angelwithabullet
Trust female - 46 years
Blog 212
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Bankers ... again
I'm worried.
Think on this: Consider the amount of devastation and ruination of people's lives these bankers have caused?
Now, read this article and carefully consider what it implies ...
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Bankers heading for classroom
15th March 2009
Source: ITN
Disillusioned bankers are turning to teaching to rediscover their sense of "moral purpose".
Since the effects of the economic crisis began to be felt, increasing numbers of city workers are registering an interest in becoming a teacher.
Figures released by Teaching and Development Agency for England last month showed that one in ten workers are now considering a career in teaching.
Dr John Dunford, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), said: "There are those people who went into the city when they graduated, and I think that the current crisis has brought starkly to their attention, not least because some of them have got the sack, the lack of moral purpose in what they're doing.
"They have a look at teaching and see the salaries are OK - not brilliant but OK - and the job satisfaction of working with children, teaching them, helping them to learn, to make their way in the world, is so much greater than buying and selling stocks and shares."
In his speech to ASCL's annual conference in Birmingham, Dr Dunford will tell delegates: "In such dire fiscal times, education is more important than ever. The future of the country literally depends on how successful we are in developing the skills and talents of our young people.
"We must hope that the credit crunch will bring change not only in the value of our shares, but in the values of our society; a change from the foolishness of toxic loans and the selfishness of huge bonuses to a stronger recognition of our shared professional commitment to the welfare and life opportunities of others."
"Young people who until recently headed straight from university to the city to make their fortune are questioning whether there is any moral purpose in that.
"These young people are turning in increasing numbers to Teach First and, for those losing their highly paid city jobs, to the graduate teacher programme.
"Teaching, not accountancy or the city, will soon become the top destination for talented young graduates. It is already in the top three."
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When I first read the title, I thought they were doing a good thing by going back to the classroom - to learn. Not to teach.
Get my drift?
kaye x -
Love thy neighbour?
In a zoo in California , a mother tiger gave birth to a rare set of triplet tiger cubs. Unfortunately,due to complications in the pregnancy, the cubs were born prematurely and due to their tiny size, they died shortly after birth.
The mother tiger after recovering from the delivery, suddenly started to decline in health, although physically she was fine. The veterinarians felt that the loss of her litter had caused the tigress to fall into a depression. The doctors decided that if the tigress could surrogate another mother's cubs, perhaps she would improve.
After checking with many other zoos across the country, the depressing news was that there were no tiger cubs of the right age to introduce to the mourning mother. The veterinarians decided to try something that had never been tried in a zoo environment. Sometimes a mother of one species will take on the care of a different species. The only 'orphans' that could be found quickly, were a litter of weanling pigs. The zoo keepers and vets wrapped the piglets in tiger skin and placed the babies around the mother tiger. Would they become cubs or pork chops??
Take a look...
Now, please tell me one more time .........?
Why can't the rest of the world get along?? -
The Ostrich
A man walks into a restaurant with a full-grown ostrich behind him.
The waitress asks for their orders. The man says, "A hamburger, fries and a Coke," and turns to the ostrich, "What's yours?"
I'll have the same," says the ostrich.
A short time later the waitress returns with the order. "That will be L9.40 please," she says and the man reaches into his pocket and pulls out the exact amount for payment.
The next day, the man and the ostrich come again and the man says, "A hamburger, fries, and a coke." The ostrich says, "I'll have the same."
Again the man reaches into his pocket and pays with exact amount.
For a while this becomes routine until the two enter again later in the week. "The usual?" asks the waitress.
"No, this time it's a treat, so I will have a steak, baked potato, and salad," says the man. "Yep! Same," says the ostrich.
Shortly the waitress brings the order and says, "That will be L32.62."
Once again the man pulls the exact amount out of his pocket and places it on the table.
The waitress can't hold back her curiosity any longer. "Excuse me, sir. How do you manage to always come up with the exact money from your pocket every time?"
"Well," says the man, "several years ago I was clearing the attic and found an old lamp. When I rubbed it a Genie appeared and offered me two wishes.
My first wish was that if I ever had to pay for anything, I would just put my hand in my pocket and the right amount of money would always be there."
"That's brilliant!" says the waitress. "Most people would wish for a couple of million pounds or something, but you'll always be as rich as you want for as long as you live!"
"That's right. Whether it's a pint of milk or a Rolls Royce, the exact money is always there," says the man.
The waitress asks, "But, sir, what's with the ostrich?"
