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
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The Daily Show with Jon Stewart: 'Fear Factory'


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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.

More Research I Could've Done

I think I've probably mentioned before just how much I adore research carried out by professionals that ends up exactly with the results that you knew they would.

For example I wrote about Canadian Researchers who proved that you are more likely to have unprotected sex if you are drunk. Yeah OK then. Could've seen that one coming if I was blindfolded and in the dark.

So here are some more that I stumbled across by accident. Well, OK we all know that is a slight fib, I didn't so much stumble across it, as look for something to write about and found it.

Ready for the most obvious answers to questions we either hadn't thought about or just accepted that it was a forgone conclusion?

Right apparently men suppress fear, pain and empathy. Eh OK. Indiana University of Pennsylvania are responsible for that little nugget of priceless information.

The next one comes from the journal Epidemiologic Reviews, here we are told that if you smoke marijuana/hash what ever you want to call it, then it's not safe to drive. Wow, bugger me if I hadn't worked THAT out by myself. I've seen people so stoned that I'm amazed they know who they are, never mind where the car is. But hey, who am I to suggest that this isn't legitimate studies.

I do have an amusing image in my head of someone trying to persuade the Police that the drugs are for professional use and not personal use.

Some more research reported during 2011 stated that pigs love mud. Seriously, even though they use it in order to keep cool, they sometimes just do it for, well, shits and giggles.

What about research results written up in April in the Journal of Ageing Studies? What do you think their findings were? Sadly, very predictable, fashion magazines very rarely show women over 40. That's my Vogue modelling career out the window then eh?

Another blog that I had written about was the secret to a happy marriage, which when converted into lay mans terms simply stated don't marry a dick. Marry someone who is actually nice to you and thinks about your feelings from time to time. Simple eh?

Here is another obvious statement that now, thanks to University of Michigan's C S Mott Children's Hospital we can say has basis in fact. Parents don't think their children have any bad habits such as underage drinking, drug taking etc. Pft tell that to my mum, who always thought I was up to no good!

In October an eye tracking device used by volunteers revealed to all of us, that only 1% of people read the nutrition labels on food packaging. Fancy that eh? I'll admit I look to see if it's vegetarian then look at the calories and I have very little interest in any other information. If I'm taking that honesty even further, I only look at calories because I'm trying to lose weight.

Pew Research reported in December that people go on the Internet for mindless entertainment and usually aren't actually doing anything in particular at all.
I will look forward to seeing what revelations various scientific journals and researchers can come up with in 2012.

Maybe we will find out that pigs can't fly?

The 'Oliver Twist' of the New Millennium

I'm right fed up of hearing about recession this, recession that. Things can be depressing enough without constantly being reminded how skint everyone is.

Don't get me wrong, I've had many months when it's gotten to the last week and I wonder how I'm going to afford to put fuel into my car to get to work.

I know that it is quite a shit time in the world when you don't have enough cash to pay your bills and buy food or treats for your family.

Then I read about Dimitris Gasparinatos from Patras, west of Athens. Things have gotten so bad for them lately that the 42 year old has put in an official request for 4 of his kids to be taken into care.

He said to the Guardian that they didn't want to break up the family but felt it would be easier for them if they were sent to an institution for a couple of years.

Afterwards Dimitris' wife visited the town hall and asked for her children to be saved....

This would be a sad and tragic story but apparently it's not just a one off and it's becoming more and more common.

Being a mother, the story that got me was a toddler being left at a nursery with a note which said 'I will not return to get Anna. I don't have any money, I can't bring her up. Sorry. Her mother'.

As for the Dimitris and his family? They had money given to them by the wife of a rich family from Athens, this meant he could move into a better house.

All very good for 1 family but that leaves thousands of others in the same situation and a burning fear that it may happen here too.

For the mean time I realise that I'm not as bad off as I thought.

Tattoos in a Choir? No way!

I'll be honest, the Military Wives Choir song 'Wherever You Are' isn't really my bag.

