Archive for January, 2008
Afghan court sentences journalist to death
Posted by: | CommentsI have just read a very disturbing article in the Independent about a man who has been sentenced to death for just having read and distributed an article about women’s rights.
Six years after we liberated the country of Afghanistan from the savage and brutal rule of the Taliban regime, here we are seeing the basic human rights of a man being trodden underfoot.
It makes me fume with anger to think that even now our soldiers are dying so these people can inflict another form of brutal and harsh government on the people. What was their sacrifice for? To replace one brutal regime with another?
The UN should outright condemn this action against this man, and the foreign office should make representation to the Afghan government in the strongest possible terms.
I always find it troubling the British Muslim population don’t like to talk about sharia law and its disproportionate punishments. Usually when I see Imams questioned about things like the punishment for apostasy under sharia law they squirm, wriggle and try to dodge the question. Decent upstanding British Muslims know this is wrong, and their voice should be heard loud and clear in condemning this ruling from a kangaroo court.
Having just audio-read the first two books of “His Dark Materials” it is easy to draw a parallel between sharia courts and the consistorial court of the Majesterium described in the story.
The Independent has launched a petition to the foreign office asking them to intervene. Please add your name and help save this man’s life.
He’s not a child killer, or rapist, he simply wanted to read about and discuss women’s rights.
My thoughts are with him and I hope this can be resolved by diplomacy and reason.
The Golden Compass
Posted by: | CommentsI have finally been to the cinema and seen The Golden Compass. I overall I though the movie was quite good.
The story as told in the movie deviates from the book (Northern Lights), in a few ways. For example, Lyra first goes to the Ice Bears before going to the station at Bolvangar which is a bit odd and the story does not end in the correct scene, which means we don’t see the ultimate fate of Lyra and Roger.
The special effects in the movie are excellent, but we would expect that because of the modern CGI effects. What I liked was the subtle way that Pan shifted his form from one create to the next.
Mrs coulter’s character was perfectly executed by Nicole Kidman, and I think Daniel Craig made quite a good Lord Azriel. For those who aren’t that observant would possibly have missed the booming voice of Gandalf the Grey, as Iorek Byrnson.
The acting was top quality all the way through, except for this one really small kid at the beginning who says quite artificially “No Billy”, as if he was some kid they’d dragged off the street. I’m sure he won’t win any Oscars, unless of course he’s in a movie portraying wooden child actors.
I won’t go into the numerous ways the plot line goes astray and how amazingly none of the kids in the movie actually dies, which is quite contrary to the writing.
Interestingly we see much more of the Majesterium in the movie than is mentioned in the book. The characters from this religious organisation do appear quite prominently in the second book, but not the first. The movie quite clearly illustrates the Majesterium as the controlling force which seeks to rob people of their ability to think freely, and the scholars at Jordan college quite clearly represent the intellect and reason that goes with free enquiry and thinking.
The book draws an interesting parallel between modern religious states which punish people for blasphemy and heresy. I wonder what Pullman was getting at with this story. 
So I’d say the movie is worth seeing, but it does not ignite any special feeling of satisfaction within me. The did not get the same feelings seeing the movie as I did listening to the audio book dramatisation. Perhaps the fallibility with translating book to movie, is that you have so content, and so little time to covey the story to your audience.
Fat Loss Programme – Day 26
Posted by: | CommentsThe programme continues and I’m still concentrating on losing waist size, and I think it’s starting to work.
My 40″ waist trousers have become a bit looser and I can now squeeze into my 38″ waist trousers again.
I haven’t been as active this week, and I think the body fat % may be out of whack because I’ve not been moving my backside. I also had pizza for dinner last night, which won’t have helped.
All the other measurements are moving in the right direction, and while it’s not massive changes, I feel that doing this slowly and steadily is the way to go.
I’m going to clear out my garage next weekend so I can have access to my Bowflex home gym again. This will allow me to start doing some weight training again. Weight training is going to be the key because this builds muscle, which in turn increases metabolic rate (according to the many articles I’ve read).
