tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-88578854555724333942024-02-06T19:48:37.772-08:00john white booksJohnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02747448570331782397noreply@blogger.comBlogger62125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8857885455572433394.post-10592360705208593492022-02-07T05:38:00.003-08:002022-02-07T05:53:04.914-08:00New release ... <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: black; color: #01ffff;">THE MESSENGER-RELOADED </span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: black; color: #01ffff;">(sequel to THE MESSENGER)</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: black; color: #01ffff;">(adult content - e-book) </span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B09RW6CHWX">https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B09RW6CHWX</a><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgQo8mi5vSo51auNUnVtDELC1THSxyc5b2ST4H43Muy-PhrZPeAhPFHjpt8PT2S6oBjUuBo2w2P_CwLk8u2WYvWJ2Ac09mIWQVNShntDWtd6GrrahbCK597taDGXf_jSFGiWLYyei3Xtf4bsp6PLQj0sOo1T_eylnV9TQNLQ3OY1QVyqbMFX5xgHoul=s2392" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2392" data-original-width="1737" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgQo8mi5vSo51auNUnVtDELC1THSxyc5b2ST4H43Muy-PhrZPeAhPFHjpt8PT2S6oBjUuBo2w2P_CwLk8u2WYvWJ2Ac09mIWQVNShntDWtd6GrrahbCK597taDGXf_jSFGiWLYyei3Xtf4bsp6PLQj0sOo1T_eylnV9TQNLQ3OY1QVyqbMFX5xgHoul=s320" width="232" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: black; color: #01ffff;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;">D17’s
JACK CHANDLER has convinced himself that Leyla and her realm were figments of
his imagination and he needs to get back to doing his job – finding and dealing
with the money-men controlling western governments. But the targets are
disappearing and he wants to know why.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: black; color: #01ffff;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;">Warned
off going back to the States by his harassed boss, Brigadier Adams, Jack
ignores the order and, under the guise of a holiday in Washington with
unwitting wife Sally, sets off to challenge shady arms dealer, Levi Jaffe,
before he, too, disappears.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: black; color: #01ffff;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;">The
encounter sets off a chain of events that throws Jack into a maze of corruption
and blackmail which includes the President and the NSA. Confronting those
behind the mayhem not only puts Jack and fellow operative Sam Mason on the trail
of a secret organisation willing to do anything to expand its hold, but also
threatens to destroy them and D17.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: black; color: #01ffff;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt;">Jack fights back, but the battle takes its toll and opens a can of worms
from his past that tips his world on its head. Can he survive what’s happening
to him - and is Leyla refusing to go away?</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #01ffff;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: black; font-size: 10.5pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #01ffff;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: black; font-size: 10.5pt;">And if you feel like picking up The Messenger, too, it's here:</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: black; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #01ffff;"><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B005GAAY32">https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B005GAAY32</a></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: #01ffff;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: black; color: #01ffff;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhSEATSUvk4MDBf5YDOaRHVjHcBGfDctnWhiDzBbbfnkZOvQKfxhfnpl-DKeWY2H5SW9j8Jz1-k9fVuOS3MdkOLOG6k89MnPRV-hUFhDeSbYfvZ3zHtdBXSGG8yzpaEzvcuTcK6bd1W3rwWPxxYK9TSRXbao7aX82eT1StrWC_cywAW6hJ6QdXKQ44x=s184" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="184" data-original-width="111" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhSEATSUvk4MDBf5YDOaRHVjHcBGfDctnWhiDzBbbfnkZOvQKfxhfnpl-DKeWY2H5SW9j8Jz1-k9fVuOS3MdkOLOG6k89MnPRV-hUFhDeSbYfvZ3zHtdBXSGG8yzpaEzvcuTcK6bd1W3rwWPxxYK9TSRXbao7aX82eT1StrWC_cywAW6hJ6QdXKQ44x=w193-h320" width="193" /></a></span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: black; color: #01ffff;"><span style="background-color: black; color: #01ffff;"><br /></span></span></p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="background: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 10.5pt;"><span style="color: #01ffff;">Jack Chandler is with Special Forces and his
near misses have been adding up, which is why his wife, Sally, wants him out
of the Regiment.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: black; font-size: 10.5pt;"><span style="color: #01ffff;">On his last mission, he is mortally wounded
and finds himself in a realm overflowing with the souls of war dead ready to
slide back and destroy this world. He recovers, but the visions persist,
driving a wedge between him and his family. Jack is told he is suffering Post
Traumatic Stress Disorder. He hopes it is. The alternative, that what he is
seeing is real, terrifies him.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: black; font-size: 10.5pt;"><span style="color: #01ffff;">Discovering a US plot to invade Iran that
will kill millions and flood the realm with dead it cannot hold, he sets out
to stop the genocide. But can one man succeed against the most powerful
country in the world? And the souls? Are they real or is Jack's conscience
creating them?</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: #01ffff;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoTableGrid" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184;">
</table><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: black; color: #01ffff;"><br /><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 10.5pt;"><br /></span></span></p><div class="celwidget" data-cel-widget="richProductInformation_feature_div" data-csa-c-id="ubm9yx-fowk1e-ro9ros-bjo00q" data-feature-name="richProductInformation" id="richProductInformation_feature_div" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><div class="a-section a-spacing-none celwidget" data-cel-widget="rich_product_information" data-csa-c-id="w8jiec-vs43qo-n86xxz-3391sk" id="rich_product_information" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 0px;"><div class="a-begin a-carousel-container a-carousel-display-stretchyGoodness a-carousel-transition-slide a-spacing-none rpi-section rpi-section-iconic a-carousel-initialized" data-a-carousel-options="{"set_size":8,"name":"rich-product-information-carousel","auto_adjust_height":false,"circular":false,"first_item_flush_left":true}" data-a-class="desktop" style="align-items: center; box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; margin-bottom: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-bottom: 1em; padding-top: 1em; position: relative;"><div class="a-row a-carousel-controls a-carousel-row a-carousel-has-buttons" style="box-sizing: border-box; width: 834px;"><div class="a-carousel-row-inner" style="box-sizing: border-box; height: 88px; position: relative;"><div class="a-carousel-col a-carousel-left" style="box-sizing: border-box; height: 88px; left: 0px; min-height: 1px; overflow: visible; padding-left: 3px; position: absolute; top: 0px; visibility: hidden; width: 40px; z-index: 1; zoom: 1;"><a aria-disabled="true" class="a-button a-button-image a-carousel-button a-carousel-goto-prevpage" href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B09RW6CHWX#" id="a-autoid-5" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border-color: rgb(213, 217, 217); border-radius: 8px; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; box-shadow: rgba(213, 217, 217, 0.5) 0px 2px 5px 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #007185; cursor: pointer; display: inline-block; height: auto; margin-top: -16px; padding: 0px; position: relative; text-align: center; text-decoration-line: none; top: 42.05px; vertical-align: middle; width: 1.7142em;" tabindex="0"><span class="a-button-inner" style="background: 0px 0px; border-radius: 7px; box-shadow: none; box-sizing: border-box; display: block; height: auto; line-height: 0; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><i class="a-icon a-icon-previous" style="background-image: url("https://m.media-amazon.com/images/S/sash/McBZv0ZvnbehkIx.png"); background-position: -123px -7px; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: 400px 900px; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; height: 15px; margin: 0.25em; vertical-align: top; width: 11px;"><span class="a-icon-alt" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: block; font-size: 1px; height: 1px; left: -9999px; line-height: 1px; overflow: hidden; position: absolute; top: auto; width: 1px;"></span></i></span></a></div><div class="a-carousel-col a-carousel-center" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 40px; min-height: 1px; overflow: hidden; position: relative; zoom: 1;"><div class="a-carousel-viewport" id="anonCarousel1" style="backface-visibility: hidden; box-sizing: border-box; height: 88px; overflow: hidden; transform-style: preserve-3d; transform: translate3d(0px, 0px, 0px); width: 754px;"><ol class="a-carousel" role="list" style="backface-visibility: hidden; box-sizing: border-box; height: 88px; letter-spacing: -4px; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; overflow-x: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; transform-style: preserve-3d; transform: translate3d(0px, 0px, 0px); white-space: nowrap; width: 992px;"><li aria-hidden="false" aria-posinset="1" aria-setsize="8" class="a-carousel-card rpi-carousel-attribute-card" role="listitem" style="backface-visibility: hidden; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; letter-spacing: normal; list-style: none; margin: 0px; min-height: 100%; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; vertical-align: top; white-space: normal; width: 110px;"><div class="a-section rpi-attribute-content" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; flex-direction: column; font-size: 12px; justify-content: center; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 0px; min-height: 5.7142em;"><div class="a-section a-spacing-small a-text-center rpi-attribute-label" style="align-items: center; box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 22px; min-height: 2.6667em; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-box-orient: vertical; -webkit-line-clamp: 2; box-sizing: border-box; display: -webkit-box; overflow: hidden;">Print length</span></div><div class="a-section a-spacing-small a-text-center" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 22px; text-align: center;"><span class="rpi-icon book_details-ebook_pages" style="background-image: url("https://m.media-amazon.com/images/S/sash/4KY1PiWMSEktM92.png"); background-position: -184px -2px; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; height: 24px; vertical-align: middle; width: 24px;"></span></div><div class="a-section a-spacing-none a-text-center rpi-attribute-value" style="-webkit-box-orient: vertical; -webkit-line-clamp: 3; box-sizing: border-box; display: -webkit-box; font-weight: 700; margin-bottom: 0px; overflow: hidden; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis;"><span class="a-declarative" data-a-popover="{"activate":"onmouseover","inlineContent":"\u003cspan>The estimated length is calculated using the number of page turns on a Kindle, using settings to closely represent a physical book.\u003c\/span>"}" data-action="a-popover" data-csa-c-func-deps="aui-da-a-popover" data-csa-c-id="c7zfd6-cejvvk-w1fizt-33iudy" data-csa-c-type="widget" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a class="a-popover-trigger a-declarative" role="button" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #007185;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">616 pages</span><i class="a-icon a-icon-popover" style="background-image: url("https://m.media-amazon.com/images/S/sash/McBZv0ZvnbehkIx.png"); background-position: -90px -5px; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: 400px 900px; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; height: 5px; margin: 5px 0px 0px 0.385em; opacity: 0.6; vertical-align: text-top; width: 7px;"></i></a></span></div></div></li></ol></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><p> </p>Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02747448570331782397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8857885455572433394.post-66171547874224527412021-08-08T07:48:00.001-07:002021-08-08T07:54:10.031-07:00LONG COVID IS A THING ...<p style="text-align: justify;"> </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #01ffff;">Early on last year doctors didn't know what to make of it when people complained about strange ailments - extreme fatigue, joint inflammation, brain fog, chest tightness, dizziness, shortness of breath to name just a few, that had suddenly descended on them. Some people remembered having flu-like symptoms a short while before, but because they weren't hospitalised or possibly even confined to their beds, they assumed it couldn't be Covid - and if they did wonder if it might be (perhaps a mild case) they were finding they couldn't get tested, anyway, as the tests were, understandably, reserved for front-line workers. I know because I tried. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #01ffff;">Talking to my GP about the debilitating pains in my shoulders, elbows, wrists, hands and fingers - the inflammation in my right ankle, the memory / concentration difficulties and the fatigue that was disrupting my life on a daily basis, was met with the usual diligence and blood tests. When these showed nothing out of the ordinary, more tests followed.