The man sighs, pauses, and replies, "My second wish was for a tall bird with a big arse and long legs who
agrees with everything I say." -
The Banana Test
There is a very, very tall coconut tree and there are 4 animals,
a Lion
a Chimpanzee
a Giraffe
and a Squirrel
They decide to compete to see who is the fastest to get a banana off the tree.
Who do you guess will win?
Your answer will reflect your personality.
So think carefully . . .
Try and answer within 30 seconds. Got your answer?
Now scroll down to see the analysis.
If your answer is:
Lion = you're dull.
Chimpanzee = you're dense.
Giraffe = you're a complete moron.
Squirrel = you're hopeless.
A COCONUT TREE DOESN'T HAVE BANANAS.
Obviously you're stressed and overworked.
You should take some time off and relax -
Teef
Teef? Yeap. Well, to be exact, teeth.
You don't realise how important they are until you - lose one of them.
I became one step nearer my tombstone today in that I lost one.
And it hurts like b**gery.
That was what was causing all the pain in the jaw over the past couple of weeks. The nerve in the tooth was being exposed, because there was a massive cavity in there. And why the cavity? Because my Wisdom tooth was pushing up against it at the wrong angle. Urgh.
The thing is, I was wondering why my previous dentist didn't anticipate this. You see, I've just been told this and am now telling you to be aware of it. If your Wisdom tooth is at a funny angle, get it checked out before it's too late! Why didn't she tell me? She checked all my teeth ... took x-rays of all of them - which I paid for! I must have spent the best part of £500 smackers on my choppers over the previous year.
Anyhow, that aside, I've just attempted to eat my first meal of the day. If I could put the food through my belly button I would. My jaw aches like mad. And, as I've been told, I'm trying to keep the food away from the hole that the tooth has left. Which is awkward.
I did want the dentist to video the whole process. No. So I asked him if I could keep the tooth. Yeap. So here it is in all it's glory.
Ok, I'll say it for you: YUKITYYUK!
That brown bit is where the nerve was ... the red bit is my blood - where he's yanked it out of me! Oddly, I just happened to be talking to an Indian healer at a mind, body and soul fair at the time the pain stopped, and started to believe it had been his influence. But then was told by an ex-army dental nurse that the nerve had died. Strange thing is, I always thought those back teeth had two roots ... this one's only got one!
The thing is, I keep thinking I have no right to complain at all. Especially when I think of all those Jews that were experimented on in Nazi Germany ... and how those people must have felt without the beautiful gift of pain killers and nerve numbing treatments. How on earth did those people survive? I can't even believe those people who did the damage either. How could they do such a thing without any feeling?
I've been treated really well. I have no pain (as such), just an ache in the jaw and a little soreness where the gap has been formed and I naturally feel a little irritable because I've not been able to eat or drink anything all day. And one odd thing that never occurred to me before ... I feel terribly old.
Yes. Old. I don't need a birthday to tell me that age is creeping up on me. I just need a tooth out.
Just throwing this one out there ... does anyone know how much a cosmetic tooth would cost? I don't want it for vanity reasons, just considering that it would build a bridge and stop the other teeth from trying to fill the gap - and cause further pain and problems in the near future. And another reason is that it would help me fill this bloody awful gap!
Anyhow, I'm okay. I'll get over it. At least I'm not in a Nazi concentration camp.
kaye x -
Men and Women
WIFE V HUSBANDA couple drove down a country road for several miles, not saying a word.
An earlier discussion had led to an argument and
neither of them wanted to concede their position.
As they passed a barnyard of mules, goats, and pigs,
the husband asked sarcastically, "Relatives of yours?"
"Yep," the wife replied, "in-laws."
W O R D S
A husband read an article to his wife about how many words women use a day...
30,000 to a man's 15,000.
The wife replied, "The reason has to be because we have to repeat everything to men...
The husband then turned to his wife and asked, "What?"
CREATION
A man said to his wife one day, "I don't know how you can be
so stupid and so beautiful all at the same time.
" The wife responded, "Allow me to explain.
God made me beautiful so you would be attracted to me;
God made me stupid so I would be attracted to you!
WHO DOES WHAT
A man and his wife were having an argument about who
should brew the coffee each morning.
The wife said, "You should do it, because you get up first,
and then we don't have to wait as long to get our coffee."
The husband said, " You are in charge of cooking around here and
you should do it, because that is your job, and I can just wait for my coffee."
Wife replies, "No, you should do it, and besides, it is in the Bible
that the man should do the coffee."
Husband replies, "I can't believe that, show me."