But before you jump down my throat I don't think it's a bad tune and I appreciate all the time and effort that has gone into it.

I mean a group of women didn't all wake up on the same day, decide to randomly meet and then sing a tune. Obviously there has to be a choir master, women who hold a tune and who have the balls to get up there a sing in front of everyone.

That I respect. If I was to sing, the RSPCA would be round telling me to stop torturing cats.

I also would not be able to put myself out there, so to speak. As in, this is fine, as I’m not in the public eye and that means I’m not open for scrutiny by people who want to cast judgement on you cause they have nothing else to do in their lives.

I realise that it was becoming a really bad habit that every year, the Christmas number 1 record would be whoever had won X Factor. Then the public began to get wise to this and in an epic campaign rejected this as being force fed whatever Simon Cowell wanted us to hear.

That is really refreshing.

So while I'm still on this theme of thinking for yourself.....

A group of women who are married to military personnel get together with TVs Gareth Malone, practise, record the single 'Wherever You Are' give all the proceeds to the Royal British Legion and the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association and get the government to waive VAT too.

My thoughts are 'very well done ladies' and everyone should be proud of they have achieved.

But no, somewhere a select number of people appear to have forgotten that these are real people, not 'celebs' who are courting fame and fortune. They are everyday women, which happens to include some with body art.

In particular soloist Samantha Stevenson has visible tattoos (god forbid a woman should have tattoos-Daily Mail outrage).

I personally don't think it's a big deal, it's her body, she's a real person, a real wife, a real mother and a real good singer.

However, should the fact that a woman has visible tattoos when she's singing in a choir be worthy of a hate campaign?

She said: 'There were loads of nasty comments. It was hurtful. My tattoos make me stand out from the rest of the girls.'

Seriously, it's not as if she's stolen your kids Christmas presents to buy crack then buy a dog from Gumtree to be a bait dog! She has tattoos......

'You shouldn't judge a book by its cover, I am who I am and I like my tattoos. It doesn't make me a bad person. The internet stuff isn't going to put me off, I'm going to have a poppy tattoo to celebrate the single going to No1'

I hope she does!

THE ART OF MARKETING: SELLING A MASTERPIECE, NOT A PRODUCT

It's been said in recent years that the field of marketing/advertising has become an art form.  The way companies convince us to buy their products has transcended from merely providing product information, to creating a narrative that resonates with us in one form or another. They set the tone for us to write their products into our own life stories, so that inevitably their products become a part of us.  Advertising, in it's archaic form, was blunt force to say the least.  It was typically a juxtaposition of 'our product vs. their product,' citing various reasons why the former is the better purchase. Ultimately though, it never convinced people why they needed said product over all others, and whether conscious, or subconscious, it never made the pitch part of the customers lives.  Today, marketers use seduction to sell their wares.  They create their advertisements like a piece of art, making you love it without exactly knowing why.  Everyday, in offices all over the world, millions of marketers are crafting advertising masterpieces.  These masterpieces might not affect you immediately, but the positive feeling their advertising instills in you will remain with you until the day comes, with a credit card in hand, that you have to make a spending choice.

If can make the leap from simply being a functional tool to sell a product, to becoming art (and a part of our culture by that extension) then it needs to learn how to transcend time, and like art, become 'timeless.'

What was art 2000 years ago, can still be viewed as art today. Not only that, but art made today by the same methods (sculpture, painting, etc) as 2000 years ago, can still be appreciated, and can still resonate with the people. However, the advertising practices of 2 years ago, when used today, are trite and in some cases extremely counterproductive.

For example, advertising online has become an extremely useful tool for companies in the past few decades.  Since the internet has now become an extension of the human consciousness, marketers have been attempting to penetrate that consciousness.  They methods they use don't connect with customers in a positive manner though.  How many people actually view a 'pop up' window as a positive experience?  I would hazard a guess at not very many.  It's an inconvenience, and I would bet that a potential consumer isn't going to resonate with a company that first introduces itself in an inconvenient manner.  Similarly, online advertisers that use video ads with sound, or ads that expand when 'moused over' and cover almost the entire browser window, immediately make the consumer look for the 'X' to close it out or the mute button to shut it up.  Again, this is a negative experience right from the start, which is not a good way to paint a picture of the product, and by extension the company, in an appealing manner...which is essentially the goal of every advertisement.

