No Dodging The Viper

I didn't have much experience of children, babies and the like before I physically gave birth. New mother was not the word for it. I'll spare the gory details about pushing, labour, the stinging bit and the belief that you'll never ever cross your legs again and move on the the actual mothering bit.

Regardless of any advice given to me I was so very unprepared for the emotional side of it. I knew the minute that I held my son for the first time that if need be I would die for him. The overwhelming love that appeared from virtually no where had left me breathless.

I'm not the best mother in the world, indeed I think that it would be incredibly difficult to set the criteria for that coveted title, however on the other hand I know I'm not the worst mother either.

However, I bet when Ghadir Aleeyan spotted her 13 month old son Imad chomping on the head of a 12inch long snake she most definitely freaked out and uttered words along those lines.

Now, there are snakes native to the UK, namely the imaginatively titled 'grass snake', the even more imaginatively named 'smooth snake' and the better known, 'adder'. The adder is poisonous, but it's really rare to die from its poison. Don't quote me on this, but I think the last death from an adder bite happened around 1979.

However this isn't really the case in Israel, you see they have more species of snakes and more venomous ones too. So when Ghadir turned round from making her son's milk to see him with a snake in his mouth, she obviously thought the worst.

Imad Aleeyan's Aunt, Yasmin Shahin appeared with some neighbours after hearing his mother screaming at the top of her lungs. One of the quick thinking neighbours pulled the snake of the toddlers mouth and made sure it was dead. (Obviously the reptile not the child).

The youngster was then rushed to hospital in nearby Haifa. Luckily Imad was unharmed, he had no bites and had suffered no ill effects from his impromptu snack.

Now whether the half eaten is poisonous or not is still open for debate, the hospital told Ghadir Aleeyan that the snake was really deadly but considering the time of year they had been really lucky as vipers have less venom in the colder months.

Phew! You may think what a narrow escape that was..... Then some specialist tells you that it's a really young specimen of hemorrhois nummifer which is non venomous. Now what Dr Boaz Shacham is saying is probably very accurate, but being calm and rational is very easy when you're sitting in a university looking photos of a mashed reptilian head. It's a totally different ball game when your child might be asking for tomato ketchup to dip a snakes tail in.

It's also very well for him to sit there and say that snakes aren't really active in winter.....

At least now I know I'm not the only mother who has been scared shitless by something their child has done.

I daresay that will not be the last time her son does something to scare the bejesus out of her, and I daresay that my own child will keep doing the same to me for many years to come.

In fact, I'm not sure I would want to miss it for the world.

Til Death Us Do Part: Keeping A Promise

'Do what you desire, and take good care of the people you love, be they your parents, your siblings. You might never get that chance again.'

That is a superb saying/quote whatever you want to call it, but it's a bit along the lines of 'you don't know what you've got till its gone'.

Which I can only assume is how Chadil Deffy feels. Incidentally the first quote has been attributed to him. So what has made Chadil so retrospective?

Well, sadly, it is because his 29 year old girlfriend died. The tragic part is that even though they had been together for 10 years and had planned to get married, they never got round to it.

In short, life got in the way between studies and busy schedules, until 3rd January when Ann Kamsuk died in a car accident.

So, Chadil, did the only thing he felt he could do. He married his dead girlfriend.

Now take out the 'ick' factor and remove all the wedding night jokes and what we have is a guy who wanted to carry out a promise made to his girlfriend.

At the ceremony, which took place in Surin, Thailand, friends and family laid wreaths. Wedding snaps were taken and later posted on Facebook.

'But for us, it is the mistake which we could not go back in time to correct. Remember, life is short.

After all, guilt is a wonderful motivator says the cynical me, the romantic me says that for Chadil he did what he had to and fulfilling a promise made is something that is often missed in the day and age.

I came, I saw, I conquered, iPad, iPhone

So, yesterday I read that my fabulous iPad and iPhone had been built in China. Ok, that's nothing really new to me, as many things are made in China or the far east these days.

What appears to get some people's back up it that these 'luxury' items are made with huge profit margins.....ok is that not what business is all about?

Apparently no, these items, an many others I hasten to add are made very cheaply by kids who are working 12+ hour days in factories where the gates are manned by gun carrying guards.