I’m travelling a lot next week so it will be interesting to see how my weight loss goes. The weeks until my holiday are ticking by, so I’m worried that I won’t get into shape before then. Let’s see what the next 7 weeks brings.
|
Date |
Weight |
Body Fat |
Waist |
BMR |
| 01-Jan | 102.60kg | 32.40% | 116.0cm | 2093 |
| 06-Jan |
102.50kg |
29.00% |
115.0cm |
2197 |
| 13-Jan |
100.90kg |
29.20% |
112.0cm |
2140 |
| 20-Jan |
101.3kg |
26.80% |
113.0cm |
2139 |
|
27-Jan |
100.1kg |
30.1% |
111.5 |
2124 |
| 03-Feb | ||||
| 10-Feb | ||||
| 17-Feb | ||||
| 24-Feb | ||||
| 02-Mar | ||||
| 09-Mar | ||||
| 16-Mar |
The Northern Lights
Posted by: | CommentsI am currently reading the Northern Lights, (via audio book), which is quite a useful way to pass the time in the car journey to work.
This story is also known as the Golden Compass, adapted for the movies from Philip Pullman’s original book.
The tale is quite compelling and appeals to my sense of adventure and the mysterious and I am partial to fantasy stories.
The main character Lyra is very strong an determined, and makes me think a little of Rachael. I have not seen the movie yet, but the more I hear the story the more I want to go and see if they have done justice to Pullman’s original work.
Should you have any great desire you can even work out your own Daemon by answering a few simple questions on the movie web site. Mine is a female tiger which is quite inspiring.
I really am enjoying Northern lights and the story is so compelling I have to drag myself out of the car when I get to the office. I almost want to find an excuse for a long car journey so I can continue to find out what happens to Lyra in the home of the bears.
Humanistaphobia
Posted by: | CommentsThis evening as I caught up with all the Humanist gossip, I discovered there is a new book out in the shops, by some woman named Tina Beattie. She has written yet another book about atheists called “The New Atheists”, which I confess I have not read at all.
Apparently she is to speak Royal Holloway University of London, with a lecture titled: “Enemy in the Mirror: Richard Dawkins, the New Atheists and their Crusade against Fundamentalism”, and according to their web site,
Dr Beattie argues that the threat of religious fanaticism is mirrored by a no less virulent and ignorant secular fanaticism which has taken hold of the intellectual classes.
Because I have a day job I don’t intend to go and listen to her talk, but I did catch a web replay of her on Radio 4’s, “Start the Week” programme. If you follow the link and skip forward 30 minutes, you can hear her drone on incoherently as she appears to suggest atheists are militant, and to blame for the current ills of the world.
I would correct her in saying that just because Richard Dawkins thinks religion is a bit daft, does not make him militant. Militant is a word used to describe a person who is aggressive, or engaged in physical combat or warfare.
For example:
“I’m going to break your legs, if you worship that God of yours”, is an example of Militancy. The tone is aggressive and suggests physical violence.
“I don’t believe in your God you crazy person”, is not militancy, it is simple the expression of an opinion about the person’s belief and sanity.
I will agree that Richard Dawkins has strong opinions about his position which are usually well reasoned and based on scientific study and evidence. However anyone who has seen Dawkins speak could not possibly describe his manner as militant. If she was talking about Christopher Hitchens, then I might pause to think, because I’ve seen him on YouTube having a good rant about religion. Even then, he’s hardly inciting people to go out killing each other in the name of atheism.
In response to this latest misuse of the world “Militant” I have invented a new word, called humanistaphobia. It’s an irrational fear of humanists, secularists, and atheists, based upon the fact they might not agree with your superstitious mumbo jumbo. People suffering from this condition may even believe that humanists are just making up this science thing, and coming up with all this really unfair evidence to just explain away their delusional fantasies.
Should you find someone suffering from this illness (which I invented) point them in the direction of their nearest publisher so they can write a book about it and just get it all out of their system. It is likely that the sufferer of this condition will just whine on endlessly about militant atheists. sometimes they may go as far as blaming the downfall of society on them, without giving any specific examples or evidence. If this proves to be the case, just ignore them because by indulging in their fantasies you only serve to exacerbate the symptoms.
So if you’re suffering from this phobia (which I made up), then please take note; I’m not militant, I’m just being really sarcastic.
Fat Loss Programme 2008 – Day 19
Posted by: | CommentsI’ve had a bit of a mixed result this week. It seems like I did backslide this week, but it doesn’t feel like it.
I did some extra activity this week, including a Tae-Bo workout. I have a lot of Billy’s workout DVD’s and although some of the older ones are quite cheesy they really do make you sweat.
