Santerme

Do you mean my wife spent the last two weeks faking it?

Are you kidding I will never be able to listen to Haydn's Trumpet Concerto again in quite the same way?

Self evident I would have thought, but please do not let me interrupt your afternoon tea!

Let's hope you are less Gung Ho that the last tit in a trance who managed to get people killed!

I recall the ominous quote attributed to Albert Einstein: "If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe, then man would only have four years of life left. No more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more man." Climate change and Global Warming are probably the paramount issues of our times. I am also reminded of Schopenhauer who said, "All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident." I listened to a young girl of 13 give a talk on the kind future we are creating for her and her peers. She is also worth quoting: "If you don't know how to fix it then stop breaking it"

In Canada, Red Indian is now quite an insult, they are members of the First Nation. My wife has just taken a brief from the local Metis group (although Metis are not First Nation as they are descendents from mixed marriages, etc with the original French settlers) to stop a construction project in Winnipeg, they are claiming it is being built too close to an ancient burial ground.

LibertyBlush Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Reggie > > Forgive me for being blunt but I abhore fried food > that arrives in a newspaper. Gavroche is more my > fare de jour. Cuisine de terroir as an opening gambit, very good!

louisiana Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Cal Pep in Barcelona. Though it's been descended > on by the great unwashed in recent years. > > And L'Esguard, in Saint Andreu de Llavaneres nr > Barcelona. Miguel Sanchez Romera used to do a > pretty mean nine-course menu, though he may have > cut that down recently(?). The wine cellar is fun > (bottles nestling in all kinds of nooks in the > sandstone beneath the restaurant). There used to be a great restaurant in Marbella called El Toro's. But you cannot beat Khan's in Puerto Banus for Indian food.

529 Wellington in Winnipeg. They use the top 1% of prime Canadian beef for their steaks and the Wine list is....erm expensive, so I stick to a nice Mouton Cadet Used to go to a place on Fulham Road called Barbarella's, is it still there?

Peckhamgatecrasher Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I can honestly say, Brendan has displayed the most > exquisite manners I've ever come across in a man > under 70. Most useful thing I learned at Sandhurst was the correct way to tackle asparagus...

TM, I wish I had that gift with words!

Well you could not go home looking scruffy

The fuss about naming the 'professionals' is not actually pertinent as i did not realise sanctions had been taken against those involved. The final report on this matter was published in May 2009. Unlike its predecessor, it concluded, unequivocally, that agencies should have saved Peter. Among its findings were that:- ?Care proceedings should have been initiated in December 2006, following a child protection conference, as the threshold was met. ?Agencies were too willing to believe Connelly's accounts. ?Too little significance was attached to her childhood experience of neglect and alleged abuse. ?Agencies failed to run checks on Barker. Chronology November 2006 - Steven Barker, later found guilty of causing or allowing baby Peter's death, moves into her home but this is kept from police and social workers. December 2006 - Tracey Connelly arrested after bruises spotted on baby's face and chest by a GP. She denies causing injury. He is admitted hospital, placed on the child protection register, then handed to a family friend. January 2007 - Baby Peter returned to his family after five weeks. April 2007 - Baby Peter admitted to hospital with bruises, two black eyes and swelling on the left side of his head. The mother claimed it was from a fall on to a marble fireplace caused by another child. The episode is not reported to police. June 2007 - Marks seen on Baby Peter's face by social worker. She sends him to hospital where bruises and scratches are found. The mother is re-arrested. Arrangements are made to pay family friend to live at the house for two weeks and then for a childminder to take the boy in the daytime. July 30 2007 - Social worker misses injuries to the boy's face and hands after he is deliberately smeared with chocolate to hide them. August 1 2007 - Baby Peter is taken to a child development clinic. Doctor misses his broken back and ribs despite the child crying in pain. (This is just wrong!!) August 2: 2007 - The mother is called to the social services office and told by police she would not be prosecuted following consideration by the Crown Prosecution Service. August 3 2007 - The boy is found dead in his cot. A child with 50 injuries in eight months and who had been seen 60 times and in the aftermath of the Victoria Climbie tragedy and it is silly to call people to account publicly. I don't think so.

