Joe Rooney

I most sincerely agree! In cases like this, we should always remember the words of a WW2 German priest! (I believe that it was Pastor Niemoller!) "For evil to prevail, it is only necessary that good men do nothing" I am a few thousand kilometres away, and I am not even a British citizen now, but I will gladly sign this petition. And Monsta, this is something you should learn well. Doing nothing, means that you forfeit your right to protest. And after that you lose all other rights! So much for your "Its not worth the effort, because nobody pays any attention" Joe

Thank you all for your help. After a few days off to get Christmas preparations under control, I came back to this project. I found the program suggested by Vic to be extremely useful, and easy to use. And for a computer dunce like me that is saying something! Thanks again folks. Joe

I have received several messages in the past few months. All themes of "why don't you have a photograph of yourself on your profile". No reason particularly. I am not very photogenic, and there aren't too many pictures of me in existence. However, my daughter Helen told me recently that she thinks it would settle the possible belief that I exist in the mind of some precocious child hiding behind his mothers laptop. Not so, but I finally agreed to send one in. Problem is, the only recent photograph of any worth is of dimensions 614KB, and 1382 X 1382 dimensions. I don't know if that is Pixels or Millimetres! The photo is held, in "My pictures", while my software program is Microsoft "Picture it". I can't find the support manual, so I am at a total loss as to how to reduce these dimensions to meet the site limits. 150 X 150, or so. Can anyone please help me out with an online or other source of directions! Otherwise, I may have to stay a figment of someones vivid imagination. (Not Swalnalla's though. He knows that there really is a Joe Rooney. And he is the only person on the Bedlington site that I can really be sure exists!) Thanks all! Joe Rooney

Monsta, The child was born here. All that your hatred allows you to see, is a dark skinned foreigner of a different religion, and your bias makes this child an object of contempt and xenophobic derision. Fortunately, she is a Canadian citizen. And as such, she has the freedom and equality of every other Canadian. So keep your hatred on that side of the pond, and she will grow up to fulfil whatever her talents and aptitude dictate, her work ethic ,intelligence, and determination being all that she needs. I am really beginning to wonder why England needs immigrants. They certainly don't seem to welcome them, and if your attitude and bigotry is the norm, they need all the help that God and fairminded people can provide! Joe

But she was the teacher! She was in charge of the class. She decided to play this game and once the children chose to use a religiously offensive name, then it was her common sense duty to the law, and for her own safety, to point out that it would be a source of embarrassment to their parents, and lead them elsewhere. Again, as a teacher, her role was to lead the class. Not hide behind the honest mistake of children, innoffensive as it might be elswhere. But not in a Muslim country! You can believe as you wish, but the Muslim faith is over a billion people strong, and even though the proportion of militant Muslims is still a minority. It is still several million strong, and they have the same right as those in every other religion to believe as they will, and as in this case, take umbrage at what they see as an insult to their faith! Joe By the way. I read in this mornings paper that the dispute over a young girl wearing a hijab while playing soccer, has been resolved. The amateur soccer association, the parents, and the local Canadian Muslim chapter, met and came up with a solution. Between them, they designed a head gear which is more like a scarf, but which meets the safety needs of the soccer group. She played her first game with the new modified hijab yesterday. This is what I mean by tolerance, and both sides came with an open mind. Much more productive than mindless insults and mudslinging!

