The perils of chat rooms, blogs etc
I expect this story will be all over the media like a rash soon enough, but here goes:
"Police today warned internet users to guard their identities after a man was convicted of Britain's first "web-rage" attack. Paul Gibbons, 47, turned up at the home of John Jones, 43, after they exchanged insults on the internet, the Old Bailey heard. He traced his address after Mr Jones, a father of three children, put personal details about himself online. "The victim ended up on the floor and was beaten with the pickaxe handle." (source)
Sad to say the attacker was a Sarf Londoner, and the attackee an Essex chap. Perhaps I should point out that I have no malign intentions towards a certain high-profile blogger with a noted connection to the fair county of Essex. Meanwhile, maybe I'll continue to keep my surname to myself. A mate of mine once received a phone death threat, and was a bit shaken by it.
"Police today warned internet users to guard their identities after a man was convicted of Britain's first "web-rage" attack. Paul Gibbons, 47, turned up at the home of John Jones, 43, after they exchanged insults on the internet, the Old Bailey heard. He traced his address after Mr Jones, a father of three children, put personal details about himself online. "The victim ended up on the floor and was beaten with the pickaxe handle." (source)
Sad to say the attacker was a Sarf Londoner, and the attackee an Essex chap. Perhaps I should point out that I have no malign intentions towards a certain high-profile blogger with a noted connection to the fair county of Essex. Meanwhile, maybe I'll continue to keep my surname to myself. A mate of mine once received a phone death threat, and was a bit shaken by it.
This entry was posted
on Tuesday, October 17, 2006 at 3:50 pm.
You can skip to the end and leave a response.
Well it had to happen eventually, hence Guthrum who was a six foot Viking, which I am not !
Well, Peter Hitchens and Vikki, take care, MI is on it's way. I already locked my doors and windows.
Colin I am heavily armed , I welcome him (+:
Peter,
I just met MI three days ago in Brussels. As a Master of Science Degree holder he might be in the possession of high-tech weapons. So please be careful !
Im in possesion of a shotgun (legally) that beat any degree (+:
How is that that you ended up meeting the loon?
Vikki,
I just read some of MI's statements in Brussels which are mostly good. One of his comments might interest you:
Submitted by Mission Impossible on Wed, 2006-10-11 07:25: "I did not expect you would share my ... as you have put it: "visceral" distrust of women in positions of authority."
Peter,
"How is that that you ended up meeting the loon?"
I was voyaging.
Colin, you are just as mischievous as the rest of us.....Its back to the wilderness then! Perhaps I should give Istanbultory a call....living with the 'veiled ones' should solve the problem for me or better still....become....a "veiled one".
Colin my 7:28 post was in reply to your 4:48 one. just saw this. Will check out the link.
Vikki, forgive my butting into what seems to be a private conversations, but wearing the veil is against the law in Turkey. And even if they're only wearing a headscarf, they will be denied admission to public buildings.
Those death threats can really spoil your day.
Vikki,
You wrote "Colin, you are just as mischievous as the rest of us."
Unfortunately, I have to confess that you are right. My observation is that blogging can turn a kind person into a sarcast because one not only encounters lucid analyses by intelligent people such as Croydonian, Instanbultory, Cranmer, etc. but also sometimes quite ludicrous comments (e.g. Colin's and MI's). It is difficult to remain benevolent when reading some of MI's remarks about women such as:
"The Bible defines the proper way to achieve "equality."
We all know about Joan of Arc, Queen Elizabeth, Catherine de Medici, Katherine the Great, et al. Joan of Arc was a failure, and Katherine also liked to play with well-hung horses. With the exception of Queen Elizabeth I, these names, and others who are similarly quoted, only appear great because their presence coincided with great times. No female has ever fashioned a culture to a higher level, although men's devotion to one may have inspired such achievements."
It's curious to read that a Master of Science Degree holder isn't aware of the important scientific contributions of Madame Curie or of Rosalind Franklin to name just a few. Without the contribution of Madame Curie, there wouldn't be the science of radioactivity and without Rosalind Franklin, there wouldn't be any gene technology.
And what about Margret Thatcher's contribution?
Here MI's answer:
"Margaret Thatcher was an aberration, and not representative. You overlook the immense contribution her husband Denis made to her sucess."
Vikki, you are right that "....living with the 'veiled ones' should solve the problem for me".
This would complete your emotional development and provide you with some satisfying experiences.
MI: "yes, some of my most exciting & satisfying experiences have been with Muslim women. They tend to be more "complete" women than our western sisters due to completing their emotional development without being perverted .."
