Just a simple question?

I wrote with a Brother today & he kind of knocked me with a really simple question "Love, Peace, Understanding and Forgiveness, Why do we find it so difficult?".

Psychopaths, Opinions, a sense of Shame and Days of reckoning.

Living in many different countries means that you get to pick up some words that you need to use when buying stuff or eating in restaurants.

One of them is "Reckoning" Dutch people when paying the bill in a restaurant ask for "De Reckoning" which always struck me as funny as in English it is also used for bill payments but it can also be defined as retribution for one's actions (esp in the phrase day of reckoning).

Over the past few days I have watched shocked and outraged with horror at the scenes of burning, looting and violence on TV often shouting at the screen saying  "nO, No, NO"!. And now I see reports just coming in saying a 60 year old Man who was attacked by the mob has died. Why? because he tried to put out the fire.

Is this what we as English people have become that so many of us, our fellow citizens can do this - I read one article that the BBC had called it the UK riots but guess what The Welsh assembly & the Scottish parliament it seems also shared my condemnation of these events & said "No, WAY!". These are English riots, the shame is yours.

A leader in technology, a poineer in many fields, a major financial player. We define and set certain standards that are respected the world over, yet we can't inject decent moral fibre in to our very own society.  It's gone very very wrong.
How do you install standards in these people, morals or even just make them give a sh*t! How do you fix a cross section of society that doesn''t even know how to treat itself ?

My Mother and my Father both installed in my siblings and I a sense of pride to be English so the flag of St. George would raise a sense of  passion within our chest.

"Those are your colours" they told us.

Some time ago a Slovak friend upon first meeting me once said to me "Your not English!" I said "What!" he quickly replied "But You don't wear Football shirt".
These events in my mind will only serve to cement these opinions of the English in the eyes & minds of the rest of the World.

I'm absolutely certain that he would share my sense of shame at what has happened, to see the Youth of England rise up in terror and rip her apart limb by limb from within!
It can be said and I will be the first to admit that maybe it does sound a bit dramatic but then again, it also never ever crossed my mind that one day I would stand and be ashamed of my heritage and country.

At this point I see people trying to form an opinion on the insane, crazy past couple of days but, I don't think you can really assess it yet.
So, I think that although these rioters maybe facing their day of reckoning there will also be a day of reckoning for Mr Cameron & his ideology. I say ideology as I don't want to be political in the usual sense (left/right) as this is due to successive Govt's that have either ignored the problem or adopted policies that failed to address issues. In the words of a friend of mine  "You & I both know how things work and happen but these fools on all sides either dont care, dont know or want to stay ignorant".

I hear opinions that society in general is to blame but then even if that is true, I have always been led to believe that only a Psychopath doesn't have a sense of right or wrong and perhaps that was also part of it - I still can't believe what happened it was like watching mobs of Psychopathic lunatics that had escaped from the Asylum and all hell was suddenly let loose on the streets of London.  In retrospect I think I can safely say these days of reckoning have been brewing for years.

Maybe its still not over and will just calm for a while but, think about this what happens if it is found the Police did carry out some atrocious act whilst apprehending a criminal "Let's see what happens 28 days later eh?!" as they say.

Conspiracy in 3 simple steps - thesis, antithesis and synthesis.

Hegelian Dialectic.

The first step (thesis) is to create a problem. The second step (thesis) is to generate opposition to the problem (fear, panic and hysteria). The third step (synthesis) is to offer the solution to the problem created by step one: A change which would have been impossible to impose upon the people without the proper psychological conditioning achieved in stages one and two.

As to what the synthesis will be I don't know but the police say they can't cope, police stations on fire......The Hegelian Dialectic.

Previously, You & I would not even imagine the Army on the streets or Rubber bullets being used not to mention the draconian Security policies that will follow & linger but, now we & other like-minded folk are now willing to consider it as a solution.

London's burning, London's burning, Fire, Fire.

Tonight the World watched as England burned.

Everybody asking "How could his happen?". 

Why so shocked when we've already seen riots, protests & demonstrations almost immediately after David Cameron came to power riots began due to cuts in education & services. 

Then it was announced Policing was to be cut & at the time none of the Mayors staff imagined how this would come back & bite them. Yes, the police were overwhelmed but perhaps there was also a sense of  "Stand back & let it happen when it's over we will tell them told you so!".

Now while all the politicians are on holiday - London's on fire for two consecutive nights & David Cameron only now decides to cancel his Italian holiday in Tuscany. We have to wait for Parliament to reconvene - your having a laugh! 

There will be opinions on this for months - a consultive committee (A huge budget assigned probably) it will come with some recommendations which will be watered down then thrown back forth and the Government will continue to ignore what it really is and just keep focussing on the wrong things.

Last night we witnessed that something in society has changed & it can never be the same, that's sad. I ask myself is it the fault of older generations, parents, etc?

These people seem to have no scruples at all.

