The Special One

Joining the Dots

                                                                   
I tried to join a few dots to LINK to an article in English in La Repubblica.

 .1      .2                                .11    §§§             {]¶¶¶

                .3      

.4                 12.  //

            ,-)

5. 

                          €l@

BUT MYSTERIOUSLY (FOR NOW?) THE LINK IS NOT WORKING FROM HERE            .             7. 

??   13.            "§

.8                  9.                   §} ≠     5.                  .10

So Sorry, you'll have to connect your own dots: 

You could try searching for key words from the headline: 

Julian Assange: "I want to testify on Cambridge Analytica, but there has been political pressure" 27th March 2018. La Repubblica. 

The day after the La Repubblica interview another headline appeared: "Julian Assange has internet cut at Ecuadorian Embassy" (BBC) 28th March 2018.  

I'm not saying there's a connection. I'm just talking about dots.

Necktie selected  

Symbolic sense 

of inner monologue 

for tall story answers 

Welcome to another day! 

Somnambulists abound

hunched 

in virtuous sleep

 And other mute tone dogs

"Lest we forget"

Was it uttered

            once

when children dodged the b
                                                     o
                                               m
                                                             b s 

and another 

dodged their Questions 

? ? ??????

????????????

??????? ? ?

UK's Disunited Kingdom of Absurdistan: Putin will 'use World Cup like Hitler did the 1936 Olympics'

Dear Mr Bojo, 

Here's some information you should know in advance of the FIFA World Cup 2018: 

Volgograd is the venue for the England team's first fixtures.

Volgograd was the previously known as Stalingrad. 

It was here that the Russians defeated Hitler's Wehrmacht. 

See Operation Uranus. That's one word. It's pronounced - Ur-anus. 

The Battle of Stalingrad was the most important battle of World War  II.   

More than 20,000,000 Russians died in World War II. 

Volgograd is twinned with Coventry.  If you don't know why, look it up. It has to do with the fight against Hitler. 

In 2004 a flight from Moscow to Volgograd was blown up in mid-air.  All crew and passengers were killed. A flight to Sochi was bombed on the same day. All crew and passengers were killed. 

In 2013 a bomb exploded on a bus in Volgograd. Five people were killed and 19 wounded. 

In 2013 a bomb exploded in Volgograd Railway. 17 people killed. 

In 2013 a bomb exploded on a trolleybus in Volgograd. 15 people killed.

England's first game in Group G is against Tunisia. 

If England win Group G they will play in Rostov-On-Don. 

Rostov-On-Don was also occupied by Hitler's Wehrmacht. 

Rostov-On-Don is twinned with Glasgow. 

Should England reach the quarter finals they will play in Kazan. 

Kazan produced tanks and aeroplanes to defeat Hitler. 

Where is Kazan you say? 

I expect you have a map somewhere in your office. 

If England reach the semi finals they will play in Saint Petersburg. 

During World War II Hitler's Wehrmacht laid siege to Saint Petersburg which at that time was called Leningrad.  Hitler's siege of Leningrad lasted more than 870 days. More than 1,000,000 people (some sources say at least 2,000,000)  starved and/or froze to death.  

Are you getting the picture? 

Do you now realize how insulting your inane comments are? 

Manchester and Edinburgh are sister cities to Saint Petersburg. 

The final  match is to be played in Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium on 15th July 2018. 

Britain boycotted the Olympic Games held in that very stadium because Russia invaded Afghanistan. 

You know about Afghanistan, don't you? 

Of course you do. 

I don't mean the three Anglo-Afghan Wars of the 19th and 20th centuries. 

I mean the time we sent Prince Harry over there. 

I almost forgot to mention that Moscow was also besieged by Hitler's Wehrmacht and bombed from the air by the German Luftwaffe. 

Breaking News: 

The footballer Stan Collymore is working for the Russians.  

And also the footballer manager Jose Mourinho. 

Maybe they are Russian spies?   

