My go-to person for Covid19 information is Dr John Campbell, and in the video below, he explains the 3 most recent CDC reports on the effectiveness of mRNA vaccines. There are links to each report.
The second half of the video is an update from France which addresses government strategies to encourage vaccinations:
Of particular interest to me was the comparison between the AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines. I was also interested in the report from France as some politicians here in Australia are talking about giving vaccinated people privileges over unvaccinated people. This strategy hasn’t gone down well in France, leading to ongoing protests.
Here in Melbourne, we’re only just starting to count the cost of the ‘protest’ staged by a crowd of roughly 4000 people yesterday. Some were obviously trying to keep the protest peaceful, but a far greater number were out to have a brawl with police.
Take a look at the gorilla parading around on top of the tram stop shelter.
Take a good look at those faces. Do they look like people who care about an ideal? Or do they look like a bunch of thugs using the protest as an excuse to have a punch up?
I don’t know who is organising these protests, but I would really like the AFP [Australian Federal Police] to investigate:
- Sky News/After Dark [Murdoch-run Newscorp] see Alan Jones below, the Guardian article is an eye-opener.
- Alan Jones – radio shock jock
- Craig Kelly – Liberal National Party politician
- and less influential politicians such as George Christensen and Matt Canavan.
All of the above have worked tirelessly to undermine Australia’s health response against Covid19. Why? My guess is:
- money
- influence
- political support
- ego
No one has the ‘right’ to act in a way that endangers others. And I don’t give a flying fuck if they believe the Covid conspiracy theories or not. Saying ‘I don’t believe in Covid’ is like saying ‘oh but I didn’t believe the gun was loaded when I pulled the trigger.’
Not one of the morons listed above is medically or scientifically qualified in any way. Not even a little. They are spouting opinions, opinions based on belief. Or perhaps not even belief. Perhaps they simply see a way to exploit this awful pandemic for their own benefit.
They are scum.
Meeks
August 26th, 2021 at 12:02 am
I really enjoy your honesty, Meeks. I also feel frustrated by the behaviour of some people in authority and among the general population.
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August 26th, 2021 at 8:44 am
-sigh- we’re in much the same boat, aren’t we?
Haven’t heard much about South Africa lately. How are the vaccinations going?
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August 26th, 2021 at 4:36 pm
Hi Meeks, the covid wave has receded to a certain extent although it is still lurking around. Our hospitals are still full as ex-pats working in Africa who haven’t had access to the vaccine are being flown to Johannesburg for treatment. Our less knowledgeable population are not wanting the vaccination so the vaccination figures have stalled. My whole family is in progress with the vaccination as I mentioned yesterday. Most people I know are getting vaccinated, but their careless behaviour is another discussion altogether. But then I do not profess to understand people generally or what drives them to behave the way they do. I always feel like I’m sitting on the outside looking in when I’m with groups of people.
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August 26th, 2021 at 8:22 pm
This: ‘ I always feel like I’m sitting on the outside looking in when I’m with groups of people.’ Yes. I thought I understood people. I’m only now realised how little I do know. It’s like ‘them’ out there are a different species. -sigh-
Stay safe. -hugs-
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August 27th, 2021 at 3:35 am
You too, Meeks.
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August 27th, 2021 at 1:10 pm
-hugs-
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August 23rd, 2021 at 5:57 am
Talk about a super-spreader event! … fucking idiots.
There are daily stories coming out of the US mainly, where anti-maskers are getting sick, ending up in hospital, and going ‘Oops, I guess I should’ve got that vaccine after all.’… I have zero sympathy/empathy for them.
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August 23rd, 2021 at 10:17 pm
Me neither, Widds. I seem to spend most of my life being angry at the moment. I am not a violent person but….grrrr!
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August 23rd, 2021 at 3:17 am
Ugh. It sounds like the US, Andrea. What a mess, and the extent of the cruelty is breathtaking. I haven’t the words.
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August 23rd, 2021 at 10:18 pm
Unfortunately, we still have a Trump-lite leading the country…I’m going to shut up now. 😦
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August 24th, 2021 at 6:14 am
😦
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August 23rd, 2021 at 1:43 am
bad and getting worse the world over!
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August 23rd, 2021 at 10:19 pm
Yup. It seems we’ve reached the stage where the mounting death toll no longer matters.
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August 25th, 2021 at 8:43 am
Now the media is trying to hang the fiasco in Afghanistan on President Biden…at first they did…personally I think it was a set up courtesy of the predecessor.
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August 25th, 2021 at 12:42 pm
Yes, I assumed it was Biden’s doing too, but apparently ‘the person once known as President’ brokered the deal. Biden may be faulted for carrying it through, but his position has been fairly clear from the start.
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August 26th, 2021 at 10:15 am
45s own sidekick has said that he would have gone ahead with the withdrawal plan anyway, had he been reelected. I smelled a rat right away, but I hate the media and have studied the tRump project dedicated to destroying the country. This is a perfect red-herring…45 is facing possible indictment for assorted crimes and misdemeanors…including the infamous insurrection. Disgusting worm!
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August 26th, 2021 at 1:37 pm
Indictment? As a private citizen? Is that still possible after the results of the impeachment?
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August 27th, 2021 at 10:53 pm
He can be charged and indicted, etc. in New York state on tax and fraud charges from his business practices. Also, he is no longer a sitting president, so he can be charged. Obviously having responsibility for inciting the insurrection has no statute of limitations. He can still be charged with High Crimes and Misdemeanors from when he was POTUS. The idiot-base is worse than ever, and the IQ of those minions is severely limited. He is very much in serious trouble…but of course justice is elusive for the rich and powerful. The Republicans are still scared to death of him.
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August 28th, 2021 at 2:51 pm
lol – you give me hope. I would love to wake up one day to discover that he’s been put on trial! No…if I’m dreaming, let’s go one further. I want to wake up and learn that he’s been sent to jail. 🙂
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August 29th, 2021 at 4:44 am
That is the goal…everybody chant LOCK HIM UP!!! He should be forced to pay not only for the dastardly deeds he pulled for four years on us. but especially for encouraging his idiot-base to actually do an insurrection against the government. I don’t like the government, but they are necessary even if they are bad. 🙂 The Justice Dept. is finally gathering their chips for the big play…hundreds of rioters have been arrested and charged, and of course the Big Prize is tRump himself….who deserves whatever he gets and ten times more. His tax and income problems are state business (New York mainly) and completely aside from charges stemming from his failed coup-de-etat.
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August 29th, 2021 at 8:37 pm
lmao – oh wouldn’t it be just the most perfect irony if after all the ‘lock /her/ up’ chants it’s 45 himself who gets to see the inside of a prison cell. I live in hope.
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August 30th, 2021 at 1:04 am
Do you remember when they captured Saddam Hussein and pulled him out of the hole that was a bunker where he was hiding? He was all dirty and unkempt, white tee shirt, hair all disheveled….that is the image that I want to see of tRump. yay!!!
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August 30th, 2021 at 9:48 am
OMG! I remember that image so well. ‘How the mighty have fallen’. Yes, something similar for /him/…maybe without the fake hair too…
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August 30th, 2021 at 9:53 am
Wouldn’t it be lovely to see 45 pulled out of a hole in the ground like the worm that he is? I don’t have much thought about Saddam, but I do know that when he was leader of wherever women were allowed to attend school, AND shed their coverings as well. Demonization at its best!
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August 31st, 2021 at 2:03 pm
The whole Iraq thing grates on me. Saddam Hussein may not have been a nice man, but toppling him has created a situation far, FAR worse. 😦
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September 1st, 2021 at 8:31 am
I’m no fan, but Saddam wasn’t much worse than many of his peers around the world. He never did have any WMDs, and I think they knew that when they went to war. They/we messed up Iraq, then went on to do a number on Afghanistan. Now “they” are complaining…hey, do they want to get out of the country or stay there forever? bah humbug
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September 1st, 2021 at 8:34 am
Yes and yes. 😦 I think most people accept that Iraq was about oil not WMDs. The road to hell is paved with good intentions…and the slope is a hell of a lot steeper when money’s involved. 😦
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September 2nd, 2021 at 12:12 am
I was in grad school at the time, and took a lot of flack for my transparent views. I am inherently against bombing people in general, so when the spectacle in Baghdad began I was furious.
