John Mortell’s blog

Just heard about this here and here.

Now as I’ve said before , I’m somewhat undecided over the issue of abortion but this sort of crap is terrorism plain-and-simple. The fact that the person who did this was a Christian dosen’t realy make this any different from what a Muslim (or general lunatic) in Palestine or Iraq or any other part of the world does in an attempt to enforce their own views on people. Violence is violence.

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For those friends of mine who know how much I usually despise poetry and ask me ‘well, what do you think is good?’

Well, this is a start

So, at work today we found (thanks to someone bringing it to our attention) that someone had placed a load of ‘postcards’ (for lack of a better phrase presenting itself) inside many of the books.

These were all full of disgusting pictures of supposedly ‘aborted’ babies and then various political messages against abortion.

Now personally I find these sort of shock tactics for two reasons irritating.

Firstly assuming that it was the people behind the postcards that put them into the books, it’s grossly irresponsible as children especially could come across them and these were images that would turn anyone’s stomach and certainly something that children should not be introduced to.

Secondly, by placing these things in an unsolicited way in the way of people you remove from them the option of not choosing to engage you in conversation. And with such disturbing imagery there is a certain amount of cop-on that must be engaged. If I had such an image placed in front of me without someone at least asking me ‘do you want to see what abortion involves’ and I responding in the positive and there was an abortion referendum tomorrow I would vote yes to abortion simply out of spite. I found the sneaky, childish way that this was done as offensive as anything else.

But that’s what gets to me about a lot of anti-abortionists – this ‘know-it-all’ moral superiority, violently ‘you must agree with us or your a murderer’ attitude. If you want to change my mind, engage me in conversation, not in this sort of childish bullshit.

So, John Hume, founder of the SDLP spoke at the UCC Philosophical society last night.

He made a 50-odd minute speech to the society. It was quite enjoyable, though I for one was quite suprised at the actual content of his speech which focused a lot on the benefits of the European Union as the ‘greatest forum for conflict resolution ever developed’ (to quote Mr. Hume) and on the need for education in Africa.

I can’t (for reasons of memory mostly) give you a full transcript of his ideas or of his speaking style but if any of you out there ever get a chance to see this man speak, take it.

More later.

Came across this on my travels, hadn’t heard of Fatmammycat’s blog before but this is a realy good piece on the idea of consent. Broadly speaking I have to agree with the assessment she makes of the situation. Interesting stuff.

This is on Twenty Major’s site. Absolutely great – best line ever btw:

‘If you mess this up, so help me god I will rip your balls off with my bare hands – with my bare hands goddamn you!’

Well, just to be another person reporting on the obvious, you can find a serious report on it here or if your more into your gallows humour head over to Cian’s blog and follow the links.

I’ve enjoyed many of Ken MacLeod’s novels in the past and was quite interested to come across his blog here.

The article ‘against civilised warfare’ which is the most recent post is very interesting and well worth a look.

Anyway, enjoy.

They moved slowly, they would ‘hear’ them if they attempt to move to quickly though whether ‘hear could apply to what those creatures did was debatable. How would it be possible? Their bodies couldn’t be able to do most of the actions that the group took for granted.

And yet ‘they’ were the dominant race now. With their bizarre unworkable bodies and savage faces.

He hated them. ‘They’ had taken everything from him – his family, his sense of security, his faith – how could there be such things in the universe of a loving god? But most importantly they had taken his life. Sure it hadnt been much of a life but it was his. All he had wanted to do was his job as an accountant and live in peace. He hadn’t wanted to change the world or anything else. All he had wanted to do was grow old with his wife and provide his daughter with the best he could have provided.

His bit back a tear. He hadn’t been at home when it had begun. As soon as the news reports said that there was ‘mass hysteria’ and that people were killing each other in the streets he had rushed home to his family. He smiled then. Its wasn’t a particularly nice smile. In fact it was a the kind of smile that had he seen it on someone else before, he would have run the other way.

Anyone with that kind of a smile is crazy. We’ve all seen it. Most of us in the movies granted but even so we’ve all seen it.

He stoped himself then. He didnt, couldn’t, start thinking about such things as his family now. It would mean death.

( Dead like his daughter. Dinner.)

( Dead like his wife. Terror.)

Now all that was left was them.

Suddenly! Across the way! They were discovered!

His hands grasped the crude weapons. A homemade sword and ax. Modified in the base. The only things that were useful now that they lacked guns.

Then they were upon them. He killed two with his sword and suddenly all was quiet. The others in his group had killed their share. Automaticaly he checked himself to see if he had been bitten or scratched. His armour held. Good. He went over to his partner, Michael. All the others in the group did the same. They checked their partners for injuries. It was time-consumeing but neccessary. Even a small injury would lead to infection. Infection would kill. And from death came return as them.

There was something wrong with those that he had killed. He looked at them and was nearly sick. They were human, but not in the way that they were. They had been alive. Not the perverted ‘half-life’ that was their sign. This one was healthy.

But it had made their sounds. It had attacked in their manner.

He looked towards the doctor. The doctor was their leader. He had adapted quickest to the new world and had developed some theories as to this new world they lived in.

He had a theory now – ‘always wondered what the point was in reanimating dead tissue, would just have been better to be able to control the living who have better control. But maybe it dosen’t work on living tissue. Perhaps it has to start on dead tissue and gradually bring it back to life – making it move initally. But eventually it would be able to start regenerating tissue rather than just animating it’.

He stopped then.

‘It brings the dead back to life and then eventually brings it back to humanity’.

They then looked at the almost, but not quite human corpses that they had just killed. ‘And how many times is that they have died now’? The former accountant wondered.

Either way he looked at the two he had killed personally and felt … nothing.

The doctor was speaking. ‘First there was humanity, then there were the walking dead and now theres these. What do we call them?’

‘Things that stay dead appearently’ said the former accountant. The doctor and the others in the group considered this. Then they all laughed and went on….