Tag: Inhumane Despicable Sociopath

Enjoying Nature

A post created in support of Chris Packham, and therefore featuring nature. I also have some important links and a great infographic for you.

INTRODUCTION

I am producing this post to offer public support for Chris Packham, who has been targeted by group of hunters/shooters/fishers who call themselves the Countryside Alliance. I hope that you will all enjoy it and that you will share it.

NATURE

It will not be news to followers of this blog that I take a great interest in nature. One of the reasons why living where I do works for me is that as well as having the amenities of a town centre on my doorstep I have open green space within comfortable walking distance and a river with all its associations even closer at hand. The combination of the fact that I do not drive and the scandalous state of public transport provision for out of town areas mean that I have to live in a town centre.

Most days I get out for a walk, and I usually get some good pictures (there is only one kind of shooting that I am interested in, and my weapon of choice is a Nikon Coolpix P530). Here are a few highlights from today…

The first four pictures are from yesterday.
The first four pictures are from yesterday.

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This snail, on the path through Hardings Pits, has a very interesting coloured shell.
This snail, on the path through Hardings Pits, has a very interesting coloured shell.

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An unusual drake, with a white front and a black bill.
An unusual drake, with a white front and a black bill.

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Just in case any of you are not already familiar with him Chris Packham is a naturalist and nature photographer who sometimes presents stuff on the BBC. I included a link to his official website in my introduction, and repeat that here.

The claim made by the Countryside Alliance is that he has violated BBC neutrality. Frankly I would regard being targeted by this group as something to be proud of, and I am adamant in saying that the BBC should stand by him. I finish this section by including the full link to a petition to tell the BBC not to sack Chris Packham:

https://www.change.org/p/bbc-don-t-sack-chris-packham

Please sign the petition and share this link!!

UPCOMING EVENTS AND LINKS

I wish to draw our attention to two things coming up in the near future:

  1. Heritage Open Day, which is this Sunday, and no fewer than 57 sites in King’s Lynn will be opening their doors for the occasion.
  2. November the 4th marks the 125 anniversary of the opening of the City and South London Railway, the oldest deep level tube railway in the world. Those familiar with this blog can probably work out what aspiblog will be doing to mark the occasion!

I have a few other links I wish to share, starting with two that should both make unpleasant reading for the…

INHUMANE DESPICABLE SOCIOPATH

My remaining links are all connected with…

AUTISM

I will start with a link to the website of the West Norfolk branch of the National Autistic Society. Their most recent newsletter includes this quote: “a member has pointed us towards www.autcraft.com the online version of minecraft for people with autism”. As the member who provided the information I am delighted, but I must also assign credit where it is really due – I only happened to know about Autcraft because Autism Mom has written about it in a number of blog posts, such as this one.

Although various social media organizations have verified Kevin Healey, twitter have still yet to do so, and Kevin’s petition about the issue is still running.

My last link is the twitter account through whose good offices I located an infographic in the “Never mind gold, that’s platinum” class with which I shall end this post. They are called identifor and the infographic is this:

TG

The Great Ouse at High Tide

Some stuff about the Great Ouse at high tide, some stuff about evolutionary biology, lots of pictures and links.

INTRODUCTION

Having finally completed (after a couple of false starts – fortunately not a DQ offence in the blogosphere!) my post about the Metropolitan line I now have this offering which includes some links and a couple of quality infographics.

HIGH TIDE

This morning the Great Ouse was at very high tide. Cormorant Platform was almost enitrely submerged. There was also a high tide yesterday morning, but not quite so high as this – I have pictures from both for comparison purposes.

The first three pics are from yesterday.
The first three pics are from yesterday.

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One of several pics from today that indicate just why the marshland around old Boal Quay is most definitely not suitable for building on!
One of several pics from today that indicate just why the marshland around old Boal Quay is most definitely not suitable for building on!
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Not suitable for building on!

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In addition to these, my walk this morning provided some other splendid pictures. I saw a small rodent by the water near the bandstand, and a hare, a member of the lagamorph order of mammals later on in the walk. The lagamorphs and rodents form a cohort (intermediate between an order and a class in the system of classification) called Glires. For a fun and digestible account of these relationships and others among living things I recommend Richard Dawkins’s book “The Ancestors Tale: A Pilgrimage to the Dawn of Life”.

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An excellent read.
An excellent read.

I also got a few more pictures of other things that I consider worth sharing…

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LINKS

I have some petitions to share with you, but will start with the other links first:

First up, this from counterpunch titled “Return to Crisis – Things Keep Getting Worse”

My next two links both come from the Corbyn campaign:

The wonderful kittysjones has this piece turning her guns on the Daily Mail for its (and Tory MuPpet Ian Liddell-Grainger’s) response to the news that UN Special Raporteur on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Catalina Devandas Aguilar will be investigating the UK’s welfare reforms to see if they constitute human rights abuses. Ms Jones’ excoriation of the Daily Mail is an excellent read.

My next link is to a story of yet another outrage perpetrated by religious zealots, brought to my attention by newhumanist. This is the story of an Indian rationalist murdered in his own home.

Courtesy of pertinentproblems comes this account of why TTIP would be bad for Europe.

Cosmos Up, a regular source of good material, have this about New Horizons’ next target.

PETITIONS

First up, courtesy of change.org comes this one having a go at Virgin Trains over the amount by which they are increasing their fares.

My next two links are both concerned with women’s rights:

My remaining petitions all concern one man, the

INHUMANE DESPICABLE SOCIOPATH

First, Maggie Zolobajluk’s well merited victory celebration (kudos also to Mike Sivier of Vox Political whose FOI request started the whole process).

Second, this from thepetitionsite demanding IDS’s resignation.

Finally, this petition to parliament to assess the full impact of cuts to support & social care for disabled people.

INFOGRAPHICS

A couple of classics to end this post:

Corbyn hitting the nail on the head.
Corbyn hitting the nail on the head.
A hilarious guide to the dark art of quote manipulatiion.
A hilarious guide to the dark art of quote manipulation.