"Let me tell you a story"

"There was a king who decided to settle his accounts with his servants. When he had started calling in his accounts, a man was brought to him who owed him millions of pounds. And when it was plain that he had no means of repaying the debt, his master gave orders for him to be sold as a slave, and his wife and children and all his possessions as well, and the money to be paid over. At this the servant fell on his knees before his master, ‘Oh, be patient with me!’ he cried, ‘and I will pay you back every penny!’ Then his master was moved with pity for him, set him free and cancelled his debt.

“But when this same servant had left his master’s presence, he found one of his fellow-servants who owed him a few pounds. He grabbed him and seized him by the throat, crying, ‘Pay up what you owe me!’ At this his fellow-servant fell down at his feet, and implored him, ‘Oh, be patient with me, and I will pay you back!’ But he refused and went out and had him put in prison until he should repay the debt.

When the other fellow-servants saw what had happened, they were saddened  and told their master the whole incident.

Then his master called him in."You wicked servant!’ he said. ‘Didn’t I cancel all that debt when you begged me to do so?  Should you not have learnt from me to  take pity on your fellow-servant as I your master, took pity on you?  And his master in anger handed him over to the Jailer till he should repay the whole debt. This is how my Heavenly Father will treat you unless you forgive from your heart.” Jesus.  Matthew 18.

Deliquescence of hurt

Every relationship is on some level abusive.

Whether it is mental, emotional, psychological, spiritual or physical
We have a natural aptitude for hurting others and also for being hurt.

Unmerited unconditional forgiveness is the deliquescence of hurt.

A forgiving heart is like a vessel where the shards of hurt
distil into a  transforming new wine of healing.

The reason a parent will always love their child
is because a parent will always forgive their child.

The picture is of Charles Bronson.  p o h m.

Whet's in a Name.

The Superhuman

All that can happen to a human being in this world

Is happening moment by moment

Someone is being born someone is dying
Someone is being rescued someone is being killed
Someone is being comforted someone is being tortured
Someone is falling in love someone is learning to hate
Someone is full of joy someone is full of dread
Someone is in tranquil peace someone is in anguished fear
Someone is losing hope someone is finding a new beginning

This is the inherent sentience we cannot sense
This is the graffitied vision we cannot see
This is the background noise we cannot hear

In this moment is the feeling in the air
The essence of this moment is the Superhuman.

Hunky - Dory.

After the War in Iraq and it's ongoing aftermath.
The continuing embroilment in Afghanistan.
The Banking crisis caused by bankers pursuing 'paper profit' to boost their bonuses.
The billions of pounds of British people's money handed away to stop the banks going under.
Then as an encore the MP's expenses scandal.

We have this solution presented to us - 'Hammer the Poor'

It seems if the Oligarchs controlling the conglomerates with billions floating around the world economy are made aware that Mrs Smith in Glasgow has just turned her heating off
so that she can buy food - then everything will be hunky-dory.

I posted this on the 13th of May 2010, as people are now choosing between heating and eating I think it has become more current.

I've also changed my mind about the Banks. I now think what happened to the Banks
was an intentionally planned and deliberate act.

The rich are richer the poor are poorer and we are all much more controllable.

Learning things I do not know

I keep on learning things I do not know.
Every day I  learn new things I do not know.
Not that I understand them I just add them to the things I do not know.

Scotland and Europe.

The headlines on the BBC and in other media yesterday evening (16 February 2014) were highlighting comments from current European Commission President José Manuel Barroso, who claims that it will be "difficult, if not impossible" for an independent Scotland to join the European Union.

This is not the first time that Mr Barroso's sentiments have been trumpeted in this way, and given that he repeats them regularly it will presumably not be the last.

So far none of the mainstream media reports have really questioned the basis of Mr Barroso's claim – a bizarre comparison between Scotland, which is pursuing a constitutional referendum on the issue of statehood, and Kosovo, which has attempted an unconstitutional secession. They have not reported what the Spanish government has actually said (as distinct from what it is being assumed or implied to have said). Nor have they pointed out that Mr Barroso's opinion cannot simply be taken as that of the European Commission, which has protocol on such issues, but is rather the personal viewpoint of a conservative Portugese politician with a particular agenda.

These are significant omissions. Even if they are eventually corrected, by online researchers and commentators if nowhere else, it is first impressions which sow seeds of doubt with many onlookers – as the well-funded anti-independence lobby, utilising the weapons of its self-titled 'Project Fear', knows all too well.

