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@blossom‘ wrote:
The difference between a Stud & a slut??
Their genitalia :lol:
Most of a year on and Blossom still has the best answer to the question.
8)
Women’s position in society has sadly gone backwards in recent years, as the right to sexual freedom and expression has become the obligation to flaunt it and be available. So much for celebrity culture. There are strong female scientists, business women, political leaders and athletes but (Olympics aside) we hear very little of them.
International Women’s Day has a long and proud tradition dating back to the Russian Revolution (and before if you include the US national women’s day). We don’t need a special day for men who feel threatened by all of this.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Women%27s_Day
As a man I don’t feel threatened. I have no desire to be a “real man”, restricted by old fashioned sexual politics and stuck in stale old roles, bringing in the bacon, not showing emotions and “being in charge” of everything, while missing out on family life.
I come from a family of strong women, who I admire hugely for their intelligence, careers and hard work, as well as supporting their families. My favourite and most inspirational boss was also a woman.
I’ll take the rubbish out, but I want to cook, look after the children in the extended family and iron my own shirts too, thank you very much. At the same time, I expect people without testicles to be able to change a fuse.
I don’t care if sisters are doing it for themselves or for everyone, as long as they are doing it and making a difference.
We made up the calender, and choose the year from which to start counting.
We even changed it by several days at more than one point in history. As recently as the 20th century Russia and western Europe used different calenders as can be seen by the Bolshevik revolution being the October or November Revolution, depending on where you stood.
In ancient times we made up new months, changed the number days etc. Prior to Roman times most western calenders were not even 365 days, so month effectively moved every year, and the “new year” was nothing of the sort.
We believe that we started counting from Jesus’ birth but now know that our estimates were almost certainly wrong and he was born between 7BC and 2 AD. The most likely date is harvest time 3BC according to many scholars. Herod was dead before year zero and we know when Jesus was 30, putting his birth before year zero as well. The second millennium probably started sometime in 1998.
Other cultures have had different calendars for thousands of years. Ours has prevailed because of Western European and USA military dominance.
Why is midnight at midnight and not a few seconds before or at 0100 in the morning? Cos we said so – that’s why. We like to think of 12 noon as being when the sun is highest in the sky and that is true, but only for part of every time zone, and why didn’t we pick 1 pm? (Yes there are some mathematical reasons but they’re a bit prosaic).
All dates and times are a therefore a construct and have almost no meaning at all, except that we use them so we can communicate better.
No higher being or natural Earth clock is going along with our arbitrary times or calendar.
Everything could end tomorrow or in billions of years.
All the more reason to love those close to you and get whatever meaning you can from this existence. You never know when you will lose everything.
8)
@jen_jen wrote:
Surely all the Government had to do was say yes we will allow same sex marriages, however we will give those licensed to conduct marriages the right to decide whether or not they will marry same sex couples; if they are not happy to conduct the wedding then they should direct the couple to someone who will. Just like doctors who are anti-abortion can refuse to refer a woman for abortion but will direct her to a doctor who will be sympathetic. It’s not exactly rocket science…is it?
You would think so, wouldn’t you.
Evidently UKIP is seeking to make this an embarrassment for the government. I thought they were about keeping us out of Europe, but it seems their real interests are anti-immigrant, anti-women and now anti-gay. Thank goodness we are starting to know where they stand.
I can’t get excited about gay marriage one way or the other. Civil partnerships give all the same legal rights, but if people want the “marriage” label and to be able to declare their love before their community and their God, that is fine by me.
Gotta ask why some people are so opposed? How will it effect their lives? We don’t take on every 2000 year old cultural convention to make our religion more real, so why this one?
As Scep said Jesus didn’t go round dissing gays – he concentrated on corrupt commercial interests and the falsely religious and called upon them to love and support their fellow human beings. Funny how people try to use the message of the Gospels for hate and prejudice.
:?
I’m thinking of going into hibernation.
Bah Humbug!
:x
@wordsworth60 wrote:
@momentaryloss wrote:
I can see how all those options must somehow seem so second best.
My heart goes out to you.
ML, I have always valued your aptitude for empathy.
In my later years I’ve realised that, rather than covet the achievements of my older sibling, chase status conferred by largely meaningless institutions, or compete with individuals for whom I hold no respect, I should enjoy every jot and tittle of my life, because it’s actually really jolly good.