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #01ffff;">The markers in my blood were normal - so what was happening to my body? Was it my cancer causing these pains and the tiredness? I'd had fatigue before with the hormone and radiation therapy for prostate cancer, but nothing like this.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #01ffff;">Weeks passed and the fatigue and upper-body joint pains were still with me - the inflammation and pain in my right ankle, too, all of which meant no gym visits and I now needed a walking stick to get around. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #01ffff;">Then, slowly, a condition called Long Covid began to gain ground in the media and I found people were suffering many of the symptoms that I was experiencing - people who had had covid in many different forms of seriousness from four or five days of feeling 'unwell' to those hospitalised. </span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #01ffff;">I mentioned this to my GP and he nodded, sagely. He'd heard about L.C. and decided more tests were needed. These were inconclusive. But because the pains were causing me problems with my daily life both mentally and physically, he rather reluctantly (because they lower the immune system and covid was still rampant) gave me a course of steroids. Within days the pains stopped - although I put on a stone in weight (apparently normal with steroids). However the fatigue, brain fog and the ankle inflammation persisted.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #01ffff;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #01ffff;">The course of steroids stopped and the pains returned. More tests and hospital visits (physio for the ankle - ECGs and upper body Xrays). More weeks (and Christmas) passed and the peroneal tendon in my ankle was deemed to have split and needs surgical repair. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #01ffff;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #01ffff;">Long Covid is now a recognised condition and people suffer all sorts of ailments as a result of it. Some complaints are short lived - others drag on and cause the host body (and mind) dire problems. Hopefully, the medical profession will get to the root cause of why Covid does this. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #01ffff;"> </span></div><div><span style="color: #01ffff;">I have been lucky. My problems with Long Covid have been mild compared to many and my fleeting association with Covid 19 left me standing - for which, after all the sad fatalities, I am grateful.</span> </div>Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02747448570331782397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8857885455572433394.post-36090286739433258762021-03-28T07:33:00.002-07:002021-03-28T07:34:36.664-07:00E-scooters - the way forward? <p> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #01ffff;">This week in my city centre
myself and other pedestrians were almost knocked off our feet by a head-to-toe
black clad e-scooter rider slaloming along the pavement at what I can only
regard was reckless speed. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #01ffff;">My concern after seeing the rider
disappear into the distance was what injuries someone could sustain being in
collision with him / her. Many of these machines are capable of 30 mph, although
it seems rental scooters are restricted to 15.5 mph, but, even then, an elderly
person or a child being hit at that speed by what could be 150 - 180 lbs of
rider and machine could sustain life changing injuries.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #01ffff;">In light of the fact that
privately-owned electric scooters are prevented from being on public areas, I
can only assume that the machine in question had been hired from
somewhere local. Had it been a motorbike cruising the pavements I could at
least have taken the registration and reported it to the police. However, these
e-scooters have no markings and that concerns me as how can anyone identify the
rental company and then the person who rented said machine without a visible
registration plate? How would anyone know who to contact in the event of an
accident where the rider does not stop? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #01ffff;">I have, subsequently, taken up
both the issue of speed and registration plates on these scooters with my local
MP and the Government's Transport Minister Grant Shapps. </span><o:p></o:p></p>Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02747448570331782397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8857885455572433394.post-73980860598721524952021-02-08T04:22:00.002-08:002021-02-08T12:45:24.458-08:00Control - new balls needed?<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #01ffff;"><i>A century ago a company* set out to control the oil business. The secret of its success was control - it dominated production, ran all the refineries and pipelines and owned all the ships, tankers and petrol stations. It squeezed out competition with ruthless price cutting until only it was left. </i></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #ff00fe;">Does that M O ring any bells? Are there certain online companies out there doing the same thing nowadays? Does it matter? It should do, because the next thing that oil company did when it had the control it sought was to hike the prices. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #01ffff;">Some may argue that our high street stores should have upped their online game, should have seen online shopping coming - and Covid will not have helped, with everyone being locked-down - unable to visit shops and stores. But these tech giants are gaining more than just our shopping from us - they have data on everyone who uses their facilities (yes, my books are on Amazon Kindle - so, me included) and do we know what they do with that data? Do they sell it to the highest bidder - to any bidder? Does it matter? Well, it might if it's sold to someone you would rather it wasn't. But you have no control over that - you don't know and have no way of finding out with whom these tech giants are trading your personal information. And it's not just the data you give them, it's the data they collect from algorithms which record our every move online and many of our moves off-line. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #01ffff;">A series of anti-trust lawsuits has been laid against Facebook and Google in the US courts in a bid to stop their monopolistic behaviour and the Australian government has taken up the cudgels, too. Google's response has been to threaten to withdraw its service from Australia. Which rather sounds like - if we can't play football our way we'll take our ball home. Maybe the rest of the world needs to get some balls of its own! </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #01ffff;">Tobias Ellwood (chair of the Defence Select Committee) made these points in an article in The Mail on Sunday (7th February 2021) he also wrote: </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #01ffff;">"These firms assume we have become so dependent on them that they are irreplaceable, an essential part of life, like the air we breathe. This is not so." </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #01ffff;">"Meanwhile, we watch our high streets being emptied of shops that have been household names for generations, victims of internet retailers such as Amazon that pay derisory amounts of tax and whose physical presence is merely a few giant warehouse hubs." </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #01ffff;">"The internet's pioneers saw it as a way to share information free from Government control. How ironic that their creation has now been taken over by unaccountable corporations much bigger and more powerful than most countries." </span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #01ffff;">---</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #ff00fe;">*For information: The company was Standard Oil and it made its owner, John Rockerfeller, wealthier than Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg, Amazon owner Jeff Bezos and google billionaires Sergey Brin and Larry page are today - combined. </span><span style="color: red;"> </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p>Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02747448570331782397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8857885455572433394.post-54159175282698809442021-01-29T14:40:00.002-08:002021-01-29T14:46:24.105-08:002020 et al <p style="text-align: justify;">Well, as we all know, 2020's been a hard year with Coronavirus sadly leaving its mark on people and the economy. Deaths linked to the virus (deaths from any cause within 28 days of a positive covid test) have just exceeded 100,000 in the UK and it doesn't look like letting up any time soon - although the vaccine(s) should begin to bring some hope of fighting it. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Viruses are not new - I believe the earliest recorded cases of influenza were around Europe in the twelfth century and often it's people with underlying health conditions who die from it, but, as we have seen from Coronavirus, that isn't always the case. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Then of course just around a 100 years ago we had the Spanish Flu which worldwide infected around 500 million people - and is suspected of killing 50 million - mostly the young and fit! Other than that it was similar to Coronavirus in that there was no existing vaccine and it was overwhelming hospitals and other medical services. (As a matter of interest - the UK Office of National Statistics tells us that deaths from influenza during the years 2013 to 2018 averaged around 17,000 per year -- of which 14,500 per year were in the 65+ age bracket.)</p><div style="text-align: justify;">So, we have had to learn to socially distance - stay in - work from home (where possible) wear masks and not put ourselves and others at risk of infection. </div><p style="text-align: justify;">What we are also learning is that online shopping has become 'the thing', but at a cost - our towns and cities are not only losing their big department stores, but smaller businesses are failing, too. No foot-fall for weeks / months on end is having its effect on the owner's ability to pay expenses (rents, business rates, tax, salaries, etc). Whether the big stores have brought this upon themselves by not investing in online options - or whether doing that was just going to become a self-fulfilling prophecy, who knows. But what it does mean is the huge corporations (Amazon, Google, Apple, Microsoft etc etc) are hoovering up all that trade and at some stage will have no competition whatsoever. They will become all powerful - and we know what absolute power does. It would be different if those huge organisations paid ... I was going to say 'paid their fair share of tax in each country from which they receive income', but, of course they will say they do. And, perhaps, legally, that's correct, but is it morally correct? If they side-step paying then how do we keep services like the NHS or local government departments operating? Because with the closure of big businesses comes big unemployment - and all that brings in personal and financial anguish? Governments need to up their game to ensure that these huge companies have no wriggle-room - perhaps we should make these companies advertise how much tax they've paid as a percentage of sales in those countries - maybe it could go alongside their fancy logos. Then consumers can make a choice about with whom they spend their hard earned cash. </p><p>Well, that's my rant for today. Sorry it's taken so long to get into print again, here. </p><p>Stay safe, folks. </p>Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02747448570331782397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8857885455572433394.post-51897023237602135052019-12-18T06:53:00.001-08:002021-02-08T12:38:34.188-08:00Worlds Apart -- the background to the story.<div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: cyan;">People often ask me where I get the ideas for my stories and I usually say it's my weird, conspiratorial mind playing with the <i>What if?</i> factor of life. </span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: cyan; font-weight: 700;"><br /></span></div>
<b><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: cyan;">In the case of Worlds Apart the idea came to me around twenty years ago in the Canary Islands. On our first night at the hotel, whilst I sat at our restaurant table, taking in the sunshine and the view, my wife went off to get her meal from the host of buffet tables at the other end of the crowded room. </span></b></div></b><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: cyan; font-weight: 700;"><br /></span></div>
<b><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: cyan;">After about ten minutes I looked along through the throng of people and couldn't see her. Another five minutes passed and I stood up from the table, craned my neck again in the direction of the buffet tables - nothing. I sat down and thought ... imagine going to Reception and saying: "I've lost my wife" and the receptionist saying: "But you came to the hotel alone, Mr White". How would I feel? Suddenly realising that everything I knew was not as it should be? </span></b></div></b><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: cyan; font-weight: 700;"><br /></span></div>
<b><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: cyan;">Eventually, my wife re-appeared - plate piled high with all manner of delights and, as she sat, she nodded in the direction of the buffets tables, "Go round the corner they have another room with some delicious sea-food".</span></b></div></b><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: cyan; font-weight: 700;"><br /></span></div>
