This is a very important little post. Ebony Underwood seeks clemency for her father and I for one support her to the hilt. Rather than write about the case myself I offer two links:
1)An article on Huffington Post in which Ms Underwood explains events in detail.
2)A link to the petition on change.org that she has launched.
I urge you all to read the Huffington Post piece and sign and share the petition. Please also share this post.
As well as my title piece I have some links, and few photographs to share. I am producing a post specifically about travel because I have always enjoyed travelling and also because in honour of a forthcoming visit to the UK one of my favourite bloggers, Autism Mom
Not only do I not drive, I knew long before I was of an age to drive that I would never do so, so all travelling that i do under my own steam is done on public transport. Since I am now 40, my experience of public transport is long, and because I am British it is also not entirely happy!
The second part of my title refers to a law I have coined for travelling by public transport which reads as follows:
Sutcliffe’s First Law of Travelling by Public Transport – If you allow time for things to go wrong they won’t but if you don’t they will.
The practical application of this somewhat cynical ‘law’ is that when planning a journey where you need to be at your destination by a certain time you should work out the particular bus or train you need to catch and then aim for the one before to allow for mishaps.
These pictures of an RAF rescue helicopter were taken through the window of an X8 bus on the way home from work…
When in transit I either seek to enjoy the scenery (if I am not familiar with the route) or to read a book (if I am)
Another reason that travel is much on my mind at the moment is that my local bus station, which I use frequently is in the process of being refurbished. Here are a couple of pictures…
My first link comes courtesy of Autism Daily Newscast and features some advice from Jamie Lee Curtis.
Next, we have a little gem of a post from my friends at Faraday’s Candle.
Now, a new discovery for me, seabirdwatchireland
Next two items concerned with the 50:50 campaign for gender equality in parliament:
1)A blog post on Huffington Post
2)A link to a petition related to the above blog post.
My final link, to end this section on an upbeat note is to news of a victory of a campaign in Hackney.
I hope you have enjoyed this post and will be encouraged to share it.
This post is going to be made up entirely of Links and Infographics (I have a lot of important and interesting stuff to share).
Tax Research UK in spite of the uninspiring sounding name is often a source of good stuff, and today I provide links to two of their recent stories:
1)The need to eliminate competition from the NHS.
2)A piece about electoral reform, which connects to…
2a)This blog post from the Electoral Reform Society.
My first piece in this section comes courtesy of Patheos, and just before highlighting the link I wish (as someone who is a very strong supporter of theirs) to criticise them for publishing under their banner a piece by Russell Shaw in which he has the nerve to claim the American Christians are being persecuted. The piece to which I include a link concerns the use in science classrooms in Louisiana of a book that has no place there.
My next three pieces are linked, both being concerned with countering environmental damage:
1) Faraday’s Candle on bees.
2) Oxfam on dumping coal into the dustbin of history.
3) An Avaaz petition about climate change.
This is my final set of links, starting with this piece from Jayne Linney. Huffington Post, a regular source of good stuff, provide this piece from Laura Roche. Although I am not an ebay user, and therefore not able to take direct action, I was of course thoroughly disgusted to come across this from Vox Political about disability hate products being sold via that site, and I urge those of you who do use ebay to complain loud and clear as VP suggest. This blogpost from Natalie Leal provides some shocking detail about deaths related to DWP sanctions. Finally, to end this section, a post from Autism Mom, which features Alan Turing.
I hope that you have all enjoyed this post, and that you have followed up some or all of the links I have shared. I encourage people to share any or all of this post.
As well as my title piece, I have my usual selection of links, infographics and photos to share with you.
In spite of the interventions of Jupiter Pluvius (a mischievous deity who specialises in interrupting test match play in England) the truncated day’s play we got yesterday at Headingley was sufficient to indicate that we are in for another classic test match. Luke Ronchi, making his test match debut for New Zealand, scored a spectacular 89, and the scoring rate was lively throughout. The pitch offered plenty to bowlers throughout, but any error in length or direction was liable to be punished. James Anderson became the first England bowler to take 400 test wickets. It is possible that this will not be the only historic milestone to feature in this match – if Cook bats well he could become the first England batsman to amass 9,000 test runs. The second day is just under way, and a mere six minutes in to the day a six has already been hit – and a wicket has been taken by the very next ball. Yesterday was a wonderful day for cricket lovers – after play finished at Headingley there was commentary on the T20 Blast (20 overs each per side) game between Essex and Somerset, which ended in a tie. Chris Gayle making his debut for Somerset scored an explosive 92, giving the houses adjoining the ground a peppering.
I have no fewer than six high quality infographics from various sources to share with you…
First up in this section, an article highlighting some indefensible behaviour and attitudes from those running a Jewish school in north London.
Second, a cardinal who has described the Irish as ‘worse than pagans’ following their decision to legalise gay marriage.
Third, courtesy of Patheos, the source piece for the infographic about teenagers rejecting religion.
My first link in this section follows on from the stuff about religion, and comes with a very impressive picture. It comes courtesy of Huffington Post and features a creationist who discovered a 60,000,000 year old fossil fish.
