Wednesday Witterings
Partying
How about that for a result. I told you yesterday about the San people (aka Bushmen) whom the Government of Botswana had deported from their ancestral home in the Kalahari Game Reserve four years ago. They'd been fighting the deportation, through the Courts, ever since. We watched the News last night and lo, besides the murders around Ipswich, there was this item - the Courts had ruled that the government was in the wrong & the San could go 'home'. And great was their rejoicing. How's that for a modern take on tribe vs government! Of course, the government could still appeal the decision.
Other problem is that Botswana's a very poor country, & poorer now having spent (pun intended) four years on the most expensive court case yet!
The other thing, of course, is that other tribal groups have been watching this case very carefully - as precedent for when it happens to them. Or what to do cos it already has.
Three down, one to go - I've been to the Church Christmas dinner, the Creative Machine Embroidery party, last night was the SWIG 'Festive Party'. Which wasn't so bad, once someone turned down the music so we could hear each other speak. Interesting to see how the university people (mainly lecturers) stuck together, & the young people (mainly) stuck together, as young people do. OK, so I'm just not that kind of party person. Gimme a Folk Dance any day, oh, & a willing partner!
Instead of which there's the Embroiderers' Guild party next Monday - which should be fun. Wonder whether I'll make anything specially for it, if I'm going to I'd better get a shift on! Come to think of it, there might be something with Together too. Hmmm, Friday morning down the pub, with no paperwork & no cries of, "there's this event, anyone interested?" or "Service User input wanted here". Hmmmm, if yesterday afternoon's meeting is anything to go by - they don't really want Service User input. I felt very much that I was just there to make up the numbers, so they could tick the "Service User present" box - cos while they may have appeared to have been listening to what I said they didn't appear to let it affect what they were saying! Wish I'd taken my knitting, except that I'm currently between projects. For that matter, even if this meeting might be more generally useful (Hmmm, is it?) I was left wishing I'd gone to the Poetry Workshop instead. That would have been enjoyable. Ah well, I'll give it a couple more months then decide. Why do all these meetings have to be scheduled for the same day?
Meanwhile new recommendations are being proposed for changes to the 1990 Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act - the one being headlined being a suggestion that the requirement for a father figure be dropped. Hmmmm, with all these other studies coming up with the breakdown of parents' marriages and lack of a father figure being cited as major reasons for adolescent (& child) deliquency & they want to created more 'no father' children? Excuse me, but how do they reconcile these ideas? Or maybe they haven't even tried. I'm inclined to agree with Josephine Quintavalle, of Comment on Reproductive Ethics, who said:
"This paper takes on board, almost carte blanche, the libertarian recommendations of the science and technology select committee, with political correctness the highest priority and welfare of children the lowest."
And yes, I know there's no guarantee that if there's a 'father figure' there at conception & birth that he'll still be there 20 years later. Also that there are a lot of people 'out there' who've grown up well adjusted etc & their father took off early in their lives, or wasn't ever around. And the fact that most children who are abused are abused by people they know, usually family members. Doesn't alter the fact that it's best, if possible, to have two parents - Mum & Dad, with children. & preferably a whole raft of grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins & friends too. Cos when the child is very small Mum (& Dad) needs them, & as the child grows they need them - otherwise how do they learn to realate to other people, particularly people of different age groups?
And Finally - some odd findings:
It's possible for a human to blow up balloons via the ear. A 55-year-old factory worker from China reportedly discovered 20 years ago that air leaked from his ears, and he can now inflate balloons and blow out candles.
When faced with danger, the octopus can wrap six of its legs around its head to disguise itself as a fallen coconut shell and escape by walking backwards on the other two legs, scientists discovered.
Newborn dolphins and killer whales don't sleep for a month, according to research carried out by University of California. Hmmm, I've known human babies like that!
The hotter it is, the more difficult it is for aeroplanes to take off. Air passengers in Nevada, where temperatures have reached 120F, have been told they can't fly. Something to do with air density? Either way it looks as if Global warming induced by air travel might be self-limiting!
Britain produces 700 regional cheeses, more even than France. Cheeeeeese!
More here.
Which seems as good a place as any to stop.