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September 2nd, 2021 at 11:04 am
Yeah. Govts in the US, UK and Australia totally ignored /our/ protests. 😦
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September 2nd, 2021 at 11:42 pm
well, I categorically object to bombing people no matter who does it! :-!
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September 3rd, 2021 at 7:58 am
Amen!
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September 3rd, 2021 at 9:20 am
🙂
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September 2nd, 2021 at 11:44 pm
yay, and its business as usual… with tRump on the high burner except where he and his successor seem to agree at least in principle.
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September 3rd, 2021 at 7:58 am
I think we’ll look back on this period and shake our heads, one day.
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September 3rd, 2021 at 9:21 am
I hope you
re right.
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August 27th, 2021 at 10:58 pm
45 released hundreds of former/future Taliban last year from Guatanamo prison. Those people were rounded up over years and held there…and obviously they were just biding their time. Also…45 sidekick Pompeo and his constant smirk/sneer is looming just under the radar, so to speak.
These people are B A D dudes! All of the above. lol
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August 28th, 2021 at 2:50 pm
I did NOT know that. I can’t help wondering what both of them got out of it. 😦
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August 29th, 2021 at 4:38 am
Many of those prisoners were mere kids when they were first picked up and sent to Guantanamo…obviously if they weren’t radicalized by now they are not likely to be so. Some of them have been there for 20 years, including the big wig Taliban Bordar…don’t know his name. There was no reason why many of these men were encarcerated in the first place…but its like the proverbial tiger…they had it by the tail and couldn’t let it go. LOL It wasn’t that 45 got anything out of it, or that they shouldn’t have been released, they were just held for expediency…not a good idea 🙂
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August 29th, 2021 at 8:38 pm
Yeah, I like that analogy. So many mistakes made, over such a long period of time. Now it seems we’re reaping what they sowed.
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August 30th, 2021 at 1:01 am
My comment here got out of line and I copied it for a blog entry. That happens to me in these comments lists when I start out to make some remarks and end up with a full blog post. It does work as an analogy…just what does one do when a life-threatening creature is captured? The problem is when you let it go…
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August 30th, 2021 at 9:49 am
Exactly. In my head, it’s like pinning a poisonous snake to the ground, knowing that if you let up on the pressure, it’ll whip round and sink its fangs into your leg. 😦
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August 30th, 2021 at 10:04 am
Exactly…and just because those potential terrorists-in-waiting were amiable and cooperative with guards for decades doesn’t necessarily mean they are no longer a threat. 😉
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August 31st, 2021 at 1:58 pm
Sadly they’ve probably gone from being young hothead to older strategists.
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September 1st, 2021 at 8:40 am
I believe one of the top Taliban is an alumni of Guantanamo. He’s been biding his time for decades….evidently waiting for an opportunity to pursue pay-back.
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September 1st, 2021 at 3:14 pm
The hatred must run very deep. 😦
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September 2nd, 2021 at 12:04 am
Indeed. I read where a couple of the prison guards described him as compliant and amiable. No point in fighting windmills… 🙂
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September 2nd, 2021 at 11:05 am
No fool. 😦
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September 2nd, 2021 at 11:40 pm
The words of The Gambler come to mind: you gotta know when to hold ’em, know when to fold’em, know when to walk away…and when to run.
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September 3rd, 2021 at 7:58 am
lol – Johnny Cash?
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September 3rd, 2021 at 9:19 am
yep, Johnny Cash
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September 3rd, 2021 at 7:46 pm
Hah! I’m not a Cash fan so I dug deep for that one. 🙂
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September 5th, 2021 at 12:30 am
My brother used to love country music, and I learned the songs from him. Johnny Cash, of course, but I can still sing “Lovesick Blues” by Lefty Frizzell…one of the 1945-50s era greats.
Now Lovesick Blues is running through my head, but that’s better than what it replaces the song with the refrain: “…Billy Jo McCalister jumped off the Tallahatchee Bridge.” (The latter just will not go away until I look it up and refresh the refrain in my brain.) Yes, I really AM quite mad! LOL
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September 5th, 2021 at 2:00 pm
Gah…I remember that song, the Billy Jo one. Even here, every time you turned on the radio, there it was. I’ve never like ‘Country & Western’ or ‘Punk’. Heavy metal was more my thing at uni. 🙂
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September 7th, 2021 at 12:36 am
I have managed to get “into” the Ode to Billie Joe thing….there are volumes of think-pieces, comments, opinions, speculation on the ‘net. I read where that was the hit song for weeks to various degrees around the world… and I still knew the words before I looked it up. Obsession is one of my middle names :-0
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September 7th, 2021 at 7:59 am
Gah…Killing Me Softly was my favourite song from back then and I /know/ I can’t remember all the lyrics. 😀
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September 2nd, 2021 at 12:28 am
Here is a tale to make your blood run cold…in our little city last night a 14-year-old boy robbed a gas station/convenience store. He had a rifle, ammo, and also a big knife and some etc…… when he saw the police car he placed the rifle on the ground and raised his hands. They took him to the county juvenile detention center. It is almost certain that he is a white kid…god only knows what would have happened in a big city neighborhood…. just sayin’ 😦
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September 2nd, 2021 at 11:00 am
Yes. The threshold for violence seems to get lower the darker someone’s skin is. 😦
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September 3rd, 2021 at 9:24 am
absolutely. racism has always been the way of the land for many here in our democracy.
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September 3rd, 2021 at 7:45 pm
I wonder why it is that some form of slavery is always part of a nation’s history. Here in Australia we didn’t have slavery per se, but the Indigenous jackeroos may as well have been – ‘paid’ in flour and sugar and alcohol. 😦
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September 5th, 2021 at 12:45 am
The Spanish tried to enslave the indigenous of the Americas, but that didn’t work well because the Indians refused to be forced to work…so they just killed many of them and brought slaves from Africa. The latter they considered more or less expendable, and just worked them to death on the plantations. At one time they (Spanish slavers) did not bring any women to a certain area of the Caribbean…women caused all sorts of problems, and were more of a detriment than asset… (pregnancy, babies, child care, all sorts of expenditures…more trouble than they were worth.
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September 5th, 2021 at 1:58 pm
Gods…the awfulness just beggars description.
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September 7th, 2021 at 12:42 am
The British abolished slave trade long before US, but the slavers continued to run the trade on Portuguese ships flying the US flag. Great story involving the British navy, old clunky warships, sleek new ships out of New England…. I have a paper I did for my grad course named “England and the Empire” which needs to be cleaned up for popular consumption and published. You’ll love it….LOL
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September 7th, 2021 at 7:58 am
-grin- Do it! And I’m pretty sure I would love it. 😀
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September 5th, 2021 at 12:51 am
Our Scottish ancestors had various issues with landowners destroying potato crops and benefactors in Australia financing passage in exchange for various labor contracts. That’s how my xxxgreat grandmother got to Australia, by herself…arranged her own passage. Not sure of the details, cousin Greg just discovered her…Ann Hunter, I think… within the last couple of years. A lot of Scots in Maclean and thereabouts, apparently…I read so on a search for “Maclean” .
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September 5th, 2021 at 1:57 pm
Hmm…practices like those still exist. I remember when I first went to uni. there were those who were ‘paid’ to do their degrees by the State education dept. Not for free though. Those student would then be bonded to the education department for three years after graduation. The idea was that they’d pay for their education by teaching for 3 years. Terrible idea as most were truly awful teachers. And definitely didn’t have their hearts in it. Most got out as soon as the 3 years was up.