What d'you reckon, Mr BoJo? 



ps - As you won't be going to the World Cup please return your ticket to FIFA so that somebody else can use it. Or better still, donate it to a worthy cause. Reporters Without Borders, perhaps?  Or give it to me? 

pps - If you give me your match ticket I'll give you my Panini Russia 2018 Sticker Album and 6 stickers to start you off. I can't say fairer than that, can I?

The Street Is Not A Tip

Did you know that one cigarette butt left in a liter of water for 48 hours will release enough toxins to kill most species of fish?

Did you know that a cigarette butt is made from plastic?

Did you know that cigarette butts account for 30% of street litter?

Watch this short information video to get wise.




In Austria there's now a campaign to persuade smokers to dispose of their cigarette butts thoughtfully. Here's one of the posters. I think it's rather good. A work of art I'd say.

For those who really want to, here's my free "How to Stop Secret":

To kick the habit all you  have to do is have your first cigarette of the day one hour later at the start of each successive week.  

If you decide to do this every week for 24 weeks you will almost without realizing it be surprised to discover, perhaps after 12 or 14 weeks, that you have stopped. 

It's a simple and painless method which I invented for myself when I decided to kick the habit 30 years ago for health reasons; in my case persistent sore throats.  Listening to the man talking about the fish, it's no wonder! They must have sore throats too! 

Anyway, it worked for me and there were no withdrawal symptoms, and it will work for you too. 

There's only one problem you will have; it's what to do with all your extra money. 

If you're a heavy smoker you may like to pretend that you are looking forward to a substantial pay rise.

Rising from the dead

There are many instances of people coming back from the dead. One doesn't have to look far for evidence of this phenomena.

There are books, videos, and accounts in abundance on the Internet.

The other day, for example, I came across a video of a lecture by a hospital doctor who had witnessed the clinical deaths of thousands of people and had concluded that human consciousness continued when there were no longer signs of life to be found - no breathing, no pulse, no brain activity.

The doctor spoke of a patient who had been dead for over two hours before returning to life to report on an out of body experience.

Statistically 98% of such reports were very similar and often spoke of pleasant experiences in a place filled with light and with an atmosphere of love.

In less than 2% of cases there were reports of people finding themselves temporarily in the world Hieronymous Bosch or in a 'place' of dark shadows before passing after a short time to the pleasant 'place'.

Was there some reason to be found for the Hieronymous Bosch experience in the person's life history? The doctor thought not.

One thing people had in common after their experience was that they no longer feared death.

Millions of similar cases are to be found all over the world in all cultures and societies. And it makes no difference whether a person is religious or not.

A person of my acquaintance left instructions that her body was to remain undisturbed for 24 hours after her death and nobody was to enter the room.

It's possible that death is not final.

The evidence points that way.

Early Signs of Easter 2018

Easter starts with the arrival of the Easter bunnies: 

Bunny Bluejacket

Chocolate Bunnies

Bunny Whitetail

The Easter bunnies are soon joined by the Easter eggs: 

Hens lay Easter eggs. Hens are able to thrive in a suitable environment. The hens in my picture are very lucky. They able to scratch a living, as we say. 

Most hens have to struggle along in commercial egg factories and exist for no reward in crowded conditions. 

Easter Egg Farm

What is Easter for?

For me Easter is a time to think about man's inhumanity to man.  Jesus, as I understand it, was convicted of being the King of the Jews. That's what INRI means. Pontius Pilate in his wisdom washed his hands of the whole dirty business and ordered the INRI sign to be fixed to the cross.  

I am not a follower of any particular faith. I have no axe to grind. I can only say that I believe that Jesus said he was a son of God and a son of man, as we all are. 

I know what is written. But I believe, as do others who have researched these matters, that the word 'the' was substituted for the word 'a'. The reason can only be guessed at, I would say. 

I don't believe Jesus ever claimed to be the son of God.

Why do I say this?

