RATS!

I had grand plans to write about Michael Stone yesterday but alas we have a bigger problem to deal with.

RODENTS.

Our two sweet little bunny 'wabbits' have been worrying over something we knew not what? until Thursday.......and my daughter saw this bloody ugly brown thing......Then on Friday my son saw the tail, the long fat tail with rings on it which "Mum I swear it's a RAT not a mouse" OH *&&*!

The bunnykins live outdoors and enjoy happy days in the garden in big runs which we move about around the back lawn to ensure they get the best of our weedy grass, which is a grand way to live for bunnies with lots of dandelions. But in recent day they have been sensitive......or not themselves. It is difficult to explain unless you have pets however you know their personalities and my bunnies were not happy. Tallulah was not coming out of her dark area unless she was starving and had to eat her food, Jimmy was staring out and almost seemed like he was on guard in his run; both bunnies had upset tummies; both were trying to tell us something but being wabbits, they can't speak human.

Then we spotted the little sh*t trying to get to Jimmy's food and all the answers were....erm ......answered! We have been rinsing out the bowls daily with disinfectant which had slipped a bit with the kids doing a bit to more like once a week if lucky. The bottles are also being rinsed daily, the hutches cleared of all their revolting loose poos and our wabbits are much happier in their environments. In fact Miss Lulu (as Tallulah) as known by us in 'da family', has started to talk to me again (in clicky bunzy language), she's eating well again, as is Jimmy and he is much happier and no longer stands on guard over his food bowl.


Killing Rodents
There was a show on the beeb on Friday about mutant rats in Oxford which have built up an immunity to anti-coagulants. I hope we do not have these such buggers.
We've put down traps as it is quicker and kinder to even though we hate them, yes it is better to do it that way but the poison is still down around the back out of the way of the pets.

I hate the thought of those things in my back garden but rather them out there than in my house. I'm lucky compared to some people. We have had mice in our house before and last year had to put down traps and poison to kill a total of (I think) seven mice.
It was horrible, We are hoping this year we have covered all the options by buying one of those sonic noise 'thingy' (don't know it's real name but it apparently stops the rodents from creeping into your house or within a certain distance.) It works and that is all that matters but what is worrying is that we HAVE to buy these sorts of gadgets. Rats and mice are more prevalent now because people throw their rubbish wherever they feel like. We have rubbish dumped along the back wall behind where we live and this could be why we have a problem now? We are not definite of course as there could be various sources. The next step is to photographing the evidence and contacting environmental health.

I think we ALL need to take responsibility for this problem. People throw food in their bins which gives rats a perfect restaurant.

Wiglet says RECYCLE PEOPLE!

Happy Birthday Josie Russell

Happy Birthday Josie Russell

In the summer months of 1996, I recall the newsreader’s headline about a vicious attack which had left a mother and her six-year-old daughter dead and her elder daughter fighting for her life. And fight she did. Josie is now in her final year at Bangor University where she has been studying for an art diploma. She has a steady boyfriend Iwan and in 2006, she won an award for her work with the charity Born Free Foundation, for helping release three circus lions into a reserve in Africa. She’s also raised £45,000 working on a project with the Sun newspaper.

July 9th 1996 Chillenden, Kent.

On a warm summer’s afternoon on July 9 1996, while walking home from school, Lin Russell, her six-year-old daughter Megan and their pet dog Lucy, were bludgeoned to death by a person or persons unknown. A that time and for some time thereafter, the country was on massive manhunt and nine-year-old daughter Josie Russell’s life hung in the balance. She suffered severe head injuries and had to rebuild her life physically and emotionally. She still has trouble with language, spelling and writing which shows the catastrophic injury she suffered that day. Let’s remember that she needed a series of surgeries to repair her battered skull. She was never meant to live. Her resilience and willpower sustained her, the doctor’s use of their skills, pulled her through and her father’s dedication and love cherished her.

Stone - Three life sentences

On October 6, 1998, Michael Stone went on trial charged for the murders of Josie’s mother Lin and her six-year-old sister Megan and with the attempted murder of Josie Russell. He pleaded not guilty, but was found guilty and given three life sentences. He was to appeal twice and turned down twice. He is currently launching yet another appeal, more on that tomorrow. I was going to speak more about Michael Stone but the more I’ve researched, the more it has brought up my own feelings about this man. I would rather put a separate blog entry tomorrow because this entry is for Josie and why overshadow her today. She has come a long way and it is her own determination which has got her there.

“I'm ready to find out more about what happened to me and how it affected who I am today.”
One Life has another one of their excellent programmes next Tuesday 10.35pm dedicated to Josie in which she talks about her life now and the tragic events of the past or at least what Josie remembers. I remember watching news footage and having to switch off because I found it so distressing but was wowed by Josie’s father, Dr Shaun Russell, who was told by a police officer on that chilling day, that he had actually lost his whole family. A police officer at the scene then noticed that Josie was breathing and she was taken straight to hospital however Dr Russell was told to expect the worse. The Russell’s were to move back to their former home in Gwynedd, Wales, as the Kent home held too many memories. Josie started her long journey back to health but was so traumatised and so severely injured that she did not speak for months.