In Mr Barroso's argument, Scotland will be a new EU accession country and will require unanimous approval from existing member states. This will be "very difficult" because Spain is likely to oppose its membership in order to be able to thwart its own Catalan separatists. Such canards have, of course, been repeated and demolished several times already.

First, Scotland has been a member of the European Union as part of the UK for many years, and would be looking for continuity with current arrangements as an independent state whose existing broad legal, political and economic framework remains in line with EU requirements. It also holds potential for some 25 per cent of Europe's prime natural energy resources (36.5 GW of wind and 7.5 GW of tidal power) and in its own right would be one of the most prosperous nations on the planet. The idea that existing EU members would suddenly want to bar such a country from contributing to the European project and their shared wealth is politically unsustainable.

Second, the comparison with Kosovo is completely inappropriate. Spain has opposed the Kosovan membership bid. But why? Because Kosovo, which has never been a part of an EU member state (unlike Scotland), declared unilateral independence (unlike Scotland), despite the fact that the Belgrade constitution forbids the independence of any part of Serbian territory (unlike the UK in relation to Scotland).

Constitutional expert Graham Avery, the European Commission's honorary Director General, appearing before the European and External Relations Committee of the Scottish Parliament, said in January 2014 that the position on Scotland in Europe taken by the UK government (and those who adopt postures similar to Mr Barroso) was "perplexing" and "absurd".

From Simon Barrow's Blog on Ekklesia.

Being Human

It is not possible to deny, diminish or invalidate the humanity of another human being.
But it is possible to deny, diminish and invalidate our own humanity by attempting to do so.

Law

From the law abiding, we have everything to fear.

Should the Earth ever become a cinder in space
such an outcome would be brought about by ordinary men and women
dutifully obeying bad laws and willingly going through pedantic procedures.

Lety

Lyon and Tay

Where the rivers Lyon and Tay meet
1
The Salmon in the sea
to the river they must go
why or how to get there
the salmon do not know

And man in this river
though ignorant he may be
will yet find his way
to that eternal sea

It doesn't matter if we don't know
or don't care to understand
assembled before God
we all will yet stand
2
God is our Father
our Saviour
and our friend
our beginning without beginning
our ending without end

Step into
a billion galaxies
open a door
east,west,north,south
find a billion more

In all of this
he will find us
and deliver us from sin
for he is a part of us
and we are a part him
3
God is our glory
our natural our spiritual breath
without him we are no more
than lice upon the Earth

And the Earth itself
a speck of dust
without power to resist
caught on the edge of a storm
without purpose to exist

And all of our endeavours
and all our grief and care
are played out in the void
of nothing and nowhere
4
God is such a reality
that the atheistic mind
can only theorise
a god of a different kind

Intelligent to reason
we did not make ourselves
we look for a maker
along the library shelves

We find the time god
of Evolution
to whom educators defer
and explain the origin of life
as though they were there

If you add X million years
to Pre-amoebic slime
it will become consciousness
given enough time

Add more time to form the mind
more time the heart the soul
with endless strands of D.N.A.
all in complete control

But the theory contains a flaw
a factor has been missed
linear time is not the only
timescape to exist
5
Watching Earthrise from the moon
we see the cradle
of the human race
glimmering like a sapphire
set in the jewelled crown of space

The Earth in orbit around the Sun
returns to solstice
on Salisbury plain
is this the beginning of another year
or the year begun again

The ancient builders
of the standing stones
wrote in sarsen on the ground
that for them
time and space
was perceived as round

The montage of the seasons
meld into each other
autumn into winter
spring into summer

Time moving in a cycle
where the first will meet the last
and all are yet alive to God
who have lived in our past

Eternal in the knowledge
of the eternal mind
where is the beginning
or ending of mankind

The Alpha and the Omega
unfold this mystery
The living God is God of the living past
and every future is - History
6
So be careful
how you live your life
before Judgement
meets you in a fury
with all you've done and left undone
assembled as your Jury

But mercy triumphs over Judgement
so when you stand alone
a voice in your defence will be
the mercy you have shown

Mercy,Tolerance and Kindness
the elements of grace
search within your heart
and find for them a place
7
Should a man own the World
and the World control
the price would be too high
if it cost his soul

Should every plan be accomplished
and every goal fulfilled
then crumbling around us
everything we build

Cities return to rubble
overgrown with vegetation
children will be taught
that used to be a Nation

Factories are silent
with nothing left to do
only wonder why so many worked
to make wealth for so few.