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September 7th, 2021 at 12:56 am
yes, yes, yes, yes, and yes! I myself did my masters and doctorate work under a contract. We worked for 20 hours a week, often as a professor assistant, ran discussion classes and various work in the History department. When my contract from the university arrived my dear hubby Bob said…and I quote: “they’re going to pay you to go to school?” LOL We bought our own books, etc. Yes, I was a terrible “teacher!” My evaluation reviews were mixed: from the same discussion group of 25 students, one said I was “the worst TA they ever had;” and another : “the best TA ever!” 🙂 A friend and fellow TA, now a PhD professor at a private school, shared one of her evals which wrote one word in caps: B..TCH. I said “didn’t that hurt your feelings: She said “hell no, I want to be their teacher, not their friend.” She was and is a superb TA. (Actually, being human and all, she admitted those negative comments were hurtful, but expected.)
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September 7th, 2021 at 7:57 am
-grin- discipline and respect are hugely important. Remember I mentioned how some of them were terrible teachers? One I will never forget would drone on and on as the noise level got higher and higher. When he couldn’t stand it any longer he’d YELL. Silence for 10 seconds then it’d start again. He was my ‘supervisor’ for the worst teaching prac I ever did.
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September 7th, 2021 at 9:06 am
I had a class in which several of the students made a point of picking on me for various reasons, I already admitted to being a terrible instructor. Well, after the course ended, with the poor evaluations, etc. I just decided to rack it up and get over it. Welll… the next level course started the next quarter with the giant intro event (it was US History) and the students were directed to the group they would be in. A small group of them, including several of the students that had gone out of their way to harass me first quarter, when they found they were in the class of one Mr. B…who had worked up a reputation for being tough and mean…they begged me to allow them into my discussion group. I said “you guys laughed at me and made fun of me throughout the class…why should I speak up to have you assigned to MY group now? But Mr. B is terrible….I said you considered me the worst TA you ever had…how come all of a sudden you are begging to be in my class?” To my credit I stuck to my guns and left the poor students to the Big Bad Mr B. (Between you and me, Mr B was something of an obnoxious prick, so it was a just pay-back.) LOL The reason some of the assistantships had gone to me and other non-traditional students is that they wanted to fill future assistantships so couldn’t have any vacant spots. Also, there had not been many women in these positions, as more men than women followed History internships.
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September 8th, 2021 at 8:49 am
lmao – I suspect you underrated your teaching skills, but comparison does change things. Plus some people just like making trouble. 🙂
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September 13th, 2021 at 1:02 am
The students were required to have two credits of “foreign culture,” (my description) they had a choice among Latin America/various Eastern cultures/etc… and many of the students hated it…hated it…so they were pissed about it from the get-go. I considered myself well versed on my subject (Latin America) but my teaching skills were ephemeral…nada…make it up as go along… and my liberal mindset tended to empathize with the students. I wanted to “help” them…most were ordinary students that just shut up and took the course that was at the right day and time. Then they went for the easy-A and got along fine. All they wanted was the credit…it wasn’t worth the fight. But some hated the course…hated me…hated my Chinese grad student helper in the class…because she was Chinese… My weird method was to take the student aside and say something like “what the hell is the matter with you? shape up, I’m giving you a chance to get a decent grade…cooperate.” And then there were the athletes…bozo the clown would have gotten a passing grade for doing tricks…I won’t even go there. What a farce….
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September 13th, 2021 at 9:57 pm
lol – your teaching style sounds fine to me. Remember ‘you can take a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink’. That applies to humans even more so.
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September 5th, 2021 at 12:54 am
Part of it was pure racism, I think. Our white ancestors were not willing to exploit conquered/whatever other white peoples to enslave, so they did the indentured servant contracts. Especially here in US among Irish, Scots, etc.
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September 5th, 2021 at 1:53 pm
Yeah, it seems as if each Western country went through a similar set of steps.
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September 10th, 2021 at 8:08 am
I think every species of humans is “racist” to some degree just by nature. All of “us” may by nature tend to xenophobia based on various characteristics…skin color, size, hair, eyes. Let’s say an alien lifeform, different in numerous ways from us Earth-humans, suddenly were against us. Would human-nature then differntiate from alien-ness drop all of the refinements of characteristics in favor of our being all human beings? No more black or white variations.
That I suppose is the point of these movies like Independence Day, in which the camera focus shifts back and forth among assorted nationalities united as a species?
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September 11th, 2021 at 7:07 am
That’s definitely the idea, but I’m no longer convinced by it. I suspect we’d continue to play our petty games as the aliens blow us up. 😦
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September 13th, 2021 at 12:46 am
Yes! We’d all haggle to team up with the aliens to attack our fellow humans. Human nature. 🙂
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September 13th, 2021 at 10:02 pm
lol – we laugh, but only because we know it’s true!
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September 16th, 2021 at 9:10 am
It might be fun to meet some friendly aliens… although sometimes I think I already have 😉
On another note, our little friend Allie, aka Alice, is grounded. She has been permitted to go outside, and she loves it, and as long as she came when I called her she could doher thing. (Actually its He, and Him, probably.) Anyway, she has scratches on her eyebrow, her eye is runny, and her ear has a 1/2 inch tear. Now having said that, I am of the belief that her injuries came from one of the indoor cats…probably Bob, maybe Toby. No one is talking. I saw her/him in action once when she had a neighbor cat cornered, and I was shocked. So I told her that if she’s going to be outside acting like a wild animal…or fighting inside for that matter, she is not allowed out! I’m glad I have an excuse to keep her/him inside, she is just too much of a dare-devil.
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September 16th, 2021 at 3:40 pm
Ah…poor Allie. The first 18 months they’re just like teenagers – into everything and think they’re invincible. Golli had a run-in with a car at about 12 months that left him brain damaged, mostly blind and me broke after the vet bills! That said, Golli can do /almost/ everything his brother can do except climb trees [can’t get down] and catch mice. He ‘listens’ near the compost heap every evening but hasn’t managed to translate that into a mouse.
Anyway, my love to Allie. 🙂
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September 17th, 2021 at 12:42 am
Cats are remarkable creatures. We had a cat named Blackie, who actually taught Pearl and Toby as little kittens to catch a mouse. Blackie had a live mouse, and demonstrated how to play “cat and mouse” with it. We saw the interaction with our own eyes. 🙂 Yes, Allie is a mess, but she allowed me to look closely at the damage and clean it. Scott told me to quit yelling at her…she really wants to go outside but she/he is such a scrapper that I’ve seen her fight/terrorize bigger cats. She is a small cat, very smart, even as cats go. Pearl used to catch mice in the basement…but now she’s too old for climbing walls. 🙂
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September 18th, 2021 at 10:28 pm
OMG…yes! Buffa used to catch mice and bring them in for Golli [after Golli had the accident and ended up with some brain damage. Anyway, Buffa would drop the mouse at Golli’s feet, literally. Poor Golli could never catch mouse, that ended up being my job…-sigh-
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September 20th, 2021 at 9:58 am
I was always the grouch…if the mice appeared remotely alive I rescued them. I also rescue spiders and other creatures.
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September 20th, 2021 at 9:55 pm
Mice yes, rats and spiders no. -shudder-
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September 22nd, 2021 at 2:21 am
My late BFF Dorothy had a raccoon in her kitchen. She called the police and the dispatcher tried to reassure her that it was probably not a raccoon…the police officer who came out also lectured on how it was unlikely that a raccoon would be in the house…etc, etc. Then he peeked in the kitchen and exclaimed ‘that IS a raccoon!” She told him it was up to him what to do about it.
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September 22nd, 2021 at 3:12 pm
lol – I know nothing about raccoons…are they dangerous?
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September 24th, 2021 at 1:28 am
They can be, I guess. The last raccoon I saw was on my porch sharing the cats’ food dish, with a cat there. Kittens are especially accepting of the raccoons, and the possums, which are frequent visitors separately and with friends. I always keep the door closed between me and the wild critters.
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September 25th, 2021 at 5:36 pm
Isn’t that interesting? So the kittens aren’t afraid of raccoons? We get foxes and both the dog [tiny] and the cats are afraid of them.