Confronting her demons
In the One Life programme, Josie revisits old faces, the doctor who first assessed her when she was admitted to King’s College Hospital, the little primary school in North Wales that made her feel so welcome and the police officers who spent two years putting evidence together. It was a year before the breakthrough was made which led to Michael Stone being arrested when Stone’s psychiatrist was watching a Crimewatch appeal and he realised that he could have the murderer as a client.

Now, at 21, Josie says she wants to confront her demons, but she cannot face Michael Stone who is now 46 and serving 25 years in Long Sutton Prison in York. Josie says: “I don’t really want to think about that now. It's been really good filling in the gaps and meeting all the people like the doctor, and Ed and Pauline, (police officers) But I don’t want to go to Kent again or talk about Michael Stone because there’s no point. The only thing I do think about it sometimes is why did he do it, if he did. I just want to think about the good memories of Lin and Megan and mostly about the future, now.”

Josie has minimal memories of her mother and sister which is such a shame but understandable. She has blocked out what happened on that July day and does not talk about it with her father. Maybe that is what is working for her? We all have different personalities and this may be right for Josie - But storing up problems which is what blocking a memory is, could be detrimental. I hope she's not making this worse for herself. Need to watch the programme to find out more however Josie Russell has grown into a beautiful young woman and Dr Shaun Russell deserves to be a very proud father.

Tomorrow’s blog entry is;
Did Michael Stone kill Lin and Megan Russell and attempt to kill Josie Russell?

BBC Link Josie Russell: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/7317148.stm

Is This The First Pregnant Man?

This is THOMAS BEATIE, his baby is due to be born on July 3rd.

Thomas had partial sex change surgery, having his breasts removed and has testosterone treatment and so is legally classified a man He did not have surgery on the lower part of his body and kept the female reproductive organs he was born with.

Sceptics are saying this could be a scam?
I think it could be true and there is a story of this happening before and I am not talking about Danny DeVito and Arnie in that terrible film.

"How does it feel to be a pregnant man? "Incredible," he wrote in The Advocate.

"Despite the fact that my belly is growing with a new life inside me, I am stable and confident being the man that I am."

"To Nancy, I am her husband carrying our child," he added, explaining that his wife is unable to conceive because of a hysterectomy 20 years ago.

"I will be my daughter's father and Nancy will be her mother. We will be a family."

Mr Beatie has caused a stir in America and detailed his struggle to become a father in a magazine aimed at gay, lesbian and transgender population.

This is not his first attempt at having a child. The original effort ended with Thomas losing his right fallopian tube as he was carrying an ectopic pregnancy with triplets. He claimed to have artificially inseminated himself at home with sperm sent from a sperm bank and this time he is carrying one baby - a daughter.

His wife Nancy is supportive but the rest of his family are adamantly against this.
"When my brother found out about my loss, he said, 'It's a good thing that happened. Who knows what kind of monsters they would have been'."

Some are saying this is a scam.
"Quite frankly, I think it's a hoax," said Ron Schlieper, who lives close to the Beaties in Bend, Oregon.
"I saw him a few days ago and he didn't look like that."
Josh Love, added: "I couldn't say that he looks pregnant. I can stick my stomach out and almost make it look like that. I think it's kind of bizarre. I don't know if I believe it or not."

Cynics also pointed to the possibility the story could be a publicity stunt for the T-shirt printing company run by the Beaties, called Define Normal.

We will have to wait and see won't we? If Thomas produces a baby from a certain orifice then that will shut the sceptics up. If he is given the correct hormones then I don't see why he shouldn't carry a baby?

De Lacy-Loopy-Loony Fired

Aha! FIRED and quite rightly.

If blowing his trumpet was the task the boy would have won. But it wasn't and he didn't.

Now what on earth was this about class lines........The boy went to a minor private school in Shoreham By Sea which probably cost less a term than the lobster did!



So who else was in the boardroom? Raef "I sound like Hugh Grant but don't look anything like him" and Alex "I need a haircut and am very good at passing the buck". Raef, OMG, has a silver spoon firmly stuck up his backside, (and you'd sit like that if you'd had a spoon inserted in your never region).

What was the task? Selling FISH. The girls were led by Claire Young, who I said yesterday would probably not lead a task and go under the radar for weeks. Got that one wrong.......... Oh well they won and their treat was to get to the house first and have a meal made by the great Jean-Cristophe Novelli.

Who stood out for me? Lee of course and I was strangely turned on by the men in their blue aprons, white wellies and assorted ties; (apart from Nicholas who is a twat looks like one from 50 miles). I liked Steve too, he's got balls and rather large ones by the looks of it!
Claire surprised me in a good way, Lindi looks to be an interesting character too but in a scary bolshy way. Jennifer is another one I shall be looking out for.

As for men who I have not mentioned there is a reason...................zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz............What did they do? Let's see what future weeks brings.

If you want to watch Nic Brown fired again watch here;-
http://www.bbc.co.uk/apprentice/candidate/id/7/type/contestant.html

Shannon update - Donovan court date set

November 11 2008 is the date that has been set for the trial of Michael Donovan, the man charged with the kidnap and false imprisonment of schoolgirl Shannon Matthews.