England is under siege being ripped apart from within by its own disenchanted youth & the problem is that the real issues will be buried under the violence, burning looting that have taken place. Watching TV its all about the theft & looting they don't even mention the generation of dispossessed people who are angry at the growing divide between rich and poor, No job's, No education, No opportunities, a bleak future and a Governement that is out of touch. But, lets also not forget that this turmoil is good for the gangs to do their "business" as the Police once this has all died down will withdraw in order to avoid more clashes.

A friend of mine wrote this about it:

"We have created a society that only values money and acquisition and then people wonder why a generation who are dispossessed, who perceive themselves as being denied legitimate means to enjoy a slice of the consumerist cake, are mindlessly rioting and burning and looting... We need to remake the fundamental values of our society because the toxic events of tonight are the inevitable symptom of a system that is rotten and decayed".

For one moment I thought Yes, I think this statement is totally correct but then I turn my head see events unfolding last night as it spread like a virus, a virus of violence, burning & lawlessness, pensioners, defenceless people being attacked seeing people jumping from burning houses, watching buildings & local businesses set on fire. 

In the end we both agreed it's very difficult in marrying the two together & finding it acceptable - I'm just not  comfortable with it on any level.

UK riots the key facts and figures

These are the key numbers from the riot so far

Arrests

Arrests so far in London (since Saturday night): 685

London arrests on Monday night: 310

People charged: 111

How they break down:

Charged appearing in court by 15:30: 32, with 18 remanded in custody

Arrests in Birmingham, Salford and West Bromwich: 218

Charged so far: 23

Arrests in Manchester: 47

Breakdown of night two's London arrests (where known):

Born in the 1960s: 2

Born in the 1970s: 6

Born in the 1980s: 49

Born in the 1990s: 98

Emergency services

Emergency calls to police on Monday night: 20,800 - compared to 5,400 normally. A 400% increase

Emergency calls to the London Fire Brigade on Monday night: 2,169 - 15 times the normal amount

Police officers injured on Monday night: 44

Places where extra police in London came from on Monday night: Thames Valley, Kent, Essex, Hampshire, Surrey, Northamptonshire, Cambridgeshire, Suffolk, Sussex

Number of police patrolling London tonight: 16,000

On the ground

Minimum cost of the riots so far: £100m

Small shops damaged on Monday night: 93

@riotcleanup followers at 15:20: 38,530

Members of the public cleaning up Clapham Junction area: 350

SOURCES: METROPOLITAN POLICE, LONDON FIRE BRIGADE, ASSOCIATION OF CONVENIENCE STORES, @RIOTCLEANUP

Thinking of home & things that were

​Sometimes for a brief moment I miss London. I miss England that sceptered isle, in a silvery sea under the colours of St. George.

But its funny that whenever I do think of all the stuff I miss it's as if i'm stuck in a Timewarp - as a lot of them disappeared 10 or more years ago.

To some a beacon of democracy/​bastion of ideologica​l freedom, crucible of empire, cradle of class oppression​.

But to me it's The Land of the Magna Carta, King James Bible, ​Freemasons & the Craft, The NHS & the welf​are state, Curr​y Goat, Shepherds Pie, Marmite, Fish & Chips, Steak & Kidney pie, Nando's, The BBC, Mr Bean, The Sweeney, Dr Who, The Good Life, Channel four news, Earl Grey Tea (I'm always asked would you like it with milk!) Chocolate Minstrels, The Tube, a melting pot of different cultures, Red Buses, West Hampstead, T​rain spotters (this one I just can't explain), Rainy days, f​ooty fanatics, bowls, green village lawns, Hipp​ies, Dad's old Zodiac & drives to Brighton, Stonehenge, Summer music festivals, Camden Market on a Sunday, Sainsbury's, garden​ers, pigeon​ racers, Cri​cket & part-time Morris Dancers, 11 O'clock closing time.

To some it's Albion others it's Blighty but above all it was home.

A big, fat, huge, enormous smile on my face;-)

Location:Korsjespoortsteeg,Amsterdam,Netherlands

DPI is how the ISP' s (The new Gatekeepers) watch what your doing.

DPI - Deep Packet Inspection Net Neutrality.

The Dutch Parliament has just passed a Net Neutrality bill - On the back of the fact that KPN was conducting deep packet inspection (DPI) in order to determine specific usage of its Internet traffic.

Earlier this year, KPN decided that they would charge extra for the usage of Skype after seeing that more users were using Skype and other VOIP apps plus falling revenue in the usage of traditional text and phone calls. It’s cheaper to use SKYPE or Whats App etc rather than incur the cost of texting and calling directly.

However, Vodafone warned that passing net neutrality would result in higher costs to the consumers as now they will just up the rates across all data services. Paying for a gigabyte of data monthly will now cost €50 in the next few months instead of the €20 rate that KPN users see today.

In the UK they have the advantage of a choice of mobile and fixed providers as well as various options for broadband and mobile pricing but, British Telecom has admitted testing technology from Phorm without their customers’ knowledge or consent.