So she fetched the Bible, and opened the New Testament
and showed him at the top of several pages, that it indeed says........ .."HEBREWS"
The Silent Treatment
A man and his wife were having some problems at home and were giving each
other the silent treatment. Suddenly, the man realized that the next day,
he would need his wife to wake him at 5:00 AM for an early morning business flight...
Not wanting to be the first to break the silence (and LOSE), he wrote on a piece of paper,
"Please wake me at 5:00 AM ." He left it where he knew she would find it.
The next morning, the man woke up, only to discover it was 9:00 AM
and he had missed his flight. Furious, he was about to go and
see why his wife hadn't wakened him, when he noticed a piece of paper by
the bed. The paper said, "It is 5:00 AM . Wake up."
Men are not equipped for this kind of contest.
by the way, i love men, so don't think this is personal ... just chuckle!
kx -
February Fooling ...
Why is everyone so shocked that the winds are knocking us for six - again?
People tend to get lulled into a false sense of security when they see sunshine and flowers in February. When they were saying "Spring is here!" I was saying "Don't be fooled, it's a trick!"
The past couple of weeks have been glorious. Cold, but beautiful and filled with sunshine. But today? Well, you only have to look at the weatherman's tale on telly ...
Today, everyone was complaining. "What's happened to the nice weather?" "Why is it like this?" "It's the government, they're controlling the heavens"
Well, do you remember when you were a kid - did your mum ever say to you
March Winds
April Showers
?
Well, guys ... it's here.
February always has a habit of fooling folk into a false sense of security. Remember - it is only when May Bank Holiday is upon us that the weather gets to be Spring-like.
And that just happens to be my birthday weekend! So I like to think of it as my gift to everyone in the UK.
So, I say to all you complainers out there ... "This too, will pass."
kaye x -
Band of Brothers
I'm watching the whole series all over again. I don't know how many times that is that I've watched it now, but I'm still enraptured by the whole thing.
Steven Spielberg is an epic filmmaker. Saving Private Ryan was one of my favourites.
I know why this Band of Brothers appeals to me. Because it gets to the heart of what a soldier's life is all about. It's real, it's gutsy, it's about the closest I'll ever get (I hope) to what it might to feel to be in the thick of fighting for your life ... as well as those of your 'brothers'.
It makes me wonder what those guys think when they sign on the dotted line and I'm priviledged to be in a position to actually find out. I often ask the guys who pass through my office what made them join the British Army. Some say 'work', some say 'money', some (but not a lot) say 'cos i love my country'. The core of their work is to train to kill - the enemy. But the repercussions of that are tremendous. Immense. Heartbreaking, almost.
Let's take for instance the guys who were sent to the Falklands in the 80s. Prior to that, the bulk of this country's folk didn't think we'd ever have our young boys sent off to fight in another battle (apart from Northern Ireland, at the time), particularly one so very far away. I think that was when I first heard the phrase being wailed by an anxious mother "My son never joined up to fight a war!" (it was repeated in the first Gulf War too).
When the news reels started to file back home - of ships being blown to smitherines, of men being bombed, burned, shot and shelled ... people were horrified, terrified, shocked. But while it was going on all I could think of was - what is going through the minds of the actual men. The individual's that are walking over that land as I slept safe at night in my cosy bed, men were loading their weapons with bullets that would pierce flesh and end a life.
Of course, all of these thoughts were brought home to me when my own man went off to fight in the first Gulf War a whole ten years later. As he marched off all handsome and proud, all I could do was write and cry. My precious little blueys would be sent every day, sometimes several at one time. I wanted him to know that he was loved by a woman who cherished his very existance and to encourage him to realise that he had something to fight for – himself. So that he would find a way to survive and return home, safe to me.
But when I watch Band of Brothers, I can see how precarious that effort was/is. How life can be wiped out in an instant. How with one little piece of metal entering this carbon matter we can be switched off. Immediately. No questions asked. And it’s all by chance.
Those who live can look at those who have not survived. They pick up the bodies of those who’ve falled to their final resting place and lower them into the ground, cover them with earth, and thank whoever or whatever it is they believe in, that it wasn’t their turn - this time.
Soldiers were/are trained to do their very best. They are a different breed of man and it shows. Some end up on the streets (heck, most of the guys you see littering the pavements are ex-Army boys), but some realise the precarious nature of life and make a niche for themselves, some hunger for freedom from the restraints of society, some are haunted by the sights they have witnessed and never will be able to forget. Some hate the civilisation that caused those feelings and will always have a ‘wronged’ nature hanging about their aura. Some, though, forge on ahead by carving a life within the restraints, and live with what exists and make the best of what is available.