Donovan, 39, formally from Lidgate Gardens, Batley Carr, appeared via video link today (Wednesday) from his new home, Armley Prison in Leeds. The Recorder of Leeds, Judge Peter Collier, remanded Donovan into custody and another hearing will take place on July 11 but no doubt Donovan will not appear or appear by video

It seems like yesterday that Donovan was arrested, however it was March 14. Police raided his grotty flat in Batley Carr, West Yorkshire, and found the missing nine-year-old. Shannon had been missing for 24 days sparking the one of the biggest police inquiries in the area since the Yorkshire Ripper investigation of the 1970s.

Shannon is still under police protection or 'in care' however you want to put it. Her mother, Karen has said: "I fully understand that the police need to keep speaking to Shannon. I appreciate that could take some time and is not something that is going to happen overnight." Lets hope that now the glare of publicity is away from the family, normality is returning and Shannon has spent time with her mother. I find it all too odd to comprehend?

So WHO Does The Apprentice?

So who are the gossipmungers talking about this year?

More than 20,000 high-flyers, wannabes and loonies applied for the position in Sir Alan’s empire, which is valued at £800 million.

Simon Ambrose won last year beating Kristina Grimes, who has a property website that allows buyers to speed up legal obstacles. Always thought she should had won.......Then again, I am not a 60 year old multi millionaire am I?

2008 The Apprentice starts on the Beeb, tomorrow 26 March. Can Katie Hopkins be forgotten now?

Is Shazia Wahab, an IT expert who committed professional suicide by suing a city law firm the new talk of the show, or is it Simon Smith, an ex-soldier fresh from rehab?

If you want more information read on, if you want more dirt, read on:


Speaking of muck, will Sir Alan, be "sick of looking" at Alex Wotherspoon a 24 a regional sales manager from Bolton. Alex Wotherspoon, started life selling horse manure for fertiliser says The Bolton News. Easy to say he sounds full of sh*t isn't it?!

"I give 100 per cent all the way. I always speak my mind," said Mr Wotherspoon who lives in Rosewood, Westhoughton. Let's see what he says as he drives away in the black cab then.

Want more on Wotherspoon then here's a link for The Bolton News: http://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/display.var.2131969.0.0.php?act=complaint&cid=1292216

Next up is Raef Bjayou, aged 27, and an entrepreneur from North West London. He's privately educated at WESTBROOK HAY and HAILEYBURY where he was School Captain. He then read Politics & History at University of Exeter where he founded the Exeter University Debating Society. Apparently he has faced death many times - Don't know if that was while debating at Exeter but it may be when he meets Sir Alan in the boardroom.

Contender? Possibly? Tit? Definitely!
For the intellectuals amongst us have a read this link on 'RB' in 'Real Business': http://www.realbusiness.co.uk/business-comment/4998911/alan-sugars-new-entrepreneur-apprentice.thtml

Ian Stringer is third in the line up. He's a 26-year-old, software sales manager, from Flitwick in Bedfordshire.

Ian has two young children and is separated from his wife. So young.........
Ian's claim to fame was that he had a No. 8 hit in the charts – the second top selling unofficial World Cup record for 2006 – when he rewrote the lyrics to Tony Christie's Amarillo.
"He's a really nice guy. He had a game of football and took us all out for dinner." Stringer said of Christie.......Is Stringer a nice guy? Think so

http://www.bedfordtoday.co.uk/todays-choice/Bidding-to-become-The-Apprentice.3899308.jp

Bit boring for me.

I admit I look the look of the photo and don't care what this man's personality is like, I WANT HIM TO STAY, but for those who want more info;
Lee McQueen, 30, recruitment sales manager for Capita Group. He now lives in Buckinghamshire, but his first proper job was as a catering manager at Harrow School.

Can I just look at the picture? He's single" (HOORAY)...I'm married.....

His trademark is his 'reverse pterodactyl' impression

Next!

Nicholas De Lacy Brown, 24, is a barrister and it seems an artist too. Here's a link to prove the later! http://www.delacy-brown.com/ Doubt he won the Apprentice otherwise this website would not be there and he'd be too busy working for Sir Alan.

Nicholas lives in West London but was formally from Shoreham by Sea in Sussex and went to a minor private day school called OUR LADY OF SION.

He says: "From the moment I was born I knew I was destined for great things." And added the 'De Lacy' bit to his name to make him sound posher. Bye bye Nic Brown.

Simon Smith, 35, is a Sky senior satellite TV engineer from Harlow in Essex.
Oh hang on, there is more to Simon that first meets the eye, Simon spent nine years as an NCO in the Royal Artillery Regiment where he qualified as a surveyor before his exemplary discharge.

Simon fought in Bosnia and not only battled the enemy, but also battled a drug habit. He wants to help other ex-soldiers rehabilitate into the community. What has this got to do with winning the Apprentice? I don't know........ I wonder though if Simon is a fighter and may do better than it looks on paper or too old to be taught new tricks.


..........Forgive me but I do not see many good contestants out of this lot so far.

Maybe Kevin Shaw can turn things around. Kevin, 24, was a bank manager by the age of 19 and is now a regional manager for the Halifax PLC. Obviously he can't sing or they would have had him doing one of those awful ads. He's from Woking in Surrey but originally from Bath and is friends with Jenson Button.

