I am sorry for the blog hiatus, but I follow a method of historical research a bit akin to method acting! I am absolutely immersed in the world of Burnes. I am in Bhuj at tne moment, and yesterday was at Mandivi looking at the shipyards and harbours where Burnes procured his boats to sail up the Indus – they are still made today. Much larger than I had realised. In Mumbai I identified a “lost”, uncatalogued portrait of Alexander Burnes which I think is the finest of him anywhere. The owners did not know who it was. It is by Brockendon like the one in the royal geographical society but is quite different, with him in military uniform. It is by Brockendon, not a copy.
Today disaster. I have lost ten days worth of notes. I noticed this morning that I had two versions of the identical document of my notes open – an .ODT on open office. One was a much older version. Paradoxically they had the identical file name but both showed as saved – the save icon was blanked on each.
Having checked that the content was all there on the version on which I was working, and that it was saved, I decided the best thing was to close off the extraneous version. Disaster!! An error message came up saying open office would now close. On restart, document recovery brought up only the old version, minus ten days work. I had a moment of hope when I right clicked on the document icon and saw “restore earlier versions of the document” but clicking on that just brought up a ,essage that there are no earlier versions available.
I am heartbroken- these aren’t just notes that can be recovered from memory, but also painstaking transcripts of old manuscripts, some of which I probably can’t access again even if I had the time and money.
I can think of a dozen things I might have done to avoid this situation. Comments on how to avoid such happenings are not welcome in the current trying circumstance. The real question is, can anyone think of anything at all that might help? I am running Open Office on Windows 7.
I really cannot express how much in despair I feel. This trip has cost all my available cash and I have to come back soon as money is out.
[If any mods have hung around while the blog is quiet, I am getting an extremely small typeface, only on this site. Do we have a problem, or is it another computer glitch personal to me?]
No good asking mine Technicolour. He was the Deputy Speaker and follows the partei line religiously. I write and receive anodyne replies by post on expensive water marked stationery in an embossed HoC 1st Class envelope. I write by e-mail of course.
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Er, sorry, Mary, didn’t you just write something like that?
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But Technicolour, yes, it is worth writing, and more people writing more often, making moral and logical arguments applies more pressure.
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It’s also worth informing your MP of the things you know that the media rather you didn’t. It’s the same skill as submitting a good comment; back up your argument by citing sound evidence. Much political sleaze relies upon widespread public ignorance. Well informed letters or e-mails to MPs undermine the power of the mainstream media. The more of us that inform our MPs of a given issue, the harder it becomes for them to claim ignorance of that matter later. Written communication creates an irrefutable evidence trail. MPs know that, so our communications ought to constrain their actions to some extent.
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The anodyne replies on ridiculously expensive stationery are completely off-putting. Probably designed to be.
Soon control of what we say, what websites we visit, what we type on our computers, who we communicate with and now even our freedom to travel to certain places is going to be taken out of our hands.
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http://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/simon-calder-fancy-a-trip-to-mexico-the-us-has-the-final-say-7601178.html
Everyone & Komodo: yes. it’s either pressure or (as representatives at the G8 have found) necessary empowerment. How are they meant to stand up for us if we don’t give them the courage and belief (and facts) and personal engagement to do so?
Why would you not contact your MP, face to face? That is what we pay for, after all. Why is it better to sign a petition?
‘It’s too dangerous to meet my constituents’: Labour MP Stuart Bell tries to justify not holding a surgery for 14 YEAR
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Why we pay????? To make sure Atlantic bridge et al, don’t pay all the costs.
Even further o/t:
Bullingdon Boris Shows True Colours…
http://meetmedaily.com/boris-johnson-in-foul-mouthed-rant-at-ken-livingstone-over-tax-claims/
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Arrogant, mendacious prick.
Technicolour, demonstrations, petitions, letters, face to face meetings; I think they all help. People may cynically argue that such actions achieve nothing, but we don’t know how much worse things might be without them. But Nevermind and others also have a point. Government tactics have changed, kettling is routinely used to make demonstration less attractive. Multiple smaller local actions would be more difficult for the authorities to interfere with, with lower transport costs for the demonstrators and the environment.
Re. the unavailable MP…anyone here ever been to Middlesbrough? Leafy suburb it ain’t.
