually exclusive.

Gobalisation goes to the moon?

On This Day ... in 1760 & Others

In Canada, on the anniversary of Samuel de Champlain arriving in Quebec in 1610, the French took advantage of the thaw on the rivers to launch an attempt to retake the city.

Brigadier Murray's garrison was weakened by illness. He was warned of the French approach when a French sergeant was found dying in the icy waters of the St Lawrence by a Royal Navy patrol. Murray advanced to meet the French at the village of Sainte Foy. A fierce action ensued on the Plains of Abraham, with the French eventually gaining the upper hand; casualties were equally bloody, with around a thousand or more suffered on each side. Although they forced Murray to retreat back into Quebec, French reinforcements failed to arrive to allow them to retake the city.

No internet???

On This Day ... in 1296 & Others

Following Edward I's sack of Dunbar town on 30 March, the Scots launched a raid into Northumberland, hoping to draw him back south of the border. Despite deliberate atrocities, including the burning alive of schoolboys in a church at Hexham, Edward refused to rise to the bait, and the Scots retreated north to Dunbar. Edward then detached Earl Warenne to blockade them.

Scottish reinforcements attempted to trap Warenne on 27 April, but, leaving Sir Henry Percy with a small force to maintain the blockade of Dunbar, he met the Scots head-on with his cavalry. The Scots cavalry failed to wait for infantry support and charged the English men-at-arms. The English knights and sergeants proved far superior and comprehensively defeated their opponents. The failure to relieve Dunbar forced the garrison to surrender to Edward when he arrived on the scene the following day.

Happy Earth Day

I completely forgot about Earth Day 2008 which was earlier this week & I have only just been reminded of by reader mmmk who also kindly sent me this pic

I think thats enough on this topic, next please ...

00-Buckshot

I cant remember where I right clicked this from,

but it reminds me of Chris Byrne’s line from Team Infidel: "Nothing says God is great like 00-buck "

On This Day ... in 1915 & Others

Second Lieutenant Rhodes-Moorhouse, 2 Squadron Royal Flying Corps, set off on a bombing mission against the German-held rail junction at Courtrai in Belgium. Given the primitive nature of aircraft bombing equipment at this time, the only hope of accuracy was at low-level. His approach took him through heavy ground-fire, particularly from a German machine-gun in the belfry of the church. His aircraft was badly damaged, and he suffered a severe wound in the thigh, but nevertheless dropped his bomb successfully. He managed to fly back to base and insisted on making his report before receiving medical treatment. He died of his wounds the next day. Rhodes-Moorhouse was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross, the first VC for air action.

On the ground, also in Belgium, Jemadar Mir Dast distinguished himself commanding a platoon of the Frontier Force in an attack on German positions, later rallying the battalion after the loss of senior officers. Furthermore, in the course of the day he carried no fewer than eight wounded British and Indian officers to safety. Corporal Smith of The Manchester Regiment was also active in the rescue of wounded men from No Man's Land, on one occasion carrying a casualty 250 yards back through enemy fire. Both the Jemadar and Smith received the Victoria Cross.

At Gallipoli, as the troops landed the previous day struggled to advance inland, Lieutenant Colonel Doughty-Wylie, Royal Welch Fusiliers, and Captain Walford, Royal Artillery, took charge of a major attack against an old fortification atop a hill when the brigade commander had been killed. Thanks to their leadership, the position was taken, but both men were killed. Both men were awarded the Victoria Cross, as was Corporal Cosgrove, Royal Munster Fusiliers, who ripped apart barbed wire entanglements with his bare hands to allow his section to get through and attack the Ottoman positions behind.

Still tough on crime?

Tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime. That was the now infamous Labour campaign slogan. Yet after a decade of in power, Judges are being repeatedly advised by the so-called Ministry of Justice not to incarcerate convicted criminals & even when they do, they are released early.

However, it seems that there is now a new issue with our prison service

Inmates are so comfortable in jail that they do not want to escape, a prison officer union leader says.

