Kamala Harris accused of wearing earpiece earrings during presidential debate

It seems that the Donald Trump Cult followers have hatched a new conspiracy theory which as planned has gone viral on social media the purpose of which is to claw back some credibility for their leader after his disastrous performance during the debate as he ranted on about migrants in Ohio eating domestic cats without reasonable evidence. 

It all seems so bizarre to me. All of it. Including this latest conspiracy which has been covered by the English version of France 24.

Their video assesses this conspiracy theory and concludes that it is FAKE. As I have said things seems to descend into chaos when Trump is around. 

Here is the story in a video:

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins. Also: sources for news articles are carefully selected but the news is often not independently verified. Also, I rely on scientific studies but they are not 100% reliable.

German Foreign Office states in a tweet that they don't eat cats and dogs in Germany!

The German Foreign Office has dived into the viral online discussion about Donald Trump's screwup during the presidential debate with Kamala Harris in which he ranted and raved about Haitian migrants killing and eating pet cats and dogs in Ohio. 

His claims were based upon what appears to be anecdotal witness statements, perhaps from biased people who have an agenda against migrants. I don't know. But there were and currently are no hard facts that Haitian migrants eating cats and dogs in Ohio and therefore Trump was foolish to discuss that point in front of millions of Americans in a crucial debate.

I have argued that because of this he is not fit to be president because he is a poor decision-maker. He had plenty of time to decide what to debate and to behave professionally but he behaved like an amateur with a poor mind.

Like it or not: Germany’s energy system is fully operational, with more than 50% renewables. And we are shutting down – not building – coal & nuclear plants. Coal will be off the grid by 2038 at the latest. PS: We also don’t eat cats and dogs. #Debate2024 pic.twitter.com/PiDO98Vxfo

— GermanForeignOffice (@GermanyDiplo) September 11, 2024

And above is a tweet from the German Foreign Office about renewable energy and about eating cats and dogs! The reference to renewable energy is because of Trump's attack on Harris's bid to move America towards a more diverse and sustainable mix of energy sources. Trump apparently said that Germany had tried and failed to give up fossil fuels.

Germany is counteracting that false Trump argument with this tweet. Just another example of the falsehoods disseminated by Donald Trump. He lacks integrity. We know that because of his cheating at golf. And he lies. He is misogynistic and he's a felon. And to that long list I've added his poor decision-making. A president must be an excellent decision-maker. There is no alternative. Trump fails.

Finally, I'm told that Germany supports Kamala Harris for the next president although they've not made a formal announcement.

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins. Also: sources for news articles are carefully selected but the news is often not independently verified. Also, I rely on scientific studies but they are not 100% reliable.

Trump's POOR DECISION-MAKING evident in his rant about pet-eating migrants during presidential debate

Americans expect their next president to be able to make excellent decisions as and when necessary. It is the hallmark of a good president. It is their raison d'être. An American president must be able to make great decisions. The best possible decisions, balancing up all the various factors and influences and consequences. I would expect that an American president makes hundreds of decisions every day all of which have the potential to improve for worsen the lives of Americans.

Screenshot from the debate. An angry as usual Trump and a smiling Harris.

The recent much-publicised debate between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris emphasises, as far as I am concerned, the fact that Donald Trump makes poor decisions. He is a poor decision-maker.

During this debate he had all the opportunity to discuss issues that are central to the lives of Americans such as healthcare and the economy. Immigration might also be in that discussion. Uncontrolled immigration is important to many Americans as it is too many other citizens of other countries including the UK.

Both parties to this debate had plenty of time to prepare for it. Donald Trump had the choice whether he should rant and rave about Haitian migrants eating pets in Springfield Ohio, or is it Canton Ohio, we don't know exactly? He could have avoided the subject completely. He could have addressed immigration but in a professional and balanced way.

But he went on - in his usual way - about a viral social media story which Springfield officials and police say is untrue. They say that there are no credible reports of pet-eating migrants. However, Ohio's Republican Attorney General has launched an investigation into the claims. Link to a further discussion on this.

And there's a video on social media of a Haitian woman, Allexis Telia Ferrell, being arrested and reportedly charged by the local police.

The police officer - as they approach the woman - receives a witness account from people standing by saying that she ate a cat. Were these witnesses truthful or did they have an agenda to further? And I'm told that she was charged - I guess on the basis of that witness evidence - but we are getting very mixed reports on this topic.

The point I'm making is this: at the moment there is no hard evidence that Haitian immigrants are killing and eating pet dogs and pet cats in Springfield or Canton, Ohio, USA. There appears to be some witness evidence but it's been hyped up on social media. It might be unreliable and biased.

And it appears to be hyped up on social media in order to further Donald Trump's political campaign about uncontrolled immigration into the country. He is very strong on that and it appears to be one of his major platforms for history election.

But you cannot, as a potential president of this great country, rant and rave about something on mainstream television in a very major debate that is not based on hard fact at the time you talk about it. 

In the heated exchange, Harris turned to Trump and declared that as vice president she had spoken to foreign leaders who "say you (Trump) are a disgrace."

He has egg on his face. He looks stupid. I am embarrassed for him. A really good person with a good mind would not do this. It's incredibly careless and stupid. It makes him look stupid. And it makes him look like a poor decision-maker. And unfit to be the next president.

I'm pleased because I am very much a supporter of Kamala Harris and I don't think that Donald Trump was a good president. I've said before that if you combine Putin with Xi Jinping you will get a kind of semi-chaos.

Trump's sidekick also fell into the same trap:

“Months ago, I raised the issue of Haitian illegal immigrants draining social services and generally causing chaos all over Springfield, Ohio,” JD Vance wrote on X/Twitter. “Reports now show that people have had their pets abducted and eaten by people who shouldn’t be in this country.”

