incurable hippie\\\'s musings and rants

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Snippets
2007-10-09 16:56:00
Great news, via the Indie and the f-word, Major airline refuses to help with forcible removal of immigrants. By Robert Verkaik, Law EditorPublished: 08 October 2007An important part of the Government's immigration policy has suffered a serious blow after a leading airline announced it would no longer carry failed asylum-seekers who were being forcibly removed from the United Kingdom.XL Airways, which has a fleet of 24 aircraft, said it was opposed to the policy because it had "sympathy for all dispossessed people in the world".Last week, The Independent revealed that hundreds of failed asylum-seekers have claimed they have suffered physical and racial abuse during the removal process at the hands of private security guards.The Government relies on airlines using chartered and scheduled aircraft to deport asylum-seekers who have failed to win a right to remain in the UK.In an email to a campaign group which supports failed asylum seekers, XL said its chief executive had told the Gov...

Dreams and What They Mean.
2007-10-04 21:51:00
A few nights ago I dreamt that I bought a pack of 3 rolls of sellotape. I needed to sellotape up an envelope so I got one roll out and cut off a long piece. It was only when I stuck it to the envelope that I realised that the tape was made up of a long row of photos of Tony Blair.I looked at the second roll, to find that that was made up of photos of Cherie Booth. I decided this was preferable and so cut some off to cover up the Bliar pics, which I would be too embarrassed to put anywhere!I didn't look at the third roll.My questions to you:1) Whose photos were covering the third roll of sellotape?2) What the hell was the whole thing about anyway?
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Burma Solidarity Demo in Sheffield this Monday.
2007-09-28 22:39:00
Dear Friends,I'm sure all of you will be aware of what's happeningat the moment in Burma . You might also be aware thatSheffield has the most Karen (ethnic minority fromBurma) refugees of any town in the UK.The Karen community have organised a solidarity demothis Monday 1st October, meeting at 4:30 outside thetown Hall / Peace Gardens.These are incredibly exciting times, the closest thegrassroots Burmese have come to overthrowing themilitary junta in 20 years. Every day they're riskingtheir lives to challenge a brutal regime. It would benice to let them know that people in other countriessupport what they're doing.If any of you can come, please do so. Hope to see you there,Hugh.https://lists.aktivix.org/mail man/listinfo/sheffield-noborders
More About: Demo , Soli

Burmese More Isolated.
2007-09-28 20:41:00
Internet access and mobile phone networks in Burma have been disrupted, to prevent the dissemination of information about the uprising. Soldiers are searching people for mobile phones and cameras.We need to follow and support all the information we can find from the people in this situation.Accounts from Inside BurmaPhotos from Inside Burma
More About: Isolate

Free Burma
2007-09-27 16:29:00
.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } Free Burma , originally uploaded by incurable_hippie.

Burma
2007-09-27 16:01:00
There are amazing people in Burma risking their lives to take, and spread, word, photographs and film of what is really happening there at the moment.Two of these people are gmhembree and NaingKo on flickr.Looking at these photos, direct from the people witnessing these events is powerful, and brings to mind the huge risks being taken for truth and democracy.

Evans
2007-09-23 21:57:00
I saw a TV ad for Evans earlier, and none of the models could have been more than a size 14, I'm sure. Given that this is a clothes shop for women of sizes 16 upwards, going up to size 28 or 30 I think, that is crap!I wasn't represented. It didn't make me want to shop there because they have clothes for bigger women.It made me feel like 'there's yet another shop who designs their clothes for thin people' when they are the only high street shop who supposedly don't!Who are they supposed to be selling to? Big women? Why not use them in their bloody ads then?Grrr.

