Catching some Rays

Maggie my dear pet in the Novemeber sun.

Prince of Peace

"The hatred of all religion is the new religion. It's zealots are as angry and hate filled as the the Grand Inquisitor. It's practitioners think they are in fact saving humanity. The world has never needed the Prince of Peace so much, methinks."
-Beth Maxwell Boyle

White deer hind caught on camera in Scotland

Follow this link for a video!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/highlands_and_islands/8357445.stm



The hind's location has been kept secret to protect it against poachers

A rare white deer hind has been filmed by a wildlife cameraman for the BBC Landward programme.

The animal's location in the central Highlands has been kept secret in an effort to protect it from poachers and trophy hunters.

Cameraman Philip Lovel said the colouration was caused by a genetic condition that reduces the pigment in hair and skin.

Last year, a white stag was spotted on the west coast of the Highlands.

Mr Lovel said of the hind: "This white deer is very rare.

"I know of only one other wild white red deer at present in Scotland.

"Unfortunately their rarity can make them a target for poaching trophy-hunters, especially the stags."

'A secret'

It was thought the hind was 10-years-old and deer stalkers have said her colour has got lighter with age.

Last February, a white stag was observed on the west coast of the Highlands.

The animal had been seen with other red deer by a member of the John Muir Trust, which kept its location a secret to protect it from poachers.

White deer are often mistakenly thought to be albinos.

Their unusual appearance is caused by a condition called leucism.

Unlike albinos who characteristically have red eyes, deer with leucism have normal colouring in their eyes.

Charge of the Light Brigade

I.
Half a league, half a league,
Half a league onward,
All in the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
`Forward, the Light Brigade!
Charge for the guns!' he said:
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.II.
`Forward, the Light Brigade!'
Was there a man dismay'd?
Not tho' the soldier knew
Some one had blunder'd:
Their's not to make reply,
Their's not to reason why,
Their's but to do and die:
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.III

Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon in front of them
Volley'd and thunder'd;
Storm'd at with shot and shell,
Boldly they rode and well,
Into the jaws of Death,
Into the mouth of Hell
Rode the six hundred.IV

Flash'd all their sabres bare,
Flash'd as they turn'd in air
Sabring the gunners there,
Charging an army, while
All the world wonder'd:
Plunged in the battery-smoke
Right thro' the line they broke;
Cossack and Russian
Reel'd from the sabre-stroke
Shatter'd and sunder'd.
Then they rode back, but not
Not the six hundred.V

Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon behind them
Volley'd and thunder'd;
Storm'd at with shot and shell,
While horse and hero fell,
They that had fought so well
Came thro' the jaws of Death,
Back from the mouth of Hell,
All that was left of them,
Left of six hundred.VI

When can their glory fade?
O the wild charge they made!
All the world wonder'd.
Honour the charge they made!
Honour the Light Brigade,
Noble six hundred!

Alfred Lord Tennyson

painting by Richard Caton Woodville.

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This poem I dedicate to all the men and women serving in Afghanistan and Iraq. I feel such deep sadness these wonderful soldiers have to be in wars that make absolutely no sense at all.

STUDY: FRUCTOSE CONTRIBUTES TO HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE

Science Daily - A diet high in fructose increases the risk of developing high blood pressure according to a paper being presented at the American Society of Nephrology's 42nd Annual Meeting and Scientific Exposition in San Diego, California. The findings suggest that cutting back on processed foods and beverages that contain high fructose corn syrup may help prevent hypertension.

Over the last 200 years, the rate of fructose intake has directly paralleled the increasing rate of obesity, which has increased sharply in the last 20 years since the introduction of HFCS. Today, Americans consume 30% more fructose than 20 years ago and up to four times more than 100 years ago, when obesity rates were less than 5%. While this increase mirrors the dramatic rise in the prevalence of hypertension, studies have been inconsistent in linking excess fructose in the diet to hypertension.

Diana Jalal, MD (University of Colorado Denver Health Sciences Center), and her colleagues studied the issue in a large representative population of US adults. They examined 4,528 adults 18 years of age or older with no prior history of hypertension. Fructose intake was calculated based on a dietary questionnaire, and foods such as fruit juices, soft drinks, bakery products, and candy were included. Dr. Jalal's team found that people who ate or drank more than 74 grams per day of fructose (2.5 sugary soft drinks per day) increased their risk of developing hypertension. Specifically, a diet of more than 74 grams per day of fructose led to a 28%, 36%, and 87% higher risk for blood pressure levels of 135/85, 140/90, and 160/100 mmHg, respectively. (A normal blood pressure reading is below 120/80 mmHg.)

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091029211521.htm

Doubts cast on Chessmen origins

Calls have been made for the pieces to be returned to Lewis


New research has cast doubt on traditional theories about the historic Lewis Chessmen.

The 93 pieces - currently split between museums in Edinburgh and London - were discovered on Lewis in 1831.

But the research suggests they may have been used in both chess and Hnefatafl - a similar game that was popular in medieval Scandinavia.

It also casts doubt on the traditional theory that the ivory pieces were lost or buried by a merchant.

The research was led by Dr David Caldwell of the National Museum of Scotland, who believes the Lewis chessmen were more likely to have belonged to a high-ranking person who lived on Lewis.