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins. Also: sources for news articles are carefully selected but the news is often not independently verified. Also, I rely on scientific studies but they are not 100% reliable.

Xi Jinping + Putin + Trump a recipe for chaos

I think these three are a huge danger to the world. We are stuck with Xi Jinping and Putin of which Putin is the worst by far as he is a mass murder and inveterate liar of gargantuan proportions. Putin is a stain on the history of humanity. But Americans can stop adding Trump to this toxic mix. Vote for Kamala instead please. Trump is an aberration. I believe that he became popular because he is anti-politician. People became disenchanted with politicians for good reason and wanted something different and got it. But there is a strong argument for a 'normal' person in the White House and someone younger with a balanced and sensible approach to the presidency. Also Trump is now officially in the early stages of dementia 😱😎. That's what I say based in X reports!

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins. Also: sources for news articles are carefully selected but the news is often not independently verified. Also, I rely on scientific studies but they are not 100% reliable.

Kamala is 'Comma followed by 'la' and Walz is 'Walls'. Got it!

There has been a 96-hour coronation for Kamala Harris. It seems to me that when it comes to campaigning to be the president of the United States, the American citizens need to have some sort of leader to look up to which can lead to a kind of cult. Trump was said to be a cult figure but now I think we can call Kamala Harris a cult figure judging by the recent super-energetic Chicago convention at which, she apparently, made a rather weak speech but that doesn't matter because the delegates were super-excited and in all there were about 66 speeches apparently! She has amassed a $500m war chest. She is that popular. May it continue.

'Comma' followed by 'la' Harris! She is great. Image credit see base on article.

But one thing came out of this convention which is that I discovered how to pronounce 'Kamala' and the name of her running mate Tim Walz. He's been specifically picked to look 60 years old and white!

Trump has consistently used nicknames to belittle Kamala Harris. And he tried to pick holes in her ethnic background which I think is horrendously bad. He's been criticised for this. For sniping and stupid insults. Well let him continue because the more he does it the less effective he looks and the more stupid he looks as well.

Okay, to the point which is in the title to this article. The exact way to pronounce her name is apparently to first say the word "comma" and then add to that the French word "la". And regarding Tim Walz, the way to say his surname is as follows: "Walls".

RELATED: Kamala Harris is an animal champion. Donald Trump has a poor record on animal welfare.

I bet you didn't know that! Perhaps you did but I certainly didn't and it is nice to finally get to the bottom of it. I believe that the unusual way to pronounce her name comes about because of her ethnicity where her name has a meaning: lotus flower.

FYI: Kamala is an Indian name, and her middle name is Devi— a South Asian middle name. Kamala Harris's ethnicity is Indian and Jamaican. Vice President Kamala Harris is the daughter of a Jamaican-born father and an Indian-born mother.

Image: By Lawrence Jackson - https://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/vice-president-harris/ (direct download), Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=103324295

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins. Also: sources for news articles are carefully selected but the news is often not independently verified. Also, I rely on scientific studies but they are not 100% reliable. What else!?

You are a cat lady and want to support Kamala Harris? Buy this T-shirt.

Kamala has an online store where her campaign sells items at high prices (? 💕😃) in order to raise campaign funds. It is okay. All in a good cause if you are a Democrat or if you want to keep that narcissistic madman out of the White House.

It is a Mickey take on the misogynistic JD Vance comment about childless cat ladies which got him and the Trump campaign into a lot of trouble. Trumps campaign is faltering. His rallies look flat as his followers become tired of the old mantra "Make America Great Again". It has become a cliche.

It cost $32. Link: Cat Ladies For Kamala Tee - Harris Victory Fund Webstore (kamalaharris.com)

A lot of people are pulling for Harris at the moment. Many groups have formed a coalition. They say it is a bit like the Obama years when he was campaigning to be president.

Here is another 'tee' on the bonfire.com website:

Link to the above website: Cat Ladies for Kamala 2024 | Bonfire

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins. Also: sources for news articles are carefully selected but the news is often not independently verified. Also, I rely on scientific studies but they are not 100% reliable.

People displaying shirts or stickers mocking political opponents are more likely to have psychopathic tendencies (infographic)

A study in the US found that people who engage in “ideological poking” - displaying political symbols designed to mock their opponents score more highly for psychopathic traits by Michael Broad

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This, for me, is an interesting piece of research and I immediately thought of Donald Trump and his army of supporters. We see them being very vociferous at rallies. We see them wearing T-shirts emblazoned with praises for their great demagogue of a leader and we see stickers on their car bumpers praising Trump. We also see T-shirts and car bumpers criticising and even insulting Kamala Harris, Donald Trump's competitor in the race to the White House. 

And of course Donald Trump is very prone to using nicknames for Kamala Harris which I argue are a form of insult. They are belittling and deliberately so in my opinion. He likes to belittle his opponents which is a cheap and nasty thing to do and it is very reflective, I would argue, of his character.

And today, in The Times, we have a report on this study and the article is entitled: "Steer clear of drivers with bumper stickers-they could be psychopaths."

And they ask whether your T-shirt informs people about your political affiliations or whether you have a bumper sticker which announces to the world your political affiliations.

And I'll quote the author here: "Well, then you are letting people know about two things: your politics, and, quite possibly, your tendency to psychopathy."

This study conducted in the US found that people who engage in ideological poking which means displaying political symbols designed to mock their opponents are more likely to score highly for psychopathic traits.

The study was led by Matejas Mackin from the Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University. He carried out the study because he saw the bumper stickers of post-Trump America and it felt like something had changed.

He said that, "When I was a little younger, I would typically see campaigns with signs that would say something like "Hope" or "Vote Obama" or "Vote McCain". Then from 2016 onwards, you start to see more and more people expressing their beliefs by insulting the other side. I was interested in understanding this phenomenon. Why do people do it?"