Definitely a get up and go sort of character. "I am driven, ambitious and hungry... I don't mess about. If I want something I will get it." Says the Crawley Observer. http://www.crawleyobserver.co.uk/latest-south-east-news/Budding-apprentices-hope-to-be.3890090.

Kevin Shaw has Contender written all over him.

Michael Sophocles, 24, is a telesales executive from North London. This is the official line. He is also an ACTOR or at least an am-dram actor. http://www.newtheatrix.co.uk/Trial/thecast.html so he will know how to perform in the boardroom. Michael is another ex privately educated candidate from HIGHGATE SCHOOL where his love of acting started.

I'm beginning to think most of the candidates are only up for this for the publicity or is it the TV producers picking the people for TV frolics and viewing figures?

Michael Sophocles is only in it for for exposure

Who's next?

Ah yes Shazia Wahab, 35, is a self employed mosaic artist from South London. Let's get the rumours out of the way.

"I October 2003 City law firm Allen & Overy found guilty of victimising Shazia Wahab, an Asian IT expert who sued her former employer for punitive damages totalling £1m. "
Here's a write up from a non-tabloid newspaper. Lawyer.com: http://www.thelawyer.com/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=107095

So we know she stands her ground and will not tolerate BS.
Shazia is one of 11 children and has had to fight to get where she is. I like her.

Claire Young, 29, is a senior retail buyer from South London . Born in South Africa and brought up in Wakefield where she attended ST HILDA'S and WAKEFIELD HIGH SCHOOLS. She then went to Bristol uni where she read medicine for a year but swapped to horses gaining a Bsc in Equine Studies.

She's single and Oprah is her hero oh and she's ambitious, her nickname at work is `the rottweiler'.

I don't have much to say about her because she comes across as one of the crowd. DULL........Would like to be proved wrong.

Lucinda Ledgerwood, 31, is a risk manager from Edinburgh However she also has a multitude of other job titles to her name. She has a registered business address at Elmwood Terrace in Edinburgh. Lucinda's biggest regret is turning down being a Bond body double - Again another 'wannabe'.
I cannot get over how many this year wastrels there are? I find Lucinda a posh boring bird. Hope she goes quickly.

Link to Scottish Daily Record: http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/entertainment/entertainment-news/2008/03/19/former-checkout-girl-battles-for-the-apprentice-crown-86908-20355469/

Sara Dhada, 25, is a car trader from Leicester but that does not do her justice. Sara is a qualified lawyer with a degree in both law and economics. She took over the reigns of her family car business from her brothers. Why do the Apprentice? What about the family business, obviously doesn't care about that anymore.

"I'm a true example of pure class and elegance. I don't try to be glamorous - I'm just naturally like that."

And she believes she is ALWAYS RIGHT.

Lindi Mngaza, 22, is a business liaison manager from Birmingham

Business liaison manager Lindi, 22, said: "My nickname among friends is African Princess, as I am from royal descendants."She lives by the motto: "There is no I in team, but there is an I in winner." Lindi might find spelling team hard as she is dyslexic (joke), my daughter is mildly dyslexic, I understand completely.

Don't think I like her much either.

Jennifer Maguire, 27, originates from Dublin but now lives in Bristol. She is described as a marketing consultant from Bristol and says of her skills,
"I can sell pieces of paper for £50. I rate myself as the best salesperson in Europe."
What about personnel skills?
She's an "iron fist in a velvet glove"
Jennifer is an ex champion showjumper too.....Don't know what that has to do with running businesses?
Link here to the Driffield Times:http://www.driffieldtoday.co.uk/latest-south-west-news/Budding-Apprentice-hopes-to-be.3889839.jp

Single mum, Jenny Celerier, 36, is a sales manager from Leicester is a fighter. She contracted meningitis and was told she would never 'sustain independent living again' and she did.

Jenny has a degree in marketing from the DeMontford University and awards coming out of her ears. She doesn't sit on the fence and if she means what she says this is a contender. Her age may be against her, nevertheless, she is in the top 12. Reminds me very much of Kristina on paper and not just saying tat because she is a single mum. Jenny has the same credentials and btw the photo does her no good.

Helene Speight, 32, is a global pricing leader from Wakefield, Yorkshire
I have no idea what exactly a global pricing leader does? Sounds good on paper but is probably dull and well paid as most of the executive jobs are.

"I don't have regrets. I do what I do and deal with the consequences." Helene says.
She works in her 'global pricing job for General Electric and is responsible growing profits and market share in the automotive, airline, oil and gas industries. Ahhh...Now I know!

Helene believes she can triumph though her ability to be decisive, inclusive, and influential in the workplace and after this she will conquer the planet.

Will put a blog entry on Wednesday on how I feel the show went and my new views on the contestants. Wonder if they will change much? TV can manipulate our views and I have no doubt that what we see and what is true are two differing things anyway.

Ex SLA Radical Sarah Jane Olson Blunder Means Back To Jail, No $200

Sarah Jane Olson, a member of the radical US 1970s Symbionese Liberation Army famous for kidnapping the American heiress Patty Hearst, has been returned to jail, less than a week after being released on parole.


Who is she?

In 1975 Sarah Jane Olson was sent to prison for after seven years for charges ranging from second degree murder to possessing a destructive device with intent to murder in. Nice woman then?