![j0341347[1]](http://www.edeonline.me.uk/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/j03413471-thumb.jpg)
I’ve started doing Tae-Bo basic, and the first time I really struggled and couldn’t finish the workout. I did find it was much easier though the second time around and it felt like I really got into it.
The strange thing is, Michael and Rachael started following the workout too. I tried explaining some of the techniques and moves, but in the end left Michael working through the instructional section of the DVD.
If you’ve never see Tae-Bo before, it’s a combination of kickboxing, yoga, other martial arts, usually ending in some simple Tai-chi moves to cool down. Julie got me the “Boot Camp” workout set a few years ago, but I find is really difficult for me as it employs the use of resistance bands.
If I could find the chest strap for my heart rate monitor I’d be interested to see how many calories I can burn doing that.
I’m going to start clearing out my garage today so that I can use my home gym and my cross trainer again. In addition I want to get access to my bike so I can go cycling (although it’s been very wet lately).
I haven done such a great job of eating healthily this weekend though and so I need to plan more carefully what I am going eat for the coming week. I also think I could do with reducing my portion sizes. I think portion size has been a problem for me over the last week, so I’m going to make some changes in that area and see how things go.
|
Date |
Weight |
Body Fat |
Waist |
BMR |
| 01-Jan | 102.60kg | 32.40% | 116.0cm | 2093 |
| 06-Jan |
102.50kg |
29.00% |
115.0cm |
2197 |
| 13-Jan |
100.90kg |
29.20% |
112.0cm |
2140 |
| 20-Jan |
101.3kg |
26.80% |
113.0cm |
2139 |
| 27-Jan | ||||
| 03-Feb | ||||
| 10-Feb | ||||
| 17-Feb | ||||
| 24-Feb | ||||
| 02-Mar | ||||
| 09-Mar | ||||
| 16-Mar |
High Bank Charges
Posted by: | CommentsI was reading a story in the news today on the BBC about people claiming that bank charges are high and unreasonable. Usually these people are charged for things such as unauthorised overdrafts and going over their credit card limits.
In the main I have little sympathy for people who fail to manage their finances properly, and they should indeed incur some punitive charge for their complete disregard for good financial management. However the problem with this is it doesn’t resolve the underlying problem. People who over spend their accounts, usually do so because they are struggling financially. Simply increasing the debt with unreasonable charges is not the way forward though.
Many years ago I had a problem where my employer was not so timely with paying my salary and having a new family with only a single income we struggled financially. We were constantly put in a position through no fault of our own where we were going into unauthorised overdrafts. The bank which I used at the time was one of the big four, and they had no sympathy with my situation. Things got so bad with my employer not paying me on time, that at one point my card was refused when we were doing the grocery shopping. All the time this was going on we were being lumped with fees and charges which crippled us further.
In the end I decided to make two changes, one was to find a new employer that could pay my salary on time. Moving to a finance company was a sure bet, and did wonders for my career.  The second thing I did was take my money and walk away from my bank.
I stayed with the new lot for a couple of years before I got totally fed up with their rubbish service as well, and moved bank again.
My current bank provides and excellent service, and their local branch staff are always helpful, effective, their charges are fair and now. I even managed to get a better mortgage deal as well.Â
So whilst the disputes rage in the courts my view is that if I am unhappy about anything I complain right away. If I get repeated poor service, I take my money and walk. If enough people do this the banks, particularly the big four, will get the message and buck up their ideas.
Fat Loss Programme 2008 – Day 13
Posted by: | CommentsIt’s been a little under two weeks since I started work at losing waist size and fat percentage and it is definitely working. The tried and tested methods of the old FMS programme.
You can see the results in the table below, but I’m on course for my nice looking swim shorts in Florida.
I haven’t really felt hungry and when I do, I eat something. Chances are if I’m that starving I really do need something to eat.
I am really amazed at how my waist is shrinking, considering I haven’t really started an kind of exercise yet. Next step is to get out on my bike!
|
Date |
Weight |
Body Fat |
Waist |
BMR |
| 01-Jan | 102.60kg | 32.40% | 116.0cm | 2093 |
| 06-Jan |
102.50kg |
29.00% |
115.0cm |
2197 |
| 13-Jan |
100.90kg |
29.20% |
112cm |
2140 |
| 20-Jan | ||||
| 27-Jan | ||||
| 03-Feb | ||||
| 10-Feb | ||||
| 17-Feb | ||||
| 24-Feb | ||||
| 02-Mar | ||||
| 09-Mar | ||||
| 16-Mar |
Ben Elton’s Latest
Posted by: | CommentsI have just finished listening to Ben Elton’s latest book, called “Blind Faith“, when I read the description on iTunes I hadn’t quite got the whole picture of what it was about.
