serrac

And...? The Black Book of Communism, a postmortem of communist atrocities compiled by European and American academics in 1997, concluded that the human cost of genocides, extrajudicial executions, deportations, and artificial famines stood at over 94 million. While religious wars and pogroms have been going on since time immemorial the perpetrators lacked the means to inflict death on the industrial scale we saw in the 20th century. For example the Crusades, probably one of the biggest ever religious wars, claimed "only" 1 million lives over the course of 200 years. Prior to the advent of Islam in the 7th century, Jews and Arabs generally lived peacefully together in most areas. So the enmity and killings we see today didn't exist for most of human existence.

I think you will find old age and disease take the biscuit for that.. Communism would likely take 2nd place if you factor in the consequential deaths of events like the Great Leap Forward.

Would the regulations be any more lenient if game meat was being sold on for pet food? I no longer have my dog but often thought I'd rather be feeding him some real meat than the (don't know what's in them) commercial foods. And then you see what stuff like pigs ears and trotters fetches in the pet stores...

I'm glad they banned that, cruel cruel sport... 😛

Thanks, will do.

Tamsulosin did nothing for me and I'm currently recovering from a combined TURP/Urolift operation done privately on Saturday. Saturday night was uncomfortable due to being connected to various tubes including a catheter. When they told me I'd have a catheter in overnight I wasn't too worried thinking it would be a narrow thingy made out of soft latex. Nope, think 8mm diameter stiff plastic tube... I was glad to see the back of that even if having it removed was "interesting". Pain wise I'm doing fine, they sent me home with Paracetamol and Codeine but I haven't even bothered with the Paracetamol let alone the Codeine. My stomach is feeling a bit rough, probably due to the antibiotic they have me on but I finish with that tomorrow. No indication of cancer fortunately - my PSA tested out at 2.56 (at age 64) I must admit the fear of them finding cancer put me off getting looked at for far too long - don't do that, it's irrational.

References please? Oh, and some examples of orthodox Jews raping and murdering settlers.

You'd be surprised. I was on a Middle East cruise a number of years ago which included a day in Jerusalem. Part of the trip was into the West Bank. The Jewish tour guide sat among the tourists while the bus crossed the border, then he hopped off to visit a Palestinian friend while we went on to a hotel for lunch. The staff were very friendly and acted as if they appreciated us being there. So there are good people on the West Bank, and most likely in Gaza too who don't buy into the Jihad nonsense and just want to make a decent life for themselves and their families. Sadly they are often caught up in the conflagration which is entirely the making of Hamas and their ilk.

I don't see that. Article 13 of the Hamas Charter "“There is no solution for the Palestinian question except through Jihad. Initiatives, proposals and international conferences are all a waste of time and vain endeavors.” When Hamas revokes it's charter and demonstrates its commitment to peaceful coexistence with Israel over several years, then maybe some negotiation and compromises might be possible.

Or another 4 years of this one...

Congratulations, she looks lovely. Wishing you many happy days out on the fields together.

Married with two toddlers, we made our first home move from a 2 bedroom terraced to a 3 bedroom semi. We paid £25,500. A similar house on our old street recently went for £235,000.

She's gorgeous 🙂 I wish you many happy years together out on the fields.

Again, thanks all for the kind words, they are very much appreciated. We probably won't be getting another dog as our circumstances have changed since Louie came into our lives. But I'm thinking of maybe fostering rescue dogs when I retire in a couple of years and have more time to give them. Sorry for the loss of your wife. Losing a dog is bad enough, I just can't imagine the pain of losing the love of your life.

Thanks, appreciated.

Thanks guys for the kind words. It's good to know that even though I've had fairly heated disagreements with some of you in the past, when it comes to something like this I'm still among friends. I must admit that even though he's gone I'm still haunted by the pain he must have endured towards the end, and can't help wishing I'd done some things differently. If I'd taken up the suggestion to refer him for a scan a week earlier, or pushed the vet earlier and harder to put him on Tramadol, I might have saved him a few days of suffering. Can't change anything now but the thought still hurts. I do take some comfort from the fact his final decline wasn't a long drawn out affair - just a month or so ago he was enjoying himself far too much hump-shredding his bed 😛

Sadly we had to say goodbye to Louie today. He had a MRI scan which revealed he had multiple tumours on his brain. It wasn't a difficult decision as he had deteriorated markedly over the weekend and the vet said he would probably only have survived a few more days anyway.

Thanks guys, the main thing is he's resting peacefully just now with no signs of distress. Hopefully we can keep him that way and get some answers this week.

Sorry, been meaning to post an update. The Gabapentin seemed to resolve the neurological pain in a couple of days, he now has no issues with being touched or petted around his head. Unfortunately he was left with a constant gnawing pain somewhere which he couldn't seem to escape from. I took him back to the vet on Tuesday and they upped the dose of gabapentin and added in another analgesic, which they said was similar to paracetamol, but dog safe. That didn't touch the pain either, and the next few days were rough, with him crying most of the time, especially when trying to rest. We got to the point where we were discussing having him euthanised just to put him out of the pain, but I have a suspicion he might have something like a tooth abscess, and wouldn't want to have him put to sleep over an issue that might be readily treatable. On the first visit the vet suggested we might refer him to a neurologist in Stirling who has access to MRI facilities. I checked with Louie's insurance and they said they would (probably) cover an MRI scan, so Louie has an assessment appointment tomorrow (Mon 18th), with the MRI happening on Tuesday if indicated. I asked the vet if they could give him anything else to keep him comfortable until then and they put him on Tramadol. He got his first dose on Friday night and slept all night with no crying. He cried for a while before and after the next dose, but a couple of long walks helped him manage the pain better until the Tramadol kicked in again. He was fine again last night, he seemed to spend a lot of time walking around the house during the night, but no crying so I think he's maybe dealing with side effects of the various medications he's on rather than in pain. Gabapentin has given him ataxia and he staggers about and falls over from time to time, that's expected to resolve with time even if he stays on the Gabapentin which I hope won't be the case. So that's where we are at the moment, his pain is thankfully much better controlled for now and we have the prospect of a proper diagnosis so we can make informed decisions about his future. Thanks for your interest 👍