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September 26th, 2021 at 12:52 am
The Cat Moms seem wary of the raccoons, and counsel the kittens to beware. Speaking of cats, Allie was out yesterday, all day until near-dark. She/He refused to discuss the issue of just who bit the head off the Bluejay. Circumstantial evidence, for sure…Allie is the only one that I know for a fact has had an interaction with a Jay. Still…Allie is a little dynamo in a show-down with other cats, but the Jays can be mean machines. Dau1 found the remains of the headless-Jay, and plans to extract the beautiful feathers from the carcass. No, I have no idea how…. lol
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September 27th, 2021 at 3:43 pm
Ut oh! Naughty, Allie. 🙂 That said, I wonder if it really was Allie? I mean my guys are terrified of the magpies so if the jays are as aggro, it’d be a very brave cat who took one on…an won!
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September 29th, 2021 at 1:17 am
Maybe not, but Allie is a real scrapper…she/he appeared to take on a cat named Daddy Boy…she/he really beat him up! About that Blue Jay, though…I witnessed their first meeting, and when she/he went in close to spy on the Jay’s nest I heard it reply with a “beat it, kid!” chirp. Yesterday I let her outside, and after several hours I called her…she came charging like a bat out of hell but then declined to come into the house. She/he did come in when it was almost dark.
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September 29th, 2021 at 5:50 pm
Has he/she been, um, fixed yet? Sometimes that calms them down a bit. And protects them from getting run over. Actually, no, it should but Golli had his accident /after/ his op so, I don’t know.
Alllie may just be a little hellraiser. 🙂
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October 8th, 2021 at 7:20 am
No, we haven’t made that trip to the Vet yet. She is grounded from going outside, because she comes back when she feels like it, and last time she was upset and weird acting, and then vomited. Bob said she should not be allowed outside to hang out with the riffraff outdoor cats. He (Allie) would probably be very proficient outside…but I would be all worried and upset…I hate that.
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October 8th, 2021 at 4:10 pm
Aaaah. Hormones. They’ll do it every time. 😦
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October 9th, 2021 at 8:47 am
we do need to take Allie to the Vet. They will remember me as the woman who was worried about having her cat spayed…then discovered that he (Bob) was a boy.
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October 9th, 2021 at 4:09 pm
lmao – these things happen. 😉
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October 10th, 2021 at 8:46 am
Allie went out today. I was out on the deck, and when I cam back in he/she was sitting there looking out, and I absent mindedly opened the door. She will come back when it is almost dark. Last time when she didn’t come in I sent Dottie out to get her… I asked Dottie to go get her and bring her in, and she did. I am ambivalent about her going outside, on the one hand she enjoys it so much, on the other I worry. Dottie, Sister, and Toby are allowed out…in and out, in and out 🙂 Bob would like to go out, but he is not agile enough, he would fall over if something looked at him…and Pearl has never been outside.
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October 10th, 2021 at 9:34 am
I love how you send Dottie out and she does what you say! You don’t talk about Dottie much. What’s she like?
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October 12th, 2021 at 2:21 am
Dottie is Sister’s daughter, a beautiful calico cat. The Calicos, which I like to refer to as “the Kardashians” are large cats, not as big as Bob, but a lot bigger than Allie. Dottie is very affectionate, she sleeps on the foot of my bed (or in the center, until I kick her off,) very mild-mannered. Sister will also go outside to get Allie it I ask her to, and insist, but she tends to be grouchy about it. Allie kind of cowers a bit when Sister has to retrieve her, no-nonsense; Dottie tends to go out and hang out with Allie (and assorted cats from the compound.)
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October 12th, 2021 at 9:11 am
I love Calico cats. Rosie was one and boy did she know she was gorgeous. One of our favourite memories of Rosie is of her sitting primly just outside the back door, being serenaded by one of the local toms. ‘Me Princess, you scum’ pretty much sums up her attitude. lol Like your Dottie, she was very affectionate with /us/. 🙂
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October 14th, 2021 at 2:36 am
Originally three Calico kittens found their way to the compound…maybe 15 years ago. One of them moved across the road and lived in the greenhouse there and had “a number” of kittens. That was the late great Barbara. The other two kittens moved in next door: Isis, and Orion. Isis had four kittens (including Peppy and Tink, who still live on my back deck.) SIL Mike rescued the four kittens, who were born in a rainstorm, and took turns with Isis feeding them with a doll bottle. (He had the bottle.) They were as careful as possible to not let Isis outside…fearing something would happen to her. The first chance she got she was gone…leaving the orphaned kittens with Mike. HA! I’m in story mode here. As we used to say during book review in grade school, ” if you want to know what happens you’ll have to read the book.” (to be continued…)
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October 14th, 2021 at 10:01 am
lmao – don’t stop on a cliffhanger! What happened to the Kittens? And poor Mike?
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October 15th, 2021 at 5:27 am
oh…sorry… Peppy and Tink still live on my deck to this day, and Midnight got run over, and Mike called them “the boys of summer.” They got kicked out of the house for delinquency.
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October 15th, 2021 at 12:07 pm
Aaah. lol Explain delinquency? Fighting or spraying or both?
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October 16th, 2021 at 3:28 am
Well, it was because of their bad acquaintances, namely a little beauty beast called Snowball, at first, then warped into what I now call him Daddy Boy…he lives out side…pain in the ass. .. tried to impregnate everything that walks…nah, just girl cats. 🙂 They spayed and argued and generally caused trouble. Snowball was originally an orphan, raised by a sweet nurse cat named Fluffy. But then Snowball’s cuteness caused him to become a bad influence on the Boys of Summer, and they all got evicted. Tink, the yellow cat, had a broken neck from falling off the TV. He’s fine now, but his head his sideways. ( I don’t make this stuff up!) They aren’t even my cats, but after they were homeless they just decided to move on over to Granma’s shelter. I love cats.
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October 16th, 2021 at 12:07 pm
I’ve always thought that cats are more like people than dogs or other domesticated animals. They /choose/ who the like and trust. I think that’s why a lot of people don’t like cats; they want something to dominate. Cats won’t let you do that.
Yours clearly know who to trust. 🙂
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October 17th, 2021 at 5:42 am
I’m sure sometimes that cats understand me when I speak to them. Actually if I think about it, most animals that I encounter seem to communicate at some level. Bob jumps on the bed with all four feet landing in one thud, then head-bumps until I respond.
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October 17th, 2021 at 7:00 pm
You mean he head bumps you until you wake up? lol
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October 18th, 2021 at 1:56 am
I wake up quickly, because Bob is not allowed on my bed . He has accidents, and … well enough said. 🙂
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October 18th, 2021 at 3:08 pm
Ooooh! Right. Got it. 😦
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October 20th, 2021 at 3:08 am
Bob is a really good cat, but he has bladder control problems, maybe because of his cerebellar hyplasia. I don’t think he deliberately pees on anything, but its accidental Now Pearl, on the other hand, throws up a lot. She always has.
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October 21st, 2021 at 11:22 am
Yeah, I’d say it’s a side effect of his condition. Could it be hairballs with Pearl? Some cats have more delicate stomachs than others. I have to give Golli Katalax when hairballs become a problem [he up chucks too].
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October 24th, 2021 at 2:05 am
Yes, Pearl has a delicate digestive system! She has since she was a young kitten.
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October 24th, 2021 at 11:31 am
My little Chihuahua cross is like that too. I guess they’re as diverse as people. Pearl’s lucky she has you to give her TLC though.
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October 25th, 2021 at 3:40 am
Dau2 has a Chihuahua, a cute little thing that barks all the time. She also has an ancient parrot named Iago.
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October 25th, 2021 at 3:49 pm
lmao – wasn’t Iago the villain in Othello? Or am I getting my tragedies mixed up?