Take a look at the advertising on this very page...does it speak out to you? Does it even give you the faintest interest in what it's trying to sell?  Probably not. Online advertising isn't art, nor is it even functional anymore.  Our awareness over what advertising is, has allowed us to tune it out.  We, as people, don't want to simply be sold something, we want something to identify with us, something to not define us, but to help us define ourselves.

Television commercials, on the other hand, have been making a few more strides in the battle to make marketing more effective...more cunning.  That is, of course, if marketers could get rid of the DVR plague that is ruining their highly prized commercial spots.

TV commercials as of late haven't been as blunt force as they used to be. Though there are still some bad ones out there, such as commercials that use a timer for you to call them (fake buying pressure,) ones that are so low budget that you question the companies integrity, and others that spout so much 'small print' in 8 seconds that know a fair deal isn't part of their repertoire.  Oh...and the classic bad sales technique of employing TV pitchmen to yell at you.  I'm talking to you Anthony Sullivan.

Some TV commercials today have become artistic in nature and have drifted more towards creating a positive feeling in the viewer than rather than bombarding them in a firestorm of 'ego-productal' (yes, I made that word up) rhetoric.  And, in some cases, this is even at the expense of telling the viewer what the product their pitching actually is.  It's become, like art, a game of the subliminary, many layers, many meanings.  This idea of creating an ambiguous form of cinematic art to sell a product, isn't necessarily to sell that product tomorrow...it's to buy a customer for life.  It's to create a bond with the customer, be it through humor, awe, or in some cases, shock.  Think of how many commercials your remember?  Of the top of your head, probably not that many through active thought. But I'm sure you've caught yourself quoting funny commercials to friends, or humming a jingle from one while taking out the garbage.  Because like art, this new wave of advertising is with you forever...like art, it can passively become part of your life and part of your culture.

Below is one of my favorite funny commercials in recent times....satire is the way to my heart.

The End of my Childhood: Swinging Krankies

I was born in the 70s, I know that makes me middle aged now, but ignore that if you can, I can remember the Berlin Wall coming down, warehouse all night raves, packets of crisps costing 5p, hell I can even remember the ½ p.

I can remember ‘Top of The Pops’ and when the shops weren’t open on Sundays.

But my blog today isn’t about how glorious my days were growing up, no, this blog is actually more about how I’m very glad that I didn’t have my breakfast this morning.

Now, don’t dare give me a lecture about how missing your breakfast isn’t good for you and it how it is the most important meal of the day, blah blah, whatever!

Because, if you were born around the 70s/80s you may remember ‘The Krankies’.

The couple, now both 64 consisted of a very short woman (Janette), who pretended to be a school boy (Jimmy), dressed like one too and her real life husband (Ian) who pretended to be Jimmy’s father.


Now not only is there more than a few things that Freud may want to say about THAT scenario but the revelation today, made we want to lose the breakfast that I hadn’t had.

According to Ian and Janette Tough, they were swingers……….

At first, I reckoned that I had a totally different meaning for ‘swinging’ than the journalist who had written the story. However, then Janette said: "We weren't behind each other's back. We knew what each other was up to.”

Sadly, I was wrong, the journalist and I had the same meaning.

Before anyone jumps down my throat about casting judgement on people who have different ideas of a bumper sex life than me, that is not really what I’m getting at.

Well, maybe just a tiny small bit.

It’s the thought of the full thing, these people who basically ‘raised’ my generation are not only talking about sex, they are talking about having consensual sex with different people whilst married and the other partner knowing’


It’s a bit like catching your grandparents having full blown sex whilst wearing a gag and full bondage gear when you come home from school one day. You know its none of your business and sure as hell wish you could unknow what you know.