His study is published in the Journal of Research in Personality. It involved almost 500 US residents all of whom completed a questionnaire to assess their tendency towards 'dark personality traits'.

The conclusion was that there was a link between "ideological poking" and psychopathy. It wasn't a big effect but it was certainly there but it doesn't mean that people who did it were clinically psychopathic but there was a link.

He said this might explain some of the toxicity that we had seen in the past decade. He added, "It does seem to be the case that the contemporary polarised political climate might give individuals with slightly darker dispositions more of a channel to speak."

"Studies have suggested that the display of political apparel, including t-shirts supporting particular candidates or causes, is more common among supporters of conservative or Republican politicians compared to liberal or Democratic supporters. This trend has been observed with Trump supporters as well. Surveys and analyses have found that Trump supporters are more likely to wear apparel with pro-Trump messages, slogans, or imagery compared to non-Trump supporters. This could include t-shirts, hats, buttons, and other items expressing support for the former president." - Google Gemini.

In a recent bizarre attempt to insult Kamala Harris again he said: “She sounds more like Trump than Trump, copying almost everything. She is conning the American public, and will flip right back. I will MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! There will be no flipping!!!”

His rallies are becoming less and less populated and the MAGA mantra sounds tired.
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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins. Also: sources for news articles are carefully selected but the news is often not independently verified. Also, I rely on scientific studies but they are not 100% reliable.

Tim Walz turned a failing high school American football team into winners

There is a great story in The Sunday Times today about Tim Walz turning around the fortunes of the 1999 Mankato West High School American football team from long term failure to becoming state champions for the first time. At the time Walz was the assistant coach. The team was struggling. They'd just been trounced by Owatonna High.

Almost forgot: Walz likes cats! Great. And Kamala is an animal champion. They've got to win for animal welfare.

Tim Walz's Coaching Style: How He Led Suburban High School to State Championship - Newsweek. 

Walz persuaded the coach to change the team's defensive alignment. The team was called the Scarlets and they learned the new formation in a week.

John Considine was a member of that team. He is now 43 years of age and he said that "We all bought into it". He played right tackle, one of the players who protects the quarterback. He added that Walz told us "we could resurrect the season. And we did. That was the turning point."

From the next game, the team went on to a winning streak and ultimately crowned state champions for the first time in the school's history.

The Democrats will hope that Walz could do the same thing for their party. You may know that Walz, who is now the governor of Minnesota, spent more than a decade of his career as a geography, history and government teacher, mostly in Mankato. This was a town of about 40,000 people at the time and a big farming community.

The students remember a "man with bouncing enthusiasm who couldn't stop socialising, who acted as a fatherly figure and set high standards for others."

Kamala Harris, calls him loudly and proudly and often as "Coach Walz."

The former head coach of that team, Rick Sutton, says that he immediately recognised the advantage of bringing Walz onto the coaching staff because he cared. And he could bring energy and enthusiasm as the team's defensive coordinator.

They had lost 27 games straight when the two coaches started their first season together in 1996. Expectations were low. They had to convince their players to be more dedicated and more optimistic.

They trained every night after school for two hours until 6 PM. For these two coaches it was like running two jobs, their teaching job and the coaching job.

Considine remembers the motivational pre-game speeches from Walz. "He had high standards for us and did a great job motivating young men to do their absolute best."

Becoming state champions for the first time was "pure jubilation". They had never achieved it before. It was unheard of.

It looks as though Walz is a good pick as Kamala Harris's running mate. They are doing well. On X today there is an excellent video of a huge audience welcoming and listening to Kamala Harris deliver her speech. This brings to mind immediately Don Trump's lies about the audiences that he manages to cobble together. He always exaggerates their numbers. He always has. Right from the day he was inaugurated.

I'm afraid he's a liar, and a narcissist. He has a borderline personality disorder in my opinion and there are concerns now that, at 78, he is entering the phase of life when dementia starts to creep in and if he is appointed president, over the following four years he may well develop dementia. It is said that his rambling speeches are possible signs of early dementia. American wants a young, vibrant and enthusiastic president and that person is Kamala Harris.

Experts say Trump’s speaking style shows ‘potential indications of cognitive decline’

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins. Also: sources for news articles are carefully selected but the news is often not independently verified. Also, I rely on scientific studies but they are not 100% reliable.

Kamala Harris's relative youth (59) highlights Trump's age problem (78)

This is an interesting and welcome development in American politics. Biden had to drop out of the race to be the next president because of his age essentially. It appeared to Americans that he had developed early-stage dementia. He was clearly unable to be the leader of the world's most important democratic country. Kamala Harris the Vice President has successfully stepped into his shoes although Honest Joe continues to run the country or he wants to.

Kamala Harris is 59 years old. She is relatively youthful and it shows. A lot of commentators have said that her relative youth is very welcome. It actually stands out starkly in comparison to the previous two contenders, Biden and Trump.

Which is exactly why Trump now looks like an old man. His age is now, for the first time, a real barrier to him beating the Democrats. Before it was a competition between Biden and Trump; the former being older than the latter. Now to competition between Harris and Trump with the former being a lot younger than the latter.

And I think both Democrats and Republicans were unhappy with the fact that Biden and Trump were so old. You need someone useful to lead the country. Somebody with an abundance of energy who can connect with younger people. So both parties were unhappy with the age problem.

That problem has now gone away with Kamala Harris and it presents a beacon of light and rationality to the presidential race. At last America has somebody of a reasonable age who might become the next president. 

Normality has resumed in the form of Kamala Harris which pushes Donald Trump into being an outsider because he's too old. 78 is too old because over a four-year term as president he will be 82 while being a president. 