Now, 'the Business Insider' (don't mock me, I sometimes read stuff like that!!) says that this is outrageous.

There is a distinct lack of employers actually giving a shit about their workforce.... Big massive note here - I may get on my high horse about the same being the case in the UK also. Anyhow, i am digressing way more than I should be on a blog written on my prized iPad.

Anyway the story goes that Foxconn is one of the companies that makes iPhones & iPads. They have a huge massive sized company that employs around 430,000 which is an awful lot of people, especially when you consider that the population of my home town is about 18,000. Around 4% of these workers are around 12 year old according to sources named by 'business insider'.

One of these workers maintains that a standard shift is 12 hours long, however it is more common for 14-16 hour says. Workers meantime stay in dormitories in a 12x12 room with about 15 beds. They use Hexane to clean the screens of iPhones which is a neuro-toxin, how lovely eh?

If you ask for payment for overtime you're so not likely to get any more money! No, you are much more likely to be out on a blacklist of troublemakers.

Though interestingly enough some people still maintain that this new style near slavery type of employment is still better than working on rice fields.

Im probably now, considered middle aged and can still remember stories of kids leaving school at 14 to start work. Stories of life down the pits and working in conditions that were not only dangerous but hazardous to your future health also.

Maybe production has moved to the far east because the western world has decided that they are unwilling to work in such conditions. Maybe moving work to the far east is saving jobs here in the western world. I say that because with the the relative price of these goods being so low, we as consumers would be unable to afford them if made in our countries.

Is, it wrong to complement foreign workers on their perfectionism, they are after all churning out quality goods and I for one can honestly say that my iPad and iPhone are some of the best products I own.

I remember long long ago when doing economics and sociology that the work ethic of the Chinese and Japanese was far superior than ours. Im going back to the old bit 'Protestant work ethic' etc. are we now too embarrassed to put in extra effort to our jobs?

Maybe the western world should have some new role models where we are encouraged to work harder, work smarter and move forward (think I'm maybe quoting some Toyota kaisen theories now). We seem too obsessed with what we get out of it now, what in it for us? Maybe peace of mind that when work ends you know you have done a good days work.

I'm not for one minute condoning the crappy treatment of employees, but large corporations should remember that their biggest asset is their workforce.


Here is a clip from Daily Show host Jon Stewart on Foxconn:

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart: 'Fear Factory'


.

Snap, Crackle and Pop Goes Your Lungs

Once upon a time, in fact it was the day Brad Pitt was filming 'World War Z' in my fabulous home town, I had a bit of a cough. In fact I coughed and coughed and coughed some more. I was finding it a bit hard to breathe but being of the motor trade mentality, I put it down to my husband & his parents burning our garden shed in the back garden. I didn't really consider that anything was wrong at all, apart from maybe hypochondria, though something was catching my throat, something was making it difficult to breathe.

By the time it got to about 7pm I really wasn't any better at all. I had been coughing and wheezing like my old 1982 Ford Fiesta trying to get up a hill.

All night I coughed and coughed to the point where I had a headache, sore ribs, throat and a high temperature. I honestly thought I was going to cough my lungs up.

By the time I got to the doctor even she thought I was about to show her the inside of my lungs, by coughing them up onto her desk in a pile of soggy mucus laden villi. It was only then that we both realised I was having an asthma attack. Asthma eh? Who knew? Certainly not me anyway.

I now realise just how lucky I had been especially when I read the story of a 40 yr old woman from Birmingham.

This poor woman had asthma and had suffered a couple of days of chest pain and bad coughing much like me. During her examination at the hospital she had some cracking and popping noises from her right side.

After a further examination and an x-ray the doctors at Good Hope Hospital in Birmingham (I'm not going to make a joke about the hospital's name as its not really a challenge), they discovered that while coughing so hard, she had herniated her lung.

Ok, ok I know it's not the same as coughing your lungs up, but it is actually coughing your lungs out...... So I'm very nearly right.

So, between the ninth intercostal space the asthma sufferer had a bit of her lung. Now that in itself has a massive ick factor to say the least.

But what about the rare occasions when people have ruptured their spleen whilst coughing or even had an eyeball come out of its socket when puking or coughing like the grim reaper is holding your hand and wanting to take you on an adventure.