On BBC Radio Scotland’s aptly named Stark Talk the couple continued to say that they were wild when they were younger. Now after a revelation like that, surely there isn’t anything that can be wilder than that?

Remember Ben: How a Secret Santa Should be Done

In all honesty a Secret Santa is a bit of a pain in the arse. You are more or less guaranteed to get stuff that is bordering on useless, you know the sort of thing, body/bath/shower gel or socks/hat/gloves etc.

Sometimes it would just be easier if you turned round and said ‘why don’t you just give me the money instead?’ Then at least, well you could get yourself something you wanted or maybe you could put it to better use by paying your bills.

In an idea designed to be fun and make sure that everyone is included in holiday celebrations it often falls flat on its face and sadly reveals what our work colleagues actually think about us. Therefore you can end up not feeling included, not feeling in a very fun mood and having lost the spirit of Christmas or lost touch with the Winter Solstice.

Prepare to have your ice cold Narnian Witch’s heart melt by these tales of generosity and kindness. In some areas in the USA people are having their layaway plans for Christmas toys paid off by a Secret Santa. For example CNN reported that in Detroit one ‘Santa’ donated $2000 to pay of debts of 14 people.

Kmart has a layaway plan that runs all year round, not just at the holiday season so people who aren’t flush with money can save up for larger items which will be held at the shop until the bill is paid off.

Chicago Sun-Times reports that Santa’s little Elves have been visiting Naperville Kmart where 12 layaway balances were paid off just yesterday. This has even encouraged some of the staff to go and pay off a layaway too.

Think that is all I have to say about Secret Santas then?

Well no it isn’t, get the tissues at the ready for this next instance of Christmas goodwill.

In Indiana, Edna Deppe the assistant manager of Kmart told the story of a lady who paid the layaway bill of the worn out looking man standing in front of her with 3 kids and a bill.

He stood and looked at her then the assistant manager, Edna says, “He asked if it was a joke. I told him it wasn't, and that she was going to pay for him. And he just busted out in tears."

The woman in her mid 40s wasn’t by any shape or form finished, she continued on her spending spree and paid off even more layaway plans, as many as 50. Then, as a parting gift she paid for 2 trolley loads of toys for a woman at the till. The lady did not say who she was, only that her husband had just died and she wasn’t going to be able to spend the money, so it was only right that it brought happiness to others.

'Remember Ben’ is all she said.

Ok, I know I could be cynical and suggest that it is a Kmart publicity stunt but at the end of the day, does it really matter, because at least there are people somewhere who care enough to make a difference to the lives of other people.

A Christmas Wish: Boycie Wants a Home

It will soon be Christmas and although we are probably all very familiar with Dickens’s story ‘A Christmas Carol’ or any of its variants, in this economy it is very easy to think more about yourself than others that are perhaps less well off.

But isn’t that what Christmas is about? The time of year where your really should think of others, give up on your own ignorance and greed to help those in need. You see sometimes the cruelty of humans amazes me; I just fail to see what they get out of it.

Bearing all this in mind, when I came across the story of Boycie I felt the need to do what I can to help him out.

Like or hate dogs, you can’t condone cruelty towards them or any animal. So whether you consider our canine friends to be smelly, messy or taking up too much time I would loath to think that you would actually do them harm?

This brings me back to the story of Boycie.

You see I watch a lot of Criminal Minds on television and one theme that appears to run through it is how your past affects your future.


But its strange because that doesn’t always happen with dogs, take Michael Vick’s Pit Bulls from Bad Newz Kennels for example, out of the 70 dogs that were found at his kennels 48 dogs survived and have been re-homed after being used in dog fights, as bait dogs for dog fighting, neglected or abused.

These dogs, like Boycie aren’t the bad guys here; they are the victims who are willing to trust us humans again. They want to be loved, cuddled and wait patiently at the front door for you to come back home again complete with a wagging tail and smiley face for you.