On Monday, Sarah Jane Olson was released from a Californian woman’s prison, but officials found an "administrative error" and Olson will need to return to her cell for another year…..Oh dear, if you are going to make a cock up, make it a high profile one.

Olson, 61, changed her name from Kathleen Soliah, while she was a member of the militant Symbionese Liberation Army and went on the run for almost a quarter of a century, marrying Dr Gerald Peterson, and Emergency Room Doc. The couple lived for a while in Zimbabwe before moving back to America, St. Paul, Minnesota to be precise.

Olson changed from being a confrontational rebel who was involved in a plot to plant pipe bombs beneath police cars, to a respectable housewife or homemaker, as our American friends would call it.

She and Gerald had three daughters and lived in a posh part of town only being recognised in 1999 when she was featured on ‘Americas Most Wanted’ and was sent for trial in 2001.


Pleaded Guilty

She pleaded guilty to two charges of possessing a destructive device with the intent to murder and struck a deal in the bank case, pleading guilty to second-degree murder. For the murder conviction, she was given a one-year sentence. For the botched bombings, she was initially sentenced to five years and four months, but that was extended to 12 years after a state prison board designated her “a serious offender.” This is where the problem arose and nobody took any notice of it.

"The department is sensitive to the impact that such an error has had on all involved in this case and sincerely regrets the mistake," Scott Kernan, the agency's chief deputy secretary of adult operations, said at a Saturday afternoon news conference.
"The department has launched a full investigation."
OK, sounds like the same as in the UK, a balls up has occurred and we will look at this, it will happen again, has happened before but being in the public eye we have to be seen to be looking into this.

Did The Prison Authorities Pick This Up Quickly Then Recall Her Back To Prison?

It appears not, Jon Opsahl, son of Myrna Opsahl, the woman killed in the bank robbery, called the Sacramento County district attorney's office and said he believed Olson had not served enough time.
Corrections department officials acknowledged that they began an intensive review of their internal calculations of the sentence after getting questions from the Sacramento County district attorney's office and a local television reporter, but they denied that they had bowed to pressure……..Of course not.

After Olson was taken back into custody, Los Angeles Police Protective League President Tim Sands issued a statement, saying, "We are relieved that Sara Jane Olson has been returned to prison for another year."

Kernan called the case "extremely complicated, given the amount of changes to the sentencing laws that have occurred over the last 30 years." Olson should have been sentenced to 14 years, not 12, for the two crimes, Kernan said. He said state officials had failed to account for the bank robbery.

The earliest possible release date for Olson now is March 17, 2009, he said. At that point, she will have served half of the 14-year term. So she serves half the sentence? Yes . Like most California inmates, Olson has earned credit against her sentence for working while in prison. Same as UK again. She has served on a ‘maintenance crew’ which had the joyous task of sweeping and cleaning the main yard of the Central California Women's Facility in Chowchilla.

She was taken to a prison in Chino on Saturday but will be moved back to Chowchilla, Kernan said."The department is sensitive to the effects this has had. The department sincerely regrets the mistake," said Alberto Roldan, chief deputy general counsel for the Department of Corrections. Roldan claims the mistake was made in 2004 – However the MISTAKE happened - it happened. We are talking about a woman who was involved in, robberies and murders. She may have lived for over 20 years as a housewife but she still needed to pay for her crime and she still committed it. Who’s to say how many other mistakes there are walking about in America today who are much more dangerous than she is?


More on the SLA

The Symbionese Liberation Army was a paramilitary group of self-styled radicals that attracted international attention for crimes that included the murder of the superintendent of the Oakland schools and the kidnapping of newspaper heiress Patty Hearst.

The SLA's leaders took the name "Symbionese" from the word "symbiosis." It was meant to describe the group's concept of "living in deep and loving harmony."

The SLA had only 13 members, according to multiple reports. One was Kathleen Soliah, now Sara Jane Olson. She was among the five group members who robbed a Sacramento bank in 1975, killing Myrna Opsahl, a mother of four.

SLA member Emily Montague admitted to holding the shotgun that killed Opsahl but claimed it went off accidentally.

In a letter read in a Sacramento courtroom in February 2003, Olson admitted entering the bank and wrote of Opsahl: "If we had foreseen her killing, we would never have robbed the bank."

photo1 Sarah Jane Olson

photo2 Kathleen Soliah before name change to Sarah Jane Olson

photo3 Sarah with husband ER DR Gerald Peterson

photo4 John Opsahl and Myrna Opsahl

photo5 SLA wanted poster

photo6 Patty Hearst

The Man With No Face

Background

Jose Mestre is a 51 year old man from Lison, Portugal. His story will be told next Wednesday on Five on the Extraordinary People series as this is one very extraordinary man.

For the past 35 years, half of his face has been taken over by a massive growth, distorting it out of all recognition – and it's still growing. The tumour is now 15 inches long and weighs a staggering 12 pounds. Here's a youtube video on Jose Mestre, you will need to be a member to view this and over 18. (Easy to join)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=related&v=EhdrzCGxlDE

He has had years of misunderstanding, misdiagnosis and a lack of money for treatment, he has also tolerated taunts from people who are not always cruel but sometimes senseless. I admit when I first saw the advert for the programme I was intrigued and perversely looking forward to watching the show on Wednesday to find out more about this ‘tumour’. Am I being as senseless as those who wish to take photos?