We don't know how his brain will deteriorate over those four years. He might himself develop early-stage dementia and become less competent. There should be no issue whatsoever of a president suffering from dementia. That shouldn't be anywhere near possible. The way to protect against that problem is to select somebody who is youthful enough.

A recent poll supports what I've just written. According to this poll 51% now see Donald Trump as too old to be president and more than a third of voters doubt he would be able to serve a full four-year term.

This new poll conducted by Morning Consult also indicates that Vice President Harris has "widened the trust advantage that Biden held on handling issues such as abortion (her biggest lead), climate change, education, healthcare and protecting American democracy. 

Trump's advantages over Harris are on gun policy, crime, the economy and foreign policy but they are smaller than they were with Biden.

In conclusion, Harris has erased the Biden age problem which is why I think Harris will now win.

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins. Also: sources for news articles are carefully selected but the news is often not independently verified. Also, I rely on scientific studies but they are not 100% reliable.

American people CRAVE a good leader and Kamala is that person

Judging by the adoration of the crowds attending Kamala Harris's first speech at her campaign rally, it is clear to me that (1) they are pleased Biden has dropped out at last, better late than never and (2) they really do crave a leader that they can genuinely look up to. And she has a cracking smile hasn't she? It is the best one I have seen. She is light and optimistic. Perhaps she can flower into being a great leader.

Note: No one knows for sure if she will be a good leader is elected but I have decided that she will be. 😎👍

Kamala Harris. Photo: X.

They roared with happiness at the speech (20 seconds in the video) and would not stop. It seems that when Biden was in the race to the White House the Democrat section of American society (about 50% of the citizens?) were stuck between a rock and a hard place.

They had Biden who was clearly failing rapidly and frankly unelectable and Trump who for many democrats is the kind of person that Kamala Harris describes: a dodgy wheeler-dealer, and a criminal. A convicted criminal as it happens. Actually a felon.

Kamala Harris's speech was brilliant 🔥

If I were American, she'd have my vote 👏 pic.twitter.com/aRzmNQhaRT

— Farrukh (@implausibleblog) July 23, 2024

Here is a quote from an X feed:

It's refreshing to smell the aroma of new enthusiasm in the political air. Suddenly, Trump becomes the old, stale, deranged felon, Autocrat Wanna-Be, loser rapist. Kamala is that breath of fresh air. She'll save democracy. The 'prosecutor vs. the felon' is classic

They are correct. For me it goes deeper. Americans crave a good leader. Biden was no longer capable because of his dementia and Trump has always been dodgy. For many he is slightly deranged.

It's refreshing to smell the aroma of new enthusiasm in the political air. Suddenly, Trump becomes the old, stale, deranged felon, Autocrat Wanna-Be, loser rapist. Kamala is that breath of fresh air. She'll save democracy. The 'prosecutor vs. the felon' is classic. #Kamala2024 pic.twitter.com/bFdLGqRG1w

— Chetter 🌊💙🏳️‍🌈🇺🇦🗽⚖ Democracy needs YOU! (@ChetterHub) July 23, 2024

The truth is that ALL citizens of all countries crave a good, fair and wise leader who will guide them through tough times. 

But in the top video we hear this need expressed in cheering and applause. A gushing of emotion that perhaps they have that leader. There is optimism.

Netflix made it possible for there to be a female President! It is time for a female president. It calls into question the pluses and minuses of female over male leaders.

Arguably this is a time for a female mentality. Drop the ego and the macho. Embrace the solution-finder, the compromiser. Compromise in a complex world is always the best solution. But she'll need to be strong and fearless too.

And as for animal welfare, she has a good track record we are told:

[She is] the first presidential candidate to have endorsed, helped to pass, and helped to enforce strong, specific pro-animal legislation throughout her political career. - A-Z Animals website.

For people like me this is very important. All leaders should be sensitive to animal welfare. It indicates an awareness of the need to help the vulnerable and support equality.

Trump and his colleagues will be concerned. Kamala has received an unprecedented surge in campaign funds from donors of $230 million keen to see her elected as America's first female president.

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.

Joe Biden "Rage, rage against the dying of the light"

President Biden and Kamala Harris. 

The world now knows that Joe Biden has, at last, stood down from the election battle and handed the baton to Vice President Kamala Harris.

In a letter posted on X, the 81-year-old said: "It has been the greatest honour of my life to serve as your President.

“And while it has been my intention to seek re-election, I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down and to focus solely on fulfilling my duties as President for the remainder of my term."

He has been brave, perhaps foolish, in fighting his rapid mental decline. Struggling to accept it. Until convinced by his colleague and perhaps his wife to stop. It isn't just about now and the race to become the next president. It is about how he would have faired if he had become the next president. He'd simply be unable to cope.

But he raged against the dying of the light in the words of that well-known poem by Dylan Thomas. It is a poem that - for me - urges all elderly people who are at various stages of dying (which applies to Biden) to fight to the end. To live as good as you can to the end. To never give up. Biden did this but unfortunately to the detriment of the Democratic party. Trump is almost bound to win now and become the next president. Hold on to your hats. Update: Kamala Harris is destined (hopefully) to become the next president. So things are looking up for the Democrats and common sense.

The recommendation by Dylan Thomas applies to 'ordinary' people, in their homes, going about their business in their twilight years. But Biden did what Thomas suggested and in some ways it is commendable, brave and to be expected of a fighter. A political warrior who could not stop. Who refused to succumb to the dying of the light.

Here is the poem:  Do not go gentle into that good night.

Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

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It is in the public domain which is why I can publish it here. The advice in the poem is sound. Old people should do all they can to be as active as possible both in mind and body to their end. Hard though it is. You have to have discipline and drive to the end of one's life. To maximise life.

