This Old Lawyer
My late wife was a barrister, who did an awful lot of family work. Perhaps because of this, I like to think that a sensible approach to the law can help us in all our situations.
I have just found Melvin Jay Schwatz, who writes eloquently on his site, This Old Lawyer.
His general advice on widowhood is good and funny in a macabre way.
Gay Sex in India not Criminal
The Indian High Court has just ruled that gay sex is not criminal according to the BBC.
This appeared to be on the cards when I posted about Gay Pride in India.
I have no particular axe to grind, but I do think that what people do in their lives provided it doesn’t affect anybody else should be left to them. As an example, I don’t take drugs, but feel if someone wants to smoke cannabis, then it’s up to them. But if they then commit crime to feed the habit, then it is wrong.
Ronnie Biggs
It is wrong that Ronnie Biggs is being kept in jail. He has had several strokes, he can’t speak and what else does he suffer from. He is no threat and would be cheaper to keep in a hospital than a prison. So why not let him out on grounds of costs alone?
In his excellent book, Prison Gate, David Ramsbotham talks of lifers with severe mental disorders and Alzheimer’s who are cluttering up prisons. Like Biggs, they are no threat.
We must be humane in our treatment of prisoners as we will only lower the whole of society to their level.
Cloud-Cuckoo Spending
Every economic commentator says that Gordon Brown needs to cut government spending, but he still persists in saying that capital spending is increasing.
Now, I watch the news just as much as the next person and I get the impression that in an area like education cuts are being made. For instance, here in East Anglia all capital spending in Further Education Colleges appears to have stopped. A friend in a University, says that they have been told to cut costs and sees draconian measures every week.
But Brown says education spending is being increased.
Bollux!
Brazilian Armies in Europe
Field Marshal Waldemar Levy Cardoso has just died at 108.
His death highlights a little known story from World War II, where Brazilian soldiers fought against the Axis in Italy. there is more here in this article from the BBC.
But it is not the first time Brazilian soldiers have fought in Europe.
In Your Head You Can Go Anywhere
The title came from the excellent documentary on David Hockney last night on BBC1.
He also said that “You don’t retire doing this, you do it until you fall over.”
I feel like that about programming.
Do It in God’s Name
I’ve just watched the Channel 4 programme, Dispatches about the attacks in Mumbai.
It’s chilling and it shows the callousness of those that controlled the gunmen from Pakistan. Is it alright for them to send young men to their deaths, when they are sitting comfortably at home? The title of this post is what a controller said to a gunman.
They said they did it in God’s name! Whose God? Not mine as I have none but life itself. And any religion that preaches death is some nihilistic cult that goes against all I believe in!
They were not even doing it in the good name of Islam. Much of Islam is now a bastardised version of a religion that looked after our science and made women equal. I’ve read enough history to know that.
But why do I feel so affected by the Mumbai attacks?
I wasn’t there, but I was in the Taj Mahal hotel two weeks previously. How many of those wonderful and kind people that we met in the hotel, died in the attacks?
Taj Mahal Hotel, Mumbai
I shall return to the hotel to show that terrorism will never get the better of me.
The True Cost of Gun Ownership
There is a small article in The Times about the gun lobby wanting to revive the law of the Wild west saloon.
The chilling statistic is that in the US, 30,000 Americans die by gunshot, of which at least 10,000 are murder. In England and Wales it is just 50, or about 300, if we had the same population.
No wonder I don’t allow guns on my land!
Universal Phone Chargers
I’ve got boxes of chargers and they’re all different.
But now they’ll all be the same.
This must be a good idea. But then I don’t agree with their choice!
Madoff with the Money
So Madoff has got away with life in jail and no remission.
Now I have no sympathy for the crook at all, but doing this doesn’t really do anything for those who he defrauded like the Miriam Siegman, who is reduced to food stamps and collecting things from skips.
Madoff’s wife has been allowed to keep $2.5 million and I have to ask is this right. She claims that she knew nothing, but if she did, then she was pretty stupid, as I don’t believe you can live with someone without getting an inkling of what is going on.
I don’t think I’m stupid, but where did all the money he got in go? And how did he hide the fraud from everybody who worked for him?
It all just beggars belief.
Years ago, I met a guy who worked for an organisation that was going pear-shaped. He was the guy who programmed the computer system and knew what was happening. There was no fraud, just incompetence! So he got out early. Perhaps what he did wasn’t ethical, but at least he saved himself.
Didn’t anybody in Madoff’s organisation spot that?
He must have been one clever guy!
There is also the point that these days, I believe that there is a tendency to use nothing but Excel to analyse companies accounts. Accountants and regulators don’t dig as deep as they should, as they know that certain bosses might ruin their careers and perks.
There is a large overhaul needed in the methods and management of a lot of companies, so that we don’t get another Madoff, HBOS, RBS or Northern Rock.
The Anonymous Widower 