<b><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: cyan;">I smiled at her and thought I must write that story. </span></b></div></b><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02747448570331782397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8857885455572433394.post-40968526221268556582019-12-18T05:54:00.001-08:002022-02-07T05:45:31.009-08:00WORLDS APART (Another life) - Released on Amazon Kindle (December 2019). <div style="text-align: justify;"><span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="background-color: black; font-size: 14px;"><b><i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiy2WNWDDpKeL54f99w6ogsM919D4Piutsw0e6SrJDuVaJZjAxX9LbjE2Ioa194zrC0WOx5lHHHg5ELuyDaUjy4sMIkYjRG1_SNM-jSAneD4yhvawyAPCcm-X3gSnLlE4sU9pmHZ6OXjXqaAl8ek-jw-A6w0CNrKpCEOBHufg5_au9my7ynQr-3Z42T=s167" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="167" data-original-width="118" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiy2WNWDDpKeL54f99w6ogsM919D4Piutsw0e6SrJDuVaJZjAxX9LbjE2Ioa194zrC0WOx5lHHHg5ELuyDaUjy4sMIkYjRG1_SNM-jSAneD4yhvawyAPCcm-X3gSnLlE4sU9pmHZ6OXjXqaAl8ek-jw-A6w0CNrKpCEOBHufg5_au9my7ynQr-3Z42T=w226-h320" width="226" /></a></div><br /><span style="color: magenta;"><br /></span></i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="background-color: black; font-size: 14px;"><b><i><span style="color: magenta;"><br /></span></i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="background-color: black; font-size: 14px;"><b><i><span style="color: magenta;"><br /></span></i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="background-color: black; font-size: 14px;"><b><i><span style="color: magenta;"><br /></span></i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">
<span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="background-color: black; font-size: 14px;"><b><i><span style="color: magenta;">Ever wondered what having an alter ego would be like? Would he / she be the better you - the worst you? How would you cope if you were thrust into their world? How would you cope with them being in yours? </span></i></b><b><i><span style="color: magenta;"> How would you cope with switching between worlds and picking up the pieces of both lives after they'd buggered them up? </span></i></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="background-color: black; color: cyan; font-size: 14px;">Harry Ford wakes from a heart attack to find his wife, Kim, at his bedside – an event that terrifies him as he knows she died nine months before in a car crash that he caused and which haunts him daily. Being told by a doctor that this memory and others are false and have been caused by the heart trauma, Harry finds hard to believe.</span></div>
<span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="background-color: black; font-size: 14px;">
</span>
<span style="background-color: black; color: cyan;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: black; color: cyan;"><span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 14px;">At home with a distinctly indifferent Kim he meets décor he doesn’t remember, a father whose friendship and support he doesn’t recognise and, when he returns to work, colleagues who look the same, but aren't. More importantly, he discovers that he is selling his company’s secret military electronics plans to a foreign power, has a mistress living in an expensive apartment that he owns and a girlfriend at his office.</span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: black; color: cyan;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: black; color: cyan;"><span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 14px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: black; color: cyan;">
<span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 14px;"></span></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: black; color: cyan;"><span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 14px;">Harry remembers none of this, nor does he understand why everyone calls him, Mac, and continually being told what he does remember doesn’t exist has him searching for the truth. What he finds blows his mind – and has him chasing his tail to stay alive.</span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: black; color: cyan;"><span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 14px;">
</span></span>
<div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="color: #333333; font-size: 14px;">---</span></div>
<div>
<span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-size: 14px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<div>
<span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
</div>
Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02747448570331782397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8857885455572433394.post-88424387279166303922019-12-17T14:13:00.001-08:002019-12-17T14:22:47.161-08:00What a year!<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: cyan;">In late December of 2018 I was diagnosed with prostate cancer. It didn't really come as a surprise as my PSA (Prostate Specific Antigen) level had been rising steadily - although, not all elevating PSA readings are cancerous. However, when mine reached 20, my GP decided to get me in for biopsies (Christmas eve) and the result confirmed the condition. By then the level was at 23.6 and I was given the option of prostatectomy (surgery) or hormone injections together with radiotherapy (20 sessions over 28 days) - and more injections afterward - possibly for another two years. I chose the latter.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: cyan;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: cyan;">The reason I'm telling you about this is that I was lucky, in that my cancer was diagnosed relatively early on and I had options for treatment. Some guys don't get that. Some guys are told the only route is surgery and knowing people who have taken that route (by choice or by no choice) and knowing that it had its problems - albeit they might be temporary and not affecting everyone - it was one I didn't want to go down. My reason mainly was the 'not affecting everyone' aspect meant it affected some - and I feared it would affect me. In 2015 (you can read it in my previous posts) I was given medication to cure a simply problem and I lost my sense of taste for 3 months (a rare occurrence, apparently). Then after the prostate biopsies in 2018 I was given an antibiotic which caused me to contract tendonitis (another rare occurrence - that laid me low for ten days). So, I reasoned that if incontinence was a possible side-effect of prostatectomy, then I would probably become subject to it. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: cyan;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: cyan;">Anyway, the three-monthly hormone injections and a course of hormone tablets began very quickly to devoid my body of testosterone because (my consultant told me) it helped prostate cancer to grow. So, gradually my PSA level dropped to around 3. Then, in August, I had the 20 sessions of radiotherapy (painless and non-intrusive) which brought it down again to below 1. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: cyan;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: cyan;">This ousting of testosterone from my body coupled with the radiotherapy, I was told would not come alone - and it didn't. My oncology nurse advised that I would experience symptoms similar to the female menopause - to which my very supportive and caring wife jested "Now, you'll know how I felt for fifteen years!" In addition to the hot flushes, loss of body hair - (not that I had much of that to begin with) and the mood swings, came loss of strength and a level of fatigue I never dreamt possible. Suddenly, even the most menial of physical tasks made me exhausted and I would fall asleep at the drop of a proverbial hat. I was told not to beat myself up over it as it was to be expected and when it hit me I was to accept it for what it was - overwhelming tiredness - which, over time, would gradually get better.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: cyan;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: cyan;">So, here we are a year on and I'm back at the gym - not training with the weights that I used to - as I have to work myself back to those, but things are improving and hopefully my PSA reading will stay below 1 for the future. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: cyan;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: cyan;">All of the above I have written because I would like to see guys over fifty have regular blood tests for prostate cancer. The blood test isn't perfect, but it will give a level and perhaps, more importantly, will show if that level is elevating. Like I said earlier, not all PSA readings that are rising are rising because of cancer - some may just be an enlarging prostate making itself known, but it's better to be safe than sorry. Interestingly, on the news this evening was a piece about an MRI scan test which may more accurately replace the PSA blood test. Somewhat surprisingly, I learned that not everyone who is diagnosed with PC had the usual suspects (difficulty peeing, weak flow, erectile dysfunction etc.) for symptoms. </span><br />
<span style="color: cyan;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: cyan;">All I would say is: "Get it checked, Guys" - especially those of you who may have had (as I did) a father who also suffered prostate cancer.</span><br />
<span style="color: cyan;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: magenta;">On a lighter note, despite the tiredness I managed eventually to finish my thriller: Worlds Apart (Another life) and it's on Kindle. My next post will be about it. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: cyan;">Thanks for listening. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02747448570331782397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8857885455572433394.post-67521454228321286902018-03-18T10:57:00.001-07:002021-02-08T12:40:07.763-08:00OMG ... <div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: cyan;">"Children shouldn't have to worry about spelling ... or grammar - it stifles their young minds. We should just let the essence of their creativity shine through - no matter what."</span></div>
<span style="color: cyan;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: cyan;">I was told this 20 years ago by a teacher who felt that corrective red marks on a child's school work was a disincentive and not only inhibited the creative flow, but could bring problems with self -confidence in later life. </span></div>
<span style="color: cyan;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: cyan;">Whether you agree with that philosophy or not, the written word is changing. Text-speak is here among our everyday written language and, like the boundary of the mind, once expanded, will never shrink back. </span></div>
<span style="color: cyan;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: cyan;">So, what's happening in the world of text-speak? </span></div>
<span style="color: cyan;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: cyan;">Words and phrases are now abbreviated to two or three letters </span><i style="color: cyan;">(cd -</i><span style="color: cyan;">could</span><i style="color: cyan;"> / wd - </i><span style="color: cyan;">would / </span><i style="color: cyan;">u</i><span style="color: cyan;"> -you / pls - please / </span><i style="color: cyan;">BTW</i><span style="color: cyan;"> </span><i style="color: cyan;">/ OMG / LOL )</i><span style="color: cyan;">. Emojis tell us how someone feels. The confusion over </span><i style="color: cyan;">there</i><span style="color: cyan;">, </span><i style="color: cyan;">their</i><span style="color: cyan;"> and </span><i style="color: cyan;">they're</i><span style="color: cyan;"> - </span><i style="color: cyan;">your</i><span style="color: cyan;"> and </span><i style="color: cyan;">you're</i><span style="color: cyan;"> - </span><i style="color: cyan;">it's</i><span style="color: cyan;"> and </span><i style="color: cyan;">its </i><span style="color: cyan;">can have us pondering the meanings of posts</span><i style="color: cyan;">.</i><span style="color: cyan;"> The apostrophe is being used for all things plural (</span><i style="color: cyan;">MOT's - apple's - snake's</i><span style="color: cyan;">). Dates: the </span><i style="color: cyan;">50s, 60s, 70s</i><span style="color: cyan;"> etc., have become </span><i style="color: cyan;">50's, 60's and 70's</i><span style="color: cyan;">. Phrases like </span><i style="color: cyan;">"Totes amaze"</i><span style="color: cyan;"> (totally amazing) - </span><i style="color: cyan;">GR8 M8</i><span style="color: cyan;"> (great mate) - have many of us (oldies) stopping to decipher the message on our mobile phone from an eight year old grandchild - to whom phonetic and abbreviated speech is becoming more and more commonplace. </span></div>
<span style="color: cyan;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: cyan;">Is the use of text-speak increasing because our lives are so busy that we must save time anywhere we can? Is it just a lazy use of language? Or, perhaps, a need to fit in with our peers - to be one of the crowd? Or is it that it's become a God-send to the person who finds spelling and grammar difficult to grasp. Does someone who has no particular problem with the English language use text-speak - or soldier on with correctly spelled and grammatically sound posts, complete with commas and full-stops? </span></div>
<span style="color: cyan;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: cyan;">And what happens about legal documents? Will they ever be written in text-speak? Or will there be a cache (possibly 'cash') of lawyers retained for the purpose of composing legal papers at higher and higher fees? I wonder what would happen if the most prolific of text-speak users received his / her house deeds / divorce papers / income tax demand, written in phonetics and emojis? Would he or she feel overjoyed that authority has embraced this modernity - or feel cheated that the documents aren't in the English of the echelon of society which makes the rules? </span></div>