Passing Thoughts

 There is no greater emptiness than being full with all that the world has to offer.

One toy is enough for a child but all the toys in the world are not enough for a man.

The shortest journey in the world is the journey of our life.

Homeless

Teenage pregnancy
single Mother
a shoulder to lean on
and she loves him
like an older brother
Homeless
a blanket spread on straw
upon the breast
her new born baby clings
the first millennium begins

Rainbow Nation

Place of Worship.

Sitting
in the chapel
within my soul
watching
the dawning light
illuminate
prismatic crystal walls

Bursting into colour
like wild flowers
greeting the spring

Here is enshrined
God's beautiful truth

"Peace and Reconciliation"

With God
With self
With those who love
With those who hate

This forgiving sun rises
with healing in it's wings

And by this light
even life's hard knocks
take on a rationality
Breaking
the outer facade
Letting in the light
uncreated.

In the Shadow

The Boy

E = M C 2

     E = Energy  M = McDonalds + C = Coke For 2

Albert and Mileva.

By 1914,  marriage to his wife of 11 years, Mileva was fast deteriorating. Realising there was no hope for their relationship on a romantic level, he proposed that they remain together for the sake of their children, but only if she agree to the following list of conditions.

Mileva accepted them, but to no avail. A few months later, she left her husband in Berlin and moved, with their sons, to Zurich. They eventually divorced in 1919, having lived apart for five years.

CONDITIONS

1. You will make sure:
1. that my clothes and laundry are kept in good order;
2. that I will receive my three meals regularly in my room;
3. that my bedroom and study are kept neat, and especially that my desk is left for my use only.
2. You will renounce all personal relations with me insofar as they are not completely necessary for social reasons. Specifically, You will forego:
1. my sitting at home with you;
2. my going out or travelling with you.
3. You will obey the following points in your relations with me:
1. you will not expect any intimacy from me, nor will you reproach me in any way;
2. you will stop talking to me if I request it;
3. you will leave my bedroom or study immediately without protest if I request it.
4. You will undertake not to belittle me in front of our children, either through words or behavior.

                                  A + B + C = D IVORCE

                    I feel strangely drawn to condition C 2

Mmm

Edinburgh Joke

Winner funniest joke of the 2013 Edinburgh Fringe:

 "Heard a rumour that Cadbury is bringing out an oriental chocolate bar. Could be a Chinese Wispa."

Not finding this funny, I thought of this one:

Q. What is an Edinburgh "Equilibrium"

A. The number of Trams in Edinburgh is equal to

The number of Range Rovers on Edinburgh Councillors driveways.

Martin Luther King Jnr

Czech Anti Roma Protests

BBC News Europe 25th august 2013.

 

 

Hundreds of far-right activists have staged anti-Roma marches in towns and cities across the Czech Republic.

In some areas, stones were thrown at police who responded with tear gas. At least 75 arrests were made.

Amnesty International expressed concern earlier this month over the planned marches, urging officials to protect the Roma community.

The Roma are among the poorest people in Czech society and Roma leaders often complain of endemic discrimination.

The worst clashes during Saturday's seven rallies took place in Ostrava and Ceske Budejovice, Radio Prague reported.

In both cities, the marchers left the approved route and tried to reach areas with large Roma populations.

The rallies drew counter-demonstrations, like this one in Plzen

In Ostrava, around 600 protesters pelted police with stones and at least 60 people were detained.

In the city of Plzen about 400 people took part in an anti-Romany march and about 15 arrests were made, local media reported.

Human rights activists staged counter-demonstrations in several cities including the capital Prague.

Earlier this month, Amnesty International warned that anti-Roma feeling in the Czech republic was getting worse.

"We have seen a deeply worrying trend over the past year with entrenched discrimination against Roma reaching new heights. This is a fundamental issue that the Czech authorities can't ignore," said Amnesty International's John Dalhuisen.

In 2010, four right-wing extremists were jailed for an arson attack on a Roma family in Vitkov in which a child was severely burned.