But at the end of the day, they were/are still only men. Men with feelings (even though they don't admit it half the time). Men with hearts (yes, they do have them) that do get wounded. Men with souls (even if you don't believe it) that will remain ever torn because of the trauma they endured.
Little old me can never hope to do any of them any justice. And I don't know why Saving Private Ryan or Band of Brothers (albeit from the Yank perspective), gel with me so well - perhaps because they both bring it home to me, what war actually is. How the individual senses what is going on. They show the terrifying fear in that goes on in someone's head. As well as the hope and the pride and the tremendous bond they have with each other too.
They never will - nor should we expect them to - forget their unique band of brothers. -
Had a bad day? Read on ...
Things Got Ya Down? Well Then, Consider These .
In a hospital's Intensive Care Unit, patients always died in the same bed, on Sunday morning, at about 11:00 am , regardless of their medical condition This puzzled the doctors and some even thought it had something to do with the super natural. No one could solve the mystery as to why the deaths occurred around 11:00 am Sunday, so a worldwide team of experts was assembled to investigate the cause of the incidents. The next Sunday morning, a few minutes before 11:00 am all of the doctors and nurses nervously waited outside the ward to see for themselves what the terrible phenomenon was all about. Some were holding wooden crosses, prayer books, and other holy objects to ward off the evil spirits. Just when the clock struc k 11:00 , Pookie Johnson, the part-time Sunday sweeper , entered the ward and unplugged the life support system so he could use the vacuum cleaner.
Still Having a Bad Day????
The average cost of rehabilitating a seal after the Exxon Valdez Oil spill in Alaska was $80,000.00. At a special ceremony, two of the most expensively saved animals were being released back into the wild amid cheers and applause from onlookers. A minute later, in full view, a killer whale ate them both.
Still think you are having a Bad Day????
A woman came home to find her husband in the kitchen shaking frantically, almost in a dancing frenzy, with some kind of wire running from his waist towards the electric kettle. Intending to jolt him away from the deadly current, she whacked him with a handy plank of wood, breaking his arm in two places. Up to that moment, he had been happily listening to his Walkman.
Are Ya OK Now? - No?
Two animal rights defenders were protesting the cruelty of sending pigs to a slaughterhouse in Bonn , Germany . Suddenly, all two thousand pigs broke loose and escaped through a broken fence, stampeding madly. The two helpless protesters were trampled to death.
What?!? STILL having a Bad Day????
Iraqi terrorist Khay Rahnajet didn't pay enough postage on a letter bomb.
It came back with 'Return to Sender' stamped on it. Forgetting it was the bomb, he opened it and was blown to bits. God is Good!
There now, Feeling Better? -
Fears over a summer of Rage
I'd like to ask for calm before the alarm ...
This is from Yahoo News ... 23rd February 2009
More than a third of voters believe the Army will have to be brought in to deal with a "summer of rage" on British streets as the recession bites, a poll showed
The widespread fear of serious unrest was disclosed as a senior police officer warned activists were planning unrest and could find rioters easier to recruit because of the credit crunch.
Superintendent David Hartshorn, who heads the Metropolitan Police's public order branch, said known activists were planning a return to the streets centred on April's G20 summit of world leaders in London.
And intelligence shows they may be able to call on more "footsoldiers" than normal due to the unprecedented conditions - which have led to youth violence in Greece and mass protests elsewhere in Europe.
YouGov polling for Prospect magazine found 37% thought such "serious social unrest in several British cities" was certain or likely - although a slim majority (51%) disagreed.
Almost three quarters (73%) said they feared a sustained return to mass unemployment.
And a clear majority (64%) also favoured forcing the under-25s to do a year of full-time, modestly-paid community service such as working with the sick and elderly or helping with environmental projects.
Labour MP Frank Field told Prospect the main political parties should join forces to develop the idea. He said: "The time has come to look at this idea. A new bipartisan commission should be established to look into how it could be done, perhaps led by figures as respected as David Blunkett or David Davis."
Although the biggest support for a compulsory scheme was among the older generations, a majority of 18-30 year olds (52%) also gave it their backing.
Gordon Brown's spokesman said: "The Prime Minister's view on this is that of course he understands people's concerns and he also understands that people are angry, for example about the behaviour of some of the banks. That's why he is absolutely determined that the Government does everything possible to deal with those concerns and help people and businesses get through what is a global recession."
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Remember, news stories are created for sensationalisation. To sell papers. To create fear and thereby 'control'.
If this does seem likely to happen ... bear this in mind and try not to allow anger to take hold of common sense - and err ... love for your fellow man (in particular the young men who fight in foreign countries on our behalf - we all know they have a difficult enough job as it is).