Boycie’s rubbish beginning wasn’t his fault; he didn’t ask to be abused, neglected and live in a crack den. Would you fancy that idea? Or would every day you cower in the corner wishing to be invisible and hope that this life wasn’t as good as it gets?

Luckily Boycie was rescued from that situation and given medical treatment, love, care and attention and thanks to these people he is no longer afraid, skinny or malnourished. Boycie is a survivor.

Boycie is still very young and at about 2yr old still has many years of life left in him. You wouldn’t need to take Boycie with you every where you go, though you could if you wanted, because he is perfectly happy being left alone for a few hours.

Like many rescue dogs, Boycie desperately wants to make you happy, whether it is being all cuddly or running about daft, chasing a ball in a field. Boycie is really clever too; after all, he managed to survive a horrible situation so any type of training will be a breeze.


To me, Boycie sounds perfect, good fun, willing to learn, likes a cuddle, doesn’t mind other dogs (unless they are really scary) and really appreciates the fact that he has come out of hell alive and well.

If you are thinking about doing the right thing, Boycie is in the Home Counties, but don’t let that put you off him if you are at the other end of the country. How far would you go for the love of you life? Many say to hell and back, Boycie has been there and can make sure that you don’t have to.


This blog is about giving, giving Boycie a chance at life, in my mind he has already proved he is a winner. Perhaps Boycie could bring out the winner in you too? Do something powerful, make a statement to the world that you have done something positive in 2011. You are someone’s hero.

If you want to chat about Boycie, ask some questions, meet him, take him for a walk or give him a cuddle and chew stick Email Boycie_needs_a_home@hotmail.co.uk or https://www.facebook.com/BoycieNeedsahome want to see how Michael Vicks dogs survived? http://badrapor.www65.a2hosting.com/home

There is one point to remember though; yeah it’s the season of goodwill and thinking about others and their welfare so that goes two ways. Don’t think that if you take Boycie or any other rescue dog home you are on your own, every decent rescue organisation will give you a follow up call to make sure that all is well and answer any questions you may have. They will also give you any help or advice you need at any point…..

The Secret to a Happy Marriage is.......

Woo Hoo, more ridiculous research results, bet you can’t wait to see what I’m going to dig up next….

This piece of stunning research is by the University of Virginia’s National Marriage Project where they asked 2800 married people about generosity.

The punch line is the more generous the spouse is, the happier the other person is. In fact much more so than those who had married a self-centred asshole.

Wow, what about that for a revelation now? I had worked that out already and I don’t work at a University in Virginia or any other place for that matter.

Dr W Bradford Wilcox said that (I kid you not) if people share things like housework, childcare etc that it goes a long way to contributing to the happiness of the marriage but extra unexpected generosity (the virtue of giving good things to one’s spouse freely and abundantly according to the New York Times) brings about real happiness.

So it turns out that Marie Claire, Cosmo and all the other women’s magazine were wrong, apparently you actually don’t actually have to be able to carry out sexual gymnastics non stop to keep your man, you really only have to be nice to him.

Fancy that then eh? Who knew?

Sex and the Sloshed

I love reading research information especially when they come to a conclusion that we already suspected to be true. You know the one so obvious that you can’t believe that people somewhere were actually paid to research it?

So here is the stunning piece of information that researchers have researched…..
If you get pissed up during the festive season, you are more likely to have unprotected sex.

The journal ‘Addiction’ featured a study by Canadian researchers proves that after about 4 drinks for women and 5 drinks for men 5% were more likely to have unprotected sex with a random person.

Their argument is that drinking to excess can lead to HIV and that HIV awareness should feature along with binge drinking campaigns.

Surely the thought of waking up in a hedge covered in puke with your skirt round your waist would be deterrent enough? It works for me.



Let’s be honest though, 4 drinks for a woman and 5 for a man? They obviously didn’t conclude their studies in Scotland!!!