At this point I really should type some guff about how this is massively rare and coughing just clears crap out of your throat and if it goes on for too long then go to your doctor cause there could be an underlying problem, but, I'm not going to insult your intelligence.

I know that if you think you are losing your lungs via any which way you'd seek medical attention cause that's the sensible thing to do.

As for me, I've still got 2 lungs (I think) and apparently have asthma, which explains why I always thought I was massively unfit. In short, I wasn't, I just couldn't breathe.

Incidentally I've no idea what happened to the woman from Birmingham with the herniated lung, not sure I want to know how they shoved it back in between her ribs and muscles....

Apparently, they looked like this

RACISM & POLITICS...ON BOTH SIDES OF THE ATLANTIC

With the 2012 Iowa caucuses scrawled into the pages of history, the candidates for the GOP Presidential nomination, minus Michelle Bachmann of course, have shifted their theatre of operations to the Granite state of New Hampshire.  After Willard Mitt Romney’s victory, albeit a narrow one over Rick Santorum, many pundits have him as a cert to win the New Hampshire Primary and steamroll onward to the Republican National Convention.  It’s not earth shattering news that Mr. Romney is expected to win NH as even before the debate season started late last year, he was sitting atop the early polls in the north eastern state.  Mostly due to his previous stint as Massachusetts Governor.

Since NH is an uphill battle for all the other candidates, the endless tour of handshakes and rhetoric continue.  Not only are Mr. Romney’s fellow candidates trying to narrow the massive gulf in the polls between the frontrunner and the rest of the pack to an acceptable loss margin, they’re also viciously fighting among themselves in a tooth and nail death match to scrape a point of two from wherever they can in a war that promises to be more sadistic than a night of gladiatorial bouts in the Roman Colosseum.  The war they fight in NH, and for the rest of the election trail, is going to be one of sabotage, deceit, and verbal tactile nuclear missiles.

However, all the candidates in the GOP race have proved more adept at scuttling their own campaign.  The collateral damage caused by a campaign of rhetoric & desperation reaches much farther than merely the selection of GOP candidates, as the fallout burns at the very core of humanity and civility. With all the sound bites from this trench war that have been covered in the media, none have been more inflammatory than the recent racial charged comments from Rick Santorum, and Newt Gingrich.

Mr. Gingrich said, “African American people should demand paychecks and not be satisfied with food stamps.”

Mr. Santorum said, “I don’t want to make black people’s lives better by giving them someone else’s money.  I want to give them the opportunity to go out and earn the money.”

In the world of politics, opinions can change.  Ideas on the economy, foreign policy, homeland security, the budget etc are malleable.   They are so, because we live in an eclectic world with vast differences in the way we take the country forward.  Neither far right nor far left political views can be wrong…as they are only one view point in the spectrum of what is the best course to steer the advancement of our civilization. 

Racist sentiments, on the other hand, have absolutely no place in, not just politics, but the world!  These recent comments, coupled with previous comments of vial racist hatred that have cropped up through the GOP primary season, should not be allowed to pass into the pages of history.  The stand needs to be made today, it needs to be made now, and it needs to be decisive.  Many view the political race as a battle of republican vs. democrat, conservative vs. liberal, us vs. them…but what every voter from every side of the aisle needs to stand up in unison, now more than ever, and scream…is that there is no ‘them’…there is only ‘us.’  We are not black, white, latino, we are human.  We are all human.

EDITORIAL NOTE: From now on out, I'm going to refer to myself as 'we,' as this is not a case of varying opinions on political direction, but a global stance that must be adopted by all to stamp out racism.

Mr. Gingrich and Mr. Santorum’s incendiary statements are based on disgusting stereotypes and in the year 2012, have no place on this earth.  We, as equal people, are locked in the delusional ideology and egregious mistakes of the past.  We are shackled to that history, and in order to move on as human beings, we need to leave that history where history is always left…in the past.

Voters of today need to adopt a zero tolerance policy on any sentiments such as Mr. Gingrich and Mr. Santorum’s.  When a discussion turns to words and ideas that divide us into a smaller group based on the color of our skin, it will always be counter-productive.  It will always be a step into the past, a step farther away from us realizing that we are all equal in being human.

