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UK ID Cards
by blackbob
This one just won't go away,it dies down and is 'forgotten' about for a while but it rears it's hideous head again often in a slightly different form.I believe the latest idea is some form of online system akin to a google or facebook account with a logon on name and password.
I mean honestly !!!
I know why don't ... we just sort the situation once and for all and permanantly tattoo my N.I number on my arm along with a barcode aswell.In fact why don't they fit an RF micro chip and house us all in secure camps with guard towers and dogs !!!
Can anyone explain to me why on earth they require me to carry a specific I.D card which will no doubt have allsorts of my personal information including my DNA stored on it when I already live in the most heavily monitored country in the Western world.
I know it's become an urban myth that a citizen in London is caught on cctv some 400 times daily but a myth has some basis in truth.
CCTV now has sophisticated face recognition software,road traffic and police vehicle cameras have number plate recognition capabilites.if you use your credit card,debit card you can be pinpointed to where you last used it.
Sitting on your computer you can be traced and monitored by your I.P address and aslong as your mobile phome has it's sim card in it you can be pinpointed in real time within a matter of several feet even with the battery removed.
Considering this you would think my animosity to an I.D card is pointless but it's the principle and the other forms of monitoring i can choose.If I want to I can decide not to have a mobile,credit card etc.
Besides my grandad fought during WWII for our freedom and what this country stands for but since 11/09/2001 I'm recognising this country less and less,the survaillance capabilites today would have had the Gestapo in a state of continual arousal !!!
There is a line I won't pass have said from the start I won't carry an I.D card so they'll have to arrest me,as often as they want I won't accept either I.D or the start of a police state
BB. Read the complete review |
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First Experiences
by Dryad
I've been lurking in the Dooyoo lounge again and spotted a first experiences category, for some reason I thought I'd already bored you all with this one, but it seems I haven't so gird your loins and prepare to yawn.
FIRST LOVE
My cat Timmy at the age of four, seriously no man (or woman) has come close ... since.
FIRST JOB
Tesco's checkout as a 'Saturday' (and Wednesday evening) girl when I was 16 and still at school, I lasted 2 months and have had an aversion to tills ever since. My first full time job was as a lab assistant in Hendrefoelan (part of Swansea) University and I loved it.
FIRST TIME YOU GOT DRUNK
Was at the grand old age of 18, my best friend at the time and I went for a stomp in the woods at dawn my favourite time of day. We picked fresh mushrooms (the wood was surrounded by fields festooned with mushrooms) and cooked them with bacon and eggs on a little gas camping stove for lunch. We were out all day worrying the wildlife, taking pictures and generally being prats. Later in the day just after a scary encounter with a stroppy mare Chris produced a bottle of warm Pomagne from his rucksack and we toasted my birthday, classy or what. There was another drink or two with my family when we got back home and I had to be put to bed. Best birthday ever...... cough....
FIRST TIME YOU CRIED AT A FILM
Watching The Fox and the Hound (Disney) on video with my girls, I had to leave the room. I avoid animal films because if anything bad happens to them... and it usually does... I go to pieces, and I've never seen the point of watching something that is so upsetting it makes you cry. However when I had children of my own I had to sit through harrowing things like Bambi that I'd managed to avoid in my own childhood. Curse you Disney and your tear jerkers
FIRST TIME YOU LOST SOMEONE SPECIAL
That would be my cat Timmy (see above) my parents had him put down when my sister developed asthma and the Doc told them it was partially due to an allergy to animal 'dander'. They told me they'd given him away, but my dad confirmed years later what I knew instinctively, that they'd had him whacked, they claimed that he was ill and it wasn't just because of my wheezy sister (I do love her, honest). I'm still not over it.... Can you tell?...
The first special person I lost was my best friend, who died in a motor cycle accident with her boyfriend when she was only 18. We'd been friends since before we started school drifting apart for a while but always getting back together; she was chalk to my cheese and full of confidence and daring. She brought me out of myself and I grounded her. I've lost elderly family members since but heart breaking though that is there is something particularly awful about losing someone so young.
FIRST TIME YOU HAD YOUR HEART BROKEN
See above 'Timmy', touch wood I seem to have escaped having my heart broken by a mere human so far.
FIRST CAR
I can't drive but the first car I remember as a child was the family Morris 1000, I still remember the smell of the seats, I loved that little car.
FIRST FIGHT/HEATED ARGUMENT
I haven't had many but the earliest I can remember was when I was about 4 or 5 and playing with friends in their back garden. An elephant moth caterpillar was spotted crawling across the paving. None of us had seen anything like it ever before we didn't even know it was a caterpillar at the time, Julie and Mandy freaked out and insisted we kill it. They threw a board over it and Mandy demanded that we all jump on it. I remember trying to persuade them very heatedly that it wasn't hurting us so we should leave it alone, or if they were scared -and I admit I was a little scared myself - get one of our parents to move it. I'm ashamed to admit that when push came to shove I jumped on the board with them crying the whole time. I always tried never to bow to peer pressure after that, and have tried to make an extra effort to bring my children up to question things and not do something that seems wrong just because others do.