Possibly ‘Addiction’ can feature a story in their next issue that shows when you are over tired you want more chocolate, crisps and junk food.

Youll Be a Gonorrhoea if You're Looking For Love

Science is a strange thing especially when it comes to research. I say that because surely when you do research or experiments there should be a purpose. The experiments that the Institute of Cytology and Genetics in Novosibirsk, Russia have been doing (that I’ve heard about anyway) is about infectious disease and odour.


Yeah, that’s right; do you smell like shit if you have an STD?

And the answer is………..Yes you do.

I thought about leaving this blog at that but that wouldn’t be much fun without the science bit would it?

34 male Russians donated armpit sweat (I’m being serious here) and some spit too. Now, 13 of them had gonorrhoea and 16 were healthy and the remaining 5 had had gonorrhoea but had been treated.

Then some how Mikhail Moshkin, the professor at the Institute got a hold of 18 women willing to do the sniff test.

The girls described 50% of the infected men’s sweat as putrid, which doesn’t seem that definitive to me when they reckoned that 40% of the men who used to have gonorrhoea and 30% of the uninfected lot as having had putrid sweat also.

I’m not sure how the professionals would have summarised their findings but rest assured it’s probably in a way more descriptive manner than I will.

So, here goes, if you meet a man who smells particularly rank to you, don’t shag them, chaperone them to the doctor for a check up instead.

NEWT GINGRICH: POURS GAS ON THE PALESTINIAN/ISRAELI FIRE

 As the carnival horse race for the GOP nomination is approaching the final straight, many of the younger horses in the field have fallen at fences of gaffes, gropes, and the famous "anyone but Willard" water ditch.  In the wake of this thinning field the veteran runner, Former Speaker Newt Gringrich that attracted no bets until the 'at the post,' aside from the long shot gamblers, has pulled ahead of the ailing pack.  Being head of the pack, however, means all cameras are on you, and all commentators are screaming you name. And with close coverage, comes close scrutiny.

Though a lot of political rhetoric can be taken with a pinch of salt and viewed as merely a grisly means to a political end, sometimes a truth about a candidate comes out that transcends the now commonplace (although it doesn't justify it) inflammatory statements of political campaigns.  Most recently, Newt's comments to The Jewish Channel TV station in regards to the Palestinian people is one of these inflammatory statements.

Mr. Gingrich Said, "Remember, there was no Palestine as a state, It was part of the Ottoman Empire."

He continued in saying, "I think we have invented the Palestinian people, who are in fact Arabs and who are historically part of the Arab community, and they had a chance to go to many places, and for a variety of political reasons, we have sustained this war against Israel now since the 1940s. It's tragic."

Now I'm not going to delve into the pages of history and make a case for either the Israelis or the Palestinians, as history is written by the perception of man, which is undoubtedly biased.  And no 'peace deal' will ever be reached as long as history remains the deciding factor.  

Newt's comment is quite purely and simply, extreme bias.  It's counterproductive, it's racist, and it is profoundly hypocritical.

First and foremost, his claim that "It was part of the Ottoman Empire" is correct, in fact the Ottoman Empire stretched as far north as around Budapest.  It encompassed, what is now modern day, Greece, Ukraine, Albania, Bosina, Croatia, Libya, Tunisia, Egypt and parts of Saudi Arabia.  If Newt's reasoning of the Palestinian history is correct, does that mean that EVERY one of those other countries that were once part of the Ottoman Empire should return to rule under a Turkish banner? Simply because at one point in history they were all territories of a former, now fallen, empire?

A second part of his comment also has profound ramifications if the vile bias is sucked out it and it's viewed as the voice of 'reason.'  He claims that the Palestinians are an "Invented people."  This next statement should not be taken out of context as without the context, it is just as inflammatory as Newt's statement.

If Newt's assertion that the Palestinian people are an "Invented People" is assumed as true...then that also means that Americans are invented people.