GOD IS IN ECLIPSE

Lost

In our lives in this world not everything that happens has an order or a purpose

within the lost gaps inexplicable tragedies befall us

and we cannot even begin to ask why because there is no why

we need order we need purpose we expect it we depend upon it

when the structures fail we seek answers but there is no answer

in our lives in this world there is a palpable forfeiture of order and of purpose

within the lost gaps there is no will there is no why there is no reason.

"For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost." Luke 19:10

And God Created Woman

Image of a Woman.

He has an image of a woman
walking the visible landscape of his mind
from - "And God Created Woman"
seen before he became blind

Picture this - Ave Maria
Brigitte Bardot framed in gold
never to tarnish or grow old

Indelibly printed by a kick
sealed for a lifetime
by half a brick.

Genesis.

The LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and then closed up the place with flesh. Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.

The man said,

“This is now bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called ‘woman,’
for she was taken out of man.” Genesis 2.


Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the church — for we are members of his body. “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” This is a profound mystery — but I am talking about Christ and the church. Ephesians 5.

Failed to Challenge.

Personal comment on my previous post.

The people in the Church of Scotland
who brought to the attention of the Assembly the failings of the church toward Travelling families in Scotland, are to be commended, it is obvious that a lot of integrity and hard work went into their report.

There is two points I feel I need to comment on.

1. No Minister working alone can remove children from a family and send them abroad.
This is the work of a committee. To have a committee you must also have those who appoint the committee, structures need to be in place, not only in Scotland but also in Canada and in Australia. So this is the work of three committees and those who appointed them.

2. Report 9.2: The Churches’ attitudes to Travellers have often reflected the attitudes of society at large. However, although in the research for this report strenuous efforts were made to uncover specific instances of acts of institutional discrimination by Churches against Travellers, no evidence has been found. This is not to say that individual church members have not acted in discriminatory ways and that the Churches have failed to challenge them when they have done so.

I find it strange that the Church of Scotland has defended itself against institutional racism by giving a definitive definition of institutional racism.

Should the agents of an institution conduct the business of that institution
by applying racially motivated procedures and structures - yet remain unchallenged.
This is the definition of institutional racism.

MacPherson Report Precedent. 6.34:

The collective failure of an organisation to provide an appropriate and professional service to people because of their colour, culture, or ethnic origin. It can be seen or detected in processes, attitudes and behaviour which amount to discrimination through unwitting prejudice, ignorance, thoughtlessness and racist stereotyping which disadvantage minority ethnic people.
It persists because of the failure of the organisation openly and adequately to recognise and address its existence and causes by policy, example and leadership. Without recognition and action to eliminate such racism it can prevail as part of the ethos or culture of the organisation. It is a corrosive disease.

The Second Reformation.

Link to Church of Scotland Report.

The Scotsman.
Kirk admits it persecuted Travellers.
Published on Friday 13 May 2011.

THE Church of Scotland is to admit its complicity in the persecution of Travellers and forcibly removing children from Travelling families and sending them abroad.

A report to be presented to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland next week is damning about the discrimination suffered by the Travelling community and the role that clergymen played.
The Scottish Churches Racial Justice Group (SCRJG) says Travellers have been "vilified" since medieval times and that it "deplores the churches' historic failure to stand alongside a minority group facing discrimination and even persecution".
The study says the Kirk was involved in social engineering through the segregation of children from mainstream society by setting up special schools for 'Tinkers' in Perthshire.
Ministers were also present when some youngsters were forcibly taken from their families and sent to Australia and Canada during the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s.
The report makes a raft of recommendations and urges the government and local authorities to improve provisions for modern-day Travellers, respect their culture and protect them from further discrimination.
The ecumenical group wrote the report in response to a campaign by Travellers seeking acknowledgement of past injustices and it backs their call for recognition in law as a distinct ethnic group.
The authors said there was no evidence of institutional discrimination within the Church of Scotland and that historically churches reflected societal attitudes. However, they added that some members were guilty of discrimination and that churches had failed to challenge them.
The report will be presented to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland which begins on Saturday.

It concludes: "SCRJG would like to invite churches in Scotland to give consideration to how they can work to challenge the pernicious evils of discrimination, prejudice and harassment that Travelling people in Scotland continue to experience and to accord them the same level of respect that every member of society is entitled to receive."
The findings were welcomed by human rights group Amnesty International but a spokeswoman for the Travelling community said the report fell short of an official apology.

Jess Smith, a poet and author who describes herself as a "Tinker", said ministers were heavily involved in the removal of children from Tinker families.