One vital factor in this journey is not to be become fat!! You can't max life if you are obese as it damages health and severely curtails mobility. Biden was slim unlike Trump who is obese. Biden had discipline. He was not self-indulgent. He was a servant of the people.

Here is Dylan Thomas in a Welsh pub. A great man in his own right. He died aged 39. He lived dangerously. {{{(>_<)}}} And I think he 'raged' throughout his life....!

Credit: By Rosalie Thorne McKenna - https://hrc.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p15878coll98/id/7222, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=141683289

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.

JD Vance is a bad Christian as his actions do not follow his faith

JD Vance is one of the most overtly religious major politicians in America. He is described as a conservative Catholic in The Times. He is Donald Trump's running mate and therefore a potential vice president when Trump is elected president which seems likely at the moment. 

But his actions do not follow his declaration to the world that he is a Christian. He is a bad Christian.

Declared Christian JD Vance by Michael Broad

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Being a Christian is good politics it seems in America. And Vance appears to be a strict Christian. He is a student of the Latin Mass, an opponent of abortion and gay marriage, and given to quoting St Augustine. 

An old-fashioned Christian with old-fashioned values which I think he promotes for political advantage. And I think Donald Trump does the same thing and indeed is one reason why he chose J.D. Vance as his running mate.

So what does Christianity say about helping the vulnerable; the needy, those in need? Well, the people of Ukraine are vulnerable and needy. They need all the help the rest of the world can give them. 

Helping those in need is a core principle in Christianity.  Here are some key points:

• Love thy neighbor: This teaching from Jesus (Matthew 22:39) emphasizes helping anyone in need, not just fellow Christians. The parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37) reinforces this idea.
• Caring for the poor and oppressed: The Bible includes many verses urging followers to help the less fortunate. Proverbs 14:31 says, "Whoever oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God."
• Following Jesus' example: Jesus himself ministered to the sick, poor, and marginalized. His teachings on compassion and generosity inspire Christians to do the same.
• Putting faith into action: James 2:14-17 emphasizes that faith without works is dead. Helping others demonstrates genuine faith.

But about Putin's invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent long-standing war employing trench warfare, JD Vance says the following: 

"I gotta be honest with you, I don't really care what happens to Ukraine one way or another," Vance said in February 2022."

He added: 

"I do not think that it is in America's interest to continue to fund an effectively never-ending war in Ukraine"

So he is against helping Ukrainians who are desperately in need of help. That, I would argue, is very anti-Christian. It is not the kind of statement that a genuine Christian would make.

Therefore, I have to conclude that he is not a genuine Christian. He is a Christian for political purposes. It looks good. It makes him more popular. Perhaps he had an eye on being Donald Trump's vice president years ago and he knew that Donald Trump would use Christianity to his political advantage.

This is exactly what he has done after Thomas Matthew Crooks tried to assassinate him with a rifle. Donald Trump has used God after that assassination attempt by saying that it was God that saved him. And it is God who is dictating that it is Donald Trump's time to be the president again. God is paving the way for him. God is on his side.

He knows that there are millions of Christians in America living in the Bible belt. Perhaps he is trying to capture them as followers, acolytes, voters.

But the point here is that JD Vance is, I would argue and allege, a fake Christian.

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.

Donald Trump's ear bandage is oversized for political advantage

Trump uses his ear injury to political advantage by an oversized ear bandage by Michael Broad

See the updates at the base of the page too please. Basically, there is almost no injury at all. It is hard to see one now that he has removed the oversized bandage. It was a very cynical action to stick a huge bandage over pretty well no injury.

Donald Trump appears today for the first time since assassination attempt without a bandage on his right ear, seemingly fully recovered. pic.twitter.com/P3H8I6aN1n

— Mike Sington (@MikeSington) July 26, 2024

I am guessing (hopefully intelligently) but it occurs to me that Donald Trump is making 'political capital' as it is called by ensuring that the bandage covering his right ear wound from the rifle bullet almost covers his entire ear and looks very visible when the injury (which is hard to see) appears to have been a small nick in the top of the ear. 

The nurse could have used a plaster over that area but that would have been almost invisible and I am arguing that Trump - ever the political mastermind - is milking the attempted assassination to the maximum. 

He is ensuring that his followers see that he was injured and is a miraculous survivor by the Grace of God. God saved him. It is a God-given opportunity to get the most out of this. To become the hero and saviour of America. To Make America Great Again. He is the chosen one.

And he has to make sure that the world and his followers see the bloody injury to get that message across. The oversized bandage achieves that purpose.

What do you think?

Update: his followers are showing their support! Like lemmings. The Messiah. Trump knew the power of this bandage. He knew it would be a visual signal of success. Of surviving. 

UPDATE: He removed it for last Saturday's rally, instead a smaller, beige-coloured plaster covered the top of his ear which basically proves my point. He took advantage of the shooting and having done so and made his point he has a normal plaster on now which is the way it should have been in the first place.

Now that he has taken off the bandage and we can all see the ear, there is hardly any evidence that he was hit by a bullet. We don't see any scarring or stitching. There's nothing there almost. It's almost as if he wasn't hit by a bullet. It's been suggested that he was hit by a piece of a bullet, a piece of shrapnel. But there's almost no evidence that he was hit and therefore this very dramatically supports my assertion that his bandage was deliberately oversized for political advantage. It was a cynical ploy.

Didn't Ronny Jackson claim the bullet removed 2 cm of Trump's ear? Where are the stitches? Where are the scars? pic.twitter.com/3ZW0IjLSyf

— Christopher Bouzy (spoutible.com/cbouzy) (@cbouzy) July 27, 2024

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.