<span style="color: cyan;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: cyan;">Should we allow all aspects of text-speak to creep into full acceptance in everyday written usage? Is little Johnnie's (or Mary's) essay going to be littered with abbreviated words and symbols - something to be deciphered rather than read? Will big John (and Mary's) application to university / job application be full of the same text-speak? Will it matter? (I suppose if someone decided to associate its use with an assumption that the applicant has come from a particular background and views that as a problem, then it might. Paranoid - moi?)</span></div>
<span style="color: cyan;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: cyan;">Could we end up with a number of people unable to read or write anything other than text-speak? Would official forms have to reflect this anomaly? </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="color: cyan;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Will authors of the future write in two formats? One for those who have grown up with and prefer text-speak as their reading (and writing) style and one for those who still want to read stories incorporating correct spelling and grammar? </div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: cyan;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="color: cyan;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Was the thinking of that teacher 20 years ago prophetic - or the beginning of the end for the English language as we know it? I wonder. </div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02747448570331782397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8857885455572433394.post-88769998476278422182018-03-17T17:41:00.002-07:002018-03-17T17:41:36.524-07:00Here's ... Johnny! <span style="color: cyan;">Hi Guys,</span><br />
<span style="color: cyan;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: cyan;">Well, it's been a while ... 18 months to be exact. But I'm back! (Actually, I didn't go anywhere - just out of the loop in terms of blogging.)</span><br />
<span style="color: cyan;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: cyan;">Lots of stuff has been happening since last I posted - a new great-grandchild, a wife who spent time in hospital having her heart re-aligned (cardioversion), thankfully she is better now, me gradually losing my hearing and requiring the on-off assistance of a couple of hearing aids - at least the neighbours don't have to listen to Wheeler Dealers and the News at full blast anymore - and, also me, still busily working on my next thriller - Worlds Apart. I'd tell you what it's about, but I haven't finished the script, so it may change before it hits Kindle and I wouldn't want to lead you up a movable feast of a garden path. </span><br />
<span style="color: cyan;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: cyan;">No real excuse for leaving you chaps in the lurch, I know, but I will start posting again. Promise. </span><br />
<span style="color: cyan;">Coming up - <i>The written word - what will happen to it over the coming years? </i></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02747448570331782397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8857885455572433394.post-6166102847499090362016-09-24T11:01:00.000-07:002016-09-24T11:01:09.446-07:00THE PARADIGM CULTURE -- Free download 25th, 26th and 27th September 2016<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: cyan;">I had always wondered how far people would take revenge or punishment if they were granted the power of retribution. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: cyan;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: cyan;">We all see reports on the TV and in newspapers which make us angry, sometimes even fighting mad - with people being murdered, mugged, raped, bullied, fleeced of savings by con artists, cowboy builders - the list goes on. But would the meekest of men and women change if bestowed with the power to provide an eye for an eye? Would they then become like the people they despise? Inflicting pain and torment until <em>they</em> feel better? Until <em>they</em> feel satisfied that their 'target' has learned his or her lesson? Or would <em>they</em> become like King Midas? Would having the power turn them into people unable to look at the news - unable to read or hear anything without fearing that they couldn't control their reaction?</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: cyan;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: cyan;">And what if this power escalated - became not just the ability to dish out punishment, but to kill just by thinking about it? What then? How quickly then would the individual with that power be snapped up by the Government or the Military? Would his life not be his own any more? Would he be too great a risk to be allowed to exist free in society?</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: cyan;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: cyan;">The Paradigm Culture is about just such a talent and how one man struggles to deal with it, before it deals with him.</span> </div>
<br />
<span style="color: cyan;">THE PARADIGM CULTURE - OUT ON KINDLE NOW. </span><span style="color: cyan;"><a href="https://goo.gl/AsRVtm"><span style="color: magenta;">https://goo.gl/AsRVtm</span></a></span><br />
<span style="color: cyan;"></span>Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02747448570331782397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8857885455572433394.post-60713680717024354372016-09-24T07:38:00.001-07:002016-09-24T10:31:04.527-07:00The Paradigm Culture. Now on Kindle.<span style="color: cyan;">Hi Guys,</span><br />
<span style="color: cyan;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: cyan;">My latest thriller - The Paradigm Culture - <em>Born to Rule</em> (453 pages), is now on Kindle. </span><span style="color: cyan;">And, as an added bonus, it's going to be on free download from Sunday 25th September until and including Tuesday 27th September. </span> <span style="color: magenta;">Link here:</span> <a href="https://goo.gl/AsRVtm" title="https://goo.gl/AsRVtm"><span style="color: magenta;">goo.gl/AsRVtm</span></a></div>
<span style="color: cyan;"></span><br />
<span style="color: cyan;">If you feel like leaving a review on the kindle page, pleased do. You can also sample the first 14 chapters there too. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAKZIrLiKwzWvmLVAU4xaIxPxjds5ifPju0HYCc8fbtkbLOK7XJ1U_W_ewc-z6Sd3mEdZtQS0K-QWwuaFGL-j9ZDCnhCO1bvHKIR0yRiFgXOrjDt0PVrkUZW8C7tN44IY1LzO3-_L_chk/s1600/paradigm+culture+front+cover+man+with+title001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAKZIrLiKwzWvmLVAU4xaIxPxjds5ifPju0HYCc8fbtkbLOK7XJ1U_W_ewc-z6Sd3mEdZtQS0K-QWwuaFGL-j9ZDCnhCO1bvHKIR0yRiFgXOrjDt0PVrkUZW8C7tN44IY1LzO3-_L_chk/s320/paradigm+culture+front+cover+man+with+title001.jpg" width="227" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: cyan;">The Paradigm Culture takes as its theme that old adage: Be careful what you wish for – which, in the case of Dan Wright, does come true. </span></div>
<span style="color: cyan;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
His troubled upbringing has left him believing life is either black or white. He has no faith in the justice system, and no truck with people who break the rules. Being made redundant from a lucrative role at close to 40, and, despite trying, still being out of work six months later, has not only seriously dented his self-esteem, but his marriage to Jayne, who is at her wits end with him and his increasing obsession with rules. She just wants him to get another job – they need the money. Imagine then Dan’s delight at, after a freak accident, suddenly being able to bring criminals to justice, move objects and see through walls just by thinking about it. What talent – what kudos – what power! Except the stuff of his dreams is becoming a nightmare. People he’d been told were there to help him, are not to be trusted, and his abilities are in demand by everyone and they’ll kill to get them – which is why he must break the rules to survive. But, above all this mayhem, is the question of where this power came from and why Dan has it. The answer, could affect the future of our world.</div>
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02747448570331782397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8857885455572433394.post-82559576632654022772016-07-20T10:27:00.000-07:002016-07-20T10:27:12.944-07:00Shortlisted! <span style="color: cyan;">Just heard that my latest novel The Paradigm Culture has been shortlisted for Literature Works Sci-fi Competition (One Giant Write). Final round judging by <span style="color: cyan;">Imogen Robertson and Marcus Gipps.</span> Winner will be announced on or by September 5th.</span><br />
<span style="color: cyan;"></span><br />
<span style="color: cyan;">Watch this space, guys!</span><br />
<span style="color: cyan;"></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<i class="_lew" title="smile emoticon"><i aria-hidden="true" class="_4-k1 img sp_fM-mz8spZ1b sx_5371b4"></i></i>Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02747448570331782397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8857885455572433394.post-90269361041188337322016-06-26T13:39:00.006-07:002021-06-03T00:51:56.482-07:00EU referendum - a shot in the dark or a blaze of light?
<span style="color: cyan;">The EU referendum has set the UK nation at one <span aria-haspopup="true" id=":z.1" role="menuitem" tabindex="-1">another's
throats, young against old, rich against poor, Scots (who
overwhelmingly voted <em>Remain</em>) against anyone who voted <em>'Leave'</em>.
Many are saying this vote was the chance for the disaffected to voice
their anger at the way the Government has ridden roughshod over the
industrial north, the midlands, the forgotten southwest, in fact anywhere
outside of London. If this is the case then why did no one see this result
coming? Is the Government so out of touch with the people that from its ivory towers
it has lost sight of what’s important to the nation – what frightens and what gels
people? Is there no interest in anything that happens outside of the capital? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="color: cyan;">
</span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: cyan;">At the last election the Prime Minister, David
Cameron, offered the referendum to the people - guaranteed that if they
voted Conservative he would deliver it – and he did. I don't know whether at
the time it was a ploy to gain voters or a genuine altruistic gesture to
give the people a voice on an organisation that he and his party must have felt
was causing problems. After all you wouldn't offer a referendum on something
that was not causing problems – would you? Whatever his motives, there is an
old adage that says <em>"You don't offer a referendum unless you know
you're going to win". </em>Now, either he'd never heard of the saying or
he just assumed that, when he went to the EU to campaign to <em>rewrite</em> our
terms of membership, <span style="color: cyan;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: cyan;">Donald Tusk</span></span>,</span> (president
of the European council) would agree to his demands. Tusk and his
colleagues didn't agree. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="color: cyan;">
</span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: cyan;">So, David Cameron began telling us what
others of all party colours had been saying, that the UK could thrive outside
of the EU </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6JsrxXhCEc"><span style="color: magenta;">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6JsrxXhCEc</span></a><span style="color: cyan;">
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="color: cyan;">
</span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: cyan;">Then a few weeks later we began getting the scare
stories – vote <em>Remain</em> or the economy will collapse, our security will
be weakened, there could be war ... it was like someone had told Cameron and
his colleagues that there was a remote chance that some people might vote
Leave and maybe he should stop saying we can survive outside the EU and
scaremonger those independent thinkers and Euro sceptics back into the
fold. Then we had President Obama telling us we should remain
in the EU – suggesting that if we left then the 'special relationship'
between our countries would somehow be irreparably damaged. Many
people who felt the sovereignty of the UK was being lost under EU
interference didn't take kindly to President <span aria-haspopup="true" id=":z.6" role="menuitem" tabindex="-1">Obama threatening us with excommunication –
telling us to kowtow to the EU or else. We know that the UK being part of the
EU benefits the US in many ways – and maybe President Obama was worried that
this way into the continent of Europe would be lost to the US. (I wonder how he
would take it if our PM suggested that he allow another nation to control his
future?) <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="color: cyan;">
</span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: cyan;">A plethora of scare stories began to abound
from both the Remain and the Leave camps. So much so that people didn't
know what to believe and what not to. The worst of this was that the
politicians and gurus offering these warnings seemed to have their own agendas (party
leadership – personal gains – financial interests) so could we believe them? The
financial institutions – the ones who told us a few years ago that we would
be finished if we didn't join the Euro – pitched in too. But
what no one, except the people living in those regions of the UK, was
seeing was the effect of the deprivation, the growing food banks, the zero hours contracts,
the closed high street shops, infrastructures unable to cope, not enough
houses being built and the fact that we could not control our borders.
