Thought Id start this one going because its rather dead on this board at the moment and I suppose all my usual muckers are either at the Stella tennis event watching Dim Tim (lose again) or at Henly Regatta eating cucumber sandwiches (they wish,...NOT).

Anyway please feel free to just talk to yourself blast away and let it go on any company or subject you wish. Just wish Id thought of this one before.

cheers GF.

Wouldn't you?

I suppose all our young men who were called up to fight in the second world war should have run away to somewhere instead of dying in Europe fighting for your freedom Fred.

I learned all about Damascus at school. Apparently it kills 99% of all known germs. :o)

Did you domestic science then; cooking, housekeeping, ironing, being a good wifey?

That's what you have an au pair for, H.

Courtesy of mro over the road.



Goodbye Sweden

June 2, 2015






This is the last post on this blog. I am leaving Sweden for good shortly, and will no longer be following its descent from what was once the third most prosperous country in the world. Frankly, it’s just too damn depressing.

I was born and raised in Sweden, which leaves a cultural mark even though I moved to USA in the 1990s and have spent the better part of my adult life as an American. Coming back for a few years has been a shocking experience.

When I was a child, Sweden was a dull yet very safe place to live. Yes, there was a heavy blanket of socialism and collectivist values covering everything, but there was a core of pragmatism beneath the redness. The intention and goal was always to benefit the citizens, even though they went about things in a backwards manner.



More: http://swedenreport.org/

JB.

A lot of the upper echelons of society escaped to America and elsewhere, but prepared to sacrifice somebody else's life for their goods.

Look it up!

-----
Domestics seem to have missed one or two!

Max,

I am sure that he will leave a noticeable hole in Sweeden by his absence.

Oh dear! What do you make of this?

.

Again Fred you didn't answer the question .

I suppose all our young men who were called up to fight in the second world war should have run away to somewhere instead of dying in Europe fighting for your freedom Fred.

You seem to think it's fine for these Syrian lads to run to Europe and leave their women behind.

ah no; that was deemed cowardice or somesuch whereas this is called looking to better yourself and your family

JB,

What I like is when the many warriors who are passed their sell by date are happy to sacrifice others, for their own "needs".

Often volunteering actions which they themselves have no intentions of participating in.

But you can hold up your feathers if you wish to.

-=-=-=-=
Manuel.

I think if you look back a generation or two, you may reason why, some of the reasons your ancestors, or kith and kin, fled to this country and onto other countries for the own "safety" and "benefits".

Of course with money or "wealth" carried in their pockets it was more easier to buy themselves into another safe haven and move on.

I smell hypocrisy!

I thought you would have been grateful for those who died for us Fred ,after all you obviously hate Hitler ,your sounding more like Corbyn every day .

do you now fred

you choose to ignore the fact that the jews in poland for decades and in germany from the 1930s were often treated as untermensch with regular pogroms directed against them

in respect of germany in the 1930s, apart from the obvious like kristallnacht, you also choose to forget that jews were precluded from holding any position outside their enforced ghettoes
of course this included joining the armed forces, notwithstanding that many and perhaps the majority felt themselves to be german first and jews second

while it is true that a very few had assets in precious stones or similar that were easily transportable or managed to buy their way out of nazi germany, this rarely applied to those fleeing poland in earlier decades or even the few who managed to escape the nazis

further, having managed to flee, there was certainly no easy entry into uk as i have posted on several occasions in the past .... and of course there were no easy (state) benefits until after 1948 (i think)

============

by the way, jews who were already uk citizens, assuredly played their part in the armed forces, and did not run away to avoid their duty


identify your alleged hyprocrisy please!

I think Fred's a new age traveller , probably pissed most of the time .

to fred, nearly everything is either red or blue :-)

joking apart, i wonder if he'll actually respond in a focused manner to the above - not his usual slither

JB,

I have more respect for Corbyn and many of his views and stances than Cameron and his cronies.

At the least I think Corbyn attempts to be honest and to consider consequences of actions before implementing them. We will see what he does.

I feel sorrow for the families who lost relatives in WW1, WW2 and other wars.

I have misgivings the hyping of the "heroism" of the actions and those who took part in such episodes and vamped up by armchair heroes for their own reasons, who would do their damnedest to avoid the situations themselves, but prance around the stage as paper-weight leader calling for the sacrifice others. Often calling it, “leadership”. But it is often and attempt to delude others into doing the actions of the "elite".

It seems to me that the present leadership has known first-hand knowledge or field experience of war. Many of the previous political leaders in this country from 1945-2000, did have wartime experience and the last thing they wanted was another “avoidable” war.

I know many families who suffered the long-lasting consequences of war, while some recent political leaders appear to strut and the stage and consider utilisation of a "war", as making their mark on history. One of my cousins was in France preparing for the Normandy landing six months before the actual event and witnessed and took part those actions, before being move on to other parts. He rarely spoke of those experiences but thought it a waste of life. He was lucky and went back to a university career after the event, knowing many of his friends didn’t.

He didn’t consider himself a hero.

The actions he took at the time, he thought were necessary,

Also, I was born before WW2, and remember the maimed WW2 causalities in wheelchairs, as well as those from the Cheshire Homes etc.. Those memories have influenced me more than the heroism.
-====--==-

In general, I have tried not to ask anybody to do that I wouldn’t do myself and consider war to be an unnecessary “evil” and to be avoided when possible. But the reasons for, and the consequences of the avoidance of war have to be considered.

Who has gained from the Iraq war or present war in Syria, or Palestine?

-=-=-=-=

Yes, I am grateful for those who fought against Hitler, in what the majority of people would consider a justifiable war, on the part of Britain and Allies.
-=-=-=

Manuel.

You predecessors had the “wealth” and “know-how” to get into Britain and came to “better” themselves.

You are justifying their actions of emigrating, or fleeing, by the fact they had the means to do so and ? support themselves.

They could have stayed in Poland and fought their corner, and given their lives for the cause and future generations. At the same time you condemn others, Syrians, Romanians, Polish, etc. for attempting the same, unless they are skilled, wealthy or needed. for attempting to do similar.

I think that is where you have double standards.

Sentimental, but!


-=-=-=

When the Second World War
Came to an end
We forgave the Germans
And we were friends
Though they murdered six million
In the ovens they fried
The Germans now too
Have God on their side.

I've learned to hate Russians
All through my whole life
If another war starts
It's them we must fight
To hate them and fear them
To run and to hide
And accept it all bravely
With God on my side.

But now we got weapons
Of the chemical dust
If fire them we're forced to
Then fire them we must
One push of the button
And a shot the world wide
And you never ask questions
When God's on your side.

Manuel

PS.

Manuel, look behind and back on yourself.

The slime you see is of your own making!