Clearly these early release schemes must come as a bitter disappointment to some prisoners especially as for example

It tells me something is wrong in society when people are breaking in to prisons to bring in drugs, but the prisoners are quite happy to stay inside … drugs are coming into prisons at a rate that's so dramatic that drugs in prison are actually cheaper than on the outside

Well, can I just suggest that in the absence of being able to moor prison hulks in the Medway estuary the other solution is this…

When Government logos go wrong

For those of you that don’t already know, the UK Office of Government Commerce is

responsible for improving value for money by driving up standards and capability in procurement

& to prove it, they have a new logo

Now forget the fact that yet another government department is wasting even more of our money on ‘marketing’ the real problem comes when you rotate the image…

South African Electricity explained

Via Alan

A Vikings view of American politics

This is best summary of the current Amercian political landscape that I've read in some time...

We in Denmark cannot figure out why you are even bothering to hold an election.

Is there a contest here?

You can't say clearer than that! Stolen from The Smallest Minority who in turn stole it from Irons in the Fire

The General - Siegfried Sassoon

"Good-morning; good-morning!" the General said
When we met him last week on our way to the line.
Now the soldiers he smiled at are most of ’em dead,
And we’re cursing his staff for incompetent swine.

"He’s a cheery old card," grunted Harry to Jack
As they slogged up to Arras with rifle and pack.
But he did for them both by his plan of attack.

Talk about legroom on airliners...

Maybe that's why its known as a Papal Legit

On This Day ... in 1859 & Others

At Port Said, Egypt, ground is broken for the Suez Canal, the artificial waterway intended to stretch 101 miles across the isthmus of Suez and connect the Mediterranean and the Red seas.

Ferdinand de Lesseps, the French diplomat who organized the colossal undertaking, delivered the pickaxe blow that inaugurated construction.

Pharmaceutical childcare

We are definately not feeling like a Captain of Industry today

On This Day ... in 1898 & Others

Spain declared war on the United States after rejecting America's ultimatum to withdraw from Cuba

Pick a number, any number

The government was "entirely unrealistic" in estimating the cost of hosting the 2012 Olympics, a group of MPs have said. The Public Accounts Committee said ministers used "wishful thinking" and "ignored foreseeable major factors" such as tax and security. At the time of the bid, costs were estimated at just over £4bn, but last year the budget was put at £9.325bn. The government says "a lot has changed" since the period the report focuses on. In its report, the committee outlined the division of costs anticipated at the time of the bid - which were to be met by public sector funding of £3.4bn and a further £738m from the private sector

Yes, "a lot has changed" since the original bid was made … like the numbers.

Now in the normal course of a working day, your humble correspondent deals with quite a lot of numbers, but I can assure you all that if I, like the Olympic Committee was wrong by over £5,000,000,000 on a financial projection, I’d be in front of the Chief Executive for the proverbial interview without coffee & shown the door. Oh to work for the public sector, eh?

Games to play in San Francisco: Jeans shop japery

Walk into a the 4 storey Levi’s store that fronts Union Square

Ask to buy a pair of jeans. When they ask exactly what sort of jeans your want, tell them that you just want a pair of ordinary blue jeans & enjoy the look of utter confusion on the shop assistants face

Art or fire support?

From Jeremiah Ridgeway

Rubbish

A father-of-four has been left with a criminal record for overfilling his wheelie bin by four inches.
Gareth Corkhill, 26, of Whitehaven, Cumbria, received a £110 fixed penalty notice after Copeland Council staff photographed his raised bin lid.

When he refused to pay he was taken to court where magistrates added a further £115 to the fixed penalty. Copeland Council has defended its actions and pledged to continue to take action against overfilled wheelie bins.

Nice to know that Copeland Council has its priorities in order

The Council, like many local authorities, aims to reduce the amount of waste it sends to landfill, and offers a range of recycling facilities to help our residents do this. We must also enforce our waste policies to ensure that people do reduce the amount of waste they produce. If we do not follow the waste minimisation agenda that is being enforced nationally then we risk passing on major fines to all Copeland households.

If I were Gareth Corkhill, I'd be busy downloading plans for a truck bomb.

Happy St George's Day

Now order the ranks, and fling wide the banners,
for our souls are God's and our bodies the King's,
and our swords for Saint George and for England

from The White Company, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

On This Day ... in 1915 & Others

Lance Corporal Fisher of The Quebec Regiment was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross for his bravery commanding a machine-gun team during heavy fighting in Belgium. Having previously enabled an artillery battery to retire safely, he was killed whilst attempting to establish a new firing position under heavy enemy fire.

