Justice for April Jones

No fun in the sun here

Yesterday the wretch that is Mark Bridger was given a whole life sentence for the murder of 5 year old April Jones. He will die in prison. And you know what? Dai Jakes is satisfied with that result. Long time readers of this blog will know by now that it is a supporter of the hangman and scaffold but for once there is relief that death will be a very long time coming (providing the Scum That Is Bridger doesn't hit upon some razor blades and a death wish.)
To begin with, he will be a Category A prisoner stuck in a prison within a prison with up to seven others on his disgusting kind. Single cage, monitored 24/7. Just one hour exercise, five days a week, clothes taken off him every evening, meals eaten in a cage after coming all the way from a kitchen (so you can imagine what they will be like when he receives them.) And certainly nobody will want to talk to the Scum That Is Bridger. He will forever be within a shout of the general population shouting out what they will do to him when they get him and chances are someone WILL get to him (they did Huntley and Whiting.) He will never be safe, never be able to trust anyone, never have a friend and best of all the Scum That Is Bridger will live in fear always until the end of his days. One way or another he will suffer every minute of ever day for this vile crime.

Compared to all of this, death would be so very easy.

Rest in peace April fach, justice has been done. Hedd, perfaith hedd x

The Gun Jaws and Changes

First things first, yes you read the title correct. Im being 'artsy', forgive me, sometimes I can't resist it.
Secondly I understand the "right to bear arms" but before we bear arms here, sit and bear with me a while. Thank you.

The husband of the US politician Gabrielle Giffords, who was shot in Arizona, has called for action on America's gun laws following the latest mass shooting where 26 people were killed, 20 of them children. And I understand how Mr Giffords must feel (we never learn) but is now the time?
Shouldn't we be thinking about those who perished? Souls gone way before their time, before they even had chance to breathe proper?
As for doing what Mr Giffords suggests, America will have to either change their mindset to maybe a Swiss model (own guns but one of safest countries regarding gun crime), or introduce much tighter gun controls in the near future. It can be done. We managed to successfully ban smoking (almost) everywhere and tobacco was equally as widespread, powerfully lobbied for, and supported by the majority.
All it would take is a prolonged campaign to change the public mindset toward firearms and gun ownership. Until then, America will always have to deal with these kind of bloody shootings. Worse it will get im afraid but alas, Mankind seems to enjoy mourning, we never learn a damned thing. All that happens is prayers and flowery photographs will be shared on social media, some will weep a little but like the other massacres that went before it, most people will forget and carry on. They always do. And the saddest part is that sympathy is diluted by events we are doomed to repeat. Heres the general feeling from the rest of the world right now:

"Listening to the Americans online I give up. Its ridiculous. Who cares anymore? Let them have their precious right to bear arms and we will just watch in horror as they kill each other. If the needless slaughter of their own children with legally bought battlefield grade weaponry in a primary school doesn't change their views, frankly nothing ever will."

People are frustrated and angry, grief is paused while the world digests this latest terrible episode in its history. We understand how Americans feel about the 2nd Amendment, "the right to bear arms". We get it we really do but when we hear about protecting homes from home invasions etc one cannot fail to wonder if our friends across the pond spend too much time living in fear. And I wonder if a person can truly see themselves as free if they live in such fear?
Its not all doom however because Dai Jakes has been buoyed by hope this morning on hearing what President Obama has said; "These tragedies have to end, and to end them we must change. We, as a nation, are left with hard questions."
Yes you are, and I for one dont envy you at all. You must be prepared for Change (capital C.) I just pray its not more heavy rhetoric from a politician eager to soothe the pain of a nation. (I want them to be soothed but not by a paper tongue.) I love the United States and hate how it is being judged so poorly/harshly during these awful days of anguish by other countries citizens. They'll say they care not of course but don't believe it. They care, just as we do for them.
I dont wish to see a total ban on firearms (though in the same breath im glad we don't have this fear to need to rely on weapons here in the UK.) Just stricter controls on the damned things. Is this really too much to ask in the wake of this latest incident?

*By the way as a footnote; most people would be hesitant to shoot an intruder in their home, especially when confronted with real danger of losing their own life. (And the simple fact that its not easy taking a persons life, even if they are putting you at peril.) The average gun toting home owner is more likely to be the one on the sorry end.

The Fear of Oddie

He's plotting something...