From The Times August 11, 2009 Out of the darkness: Baby P's killers named at last The three people responsible for the brutal death of Baby Peter can be identified for the first time after a court ruling banning their identification came to an end at midnight. Tracey Connelly, 28, and her sadistic boyfriend Steven Barker, 33, were jailed for causing or allowing the death of 17-month-old Peter Connelly in his blood-spattered room in Haringey, North London. He had suffered dozens of injuries after months of abuse at the time of his death, including a broken back and fractured ribs, and had been on Haringey?s child protection register, but professionals had failed to spot the danger despite 60 different visits. The media have been prevented from naming the couple since last year, when they were convicted of causing or allowing the death of Peter. Both were subsequently tried in connection with the rape of a two-year old girl, although only Barker was convicted. Despite the ban on the mainstream press identifying them, their identities soon became known to users of internet sites not bound by the order or ignoring it. The lifting of the ban on identification, a week after the second anniversary of the death of Peter, also means that Jason Owen, the third defendant, who was a lodger in the house, can be identified as the brother of Barker ? he changed his name after Peter's death. Owen was also convicted over Peter?s death, but there was no ban on naming him. The NSPCC has criticised the decision to make the couple?s identities public, asking whether it was in the interests of Peter?s siblings. ?We have serious misgivings about this,? said Wes Cuell, director of services at the children?s charity. ?There is clearly a difficult balance in legitimate public interest and prurience. The concern we have is what impact this [the naming] will have on the lives of children who have already been through the killing of a brother, and question in what way it is in their best interests.? The siblings had already suffered enough ?and respecting their privacy gives them the best chance of recovery?, Mr Cuell said. Barker had been investigated by police before for a violent assault. Connelly had nothing in her past that would hint at the horrors to come. They were both from dysfunctional families and the coming together of the pair was, according to one senior police officer, ?the perfect storm? that led to the death of Peter. Connelly, who was unemployed, loved having in her view a handsome boyfriend and while she spent hours on the internet every day, looking at pornography and chatting to friends on networking sites, he tortured her son for his own amusement. The Times has been told that having a steady boyfriend was everything to Connelly and the abuse of her child was ?a price she was willing to pay?. She was terrified that if she complained about the abuse he would leave her. On one social networking site she said: ?My fella is nuts but being in love is great.? In reality her boyfriend was a 15 stone sadist who not only enjoyed torturing animals but people as well. The Barker brothers were both charged with assaulting their grandmother, Hilda Barker, 82, at her home in Whitstable, Kent, in 1995. The pensioner told police that they locked her in a wardrobe to make her change her will in their favour but the case was dropped after she died from pneumonia. Jacqueline Cole, 58, a neighbour of Mrs Barker, said: ?She was black and blue. I heard they tried to scare her to death with Guy Fawkes masks.? When he was not abusing the toddler, Barker, who had a pet snake, would use a large knife to skin live frogs and break their back legs to see if they could still jump. Dead mice, chicks and dismembered rabbits were left lying around the house, along with his pornography. A knife-obsessed sadist, he wore combat gear, collected Nazi military memorabilia including daggers decorated with swastikas and was always seen with his rottweiler. He had been prosecuted by the RSPCA for torturing animals. I am a great advocate of justice and appropriate punishment rather than vengeance, but this kind of things strains my humanity. I believe all the 'professionals' who worked on this case need to be named as well because clearly they are failing in their duty of care, and it leads to me ask who else in their pile of case notes is at serious risk.

Tony.London Suburbs Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Santerme Wrote: > I am already nicely set up in the West Country. > Ontario is nice TLS, we have a home in Winnipeg > and a cottage on the lake just outside the city. > My wife is a lawyer in Canada. > > He will definitely buy one place but may, > possibly, if finances stretch, get 2 with a view > to renting one or both out throughout the year. > > Apparently you can drink out of parts of Lake > Ontario and it is bigger thn The UK.... > > Do these statements ring true Santerme? There are 100,000 freshwater lakes just in Manitoba. It is a 16 hour drive from Winnipeg to Churchill (where the Polar Bears are)which is pretty much South to North Just Manitoba is five times the size of the UK. I always think I have made it when I cross the Newfoundland coast, but Winnipeg is another two and a bit hours flying time. It is a great city, a time bubble of England in the 60's. It also has an enormous temperature range, from plus 40 in some summers to minus 45 and colder with wind chill. I have changed a tyre (tire) in minus 38, not much fun. The people are almost too friendly, the city has some of the best restaurants in North America. It is also just 90 minutes drive from the North Dakota border, not that there is much in Grand Rapids, or you can fly to Minnesota in 55 minutes, which is actually a great city. Or be in Rockies around Calgary in about the same timeframe. I am not a great fan of the East coast, but the West is stunning