Written by: Phil McCarron

WHEN THE INDEPENDENCE SUBJECT IS BROACHED...RACISTS CRAWL FROM THE WOODWORK.

I actually don’t have anything to do with politics in any shape or form. I agree with the whole basic notion of someone looking after your best interests, making sure that your wants and beliefs are taken into account, then going with what the majority wants.

But we know that doesn't always happen.Like for example if 9 out of 10 people want pizza for dinner, everyone gets pizza. However, sometimes you find that if the politician wants to eat Thai then the pizza doesn’t get a look in, regardless of the majority.

Hey Ho, what’s that saying then? ‘It doesn’t matter who you vote for, the government always get in’.In the UK there is no ruling majority party, so we have a coalition, which is quite frankly working as well as a chocolate ashtray, in my humble opinion.

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland has been around for only about 90 years, however previous incarnations of the British union have existed since circa 1706/1707. Consequently the question of devolution and/or independence for Scotland has been around for the same amount of time.

When this discussion about Scottish Independence arises it has a tendency to become very heated and very passionate, you see most of this is steeped in racism between Scots and English.I'll skip the history of Bannockburn, English Rule and being sold out by greed. I promise not to mention the play ‘The Cheviot, the Stag and the Black Black Oil’ which was incidently written by a guy from Liverpool. I don’t think it would be too leftfield to describe this as Scotlands version of ‘Roots’ by Alex Haley.

You see being Scottish, you are often brainwashed into thinking that you are way more unimportant that someone who is English, even though we are all supposed to be British. Try to hand hand over a Scottish tenner when you want to pay for something south of the border, you are stared at, snubbed and even in some cases, it will not be accepted, even though it is legal tender.

Watching 'The One Show' on BBC1 I've just heard the actor Paul Betany talk about being English and having English friends. Not British? No? Apparently not. This superiority complex from some English people, especially media related is very like fashion magazines telling women that your life is worth shit if you're over 25 and 8 stone.

Now, many English people are under the opinion that Scotland holds THEM back, no idea from what though, and if Scotland leave the Union, then it will have a massive drop in income and as a result become like Greece but without the nice weather. I ask you, if this was the case, and Scotland were all parasitic draining the already stretched resources of Westminster, would Scotland not be dropped like the proverbial hot potato?

Or could it be that some parts of England are jealous as hell that if you stay north of the border, where there is still a publicly operated NHS, free prescriptions and the education of future generations is supported for all, not just the rich or lucky.

The most amazing bit of a Scottish referendum on independence is that Scotland must first ask permission from Westminster in order to hold the referendum in the first place.

Yeah that’s right, the battered wife in the refuge, hiding her kids from her abuser has to ask permission to leave…..

Ok, creative licence there but you get the point.

I am not racist, I tell people I am British, I don't treat people differently because of where they were born or the fact that they wont accept my money. I've even been asked by a Londoner if we had electricity where I come from..... Yes seriously. Next time you hear someone saying something about scots people being drunk, eating fried food all the time and being miserable with money think about whether you'd use a stereotype for someone who is Asian/black/eastern European and if they would find it offensive.

Written by: Lynn Tulloch

Dave Shepherd, the Dog Who Rescued Me

I want another rescue dog. To be honest, I'm not really fussy what type, size or age it is. I just know that I want one.

It all started in the early 90s when I was living on my own and working as an assistant manager in a nightclub. This led to the usual threats of physical violence and verbal abuse.

Rather than admit I was a bit of a coward, I remembered what had been said to my mum when she had a stalker. 'Get a big dog, cause even if the dog won't do anything to an intruder, it's sometimes enough to put them off,' so with this ringing in my ears, I called around a couple of dog shelters, cause quite frankly I couldn't be arsed with training and anyway I wanted a dog now, not a puppy.

And so began my love affair with rescue dogs.

I will freely admit that having a teenage German shepherd sometimes led us to have arguments with each other. Like for example he would scavenge and rake for chocolate and had the ability to sniff it out wherever it was. So I would scold him, send him to his bed and refuse to speak to him. On other occasions, he would get annoyed at me for being later home and duly crap on the floor 3 minutes after a walk.