Commons Speaker wants many cats at the Palace of Westminster

The Commons Speaker, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, is a known animal lover and loves cats. He currently has two cats, I believe, living in his home within the Palace of Westminster A.K.A. Houses Of Parliament. 

He lives just behind Big Ben in very beautiful accommodation; quite extensive and I believe that his Maine Coon cat 'Attlee' lives there with him. And he has adopted a black stray cat who wanted to be taken in and who he has named 'Clem'. Both of these names come from the former Prime Minister Clement Attlee.

Attlee as an adult Maine Coon who lives with the Speaker in his house within the estate. Photo: Richard Wheeler PA.

He is a very popular Commons Speaker and was re-elected to the post after the general election. There appears to have been no issues about his re-election. And he says that there should be "cats across the House." The idea is to take care of the rodent population and provide therapy to stressed politicians! 💕

The Palace of Westminster is a very large estate adjacent to the Thames River and is in bad condition requiring constant repair and a major upgrade which would cost billions of pounds. The reason why I am saying that is because you can see that there is a great possibility of there being mice and rats on the estate which is the case.

And Attlee, his Maine Coon cat, is sometimes called upon to deal with mice. MPs come up to him and ask if they can borrow Attlee for a while to get rid of mice in their office. That kind of thing.

And Sir Lindsay Hoyle would also like to see a "Bring Your Pet Day" in Parliament. I think he would like to see members of Parliament bringing their pets to the establishment.

Sir Lindsay has a number of pets including a tortoise named Maggie and a parrot named Boris. These are named after Margaret Thatcher and Boris Johnson, two more former prime ministers.

There was a study about the possibility of employing cats to keep down the rodent population on the estate. The conclusion appears to be that the estate is too big and that there would have to be too many cats in order to make it work which would be unmanageable.

His brown tabby Maine Coon cat also helps to keep the peace and keep people calm. Cats can do that for you. He is a therapy cat as well as the chief mouser at Parliament. He goes out to visit people to make them smile and be happier.

He said that "We've had the odd MP ring up and say, including the Clerk of the House, 'there is a mouse in my office, can we borrow Attlee?'"

His cat loves Dreamies which is a dry cat food and a particularly tasty one. The reason why he wants cats across the house, as mentioned, is because "There's nothing better than seeing a cat. Anybody who likes cats are nice people."

He's right. A slight problem is that some people don't like cats or some are frightened of cats but I would thoroughly agree with him. I think more cats at Parliament would be beneficial. And a dog or two would help to of course but there would have to be some management because you don't want dogs chasing cats! The issue is about managing the cats. Feeding them and providing toilet facilities etc.

Sir Lindsay Hoyle soon after adopting his new Maine Coon kitten Attlee. They touch noses in a friendly greeting

When he was interviewed for the article to which I'm referring and which is published on the Independent newspaper online he said that his tortoise, Maggie, was on the terrace. That is the area outside the Houses of Parliament in between the building and the Thames. It's a very pleasant area where they sometimes have marquees for social gatherings I believe.

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.

Lord Blencathra would ban cat flaps to protect wildlife

Lord Blencathra sits in the House of Lords in Parliament. He is a peer of the realm and a life peer. He was a former Member of Parliament (MP) for Penrith and The Border from 1983 to 2010. He wants to protect wildlife and he has some ideas in that respect which he announced in the House of Lords which has been reported by The Telegraph.

The Rt Hon Lord Blencathra.

One of his silliest ideas (and I'll explain why I think it's silly) is that all cat flaps in the UK should be banned under the law. He doesn't believe that cats should be allowed to come and go as they please from indoors to outdoors (which is not an unreasonable thought of itself). 

And to justify that attitude he says that "All independent studies suggest that cats allowed the wonder will kill about 260 million mammals per annum in the UK and 60 million garden birds."

He doesn't say that these statistics are based on estimates from relatively small-scale studies. There is a lot of incidental information that one needs to bring into the equation when you talk about domestic cat predation on wildlife. But that is another story.

In addition to banning cat flaps and allowing cats out manually through the back door when the sun rises and after the sun has set, he suggests that all domestic cats allowed outside should wear bells on collars.

This last suggestion is fairly reasonable because although domestic cats learn to keep the bells as quiet as possible when stalking prey, bells on collars can help save the lives of some birds stalked by domestic cats. I can't see a problem with that suggestion in general terms but both his suggestions are unenforceable.

Enforceability

If a government makes a law in any field of human life, it has to be enforceable to be effective. That means that if somebody breaks the new law it must come to the notice of the authorities and law enforcement. The prosecution services should prosecute the individual and punish them under the law.

How is law enforcement going to find out if a homeowner has a cat flap in their back door or not? There are many millions of them across the UK. No one knows who's got one and no one knows who has not got one. No one in authority can check because they open to the backdoor in the backyard which is invisible from the street.

Neighbours will or might know but that means that neighbours have to spy on neighbours which is going to cause friction. If that goes on across the country it is going to create a problem in society. You cannot rely on neighbours to spy on other neighbours as happened in East Germany during the communist era.

So Lord Bethcathra's suggestion is foolish and entirely unworkable. It will never happen.

And therefore I don't see why he's bothering to suggest it in a debating chamber in the Houses of Parliament. He is wasting his time, the time of the other lords in the debating chamber and he is wasting taxpayers money who pays him to be there.

It's also unworkable to enforce a law which makes it mandatory for domestic cats to wear bells on collars. It's easier to enforce it than the cat flap proposed law but it is still unenforceable. It would rely upon neighbours spying on neighbours as well.

You've got to work backwards with the creation of laws. You've got to ask yourself if it's enforceable and how could it become enforceable. What kind of machinery do you need to make it enforceable? 