David Cameron had said he would get immigration down to the tens of thousands –
that failed. The question of immigration became a huge issue on both the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">for</i> and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">against</i> the EU sides. People who wanted controls placed on
immigration were being made to feel like racists – when all they wanted was to
control the influx, so that the country could budget for the numbers
coming in and get the infrastructure in a position where it could cope (which
it’s not doing at the moment). But the free movement of the EU membership
prevented that. Of course then there were scare stories about poorer
countries joining the EU and whether that influx of economic migrants into this
country would be capable of being controlled. People who felt that the <span aria-haspopup="true" id=":z.9" role="menuitem" tabindex="-1">sovereignty of this
country was being eroded were being called ‘Little Englanders’ – when all they
wanted was for the elected Government of this country to be setting the rules
for the nation – and if that government cocked-up then the nation had the
facility to vote it out – something that can’t be done with the EU.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="color: cyan;">
</span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: cyan;">So there we have it – scaremongering from all sides,
an out-of-touch arrogance from the Government and 52% of the electorate which felt
disenfranchised by an unelectable and remote body. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="color: cyan;">
</span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: cyan;">June 23<sup>rd</sup> 2016 will certainly go down
in history – maybe as the voting person’s revolution, but there is no going
back and, now, we must get on with endeavouring to heal the rift between the
Leave and Remain camps and put this great country back on the global rails. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt; text-align: justify;">
<o:p> </o:p></div>
Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02747448570331782397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8857885455572433394.post-58894041438084945592016-01-01T01:30:00.003-08:002016-01-04T01:48:09.051-08:00HAPPY NEW YEAR, FOLKS!<span style="color: red;">Let's hope 2016 brings peace and understanding to all.</span>Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02747448570331782397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8857885455572433394.post-34349619490196513212015-12-31T13:17:00.001-08:002015-12-31T13:17:40.644-08:00 A cheap shot at Postmen by the BBC? You decide ...<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b03bs7g7/pointless-series-10-episode-2"><span style="color: magenta;">http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b03bs7g7/pointless-series-10-episode-2</span></a><br />
<div>
<span style="color: cyan;">Pointless (Quiz Programme -- BBC 1) </span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: cyan;">Series 10 -- Episode 2 of 70</span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: cyan;">Programme first aired 27th September 2013 at 5.15pm.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: cyan;">Repeated on 30th December 2015at 5.45pm</span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: cyan;"> </span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: cyan;">
I saw this episode of the quiz programme (as a repeat) on 30th December 2015 and my complaint (on the same day) to the BBC about it was that, during the introduction the presenter, Alexander Armstrong, joked
that his co-presenter, Richard Osman, was called the Postman as, and I quote: <em>"he always
delivers and he isn't above stealing ten pound notes from birthday cards"</em>. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: cyan;">
</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: cyan;">I felt the remark was not only offensive and classed all postmen as
thieves, but promoted an incorrect and slanderous stereotype.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
============================================ </div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<span style="color: cyan;">I asked for a reply to my complaint which I received promptly the next day and is shown here:</span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: cyan;"> </span></div>
<div>
<span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span style="color: cyan;">
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span style="color: cyan; font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Arial; font-size: x-small;">Dear Mr White </span><span style="font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Arial; font-size: x-small;"><br /><span style="color: cyan;">Thanks for contacting us about
Pointless.<br /><br />We understand you’re unhappy with a comment made by Alexander
Armstrong. <br /><br />Alexander and Richard have a very long tradition of
introducing each other in a humorous way, but the joke is always firmly on them.
In this case Alexander was deliberately using an outdated stereotype to poke fun
at Richard, and we’d hope viewers would appreciate that the reference is
obviously baseless. That said, we’d never set out to upset or offend viewers,
and we’ll make sure your comments are circulated to the Pointless
team.<br /><br />Thanks again for contacting us. </span></span><span style="font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"><br /><br /><span style="color: cyan;">Kind
Regards<br /><br />BBC Complaints</span><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/complaints" title="http://www.bbc.co.uk/complaints"><span style="color: magenta;">www.bbc.co.uk/complaints</span></a></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<br />=====================================</div>
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: x-small;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: x-small;"> </span></span> <span style="color: cyan;">My reply to the BBC (31st December 2015) was:</span><br />
<span style="color: cyan;"></span><br />
<div>
<span style="color: cyan;">Your response: "In this case Alexander was deliberately using an outdated
stereotype to poke fun at Richard, and we’d hope viewers would appreciate that
the reference is obviously baseless" I'm afraid I don't agree with, for the
following reasons: </span></div>
<span style="color: cyan;">
</span><br />
<div>
<span style="color: cyan;">1) Calling it an "outdated stereotype" implies that the public had thought
postmen/women were thieves. I'd like to see your proof for that assertion.</span></div>
<span style="color: cyan;">
</span><br />
<div>
<span style="color: cyan;">2) If the reference was "obviously baseless" as you suggest, why create
it? <br /> <br />3) The use of the reference in the programme by a well-known
personality not only gives it a base, but also promotes it as a given -- all
postmen steal. So what you have done in allowing this reference to be aired
again, (as it was a repeat from 2013) is give further oxygen to the myth that
postmen (and postwomen) are thieves. </span></div>
<span style="color: cyan;">
</span><br />
<div>
<span style="color: cyan;">It was a cheap joke at the expense of hardworking, out-in-all-weathers
individuals who are doing a valuable and essential role, often for less than the
national average annual wage. </span></div>
<span style="color: cyan;">
</span><br />
<div>
<span style="color: cyan;">Someone in your organisation chose to allow this reference to be aired -
why I don't know, but it smacks of elitism at the detriment of a sector of the
working class that pays that person's salary, via the licence fee. </span></div>
<span style="color: cyan;">
</span><br />
<div>
<span style="color: cyan;">I would like the BBC to apologise for the use of this offensive
reference. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: cyan;"></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: cyan;">====================================</span></div>
<h4>
Is it just me, folks, am I super sensitive to this sort of crass cheap joke? I wonder if postmen / women would give it a second thought? Maybe I should ask them. Watch this space! </h4>
</span> </span> </span> </span> </span> </span> </span> </span><br /><br />
<br />
<div>
</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
</div>
Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02747448570331782397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8857885455572433394.post-87091906748845510392015-05-18T01:19:00.001-07:002015-05-18T01:19:51.555-07:00Terbinafine - Beat it! <div>
<span style="color: cyan;">It's back! My taste returned last Sunday, but I wanted to check that it was
not a flash in the pan before I posted.</span><br />
<span style="color: cyan;">
</span><br />
<span style="color: cyan;">
</span><span style="color: cyan;">It's been 13 weeks and whilst my taste began to come back a couple of weeks
ago, the ability to taste sweet things has taken a couple more weeks. If
anything now I feel my taste for sweet things has heightened - I'm assuming that
will regularise over the coming week or so.</span><br />
<span style="color: cyan;">
</span><br />
<span style="color: cyan;">
</span><span style="color: cyan;">For those of you still suffering this horrible so-called side-effect keep
eating what you can. I know it's difficult and there were times when I felt
totally depressed because I didn't want to eat (or drink) as food and liquids
just tasted so terrible. I have lost weight because of this problem and now need
to get back to eating healthily to put it back on.</span><br />
<span style="color: cyan;">
</span><br />
<span style="color: cyan;">
</span><span style="color: cyan;">I do believe doctors need to do more research before they prescribe this
medication and I also believe the pharmaceutical companies producing it need to
revisit their patient leaflets as, I believe, the information contained within
them is misleading. The leaflets will suggest that (1) the possibility of
developing this side-effect will be minimal and (2) what they call 'taste
disturbance' will disappear as soon as the medication is stopped.Both are at
inaccurate. My case and that of others is that once you have this loss of taste
it can last a minimum of eight weeks (mine 13 weeks!) before you fully regain it
- that's not minimal. To call this problem a taste disturbance is also grossly
wrong. When it happens it brings with it a host of other problems, loss of
interest in food, loss of interest in eating and drinking, medical problems
associated with not eating and drinking enough, relationship issues and
depression, to mention a few. These are not conditions to be treated lightly -
especially in people who may already have physical or mental problems.</span><br />
<span style="color: cyan;">
</span><br />
<span style="color: cyan;">
</span><span style="color: cyan;">My GP had no knowledge of this side-effect and although he said he would stop
prescribing it, there will be other doctors out there who will prescribe it,
whether through a lack of knowledge of the side-effect or because they feel
the on-line drug advice suggests minimal risk. I daresay, too, there will be
people who will have used this drug without experiencing this side-effect and
will wonder what all the fuss is about. They have been lucky and I am pleased
for them. However, my concern is for the people who have and will suffer this
problem and the horrible way it impinges on their lives. </span><br />
<span style="color: cyan;">
</span><br />
<span style="color: cyan;">
</span><span style="color: cyan;">In light of the horrid situation this drug can bring on, and the fact people
will not know until around 6 weeks in whether or not they will be affected, by
which time it's too late to do anything about it, Terbinafine needs new medical
tests and an updating of the patient advice information. Then and only then can
people make an informed decision about whether to go forward with the use of
this drug. And, it may be to some, that the possibility of prolonged taste loss is
something which they are prepared to accept in order to deal with the fungal
infection for which this drug is prescribed. But at least they will have made an
informed choice which is not the current situation - because no one is informing
them.</span><br />
<span style="color: cyan;">
</span><br />
<span style="color: cyan;">
</span><span style="color: cyan;">So, in summary, there is light at the end of this dark tunnel - just keep
eating and drinking even though you may not feel like it. Your taste will return