The book describes a world of the future in which the polar ice caps have melted and everyone lives in cramped conditions, with no privacy. In fact privacy and secrets are a perversion. Citizens are expected to display the most intimate details of their lives on their blogs and “tubes”. The country is run by a religious group which reveres God, Jesus and Diana (assumedly princess Diana). They worship “The Love”, even when children die every day. Open display of raw emotion are the norm, people sharing sex and grief using web cams in their homes. The heat is so unbearable the populous of this place walk around barely clothed and people openly engage in sexual activity, and perving on others is expected as a societal norm.
The main Character in the story Trafford, is an ordinary unassuming guy who just likes to keep one or two little secrets to himself. He gets involved with a group of subversives after having his daughter vaccinated (which is illegal), and finds himself becoming the voice of Humanism in a world blinded to reason by religion. Stupidity is expected, and intelligence condemned.
With everything monitored and watched on the net, and people punished for belief in evolution, Trafford soon gets carried away with revolutionary ideas.
The names of the characters were quite amusing, such as Katelyn Happy Meal, and Tinkerbell.
There are parts of this story that make me chuckle, but I didn’t really get if the tone was supposed to be funny, or a commentary on society as it is today. Of course it represents the best and the worst in humans as all good stories do, and it also paints a picture of what society could be like if religious zealots took over. It describes what would happen if reason were replaced with mythology and superstition, then combine that with the “Big Brother” type of voyeurism, but far more graphic and sexual.
I couldn’t possibly spoil the plot line or the ending, as it was a very compelling story (audio book). I would recommend it highly, as it paints a very stark vision of the future, in which sanity and reason are lost, and the only light is the humanists keeping their dirty little secrets.
This is sometimes how I feel being in a Christian country, that I should keep my peace, and just try to blend in, pretending to be Christian. However am I lucky because I don’t have to, and wouldn’t want to.
Ben Elton’s Latest
Posted by: | CommentsI have just finished listening to Ben Elton’s latest book, called “Blind Faith“, when I read the description on iTunes I hadn’t quite got the whole picture of what it was about.
The book describes a world of the future in which the polar ice caps have melted and everyone lives in cramped conditions, with no privacy. In fact privacy and secrets are a perversion. Citizens are expected to display the most intimate details of their lives on their blogs and “tubes”. The country is run by a religious group which reveres God, Jesus and Diana (assumedly princess Diana). They worship “The Love”, even when children die every day. Open display of raw emotion are the norm, people sharing sex and grief using web cams in their homes. The heat is so unbearable the populous of this place walk around barely clothed and people openly engage in sexual activity, and perving on others is expected as a societal norm.
The main Character in the story Trafford, is an ordinary unassuming guy who just likes to keep one or two little secrets to himself. He gets involved with a group of subversives after having his daughter vaccinated (which is illegal), and finds himself becoming the voice of Humanism in a world blinded to reason by religion. Stupidity is expected, and intelligence condemned.
With everything monitored and watched on the net, and people punished for belief in evolution, Trafford soon gets carried away with revolutionary ideas.
The names of the characters were quite amusing, such as Katelyn Happy Meal, and Tinkerbell.
There are parts of this story that make me chuckle, but I didn’t really get if the tone was supposed to be funny, or a commentary on society as it is today. Of course it represents the best and the worst in humans as all good stories do, and it also paints a picture of what society could be like if religious zealots took over. It describes what would happen if reason were replaced with mythology and superstition, then combine that with the “Big Brother” type of voyeurism, but far more graphic and sexual.
I couldn’t possibly spoil the plot line or the ending, as it was a very compelling story (audio book). I would recommend it highly, as it paints a very stark vision of the future, in which sanity and reason are lost, and the only light is the humanists keeping their dirty little secrets.
This is sometimes how I feel being in a Christian country, that I should keep my peace, and just try to blend in, pretending to be Christian. However am I lucky because I don’t have to, and wouldn’t want to.