Maybe Fox don't like telling lies... https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/?s=bidenomics

That can't possibly work, much too sensible...

https://www.human-law.co.uk/_cmroot/human-law.co.uk/blog/2014/03/how-to-deal-with-the-executor-from-hell.aspx Option 4 - Request An Inventory and Account A (relatively) quick way to compel a lazy or unhelpful executor to account for his activities is to apply for an order that he/she exhibits an inventory and account in respect of the administration. This should be done by applying to the Probate Registry by a claim form supported by an affidavit. Once obtained, the inventory and account can be examined by the beneficiary in order to assess whether any further steps are needed in respect of the executor.

Thanks for all the replies guys, appreciated. Had a bit of a scare last night as Louie started howling after I put him down for the night. I wanted to phone the vet emergency line but my wife was concerned they'd just put him in a cage and leave him until the morning so I agreed we'd let him sleep in our bedroom and I'd call them if I thought he was in too much distress whatever the time of night that was. As it turned out he seemed to sleep OK most of the night with no issues. I collected his prescription from the vet before work today and managed to get the first dose into him. Fortunately I was working from home today because it became apparent he was suffering badly again, so I phoned the vet and got an appointment before lunch. It was a different vet this time and she was very good with him (to be fair the first one was too). She managed to exam all around his head which he wouldn't even let me near. I asked whether she thought he had toothache or an ear infection but she said there were no signs of that, (though I know from experience a small abscess at the root of a tooth can be excruciating without causing obvious swelling or redness, as can a deep ear infection). Her opinion is that the issue is neurological, maybe just inflammation of the cranial nerves but also possibly the result of a stroke as there's a lot of jerking and flinching over his whole body. She prescribed an opioid painkiller which she said is especially good for nerve pain. I managed to get at least a partial dose into him at lunchtime, I opened the capsules and sprinkled the contents over juicy pieces of chicken, he ate the first few bits and refused the rest, obviously not liking the taste. Even the partial dose appears to have helped, he's been much calmer this afternoon and ate his dinner with more enthusiasm than the last few days. We agreed I'd keep him on both medications for the next week then go back for a review. I also have some Noroclav tablets left over from a previous issue which I'm giving him just in case there is a bacterial infection going on somewhere - vets seem to give these things out like smarties so I presume they can only help. Hopefully things will improve but she said it could go the other way too if he has in fact had a stroke. Thanks again for your concern and suggestions.

Wondering if anyone has seen anything like this. My 10 year old lab Louie has been in generally good health, until a week or so ago. We first noticed he was ignoring his usual dry food, and though still willing to eat his favourites like cooked chicken there's no real enthusiasm even for that. He generally looks miserable, with a lot of trembling and twitching while at rest. He hadn't improved by this weekend I took him to the vet yesterday (Monday) morning. She didn't find anything obvious wrong with him on examination, though she remarked he tensed up a bit when she was examining his abdomen. She took a blood test and told me she would call later in the day with the results. After we got home I noticed him flinching if I put my hand near his head and he gave a yelp when I accidentally brushed the side of his cheek, so definitely some pain going on there. I'm not impressed with the vet as I didn't get the expected call yesterday and called several times today asking about the blood test results; "she's in a consultation and will call you when she's free". I finally got to speak with a different vet after 6pm today. She said the blood work did not show anything abnormal but when I mentioned Louie is now showing obvious signs of being in pain she said she'd write a prescription for an NSAID for me to pick up tomorrow. I'd stayed on late at work to wait for the call and when I got home, Louie was lying next to the front door and had to get up to let me in. He lay down again and the curtain brushed against the top of his head which was enough to make him cry out in pain. I'm annoyed with the vet because if they'd called me yesterday he could have been on the pain killers a day earlier. Because of the twitching while he's at rest I've been wondering if this is a neurological condition. The other things I've been thinking about are an ear infection or maybe an abscess somewhere on his head - something causes him a lot of pain with even a slight touch. Strangely, in spite of all the above he's still eating and drinking and ready to go out for walks and you'd hardly guess he has an issue when we're out. He walks along at a decent pace with his tail up and swaying side to side, and he stops every few yards for a sniff and pee like he's always done. But you can see him flinch if a twig or something brushes against his face or head. It does feel like we're heading to the point of losing him, he looks so miserable in the house and his condition seems to be going in the wrong direction. I won't keep him going too long in this state unless there's a diagnosis with an optimistic prognosis. Anyway I just wanted to share and see if anyone had any ideas what might be going on with him. Cheers

It will be interesting to see how this issue is finally resolved for the OP. I'm not posting this as an argument to any of Mungler's excellent points above, It's just an incredible example of how the law can sometimes turn out to be a complete *** (at least in Scotland). https://www.dunfermlinepress.com/news/23908669.dunfermline-familys-campaign-close-legal-loophole-nearing-end/