FIRST TIME YOU WERE PROMOTED/SACKED
I have never been either. I have worked mostly in local government and you don't get promotions as such in that sector. You have to apply for the position so any jump in scale I've had has been through the application process.
FIRST TIME YOU REALISED YOUR OWN MORTALITY
I was quite young and don't remember the precise reason that I realised that we all die. I do remember the feeling of horror and disbelief that this wonderful life thing that we have comes to an end. It took me ages to get my head around the concept.
FIRST TROPHY OR AWARD
Blimey so many to choose from... Not
FIRST KISS
Do hamsters count? If not it was at 16 with my first boyfriend. I was a total idiot as far as relationships went and was so self-conscious, lacking in confidence and awkward that I was convinced that he had asked me out as a joke. The kiss was nice but I wasn't ready to have a boyfriend and stuck to boys as friends for another three years.
You'd think that at my age the list of firsts would be becoming a bit thin on the ground, but they are still coming. First computer I personally would rate that almost right up there with first car, first grandchild (none yet and if I listen to my girls there never will be but I live in hope), first set of false teeth, first hip replacement... the list goes on and long may it do so for all of us. Read the complete review |
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Alcohol and Drink Spiking
by rockinrach08
As someone who has had their drink spiked, I felt I should share my story with you all.
When your drink is spiked a substance has been added to it without your consent. This can be alcohol, prescription drugs or illicit drugs. The reasons for spiking drinks can be to rape, assault, steal from or just for ... amusement.
Drink spiking, like many things in life, has many myths and stereotypes surrounding it. It is not something that just happens to women or binge drinkers. Sure, the more you drink in social situations does increase your chances of it happening to you but it just takes one evening in the wrong company regardless if you are male or female. There is a lot of focus on the issue towards women but men are at risk as well.
The night it happened to me I wasn't even supposed to be going out. But at around 11pm I had my arm twisted into it and then only had a few drinks in the pub. My last drink of the evening was bought for me by someone that I had just been introduced to. I thought nothing of it and waited for him to come back and give me my drink. My friends had disappeared by this point and I was left alone with this man I had never met before. I felt instantly uneasy around him and had to get away (I didn't even make an excuse). I have never felt this uncomfortable with someone; there was just a darkness surrounding him. As I walked away I started to feel light headed and seeked out my friends. I remember vaguely going downstairs to sit down but other than that everything else is a blur and influenced by what people have told me since.
The next thing I remember is I am lying on the ground and I could hear people shouting around me. The music had stopped. I couldn't open my eyes, I couldn't shout or speak to the people who were shouting my name, I couldn't move any muscle in my body and I couldn't cry. I slipped out of conciousness again.
I started to open my eyes, greeted with a green blur of the paramedics uniform and the sharp white of the ambulance interior. I was asked questions that I couldn't answer properly regarding my care and what had happened but I was too confused and out of it. I lay in A&E for a few hours before being seen to by a doctor who assumed that as a young woman on a night out that the reason I was lying there was due to either having had too much to drink or having taken something myself. Neither of which were true but she was adament that this is the reason. I was sent home after she confirmed that I had enough power in my legs and without caring that I was unconcious for over 45mins.
The next day I was completely spaced out. I lay on the couch in the living room while people came to visit me. I tried to interact with them but most of the time I couldn't concentrate. I can't remember much of that day; it is less clear that my interactions with the doctor.
Once I started feeling less spaced out is when I started panicking about what could have been. Asking myself every 'what if' you could imagine. There were feelings of regret and depression but also quite thankful that nothing worse did happen.
From the whole experience I am most thankful to those that ensured I was safe while unconcious and the police for not being judgemental and believing what I said.
To avoid getting into the same situation as me, there are some things that you should do:
* Never leave your drink unattended
* Don't accept a drink from someone you don't know (as tempting as it is, I found out the hard way)
* If you do accept a drink anyway, be suspicious if its something different to what you requested
* If someone makes you feel uncomfortable, make your excuses and leave,
* Ensure you know where your friends are.
* If you start to feel light-headed find people you know and trust
If your drink is spiked, the symptoms you experience will depend on the substance in your drink and some are a symptom of drinking too much. Some typical symptoms include:
* feeling light headed/ loss of conciousness
* memory loss/ black out
* difficulty speaking
* loss of balance
* paranoia
* loss of body sensation
* hallucinations
* blurred vision
* nausea/ vomiting
* confusion
If you believe that your drink has been spiked there are some things you can do:
* Make sure you have people that you trust around you - friends or bar staff.
* Do not go outside alone for fresh air.
* Seek medical help
* Report the incident to the police.
Drink spiking is an important issue to be aware of. It can happen to anyone, male or female and if you cannot get to safety can also have worse consequences. I learned the hard way that it is not just a case of not leaving your drink unattended but to refuse drinks from strangers and that if someone is making you feel uncomfortable you are safer to walk away and find someone you know and trust. While it can happen to anyone and it is important to stay alert, don't let the paranoia of it happening to you ruin a good night. Read the complete review |