Articles 48 and 51 of the Geneva Convention (written between 1864 and 1949) discuss the targeting of civilians in war and state that civilians are not to be targeted unless they take an active role in the conflict. It does not go on to differentiate between civilians acting under duress and those acting in concert….
Month: May 2024
Indigenous
Go back far enough no one is indigenous to anywhere but maybe Africa and maybe the Pacific region. There are thoughts that there were several human-like apes around each one of which had a particular adaptation (e.g good hands) but otherwise were more ape and they met up and bred. So maybe bits of us…
A Poem at Last
I wrote a sonnet a few days ago after not writing for years. It isn’t very good, in fact I would suggest it doesn’t work well and fails after the sixth line but I finalised it. For the past two years or more I have started a couple of lines and giving up, nothing was…
Too Much Information
It was interesting for a second to hear the news of the prostitute giving evidence against Donal Trump by describing what they did around the time of the alleged assault. I actually think the assault took place and if not with her obviously with others, these are never single events (in both meanings of the…
Revolve the Spinning Top
A speck of agitation is Self – Moulded by atoms and deformed By abstract hope – Stillness? Can it be gathered Does its harvest yield, nourish The discontent of argument? Thoughts nearly always Remain young even as the Withered lips smile The thoughtful idea is beauty – not age. Being part of the spinning top…
Remembering the Falklands
So the President of Argentina will talk for decades to have the sovereignty of the Islands back in the hands of the Argentinians. Or Spanish as it was and as the whole of Latin America is basically European it is a mute point to suggest the originally owners are long dead. The only good thing…
The Figures
When I was following my first general election in the UK I stayed up late to listen to the returns and the first was way up in Scotland and Labour won. The commentator then said that this meant nothing as they were a small constituency, usually racing to be the first to declare a result….
Recognizing Trees
I am not as good at this as I thought I was. I thought I was able to name the most obvious deciduous trees but on my walk today I found out that the huge and ancient oak tree I have often seen in winter is budding as a beech tree. I also was not…
Cars
I have always had a like/loathe relationship to cars. On the one hand I enjoy the freedom to visit anyone, anytime on the other they cost a fortune, stink of petrol, pollute the world and are difficult to keep in top quality shape without the paid help of a good mechanic. They also engender a…
It Is Easy to Ignore
My friend’s thirteen year old son commented that I was a vegetarian because I didn’t like to hurt anything. I didn’t tell him that I started to become vegetarian when I was 14 nor did I suggest he didn’t like to hurt anything either so why was he eating meat. He is too young to…