The reason is found in the Lord's Prayer. The first two words are enough: Our father . . .

The Lord's Prayer comes from the mouth of Jesus himself.

'Our father' simply means the father of all of us.

There is no hocus-pocus to this.

By saying the word 'our' Jesus was saying in effect that everyone is a son of God. 

He is not saying that he alone is the son of God. If he had said that was the case then the Lord's Prayer would start with the words 'My father . . .' and it doesn't and never has.

The book on my desk begins:
It was a bright cold day in April
(This year Easter Sunday falls on 1st April,
In 1984 Easter Sunday fell on 22nd April)

UK Ex-Ambassador Questions More

"BBC is a state propaganda organization . . . everybody refuses to ask the right questions."
- Craig Murray.

20% 0ff?

Question 1:  

Would you pay 2 pounds 34 pence for 2 lbs 3 oz of sausage? (Metric equivalent: 2 euros and 66 cents per kilo)  The price shown in the newspaper advert is for 1.5 kilos of sausage. 

Question 2: Would you feed it to your children? 

Question 3: Would you eat it yourself?

Question 4: Would you feed it to your dog?

Question 5: Would you let your dog eat it?

Question 6: Would you try and feed it to your cat?

Question 7: Would your cat eat it?

Question 8: Do you think the 20% Cheaper! flash would persuade you to buy the product? 

Question 9: Would you serve this product to your friends?  

Question 10: Would you do any or all of the above if the product was labelled "Quality from Austria".** 

** "Quality from Austria" means only that a product was 'produced' in Austria. It doesn't mean that the raw materials, that is to say the ingredients, are from Austria. Hardly anybody knows where they come from!  Meaning of labels: from website of  Konsument  Consumer Magazine - '20 Sausages Tested' (2010).


Bonus Question:  Why is animal welfare important?

Horse Sense

m
 
Zen begins here:   http://alanwatts.org

Reading the tea leaves

I nearly bought some INDIAN TEA.

But then I put on my spectacles and studied the small print on the back of the box.

In today's world the small print on the other side is where the real information is often hidden.

The miniscule is now essential reading.  

The small print said:  50% Asian tea and 50% African tea.

No mention of Indian tea.




Small print ps:

At JohnPilger.com there's a new item titled: Assange was set up . . . 

Have a cup of tea and listen to it. It's quite interesting. 

Screen Shot

Dateline: 18 November 2002

Link to Guardian article of 6 May 2004:

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2004/may/06/science.research

And someone else:

http://www.craigmurray.org.uk

EINSTEIN=E=MC^2 (Part 2)

The exhibit known as the Einstein Museum is to be found at no. 5 Helvetiaplatz which is the address of  the Bern History Museum. 

The Einstein House visited in Part 1 of this post is situated at no. 49 Krammgasse, on the opposite side of the River Aare.  It is one tram stop from Bern's landmark clock - the Zytglogge - which was at the time of my visit hidden behind scaffolding and undergoing cleaning and maintenance. 

L'escalier aux mille miroirs

In an area of 1,000 sq m lavishly staged memorabilia, written records and film documentaries describe Einstein's life and at the same time illustrate the history of the 20th century. Films, animations, experiments, and a virtual journey through the cosmos explain Einstein's theories in a clear and easy-to-understand way. An audio guide in 9 languages is available to the visitor. 

It was time that defeated me. I had two hours but I still felt I was rushing through the exhibition. I would say that one should set aside at least three hours to take it all in.

No visit would be complete without an Einstein quotation to take away. I jotted down this one: Suspicion is the mother of perception. 

And this telling one from Elsa, his wife:
I wish you had my worries! 

The quotes were on the covers of a couple Time magazines; from 1929 and 1930 respectively.

Munich 1880 - 1894

As a passionate beer drinker I was pleased to learn some cheery beer drinking history - the Einstein family's electrical firm was first firm to illuminate the famous Munich October Beer Festival with electric lights.  (I bet you can win yourself a pint down at the pub with that one Northsider Dave! - we're very educational here you know!)

