Armchair Revolutionaries

Hi to everybody...when some in the world have sunk to this level, something is seriously wrong with us...and the buyers are as guilty as the perpetrators!...the police believe as many as 60 people have been murdered...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/8369709.stm

I see we have a new Holy Roman Emperor. Apparently he is from Belgium. I have no idea whether he speaks French or Flemish, or more importantly, takes mayonaise or ketchup with his chips, but we are told he is good at paper-pushing without asking too many questions and not rocking the boat while working well with the corrupt bastards around him. These used to be considered ideal qualifications for a Holy Roman Emperor.

In the 103 years since Francis II suspended the enterprise, there have been a few improvements, however. There are now 27 electors instead of the traditional 7 mentioned in the Golden Bull of Charles IV (I don't count the Bavarians who muscled their way in as number 8 during the Thirty Years War).

There has been no coronation, but that is not unusual. No Emperor bothered to be crowned by the pope after Charles V in 1530. No-one, not even Otto I in 962, ever asked the general public for their approval. So not much change there then.

Here's a story from the States.

Danvers High School in Massachusetts has banned students from saying the word "meep." Officials say students use the word, to disrupt school.

http://www.salemnews.com/punews/local_story_313233045.html

"Meep" is said by some commentators to have been coined by The Muppet Show. They claim it has no meaning. I am not so sure about that, though it was certainly popularised by the puppeteers. 'Meep' has often been used as a comment, and as an expression of speechlessness, in the face of authoritarianism and mindless power.

If my recollection is correct, the word was possibly first used as a satire on censorship and thought control in the 1960s. It was the sole word spoken by the characters in an underground cartoon. If anyone else ever saw it I think they were called 'The Gargactilites', a title, legend had it, that had been changed from the original 'Largactilites'. Largactil (also known as Thorazine or the generic name Chlorpromazine ) is an anti psychotic drug used (and historically abused by parts of the medical profession) in the treatment of 'disorganized' and psychotic thinking as well as to treat 'false perceptions' (e.g. hallucinations or delusions.) It is also sometimes used to treat psychotic children. Once dosed up and quietened down, all such people were left with, according to the cartoon, was the ability to say 'meep'.

Anyway, American attorney Theodora Michaels says that after reading about the ban, she sent school officials an e-mail reading simply "Meep." She says they responded by reporting her to the police. Her response is on her website:

http://theodoramichaels.com/articles/meep.php

And so the pompous school principal, Thomas Murray, is now looking like a bit of fool:

http://www.startribune.com/nation/69904592.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUnciaec8O7EyUsl

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/world-news/us-principal-bans-students-from-saying-meep-14563526.html

http://reason.com/brickbat/2009/11/19/meep

Hi to everybody...here's another really interesting discovery...
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art/news/prehistoric-masterpieces-the-swimmers-and-the-beast-1823637.html

Hi to everybody...here's a little bit of news you might find interesting...
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/meet-hobbiej-the-smartest-rat-in-the-world-1823651.html

If this story is correct, something is wildly wrong.

http://www.thisissurreytoday.co.uk/news/Ex-soldier-faces-jail-handing-gun/article-1509082-detail/article.html

"Paul Clarke, 27, was found guilty of possessing a firearm at Guildford Crown Court on Tuesday – after finding the gun and handing it personally to police officers on March 20 this year.

The court heard how Mr Clarke was on the balcony of his home in Nailsworth Crescent, Merstham, when he spotted a black bin liner at the bottom of his garden.

In his statement, he said: "I took it indoors and inside found a shorn-off shotgun and two cartridges.

"I didn't know what to do, so the next morning I rang the Chief Superintendent, Adrian Harper, and asked if I could pop in and see him.

"At the police station, I took the gun out of the bag and placed it on the table so it was pointing towards the wall."

Mr Clarke was then arrested immediately for possession of a firearm at Reigate police station, and taken to the cells"

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So what should he have done, left it there for some thief/criminal to come and pick it up?

Hi to everybody...for anybody here who didn't get a chance to see yesterday's Horizon, How long is a piece of String....here it is...it's very interesting indeed... One little bit of inf you may find rather mind boggling...the entire human race would reduce down to the size of a sugar cube if you removed all the space between the atoms that make each of us up...surely puts many of our problems into perspective...LOL...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00p1fpc/Horizon_20092010_How_Long_is_a_Piece_of_String/

"DINKS (dual income no kids) and empty-nesters are set to overtake families with children as the most common household type in Australia," says Stephen Lunn, Social affairs writer in The Australian online newspaper.