Since we all are constantly looking for exciting and satisfying experiences, MI nearly converted me to his favorite religion.
Vikki, you should definitively take MI's advice and "become....a "veiled one".
I believe Queen Elizabeth I fashioned an age with her foresight and willingness to take a chance for a perceived reward. It paid off.
I believe Queen Isabella of Portugal was pretty far-sighted and imaginative when she financed Columbus's trip across the Atlantic into the unknown.
Queen Boudicca was quite a goer as well, with her chariot with swords sticking out of the wheels.
Mrs. Thatcher was in the same bold tradition.
I would agree, though, that women - other than in writing - have never made an impact on the arts. Everything that could be considered great art was done by men. In engineering, too, and physics.
But the women I mentioned above were very savvy and daring politicians.
PS - So was Cleopatera.
A most excellent meander folks.
And I didn't like her, but Indira Gandhi was one hellishly accomplished politician.
Seriously colin
I am fascinated to know how you got to meet MI on your voyage.
I have met great people from all over the world, even had some stay with me without getting killed and vice versa.MI struck me as just odd rather than an attention seeking oddball.
Verity,
Indira Gandhi was a notorious lesbian , did you know that?
IG was quite the overachiever. Must say I wasn't a fan though. I think Golda Meir rates a mention too. I like the tale of her sliding into Yiddish when told of the Arab attacks on Yom Kippur in '73: 'Nur das fullt mir'. Or 'Now that's all I need. I may well have got the spelling wrong, but it was something very much like that.
Don't try to diminish her, peter hitchens. I think Nehru, Indira, Rajiv and Mahatama Gandhi (no relation) were bad for India, but Indira was formidably accomplished as a politician. Sanjay died in a plane crash, of course, but it wasn't until the dynasty reached Rajiv that there was any sign at all of a rejection of socialism, and he had to move very slowly because the entire ossified government was, by that time, a devout disciple of socialism. Then Rajiv was the victim of a suicide bomber from Sri Lanka - and at last, India was free of the Gandhis. I just hope Rajiv's daughter never runs. But the longer India goes without a Gandhi, the more their spell disperses. And now India's going like the clappers.
Oy vey! I forgot Golda! Another quick riposte from her: when there had been a string of rapes at night in a particular city (can't remember), a reporter, concerned for the young women, asked her if she might impose a curfew. And she said that was a good idea. All young men should be in their houses by eight.
Verity, thanks for telling me. I didnt know that. I was looking for a hiding place and was also seizing the opportunity to take a dig at Istanbultory....
Colin,
you seem to have misunderstood me. I made the remark when only your 4:48 post was visible to me. I thought it was funny you made mention of MI. You know I am all for a good laugh. You also know I cant seem to get out of mischief which is why I am always apologising. As for Peter...he is mischief personified. I was simply saying welcome to the club. Tell me....if you are locking your doors and windows and Peter is armed to the teeth.....should I not also go into hiding....by becoming a veiled one?
Quite an impressive discussion here in the defense of women. MI got the juices flowing as usual, didn't he.
Peter wrote: "Seriously colin I am fascinated to know how you got to meet MI on your voyage."
I meant it in a metaphorical sense by substituting Brusselsjournal for Brussels and Voyager for voyaging. Since the latter also posted there and always supports MI's perls of wisdom using a similar style of writing as well as identical opinions so that I am really wondering whether it is not the same guy.
"MI struck me as just odd rather than an attention seeking oddball."
I am not sure any more that he is suffering from mania because he is better able to control his anger at the Brusselsjournal although he is pretty aggressive there too. My first impression was that he might have an impulsive personality disorder. But I am not sure about this either since I observed that the anonymity of the web seems to make people use pretty aggressive language. What is your view, Peter?
Vikki,
You also know I cant seem to get out of mischief which is why I am always apologising.
There is no need to always apologize. My observation is that people like to write about serious stuff as well as to have some fun.
There is only one thing which I don't like and that's aggressive dogmatism. You certainly do not fall in that category.
Vikki - I think you offer far more apologies than necessary. Heaven help us if we can't tell the difference between a little gentle ragging and character assassination.
Colin - Indeed. My mother is a woman (fancy that...), as are numerous relatives, colleagues and friends, so I'm not going to stand by and have women done down, so to speak.
Vikki,
In support of my observation - people like to write about serious stuff as well as to have some fun - here Croydonian's last comment on Cranmer's blog which I tremendously enjoyed and made me wish that I could express myself with the same subtlety: "A delightful outbreak of Francais, your Grace.