And may I say that comradeship such as yours that helps make it so.
8) :D :lol: :D 8)
Smilies for when you want to share a moment and words would only ruin it.
@wordsworth60 wrote:
@momentaryloss wrote:
@wordsworth60 wrote:
. . . .
Very impressive.
Go on admit it – you used to be the Chair/manager/head honcho in a club like this real life.
:D
I’m afraid that, having been the younger sibling, I never quite got the hang of authority (Wordsworth Minor at School, Cambridge instead of That Other Place, only a Lieutenant-Colonel, etc).
However I developed an appetite for regulations and procedures during a brief spell in the Colonial Office, running Tristan Da Cunha.
I can see how all those options must somehow seem so second best.
My heart goes out to you.
@wordsworth60 wrote:
The Joseph Barrow or, more recently, Wesley Snipes font is not compulsory, but has become a convention among some the more corporate members.
But as gentlemen, we pride ourselves on masculinity without machismo. We do make allowances for some of the more Outward Bound types.
Fortunately for our less exclusive brethren, when our club was founded, their love dared not speak its name, so our constitution has never restricted such involvements. We celebrate the popping out of members past and present at the annual Alfred Douglas Dinner (19th May).
Unfortunately, during Edwardian times, the Club introduced noise abatement regulations which specifically forbid any kind of banshee except on All Hallows eve when Father Ryan O’Paisley pops in for the annual exorcism.
Leave your peas at reception and I’m sure they’ll find their way into a kedgeree, or get mushed for the Friday Fish Fry.
Finally, as the last bastion of Harris Tweed, Oxford Brogues and the Full Windsor knot, presentation is all.
Very impressive.
Go on admit it – you used to be the Chair/manager/head honcho in a club like this real life.
:D
Watching her moving around is inspiring. I am also amazed (and impressed!) that the surgical team did such wonderful job the very first time they did such a complicated procedure.
8)
Apologies for stating that Kate was being cared for by the NHS in my previous posting. King Edward VII’s Hospital Sister Agnes is a private hospital.
Despite the condemnation of the tastelessness of the Australian radio show, rather than everyone having sympathy for the hospital and its staff, the press immediately called for action. In response the Hospital announced a full review of security regarding the Royals, including an investigation into why the callers were put through to the correct ward in the first place. Without this tragic death, calls would soon have been made by politicians for action. These days calling for an issue to be dealt with inevitably means disciplinary sanctions and/or resignations/sackings. This may indeed still happen once the immediate dust settles. Even without calls for action from outside, the hospital would have taken this incredibly seriously, as they rely on being seen as discreet in their dealings with the rich, famous and Royal.
Jacintha Saldanha must have lived with that understanding for the last couple of days, as opposed to feeling vindicated by the current wave of public revulsion and sympathy, that we are currently witnessing.
In terms of that hospital investigation, we cannot be sure what internal procedures were breached, or whether Jacintha might have identified directly or indirectly which ward Kate was on. Either of these possibilities could be potentially disciplinary, whether or not the nurse revealed any specific medical details, especially as we (and perhaps the hospital) don’t know whether the clip heard on radio was edited as it wasn’t live.
The hospital have said that no disciplinary action was taken against her. That is no shock – if it had been, the hospital would surely have been flouting its own HR processes which must involve investigations, representation and hearings before any action can be taken. Suspension would have been equally inappropriate, unless her clinical practice was an immediate risk to patients or if her continuation at work could interfere with the forthcoming investigation. Suspension of course is not in itself a disciplinary action.
It is possible that the Jacintha was appropriately supported. It is equally possible that she was extremely anxious about an investigation which would examine both her conduct and that of the nurse on Kate’s ward, the outcome of which could be disciplinary, whether or not the investigation process had already begun. She would surely have been aware that the investigation would cover potential breach of procedures and confidentiality issues for both members of staff, whatever the eventual outcome.
I have no doubt that she must have felt threatened by the situation she was in. Whether her employers contributed to that is unclear, but both she and her employers would be more than aware that somebody in the hospital would ultimately have to be held accountable for this.
Jacintha Saldanha was by all reports a good nurse and a model neighbour. Her family have lost a mother. Nobody intended her to end up dead, from the Royals to the radio station to her employers.
Whatever the truth and who (or what) may have contributed to her demise, this is a tragic outcome by any standards.