In the Aegean, one of the most famous poets of the war, Rupert Brooke, died of blood-poisoning en route to join the Dardanelles campaign. He is for ever remembered for the lines

If I should die, think only this of me:
That there's some corner of a foreign field
That is forever England.
There shall be in that rich earth a richer dust concealed;
A dust whom England bore, shaped, made aware,
Gave, once, her flowers to love, her ways to roam,
A body of England's, breathing English air,
Washed by the rivers, blest by suns of home

It is not often realised that he was not a soldier but a Sub-Lieutenant serving with the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve ashore. Brooke died of blood-poisoning on board a hospital ship heading for the Dardanelles and was originally buried by his fellow officers. His body was carried to the olive grove during the night and a simple stone cairn was constructed. A wooden cross bearing the above inscription was erected

Here lies the servant of God, sub-lieutenant in the English Navy
who died for the deliverance of Constantinople from the Turks

At the end of the First World War, at the instigation of his mother, this grave was replaced by the current tomb

Last white farmers in Masvingo area under "siege" from Mugabe

Date: Sat, 5 Apr 2008 19:00:05 +0200
Subject: Last White farmers under siege, instigated by Mugabe

Dear Family and Friends,

Well never thought I would have to do this email do not know if it may be my last from our farm "Chidza".

At 3.30pm today a lorry load of so called Mugabe brain washed "war-vets" arrived at our gate to take over our land, equipment and pedigree cattle. This crazy action is occurring in a country where there is v little food being produced !

It is now 6 pm and they have been singing their war songs at our gate for three hours, the atmosphere is violent and more and more of them have arrived.

We managed to get our daughter Alison and her young son "Little John" into town and for now it is just John and myself, plus our dogs remaining in the house on the farm.They have said that our labour will not work tomorrow . They have demanded that John must kill them a sheep, which John has flatly refused to do, so no doubt they will simply kill one for themselves.
None of our paid labour will even attmpt to come to work tomorrow either!

Graham Richards who lives south of us is also under siege at the same time as us, so this siege of the last remaining whites is an orchestrated plan. The Goddards and Deidricks are in the same boat. They have already taken over Pa-Nyanda Guest Lodge, and Graham and his wife Callie are now in town.Alison is at John sisters in Masvingo town and her husband Carl is expected back from Bulawayo tonight.

So for now please keep all of us in your prayers and we will send a follow up tomorrow if we are able.

Our love to you all.

John and Joy from Chidza.

Via Bill

Wax dummies?

Can it be true? Madame Tussauds wax creations are now so realistic that they can give TV interviews? Or are these two just a pair of Economic Crash Test Dummies?

Cant say fairer than this

No speakie inglishhhhhh. No problem

Its probably a given that if you are here, even if here is in what has become known as a virtual sense, you probably believe in free markets which by their very nature require the free movement of goods, capital & labour. Indeed it probably isn’t just me that wishes that Nu Labour would move … move to a previously uninhibited island somewhere in the South Atlantic but maybe we will have to save that one for the Glorious Day. But we digress.

If you support the free movement of labour then it is implicit within that belief that you don't have a problem with labour moving to this country so long as it obeys our laws, observes our traditions, beliefs & actually works; not sit around all day on social security launching legal aid funded civil actions claiming that their rights have been infringed because you don’t have a 50 inch plasma screen TV. Don’t laugh, it happened at one of Immigration Centre.

Now, its seems that Asian restaurants cant get the staff so they want more low skilled workers to be allowed into the UK

Thousands of protesters in London's Trafalgar Square insisted they were on a mission - to save the great British curry. There was noise, colour and a warm welcome to any curious onlookers who stopped by. These protesters, more than most, appreciated the importance of getting the Front of House right. They were here to complain about immigration rules which, they say, are harming the UK's ethnic restaurants.

OK, but here’s the money quote in the piece
Under the scheme, migrants can only work in the UK if they meet criteria including the ability to speak proficient English. "It's crazy," said Salim Chowdhury Miah, a restaurateur and local councillor from Derby. "My chef can't speak any English, but he doesn't need to. He's there to make curry.

Yet another small example of the harmonious multiracial society that our politic class promised us. If you don’t have enough respect for your host country to learn the language, what else don’t you respect?

I bet a woman parked that