She added: "My late father, Charlie Reilly, was about seven or eight years old when he witnessed a woman in Logierait, Perthshire, having her three bairns taken from her by two policeman, a woman and a church minister whom he always called 'The Black Collar'.
"He said the woman was pleading with them to allow her to feed the bairns and throwing herself in front of the police. The woman was so distraught that she later drowned herself in the River Tummel.
"My father wrote a book which he could never get published, and he told us some terrible stories.
"John Watson, Scottish programme director for Amnesty International, said: "The Church of Scotland is to be commended for adopting the mature and responsible approach of addressing its past failings, as the first step towards a more positive role in the future."
The SCRJG report says Travellers have endured centuries of human rights violations. In 1533, King James V issued a decree banning Gypsies from Scotland saying they should "depart forth of this realme with their wifis, bairns and companies."

In 1838, the Church of Scotland set up a committee for the "Reformation of Gypsies" and during the 1930s special schools were set up, including Aldour Tinker School near Pitlochry.

Link to this story here.
Story by Billy Briggs - Link to his website.

Father.

Father

When our home
was Coll Earn lodge
in Auchterarder
I was five and Raymond was three
We would sit on the wall
and wave at the cars going by
Big black Vauxhalls covered in chrome
Wolsleys and Vanguards
an Austin A45 a Loadstar
Smiling people waved back
encouraging us
to wait for the next car
moving slowly down the back road
On my sixth birthday
my Father gave me
a little toy car
and I played
among the flowers he planted.

My Father died thirty years ago today.

Mini Van

This is the first van or car I owned a mini van about this colour.
I was 17 and it's top speed was 70. I painted the wheels gold, black and silver to make them look like sports road wheels. I had some gold paint left so there was only one thing to do with that - paint my boots gold. It did become fashionable later.

Mother.

Backtrack

and you were like a wounded doe tangled in barbed wire
and you were like a wounded doe tangled in barbed wire
and you were like a wounded doe tangled in barbed wire

and your big sad heartbreaking eyes knew I was a liar
and your big sad heartbreaking eyes knew I was a liar
and your big sad heartbreaking eyes knew I was a liar

and I would go for your medicine down to hell and back
and I would go for your medicine down to hell and back
and I would go for your medicine down to hell and back

and I would run like an athlete and the pavement was my track
and I would run like an athlete and the pavement was my track
and I would run like an athlete and the pavement was my track

and you would smile when you were troubled and you used to smile a lot
and you would smile when you were troubled and you used to smile a lot
and you would smile when you were troubled and you used to smile a lot

and you would wind your hair and you could put it in a knot
and you would wind your hair and you could put it in a knot
and you would wind your hair and you could put it in a knot

and you gathered all your worries and you placed them in my cot
and you gathered all your worries and you placed them in my cot
and you gathered all your worries and you placed them in my cot

and your trailer became filled with a cloud of white light
and your trailer became filled with a cloud of white light
and your trailer became filled with a cloud of white light

and you were called away in the middle of the night
and you were called away in the middle of the night
and you were called away in the middle of the night

and I have lived in your wake in it's depth and in it's height
and I have lived out each break from the morning of the night
and I have lived for the sake of the return of the light

My Mother died thirty years ago today.

Blind Man Driving

Blind man driving

Blind man driving
directions are helpful
he knows where
you explain the way

Destinations are easy
the mountain or the ocean
the chosen route
can lead astray

From the mountain
you can see the ocean
from the ocean
you can see the mountain

And in between
the shimmer of a car
another blind man driving
another family outing

Man for all Seasons.

Euro MP Richard Howitt.

Link to his interview in The Enquirer.

Link I find particularly harrowing.

Milk for the Road

Milk for the road

Subtle sickly sweet hypocrisies
turn them sour overnight
xenophobic by morning
Police and men from the council
demand that we move on
from their picturesque village
and neighbourly people
We are breaking the law
of aesthetic ambiance
causing the people
to become transmogrified
by our vicinity
to their cocoon
of acceptable association

This is one of the first poems I wrote.
It's about my family being moved on by police and council men
which was a regular occurrence.

What is truth?

For many people
If the personal delusion of who they think they are
were removed from them
then their personality would collapse
in a blithering heap of disorientation.

The truth of who we are is in how we are seen by God.
The truth is not in our own judgement or opinion or criterion or fantasy
the truth of who we are is what God sees when He looks at us.

