The Daily Gaggle

Could you be kind to an Indian Myna bird? well I have been but our acquaintance will be short lived, they just have to go. We have many different birds visiting our garden, a dozen or more species from various parrots to pigeons magpies and noisy crows. Our front veranda hosts the occasional hand feeding frenzy of a dozen or so rainbow lorikeets. Recently a pair of Indian Myna's took up residence in the eaves of our back shed. Having heard many derogatory yarns about these creatures I was loath for them to stay, Rosemary's maternal instincts favoured the birds to stay. For such an allegedly harsh climate, Australia is remarkably welcoming to introduced species. The rabbit and the cane toad both thrive here and so do too does the Indian Myna, in fact the Myna may be the most successful of them all. They are a menace to native birds and our local ecology, so people have lately taken matters in their own hands, trapping and killing thousands of these sky vermin. Problem is, the me...

Hi Les, A happy New Year to you. Just received this message from an Australian resident seeking info about HMS KGV. Can you help? Best regards Yours aye Bill Commodore W H J Kelly CEng FIMarEST RN (Retd) President HMS KING GEORGE V Association Dear Sirs, I am the son of a veteran of HMS King George V. My father joined her in 1943. After the war, Dad married and left the UK to settle in Australia, where we all live. Dad says he has never been the returned services club type, but over the years we have heard many, many stories of his experiences serving on HMS King George V, and he is obviously quite proud of his service. Just the other day I did a little research on the net and found some info about operations she completed and Dad was eagerly pointing to each one, and I'm sure it bought a lot of memories back for him. The reason I am writing is, I wonder if any of you have any photos of the ship, and of her crew, and if so would be willing to send some on for me to show him. My Dad...

For Immediate Release Monday, January 25, 2010 202-285-0244 www.freedomandprosperity.org "Like Putting Perfume on a Hog" New CF&P Video Shows Big Government Is Not Stimulus and Not a Jobs Bill (Washington, D.C., Monday, January 25, 2010) A new video released today by the Center for Freedom and Prosperity Foundation (CF&P) uses Labor Department data to demonstrate that the first stimulus bill did not create jobs and explains why politicians, in spite of the data, want to enact another so-called stimulus proposal. Entitled, "Stimulus II: A Sequel American Can't Afford," the CF&P Foundation mini-documentary reviews unemployment rate data as well as total employment data to debunk the notion that jobs can be created by diverting resources from the private sector to government. "Notwithstanding the Administration's fuzzy math, America has lost more than three-million jobs as the burden of government spending has increased," said CF...

Well you should do as most people have exceeded the family budget over the festive season and many will never make up the shortfall before the next ecclesiastical hallucination descends upon us. I am reliably informed that, most bloggers who are experiencing festive bloating are wisely reducing their sedentary lifestyle in order to drop the flab. But there is another way to help and that is stand on those two feet of yours and raise the keyboard, am I following these rules? 'don't ask'. Before the busy season commenced, my family and I were inundated with calls re family history and a missing brother, all excitable stuff, however, the euphoria has now lessened to the technical details and more revelations of family history, more is the pity this info should have become known prior to our visit to the U/K last July, maybe another trip could be on the cards. Working Mothers with pre school children who contribute to the family budget are being slugged again not by mortgage br...

Post No 588. The English are feeling the pinch in relation to recent terrorist threats and have raised their security level from "Miffed" to "Peeved." Soon, though, security levels may be raised yet again to "Irritated" or even "A Bit Cross." The English have not been "A Bit Cross" since the blitz in 1940 when tea supplies all but ran out. Terrorists have been re-categorized from "Tiresome" to a "Bloody Nuisance." The last time the British issued a "Bloody Nuisance" warning level was during the great fire of 1666. The Scots raised their threat level from "Pissed Off" to "Let's get the Bastards" They don't have any other levels. This is the reason they have been used on the front line in the British army for the last 300 years. The French government announced yesterday that it has raised its terror alert level from "Run" to "Hide". The only two higher levels in...

I wrote this post in Dec 2007, it was not published, this was due to a more comical explanation on face book formed on the opinions of 'Jay' a Canadian lady, her version was published instead of this one. I will apologise for any affront this may cause to my dear relatives and friends who I love and respect, and are urging me to get on to this face book thingy, and so no further explanation will be forthcoming for security reasons. Face book status updates 'is' no more. Face book, the social-networking site beloved of twenty- and thirty somethings, has caved into user pressure and announced it is removing the mandatory "is" from member's status updates. Changing status: Face book users will now no longer be restricted in their profile status Status updates are one of the most popular features on the site, allowing users to inform other people in their social network what they are doing at that moment. For instance: "Mary is: writing an article about F...

King Arthur and the Witch: Young King Arthur was ambushed and imprisoned by the monarch of a neighboring kingdom. The monarch could have killed him but was moved by Arthur's youth and ideals. So, the monarch offered him his freedom, as long as he could answer a very difficult question. Arthur would have a year to figure out the answer and, if after a year, he still had no answer, he would be put to death. The question?...What do women really want? Such a question would perplex even the most knowledgeable man, and to young Arthur, it seemed an impossible query. But, since it was better than death, he accepted the monarch's proposition to have an answer by year's end. He returned to his kingdom and began to poll everyone: the princess, the priests, the wise men and even the court jester. He spoke with everyone, but no one could give him a satisfactory answer. Many people advised him to consult the old witch, for only she would have the answer. But the price would be high; as ...

Two more churches in Malaysia were firebombed Sunday, bringing the total to six since a court ruled that non-Muslims can use the word "Allah" as a term for God. No one has been hurt in the attacks, which began Friday. They follow a high court's ruling that Christians can use the word "Allah" in literature printed in the country's official language, Malay. In Malay, the word for God is "Allah," as it is in Arabic. But many in the predominantly Muslim country, including the government, believe the word should be exclusive to Islam. The government has banned the use of the word in Christian literature, saying it is likely to confuse Muslims and draw them to Christianity. The bombings may be an attempt to intimidate judges to overturn the decision. Political leaders from a range of parties deplored the attacks on the churches. Prime Minister Najib Razak visited one of the targeted churches on Saturday and called for calm. Emphasizing his resolve to mai...

SUPERMARKETS have begun filling shelves with chocolate eggs more than three months before Easter. Tesco and Somerfield in the UK are accused of pressuring hard-up parents into spending more cash just days after splashing out for Christmas. Customers furious at seeing egg promotions so far ahead of Easter Sunday on April 4 have launched a series of online attacks. One raged: "We celebrated Jesus being born on December 25 and just days later we're being sold chocolate to celebrate Easter." Another fumed: "If people have Easter eggs pushed into their face then they will believe they need them and will buy, buy, buy. "I'm sure no one is naive enough to believe that the supermarkets 'simply sell people what they want'." A unknown Tesco spokesperson not wishing to be identified for fear of ridicule said: "A small selection of Easter eggs are on sale in response to customer demand." What a load of crap, who are those people, wishing to buy ch...