My other science piece for you comes from wildlife articles and is about a volcanic eruption in the Galapagos Islands.
My first link in this section comes from The Poor Side of Life and tells a truly shocking story.
Tax Research UK, often a source of valuable information, provide this piece about a new form of tax dodging.
Finally in this section, we come to a story from Welfare Tales which provides ironclad evidence that jobcentres DO HAVE SANCTIONS TARGETS.
This is my final subsection of the links section, and includes three items. Of course, this entire blog is strongly anti-discrimination, but these three pieces relate more specifically to that concern than anything else in this post. First up, the S*n have been hammered by IPSO over the despicable behaviour of their columnist Rod Liddle in relation to Emily Brothers, who is both blind and transgendered. Enjoy this piece from zelo-street.
My second piece in this subsection comes from across the pond bpecial neey way of Disability Scoop and concerns schools (ab)using truancy laws to get rid of children with special needs.
My final piece, again from the other side of the Atlantic concerns a large donation made to college by the mother of an autistic student by way of thanking them.
I hope you have enjoyed this post and that you will share it. To finish off I have a few pictures for you…
As well as my main piece, I have some very interesting and important links to share, several infographics and of course lots og high quality pictures.
The weekend is upon us. I am particularly looking forward to being able to actually listen to some of the test match, having not been able to do so either yesterday or today. England’s policy of stacking their team with batting paid off at first as they were able to recover from a disastrous beginning (30-4) to reach a respectanle 389, significant contributions coming from Stokes, Root, Buttler and Moeen Ali. The downside of the selection policy, a lack of serious bowling options (for all his position at no 8, and hence officially being selected as a front-line spinner I do not rate Ali a serious bowler) is being cruelly exposed by the Kiwis, who are currently 235-2.
I have three infographics to share with you today, two on the Human Rights Act and one on poverty…
First up, an article published on Huffington Post by Kevin Healey.
Next we have a petition from change.org calling for the manufacture of disability toys.
An important link for those with an interest in mental health.
A very important and challenging piece about GPs, in the form of an open letter, courtesy of julijuxtaposed.
A wondeful post about a beautiful corner of Cornwall complete with stunning pictures, from smallbluegreenwords.
My final offering in this section is a piece from Cosmos Up about life on exomoons.
To finish along with my hopes that you will share some or all of this post are some photos…
I am going to start with the part of the blog that has given this post its title, before sharing some links and other stuff.
I had hoped that the appointment of Andrew Strauss as director would lead to some better decisions being taken. Sadly, that hope has been almost instantly dashed. Kevin Peter Pietersen, playing county cricket for Surrey in a bid to win back his England place, produced the sixth highest score in county championship history, 355 not out, against Leciestershire at the Oval. The last 200 or thereabouts of these runs were scored in the company of numbers 10 and 11 in the Surrey batting order. Surely then, having demonstrated that he still has the appetite and commitment to play big innings in the long form of the game it was time for the ECB to bring him back into the fold.
Instead Mr Strauss effectively slammed the door in Pietersen’s face citing issues of trust. In 30 years of being an avid cricket fan (and therefore including the dark days of the late 1980s and most of the 1990s) I have rarely if ever seen a pettier, more short-sighted decision Listening to the second day of this match (later today I will tune in for what is left) I was simply amazed by the quality of the batting. During the afternoon and evening sessions I was reminded of the line that Jemmy Shaw is alleged to have uttered when called up for another spell against an apparently immovable WG “Noa point boolin’ good uns now, it’s joost a case of ah puts where ah pleases an’ ‘ee puts it where ‘ee pleases”.
When after work yesterday I read the accounts of what had happened at the ECB I could barely believe it. If England, having turned their backs, apparently for good, on Kevin Pietersen do anything less this summer than beat both New Zealand and Australia then it is my belief that Strauss as the author of the final decision against Pietersen must go. It is after all, without a shadow of a doubt, the bowlers for those two countries who will be happiest about this announcement.
While the Pietersen decision covered above rankles, it is as nothing compared to a decision that Charlton Athletic FC may be about to make. In the continuing absence of rules regarding the signing of convicted criminals, this football club may be about sign someone who was part of a gang that raped a 14 year-old girl. If, like me, you consider this an utter outrage,, here is a link to a petition for you to sign and share.
My second link is to another very important petition, this time against the repeal of the Human Rights Act.
My final link in the mini-section, before a pictorial interlude, is a to an interesting post from Faraday’s Candle
The first two pictures you will see here are not mine, but come from other sources, however, I also have some of my own after that…
I am finishing this post with a few things that relate to autism, as I am on the autistic spectrum, and take a close interest in such matters. First of all, a call to keep the pressure on Katie Hopkins to apologise to the autistic community. Then I have two blog posts relating to autism to share with you:
1) A piece on parents of autistic children from Huffington Post.
2) A piece from a blog that I only discovered (via twitter) this morning, autisticglobetrotting.