Komodo,
Was that a rhetorical question?
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Middlesbrough is a pretty progressive cosmopolitan haven compared to some of the other places up north .
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However kitchen. heat, stand etc. or get out sort of.
@ John Goss who says: “There are many good Israelis who do not want war. Einstein was one such thinker. But the trouble is their Zionist masters do. I tried to blog on this back in January to make a distinction between the Zionist elite and ordinary Israelis.”
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If you mean Albert Einstein, the infamous author of E=Mc2, then I don’t think he was an Israeli.
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I agree though, the Zionist Elite are little to do with ordinary Israelis or Jews. Most of Zionist Elite aren’t even Jews. They are Europeans to central Asians
wonder what will come of this, reported by Italian AGI on 2 April?
Merah family lawyer claims ‘Toulouse Killer’ dispatched
(AGI) Algiers – According to a Merah family lawyer, Zahia Moktari, the Toulouse killer was intentionally killed by French police. Acting on behalf of Mohamed Merah’s father, the lawyer held a press conference in Algiers today claimed to be in possession of two separate 20-minute video recordings of the French special forces raid, in which Merah is clearly heard saying “Why are you killing me? I am innocent.” The lawyer went on to claim having received the footage from “persons directly involved in the events, wishing to have the truth come out.” Moktari went on to claim that “Merah was manipulated and used in several French secret services operations and subsequently dispatched in order to avoid letting the truth out.” The lawyer also said she would be informing French justice officials of the names of three persons involved in the cover-up, namely “a French secret service official and two other persons, of different nationalities, who also worked with Mohammed Merah.” …
http://www.agi.it/english-version/world/elenco-notizie/201204021602-cro-ren1060-merah_family_lawyer_claims_toulouse_killer_dispatched
George Galloway puts the condescending Carole Walker straight on Afghanistan. ‘It’s not a mission, it’s a war.’
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http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article30974.htm
George Galloway: Why I won’t condemn attacks on UK soldiers in Afghanistan 1’52”
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He was also on Newsnight last night but I did not see it. Probably more of ‘When did you stop beating your wife Mr Galloway?’ stuff from Paxman.
Clegg is fighting the move to allow secret court hearings and secret inquests. Best of British luck. Someone has said he is like the battered wife who stays with the abuser because she thinks she can change him. I think he is hanging on to what he believes is power. He has just kicked off the LD campaign for local elections. It will be a wipeout for them.
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4 April 2012
Clegg signals disquiet over secret court hearings
Nick Clegg does not want ministers to have power over secret hearings
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Related Stories
Clarke defends ‘secret justice’
Hague backs closed court hearings
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Nick Clegg has signalled opposition to parts of the government’s plans for secret trials in some civil cases involving national security.
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The deputy prime minister has written to the National Security Council saying that judges – not ministers – should decide what should be kept private.
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His move coincides with a report from the Joint Committee on Human Rights which strongly criticised the plans.
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Ministers say closed hearings are needed to protect national security.
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Mr Clegg has also said that he believes no inquests should be held in private.
Details of his opposition to government plans first emerged in the Daily Mail.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-17601594
I have just looked up the BBC reporter Carole Walker and see she went to a Norfolk school which combined with the one that Craig attended to form Paston College. Craig is in the list of notable alumni.
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paston_College
What a friend once told me…
Theres a natural order in the world and its all out of your control, stopping worrying about it it is not good for you.
Oliver Cromwell Paid Zionist.
Thanks for that oddie, It makes you wonder what merah was up to in Israel, before he was arrested for carrying a knife.
Looks like Nicaragua will soon allow a Chinese military base on its territory, this onesided militarisation will inevitably end up in a tit for tat moment.
Those Aussies have not much spine left to consistently elect these war loving rightwingers.
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/asia-pacific/2012/04/20124464754430673.html
Barry Mackenzie and the wild colonial boys are long gone Nevermind. They have been replaced by the likes of Ms Gillard and Mr Rudd both of whom have paid homage to Israel.