Jose has become like the Elephant man all those years ago and looking at what he has, it is possible that Joseph Merrick had the same condition, or at least a mixture of this and other medical conditions.

Jose has already been part of a programme on the Documentary Channel which was shown in December and if you were lucky enough to see that then you have an advantage over me. That said, read on because you may still learn more about this condition. Jose’s condition is a vascular malformation, called HAEMANGIOMA. This is a collection of blood vessels and veins in his face that have expanded, producing a raised red area on the skin. I found this description which I think says it better than I could;
“in effect what should be a river carrying blood back to his heart has turned into a lake, which has now expanded to obliterate the rest of his features.”

Jose was born with a strawberry-coloured birth mark on his upper lip; at puberty his face started growing, eventually smothering his lips, nose and one of his eyes. He is now blinded in one eye and the tumour is beginning to suffocate him.

This remarkable man has always been fearful of surgery because of religious beliefs. He is a Jehovah’s Witness and the risk of surgery would carry the risk of severe bleeding and ultimately the danger of death. Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that blood must not be transfused, although some Medical procedures involving certain blood fractions are left to conscience.

Hope

Jose’s search led him to one of the UK's top facial surgeons who suggested treating Jose by ultrasound waves. The ultrasound waves coagulate the blood before the operation which should allow the operation to go ahead without heavy bleeding.

Jose’s search for an effective treatment may have arrived, but it was still high risk surgery.

Jose travelled over to the UK and endured tests and was examined by two doctors, Loshan Kangesu, a consultant plastic surgeon at Broomfield Hospital, and Dr Iain Hutchison of St Bartholomew's in London. Dr Hutchison, who also runs the Saving Faces surgery research charity was optimistic that a single operation with a harmonic scalpel (the scalpel which cauterises as it cuts), could have a remarkable effect on Jose’s features;
"I think we can remove a large proportion of the lesions – around 80 per cent," he said. "We would then have to deal with the underlying nose, lip and tongue disfigurement."
"I have never seen a vascular malformity as bad," he added.

Pictured here is Jose sightseeing in London, however he is more used to visiting Rossio Square, one of the Lison's main plazas. Jose would sit out the afternoons and has become a local celebrity; he has never resented the stares and questions of strangers. He will always have a disfigured face but can surgery help to stop the tumour supressing his airways and give him more 'normal' appearance?

Watch Wednesday's show on Five and see what happens.

Brave man

Support groups
SAVING FACES www.savingfaces.co.uk Aims to reduce facial injuries and diseases worldwide through education and research. Aims to improve the physical and psychological treatment of all victims of oral cancer and other facial diseases by leading research into these conditions and injuries.

CHANGING FACES www.changingfaces.org.uk Changing Faces is a national charity based in the UK that supports and represents people who have disfigurements of the face or body from any cause. The programme interviewed James Partridge, the founder of Changing Faces.

THE BIRTHMARK SUPPORT GROUP www.birthmarksupportgroup.org.uk The Birthmark Support Group was set up by parents of children with birthmarks in December 1998 at the suggestion of Drs Harper and Syed from Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children. Objective is to provide a UK based support group for anyone with a birthmark.

Teachers Union To Ballot Members - BUT.......

............"Staff will say no"

The National Union Of Teachers has voted to prepare for a rolling campaign of industrial action over pay and excessive class sizes. The teachers' union will now ballot members on a series of possible strikes in England and Wales.

Says Sky News

It is delegation time and this happens often and I know that teaching unions are passionate however teachers on the coalface will not go on strike.

Delegates at the NUT's annual conference in Manchester condemned the Prime Minster's approach to limiting public sector workers' pay.
Ian Murch, from the NUT's ruling executive, told the conference: "If I were you Mr Brown I would be doing my sums again. You wouldn't like us when we are angry - and we are getting a bit angry now."
And he told Schools Secretary Ed Balls to prepare for a fight, saying: "If I were you Mr Balls, I would put my tin hat on right now."
The union is already balloting members on a one-day strike over pay, provisionally scheduled for April 24.

Yeah yeah...........The thing is that this is only ONE UNION and if one union goes on strike it means that the other teachers who are not in that union need to pick up the pieces and it will not happen.

How do I know? Too many years working with very hard working teachers thats how!
I'm a non paid school governor, ex chair, always ensure I put in what I can.
I know that there are massive problems in education and Labour's:-
"EDUCATION EDUCATION EDUCATION" is "BO****KS, BO****KS, BO****KS" I'm not spelling the word BOOK!

My children went to a state primary school and they got through by luck and good teaching......Lots of the former though.

Don't allow the union leaders who are on massive wages start talking about money. They get paid a lot to 'perform' but then again need the money to pay for their posh cars and private school fees.

Tibet - What's It All About?

Off to India

I’ve held off writing about Tibet, it is a strong political area and I needed to research what I was talking about and fully understand it. I don't know if I really do understand it now but my blog is not just a newsreel, it is here for my thoughts too. FACTS are here on my blog for all too see too but this is a much harder entry to write as it is easy to blog about someone who has passed away; it is not so easy to comprehend why a proportion of a nation of people turn into rioters?

They have had enough!