A heavy VOIP user can choose to pay more and receive more bandwidth in return while a light email user can pay less for a perfectly good service.
Because ISPs route all of their customers traffic, they are able to monitor web-browsing habits in a very detailed way allowing them to gain information about their customers’ interests, which can be used by companies specialising in targeted advertising or used to prioritise a customers traffic over anothers.
DPI stifles innovation and competition & I don’t believe that it is in the public interest for Google and Microsoft to have advantages over Joe-the-Entrepreneur with the next-big-thing-product?

DPI is nothing short of an unacceptable invasion of people and businesses’ freedom and privacy. What I use my electricity for and who I speak to on the phone is my business and mine alone. Similarly what I use bits and bytes for is also my private business and operators have no business looking over my shoulder to see what I am up to or allow operators to charge me more for using VOIP type apps (Skype).

Network Neutrality

The concept of network neutrality predates the current Internet-focused debate, since the beginning of the age of the telegraph - In 1860, a US federal law (Pacific Telegraph Act of 1860) was passed to subsidise a telegraph line, stating that:
messages received from any individual, company, or corporation, or from any telegraph lines connecting with this line at either of its termini, shall be impartially transmitted in the order of their reception, excepting that the dispatches of the government shall have priority...

An act to facilitate communication between the Atlantic and Pacific states by electric telegraph, June 16, 1860.

And let’s not forget that in 1888, Almon Brown Strowger invented the automated telephone exchange to bypass non-neutral telephone operators who redirected calls for profit.

Network neutrality is the principle that Internet users should be in control of what content they view and what applications they use on the Internet. The Internet has operated according to this neutrality principle since its earliest days... Fundamentally, net neutrality is about equal access to the Internet. In our view, the broadband carriers should not be permitted to use their market power to discriminate against competing applications or content. Just as telephone companies are not permitted to tell consumers who they can call or what they can say, broadband carriers should not be allowed to use their market power to control activity online.
·      Guide to Net Neutrality for Google Users

In Conclusion

We have this tool that is called the Internet - a hugh library full of data, this wonderful resource that is open & free with just a huge wealth of information which has in some cases steered our development, allows communication of ideas, theories on a global level - it has enabled or accelerated new forms of human interactions through instant messaging, Internet forums, and social networking.
The internet has reached into virtually every aspect of modern human life. As of 2009, an estimated quarter of Earth’s population used the services of the Internet.
We’ve seen the awesome power this can have in helping mount campaigns, protests, revolutions, or calling Governments to heal.
The Internet has no centralized governance in either technological implementation or policies for access and usage - Neutral in every way & that’s why it is so important that no one entity/person/government control the internet which is why the ISP’s are acting like gatekeepers -  many provide trouble-free service but providers are able to slow down or block online activities such as file-sharing others profit from your typos by redirecting you to advertising pages they own.

Visit the ICSI Netalyzr website and click “start analysis”. The site will take a few minutes to probe your internet connection. When it’s done you will see whether certain types of traffic are being interfered with. You will also learn about the steps your ISP is – or is not – taking to ensure that your connection is fast and is not being abused by spammers.

The results will be displayed on the institute’s website. For a less technical explanation of the tests, see the New Scientist results page.
The more people take the test, the more we will learn about the internet’s gatekeepers & help keep it open & Neutral.

Ancient beliefs & Modern Times

The best description i've seen of this is "an urban solar phenomenon, with the Sun setting in alignment with the city's skyscrapers and giving an effect fans say is reminiscent of Wiltshire's Stonehenge".

Mighty statement for such an event, Mega high rise blocks of NY city & the effect of the sunrays of Father Sun setting for the evening casting beams of sunlight through the sidewalks of NY city.

Manhattan's Plan of 1811 established its grid system, which is rotated 29 degrees from true east-west. If Manhattan's streets were perfectly laid out on an east-west grid, Manhattanhenge would occur facing both east and west on the vernal and autumnal equinoxes.

For more info check out the Wikipedia link below

Manhattan Solstice aka Manhattanhenge

Just another thought

Actually, let's look @ this differently, so I'll change the question:

How many moments in life took your breathe away?

See, now that brings forth much nicer images & thoughts

Conf calls, zoning out & people that breathe heavily down the phone line......

I was on a conf call listening to someone drearily run through a project meeting & I could hear someone breathing down the line - Oh great, I get to spend the next hour listening to this.

Breathe in - airways sound clear - Breathe out, I really hate having this sound in my ear!

Then I stopped hearing it & just Zoned out......
Poppppp, Question:
How many times do we take a breathe during our lifetime.

So, The average respiration rate for a person at rest is about 16 breaths per minute (on the conf call it was about 19).


This means on average, we breathe about 960 breaths an hour  -
23040 breaths a day

8409600 a year

So should I be lucky enough to reach to 80, then that means on average I will have take 672,768,000 breaths in a lifetime!

This is based on a persons average respiration rate at rest. No it doesn't cover during exercise, running (which I refuse to do anyway, unless my life is in danger).

Apparently, when we are children we breathe quicker & take more breaths (smaller lungs maybe).
So, now you know, if you were wondering that is! & now I really have to get back to work;-) & I really, really need to get a life.