Righto, first things first, I like Bill Oddie. He has done a ton of great things for birds and nature, and looks like a genuinely good bloke to be around and have a few pints with. At least today he does. Rewind back to the late 70's and early 80's however and I almost jumped with fright at the mere mention of his name. Bill Oddie. Biiiiill Oddieeeee! *Shudder* To my younger self he was the bogeyman incarnate. Like clowns. Real bad clowns.
Bill was a member of a group of three comedians known as The Goodies who had a teatime television show, and it was by watching this (I was a big fan by the way) that my fear of Odd emerged. He was the wild one of the bunch, unpredictable and zany and this combined with his now famous beard created something 'not good' in my already overcooked imagination. His actions on screen as I stabbed a fork into another chip were for comedic effect but rather than translating his antics into comedy, my brain only conjured up scenes more at home in a nightmare. That mop or skateboard Oddie swung around, might just as well have been a bloodsoaked pickaxe or machete.
His facial expressions too, hilarious for most but to me a hairy mask that betrayed a homocidal streak. A streak wanting to leave nothing on its trail alive. (Side note: how did I ever get through childhood?)
I kept watching the show of course because children and adults love being afraid, but the dread of Bill appearing at any second almost had my heart beating out of its 'socket'.
Nosferatu. Dracula. Freddy Krueger. Pinhead. Pennywise the Clown. Michael Myers. Jason Voorhees. I would have shared a drink with any of you guys before the Oddie beast.

Wondering Where Meadow Ravens Hang

What I am about to say/write is nothing new, so please don't pin back your earholes completely in anticipation of some world stopping revelation brought by the mucas mind of a dry (today) poet. Its nothing new, and something I have said before but there is grit in my tetchy hub of a mind, making me jumpy and frustrated and I must release the grip of the thumbscrews once again.
Religion. Wherever I end up on the interwebz my shapely ass is blown away by the ignorance and fear a lot of people have for it. Man seems to live just fine and dandy in his own church but step inside the kingdom of faith of another and he crumbles, bleeds like a bald dog before a bear's claws. It is truly a puzzle. Not everyone suffers from this absurd fear of course, a lot get on great with other folk of differing beliefs but for those who are afraid, I am at a loss as to understand why.


Stepping stones of fear for most

Its been around ever since we thought it was a good idea to have an all knowing, creating, omnipresent deity to fall to our knees to but what the advent of the super highway and it being in my face every single day, its become so tiresome. Who would have imagined that something as invisible as a god, could be so destructive? So dividing and pulling folk apart. Surely this was not the Plan? The capital P plan? The Christians and Muslims are the two who are currently at it with teeth bared and bibles and korans at dawn, fuelled further by the tragic events of 9/11. Here is an example from the world wise web ~ "I can tell you this much, it's not the KKK, Jews, Baptists that are commiting these acts of terrorism against the USA. It's not the Blacks, Mexicans, Japs, etc that are doing it either. It's Muslems, plane and simple." I left the spelling mistakes in to illustrate the typcial type of lazy ass who make these idiotic statements. Its a pretty foul display is it not?
I appreciate the anger but it wasn't Muslims who plotted and carried out this atrocity. It was brainwashed terrorists, and good honest to God *insert favourite God here* Muslims were appalled by the events of 9/11.
But there will always be those with hidden agendas, needing to plant a seed of hate in gullible peoples heads. And then we are left with names like 'ragheads' and 'turbanators', which quite frankly are vulgar in the extreme and not befitting a supposed civilized world. I suppose people need to resort to something, even something as hollow as name calling, when all reason and fight has billowed from their raspy lungs. And by the way, Im not wanting to deny folk their outrage but its often directed in the wrong direction. And also I myself have use the name 'raghead' in weaker moments so im not playing a 'high and mighty' card here.
Personally with all of the battle axes and war cries that have showered this planet since Man was created/hatched/landed, I find little proof today (little not none) of the existence of a God, certainly not enough for me to follow blindly some lines of preachy text on pages of holy books no matter what their faith.
My world is simple, devoid of the stresses others seem to enjoy living on. I actually DO believe in a being who created all of this *lifts a potted cactus* but its something unlike the rest of the pews believe and I have no dislike to anyone purely because of who they pray to. I don't want to bomb them or force my beliefs down their throats. I have no urge to rip up their holy books and call them barbarians. Why? Because their faith differs from mine? Please, move along, I want to talk to the meat not the limpets.
I'll never get this separtist idea of religion, nor do I want to.