Exapropriation and creeping genocide marks these Apartheid policies against Nomads who for hundreds if not over a thousand years have lived of barren lands. Since 1948 they have been kept like zoo animlas and pushed from pillar to post, now the final solution to their lifes has been spelled out. Ehud Prawer, repent, Easter is as good a time for it than any.
http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2012/04/2012421020291808.html
Clark: yes, I think it’s quite important to remember that MPs are people (!) Also, often, overworked, harassed, blackmailed people without the time or necessarily the ability to research and deconstruct, or the courage to act. The more information and encouragement they have from their constituents the better, I think.
Otherwise, Mary, did Clark’s comment mean that you have changed MPs? Have you ever spoken to either of them?
Technicolour I wrote that mine is a junior minister and follows the party line and yes have spoken.
Technicolour, I just quoted Mary’s comment because my experience with my MP seemed so similar to hers. I haven’t met my MP; I lack sufficient self-confidence. Most people I meet have a more mainstream view of current affairs than me, and away from the Internet my voice seems so isolated as to be easily ridiculed or dismissed. Some of the comments directed at me here, such as being described as part of “the spartist debating society at the University of Billy No Mates” help to deepen my insecurity. Nevermind is right; Internet activism is all very well, but people should also meet up in person.
Clark – just about everyone I speak to is pissed off with the wars, the government, prices, the bankers, etc, etc. Your voice is not isolated. You’re just meeting the wrong people. And so, evidently, are our MP’s.
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Fedup. not sure what duelling banjos have to do with urban blight, oop north or elsewhere in the UK. Hartlepool is my favourite, but no doubt you have other ideas. (eg Methil on a wet day or Rochdale?)
Well, Clark, they deepen my insecurity too, or would if I tried to make sense of them, since the idea that you can debate on your own is obviously nonsensical.
As for your voice being isolated, you could maybe try looking at the Guardian today – the howls of outrage from perfectly mainstream Guardian readers under the pieces on civil liberties and Clegg are making me feel moderate 🙂
Thanks Mary – was confused! My MP seems to like being contacted, if it’s any help. And it is their job to listen to you, not to follow the party line.
Technicolour, “And it is their job to listen to you, not to follow the party line.” – theoretically, but their corporate perks outweigh their public salary, and they’re likely to lose both if they don’t tow the line.
…oh, and the “Spartist University” jibe was a standard troll offering. Trolls exist to try to make people feel bad about themselves. It’s what they do. They don’t get out enough, because in the real world their approach to life invites the application of a baseball bat by complete strangers. And they’re not very big. Trolls are best ignored completely, but can occasionally be entertaining in the right hands. (The left hands maintaining their grip on the baseball bat).
Suppose all affiliations with other MP’s were banned, and that an MP could recieve no income whatever (cash or kind, present or deferred) in addition to his State salary and pension? This would seem to be the only way to ensure that MP’s serve their constituents.
Komodo, “You’re just meeting the wrong people.” – Yes, I live near the Thames estuary. And yes, I wondered about Fedup’s Dueling Banjos too…
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More seriously, in a sense I’m meeting the right people, the people who need a broader news-base. But without occasional back-up maybe I’m just wasting my breath and deepening my isolation.
Totally even off topicer (perhaps) but have just asked these questions on CiF (not usually on it; first time in months) Does anyone know the answers? The discussion was about what would happen if the Lib Dems stopped supporting the Tories, obviously.
Quoting martford: “a minority Tory Govt would have had to go back to the polls within weeks – the outcome of that was widely predicted as a Tory majority…..so threfore a case of being careful what you wish for…”
Not attacking, just asking:
1. Why would a minority Tory government have to go back to the polls within weeks?
2. I know that everyone predicted that if that did happen, the Tories would return with a majority, but mainly people explained this by saying that the Lib Dems could not afford to fight a second election (true) so that presumably Lib Dem voters would switch to their local Tory instead. But in fact, does anyone actually think they would? Why would people not have voted Green or Independent instead, or even for one of the few decent Labour candidates? And surely they are now far more likely to take that road instead?
Komodo: “Suppose all affiliations with other MP’s were banned, and that an MP could recieve no income whatever (cash or kind, present or deferred) in addition to his State salary and pension?” – Yes, but how would we get our MPs to vote for that? Illusory democracy is so much more robust than honest dictatorship.
Guess for Q1: A vote of No Confidence?
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Observation for Q2: Isn’t Boris Johnson leading in the London Mayor contest? On the other hand, there is George Galloway’s election. North/South divide?