How to Lose on Ebay...
2007-09-04 21:15:00
From an email from a lovely person who doesn't have a blog I can link to...You may have seen this in the paper (or elsewhere)This guy listed it, with a spelling mistake in the subject line.This guy bought it and re-listed it *without* the spelling mistake...
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Post Secret favourite of the week.
2007-08-27 18:59:00
Sorry I've been so quiet lately. I had a short holiday, I'm busy creating my first zine, and I'm not feeling very vocal in general.
More About: Post , Post Secret , Secret , Week

Virtual Violence. Real Threats.
2007-08-05 19:58:00
Do men feel threatened by radical feminists? By women getting together and talking, taking action, analysing and getting angry? By women making connections and vowing to be pro-women and anti-rape?Or are these men just having some kind of fucked-up fun by threatening and hurting women and disrupting their lives?Or are they both the same thing?The Way Men Hate UsBlogging While Female. Warning may trigger.
More About: Violence , Virtual , Real , Threats , Viol

Misheard
2007-07-27 21:07:00
on tonight's PM.What they said:Gloucester councillor, Julie GurringWhat I heard:Gloucester council are duly grrr-ing.

Last night I heard
2007-07-20 16:57:00
"Breaking news, Tony Blair is not going to be charged with..."and I was devastated. How could they have ruled out war crimes charges so early on? When there is clearly so much we will not know for a long time. You can't rule it out already."...any offences over the Cash for Peerages row"and I was actually relieved! Not that he's got away with anything over Cash for Peerages, but that maybe, just maybe, one day he and Dubya will share a grotty cell for many, many years.
More About: Night

So, Tony Blair is gone.
2007-07-03 18:29:00
I was rather joyous at that, but somebody else clearly wasn't...
More About: Tony Blair , Blair , Tony , Lair

Bastard of the Day
2007-07-02 23:49:00
Phone rape sadist is jailedA sadistic sex monster from Wigan who sexually assaulted and tortured a woman with a hot iron while filming it on his mobile has been jailed indefinitely.Matthew John Oldham, 33, must serve at least five years behind bars for his vicious crimes.He was convicted of wounding with intent and sexual assault following an eight-day trial at Liverpool Crown Court.On April 19 2006, Oldham met his victim at the Mountain Ash pub, Portway, Wythenshawe. Oldham and the woman, who was 29 at the time, were standing at the back of the pub waiting for a lift to a friend's house when they began to argue.Oldham then punched and kicked the woman, knocking her to the floor. Once she was on the floor, Oldham began to bite her left eye, leaving her in agony.The pair were then given a lift to a flat on Kermishaw Nook, Astley, which belonged to another friend where they immediately began to argue again. The court heard that this time Oldham plugged a nearby iron into the mains, s...
More About: Bastard , The D

Smokers Welcome!
2007-07-02 20:53:00
So, we can no longer smoke in pubs, cafes, *phone boxes* (?!), and numerous other places.If you want to know those places where we *can* still smoke, check this rather handy site out: www.smokerswelcome.co.uk. That's my tip of the day.
More About: Smokers

Blair Charge Sheet
2007-06-30 18:08:00
BLAIR CHARGE SHEET from SchNEWS Name of accused: BLAIR, ANTHONY CHARLES LYNTOND.O.B: 06/05/1953Address: 10 Downing St, London N.F.AOccupation: Professional LiarReligion: Church Of England CatholicEthnic Grouping: X1 Lizard The above named person is hereby charged with the following offence/s: DATE OF OFFENCE/S: From 2nd May 1997 to 26th June 2007 MURDER: On MARCH 21st 2003 You did conspire with others to murder civilians of Iraq contrary to the Offences Against the Person Act 1861. KIDNAPPING: From September 11th 2001 you participated in a scheme of abduction and torture known as 'extraordinary rendition' contrary to Common Law. TERRORISM: (i) It is charged that you were an active member of proscribed terrorist group, namely THE COALITION (ii) that you created fear or 'terror' for ideological goals, attempting to force political change with violence, or the threat of violence, and deliberately targetting non-combatants, contrary to the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2000. FALSE IMP...
More About: Charge , Sheet , Blair , Char , Shee