I would not mind an apartment in London with my ?500,000 spare. I am already nicely set up in the West Country. Ontario is nice TLS, we have a home in Winnipeg and a cottage on the lake just outside the city. My wife is a lawyer in Canada.

nashoi Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Interesting reference Santerme, I had to give > myself a quick wiki lesson on that. To quote from > wikipedia though > > "The League never became a closely-managed formal > organisation. Assemblies of the Hanseatic towns > met irregularly in L?beck for a Hansetag > (‘Hanseatic Diet’), from 1356 onwards, > but many towns chose not to send representatives > and decisions were not binding on individual > cities." > > I don't take issue with the idea of international > cooperation, the treaties and protocols that are a > necessary part of that. The UN does obviously do > valuable work around the world in some of its many > guises. However is the UN a fit body to decide one > way or the other on the "legality" of the actions > of sovereign states. > > Edited to add: If the UN was born out of > enlightened self-interest and now you have doubts > about its efficacy where do you think its gone > wrong? It has an inbuilt failure which is the self interest of those nations who can veto SC Resolutions. We see this failure in all multi national institutions, NATO, the EU, and even the Commonwealth. From my perspective I can only relate experiences in my dealings with them on peacekeeping missions. Certainly the role played by the UN in Bosnia was a complete farce, without going into detail we were not allowed to move Muslim villagers under immediate threat because it would be seen as though we were participating in the ethnic cleansing. Now we found other ways in many cases but there were times when communities were devastated because we were under too much scrunity from the UN observers and our chain of command forbade us to act. So there were incidents where you could be kicking round a football with some young children on Monday and removing them from their burned out homes and burying them by Wednesday. So, I am no fan of weak peacekeeping, you enforce or you go home. In Kosovo, when there was meant to be co-ordinated action on the bombing of Serb targets by NATO, we had 72 hour debates because the Greeks vetoed targets or the Germans would not attack certain installations. It was the most ineffective air campaign in history. In many areas the UN is working well despite obstacles, WHO and UNESCO. The organs of International Justice should be strenghtened, in my opinion. I am not sure the UN decides on the legality of war, that is done by the committment of signatory nations to international protocols from the Kellogg-Briand Pact, through the Haig Conventions and the Nuremburg Principles!

I would say the UN was formulated directly from a position of enlightened self interest. Most created authorities are born from this, for example the Hanseatic League to combat piracy in the Middle Ages.

I think what you are aspiring for is the evolution towards global values, which is something I doubt mankind will ever achieve. Certainly not institutionalised in the UN. Which, and I can tell you this from personal experience, is a very imperfect body.

I think you will find he didn't use them to fence the metal and they had a major sense of humour failure!

The closest to this is the Vor society of thieves in Russia, although funnily enough most are post-Soviet non Russians. The organisations roots go back to the time of the Russian Revolution and survived the Communist regime, which they held in contempt.

Horsebox Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > lindylou Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > but years ago there was a code called > > honour amongst theives, > > Christ on a fu cking bike, you naive idiot. Three > hail Marys and a coshing over the head for you. > Hopefully it will beat some sense into you. > > Cretin. Erh, great post Horsebox..

One for MM SLUT's Sub Lieutenants Under Training Divisional Intelligence Liaison Duty Officer = DILDO You can have TEWT (Tactical Exercise Without Troops). The alternative: PENIS (Pointless Exercise Not Involving Soldiers). PRICK Personnel Rarely In Combat Kit Visual Ability & Manned Performance in Illumination Reduced Environments (VAMPIRE) We used to call it Night Fighting.

lindylou Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Glad to see Ronnie is allowed to die peacefully. > Don't get me wrong. I do not condone crime, but > when you think about what criminals get away > nowadsays it beggars belief. OK, someone died in > the robbery, but my god, 30 years for a robbery. > When you think nowadays you could be out in 15 > years for a murder it is outrageous. I am sure > ronnie was filled with remorse for what happened. > Why is jack straw using old criminals as a get > out? My goodnes there is more crime than ever in > our streets today. More violent. The reason I am > one of the first to post is that the majority of > you fellow EDF users are too young to know what > has gone on. Please pm me or reply if younare > over 50. Many thanks. Something else I personally find a little incongruous. Three British soldiers die in AFG and we have a thread about a person whose contribution to his country is entirely negative. Go figure!

Most Secret War by Dr RV Jones Shabbily treated by this country, Churchill said he was the man who saved Britain and in 1982 he was called out of retirement to work on a project during the Falklands War.