and you will enjoy food and drink again.</span><br />
<span style="color: cyan;">
</span> </div>
Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02747448570331782397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8857885455572433394.post-45058095036394789392015-04-23T12:19:00.000-07:002015-04-23T12:19:19.737-07:00There's no such thing as a free lunch ...<span style="color: cyan;">What you see below was posted on Facebook on April 21st. It told people that they could win two Range Rovers by liking and sharing the page. They were also asked to pick a colour for the car. </span><br />
<span style="color: cyan;"></span><br />
<span style="color: cyan;">On closer inspection there is no company name on the page - no information about who is giving away these cars and no history to the site. So, would you waste your time liking / sharing such a page? No - guessed not. Neither would I, but what amazed me is that, here we are two days later, and 55,000 people have done just that, and I'm guessing by the 26th (if the page is left on FB for that long) that figure will have risen considerably. Now, I'm guessing that the creators of this page are looking for 'likes' so that they can sell it on. No one will win any cars. </span><br />
<span style="color: cyan;"></span><br />
<span style="color: cyan;">There are many scams like this on Facebook - some offering cars, high-value shopping vouchers, cash prizes - purportedly from bone-fide companies (who know nothing about it) in fact anything that will attract people and play upon their greed, their conscience or their vulnerability. In all these cases many thousands of people will not only <em>'like'</em> and <em>'share'</em> the page - but leave comments begging to win. </span><br />
<span style="color: cyan;"></span><br />
<span style="color: cyan;">So, what is it about these people that makes them think there is such a thing as a <em>free lunch</em>? Does their greed take over and blind them to the truth of what the page really is? Or do they know the page is a scam, but their judgement suddenly becomes impaired the more they look at the <em>prize</em>? Or do they regularly take everything they see at face value in all areas of their lives and never question anything? </span><br />
<span style="color: cyan;"></span><br />
<span style="color: cyan;">How gullible can people be? Are these 55,000 the tip of an iceberg? Why do people not check? If there's no company information, no contact details, no history to the site - then be suspicious! Check! Do yourself a favour - wake up and smell the coffee! </span><br />
<span style="color: cyan;"> </span><br />
<br />
<a aria-describedby="js_5" aria-haspopup="true" aria-hidden="true" aria-owns="js_4" class="_5pb8 _5v9u _29h _303" data-ft="{"tn":"\u003C"}" data-gt="{"entity_id":"1646794422202531","entity_path":"WebBrowseWithNavController:browse_type_keyword"}" data-hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/page.php?id=1646794422202531" href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Range-Rover-4X4/1646794422202531" id="js_6" tabindex="0"><img alt="" class="_s0 _5xib _5sq7 _rw img" src="https://fbcdn-profile-a.akamaihd.net/hprofile-ak-xta1/v/t1.0-1/c14.0.50.50/p50x50/11143339_1646795112202462_4540328279038814710_n.jpg?oh=8c8e9c12fbd9b5147e8297cdc5a5bbbd&oe=55E00D12&__gda__=1436531238_0890c855e2b77f1e230e8f723b398844" /></a><br />
<div class="_3dp _29k">
<div>
<div class="_6a">
<div class="_6a _6b">
<h5 class="_5pbw" data-ft="{"tn":"C"}">
<div class="fwn fcg">
<span class="fwb fcg" data-ft="{"tn":"k"}"><a data-gt="{"entity_id":"1646794422202531","entity_path":"WebBrowseWithNavController:browse_type_keyword"}" data-hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/page.php?id=1646794422202531&extragetparams=%7B%22fref%22%3A%22nf%22%7D" href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Range-Rover-4X4/1646794422202531?fref=nf"><span class="highlightNode">Range</span> <span class="highlightNode">Rover</span> <span class="highlightNode">4X4</span>.</a></span></div>
</h5>
<div class="_5pcp">
<span class="fsm fwn fcg"><a ajaxify="/1646794422202531/photos/a.1646797422202231.1073741828.1646794422202531/1646797352202238/?type=1&src=https%3A%2F%2Fscontent-lhr.xx.fbcdn.net%2Fhphotos-xap1%2Fv%2Ft1.0-9%2F11174968_1646797352202238_5921096317350212974_n.png%3Foh%3De8981dc56e4a3d7bffa7d4b38106028b%26oe%3D55DF749C&size=629%2C438&fbid=1646797352202238&source=12&player_origin=search" class="_5pcq" href="https://www.facebook.com/1646794422202531/photos/a.1646797422202231.1073741828.1646794422202531/1646797352202238/?type=1" rel="theater" target=""><abbr class="_5ptz" data-shorten="1" data-utime="1429645521" title="Tuesday, April 21, 2015 at 8:45pm">April 21 at 8:45pm</abbr></a></span> · <a aria-label="Public" class="uiStreamPrivacy inlineBlock fbStreamPrivacy fbPrivacyAudienceIndicator _5pcq" data-hover="tooltip" href="https://www.facebook.com/search/str/range%2brover%2b4x4.%2bwinners/keywords_top?ref=eyJzaWQiOiIwLjMxNTUzNTQ1NjM5OTQ5NDU0IiwicXMiOiJKVFZDSlRJeWNtRnVaMlVsTWpCeWIzWmxjaVV5TURSNE5DNGxNakIzYVc1dVpYSnpKVEl5SlRWRSIsImd2IjoiOTRhZDBhNTUxNmQ3YThkN2E4YWVmYjJmODNhYWYyZThlNDI0YjI1NiJ9#" id="js_0" role="button"><i class="lock img sp_FntIbSQqqLh sx_a0aec7"></i></a></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="_5pbx userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}">
<div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" id="id_553935d3f37d57376722354">
For the FIRST time in facebook history we are giving away 2 <span class="highlightNode">Range Rovers</span> to two <span class="highlightNode">winners</span> that we will select on April 26 2015 completely at random.<br />
Would you like to join this amazing giveaway for a chance to own a brand new <span class="highlightNode">Range</span>? Simply follow the steps below to enter the competition :<br />
Step 1) Likes this Page<span class="text_exposed_hide">...</span><span class="text_exposed_show"><br /> Step 2) Like this Post<br /> Step 3) Comment which color you want. (Black or Red)<br /> Step 4) Share on your wall</span><br />
<div class="text_exposed_show">
The <span class="highlightNode">winners</span> will be messaged via inbox message<br />
Good Luck</div>
<span class="text_exposed_hide"> <span class="text_exposed_link"><a class="see_more_link" data-ft="{"tn":"e"}" href="https://www.facebook.com/search/str/range%2brover%2b4x4.%2bwinners/keywords_top?ref=eyJzaWQiOiIwLjMxNTUzNTQ1NjM5OTQ5NDU0IiwicXMiOiJKVFZDSlRJeWNtRnVaMlVsTWpCeWIzWmxjaVV5TURSNE5DNGxNakIzYVc1dVpYSnpKVEl5SlRWRSIsImd2IjoiOTRhZDBhNTUxNmQ3YThkN2E4YWVmYjJmODNhYWYyZThlNDI0YjI1NiJ9#" role="button">See More</a></span></span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div data-ft="{"tn":"H"}">
<div class="mtm">
<div class="_5cq3" data-ft="{"tn":"E"}">
<a ajaxify="/1646794422202531/photos/a.1646797422202231.1073741828.1646794422202531/1646797352202238/?type=1&src=https%3A%2F%2Fscontent-lhr.xx.fbcdn.net%2Fhphotos-xap1%2Fv%2Ft1.0-9%2F11174968_1646797352202238_5921096317350212974_n.png%3Foh%3De8981dc56e4a3d7bffa7d4b38106028b%26oe%3D55DF749C&size=629%2C438&fbid=1646797352202238&player_origin=search" class="_4-eo _2t9n" href="https://www.facebook.com/1646794422202531/photos/a.1646797422202231.1073741828.1646794422202531/1646797352202238/?type=1" id="u_0_54" rel="theater" style="width: 470px;"></a><div class="uiScaledImageContainer _4-ep" id="u_0_55" style="height: 327px; width: 470px;">
<a ajaxify="/1646794422202531/photos/a.1646797422202231.1073741828.1646794422202531/1646797352202238/?type=1&src=https%3A%2F%2Fscontent-lhr.xx.fbcdn.net%2Fhphotos-xap1%2Fv%2Ft1.0-9%2F11174968_1646797352202238_5921096317350212974_n.png%3Foh%3De8981dc56e4a3d7bffa7d4b38106028b%26oe%3D55DF749C&size=629%2C438&fbid=1646797352202238&player_origin=search" class="_4-eo _2t9n" href="https://www.facebook.com/1646794422202531/photos/a.1646797422202231.1073741828.1646794422202531/1646797352202238/?type=1" id="u_0_54" rel="theater" style="width: 470px;"><img alt="Range Rover 4X4.'s photo." class="scaledImageFitWidth img" height="328" src="https://scontent-lhr.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xap1/v/t1.0-9/s480x480/11174968_1646797352202238_5921096317350212974_n.png?oh=1a0863888a61354cc2163d14b6865400&oe=55DF5E60" width="470" /></a></div>
<a ajaxify="/1646794422202531/photos/a.1646797422202231.1073741828.1646794422202531/1646797352202238/?type=1&src=https%3A%2F%2Fscontent-lhr.xx.fbcdn.net%2Fhphotos-xap1%2Fv%2Ft1.0-9%2F11174968_1646797352202238_5921096317350212974_n.png%3Foh%3De8981dc56e4a3d7bffa7d4b38106028b%26oe%3D55DF749C&size=629%2C438&fbid=1646797352202238&player_origin=search" class="_4-eo _2t9n" href="https://www.facebook.com/1646794422202531/photos/a.1646797422202231.1073741828.1646794422202531/1646797352202238/?type=1" id="u_0_54" rel="theater" style="width: 470px;">
</a><br />
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div>
<form action="/ajax/ufi/modify.php" class="commentable_item collapsed_comments autoexpand_mode" data-ft="{"tn":"]"}" id="u_0_58" method="post" rel="async">
<input name="charset_test" type="hidden" value="€,´,€,´,水,Д,Є" /><input autocomplete="off" name="fb_dtsg" type="hidden" value="AQEmcp9RiNkc" /><input autocomplete="off" name="feedback_params" type="hidden" value="{"actor":"1646794422202531","target_fbid":"1646797352202238","target_profile_id":"1646794422202531","type_id":"7","assoc_obj_id":"","source_app_id":"0","extra_story_params":[],"content_timestamp":"1429645521","check_hash":"AQAUKY9yxZieIb38","source":"13"}" /><input autocomplete="off" name="data_only_response" type="hidden" value="1" /><br />
<div class="_5pcp _5vsi">
<div>
<span data-reactid=".5.1:0.0.$right.0.0.0"><span data-reactid=".5.1:0.0.$right.0.0.0.$text1:0:$0:0"></span></span> </div>
<div>
<span data-reactid=".5.1:0.0.$right.0.0.0"><span data-reactid=".5.1:0.0.$right.0.0.0.$text1:0:$0:0"> </span><a ajaxify="/ajax/browser/dialog/likes?id=1646797352202238&actorid=1646794422202531" data-hover="tooltip" data-reactid=".5.1:0.0.$right.0.0.0.$range1:0" data-tooltip-alignh="center" data-tooltip-uri="/ajax/like/tooltip.php?comment_fbid=1646797352202238&comment_from=527972712&seen_user_fbids[0]=534874124&av=527972712" href="https://www.facebook.com/browse/likes?id=1646797352202238&actorid=1646794422202531" rel="dialog" role="button">53,142 </a><span data-reactid=".5.1:0.0.$right.0.0.0.$end:0:$0:0">like this. </span></span>57,483 shares</div>
</div>
<div class="UFICommentAttachmentButtons clearfix" data-reactid=".5.1:4.0.$right.0.0.0.1">
</div>
</form>
</div>
Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02747448570331782397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8857885455572433394.post-63535831326877030862015-03-12T08:58:00.000-07:002015-03-12T08:58:04.417-07:00Three schoolgirls + Syria = Police apology <span style="color: cyan;">Can anyone tell me why the British police are having to apologise to the parents of the three 'bright' schoolgirls who flew out from the UK to Turkey in a recent perceived bid to get to Syria? <br /> </span><br />
<span style="color: cyan;">I'm at a loss to understand how it's the fault of the police that these girls somehow and, apparently without the knowledge of the three sets of parents involved, managed to get together the best part of £1500 each and, one of them, a stolen passport for their journey. <br /> </span><br />
<span style="color: cyan;">Am I missing something here? </span><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-31820783"><span style="color: magenta;">http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-31820783</span></a><span style="color: magenta;"> </span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: cyan;">By the way, I truly hope the girls are safe and return to their parents soon. Maybe then we will know what it was that enticed them away. Was it online grooming - or a belief that Syria was their destiny? </span><br />
<br />
Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02747448570331782397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8857885455572433394.post-91701203334621336732015-03-11T07:17:00.001-07:002015-03-11T07:17:51.036-07:00Terbinafine taste loss - a continuing saga of cardboard and seawater! <div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: cyan;">Well, I'm into the fifth week of taste loss. Feeling quite depressed now by the so-called side-effect of the aborted course of Terbinafine that I was prescribed. Food still resembles the texture of cardboard and all drinks still resemble seawater. I do not feel like eating or drinking as neither is a pleasure any longer and I'm now also experiencing problems trying to swallow food as my saliva ducts seem to have given up altogether and my mouth is very dry all the time. Family meals are not the social occasions they used to be and I am losing weight, which for a 68 year-old bloke of 5' 10" and weighing 12 stones is not good. My energy levels are greatly reduced and my motivation to do anything even remotely creative has gone. Hence, the story line for my latest book is lying fallow which depresses me even more. My wife is worried about my state of health as am I, but as all food has no flavour and the textures seem bland it is a chore to force food down - even though I know I should. What makes it worse is that I can smell the food and drink as I raise it to my mouth, however the instinctive expectation of flavour when I put it into my mouth is suddenly dashed when I eat. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: cyan;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: cyan;">As I mentioned previously I know people suffering cancer and undergoing chemotherapy often experience taste loss - a side-effect of which they are warned and, as the chemotherapy is essential to their fight against the disease, have little choice in not accepting. As someone who had cancer and, fortunately did not have to have chemotherapy, I feel for their predicament. But here we are not talking chemotherapy we are talking medication for a fungal infection and the patient advice leaflet does not, I feel, place enough emphasis on this side-effect. The advice, and I know I am repeating some of what I have written previously on this subject in this blog, gives the impression that the taste loss is a minor ailment and its duration listed as 'for some time'. Not exactly a warning of the debilitating physical and mental effects this drug can have upon one's life for what looks like, in my case, is going to be a further month at least.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: cyan;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: cyan;">So as you will have guessed, based upon my ongoing problems, I would warn anyone prescribed Terbinafine to think very carefully before taking it. (You would be wise to look up Terbinafine and check out the facts about this medication - also check out the links concerning it that I have provided previously on this blog). One of the major difficulties with this problem of taste loss is that you will not know you're going to experience it until it happens and then, of course, it's too late. Not only will you have the problem for a minimum of eight weeks (and indeed the possibility that your taste may not fully return) but as soon as the problem arrives - you will need to stop taking the drug, which will mean that as you didn't finish the course you will be left with the infection for which you took the drug in the first place. Not a particularly good trade off. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: cyan;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: cyan;">And don't rely upon your doctors knowing how bad this so-called side-effect will be. From their reference material, they will believe that the instances of taste loss with Terbinafine will be extremely rare. So rare that it's not worth mentioning to you - even if you're over 65 and have a low BMI which means that you could be more susceptible to getting this problem - and at a time of life when you can least do with it. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: cyan;"></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: cyan;">Below is a 2005 objective assessment of Terbinafine-induced taste loss, the conclusion of which states:</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: cyan;"></span> </div>
<span style="color: cyan;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
<abstracttext label="CONCLUSION" nlmcategory="CONCLUSIONS"><em>These findings 1) support anecdotal case reports of taste loss after terbinafine use, 2) demonstrate that all four major taste qualities are affected, and 3) suggest that olfactory dysfunction is not involved. Because self-report markedly underestimates chemosensory deficits, more extensive quantitative testing of patients receiving terbinafine will likely reveal a much higher prevalence of terbinafine-induced taste loss than currently reported. Since being older than 65 years of age and having a low body mass index are reportedly risk factors for terbinafine-induced taste loss, physicians should be particularly on the alert for elderly persons taking this medication who may become depressed or alter their food intake in response to decreased taste sensation.</em></abstracttext></div>
<div align="center" class="resc">
<dl class="rprtid">
<dt>---------------------------------------------------</dt>
</dl>
</div>
<dt>
<dl class="rprtid"></dl>
</dt>
</span><span style="color: cyan;">Watch this space!</span>Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02747448570331782397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8857885455572433394.post-30592457017179401172015-02-22T08:00:00.000-08:002015-02-22T08:00:38.641-08:00Terbinafine - two weeks on and it's still tasteless<span style="color: cyan;">Well, it's almost two weeks after I stopped taking the Terbinafine tablets and still everything I eat is like salty cardboard and everything I drink is like seawater. Mealtimes, which used to be a pleasure, are now a chore and I'm losing weight as I don't feel like eating.</span><br />
<span style="color: cyan;"></span><br />
<span style="color: cyan;">The more research I do, the more I realise that there are many people out there suffering with this particular problem. Take a look here:</span><span style="color: magenta;"> </span><a href="http://www.askapatient.com/viewrating.asp?drug=21124&name=LAMISIL+AT&page=1&PerPage=60"><span style="color: magenta;">http://www.askapatient.com/viewrating.asp?drug=21124&name=LAMISIL+AT&page=1&PerPage=60</span></a><br />
<br />
<span style="color: cyan;">Askpatient.com is a US site, but I have found others here in the UK too. In many of the cases, the patients have recorded that, when they reported the problem to their doctors, the latter were 'unaware' that the drug could cause this particular debilitating side-effect. Now, either that's because the doctors are reading information on the drug which doesn't highlight this problem or they feel that the trade-off for being free of the fungal infection is worth the reported three month's duration of taste loss. However, the majority of online reports I have read (like the one above), record patients as saying that if they'd known about the severity and duration of this problem - and the possibility that their taste may not return at all they would have tried an alternative to Terbinafine. </span><br />
<span style="color: cyan;"></span><br />
<span style="color: cyan;">If you read the reports on the above site, you will see other 'side-effects' which are also not at all pleasant for those suffering them. </span><br />
<span style="color: cyan;"></span><br />
<span style="color: cyan;">An interesting piece of information here: </span><a href="http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/drugsatfda_docs/label/2012/022071s007lbl.pdf"><span style="color: magenta;">http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/drugsatfda_docs/label/2012/022071s007lbl.pdf</span></a><span style="color: magenta;"> </span><br />
<span style="color: cyan;">contains the following : </span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: cyan;"><strong>5.2 Taste Disturbance Including Loss of Taste </strong><br /> <em>"<strong>Taste disturbance, including taste loss, has been reported with the use of terbinafine. It can be severe enough to result in decreased food intake, weight loss, and depressive symptoms. Taste disturbance may resolve within several weeks after discontinuation of treatment, but may be prolonged (greater than one year), or may be permanent. If symptoms of a taste disturbance occur, Lamisil Oral Granules (Terbinafine base equivalent) should be discontinued</strong></em><strong>." </strong></span></span><br />
<strong><span style="color: cyan;"></span></strong><br />
<span style="color: cyan;">You'll note that it states that <strong><em>"taste disturbance may resolve within several weeks [after discontinuation], but may be prolonged (greater than one year), or may be permanent". </em></strong></span><br />
<span style="color: cyan;"></span><br />
<span style="color: cyan;">Which is somewhat different from the patient advice leaflet (included with each box of tablets) which states, under <strong>Possible side-effects,</strong> <em>"</em><strong><em>Uncommon (occur in less than 1in 100 people) -- Taste loss or altered taste which usually disappears when you stop taking these tablets. However, a very small number of people (less than 1 in 10,000) have reported the taste disturbance lasts for some time and as a result they they go off their food and lose weight"</em>. </strong></span><br />
<span style="color: cyan;"></span><br />
<span style="color: cyan;">The inferrence in the latter is that the taste loss will be gernerally resolved (immediately?) upon stopping the tablets. And that 'taste disturbance' could in extreme cases last for <em>some time. </em>How long is <em>some time</em>?</span><br />
<span style="color: cyan;"></span><br />
<span style="color: cyan;">Both these instances give no measurable definition of the time one will be without taste. I believe this failure to adequately specify even a minimum time period is a failure to warn patients (and doctors?) sufficiently for them to make an informed decision on whether or not to take (prescribe?) the drug.</span><br />
<span style="color: cyan;"></span><br />
<span style="color: cyan;">Watch this space, folks. </span> <br />
<br />
<dir><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"> </span> </b> </span></dir><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br />
<br />
</span><dir><span style="font-size: small;"></span> </dir><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"></span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman,Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><br />
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman,Times New Roman; font-size: small;"> </span></span></span><br />
<dir></dir><br />
<dir></dir><br />
<dir></dir><br />
<dir></dir><br />
<dir></dir><br />
<dir></dir><br />
<dir></dir><br />
<dir><dir><dir><dir><b></b><dir><b><dir></dir></b><dir><dir><dir> </dir></dir><dir> </dir></dir></dir></dir><dir><dir> </dir></dir></dir><span style="font-family: Times New Roman,Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><dir><dir><dir> </dir></dir></dir></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman,Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman,Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><dir> </dir></span><dir> </dir></span></dir></dir><span style="font-family: Times New Roman,Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman,Times New Roman; font-size: small;"> </span></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02747448570331782397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8857885455572433394.post-7057877126100079422015-02-17T12:44:00.000-08:002015-02-17T12:44:28.438-08:00"... but on balance it'll be a plus." Bill Clinton, 2005, Hong Kong<div class="_5pbx userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}">
<span style="color: cyan;">Check out what Bill Clinton says from around 6 minutes in on this video - and then his follow up comment <em>"You'll have all kinds of problems with them, but on balance it'll be a plus"</em>. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: cyan;">The reference would seem to alluded to aliens, and suggests that not only are they already here, but have been interacting with covert interests for long enough to establish that along with the benefits will come a trade-off. I wonder what we've traded off so far?</span> </div>
<div>
<div data-ft="{"tn":"H"}">
<div class="mtm">
<div class="_6m2 _1zpr clearfix _dcs _4_w4 _5cwb" data-ft="{"tn":"H"}" id="u_0_2e">
<div class="clearfix _2r3x">
<div class="lfloat _ohe">
<span class="_3m6-"></span><div class="_6ks" data-ft="{"tn":"F"}">
<div id="u_0_2f">
<span class="_3m6-"><a ajaxify="/ajax/flash/expand_inline.php?max_width=487&selector=%5E._6m2&target_div=u_0_2f&share_id=84894911618&user_share_id=10152876439942713" aria-label="Clinton's (UFO) Speech in Hong Kong 14 Sep 2005" class="_6kt _6l- __c_" href="https://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3Dc3F3CXspsuo%23t%3D374&h=kAQHmoHgo&enc=AZN-IClGEJ7wrOkdJ0lQebA0DO7cES213bYnryO1lyiKEWU1JLJv2rkySEU-FLuBb0FmO_WNBhIVoyL6HCCXNALJMCrdnUrSFNNsMcnlqB60PEtFHKgZ5G5Llak0kSPcppU-JiijJK9KmCpCSsrJjiuKpnwkvTxvQa6HXDsCQorRnQ&s=1" rel="nofollow async" target="_blank"></a></span><div class="uiScaledImageContainer _6m5 fbStoryAttachmentImage" style="height: 158px; width: 158px;">