Dr Caldwell told the BBC's Good Morning Scotland programme that many of the pieces could have doubled for Hnefatafl, another conflict game which also pitted a king against pawns or warriors on the other side. It is much more likely that the horde is in Lewis because it belonged to somebody who lived there rather than being abandoned by a merchant who was passing through
Dr David Caldwell
National Museum of Scotland


The ancient game has not survived into modern times.

For the first time, they also tried to work out which pieces were made by the same groups of craftsmen by measuring the chessmen's faces, looking at their clothing, and studying details of the workmanship.

Dr Caldwell added: "We certainly still believe the pieces are Scandinavian in origin, perhaps made in a workshop by several masters in a city like Trondheim.

"But one of the main things I think we are saying in our research is that it is much more likely that the horde is in Lewis because it belonged to somebody who lived there rather than being abandoned by a merchant who was passing through.

"To take a relatively easy example, there is a praise poem written in the middle of the 13th century to Angus Mor of Isla, and the poem says that he inherited his ivory chess pieces from his father Donald - that makes Angus the very first Macdonald, and the poem also makes him the king of Lewis.

"Now you of course you would be foolish to implicitly believe everything in a praise poem, but nevertheless it gives you some idea that we are dealing with a society in the west of Scotland - great leaders like Angus Mor, bishops, clan chiefs - who really valued playing chess and saw it as being one of their accomplishments."

He said that the analysis tried to recognise the work of different craftsmen, and home in on pieces which may be replacements for ones which had been broken or lost.

They used a forensic anthropologist, Caroline Wilkinson based at Dundee University, to do a photogrammetric analysis of the faces as they believed individual craftsmen would have given their faces different characteristics, just like a modern-day political cartoonists.

Plenty of mystery

Dr Caldwell said the chessmen suggested that there was a reasonable amount of wealth in the western Isles in the 13th century, perhaps because the medieval economy placed greater value on fairly barren land that could be used to raise cattle.

He added: "It was certainly leading men there, people who could make a lot of money either by raising cattle or frankly by going raiding - there was still in some ways a Viking way of life surviving into the 13th century."

Despite the extensive research, Dr Caldwell said he still believed there was plenty of mystery surrounding the chessmen.

"I would be very disappointed if we have written the last word on the - what I hope we have done is opened up the debate and shown it is possible, even with something very well known, to discover new things," he said.

The research will be published this week in the journal Medieval Archaeology.

Of the 93 pieces found, 82 are kept at the British Museum, with 11 held by the National Museum of Scotland.

Calls have been made for all of the pieces, which were made from walrus ivory and whales' teeth, to be returned to Lewis.

Salmond in Afghan withdrawal call

The BBC poll showed that most Britons thought the war was "unwinnable"


Scotland's first minister has called on the UK government to consider pulling British troops out of Afghanistan.

Alex Salmond's comments came as a BBC poll suggested 64% of Britons believed the war was "unwinnable".

But Prime Minister Gordon Brown told BBC Scotland the mission was vital in dealing with the threat of terrorism.

Meanwhile, thousands of people across the UK honoured the men and women killed in conflicts past and present with a two-minute silence.

In a poll for the BBC's Politics Show, 42% of the 1,009 adults surveyed said they did not understand the purpose of Britain's mission in Afghanistan.

Some 63% of those surveyed felt UK troops should be withdrawn as soon as possible, and 52% agreed that levels of corruption in Afghanistan's government meant the war was "not worth fighting for". POLITICS SHOW/COMRES SURVEY
I feel I have a good understanding of the purpose of Britain's mission in Afghanistan
Agree 54%, disagree 42%, don't know 4%
All British forces should be withdrawn from Afghanistan as quickly as possible
Agree 63%, disagree 31%, don't know 6%
The war in Afghanistan is unwinnable
Agree 64%, disagree 27%, don't know 10%
The levels of corruption involved in the recent Presidential election show the war in Afghanistan is not worth fighting for
Agree 52%, disagree 36%, don't know 12%
Sample: 1,009 adults polled by phone on 4 and 5 November

Paper calls for UK's Afghan exit


Mr Salmond told BBC Scotland's Politics Show: "I'm not surprised by the findings, because what you've got among the public is a combination of great support for the troops on the ground, as you would expect, but no confidence whatsoever in the government's strategy in pursuing the conflict."

He went on: "There has to be the fundamental reassessment of the role, mission, strategy - nothing should be off the table, that should include the possibility of a withdrawal."

But Mr Brown defended the reasons for having soldiers in Afghanistan, telling BBC Scotland: "It's our duty on every occasion that people ask, as they're entitled to do, the question, 'why are we in Afghanistan and what is the future for our venture in Afghanistan?'

"It's right that we explain there is a chain of terror that links Pakistan and the Afghan-Pakistan border to the streets of our cities in Britain and, if we do not take action in Pakistan and Afghanistan, then al-Qaeda would be plotting more and more chaos in the streets of our country."

Scottish Conservative leader Annabel Goldie said the UK government had to be much clearer about what it expected of the Afghan government, adding: "It is the case that we cannot have our British troops in Afghanistan unclear as to what the ultimate democratic mission is and that's got to be spelled out by the Afghan government."

Former Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy said the objectives at the start of the mission in Afghanistan seemed well-defined and carried broad support.

"The problem has been that, in the intervening years, as the death toll has mounted the objectives have kept changing," he said.

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I agree with Mr.Salmond 100% and think the US also needs to get out now!