Cohones, scorpiones

I had a reminder on another site the other day about scorpions.

The upstairs part of the Mushtamal was accessed by an outside stairs at one end, running over the bathroom, a block which had been attached to the ground floor. Upstairs a narrow veranda, with a simple wooden balustrade, ran along the whole length of the house. Each room had its own door.

When we moved in Father had all the rooms connected to each other internally by doors or archways. The bedroom which I shared with my elder brother, Stu, [ he's in the picture of the fountain below ] was at the road end of the house, with two windows looking out into the garden and connected to my parents room by a newly inserted door.

The single-storey ex-servants' quarter was across the way with its own outside stairs onto a flat roof which had a very low wall about a foot tall round it. One year, in the pile of wood next to these stairs, we found a shed snake's skin, which sent the hackles up my spine. I could imagine the snake from the length of its ecdysis.

Sleeping arrangements were simple in summer - two sheets. I can remember, as if it were yesterday, lying on my bed in the cool of the afternoon reading Black Beauty from cover to cover. I would have been about seven.

One morning, oblivious to what was scuttling about under my bed, I got out in bare feet, only to jump straight back onto the bed when I saw a black creature running from under one bed to the other. Mine. Screams were issued, Mum appeared and disappeared, then Dad arrived - I can see his dressing-gown and leather slippers now - took off one of his slippers, whack, the creature was dispatched and put in the empty fireplace.

From then onwards my father had gone up in my estimation. Nowadays this was an act that would be called cool by persons of a certain age. It was indeed. I like to think I stored away his sange-froid for use myself one day, perhaps when I too was a father. He certainly went right up in my estimation: not a bad thing for father-son relationships.

Monday 23 August

Iraq has four species of scorpions which include black-tailed and yellow scorpions. The most dangerous of these is the death stalker scorpion whose sting causes extreme pain, paralysis, convulsions and even death.

Snakes in Iraq
The poisonous snakes found in Iraq include black desert cobras and sand vipers, but the saw-scaled vipers which are found throughout Asia and the Middle East are aggressive, ill-tempered and their venom is the most toxic in the world. The venom from a bite from these vipers can break down the circulatory system and cause bleeding from the eyes, nose and ears causing a slow, painful death.

Pakistan
Before Iraq, we lived in Kararchi, Pakistan. The ex-military cantonement where we lived had no roads. We young IAL kids played out in the sand shoeless. It was quite usual to have little yellow coloured scorpions at out feet. Of course we had no knowledge of scorpions and I can't ever remember discussing them with Mum and Dad. They were just part of the scene.



  ¶ Saturday, August 21, 2004 0 Comments

 
Perspective

This Opinion Journal article by James Taranto of Thursday, March 6, 2003, reminds us of how carefully Bush laid out the reasons for war with Iraq, unlike Blair, who stuck like glue to WMD. This will certainly reduce the Labour Party's majority at the next election.

Tuesday 31 August 2004

The Dyke book reported in BBC News, 29 August runs through the British side and has several links for revision puposes.

My view is simple. Blair did lie, but he had to have a reason for going to war alongside the US so that the UK was not left out of the considerable spoils of war, specifically military. In reptrospect, his reasons look even more paltry and ridiculous. At the time he persuaded himself (not us) by repeating the mantra of WMD and the obviously stupid 40 minutes claim which he took no pains to check.

Another argument has been aired in the last few days on the cyberwaves, that Blair fell in line with the U.S. in order to keep Bush in line. This is an inept assessment. Politically Blair stood no chance, at the time the neo-cons were in the ascendency, of curbing the action plan for Iraq.

Homework

The Military Dimension of Science and Technology

• UK arms exports worth approx. £5 billion per year

A cloud over civilisation

• Corporate power is the driving force behind US foreign policy - and the slaughter in Iraq - J K Galbraith, Thursday 15 July, 2004
  

Global Issues. org

• How Weapons makers are Shaping U.S. Foreign and Military Policies

  ¶ Tuesday, August 17, 2004 0 Comments