Those that can have gone over the border to Nepal. They live in basic refugee camps and hope for support from wealthier people than themselves. The luckier ones manage to get to other countries but can never return to their homeland.

"Resolutely crushed"

Today China's leading newspaper ruling Communist Party called for efforts to "resolutely crush" anti-government demonstrations by Tibetans, while Beijing urged people to turn in those on a "Most Wanted" list of 21 protesters. It has showed photos taken from video and security footage of those most wanted including monks. Beijing says that these 21 have endangered national security, and citing beating, smashing, looting and arson, and is defiant that ‘the Dalai Lama clique’ will not overthrow Chinese rule.

Xinhua, the official news agency said that Police have arrested 24 people and another 183 have turned themselves in. Two of the 21 suspects were arrested and a third turned himself in. Rewards have been offered to those who are prepared to give information on the remaining 19 with anonymity offered.

As I have been researching this for some time now, I’m beginning to be more fearful. It is almost as though Tibet and Tibetans are not important. Why did we hear about Iraq? Read on though because you may well realise the same things that I am thinking - Who the hell is going to have a go at China? They have too much power. I think Bush would wet his pants rather than face that oriental nation. The poor souls in Tibet don’t stand a chance.

China is a growing country and we are probably fearful because it is a closed country. My daughter is a day pupil at a girls boarding school where I would say 70% of the boarders are from China or Hong Kong. The school accepts them because they will pay and why will they pay? They have lots of money and value an English private education. The Chinese are like the Japanese were in the 50's, they're economy is booming compared to most nations and no one will want to rock the boat for fear of a backlash. It might be that a British PM could say something though if the Chinese value our 'values'? Are we over a barrow? Do the Chinese have so much surplace cash that is invested in the west, could they bring down the whole world economy? NO, not likely, they would hurt themselves too much.

What is frightening, and a lot is frightening, Lodi Gyari, President of a human rights group says that the Tibetan province of U-Tsang is secretly used for testing of nuclear weapons. There have been births of deformed animals and humans in the region which provide evidence of the testing. According to Gyari, China also imports nuclear waste from the West, and dumps it in Tibet.

So China has nuclear weapons? I think we all know that and it is no wonder no one wants to deal with this dangerous monster.


A Very Little Tibetan History

Tibet has been under Chinese control since Mao Zedong led his Chinese communist government to assert power over this Buddhist country in 1950.

Since 1950, there have been a number of protests against the Chinese regime, the most brutal and bloodiest was in 1959 when the 14th and current Dalai Lama, led a failed uprising resulting in him having to leave his homeland. He now lives in exile in India but the Chinese government believes this current uprising is being led by his supporters calling them ‘The Dalai Lama clique’.

“Life in Tibet before the Chinese Communist invasion was pastoral, primitive, and peaceful. Now the majority of the population in much of Tibet is Chinese immigrants living in concrete apartment blocks”

Tibetans have had to tolerate Beijing’s policy of encouraging the Han Chinese to move to the Tibetan Plateau for decades. The Tibetans have had all of their rights withdrawn and feel bitter because it is their homeland. They have also had their Buddhist beliefs suppressed under Chinese Communist rule.


Why would a peaceful protest turn into riots by an angry mob?

The rallies began last week when up to 300 Buddhist monks, who were marching from their monastery in Drepung 10km from Lhasa, stopped at an agreed checkpoint where about 20 military and police vehicles were also unusually seen. Between 50 and 60 monks were detained at this checkpoint. It is unclear why the monks were detained or where they were taken. This march marked the 49th anniversary on March 10 of the 1959 uprising. Tens of thousands of men, women and children were killed in the uprising.
Many more have been killed or tortured since.

The rallies of last week escalated into violence which spread from Tibet into neighboring provinces of Sichuan, Qinghai and Gansu. All are home to Tibetan populations but it is thought that protests would not spread further a field as there is virtually no support for the Tibetan rioters in China.

Large-scale riots in Lhasa last week were sparked off at when it was alleged an armoured vehicle deliberately ploughed into a crowd of people. The angry Tibetans who have had to live with churning resentment, attacked any ethnic Chinese store, or vehicle they could find. They hurled petrol bombs, burned down a police station and a market, set fire to two police cars and a fire truck in retaliation.

Of course the Chinese authorities have photographs of what they call criminals setting fires, holding swords and causing riots. What hope have they got for a fair trial? Atrocities on the people of Tibet have increased under the new Chinese regime and if you treat people like animals then surely they will begin to act like animals. Are these really “criminals who are carrying out activities to split the nation."?
http://youtube.com/watch?v=rA2U8cIjNws

Record of Chinese atrocities in Tibet
1.2 million Tibetans died as a direct result of Chinese atrocities.