I am puzzled whwn I see the discussion reversed to an opposite view of events. Of course it is political, (And religious!) But if this lady is the experienced, much travelled, teacher, which is what the Canadian press describes her as. Then what on earth is she doing, going into a deeply Muslim country, teaching their children in an English fashion, and totally ignoring the religious and social mores of the parents. If she is so experienced, and travelled, then she must surely be well aware of the depth of suspicions which are harboured against the West, particularly a former colonial power such as England, and a nuvo colonial power such as the US. She may be experienced, but lacks common sense, if she exposed herself to such an obvious charge, even if it did spring from such an inoffensive game. "But only inoffensive in the non muslim world"! She will be fortunate if she escapes only with the 15 day sentence. There are enough bitterly anti western people in the region to wish nothing but evil to the woman, or any other member of the western nations who think that they can bring their own beliefs, and attitudes to any non Christian nation. After several years of peacekeeping service with the Canadian armed forces, I was painfully aware of just how easy it is to antagonise the very people who desperately needed our help. Being a nation in need of foreign help, is a humiliating experience for many third world nations. And there always those who will seize any opportunity to level charges of colonialism, or accuse the most sincere attempts to bring education, of being veiled attempts to bring foreign religions into their homeland! To forget what she has done to arouse suspicion and fear among the Sudanese, and change the discussion to "When they come here, they had better comform to our ways, or else" does not help. It is just another attempt to place the blame on whoever is this weeks popular villain. It really is too bad that there is so much animus against immigrants in England. But that is something to be dealt with between the British government, and the electorate. Certainly not by whipping up the lynch mob mentality. Canada has its share of anti immigrant disputes. Among the more benign, are a series of complaints against Muslim girls who wear the Hijab, (A form of headscarf! while playing soccer. But we will sort it out! We have to, because Canada is a nation of immigrants, we don't want them all deported, we need the labour in a booming economy. And the Canadian population is very heavily based on the millions of post ww2 immigrants and the further millions of children who were born Canadian. I hope the lady gets home safely. And I hope that she will have learned to respect the right to difference. And that is a lesson that the English need to learn too. Being different is not being inferior, it just means that you are different. And that difference will diminsh with the the birth of millions of new citizens to these different parents. That is how we benefit from immigration! Learning new ways of life is never easy. But time and tolerance solves all. Joe Rooney

I really don't know if I was liked or disliked as a CEO. But I do know that they really loved those quarterly bonuses, and other benefits! Joe

Finally, it is the 27th. Happy birthday, Bar Lass! Joe

Why don't you come back when you have completed a semester of fixed cost distribution. Until then, you are just spouting the same tired old "I hate rich and successful people" line from the 1930's era Labour party. Joe Rooney. (In case it crosses your mind, I speak from, CMA, Bsc Econ. MBA.)

Forgive my awkwardness. But is this a child, or a Grandchild we are welcoming? Just thought I should ask, I get a little dozy in my old age! Either way, congratulations to all of you. But especially to the one who did all the heavy lifting! Joe Rooney

Happy birthday, BL. Enjoy this, and all the days to come. Joe

Christmas is a great time, and a rotten one! The kids and grandkids are wild with excitement, and its a chance to keep in touch with your scattered family. But then its a time to remember all the old friends and family that you have lost, some of them over sixty years ago. But above all, its a time to be thankful for all that you have, all that you children have achieved, and all that is to come! I like Christmas, I hope it is a great one for everyone! Joe

Happy birthday, Tony Joe

Monsta, First immigrants, now women. Is this what you believe to be a broadening of your horizons! Try again kid! Joe

Denzel, It is about time that you returned to your local duties. Stay out of Bedlington much longer and you will develop that toffee mouth dialect that passes for English in the South! Joe

Welcome back, Barlass. I had wondered where you had gone. Good to know that you are still in the neighbourhood. Joe

Monsta, You are nothing if not so boringly predictable! Who would you find to sneer at, if there were no immigrants? You would have to dream up something more interesting than your usual diatribe against anyone different from you. Thank God that there are many people different from you. It is what makes this site worthwhile visiting. Joe

Happy birthday to you. Enjoy! Joe

I really dont know why you put up with this mob of so called royals. Bunch of lazy expensive yahoos. Thank god we dont have to worry about them, or their numerous hangers on. We have enough of the run of the mill politicians to worry fret about. Joe