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October 26th, 2021 at 3:36 am
omg I have maligned “Puppy” who is in fact NOT a Chihuahua at all… she is some other kind of little dog. The Chihuahua was actually a critter called “The Skeen” I have no idea why… I am not a dog person, never have been, although my husband Bob fell instantly in love with puppies! He loved dogs. (Cats, too, but especially dogs.) If I was to ever get a dog it would be a Setter or Lab, or other BIG dog. Having said that…dogs like me…why I can’t imagine. I talk to them as I do to cats, and for some reason they like me. go figure…
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October 26th, 2021 at 3:38 am
Iago? Why won’t keyboards type a capital I (eye) even as a Roman Numeral.
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October 24th, 2021 at 2:36 am
There is no way for me to tell you this, so I’ll just spit it out. My sweet cat, Sister, ran into the road last weekend and was killed. I haven’t been able to mention it before without crying. She was missing for a couple of days, but that in itself was not unusual. Sister was an outside cat before she decided to move into the house about five winters ago. She probaly was chasing a squirrel. We searched for her, but couldn’t see her because of the ridge in the road, and unless I actually had crossed I wouldn’t see her. The neighbor, Glen, was out mowing…and he summoned his wife, who appeared with a shovel and a plastic bag. Dau1 happened to see the activity…went over there and identified Sister. We buried her back in the so-called “dog yard,” which is a pet cemetery of impressive population. There are numerous dogs, cats, a couple of “other” critters buried there. In addition to those that have physical graves, we also have a few containers provided by the Vet to hold the remains of ancient cats and dogs from our compound alone.
Yes, I am devastated. I just cry and cry, and Allie insisted on sitting on my “lap” and hugging me…remarkable because he is a big boy now … but still a sweetie. The other cats (we have five now…Pearl, Toby, Allie, Bob, and Dottie) just kind of hang out whispering like it was a funeral home gathering. Yes….I am super weird!
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October 24th, 2021 at 11:38 am
Oh Pat…I am truly sorry. And I’m not just saying that. I still remember when Pippi died, and that was almost two years ago now. They may not look like us, but they are family. /Family/.
I’m so glad you have Allie.
Much love, A.
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October 25th, 2021 at 3:21 am
thank you. I still tear-up quickly; Dottie is in full mourning, poor girl; and the other cats tip-toe around. They seem to take turns hanging around Dottie…so sad! Plus I am still under the weather with the Damn Covid-shot AND the regular flu shot as well. I’m not so sure taking the shots at the same time is such a great idea. 🙂 Also, I suspect that the shot side-effects include my crying-jag. I don’t cry…usually. Even Dau1 hugged me, and she hates me.
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October 25th, 2021 at 3:57 pm
-hugs- well I like you very much so take heart. And no, having both shots at the same time probably wasn’t a good idea. Stay well.
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October 26th, 2021 at 3:19 am
I’m going to inform the pharmacy where I had the shot/s of my reaction. The strangest reaction I think is that I am hyper, almost giddy, and still after a week (exactly one week) later I still have aches and pains, dizzy…headachy.. I don’t know though which vaccine caused the issues…the Covid or the Flu. I searched before and after I had the shots, and could find nothing against having both at one time.
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October 27th, 2021 at 5:52 am
Still feel rotten after more than a week. I perked up impressively when I made a $100 sale online… a 4-volume set of Robert E Lee’s biography that won a Pulitzer Prize in 1960-something. He was the famous Confederate Army General from the Civil War. They are busy tearing his statues, horse-and-all, down in various states. I object because although the cause of the war was evil, there were thousands and thousands of Southern boys forced into service who lost their lives for what they and their families believed was a holy cause. These people were on the wrong side of history, but still… My great grandfathers were from the North, here in Ohio, and both were Union soldiers. They were both quite young (18 or so) one was Cavalry (horse soldiers) the other an infantryman. I have their widows’ papers from when they were awarded Civil War pensions.
Getting a nice sale like that alwys cheers me up! I have a lot of good sets and individual history books that will bring a nice price. Right now Amazon is notifying sellers that they can’t sell some Civil War books…but this sale was through eBay. AZ warned me to remove a book on the Confederacy from my inventory. I did, but still have it listed on my other venues.
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October 27th, 2021 at 9:36 am
I’m glad you had a big sale to cheer you up. I’m conflicted when it comes to historical figures. I don’t believe that history should ever be white-washed, but I also hate the idea that someone who did despicable things is glorified after his/her death.
Here in Melbourne, we had a major road named after a settler who was very influential in his time. A few years ago it was revealed that he did some truly awful things so a Melbourne electorate that had been named after him was renamed.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/jun/20/melbourne-electorate-of-batman-renamed-after-indigenous-activist
To me, that’s fair.
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October 28th, 2021 at 4:23 am
Sometimes the worst offenders are the most VIP. Our President Andrew Jackson comes to mind.
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October 28th, 2021 at 8:04 am
I don’t know much about your presidents but I remember reading about him. Worst president ever?
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October 28th, 2021 at 10:15 am
Andy Jackson is famous for the “Trail of Tears” in which case thousands of native Americans were forced to walk for hundreds of miles to relocate their homes. Numerous deaths.
Our dear Reagan…the Republican Jesus… approved the infamous Iran-Contra Affair, in which the CIA was selling drugs to Iran (a sworn enemy) to finance the illegal war against the duly elected government in Nicaragua. Then there was dear Bill Clinton, whose Attorney General et al captured a six-year-old boy named Evan Gonzalez …the issue was that the kid’s mother died during her escape from Cuba, and the boy was taken in my relatives in Miami… the supreme court ruled that the boy had to be released to his father (a Cuban) in Cuba. There was a big stick, and fully-armed combat troop/CIA people with huge machine rifles actually knocked down the door and took the boy forcibly. The kid was screaming, terrified…I will never get that image out of my brain.
I could go on and on…
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October 28th, 2021 at 8:10 pm
Expediency. I think it’s the one word I hate more than any other. 😦
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November 1st, 2021 at 2:46 am
Oh the horror stories of the atrocities against the indigenous never end. At a place called Wounded Knee the army killed numerous women and children after assuring the men of the tribe it was safe to go off and hunt. Not. Some of the killing was accidental to some degree…but much of it was orchestrated slaughter. The government also took Navajo children away from their homes and sent them back East to go to school to be “Americanized.” I hate that.
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November 1st, 2021 at 2:20 pm
Ugh. Australia did much the same, but it never quite made it into our history books. We’re only just now discovering how shitty things were. Oh and we took mixed blood children away to be civilized while hoping the rest would quietly die. Grrrr….
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November 2nd, 2021 at 2:46 am
I just read yesterday about “uncontacted” tribes in the Amazon, that want to keep missionaries from corrupting their way of life. The govt (Brazil?) has laws to keep them out, but of course they are so insidious that they must spread their god’s word regardless of what they want. Disgusting. I’d like to see a group of missionaries forced to adapt to the indigenous religious beliefs and customs…how good would that be?
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November 2nd, 2021 at 10:10 pm
Hah! I’d like to see that too. The arrogance of these people is mind boggling.
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November 3rd, 2021 at 8:19 am
zmaybe a group with a big cauldron heating over a fire to make soup? ha
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November 4th, 2021 at 10:37 am
‘Hubble, bubble, toil and trouble’…. 😀
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November 7th, 2021 at 7:40 am
lol
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October 28th, 2021 at 10:17 am
But tRump wins the Worst President Ever contest hands down. He deliberately contributed to the near-downfall of our country.
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October 28th, 2021 at 8:05 pm
Yeah, I can’t argue with that. 😦
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October 29th, 2021 at 9:45 am
President Biden’s big infrastructure bill is cooking in Congress right now…Speaker Pelosi warned the Dems not to embarrass the President. The problem with Democrats everywhere is that we are all over the place politically, and always in-fighting. Republicans, on the other hand, hate each other but they always stick together…that’s how tRump manages to keep them under his sticky thumb. I am divided myself…I tend to be more liberal than progressive, but they are holding up the deal now. I think they should go along with Biden and hammer out the details later. Of course I realize that the devil is in the details… :-!
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October 28th, 2021 at 4:25 am
Thanks for forwarding the link to the Guardian article. While I was there I read several other stories, good source…I always enjoy the content.