Over 6000 monasteries and institutes of learning have been destroyed

Precious Tibetan artifacts were vandalized and sold in Hong Kong markets

Over 6000 Tibetan religious and historical literature have been destroyed

Tibetans in Tibet are second class citizen without basic Human Rights, such as Freedom of Expression, Freedom of Religion, Right to Education, etc

Tibetan women are subjected to forced abortion and sterilization

Tibetan Children are denied their right to education

70% of Tibetans living in Tibet now are illiterate

Arbitrary arrests, torture, intimidation and imprisonment without trial are the order of the day for Tibetans in their country


Tibet has been divided into different parts and incorporated with Chinese provinces, thereby removing the existing Tibetan identity

Thousands of Tibetans are still in prisons in China

Tibet’s natural resources and fragile ecology are irreversibly destroyed

6 Million Tibetans have been outnumbered by 7.5 Million Chinese inducted into Tibet causing demographic disadvantage to Tibetans in their own country


Sources:
Amnesty International

Human Rights Watch

Freedom House

Human Rights First

United Nations


Damn Lies

Beijing's official death toll from last week's rioting in Lhasa is now put at 22, rising from 10 last week. This news has come from the Xinhua News Agency who go on to report that five more civilians and a police officer died also. The Tibetan government-in-exile fear the figure is nearer 100 dead Tibetans 80 in Lhasa and in Gansu province. I have a link here – A an EXTREMELY GRAPHIC LINK of the dead from the Tibetan uprising. BE WARNED;-http://www.freetibet.org/press/kirtiphotos.html

Different newspapers and websites contain differing views and the Guardian blog is a brilliant one in my view, see link;- http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/news/2008/03/life_and_death_struggle_in_tib.html I know there are two sides to every story but I can’t see the Chinese side of things? There is money to be made from the Min Valley (a tributary of the Yangtse River), where if you should ever get to travel along it (not now, no westerners allowed in Tibet), you’d see nothing but log jams in the river. On some roads, 50 timber trucks may pass by in an hour.

Quote “The Chinese dictatorship maintains a monopoly on timber-cutting, and reserves all profits for itself.” Quote

A side factor of this is that no effort is made at reforestation.

It is all about land then? Maybe more about nuclear weapons? Remember what Lord Gyari said?

World Leaders - Any Good?
Gordon Brown has agreed to speak to the Dalai Lama;-http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7304773.stm
Other world leaders about beginning to mumble now. I read Helen Clarke was supposed to be having some sort of meeting with the Chinese next month? The Americans have said; "There has to be dialogue". Who with? And of course they have the famous Buddhist Richard Gere who said; "The Tibetans have been marginalised in recent years, much more than before, and that's why you see this pressure cooker effect," OK that was helpful but he is not a MP and therefore cannot push this matter forward. Who can?

The Dalai Lama has been accused of leading the uprising but he has stated that only peaceful means must be used. He also believes Beijing should hold the Olympics and supports this. I’m not sure if sport and politics should have anything to do with each other if I’m honest. Politics is a messy enough game……But how do we help Tibet? Now I have learnt the facts, I believe Tibetans are being persecuted. I understand this. Many have had to leave their homeland rather than be had their civil liberties diminished, risk being tortured, or face murder by the dark military forces.

Snippets from the Dalai Lama’s latest speech with the full speech link at the end.

“I would like to take this opportunity to express my deep gratitude to world leaders and the international community for their concern over the recent sad turn of events in Tibet and for their attempts to persuade the Chinese authorities to exercise restraint in dealing with the demonstrations”

“Since the Chinese Government has accused me of orchestrating these protests in Tibet, I call for a thorough investigation by a respected body, which should include Chinese representatives, to look into these allegations.”

“Whether it was intended or not, I believe that a form of cultural genocide has taken place in Tibet, where the Tibetan identity has been under constant attack.”

“The distinctive Tibetan cultural heritage with its characteristic language, customs and traditions is fading away.”

“In reality, there is no religious freedom in Tibet. Even to call for a little more freedom is to risk being labeled a separatist. Nor is there any real autonomy in Tibet, even though these basic freedoms are guaranteed by the Chinese constitution.”

“I believe the demonstrations and protests taking place in Tibet are a spontaneous outburst of public resentment built up by years of repression”

“We remain committed to taking the Middle Way approach and pursuing a process of dialogue in order to find a mutually beneficial solution to the Tibetan issue”

http://www.dalailama.com/news.218.htm FULL SPEECH

Just A little more information

Alexsander Solzhenitsyn calls the Chinese rule in Tibet "more brutal and inhumane than any other communist regime in the world."

One-sixth of the Tibetan population has been exterminated in prison camps or by starvation

Chinese soldiers garrison every major town in Tibet to prevent rebellion. Elite soldiers watch the regular troops, to keep them from revolting.

President Bush led the United States into war against Saddam Hussein and his Hitlerian practices of genocide and ecocide. Yet the President has refused to take any action against the Chinese government, whose pillage of Kuwait is at least as destructive of human rights and the environment as was Saddam's pillage of Kuwait. Instead, President Bush has urged Congress to give "Most Favoured Nation" trading status to China

Granting China easy access to U.S. export markets exacerbates Chinese demand for Tibetan natural resources

The American government has not always been so callous about Tibet. Until the early 1970s, the U.S. government provided a training camp for Tibetan freedom fighters near the Colorado mountain town of Leadville!


Can we help? What can we do?
http://www.freetibet.org/ FREE TIBET - Online link to petition, news reports etc

http://www.tibet.com/Action/index.html THE GOVERNMENT OF TIBET IN EXILE - how to write to your local congressman/PM. Make your voice heard!

http://www.helptibet.org.uk/ HELP TIBET - Practical support for Tibetan refugees living in Nepal and India

SORRY FOR LONG ENTRY.