But things were about to change.

Princeton 1933 - 1955

The time came when the Germans decided they didn't like Albert Einstein and his ilk, even though the family were part of their beloved Munich Beer Festival.

It was in Munich, and through his tirades in the town's Bierkellers and the streets that a certain Herr Hitler, a man who had renounced his Austrian citizenship, came to the forefront of German politics, and eventually into power with a classic false flag operation headed by friend Göring - the Reichstag Fire. 

Albert Einstein went to America.  His final act was to sign the Russell-Einstein Manifesto for Peace which he did seven days before he died.

Here I am sitting with Albert Einstein. We are waiting for the bears. There are four bears in Bern. Mum, dad and their two cubs. Maybe they have names but if they have I have no idea what they are. I forgot to ask the nice lady who showed me a sleeping bear on her monitor.

I wonder if Daddy Bear is called Albert?

In the museum I enjoyed counting muons.  They come from outer space and are very tiny and make sparks in a dark box when they arrive. They are real ETs!  I saw that 10,624 muons had entered  the dark box (I think since 9am). Another trap for the muons is somewhere on the Jungfraujoch. Because it's much higher than Bern more muons can find it. 15,914 was the reading on the counter.

Einstein does not have a grave. His ashes were scattered at an undisclosed location. Princeton is likely.

EINSTEIN = E = MC^2 (Part 1)

The Wien Meidling Bahnhof is, I have to say, not the bees knees at 11:30pm on a cold night. The lounge for first class and sleeper car passengers was closed. Other passengers sit in a small space adjacent an echoing and draughty corridor where you'll likely catch a chill before you catch your train. 

The place has an unwelcoming atmosphere after the crowds have gone. Maybe that's the idea. 

The only person on duty was a man in the otherwise deserted information office. He directed me to the sign of the Golden M. The only warm place open, he said.  

The burger bar was crowded but warm. I sat unnoticed in a corner for half an hour. Nobody disturbed me or asked me what I was doing there. 

Then it was back into the cold night and the tiny unheated waiting room on the station platform.  

I was more than glad when the train arrived on time from Budapest and I was able to board. I slept very well and was up in time to enjoy breakfast before arriving in Zurich and catching the connection to Bern. 

Budapest - Zurich express - relatively fast? 

Hotel lobby: Red shifted? A Bicycle with flat tyres 

Bern = Einstein Museum plus Einstein House.

My first call was the apartment in the building where Einstein lived in an apartment on the first floor. It was here that he had his annus mirabilis - the miracle year 1905 -  the year of E=MC^2.

Blue shifted? An approaching tram

 Curved space

 There is one toilet in the building and this is the way to get there from the Einstein flat. 

Two bookworms: Einstein and Me

Location of flat - 1st floor above green sign

Sign on building (then a patent office) where Einstein worked.

(To be continued)

Pictures from an exhibition

Switzerland is the world's best model of how a functioning democracy should work. It's the only country I know where politicians are legally bound to do what the people tell them. That the power belongs to the people is enshrined in the law of the land AND respected by all.  Politicos ignoring this fact do so at their peril. The unemployment queue awaits those who would disobey the rules governing Swiss politics. In my next life I shall elect to be born in Bern.

When I was in Bern I visited the Paul Klee Museum, the Albert Einstein house, the Einstein Museum and several other attractions. I was impressed with the cleanliness and efficiency of the public transport system. The genuine friendliness and warmth of a contented people was wonderful to experience; railway officials, museum guides, hotel staff, shopkeepers, restaurant staff, the folks at the brewery, the staff at the 5-storey bookshop, the woman who helped me clear snow from a grave, and the helpful people in the street going about their daily business taking time out to assist a stranger.  My list of happy memories is long.