Who would you complain to, after a hundred and fifty years or so? Joe

At a personal level, I clearly remember overhearing my then Eight year old daughter and her Six year old Twin sisters gravely discussing the age of their parents. And Pat, my oldest, seriously saying"mum and dad are really old, mum told me that they are both Thirty"! Now that she is Fifty Four, I must ask her if she is "old" yet! Joe

I for one am quite happy with the performance of the Bedlington site. So, every now and again it is down for awhile. show me a site that isn,t off occasionaly. Because I certainly don,t have one. Among all of my favourite sites, none of them have a perfect record, and since they are all run by humans, backed up by cantankerous systems, then you get what you get. So be grateful for small miracles, and the internet is one of those unsung miracles. You kids are just spoiled, you think God just nudges the operators to keep them perfect. Go back abut twenty odd years, and there was no such service, and no such high standards of performance. Now, if only we could get the standard of the dialogue up to the standard of technical performance, wouldnt that be something. No more lame brained hate tantrums against anyone, and every entry of interest and intelligence, now that would be a true miracle. I must ask God about that when I meet him! Press on regardless, and you guys in the backroom, you really do, do well! Thanks, Joe

Thanks for the kind thoughts, Geordiegirl. I actually dont give it much thought, until one or other of my rusty parts remind me! Now that there is snow on the mountains, and the rabbits are turning white, I have to take steps to deal with the Angina pains. So I wear patches containing Nitrates and walk a little slower, (if that is at all possible!) But the cold days make my heart beat a little faster, and then I remember, "Oh yeah, I am supposed to slow down", to what? I barely move as it is, and all these little kids whizzing past me dont help! But I am so thankful that we live in Canada, and have the benefit of a good, though not great, health system. My wifes family still live in the US, and now that most are retired they live in terror of a major health problem. In weekly calls they have another horror story of one or another of my wifes friends who are facing bankruptcy for a family member who is hit with an enormously expensive medical bill. The US government loves to criticise Canada's "Socialist" health care system, and although there is much to legitimately criticise, at least we dont stand smugly by as thousands of people lose all for health care. But our own system faces real problems as many doctors simply pack up and move to the states for the vastly superior earnings that can be made there! Which I suppose, is balanced by the unreal awards for medical malpractice. In which case the lawyers are the only people who benefit in the end. I am truly sorry to hear of your mother's illness. She came to the US for a better life, and this is part of the american experience. Give her my best wishes, and tell that every morning she wakes up is another day to enjoy. Regards, and thanks, Joe Rooney

I like the Bedlington terrrier, always have! Criticising them is like saying you don't like stotty cake and jam, because you think you are deprived without real cake! My Uncle Jimmy gave me one when I was a kid. Like me, it was a cross breed. But it was tough, loyal, and affectionate. All the things I wanted to be, but never quite achieved, I had in that dog! When he died, I lost a large piece of my belief in happy ever after. But I have never forgotten him. Even now I think that he was my best, and most understanding friend! So there! This brings up a problem. In North America, the Bedlington Terrier is mistakenly described as an American breed. Now that is abusing the truth. But even some Canadian vets have told me that the breed has been developed to a much higher standard of purity than was ever achieved in the UK. I somehow doubt it, especially when I see the poncy way that American breeders comb and trim the appearance of show Bedlintons. Big square heads, and invisible eyes are only the most obvious of the horrendous things they do to the Terrier in North America. But I still miss the Bedlington Terrier of my childhood. Do the English breeders of Bedlington Terriers ever issue those big well photographed calendars, that seem to cover every breed known to god and man, and even of some breeds that no ones ever heard of! If anybody knows where to find such a calendar, featuring the classic Bedlington Terrier. Please let me know, so that I can get myself something that I would really like for Christmas. I get enough of the other stuff, too expensive and totally useless. But I really would like a Bedlington Terrier calendar for Christmas! Thanks for listening, or reading anyway. Joe

This getting old seems to be catching! Happy birthday to you, GGGG. What do all those G's mean? Joe