And if existing machinery i.e. law enforcement and prosecution services and the local authority can't make new laws enforceable they should not be enacted unless you think that the law is so popular and universally supported by the public that they will comply with the law voluntarily but this makes the law unnecessary. Government advice, under those circumstances, would probably suffice.

In the meantime, there is a need for a much more thorough evaluation of domestic cat predation on wildlife over a much larger area. You can't extrapolate data from a small study in one particular area and say that those figures apply to the rest of the UK. You might get a rough idea but you do not end up with really accurate data.

And we need to know how many feral cats there are in the country. We don't know (accurately) and if you don't know the number of feral cats in a country you can't decide how many birds and mammals they attack and eat

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.

Eurovision Song Contest is very political which is why it has descended into semi-chaos

Eurovision 2024 has descended into a form of political chaos. There are protests outside the Malmo stadium where the contest is being held in support of Palestinians being slaughtered in the Gaza Strip. The climate activist Greta Thunberg participated and we see photographs of her being hauled away by Swedish police.

The Swedish police removed Greta Thunberg from an unauthorised pro-Palestine protest outside the Malmo Arena, the venue for the Eurovision Song Contest which includes an entry from Israel. The Israeli singer, Eden Golan, is under protection in her hotel suite, as reported by The Sunday Times today.

And I can remember a person saying that protests shouldn't take place outside the Eurovision Song contest because it's a non-political contest but he's wrong. It is highly political. It has been a highly political contest for years. In fact I think it was created for political purposes! And the Eastern European block always work together and vote against nations they dislike such as the UK. It is simply hopeless as a music competition. A total waste of time.

Back in the day the best songs won the contest (sometimes). Nowadays nearly all the voting is based on political affiliations. It is highly distorted by political bias. Arguably, the UK is the best country in the world for the creation of new pop songs but Britain nearly always comes last nowadays because of political bias against the UK.

I'm not just moaning about the UK being unfairly treated. I've just decided years ago that the Eurovision Song Contest is a complete joke as a song contest. It is nothing about song. It's about politics and making a statement.

And nowadays it isn't about songs anyway. It's about dance routines and lighting and extreme visual images. It isn't about pure song or music. And that's probably because the songs are rubbish. They've had to jazz up the music to make it interesting and they've done that with dance routines and groups and jazzy lighting.

The Netherlands entry, Joost Klein has been disqualified perhaps unfairly. The reasons for that are listed below. And now we have more uncertainty with speculation about island's entry performing this evening. The group Bambi Thug took to social media to reveal that they missed the flag parade and dress rehearsals because of an issue which remains unresolved.

The Irish delegation believed that comments made on Israel's Eurovision broadcast, Kan, contravened the Eurovision Song rules stated in the EBU (European Broadcasting Union) about discussions regarding other contestants and their disparaging nature.

Once again this is a political element to what should be an entirely non-political event. But this is what happens when over years and years you gradually politicise what was a pure song contest in the good old days; in the innocent days when it first started.

When you gradually politicise something you end up with this form of fiction because people start using the event as a political platform. And politics is bound to create friction whereas song and music achieve the opposite. It achieves harmony, pleasantness, enjoyment and contentment or at least that's the objective.

But the Eurovision Song contest has been hijacked by political activists because it is a political platform.

It would appear that the choice of Malmo as the town where the Eurovision Song Contest was to be held is shrouded in controversy thanks to the participation of Israel. The city itself has been beset by bubbling ethnic tensions according to The Sunday Times. And, the Israeli contestant, Eden Golan, was under heavy protection last night before the show and Israel advised its citizens not to attend because of a "well-founded concern that terrorist elements will exploit the protests and anti-Israel mood to carry out attacks against Israelis."

In other areas, there have been bubbling tensions and political protests away from the site of the show. For example, student watch parties at the University of Warwick and the London School of Economics were cancelled at the last minute. And the University of East Anglia said that it would not air Israel's entry during the Eurovision party.

The Eurovision Party London was cancelled at the Rio cinema in East London in protest at Israel's participation. A screening at the Duke of York cinema In Brighton was also called off because of safety concerns.

Ollie Alexander was in trouble after he called for a ceasefire in Gaza. He resisted pressure to boycott the contest but broke down in tears in a recent interview because of the stress he was under.

Alexandra Mele pulled out of her role communicating Norway's points citing the inflamed situation in Malmo. And Finland's jury spokesman, the runner-up in last year's contest, announced he would not be fulfilling his role.

The Netherlands disqualification explained by Bing's Co-pilot and AI bot. It is polite.

The Netherlands’ disqualification from the Eurovision Song Contest was due to an incident involving Dutch artist Joost Klein. Here’s what happened:

• Backstage Incident: During the Eurovision Song Contest, a female member of the production crew made an allegation of intimidation against Joost Klein. She reported this to the Swedish police.

• Filming Dispute: The Dutch broadcaster Avrotros stated that Joost Klein was filmed without his consent when he had just come off stage and was rushing to the greenroom. Despite repeatedly indicating that he did not want to be filmed, his wishes were not respected. Joost did not physically touch the camerawoman, but there was a threatening movement towards her.

• Disqualification Decision: The contest organizers decided to disqualify Joost Klein, stating that it would not be appropriate for him to participate while the legal process was ongoing. Dutch broadcaster Avrotros called the disqualification “disproportionate.”

• Favourite to Win: Joost Klein had been among the favourites to win the contest with his song “Europapa,” a pro-European techno anthem dedicated to his late father.

• Suspension: News of his suspension emerged during the first dress rehearsal for the televised grand final. His performance was skipped without explanation, and Israel’s entrant took his place.

• Zero Tolerance: The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) has a “zero tolerance” policy, leading to Joost Klein’s disqualification.

It’s unfortunate that Joost Klein’s Eurovision journey ended this way, especially considering his dedication to honouring his father’s memory through music. 