Sheffield Floods
2007-06-26 17:05:00
I'm ok. I'm dry, I have electricity (at the moment) and a mobile phone signal (sometimes), and I live on top of a hill.Many weren't so lucky. RAF Rescue helicopters came from Scotland (a long way away, for non-Brits) and Suffolk (also a long way away) and were lifting people from buildings. Many roads became fast-flowing rivers and two people died. Z has had no power for over 24 hours, C lives in a building which had 3 feet of water outside, trapping her and others in. People in a housing estate in Middlewood have been evacuated and their homes are completely wrecked.We are under an Environment Agency 'Severe Flood Warning' and homes up the hill from me had no power, while my local supermarket had to keep staff and customers overnight as noone could get in or out of the flooded carpark.'They' are waiting for a dam to burst between Sheffield and Rotherham, and have closed the motorway because if it does burst, it would not only flood the motorway but would clash with 270,000 v...
More About: Floods , Field

BBC Britain in Pictures
2007-06-13 11:38:00
The following of my photos are on the BBC Britain in Pictures website. How excited am I?! (I can't view that page with firefox btw).Park Hill flats, Sheffield.Jessop Hospital for Women, SheffieldClaywood Flats, Sheffield - Demolition by NibblerWeston Park Museum, SheffieldFirth Court, University of SheffieldSheffield Town HallWinter Gardens, SheffieldAlso on PhilippaPhotography blog.

' havng t d a s-eang -st becse a 've bren y cter-
2007-06-02 11:51:00
Gabcast! incurable hippie's musings and rants #5

Gosh, it's been a while. I've been to two weddings...
2007-05-31 17:05:00
Gosh, it's been a while. I've been to two weddings, the pigeons have progressed hugely, and can now fly! Briefly...And today I ventured out to do some charity shopping and everyone was talking about a car randomly exploding in the street. However, that didn't prepare me... it was a shocking sight. Thankfully noone was in it.It was on Ecclesall Road, for any Sheffielders wondering...The main charity shop excitement was that I bought a barometer. I have wanted one for years and only once saw one on sale, also in a charity shop, which I have always bitterly regretted not buying. I was extra pleased that this one was only £2.50. It made me daftly happy!There is so much to update, and so little energy to do it. I'll get there.
More About: Weddings , While , Been

AIDS is not just God's punishment for homosexuals...
2007-05-19 23:09:00
Thanks to Positive Atheism, I can bring you this pile of shite touching homage to the recently deceased Jerry Falwell. If you're not a born-again Christian, you're a failure as a human being.-- Rev Jerry Falwell (attributed: source unknown)This is probably as bad a day as the court has had on social issues since "Roe v Wade."-- Rev Jerry Falwell, reacting to the Supreme Court's ruling in the Texas sodomy case, "Lawrence v. Texas," wherein the high court upheld an individual's (or a couple's) right to privacy; "It is a promise of the Constitution that there is a realm of personal liberty which the government may not enter," said Justice Anthony M Kennedy, for the majority in an opinion "as broad in its constitutional vision as any ever issued by the court," wrote Charles Lane for The Washington Post; in his dissent, Justice Antonin Scalia, an extremist Evangelical Christian, complained that the justices voting to uphold the right to privacy were creating a new constitutional rig...
More About: Sexual , Punishment , Aids , Unis , Nish

IDAHOmophobia
2007-05-18 19:00:00
Yesterday I went to the Sheffield event for the International Day Against Homophobia - IDAHO. There were speakers, a one-minute noise, and an LGB choir. It was good actually, with a reasonable turnout.The speakers consisted of Jan Wilson, leader of Sheffield Council; Steve Slack, Director of the Centre for HIV and Sexual Health; Paul Broadbent, Assistant Chief Constable, South Yorkshire Police; Clive Skelton, Liberal Democrat Councillor; Alan Jones, Chair of the Area Child Protection Committee; Jackie Drayton, the former Lord Mayor of Sheffield; Graham Jones, Amnesty International; and the fantastically fabulous Claire Donnelly, of the Sheffield City Council LGBT Council Officer Group.My photographs of the demo are available to view here, and the Sheffield Star's report on it is here.Now, we just need to end homophobia! Let's all get on the case.
More About: Idaho , Phobia