<span class="_3m6-"><a ajaxify="/ajax/flash/expand_inline.php?max_width=487&selector=%5E._6m2&target_div=u_0_2f&share_id=84894911618&user_share_id=10152876439942713" aria-label="Clinton's (UFO) Speech in Hong Kong 14 Sep 2005" class="_6kt _6l- __c_" href="https://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3Dc3F3CXspsuo%23t%3D374&h=kAQHmoHgo&enc=AZN-IClGEJ7wrOkdJ0lQebA0DO7cES213bYnryO1lyiKEWU1JLJv2rkySEU-FLuBb0FmO_WNBhIVoyL6HCCXNALJMCrdnUrSFNNsMcnlqB60PEtFHKgZ5G5Llak0kSPcppU-JiijJK9KmCpCSsrJjiuKpnwkvTxvQa6HXDsCQorRnQ&s=1" rel="nofollow async" target="_blank"><img alt="" class="scaledImageFitWidth img" height="158" src="https://fbexternal-a.akamaihd.net/safe_image.php?d=AQCvBIvfWKuH04rn&w=158&h=158&url=http%3A%2F%2Fi.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2Fc3F3CXspsuo%2Fhqdefault.jpg&cfs=1&upscale=1&sx=35&sy=0&sw=360&sh=360" width="158" /></a></span><br />
<br />
<span class="_3m6-"><a ajaxify="/ajax/flash/expand_inline.php?max_width=487&selector=%5E._6m2&target_div=u_0_2f&share_id=84894911618&user_share_id=10152876439942713" aria-label="Clinton's (UFO) Speech in Hong Kong 14 Sep 2005" class="_6kt _6l- __c_" href="https://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3Dc3F3CXspsuo%23t%3D374&h=kAQHmoHgo&enc=AZN-IClGEJ7wrOkdJ0lQebA0DO7cES213bYnryO1lyiKEWU1JLJv2rkySEU-FLuBb0FmO_WNBhIVoyL6HCCXNALJMCrdnUrSFNNsMcnlqB60PEtFHKgZ5G5Llak0kSPcppU-JiijJK9KmCpCSsrJjiuKpnwkvTxvQa6HXDsCQorRnQ&s=1" rel="nofollow async" target="_blank"> </a></span></div>
<span class="_3m6-"><a ajaxify="/ajax/flash/expand_inline.php?max_width=487&selector=%5E._6m2&target_div=u_0_2f&share_id=84894911618&user_share_id=10152876439942713" aria-label="Clinton's (UFO) Speech in Hong Kong 14 Sep 2005" class="_6kt _6l- __c_" href="https://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3Dc3F3CXspsuo%23t%3D374&h=kAQHmoHgo&enc=AZN-IClGEJ7wrOkdJ0lQebA0DO7cES213bYnryO1lyiKEWU1JLJv2rkySEU-FLuBb0FmO_WNBhIVoyL6HCCXNALJMCrdnUrSFNNsMcnlqB60PEtFHKgZ5G5Llak0kSPcppU-JiijJK9KmCpCSsrJjiuKpnwkvTxvQa6HXDsCQorRnQ&s=1" rel="nofollow async" target="_blank">
<i class="_6ku"></i><span aria-busy="1" aria-label="Loading..." class="img _55ym _55yq _55yp _5tqs _5epl"></span></a><br /></span></div>
</div>
<span class="_3m6-">
</span><span class="_3c21" style="color: magenta;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3Dc3F3CXspsuo%23t%3D374&h=fAQH5urlc&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Clinton's Speech in Hong Kong 14 Sep 2005</a></span></div>
<div class="_42ef">
<div class="_3ekx">
<div class="_6m3">
<div class="_6ma">
<div class="_6m7">
<span class="_3c21"> </span></div>
<div class="_6m7">
<span class="_3c21"><a class="_52c6" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3F3CXspsuo#t=374" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"></a></span> </div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<span class="_3c21">
</span><br /></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02747448570331782397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8857885455572433394.post-59112669442815783162015-02-13T13:08:00.001-08:002015-02-13T13:08:42.168-08:00HMRC - only tackling the easy targets? Looks like it. <br />
<div class="_5pbx userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" id="js_13">
<span style="color: cyan;">Multi-millionaire Paul Bloomfield paid no tax for 24 years - despite being 'checked out' by HMRC. So, what are we to make of this? Were HMRC incompetent or was Bloomfield just too much work to bother investigating properly over this 24 year period? <br /> The truth of the matter is that HMRC would much rather come down hard on us, the easy targets. We have no where to go, no offshore accounts, no tax avoidance schemes, no option but to pay! You owe £100 they want it now! No excuses. Now! Or else they'll take you to task ... and add interest. </span><br />
<span style="color: cyan;">SO, MORE PROOF (AS IF WE NEEDED IT) OF ONE LAW FOR THE RICH AND POWERFUL, AND ANOTHER FOR US!</span></div>
<div>
<div data-ft="{"tn":"H"}">
<div class="mtm">
<div class="_6m2 _1zpr clearfix _dcs _4_w4 _59ap _2ec0" data-ft="{"tn":"H"}" id="u_jsonp_2_a">
<div class="clearfix _2r3x">
<div class="lfloat _ohe">
<span class="_3m6-"><div class="_6ks">
<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-31459067" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><div class="_6l- __c_">
<div class="uiScaledImageContainer _6m5 fbStoryAttachmentImage" style="height: 246px; width: 470px;">
<img alt="" class="scaledImageFitWidth img" height="246" src="https://fbexternal-a.akamaihd.net/safe_image.php?d=AQCjh8y8WNWJD5K7&w=470&h=246&url=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.bbcimg.co.uk%2Fmedia%2Fimages%2F80995000%2Fjpg%2F_80995550_80995379.jpg&cfs=1&upscale=1" width="470" /></div>
</div>
</a></div>
<div class="_3ekx">
<div class="_6m3">
<div class="mbs _6m6">
<a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bbc.co.uk%2Fnews%2Fuk-31459067&h=PAQGkttYo&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span style="color: magenta;">Tax evading tycoon not prosecuted</span></a></div>
<div class="_6ma">
<div class="_6m7">
<span style="color: cyan;">Tax inspectors failed to prosecute a property tycoon who did not submit returns or pay any tax for 24 years, documents seen by the BBC reveal.</span></div>
<div class="_59tj">
<div class="_6lz _6mb ellipsis">
<span style="color: cyan;">bbc.co.uk</span></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<a class="_52c6" href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-31459067" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"></a></div>
</span></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02747448570331782397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8857885455572433394.post-34493668995544792582015-02-13T12:53:00.000-08:002015-02-13T12:53:13.884-08:00TERBINAFINE Tablets -- Tasteless? I should say so!<div>
<span style="color: cyan;">Back in December I was prescribed this tablet (one a day for 6 months) for a
fungal toenail infection. Six weeks in I began to find my sense of taste diminishing. I couldn't work out what was happening at first, but then, by
a process of illimination (and some online research), realised the tablet
was probably the cause. I stopped taking it on Tuesday (10th Feb) by which
time my ability to taste had disappeared completely and the back of my tongue felt like it was coated in plastic. </span><br />
<span style="color: cyan;">Everything I eat now tastes
like salty, soggy cardboard - everything I drink (hot and cold) has no
flavour. I spoke to my doctor and he seemed rather surprised that this could
happen! However, he did say that he would no longer prescribe this particular
medication. </span><br />
<span style="color: cyan;">
</span><span style="color: cyan;">It seems there is nothing I can do about this taste loss other than spend the
next seven to ten weeks waiting for it to return - hopefully in full. In the
meantime, I don't feel like eating or drinking much. I force myself to have
something, only because I know I need to, but the process holds no pleasure
whatsoever. </span><br />
<span style="color: cyan;">
</span><span style="color: cyan;">The leaflet in the tablet pack suggests that taste loss occurs in less than 1
person in 100 - then further suggests that in less than 1 in 10,000 the taste
'disturbance' lasts for 'some time' and as a result the person can 'go off their
food and lose weight'. However, it doesn't say if the lab's results are based on
results for the 125mg or the 250mg tablet - or what the 'some time' actually
is. </span><br />
<span style="color: cyan;">Either I have been unlucky in getting this reaction or the truth of the
matter is that this taste loss is far more prevalent than the manufacturers
would have us believe. I will not be taking Terbinafine again and will
be warning colleagues and friends about it. I have recorded it as a Yellow Card
on the NHS yellow card site.</span> </div>
Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02747448570331782397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8857885455572433394.post-216018739365677202015-01-29T05:41:00.000-08:002015-01-29T05:41:02.775-08:00A rite of political passage? <span style="color: cyan;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="color: cyan;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Politics, to
use an Americanism, should be of the people for the people. However, it often
seems to me that politics is of the hierarchy for the hierarchy, with the
people left to scratch around looking for the crumbs from the lofty table of
those who run the country. </span><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<span style="color: cyan;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: cyan;">Now, you may
think that I’m one of those who believe the world owes them a living. I don’t.
I believe those who can work, should. However, there are those who, for
whatever reason, can’t and we should help them to look after themselves, if
they’re able – if not, then the country should have the wherewithal to do that
for them. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="color: cyan;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: cyan;">Prospective
Members of Parliament should have to know who ‘the people’ are. After all, it’s
the public who these candidates are purporting to represent when they get into
office – although, media reports have shown that there are many who forget that
and see their appointment as a doorway to money, personal power and reciprocal favours. Of
course, before voting, Joe (& Josephine) Public need to do their homework
on who these candidates are and what they’re promising – not that there’s a great
deal of difference between them at the ballot box, mainly because they’re all
telling us what we want to hear – until they get into Parliament and then it’s
a different story.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="color: cyan;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: cyan;">It’s true
that Parliament needs a mixture of representatives in its ranks and maybe it’s asking
too much for those who understand the machinations of Government to truly
understand the plight of Joe Public. There will, of course, be some candidates
who come from backgrounds which help them to empathise with those who don’t
know where their next pound is coming from, whose accommodation is poor and who
might be reliant on benefits to survive. But I feel these are few and far
between. Often the ones who hit the headlines are the rich, many of whom it
seems believe the definition of a poor person is someone who either had to win a
scholarship to get to Eton, or might be down to their last quarter of a million
pounds. It’s not the MPs fault, many of them have never had contact with the
poor – why should they – they have had no need to. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="color: cyan;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: cyan;">Is it wrong
to expect everyone we put in Government to have at least some semblance of what
it’s like to be Mr and Mrs Public? No, it isn’t wrong. We should expect MPs to
have a genuine understanding of what it’s like to be without. After all, they never fail to tell
us how important we are when they want us to vote, to pay taxes or to fight.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="color: cyan;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="color: cyan; font-family: Calibri;">So, in the
future, how do we get the people who want to represent us in Parliament to
understand what it’s like to be Mr & Mrs Public? I'm sure any of you reading this will have your own ideas, but the one I suggest is to make
sure every candidate has completed at least three months working unpaid for the
homeless or disadvantaged. It should be a rite of passage before anyone can
look to represent the people – no matter which party they favour.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="color: cyan; font-family: Calibri;"></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="color: cyan;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="color: cyan; font-family: Calibri;"></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="color: cyan; font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
<span style="color: cyan;">
</span>Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02747448570331782397noreply@blogger.com0