. What is your view, Peter?
my view is that he is a nut job.
I am cocked and locked.
Croydonion, all the more reason for you to take to the veil - maybe I will join you!
Ellee, maybe I'll grow a beard again...
Croydonian,
I'm not going to stand by and have women done down
Yes, that's how the large majority of people naturally feel. MI must have had a traumatic experience with women in GB, maybe at court during a divorce, to make him so hostile towards Western women.
His view that Western women are responsible for the demographic decline of the West is also incorrect. As far as I can see, it is the communistic principle of the state-run pension system introduced for the first time by Bismark in Germany. Bismark was a man and so where all the other politicians who copied his system to make the populace dependent on the state and its politicians. Women are simply responding to the incentives and punishments developed by Western governments. The investment in children is privatised and the advantages children are nationalised. To save their power, these politicians are now importing people to compensate for the failures of their politics.
To generally blame women for the disastrous consequences of power games by selfish - in majority male - politicians is at best short-sighted and at worst stupid.
Croydonian said: "so I'm not going to stand by and have women done down, so to speak."
That should include Indira Gandhi. Peter hitchens, who is usually very funny, tried to diminish this formidable and powerful individual by dubbing her a lesbian (and yes, any lesbians reading this blog, I am aware that this is not an insult boilerplate boilerplate) - but I find this attempt to diminish a woman whose achievement is so much greater than those of the detractors with behind-the-bike-shed sniggered comments weak and pathetic.
Although, to be fair, his comment would have started a whole echo hall of excited giggling over at Guido's.
Vikki, it started with Attaturk banning the fez - for exactly the same reason - it made Turkey look backward and Asian and he wanted it to be accepted as a Western country. I think I am right, Istanbul Tory?
They banned the veil quite some time ago. And, as I wrote, they can't even wear a headscarf if they want to go into a public building. In France, no one working in a mairie or any other government property can wear even a hijab, never mind a veil. Same in some states in Germany - and, of course, in French schools.
Britain has been weak. In Europe, it's only the nations that slithered around salaaming and trying to accommodate them - in other words Spain and Britain - which had acts of massive violence perpetrated against their citizens.
Colin - a very astute post.
According to Oriana Fallaci, though, this wholesale importation of backward people with a primitive, alien diety was planned for a long time - around the time Edward Heath took Britain into the EU.
I haven't read Fallaci's book as I've just started rereading V S Naipaul's "Among The Believers" about his journey through Iran just after the Revolution, Pakistan, India, Malaysia and Indonesia. I commend it to one and all as his writing is so beguiling. I think he's the best writer in the English language, although others claim this for the younger writer, Vikram Seth.
I hadn't encountered that theory about IG before, and a quick google didn't come in on the money. I don't think one has to be a radical feminist to wonder why all sorts of strange things are said about high achieving women. For instance, *that* story about Catherine the Great is a complete fabrication.
Croydonian - what is IG?
The story about Catherine the Great was so obviously put about by silly men that I cannot believe it has been accorded credence down the years. Surely started by some guard who thought she fancied him and was cruelly disappointed.
Only snippy men say negative things about high-achieving women. Women themselves take them in their stride because, let's face it, most of our mothers were/are strong - thank God! - even if they didn't put their strength into scaling corporate ladders. In my experience, it's just the men who didn't reach the same altitude who make snippy comments and schoolboy jokes about achieving women. Pepsi Cola's new worldwide chief executive, as of October 1, is not just a woman, but an Indian woman, peter hitchens. Care to make some jokes? Plenty to work with.
V - sorry, acronymitis again. IG=Indira Ghandi.
My sister is left-leaning and by some people's standards a hard line feminist. Can't see it meself - shades of the old joke about a woman being termed a feminist if she tries to differentiate herself from a doormat. Anyway, she gives much credit to my father, who took the attitude from the off that any child of his would / should achieve, be they male (OK, I let the side down) or female, because they were *his* progeny. Not enormously self-effacing of him, but the point stands, as she was always encouraged in her education and so forth. In contrast my mother left education at the O level stage whereas her brother has a PhD. My mother (Hi Mum! Not that she's reading this as far as I know) is at least as sharp as her little brother, but she didn't have the encouragement or the opportunity.
OK, then what "theory" about Indira Gandhi had you not encountered before?
thought we were about to have a sensible conversation on spread betting
I don't think you would suit a beard. I'm sure you can buy the hijab from Ebay, why not have a go!
» Post a Comment