Eurovision and Pigeon-vision.
2007-05-12 23:17:00
So, it's that single night of the year when Terry Wogan is actually funny. I usually get really annoyed at the point of the results when I can't remember which act was which, so for the first time, this year I actually made notes... Tragic, I know.I suspect I am the only person in Europe to have actually liked the French entry...In terms of pigeons, they are getting notably bigger, and the feathers are beginning to look like proper feathers. Enjoy!Day 7:Day 8:Day 9:Day 10:
More About: Eurovision , Pigeon , Sion , Visi , Vision

Pigeon Progress.
2007-05-07 19:29:00
The squabs are growing at quite a rapid rate. They are also getting more spiky grey hairs (beginnings of their feathers, I think) and the yellow hairy stuff is reducing. Intriguing process!!Day 4:Day5:Day 6:See: Pigeon Progress set on flickr.Now, when's the snooker back on?

Which Way Would You Go?
2007-05-06 19:30:00
Yep, I'd be going for Segolene...
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Rapist For Sale.
2007-05-05 22:50:00
Oh - where is your sense of humour - it's only a toy!Amazon is selling a rapist.Rapist Number One is a character from Quentin Tarantino's Grindhouse. The toy demonstrates the extent to which rape is taken seriously in our society. Sexual violence is a subject of play and entertainment. Amazon is obviously on the quest for rape-profits through this surrender to male porn culture. No doubt they will accrue much male approval, particularly from the little tikes who want to play at rape with their Barbies on the lounge carpet, giving them the enormous relief of being to act out in play, the vulgar and brutal little fantasies that roam around their peanut-sized brains.Of course the arguments will be that it is just a toy and that even graphical depictions of rape and violence do not lead to actual violence. We don't accept the premise of such 'WeirdWorld' justifications because EVEN if that were true, it still ignores the fact that rape and sexual violence are being used as someth...
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Pigeon Chicks Day 2.
2007-05-03 23:43:00
.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } 100_3755, originally uploaded by incurable_hippie. People keep telling me they're cute...I still think they're really ugly. I do, however, wish them no harm and am quite interested to witness their growing-up progress.
More About: Pigeon , Chicks , S Day

Pigeon Chicks.
2007-05-02 21:53:00
Baby pigeons are really, really ugly.And there are two on my balcony.The eggs were small and white and perfect, and I was kinda hoping for cute little things. But no. REALLY ugly.Ah well, you live and learn.
More About: Pigeon , Chicks

Blog Against Disablism Day 2007.
2007-05-01 23:16:00
This post is mainly a republishing of an earlier post, to mark Blog ging Again st Disablism Day. Unfortunately, things haven't changed since February 2006 when I posted it originally, and some areas seem to be getting worse.I wish this post could be celebrating the reduction in disablism when it comes to mental health treatment, stigma and support, but with the Incapacity Benefit fiasco, and mental health care services being slashed (no pun intended, maybe) this government's so called 'priority' of mental health care is clearly either a huge lie, or they have really fuckin weird ways of prioritising things. Self-Harm and Medical TreatmentThe National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE), in 2004 issued some guidelines on The short-term physical and psychological management and secondary prevention of self-harm in primary and secondary careThese include instructions such as, People who have self-harmed should be treated with the same care, respect and privacy as any pa...

Funerals and Words.
2007-04-24 22:37:00
Where's my banner gone?!Z and I went to Helen's funeral this morning. It was pretty harrowing, and the minister talking of new hope in God, and of Helen's demons was really not, NOT, appropriate for me. I actually wanted to shout at him several times, but of course didn't. It wasn't just him, of course, that made it awful. The fact that we were at the funeral of such a good friend was the worst thing. She was too young, too kind, too funny, too... And she's gone. There's nothing like a coffin to bring that home with a punch to the stomach.A few cans of Stella, too many cigarettes and a film have helped me through the evening. I just want the day to end now really.In other news, according to Gender Genie, my Le Pen blog entry is female, my entry about Helen is female, my entry about Charliegrrl and bullying is male, and my sexual violence is terrorism entry is male. My entry about the Park Hill murder is male, my letter to John O is male, Sheffield women, avoid this man! is fe...
More About: Words , Funeral