I encourage everyone to share any or all of this blog post as widely as possible. I have one final message for those who have stayed with me to the end:
This is the first of two blog post I shall be putting up in the course of today. The other relates to an important meeting that I attended in Norwich last night. I have three things to cover from yesterday at work, after I have shared a few links with you…
LINKS
My first link is to a very interesting post in support of the tax dodging bill.
The other links I am sharing here rather than saving for my next post are all concerned with petition seeking to get Katie Hopkins sacked, about which I have already blogged. At present it has just passed 270,000 signatures, as you can see by visiting its home page. As well as the petition, complaints have been flooding in to IPSO, the press watchdog – more details can be found by checking out this piece from Huffington Post. Finally, both Ms Hopkins and the editor of the filthy rag that published her imitation of the Third Reich have been reported for incitement to racial hatred – more details in this piece from The Independent.
YESTERDAY AT WORK
My day at work yesterday featured three different strands, a press release, the official post about which can be viewed on the James and Sons website. I now reproduce the jpg version of the original document and a link to the word document…
The second strand was resolving queries, which involved taking a picture of some old writing so that it could be sent to someone for translation, and also getting some close ups of stamps to resolve a query about lot 491 in our April sale…
Finally, the greatest part of my day was spent imaging new stuff for our May auction (27th, Maids Head Hotel, Norwich):
Please share widely and do look out for my next post which will be about the Save Ashcroft Campaign.
As I often do I will start this post with a links section, before moving on to the main part of the post. I will also be sharing some high quality pictures – enjoy!!
LINKS
Given the title of this post I am in this section dealing only with the non-autism related links that I wish to share – the others will be handled as part of the other section. First of all, courtesy of the Independent, a truly appalling landmark that this government has ‘achieved’ – one million food bank users. Next, through Huffington Post comes a story about Faith Schools. As someone who is a part-time minimum wage worker, I would not necessarily expect the London School of Economics to have much to offer me, but this post from that quarter is a devastating indictment of what this government have done to wages in real terms.
I have a great interest in science, and this article concerning discoveries about the element Lawrencium and its place in the Periodic Table is well worth reading.
All except those who would murder folk whose beliefs differ from their own will find my next offering shocking but sadly unsurprising. It comes courtesy of Padraig Reidy.
A survey boat named the Humber Guardian has been moored in the Great Ouse lately. The boat is owned by Briggs Marine, and I was reasonably encouraged by what I found on their website.
There is a campaign going on at the moment to get the Sun to show Katie Hopkins the door. This is because her latest offering would have made Hitler blench. For more details, here is an article in the Independent.
Tomorrow is the last day on which people who are not already registered to vote in the General Election coming up on May 7th. 38 Degrees are running a campaign to get as many people registered to vote as possible. The process is very straightforward. I provide two options:
My final offering comes courtesy of Tom Pride and provides further grist to the mill of those of us who (like your correspondent) reckon that another five years of Cameron and co will be unendurable. Enjoy this catalogue of horrors!
A PICTORIAL INTERLUDE
Before moving on the main part of the post, here are some pictures for you to enjoy…
LIFE WITH ASPERGERS
I was diagnosed with Asperger’s at the back end of 2006, by when I was already 31 years old. I got involved with Asperger East Anglia very soon after that, and out of that came what is now the King’s Lynn Asperger Support Society (KLASS). The group was originally established as local support group under the aegis of AEA, but when they lost their funding to run such groups in October 2012 we decided to keep going as an independent group. Since then, we have had no funding at all. In 2013 we were able to use King’s Lynn Town FC‘s community hub as a meeting place, but then they changed the times at which they were available ton the public in January 2014, and since then we have had no formal meeting place.
Perhaps the area in which I have personally been most affected by having Aspergers Syndrome is in the world of work, where I went eight and a half years without having a paid job, until I got my current job at James and Sons in April 2013 (merely by going in to work on Tuesday I will officially make it two years in this job). Initially my job was for 12 hours per week, and I was therefore still on jobseekers allowance (yet another thing the Tories are consistently dishonest about is the number of people who have jobs but still need benefits to get by as the amount of money these jobs bring in is so little).
I have not directly run in to the kind of treatment that has caused Kevin Healey to be in a long-running dispute with twitter. Kevin is still trying to get twitter to protect him properly, and as part of that change.org have a petition running on his behalf – and I urge all of you to sign if you have not already done so, and share as widely as possible, starting now.
My twitter account is growing steadily, helped by the fact that I always have good photos to share, talking of which, here are a few more…
What can neurotypicals do in the way of autism acceptance? You can find out by reading the wise words of Autism Mom.
I am nearly at the end of this post, but one more thing I wish to do is signpost another blogger with an Autistic Spectrum Condition who has recently signed up to follow this blog, David Snape.
My very final words concern something very important to me: research. Ignorance is so often the father of prejudice, which is why I take part in research projects at every opportunity. I want more people to know about Autistic Spectrum Conditions and to appreciate the abilities that many of us possess. For those who have made it right through to this stage I have two final messages:
1) Please share this widely
2)
aspiblog 