By nature we compare ourselves with other people,
and by nature we need to find someone or something to be less than we are.
But at the end of the day it's all a human folly that can and has become an evil.
We are already witnesses to what can happen when the flaws in human nature become a political dogma legislated into law.
The beginning of knowing the truth is to see ourselves as a sinner in the sight of God.
This is the first photo in the album of seeing ourselves as God sees us.

Thou God seest me. Genesis 16:13.

Herrenvolk.

From the corner of my eye
I can almost see
in a recess of my mind
something dark is watching me
Moving in shadows
but not caused by light
emanating darkness

Held at the gate
by the keeper of the keys
kept in quarantine like a disease
Endlessly pacing
the confines of it's cell
Glaring defiantly
with the venom of hell

Here is
The accuser of my soul
the robber of my peace

Here is
The hand of iron
fashioned in a cross
fashioned to deceive

Here is
The God of racial supremacy
the master of the master race
the destroyer of worlds

And from you where can I flee
to the highest mountain or the deep blue sea
I will take you there with me.

Jackboot

As you get older you tend to see or have more of a handle on things as they are.
When you're younger you're full of ideals, you want to change the world.
Then one day you catch a glimpse in the mirror you don't like and realize this is the you that's just as bad as all the people you had wanted to save the world from.
Then you know you're not just the victim of all the bad stuff that goes on in the world you're also the perpetrator.
I suppose that's got something to do with the young being full of ideals and people who are a bit older receding into resignation.
Jesus said to his disciples - "you have more to learn but you cannot bear it all just now." I think some of what they could not bear was the truth about themselves in the sight of God.

Does this mean we should do nothing - No, we should still try but to me - not to change the world but to change one heart at a time beginning with our own.
What we need to find within ourselves is not the "good" but the "Jackbooted Goose-stepping Nazi." Subdue this part of ourselves first then the good will come.

Dale Farm Eviction - Wed 19th Oct 2011.

The Complicity of Silence.

The Stand

Dark times are coming
but do not despair
God has numbered every hair
a time will come when you will say
"I am glad I was there"

This is the Day
to live your Testimony
to express the cry within your soul
"Liberty" "Autonomy"
Arrayed against imposed control

Live a lifetime of Freedom
in this one gallant leap
Free in the air or Free in the deep
Face the Tyranny
Break the unholy allience
The brutality of evil men
The complicity of silence

Grasp the straws of Life
while you can
take the chance be your own man
Make The Stand
if only for a day
Live how you want to live
Say what you want to say.

I wrote this some years ago
I would like to dedicate it this morning
to the community of families living on Dale Farm
and also to those gathered to try and help them.

Time to Wake Up.

I believe that Britain is sleepwalking toward an evil act.

The forced eviction of a community of 86 families.
The destruction of their property.
100 children dragged out of school, just told to go with nowhere to go.
All pleas for an alternative site even at no expense to Basildon council refused,
and all other open spaces in their area blocked.

What are you doing about it?

Mr Justice Ouseley.

Mr Justice Ouseley, sitting at the Royal Courts of Justice in London, ruled that the Travellers delayed too long in challenging Basildon's decision to take direct action
against them, and said the council's actions were not disproportionate.

"The conclusion has been reached time and again that this is just the wrong site for Travellers," he said.

Lawyers for the Travellers argued that the council had failed to offer suitable alternative accommodation and to consider those vulnerable residents and children whose education would be disrupted by the eviction. But the judge said the planning system had always included a fair consideration of personal circumstances and that the residents must now leave voluntarily.

If distress and upset were caused by forcible eviction "it would be because of decisions made by the residents not to comply", he said.

The eviction would cause "considerable distress and disruption" but must go ahead "In my judgment the time has manifestly come for steps to enforce the law to be taken."
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 12 October 2011.

We have a Law.

"We have a law,
and according to that law he must die,
because he claimed to be the Son of God."

John 19:7.

The picture is of John Smith.
Who would have been Prime Minister in 1997,
but tragically died of a heart attack at age 55.

Mockin's Catchin'

Mockin's Catchin'

Is a saying I grew up with it was taught to me by my Parents
as a warning never to mock, make fun of or despise anyone.

Christ says the same thing in Matthew 7.

"Do not judge, or you too will be judged.
For in the same way as you judge others, you will be judged,
and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."