Y'all have a good day now!
How about that for a result. I told you yesterday about the San people (aka Bushmen) whom the Government of Botswana had deported from their ancestral home in the Kalahari Game Reserve four years ago. They'd been fighting the deportation, through the Courts, ever since. We watched the News last night and lo, besides the murders around Ipswich, there was this item - the Courts had ruled that the government was in the wrong & the San could go 'home'. And great was their rejoicing. How's that for a modern take on tribe vs government! Of course, the government could still appeal the decision.
Other problem is that Botswana's a very poor country, & poorer now having spent (pun intended) four years on the most expensive court case yet!
The other thing, of course, is that other tribal groups have been watching this case very carefully - as precedent for when it happens to them. Or what to do cos it already has.
Three down, one to go - I've been to the Church Christmas dinner, the Creative Machine Embroidery party, last night was the SWIG 'Festive Party'. Which wasn't so bad, once someone turned down the music so we could hear each other speak. Interesting to see how the university people (mainly lecturers) stuck together, & the young people (mainly) stuck together, as young people do. OK, so I'm just not that kind of party person. Gimme a Folk Dance any day, oh, & a willing partner!
Instead of which there's the Embroiderers' Guild party next Monday - which should be fun. Wonder whether I'll make anything specially for it, if I'm going to I'd better get a shift on! Come to think of it, there might be something with Together too. Hmmm, Friday morning down the pub, with no paperwork & no cries of, "there's this event, anyone interested?" or "Service User input wanted here". Hmmmm, if yesterday afternoon's meeting is anything to go by - they don't really want Service User input. I felt very much that I was just there to make up the numbers, so they could tick the "Service User present" box - cos while they may have appeared to have been listening to what I said they didn't appear to let it affect what they were saying! Wish I'd taken my knitting, except that I'm currently between projects. For that matter, even if this meeting might be more generally useful (Hmmm, is it?) I was left wishing I'd gone to the Poetry Workshop instead. That would have been enjoyable. Ah well, I'll give it a couple more months then decide. Why do all these meetings have to be scheduled for the same day?
Meanwhile new recommendations are being proposed for changes to the 1990 Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act - the one being headlined being a suggestion that the requirement for a father figure be dropped. Hmmmm, with all these other studies coming up with the breakdown of parents' marriages and lack of a father figure being cited as major reasons for adolescent (& child) deliquency & they want to created more 'no father' children? Excuse me, but how do they reconcile these ideas? Or maybe they haven't even tried. I'm inclined to agree with Josephine Quintavalle, of Comment on Reproductive Ethics, who said:
"This paper takes on board, almost carte blanche, the libertarian recommendations of the science and technology select committee, with political correctness the highest priority and welfare of children the lowest."
And yes, I know there's no guarantee that if there's a 'father figure' there at conception & birth that he'll still be there 20 years later. Also that there are a lot of people 'out there' who've grown up well adjusted etc & their father took off early in their lives, or wasn't ever around. And the fact that most children who are abused are abused by people they know, usually family members. Doesn't alter the fact that it's best, if possible, to have two parents - Mum & Dad, with children. & preferably a whole raft of grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins & friends too. Cos when the child is very small Mum (& Dad) needs them, & as the child grows they need them - otherwise how do they learn to realate to other people, particularly people of different age groups?
And Finally - some odd findings:
It's possible for a human to blow up balloons via the ear. A 55-year-old factory worker from China reportedly discovered 20 years ago that air leaked from his ears, and he can now inflate balloons and blow out candles.
When faced with danger, the octopus can wrap six of its legs around its head to disguise itself as a fallen coconut shell and escape by walking backwards on the other two legs, scientists discovered.
Newborn dolphins and killer whales don't sleep for a month, according to research carried out by University of California. Hmmm, I've known human babies like that!
The hotter it is, the more difficult it is for aeroplanes to take off. Air passengers in Nevada, where temperatures have reached 120F, have been told they can't fly. Something to do with air density? Either way it looks as if Global warming induced by air travel might be self-limiting!
Britain produces 700 regional cheeses, more even than France. Cheeeeeese!
More here.
Which seems as good a place as any to stop.
Y'all have a good day now!