The same is happening in several European countries, such as Italy. It would probably be happening here in the UK if it wasn't for our minorities retaining the concept of larger families.

This is a fraught subject, very hard to discuss without being accused of something, one way or the other.

Personally I am pleased to know that some control is being brought to bear on world over-population, but it worries me that the current patterns will lead to a severe imbalance in the World's ethnic mix. Our planet needs peoples of all ethnic backgrounds, not just those of emergent nations. How on earth can one present this case without being linked to the wrong sort of politics?

Hi to everybody...just wanted to tell you I'm green with envy over this!! From the News.Scotsman...

It's the latest nightspot where all the stars go – the darkest place in UK
Premium Article !

Published Date: 16 November 2009
By Jenny Fyall
A SCOTTISH forest has become the first place in the UK to win a prestigious international award for the darkness of its skies.

Stargazers are expected to flock to Galloway Forest Park in their thousands following the decision by judges to make it the UK's first Dark Sky Park.

The huge wilderness area has almost as little artificial light as a photographer's dark room – a factor that helped convince the International Dark Sky Association it deserved the prestigious accolade.

Visitors to the park, which at 300 square miles is the largest of its kind in the UK, will soon be met by noticeboards announcing they are entering the UK's first Dark Sky Park, and organisers hope signs will be put up saying "Welcome stargazers".

A website will highlight the best places in the park for spotting distant galaxies and a visitor centre may be revamped to provide more information for stargazers.

Keith Muir, Forestry Commission Scotland's head of tourism and recreation in Galloway, said he was delighted with the award.

"We have boldly gone where no-one in the UK has gone before," he said.

"I'm so pleased that everyone's support and hard work has paid off. The award is a massive feather in Galloway's cap."

He added that he hoped it would help double the 850,000 visitors to the park each year.

"Tourism is the single largest economic development opportunity for south-west Scotland," he said.

To achieve the award, Forestry Commission Scotland has worked with the local Wigtownshire Astronomical Society, lighting experts and the surrounding community to ensure Galloway's skies remain pitch black – the best condition for viewing distant stars.

A sky-quality meter was used to test the darkness. It was rated at 23 out of 25 – making it almost as dark as a photographer's dark room.

In major cities like Glasgow or Edinburgh, a likely reading would be around 15 or 16.

Welcoming the announcement, Scottish Environment Minister Roseanna Cunningham said: "Understandably, all those involved in this innovative project are over the moon and I'm thrilled for them and for Scotland. The interest in this initiative has been worldwide.

"The award is great news for putting Galloway Forest Park firmly in the spotlight and for attracting more tourists to the area."

The award, granted at the end of the International Year of Astronomy 2009, recognises areas with minimal lighting and outstanding visibility.

Work on achieving Dark Sky Park status began in September 2008, and a formal application was submitted to the IDA six weeks ago.

The decision to grant the award was made at the association's annual general meeting held in Phoenix, Arizona, this weekend.

Martin Morgan-Taylor, UK board member for the International Dark Sky Association said: "Such skies are rapidly disappearing and less than 10 per cent of people in the UK can now see the Milky Way from where they live."

Until now, there have been only three other Dark Sky Parks in the world, all in the United States.

Hortobágy National Park in Hungary was also hoping to be granted the award this week.
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Anybody there can see the whole of the Milky Way among other wonderful sights...seen it only once or twice in my life and it is spectacular!...We should all be able to see the stars at night and comets and the other planets of our own galaxy...no wonder we take so little care of our planet...it's equivalent to being locked up in a closed room for all of our lives if we never see the glory of the night sky....

The Independent has it that Baroness Buscombe, chairman of the Press Complaints Commission, wants to examine the possibility that the PCC's role should be extended to cover the blogosphere.

"Some of the bloggers are now creating their own ecosystems which are quite sophisticated," Baroness Buscombe told the Independent. "Is the reader of those blogs assuming that it's news, and is [the blogosphere] the new newspapers? (sic) It's a very interesting area and quite challenging."

She said that after a review of the governance structures of the PCC, she would want the organisation to "consider" whether it should seek to extend its remit to the blogosphere, a process that would involve discussion with the press industry, the public and bloggers (who would presumably have to volunteer to come beneath the PCC's umbrella).