Languages never sit still. we were talking abound the dictionaries we had at school and how even the words included in new editions have changed and many of the Latinate words have been dropped. We also wondered if grammar and syntax are taught anymore as we were taught to parse sentences into clauses so they…
Where does ethics lie?
I recall writing an essay and attending a lecture on Kant’s Categorical Imperative, an attempt to give a non-religious framework to ethical decision making. I knew at once it was unworkable but I did think that he understood what may be obvious but needs elucidating: that all ethical conversations begin and end inside one’s head….
State Craft
I do wonder where State craft has gone in the international arena. To me the obvious play would be to say they will recognise a Palestinian State the minute the living and dead hostages are returned, whether or not Israel declares a cease-fire. This would not be acceptable to Hamas because it is not enough…
Interesting Photograph
So I went with my photographer friend who had been given the commission to photograph an ancient bridge in a local town. We got there about half an hour after sunrise and waited for the river to reach high tide and the sun to break out of the clouds so she could get the bridge…
I Must be getting weaker
Managed to gain a flat tyre yesterday and this morning I prepared everything to change it and I can’t undo the nuts. I never had that problem before but not one of them will budge with the spanner I have so i have had to ask my neighbour if he has a more professional tool,…
Bridging the Gaps
It is interesting to read about the struggle in Italy to build a bridge over to Sicily. It reminds me of the undersea tunnels that are built and planned in Europe. It echoes the way in which cities expand and gobble up villages and towns that then become no more than the suburbs. This constant…
Statistics
There were 3.2 million Jews living in Europe fifty years ago. Today, there are just 1.3 million. Sadly that number still seems too many for Jew haters who seem to think that 1.3million are the cayuse of all the suffering in the Middle East. That’s like saying 200 Mullahs in Iran are responsible for all…
Sorrow
Sorrow On bended knees I gave time my pledge To bind you to the dust’s Haziness behind the hedge of human crusts – There can be no sparkling gems, where I fall – Only tattered dress hems swinging In a dark hall – From the tops of desolate frames Twisted with oppressed desire – Caught…
Walkers Beware
Went up to the range which, when the army is not there, is open for walkers. This time I went into the area a different way and ended up walking almost to the roads and had to tramp in the drizzle across countryside with no tracks until I started to walk across an open area…
Glorified Accountants
When one listens to politicians one is dumbfounded by the automatic adherence to costs. Not a single politicians in the world today asks people to get together and for a seed investment from the government create something for themselves. Would we not have enough volunteers to get together to provide everything necessary to run a…