We got round that and to be frank, I was young and he was too. But he was my best friend, he knew my secrets, my weaknesses, my strengths, he understood when I was unwell and wouldn't pull on the lead. I knew when he was off colour or needing a cuddle right up till he had to be put to sleep. I didn't even know he was unwell.

My darling dog had hidden his illness from me when I was pregnant, as if he didn't want me to worry about him.

I cried for him for days and sometimes still do. I'd lost my hero. We shared everything from bottles of water to McDonald's Happy Meals, cuddles, tears and fights.

Later on we got another dog from a stray dog shelter, a shepherd cross type collie looking old guy. I called him Dave, cause, well, he looked like a Dave. Dave was old, moth-eaten, foosty, had missing teeth and breath like a pirate and I loved him to bits. I would grimace and adore him simultaneously as he took a drink of water and dribbled water for yards as he walked away from the bowl, soaking the carpet as he went.

I loved his grey whiskers and muzzle, like he had stuck his face in an icing sugar bag.

If Dave had been human, he would've worn a sheepskin jacket, drunk pints of heavy or Newcastle Brown and had a whiskey chaser. Dave would've nipped out to the 'bookies' to put a line on and bought the 'barmaid' a magazine and a strawberry tart to look after her. He would always have been polite, very old school and not allowed any of the younger guys to swear in front of a lady.

He had many of the same traits as my 1st dog. He was perfect. A gentleman. A joy.

At some point after we got another rescue dog, she was in the same place as Dave when I found him. Bon was a bit of an accident, I really wasn't actually looking for another dog, but I saw her and my heart went out to her furry coat didn't know what to do with itself and she had a squint ear. Kicked out cause she was pregnant, she had given birth to puppies in the shelter. This had left her a bit neurotic and a bit skinny. She was young and just what Dave needed.

She gave him life and energy and he chilled her out, taught her how to behave properly, relax, play games and find a good spot in the garden to lie in.

Bon was just as devastated as us when Dave didn't return from the vets that day, she paced and slept in his favourite places, as if to get closer to him. I slept with his collar under my pillow and she slept with his blanket on the couch.

So why should I want another oldie?

I know we only had Dave for few years, but it was worth every single minute. I rescued him and he rescued me right back. He would follow me around like a shadow, lie at my side of the bed and not leave my side if I was unwell.

Dave didn't eat the couch or chew my Louboutins, he didn't cost me a fortune in vets bills, he was undemanding and understanding. Dave was excited to see us when we came in, he never answered back and never told me that my arse looked fat. I could take him anywhere and know that he wouldn't disgrace me. Kids adored him, grown ups always looked at him and said 'Awh, you've a big heart to adopt a dog that old' with their heads on the side in the pose that said they felt sorry for me. Truth is, I felt sorry for them, they didn't have Dave.

I miss Dave as much as my 1st dog. Yeah, I feel slightly cheated that we only had a couple of years together but, they were the best ever.

So in honour of Dave Shepherd, consider a rescue dog or a rescue oldie, they will still make your life complete but without all the major hassles of a puppy.

Keeping Abreast of the Situation

Several years ago, Toyota became public enemy number 1. It was all over the news in the US and here, but not so much in Europe for some reason. In case you missed it, here is a quick re-cap.


In 2009 Mark Sayler and his family were tragically killed when the accelerator stuck in a loan Lexus ES 350. This kicked off a huge recall of potentially affected vehicles worldwide. This amounted to 1.8 million vehicles in Europe alone.

Now, this is a vast amount of vehicles to be checked and modified if required. Then there is the administration side to consider, the details of these cars had to be submitted to Toyota on the same day so that they could be taken of the recall list.

Incidentally the case involving the death of Mark Sayler was not due to anything Toyota had done, it was not a manufacturing defect.

So, consider this, as with any motor manufacturer, if they think for one second that something they have made could cause death or injury all affected vehicles are brought back to the dealer to check for the fault. The owner of the car is reimbursed in some way, usually with Toyota it is Marks and Spencers vouchers, fuel, a car care kit or the like.

Which brings me to boobs.

Now, taking into account what the motor industry does consider what happens when a manufacturer of fake boobs has a manufacturing defect.....