The American people were 'invented' by ex-pats from European nations, most notably Great Britain. If Newt's logic is sound, then all Americans are actually nothing more than citizens of the British Empire. If you go back far enough in the pages of history, in most cases it was someone else that 'owned' the land you currently live on.  In America's case, it was the NATIVE American tribes.  It is their land that is currently occupied by the "Invented Americans."  So if Newt's basis for who should reside on what piece of the earths crust is simply based on previous ownership, then every American must leave and return to their European homelands, every Australian must return to the United Kingdom, French Canadians must return to France etc.

Actually, let's take Newt's reasoning a step farther.  Every citizen of every country on the face of the planet has to go back to Pangaea.  On second though, let's take it one step farther than that and say that every human has to walk back into the ocean that our genetic ancestors crawled out of so many years ago.

I specifically used that last sentence to make another point, incorporating religious tensions with those of a historical nature.  Historical and religious fascination are the reasons that peace cannot be reached in the Middle East.  In order to move forward we, as a united human race, must put aside historical discrepancies, and religious conflictions to live in the present and look to future.  The 'promised' land for all of us is earth...the entire planet.  To try and carve it up into sections based on ancient texts is extremely counterproductive to the needs of today's globalized world.

I wish to make clear that I am not an advocate for either Palestinian interests, or Israeli interests.  I'm and advocate for all peace between everyone that inhabits the earth.  Just as I condemn Newt's Palestinian statements, I condemn Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's statements toward Israel...as I view them as entirely similar in nature, they both imply that a group of people don't exist.  


I firmly believe that anybody with aspirations to become the president the United States, needs to be utterly impartial when it comes to the Palestinian/Israeli divide, they need to look to the future, not reiterate that past, especially when the past of the US is as murky as any other nation.  Again, it was history that Newt was eluding to, and history always has two sides.  The Americans in the revolution could be viewed historically as patriots in the US, but traitors in the UK.  What America called 'Westward Settlement' the Native Americans could label genocide.  History is littered with injustice, but at some point we must pave over history, as counter intuitive as that sounds, to build the foundation for a united future.  We must make concessions with our past, concessions with ourselves, and concessions with each other in order to live together on this planet.

Newt's vile bias has no place in the world of today's politics.  After spending so many years as House Speaker, he should know that in any peace deal, there are concessions on BOTH sides. And that clinging onto such a narrow minded view is detrimental to the overall outcome.

Bak off: He's A K9 Officer

I have met people with their own secret agendas but I’ve never met a dog with one. So when they are working dogs it’s not really like they can become a double agent and secretly work for the local top dog drug dealer instead of the police. This makes them very valuable as officers of the law.

Which is one of the reasons I think it’s really awful that a police dog was stolen and perhaps murdered; Bak really wasn’t likely to be mixed up in gang warfare.

Bak was a 5 year old German shepherd who lived with his handler Sgt Kerri Andrews in Oklahoma. It appears that someone had removed the lock on Bak’s security pen and either took him or just let him escape.

Moore Police Officer Jeremy Lewis said that there was trauma to Bak’s body and as a result they would be performing a post mortem examination.

When someone kills a police officer you tend to find that fellow officers will move heaven and earth to find out who is responsible. Police dogs like Armed Forces dogs are considered to be officers as well and not just a piece of equipment so should anyone be found guilty in the death of Bak they will quickly be made aware that in Oklahoma the death of a K-9 is classed as a felony offence.

"It's kind of hard to explain unless you've been in the situation. The bond between the handler and the dog is remarkable. They realize when the officer puts on his uniform, they go to work. When he comes home and takes off his uniform, they revert back to a family dog," US Police Canine Association National Executive Director Russ Hess told The Huffington Post.

Sgt Kerri Andrews has lost her partner and her pet.


I feel I have to include this last bit of information on the off chance that someone from Oklahoma reads my blog but if anyone out there in the cyberverse knows anything about Bak’s disappearance or death give the Moore Police a call 405-793-5171 There are colleagues and family members who miss him terribly.