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October 28th, 2021 at 8:03 am
Of all the main stream media, the Guardian is the only one that still seems to maintain its credibility. The interesting thing is that there are small, independent journalists springing up who are taking on the job of investigation that the ‘paid’ ones often ignore.
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October 28th, 2021 at 10:36 am
I subscribe to alternet.com which I like a lot; also there’s a site out of Venezuela that covers the Central American countries. Of course the US is enemies with Venezuela…as we are with Cuba…others… My long major in Latin American History has shaped my mind when it comes to history, and its easy to see through the main differences: o.i.l … if we aren’t running everything we won’t play. 🙂
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October 28th, 2021 at 8:04 pm
I’ll check alternet.com out. 🙂
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October 29th, 2021 at 9:37 am
I like alternet.com in that news stories usually appear before they do in other media, and although it is left-leaning it is not annoyingly so. I am prety far-left radical liberal myself, but I don’t like sock-it-to-me news stories.
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October 25th, 2021 at 3:28 am
The most affectionate/comforting cat I ever had was Moby, my enormous Maine Coon…he was a sweetie. Another one of my rescues…found him at the barn, he came out from the darkness with stuff hanging all over him…I took him to the Vet, so held him in one hand and said “now who do we have here?” She said I saved his life…his Mom had moved on with her several other kittens, who were drastically different than Moby…I guess she told him to just sit and be cute and I would save him. 🙂 We thought Tinkerbell would adopt him, but Hell No! She hated kittens to her dying day. 🙂 I think it was Barney that adopted him…the same cat that literally chose Toby from the Easter Basket of kittens…Barney selected Toby, who looked just like him… (beware of Easter Baskets full of kittens.)
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October 25th, 2021 at 3:54 pm
I remember you talking about Moby. I think I saw two very big, very nice cats who may have been Maine Coons years ago, when we lived in a different suburb. The two would jump the fence and just chill in the back yard.
At the time I just thought they were the biggest cats I’d ever seen in my entire life. But I liked them a lot.
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October 26th, 2021 at 3:25 am
Maine Coons are known to be very loyal, gentle, and loving. We have no idea where he came from, assuming the mother was who we think it was. Moby looked like a black lagoon creature when he appeared out of the barn shadows that day. 🙂 I can still see him sitting in the Vet’s hand (I had gone to the rest room and left him in his closed box) and she said “who do we have here?” I really like that Vet a lot, but we stopped going there because it was so far and so much construction traffic between here and there. 🙂
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October 10th, 2021 at 8:47 am
We never did find out who bit the head off the Blue Jay.
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October 10th, 2021 at 9:32 am
Mmm…maybe that’s not such a bad thing.
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October 12th, 2021 at 2:23 am
Yes, indeedy…it may have been some “other,” and not really a cat at all. The only one that I know has a working relationship with a Blue Jay is Allie…who keeps a respectful distance since the Jay’s warning “tweet” when they first met. (duh…)
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October 12th, 2021 at 9:06 am
I’d say Allie’s owed the benefit of the doubt. 😀
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October 14th, 2021 at 2:26 am
Allie’s probably friends with the Jay. She/he isn’t allowed outside because she takes her time about coming inside. I’m sure Allie can take care of herself, I’ve seen him in action in a fight….mean as he is sweet. I’m ok about changing the name, but the real name seems to remain Alice. As in Alice Cooper…? 😉
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October 14th, 2021 at 10:03 am
lol – I remember Alice Cooper. He certainly looked mean on stage. I think the name has stuck. 😉
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October 15th, 2021 at 5:18 am
Long before Alice Cooper was ever THE Alice Cooper, so to speak, he appeared at a tiny little club here in our little town. Our city officials were reallly upset, and ordered Bob, who was our fire captain at the time, to get out there and close the place down. There was no grounds for closing…not overcrowded, no smoking, police on hand. They didn’t close it down, just monitored it. Dau1, who was about 13 at the time, was too young to be allowed to go, which she always regretted.
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October 15th, 2021 at 12:09 pm
Wow…that’s a real claim to fame coz Alice Cooper was huge. Scary to think about how long ago that was.
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October 16th, 2021 at 3:09 am
omg it was half a century ago! Alice was huge, though he played a lot of rinky-dink towns on his way.
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October 16th, 2021 at 12:09 pm
Ugh, yes. I always scare myself when I do the sums and realise something happened decades ago.
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October 17th, 2021 at 5:34 am
time flies—whether we’re having fun or not. 🙂
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October 17th, 2021 at 7:08 pm
Amen to that. hard to believe it’ll be two years soon.
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October 18th, 2021 at 2:02 am
tRump’s daily atrocities notwithstanding (I love that word) and he is still terrorizing the nation to this day…five years of him has passed. His mission of destruction is working marvelously…we all hate each other, cause riots at school board meetings!, thugs roam the countryside at will. We beat people up for wearing masks and/or not wearing masks. The idiot-base just gets more idiotic. ..but I digress. Sorry. :-0
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October 18th, 2021 at 3:07 pm
It’s almost like an underground civil war all over again, isn’t it? 😦
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October 20th, 2021 at 7:02 am
Yes, although this mess isn’t so much home-grown as it was instigated and engineered by outside enemies of our nation. Namely the Russians, our traditional and erstwhile enemies who have long been on record as planning to wipe-out America as it in-theory exists. Every day now some whacko beats up someone for wearing a mask, or getting a Covid19 vaccination, or invades a school board meeting to make vile threats. The culprit is and always will be tRump, who deliberately set out to destroy our national democracy. He is bat-shit crazy, and so are all of his idiot-base…not to forget our neer-do-well Republican politicians.
Sorry if that’s vague… :-0
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October 21st, 2021 at 11:21 am
-giggles- Not to worry, I got the picture. I agree re the Russians. They’ve been light years ahead in weaponising the internet and social media, but they’ve also had good material to work with. The corporatisation of America, and sending so much manufacturing off-shore left a huge class of people pretty much destitute. Unhappy people are easy to manipulate. That’s not to say that you’re wrong about tRump. Rather that he is one of the people most adept at lying through his teeth.
Btw I saw on the news last night that Steve Bannon may be prosecuted?
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October 24th, 2021 at 2:13 am
Our Congress, with the votes of 10 Republicans, have voted to hold Bannon in Contempt of Congress…a very big deal. He could spend a lot of time in jail. He probably had a key role in the January6 insurrection…that insane event was not an aberration, unfortunately it was a genuine attempt to overthrow our government. IF just one whacko would have actually captured a member of Congress and … you know… tRump could have declared martial law and created Hell. That noose with Mike Pence’s name on it was more than just a threat…if my “one whacko” would have done the unthinkable it would have been the Olde West lynch mob reincarnated. 45 was still technically president, and although common sense tells me that “most” of the people in a mob are likely to be sane and under control… still that one whacko could have brought the whole thing down. But I digress….
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October 24th, 2021 at 11:33 am
Ugh…I don’t think any of us realised how high the stakes were – as in that tRump could still declare martial law and basically never leave. Fate was being kind in keeping those people safe.
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October 25th, 2021 at 3:38 am
Fortunately the Republicans were with the Dems for about half a minute right after the insurrection. That was Serious Shit that went down that day…(capital letters intended.) It would have been so easy … it still sends chills up my spine. Thank God/dess our constitution held when it came to the military serving the people and not the government… that whole day event was a serious coup attempt, which failed mainly because our military stayed loyal to American values. Even as we speak the Jan6 Commission is trying to get tRump and his henchmen…most who have been subpoenaed are cooperating with the commission. The goodest news re all that crap was that 9 Rs voted with the Dems to refer Bannon to the Attorney General for indictment on criminal charges. I can’t oversite the danger…I am not prone to hyperbole!
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October 25th, 2021 at 3:51 pm
Those nine deserve a medal for voting with their consciences, especially now.