The only slight shadow was the terrorist threat. It's seems no country is immune from these religious fanatics nowadays. In Bern a man was seen acting suspiciously in a church. The police were quickly on the scene and the building evacuated. Two suspicious objects were rendered harmless. The culprit was taken away.  Good to know the upstanding citizens of Bern are alert to the present danger!

Here in Austria a soldier from Tirol on embassy protection duty in Vienna was stabbed two nights ago by a knife wielding maniac. Only the soldier's protective vest saved him from death, an army spokesman said. A Servus TV news reporter noted that stabbings in Austria "have increased nearly 400%" in recent years. In this incident the assailant was suitably despatched with 4 rounds from a Glock service pistol.

On a brighter note here are some pictures from the Paul Klee exhibition:

Klee Museum - South Entrance

Main Entrance

The Drinkers Companion

E

A Soldier

A Graveyard

A Graveyard (another view)

Political Parties

The German Kaiser

Sailing Away

The Artist's Grave

Igor, Sergej and Winston Churchill

More than 150,000 Russians live in Londongrad. 


First, here's an oligarch joke:


Igor: Tell me friend Sergej, do you ever think about death?

Sergej:  Of course my dear Igor.

Igor:  And have you reached any conclusions?

Sergej:  Only the one.

Igor:  And what is it?

Sergej:  I want to be buried in Harrods.

Igor:  You prefer Harrods to Moscow?

Sergej:  No.

Igor: Why then?

Sergej: To be sure the wife visits me every week.


- - - - - - - - - -

Polish mainstream author -prize winner and best-seller -  (EU citizen) refused admission to UK (see Free West Media). This only days after an Austrian reporter (EU citizen) on his way to Speaker's Corner and an American companion were stopped at immigration and detained for 72 hours - before being deported (see TruePublica).

"We have nothing to fear except fear itself."  Winston Churchill.

"Mainstream headlines - pure comedy"

The above quote is from today's leading story on the website TruePublica and is written by an ex-British Ambassador.

He appears to know more than the Guardian.



Well, I never.

Bobby's Useful Bag

 Once upon a time, as they say,  I was shopping in Bobby's British Shop.

Standing at the till in front of the shopkeeper I realized that my Co-op Stores 'Plastic Bags are Rubbish' carrier wasn't with me.

 Home from Bobby's, I unpacked the colourful 'Union Jack + Stars and Stripes' bag.

 Impressed by the artwork and its tough and durable qualities I decided I'd use it to carry my cabbages  carrots and cauliflowers home from the Saturday market.

 From today it has a third life.

  If you could look inside the bag today you would find some pairs of muddy running shoes. This is where they live when they are not on my feet.

  I shall take them out of the bag from time to time and bang their soles and heels together. The dried mud will fall off.

 Some people wash their running shoes.

 I know one person who puts his shoes in a pillow case and slings them in the washing machine. I don't do that and I don't recommend doing it either.

 When our lie-a-bed spring finally arrives I shall wash my shoes by running through puddles.

 The forecasters say a change in the weather is due soon.

 I have decided to believe them. It's been snowing all morning.

 The barometer is falling. The mercury is rising.

  Bobby's 'Union Jack + Stars and Stripes' bag is a sturdy beast.

  I'd be surprised if it didn't outlast me.  Hopefully it will have several more lives in the years and decades to come.

  May the future go well. 

God Save the Queen.

Ancient statue censored by Facebook

Is it the 1st of April today?

No, it's the 1st of March.

The date is on the newspaper.

Venus von Willendorf

The 30,000 year old figurine is to be seen in the Vienna Natural History Museum.

"We will not accept any censorship. Venus must remain naked. Not only in the museum but also in social media," said Christian Körbel, the museum's director.

Italian artist Laura Ghianda recently posted a photo of the 30,000 year old godess of fertility  on Facebook.

It was promptly censored.

A year or two ago the ancient statues of  Rome were covered up.

So as not to offend, was the official explanation.


But we are Europeans, and our statues are an important part of our history.


What the devil is going on?