Hello Cruel World
Thursday, August 18, 2005
 
Two Lucans, not alike in dignity (??)
When I hear/read the name "Lucan", memories of this case are my first reaction. The Seventh Earl of Lucan has not been seen since the night of November 7th, 1974, when his children's nanny was beaten to death with a piece of lead pipe, and his estranged wife was attacked [She staggered for help to a pub called The Plumbers' Arms; would you write that?]. Some months later an inquest jury declared him guilty of murder. He was officially declared dead in October 1999 so the family could settle inheritance & so forth, but speculation, rumour & theorising continues.
This spot has a pretty good summary of the history for the 20th anniversary last year, and links, such as Lord Lucan.com, The Lucan Review, and Last Person [known] To See Lord Lucan Alive Dies (in September 2004).
You can find a whole lot more -- about 22,400 results in the UK for "Lord Lucan" on google.co.uk, for instance. I think I'm not unhappy that I've never heard of the other Lucan mentioned above. [I'll have to fill that in later, if I get around to it -- see imdb.com]

(Lucasian OTOH, leads to a whole other universe ...)
Thursday, August 11, 2005
 
love mitten???
A truly extraordinary reference page at Wikipedia: Body parts slang
Sunday, August 07, 2005
 
Good News on Hilton Memorial


Hilton Memorial (IMG_3924a-crop)
Originally uploaded by Mezza.

Hilton Memorial (3924a-crop) "To the memory of Alec Carter, Arthur Favell and Paul Burmistriw, two city council garbagemen and a 1st class police constable, who were killed here as a result of a bomb explosion on 13th February, 1978. Forever in our thoughts. Your workmates."



Hilton Memorial (3924a-crop480)
Hilton Memorial (3924a-crop480),
originally uploaded by Mezza.
Restored memorial plaque to the 3 dead in the Sydney Hilton Bombing, after major refurbishment of hotel.

 
Bit of a shock, this

Which Harry Potter character has the same personality type as you?


Pirate Monkey's Harry Potter Personality Quiz
Harry Potter Personality Quiz
by Pirate Monkeys Inc.
[The Quizmaster says: "I've seen several people who come up as INTP who are upset that they got Voldemort. I'm not saying INTPs are evil. But personality type should be neutral - people of any personality type can be good or bad."]

Voldemort ("Harry Potter")
Voldemort, from "Harry Potter",
uploaded by Mezza, originally by Gillian Rhett


This test is based on the principles of the Myers-Briggs Personality Typing system. I made up the questions myself but they're similar to (and influenced by) the questions you'd find on any other Myers-Briggs-based test.
All Possible Results: piratemonkeysinc.com/allresult.htm
Explanation of Results:

This type of personality test uses four indexes of personality and the combination of the four is your personality type. The first index relates to how you interact with other people and can be Extroverted (E), meaning you're more outgoing or Introverted (I), meaning you keep more to yourself. The second relates to how you make decisions; whether you're Intuitive (N), getting answers from within, or you rely on Sensing (S) information from your surroundings, using your five senses. The third relates to whether you're more emotional and Feeling (F) or rational and Thinking (T). The fourth relates to whether you prefer things to be organized, meaning you're Judging (J), or you prefer things to be more unbound, meaning you're Perceiving (P).
For more information about real, scientific personality typing, visit the Kiersey Temperament and Character Website.

Monday, August 01, 2005
 
de Menezes case: Shoot-to-kill without warning (Sunday Times, July 31st, 2005)
Shoot-to-kill without warning - Sunday Times - Times Online
www.timesonline.co.uk/article/ 0,,2087-1715340_1,00.html
The Sunday Times - Britain
July 31, 2005
jon Ungoed-Thomas and David Leppard

Additional reporting: Michael Smith, Andrew White

Shoot-to-kill without warning

...The killing of de Menezes was a terrible error that has devastated his family and threatens to sap police morale at a critical time in the war on terror. It now threatens to become a cause celebre among human rights activists ...
The Independent Police Complaints Commission is studying CCTV footage that caught de Menezes’s last moments. What is already clear is that the initial accounts of his death on July 22 were wrong ...

The man, according to the police, was suspect because of his “clothing and behaviour”. He had been followed from a house that had been under surveillance. When he was challenged at Stockwell, he ignored instructions and ran. He had vaulted over the ticket barrier and was wearing a dark bulky jacket that could disguise a bomb.

One witness had de Menezes as an Asian with a beard and wires coming out of his torso. The truth is more mundane. De Menezes, an electrician, was travelling to north London to fix a fire alarm.

He was not wearing what witnesses called a “black bomber jacket”, but a denim jacket. It was about 17C and his clothing would not have been out of the ordinary.

He did not vault a ticket barrier, as claimed. He used a travelcard to pass through the station in the normal way. His family believes that he may have started to run simply because he heard the train pulling in — something Londoners do every day. Indeed, a train was at the platform when he got there ...

Lee Ruston, 32, was at the bottom of the escalator that de Menezes ran down. He believes that he heard every word said by officers.
According to him, officers did not say the word “police” or offer de Menezes the prospect of arrest. “I heard a voice shouting ‘get on the floor, just get on the floor’. Another voice said the same, ‘get on the floor’. I then heard the crack of gunshots,” he said ...
De Menezes lived in a block of flats which was under surveillance because of its links to the terror attacks, but what was the evidence that he was a specific risk? ... was [he] killed because of ... the misfortune to live at an address linked to terrorism[?]
Blair said that the public should also appreciate the bravery of the officers, who surrounded a suspect they thought might blow himself up.

As one officer said yesterday: “They’ve done a good job for their country. But of course, they are very sad.

“They thought they were acting in the best interests of everybody and on the information they were given. It’s a very sad thing, isn’t it.”


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 / . Lives in Australia/New South Wales/Sydney, speaks English. Eye color is hazel. I am what my mother calls unique. My interests are photography, reading, natural history/land use, town planning, sustainability.

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Australia, New South Wales, Sydney, English, photography, reading, natural history, land use, town planning, sustainability.