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October 26th, 2021 at 3:31 am
The Republicans right now are mostly scared to death of tRump. He is like the devil himself, with hideous power over them. The problem of course is the idiot-base…the rabid MAGA crowds. These people IMHO are not only Voters who can turn against non-trumpers and destroy their political careers…they can be whipped up into frenzied crowds that can be physically dangerous.
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October 15th, 2021 at 5:19 am
I was going to say my granddaughter the rocker did Alice Cooper in full gear…but it wasn’t AC, it was KISS. lol Still gret!
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October 15th, 2021 at 12:08 pm
Hah! I remember KISS. Always thought it must take them HOURS to put on all that makeup and glam. 🙂
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October 16th, 2021 at 3:18 am
I have some pics somewhere of Jeri and her guys in the band in KISS make-up. Also lots from the big David Bowie gig they did at Mustard Seed two years ago. (I haven’t been to a performance in ages, she did do some solo work though that was on their Facebook site. It just occurred to me that I have the very first known recording of her career…at her other grandmother’s pool party…it is appropriately called “Jeri and Chrissy’s First Gig.” It was terrible! lol By the way, Jeri is now with a band called “Big Pop” or something like that…Time Cat broke up broke up…unfortunately.
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October 16th, 2021 at 12:08 pm
-grin- well…you are the historian in the family! I’m sure Jeri’s new band will be as good if not better. 🙂
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October 17th, 2021 at 5:38 am
It is a pretty well established band. I haven’t heard them yet, but will when I get a chance. The hold up is that I don’t drive at night any more, after dark. Local traffic isn’t bad, but I can’t stand the highway with the lights coming from every which way. My eyes are very sensitive to light now, and especially on the road I can’t be shielding my eyes. Akron is about 45 miles from here,. Most of Jeri’s shows are at night, or late in the day, and it is dark when I leave to drive home. So I can’t go unless Dau1 is driving.
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October 17th, 2021 at 7:07 pm
I’m finding the glare hard to handle too. Of course I haven’t driven anywhere since the pandemic started, but even before then, I’d only drive at night if I really had to.
Hopefully you’ll get to see Jeri’s band soon.
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October 18th, 2021 at 2:04 am
I have to black-marker my eyeglasses because the little metal screws etc. reflect stabbing light. Some store lights are bad, especially the overhead ones that shine down from the top.
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October 18th, 2021 at 3:06 pm
Ouch…mine aren’t that bad, at least not yet. Is there anything the optician can do?
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October 20th, 2021 at 7:05 am
I couldn’t find any glasses that didn’t have any metal parts or decoration. I like the ones I have now, which have minimal metal, but still enough to stab me in the eye.
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October 21st, 2021 at 11:16 am
Ouch. I know you meant that figuratively but still. 😉
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October 24th, 2021 at 2:17 am
Some times it feels very real. yikes
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October 24th, 2021 at 11:34 am
😦
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October 15th, 2021 at 5:22 am
uh…maybe it was David Bowie show I’m thinking about. I guess I haven’t a clue!
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October 15th, 2021 at 12:07 pm
David Bowie’s onstage personna was a real gender-bender so maybe you conflated the two. 🙂
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October 16th, 2021 at 3:20 am
yes, maybe.
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September 22nd, 2021 at 2:27 am
Once I found a deer hanging upside down by its foot caught in the highway fence. I called the police, who walked back there with me and asked what to do with it. There was only one choice…and he did dispose of it. I declined my right to claim the meat.. 😦 There are lots of deer around here. We are right on the corner of the city, and there are still lots of wooded areas. Our back-40 is something of a sanctuary.
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September 22nd, 2021 at 3:11 pm
Sounds as if your place is similar to mine – kind of city fringe. Always sad when a beautiful animal has to be put out of its misery. 😦
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September 24th, 2021 at 1:35 am
Yes. We (Dau1 and I) have about 8 acres left, there is a pond, and the whole place is over-grown wildly, also our place is within a tirangle at the edge of the city, and there are good wooded areas around ours as well. The highway goes through the edge of our property now, and has created a sanctuary. My SIL calls our place “the compound.” Lots of deer and other critters…Bob (my late husband, not the cat) had a running battle with groundhogs. Those guys have enormous holes everywhere, and wreak havoc on crops.
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September 25th, 2021 at 5:34 pm
lol – okay, 8 acres is a lot! Even shared between you and Dau1. The Offspring and I have 1.6 acres and that’s more than enough to manage. Which reminds me, I’ll have to start mowing very soon as the grass grows so quickly this time of year. The alpacas do a decent job but there are some weedy grasses they won’t touch. Plus there’s the burning off… -sigh- It never ends.
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September 26th, 2021 at 1:01 am
Do you have alpacas? There are a couple of llama farms relatively near. I don’t know any personally though. I actually still own about 1.4 acres, containing my house and some land. Dau1 has about 5 or 6 altogether, including the back wilds. Bob used to farm about 8 acres, including the plot where I built my house next door to the old house which Dau1 now owns. He used to farm 25 acres in the back which we sold 4 to the highway and 21 to the row of neighbors that bordered our land.
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September 27th, 2021 at 3:41 pm
Yes, to the alpacas. Three of us neighbours bought 4 way back when so they could graze the grass down. Only 2 left now and I’m never sure whether I like them or loathe them. lol
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September 29th, 2021 at 1:11 am
I am pretty much ignorant of alpacas. There is a horse boarding neighbor next to Dau1’s place. The horses come over to the fence to visit, but I rarely go over there because I am sort of afraid of horses. I know that’s odd, but I’ve always been afraid of them. Dau2 had a rescue horse, a small white horse that was elderly, and she/they bought him some quality life time. She always wanted a horse, but never had one as a child. We did have goats, and she did have a gaggle of ducks and geese that would follow her around…I had forgotten that. There’s a photo… of course there is!
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September 29th, 2021 at 5:52 pm
I find it hard to imagine you being scared of anything, much less a horse! I do envy Dau1 her goats. I’ve always loved the idea of them. Not sure about the big ones though.
Post the photo! lol
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October 8th, 2021 at 7:11 am
Oh no! It wasn’t Dau1 who had the goats…it was Dau3. Dau 2 had geese and ducks. 🙂 Goats are sweet animals, friendly and loving as dogs. We had a big “weather” called Wilbur…he butted me so many times I told him I was going to make soup out of him. We did have a big mean gander named “Hermie” that I really did make soup of after he went out in the road and got killed by a car. He got me so many times I owed him! No one would eat the soup though… LOL Son Joe was the kid that originally got Wilbur…they had a mutual peace pact.
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October 8th, 2021 at 4:13 pm
Oh! lol sorry. A friend of mine had a nanny goat for milking when the kids [human ones] were little, but that goat always looked as if she was plotting something. By contrast, the miniature goats I met when I took a class of kids on an excursion to the farm were ADORABLE! I’d love a couple of those but I fear they’d eat all my roses down to the ground.
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October 9th, 2021 at 8:45 am
My boys both drank Goat milk when we had it. We had two nannies, and they both had kids. The boys liked the milk ok, and Bob made cheese from the milk curds. (Of course he did!) The cheese ranged from really good to terrible. I knew someone who had the little pygmy goats, but I didn’t know the goats personally. I don’t know if the goats eat roses or not…probably they do.
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October 9th, 2021 at 4:10 pm
The little pigmy goats come to about knee high [on me] and are adorable…to look at. I suspect they’re voracious when it comes to eating our most precious plants. 😉
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October 8th, 2021 at 7:24 am
roller coasters…yikes! I was terrified of the amusement park rides to the point of being in a panic! Once I rode on a motorcycle and thought I was about to die. Oh, and I’m afraid of heights… aside from those examples I am fearless! :-0
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October 8th, 2021 at 4:09 pm
lol – ditto rollercoaster rides!
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September 17th, 2021 at 12:45 am
One of the first times Allie was outside I saw her walking back and forth across the back yard…inspecting every grass or plant…she was interested in a Bluejay nest in a big Spruce tree…the Jay came in for a landing into the tree,. I heard the Jay’s sharp warning… “stay away Kid!” (just one sharp chirp.)
