Total war on The Pusher man

The executions of drug traffickers in Indonesia have been controversial, and there are many moral questions raised by hard drug crime and capital punishment. It has been said that the death penalty is not really a penalty because it takes the recipient right out of the game.

Some see the execution of the Bali 8 as barbaric and cruel, but others have no sympathy for these dealers in death and misery. There is considerable debate in the Australian press about the death sentence carried out on two of their citizens. One writer mentions that sympathy should be reserved for the many families who have lives torn apart by drugs.

President Widodo known as Jokowi has declared war on the drug traffickers and refuses to give way on his firm stance in support of capital punishment for those involved in hard drug crime.  Perhaps he has been influenced by the lyrics of The Pusher, made famous by Steppenwolf and also by the cult film Easy Rider.
            If I were the president of this land
You know I'd declare total war on The Pusher man
I'd cut him if he stands, and I'd shoot him if he'd run
Yes I'd kill him with my Bible and my razor and my gun.

Bletchley Park codebreaker Nora to be buried in Hornchurch

Bletchley Park code breaker Miss Nora Gotts,who died last month, will be buried in the family plot in Hornchurch cemetery on Thursday, 30 April, after a thanksgiving service at Hornchurch Baptist Church at 2 p.m.

Nora Gotts, 1/11/1921 - 20/3/2015, outside Hut 6 at Bletchley Park.

There is a tribute to her in the latest edition of the Romford Recorder on page 43.
There are further details about her time at Bletchley and photographs in this blog, when she last visited BP in June 2012.

       

Sad to see Sadio Mane diving so much

Michael Owen could not help notice the number of blatant dives by Southampton's Sadio Mane this afternoon. It is bad for the game and I hope the referee learns from these tricks, and that manager Koeman takes Mane to task for this unacceptable cheating.

Hampshire Blues: tasty cheeses

During my short break in Hampshire I bought two blue cheeses in Lyndhurst: the local New Forest Blue, from  Loosehanger Cheeses, and the Isle of Wight Blue.

Of the two, I preferred the New Forest Blue.  The Isle of Wight Blue was a little too salty for my taste, but it had a lovely creamy texture. The New Forest Blue, which was available at the Beaulieu Hotel, had a lovely toffee like texture and smooth taste.

Robber Rahman played the race and religion card

It is really bad form to play the race and religion card to defend corruption, deceit and daylight robbery.Looking at reports in the national press it is a disgrace that Lutfur Rahman was able to cheat, engage in ballot rigging, bribe, forge postal votes, lie and rob Tower Hamlets of funds. This stinks!

Hats off to Andy Erlam, Angela Moffat, Azmal Hussein and Debbie Simone for challenging the corrupt practices of the former Mayor of Tower Hamlets. They risked a hefty legal bill, but the election commissioner Judge Richard Mawrey, Q.C., found in their favour and now Rahman faces bankruptcy. Rahman "proved himself almost pathologically incapable of giving a straight answer."

Beaulieu is a beautiful place and you can have a really good time there

I have spent hours at Beaulieu, yesterday and today, and it was most enjoyable.  I stayed at the Beaulieu Hotel, near Beaulieu Road Station by the New Forest and by the magnificent Beaulieu Estate in Hampshire.

There are lovely walks all around the area where hikers, cows, horses and New Forest ponies wander the heathland.

There are many attractions at Beaulieu and so much to look at around the vast estate, as you can see from the following photographs. Enjoy!

There are outrageous and hilarious exhibits! Highly amusing.

Under construction ....more to come.

And some more to see.

Fear within Islam

There are Sunni and Shi'ite Muslims living in fear of reprisals after attacks and mosque bombings. Taliban and ISIS/ISIL/IS are now engaged in violent confrontation.  Alawites in Syria are fighting against Muslim opponents, who regard the Alawites as heretics. Houthi rebels are fighting bloody battles in Yemen around Aden, right now.  All these conflicts have generated a great deal of fear and flight among Islamic groups.