After spending some 45 minutes trying to re-activate the sound of my headset microphone (thanks B for your online support.. otherwise i would still be working on it), my grandmother wasn't home :D I feel a bit bad for not calling her often enough, it always seems too late to make phone calls when I get home.
Saturday was nice, went for a lovely walk in the forests again. I have problems getting used to British non-allemansrätt, not being allowed to walk wherever I want in the forest is weird to me. You must stay on the very rare public footpaths, otherwise you're trespassing. Saw loads of snowdrops and some happy rabbits playing with each other, and quite a few deer. My boots were really muddy when I got back home. I was glad I had time to change clothes before having dinner with D's twin brother and mum. She's a psychologist, which is somewhat awkward, she was really nice and I felt somewhat analysed, without knowing what here conclusions were.
Now over to some news that has made me upset lately. First a British one. Britain doesn't have mandatory military service - as D described it, 'we're a civilised country and hence we don't have that'. But still, they spend loads of money on their army and are involved in some wars around the world, a choice that I personally don't find very civilised. So, at a 'homecoming parade' a while ago when soldiers came back, some people protested and called the homecoming British soldiers 'murderers'. Which probably is true. The protesters had communicated with the police on beforehand and agreed on a time and place for this, and according to the protesters' lawyers, police officers did not object to the slogans. Anyway, the protesters have been prosecuted for offending the soldiers, but what I find most upsetting is the comment of the District Judge:
"It is not just insulting to the soldiers but to the citizens of Luton who were out on the streets that day to honour and welcome soldiers home.
Wtf! Soldiers kill people. Killing is murder if it isn't accidental, and war isn't accidental. There's no honour in being in war. Stop being so nationalistic, Britain! I can't help wondering if the men had been judged differently, had they not been Muslims.
(source)
We can compare this to another case soon coming up in court here in England. Two men had been up in a gyrocopter and went to an airfield to re-fuel. While they were there, on the ground, stationary, a man who had been following them approached the gyrocopter ran into the still moving propeller blades, beheading himself. Sad for him and his family, but honestly, it belongs in the Darwin awards. Now, ridiculously, the helicopter driver is accused of attempt of murder. Seriously, the gyrocopter is STATIONARY on the ground and a man, who's breaking the law just by entering the airfield, puts his head in the propeller and dies - and the pilot should be responsible?!
(source)
Another incident made me feel sick and sad this week. In Turkey, a 16-year-old girl has been missing for over a month. She was recently found, in sitting position with her hand tied, buried in the ground outside her family's house. The amount of soil in her stomach and lungs shows that she was alive when buried, and she had no bruises on her body and no traces of narcotics in her blood, so she was likely fully concious when buried. I can't imagine the panic she must have felt. And why did this have to happen? Well, according to her father, the family was unhappy that the girl had male friends. OMG! She's talking to boys! Let's bury her alive! What's wrong with people?
(source)
Now that's enough of sad news. Let's try and find something positive that has happened in the world lately... Why are the newspapers filled with tragedies? After all, there are good things happening, too.
A funny thing I've noticed in the little family I'm living with here, not sure if I've mentioned it before.. Kitkat, the smaller of the brother cats, eats tofu but won't touch wheat fake chicken, while Shadow completely dismisses tofu but got overexcited and tried climbing up my leg to get the cheatini wheat chicken. The climbing would have been easier for him (and less painful for me) if he had been a little bit more slim. Lovely ones, I'll miss them.
Saturday was nice, went for a lovely walk in the forests again. I have problems getting used to British non-allemansrätt, not being allowed to walk wherever I want in the forest is weird to me. You must stay on the very rare public footpaths, otherwise you're trespassing. Saw loads of snowdrops and some happy rabbits playing with each other, and quite a few deer. My boots were really muddy when I got back home. I was glad I had time to change clothes before having dinner with D's twin brother and mum. She's a psychologist, which is somewhat awkward, she was really nice and I felt somewhat analysed, without knowing what here conclusions were.
Now over to some news that has made me upset lately. First a British one. Britain doesn't have mandatory military service - as D described it, 'we're a civilised country and hence we don't have that'. But still, they spend loads of money on their army and are involved in some wars around the world, a choice that I personally don't find very civilised. So, at a 'homecoming parade' a while ago when soldiers came back, some people protested and called the homecoming British soldiers 'murderers'. Which probably is true. The protesters had communicated with the police on beforehand and agreed on a time and place for this, and according to the protesters' lawyers, police officers did not object to the slogans. Anyway, the protesters have been prosecuted for offending the soldiers, but what I find most upsetting is the comment of the District Judge:
"It is not just insulting to the soldiers but to the citizens of Luton who were out on the streets that day to honour and welcome soldiers home.
Wtf! Soldiers kill people. Killing is murder if it isn't accidental, and war isn't accidental. There's no honour in being in war. Stop being so nationalistic, Britain! I can't help wondering if the men had been judged differently, had they not been Muslims.
(source)
We can compare this to another case soon coming up in court here in England. Two men had been up in a gyrocopter and went to an airfield to re-fuel. While they were there, on the ground, stationary, a man who had been following them approached the gyrocopter ran into the still moving propeller blades, beheading himself. Sad for him and his family, but honestly, it belongs in the Darwin awards. Now, ridiculously, the helicopter driver is accused of attempt of murder. Seriously, the gyrocopter is STATIONARY on the ground and a man, who's breaking the law just by entering the airfield, puts his head in the propeller and dies - and the pilot should be responsible?!
(source)
Another incident made me feel sick and sad this week. In Turkey, a 16-year-old girl has been missing for over a month. She was recently found, in sitting position with her hand tied, buried in the ground outside her family's house. The amount of soil in her stomach and lungs shows that she was alive when buried, and she had no bruises on her body and no traces of narcotics in her blood, so she was likely fully concious when buried. I can't imagine the panic she must have felt. And why did this have to happen? Well, according to her father, the family was unhappy that the girl had male friends. OMG! She's talking to boys! Let's bury her alive! What's wrong with people?
(source)
Now that's enough of sad news. Let's try and find something positive that has happened in the world lately... Why are the newspapers filled with tragedies? After all, there are good things happening, too.
A funny thing I've noticed in the little family I'm living with here, not sure if I've mentioned it before.. Kitkat, the smaller of the brother cats, eats tofu but won't touch wheat fake chicken, while Shadow completely dismisses tofu but got overexcited and tried climbing up my leg to get the cheatini wheat chicken. The climbing would have been easier for him (and less painful for me) if he had been a little bit more slim. Lovely ones, I'll miss them.
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