The story goes that Poly Implant Prosthese (PIP) somehow filled breast implants with industrial grade silicone rather than medical grade. Which means that potentially somewhere around 300,000 to 400,000 women in 65 countries could have dodgy boobs that could kill them. Incidentally PIP was shut down in 2010.

With an estimated 40,000 women in the UK who have PIP implants what are the authorities doing about it?

Not enough in my opinion.

In France, the government have recommended that everyone with these implants have them removed because there is a chance of rupture. In the UK? Andrew Lansley our health secretary is still pondering the situation.

I admit that different authorities are giving different percentages for chance of failure this being anywhere between 1% and 7%.

That's not really the point that I'm making.

Surely any failure is a failure and the fact that you could have industrial grade silicone leaking out and into your bloodstream isn't a good thing?

Ask yourself, what is more important, your car or your health?

Being powerful is like being a lady. If you have to tell people you are, you aren’t.

I read a story in the Daily Mail about Margaret Thatcher and to be honest, I wasn't sure how I felt about it. I was in a quandary.

Anyway I'll explain a bit about Mrs T, the Iron Lady or the longest serving British Prime Minister, what ever you'd like to call her. I think those are probably the most polite names I've mentioned as no doubt there are probably many more that even I am too well mannered to put into print.

Prime Minister Thatcher was in charge of the UK from 1979 to 1990, which were realistically my educational years from 8 to 19. However, there are landmarks I can recall without the aid of a history book, the ones that made an impression on me as a young pup.

I can remember the Falkland Islands conflict, the miner's strike, poll tax and privatisation of well, everything really.

Then we had the other things that I know about but don't directly remember like, the winter of discontent, USSR invading Afghanistan, Steel workers striking, Lord Mountbatten blown up by the IRA, the Brighton bombing, Reagan being elected President, Tiananmen Square Massacre, the Berlin Wall came down, USA air raids on Libya, Strangeways Prison Riots and of course the Trafalgar Square riot which kicked of due to the Poll Tax or Community Charge.

You can see that it really was quite an eventful time in politics. I don't DO politics, though I know that probably I should as what happens in Westminster will and does affect me. It's just so bloody dull and boring, a lot of stuffy old men shouting at each other.

Blah blah not interested, yawn yawn!

However, I'm not really going to write about politics, I'm writing about someone who used to be a politician. Incidentally Mrs T is also a qualified Chemist and Barrister as well, so you can't say she used her sexuality to get into the boys club. No, this is a smart cookie.

Not known for taking crap from people, she was considered brutal, calculating and ruthless by many, admired by some and when all else is said and done she more or less invented her own brand of politics.

Julie Burchill isn't my favourite journalist at all, however, she is quoted as saying something nice 'If she kicked away the crutches, it wasn’t for pleasure or profit — but because she genuinely believed that everyone had the ability to walk without them.'

I think this suits my Grandma too. You see it's the anniversary of my grandma's death today and I'll freely admit that she wasn't always the supportive loving grandparent that people expect.

Yes, sometimes I cried myself to sleep over things she had said to me and it is hard to take being subjected to that all the time. However, I didn't spend Christmas with her 2 years before she died and I feel guilty as hell that the time she needed me I wasn't there. I could say in my defence that I was in my mid 20s at the time and was being selfish but that realistically is no excuse.

So back to my original problem with Margaret Thatcher......

I read that for the last couple of years Baroness Thatcher has been spending Christmas and New Year with her niece and her housekeeper while her 2 kids are off living the dream so to speak like a pair of spoilt brats.

So for the sake of a couple of days I think Mark and Carol should at least bite the bullet and visit their mother more often.

She is your mother for Gods sake. Spent some time with her.

Now I know that sometimes families can be open to abuse, whether it's been physical, mental whatever and that sometimes it can be way too much to take. I know it can be really hard to watch someone you love and care about descend into dementia, I've been there. I know how much it hurts and that you don't want to remember that person in that way.


That painful memory of them not knowing who you are, or being able to converse about things from 1992 but can't remember if they put sugar in their tea will fade and go. Your memory is your memory and you have the power to recall what you want.

The Iron Lady is old, frail and unwell. Regardless of what she means to you, me or them, now she is an old biddy that needs her family.

I find it very sad that they aren't there when she needs them.