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September 18th, 2021 at 10:26 pm
We don’t have Jays but the magpies take no crap from my guys, especially during nesting season. They all slink around with one eye on the sky. lol
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September 20th, 2021 at 10:01 am
The Jays are quite adamant in their tone of voice…just enough warning to Allie that the bird saw her and she should beware. Jays are also known to bombard humans that get too close to a nest. It is said that Blue Jays will pick little Wrens right out of the nest…my late Bob used to warn them with a few BBs.
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September 20th, 2021 at 9:55 pm
lol – they sound just as aggro as magpies! We actually saw a group of magpies attacking a possum, in broad daylight, in a huge big gum tree. I guess the possum got too close to a nest or something. I love my magpies but I /know/ they’re related to dinosaurs, and not the veggie eating ones. 😉
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September 24th, 2021 at 1:36 am
dinosaurs? I gather they aren’t the small birds like our magpies.
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September 25th, 2021 at 5:31 pm
No! I think all birds evolved from dinosaurs of one sort or another. 😀
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September 26th, 2021 at 1:05 am
pterodactyls ? (first time I ever dealt with that word in print)
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September 27th, 2021 at 3:40 pm
lol – maybe? The only one I know of for sure is the missing link called Archaeopteryx:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archaeopteryx
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September 29th, 2021 at 1:19 am
hmmm…I’ll check that out.
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August 30th, 2021 at 10:06 am
looks that way… there were 5,000 prisoners released from Guantanamo… by tRump … but that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing at the time.
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August 31st, 2021 at 1:55 pm
No, I agree with the principle. I guess we’ll just have to see where they end up.
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September 2nd, 2021 at 11:46 pm
pretty sure they didn’t sit back on their laurels and soak up democratic ideals. LOL
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September 3rd, 2021 at 7:56 am
How to win friends and influence people…yeah. 😦
The thing that always astounds me the most is that we keep trying to inflict democracy on countries when, by its very nature, democracy has to grow from /within/. People have to demand it.
Sadly, I think a lot of those who were born into democracy are demanding something else now. Big Daddy maybe?
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September 3rd, 2021 at 9:22 am
Good point…
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September 2nd, 2021 at 11:48 pm
who knows? The Shadow knows…. did you get that radio mystery show back in the day? The Shadow’s real name was Lamont Cranston. (Just imagine how smart I would be if my brain wasn’t cluttered up with trivia?
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September 3rd, 2021 at 7:53 am
No, no Shadow here, or at least not that I remember. We had…Jungle Jim and…oh! Biggles!
Talk about dredging up the past. 😀
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August 27th, 2021 at 11:01 pm
he also had invited Taliban leaders to the presidential retreat at Camp David, and engineered/oversaw the planned withdrawal…the set was ready when Biden took over, and he is not about to allow 45 to spin sh/t his own version.
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August 28th, 2021 at 2:49 pm
I hope history gives 45 the treatment he so richly deserves. 😦
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August 23rd, 2021 at 1:36 am
The world has gone mad!
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August 22nd, 2021 at 10:31 pm
My Dad used to go on about people who were basically just dumb. Being a teacher, I did not want to believe him. Recent events have made me recognise his wisdom.
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August 23rd, 2021 at 10:22 pm
lol – you me both!!!!!! I guess in pre-historic times they would have been eaten by sabre tooth tigers, or maybe stomped into a smear by a woolly mammoth…
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August 22nd, 2021 at 8:14 pm
I have been pretty angry about the protests yesterday too. We are fighting to control this and thousands of them go out putting us all at risk. We will be really lucky now not to end up with similar numbers to NSW.
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August 22nd, 2021 at 10:07 pm
Yeah. My heart just sank when I saw the numbers. A few hundred would have been bad enough, but so many…I don’t know if they’re brainwashed or just looking for an excuse to vent their frustrations. Fingers crossed it won’t be too bad but…-shrug-
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August 22nd, 2021 at 6:12 pm
You’re having the equivalent of our Capitol riots – without the former guy!
Delta will take care of some of the yahoos because they won’t take the protective steps.
Meanwhile, husband and I and kids are ramping up the PPE, and hoping for the third dose if necessary.
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August 22nd, 2021 at 10:08 pm
I never thought I’d wish Covid on anyone but…I hope the /instigators/ find out how wrong they’ve been…the hard way.
Stay well. 🙂
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August 23rd, 2021 at 12:41 am
It’s very hard not to hope they will be subject to the natural consequences of their actions. Especially when their actions make YOUR life miserable.
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August 23rd, 2021 at 10:20 pm
I’m failing miserably, I’m afraid. 😦
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August 22nd, 2021 at 3:55 pm
Covidiots! However, I was annoyed to see them get the headline on the news last night. I would prefer not to give them major public airspace. There is of course an irony in their protests. They are demanding “freedom” from lockdowns, masks etc, while their actions are more likely to spread the virus and keep all of us locked down longer.
I found this essay about responsibility as an important flip side to rights.
https://ryanholiday.net/why-we-need-a-statue-of-responsibility/?mc_cid=7244b1e9c8&mc_eid=b5f4318df0
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August 22nd, 2021 at 4:11 pm
“We don’t have a freedom problem: we have a responsibility problem.”
Brilliant article, Anne. Thank you.
We’re now so powerful, as a species, that we forget that individually…we are really, really weak. Take away the technology and all the trappings of civilisation and we’d struggle to feed ourselves or fight off angry dingos.
Living in a society gives us the freedom to live without fear [mostly], but there are no free lunches. For that freedom we agree to live by rules that make it possible for everyone to live without fear.
It’s a two-way street, the reward for a social contract our parents sign for us at birth.
-sigh-
Seriously. What’s wrong with human beings? What makes us so horribly, gleefully destructive?
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August 23rd, 2021 at 8:12 am
So true that we have always been a species that needed each other to survive. True also that often this is forgotten!
I am glad the article resonated with you Meeks. I find his writing often does with me.
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August 23rd, 2021 at 10:16 pm
We talk a lot about competition, but co-operation is the other side of the coin. To survive we need both. And yes, it did, Anne. Very much so.
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August 22nd, 2021 at 3:51 pm
We went into lockdown here in NZ last week, because of Delta – and there were protests next day. Led by one individual, but social media gives a disproportionate reach. I remain in some despair at these anti-science attitudes – all they’ll do is make the pandemic last longer and kill more people. Gaaaah.
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August 22nd, 2021 at 3:52 pm
-hugs- I am so sorry. Bloody Sydney exported its misery everywhere, including to NZ.
How is your lockdown going?
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August 22nd, 2021 at 4:11 pm
Lockdown? Government says there’s one, and I am sitting tight at home but the neighbours have been going in and out like yo-yos, carloads of people have been roaring up and down the road, just like a normal weekend. I had to venture out to the supermarket (mask, glasses, gloves) and found it packed, you’d have thought it was an ordinary shopping day. Very different from the first full lockdown in March last year. I think people have become complacent.
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August 22nd, 2021 at 4:28 pm
Ouch…sounds very much like here. Complacent, yes…or the fear has worn off. How are your [NZ] vaccination levels?
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August 22nd, 2021 at 5:08 pm
Suddenly spiking, for some reason… 🙂 The government were quite slow in rolling the vaccines out but have picked up their game in the last few days and there have been record number administered this weekend.
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August 22nd, 2021 at 10:26 pm
Same here, re the vaccines. We’ve had supply issues, plus AstraZeneca hesitancy. I confess I’m one of those that won’t take the AZ. I’m going to stay a hermit until I’m eligible for a different vaccine.
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August 22nd, 2021 at 2:32 pm
I mean, those protests seem pretty tame to me.
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August 22nd, 2021 at 3:57 pm
There’s lots more footage. I didn’t include the bits where the rioters broke through police lines and ended up sending 9 police officers to the hospital with injuries including broken bones.
Peanuts in comparison to other countries, I know, but for us? I just feel so ashamed.
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