Sources: The Sunday Times, general internet searches and Bing's Copilot.

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.

Kristi Noem said that President Biden should have shot his German shepherd 'Commander'

In so many words, Kristi Noem who is the Republican governor of South Dakota and a VP contender for Donald Trump if and when he becomes the next president, suggested that Biden, the current President, should have had his German Shepherd dog "Commander" shot rather than removed from the White House where records tell us that he bit Secret Service agents on at least 24 occasions and on one occasion the individual had to attend hospital as I recall.

Trump with Noem. This is a screenshot from a CBS video.

So how did Noem make this suggestion? Well, she does it in her book and in a statement she made on an interview on CBC. 

RELATED: Fact Check: Kristi Noem shot her dog Cricket “in a fit of anger”

In her book, No Going Back, she writes: "What would I do on the first day in office in 2025? Thanks for asking. I happen to have a list. The first thing I'd do is make sure Joe Biden's dog was nowhere on the grounds ('Commander, say hello to Cricket for me')." This means Commander meeting Cricket over the Rainbow Bridge in dog heaven.

You may remember that Cricket was the young dog that Kristi Noem shot in a gravel pit because he annoyed her in attacking chickens belonging to a local person with whom she was talking and because he was a 'useless' hunting dog in her words. She adopted the dog for hunting purposes. She likes to hunt which, for me, is another black mark against her.

She apparently didn't consider rehoming Cricket or retraining him. She just decided that she had to take tough measures and euthanise him. Well, shooting a dog is not euthanasia. It's plain killing. And it's painful. It is inflicting of a lot of pain on a dog albeit hopefully temporarily. So her method of dealing with troublesome dogs that she owns is to shoot them. 

She also shot a goat who was troublesome to her and she had to do it twice because the first shot didn't kill the goat. And, further, she had to return to some stockpiled ammunition to reload her gun while the goat was in horrendous pain waiting for the coup de grace.

That's the kind of person she is. Secondly, she defended her comments in her book about Commander in an interview on CBS's Face the Nation programme yesterday. On that programme she said: "Joe Biden's dog has attacked 24 Secret Service people. So, how many people is enough people to be attacked and dangerously hurt before you make a decision on a dog and what to do with it?"

To that statement, the host of the show, Margaret Brennan, asked: "You're saying he should be shot?" In response Noem said: "That's what the President should be accountable to."

There you are. She didn't stated it in black-and-white on both occasions but on both occasions she strongly hinted that Biden should have shot his dog rather than do the more humane, more sensible and more decent thing which is to remove the dog from the White House where he was stressed because German shepherds are particularly defensive of their owner and Cricket was surrounded by a lot of people milling around the White House and so instinctively the dog protected the president by biting people invading on the president's territory. Entirely normal behaviour for which Kristi Noem would have shot the dog.

The chances of becoming vice president to trump are now pretty slim because of this story and because the world can see what kind of person she truly is. She is not a decent person that must be clear to everybody unless you think like her: that animals are second class citizens to be dealt with as possessions which is why she referred to the dog as "it".

One last point is worth making. Donald Trump questioned why Kristi Noem announced to the world that she had shot her dog Cricket. He thought that she should have kept quiet about it. But Kristi Noem wanted to announce it in her book in order to take pre-emptive measures vis-à-vis the public so that she couldn't be criticised for hiding the story from the public when it finally came out in the news media.

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.

Female cat lover campaigns to be a lawmaker in Indonesia

NEWS AND COMMENT: This is a story from the other side of the world for me but any story which reports that a person wants to be a lawmaker in their country's parliament who is a cat lover and probably an animal lover as well, will interest me deeply. 

That's because there is a need worldwide to improve animal welfare especially in the Far East (in my opinion) and as you probably know Jakarta is the capital of Indonesia. It is the economic, cultural and political centre of Indonesia.

The person in question is Indonesian Francine Widjojo. She has just hit the campaign trail carrying cat treats and cats I'm told by Reuters. She wants to raise awareness of animal cruelty during her campaigning.

Francine on the campaign trail. Image: Reuters.

Indonesia will hold presidential and legislative elections on February 14 and campaigning is now in full swing.

During her campaigning, Francine is seen holding Yakult, a white cat who she rescued as a kitten and who is one of 27 living in her home! I hope that she has a big home and some help!

Francine is 44 years old. She told Reuters last month while her cat was being vaccinated that if she is successful in her campaigning and is elected she wants to improve the sterilisation and vaccination rate of cat companions in Jakarta. She added that, "One of the issues that I will be fighting for is for Jakarta to be a pet-friendly city."

Regrettably, I have to report that in some parts of Indonesia people consume cat and dog meat which is not untypical in south-east Asia as a whole. 

From a Westerner's point of view it is unacceptable. China kills and consumes the most cats and dogs of all the countries in the world. Vietnam follows but South Korea has recently introduced a law which will ban dog meat as I recall.

Interestingly, the Indonesian government's agricultural ministry classified dog meat as not for human consumption in 2018 but it didn't have any impact on the trade. Note: it is difficult to stop deep rooted commercial enterprises and habits which might go back hundreds or more years. It requires great enforcement. In this instance, no punishment was created for eating dog meat and therefore the recommendation was unenforceable.

Animal activists are campaigning for a national ban on dog and cat meat trades according to The Humane Society International.

Francine is running for election under the umbrella of the Indonesian Solidarity Party which is headed by the president's youngest son. She also plans to fight against corruption, religious and racial intolerance.

She mentioned that animal cruelty is not often addressed in Indonesia but she vows to fight the problem. I wish her the very best. I love to read about people campaigning for animal welfare many thousands of miles away and committing to the fight to eradicate animal abuse.

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.