Near Gate 7 at Mayflower Park. By Uncle Monty.

Near Gate 7 at Mayflower Park
Story and Photos By Uncle Monty
.
For those catching the Red Funnel ferry boat from
Southampton to the Isle of Wight, they must invariably
pass near Gate 7 at Mayflower Park. The park itself
is located at Southampton’s West Quay at where I

happened upon a local goth in the ugly shape and

disgusting form of 25 year-old Alan Crow as shown

above by my caption picture of him in all
his gaudy taste and grand galumph.
.
He said he’d served in Iraq with the British forces
at Basra and had returned home rejected by the
community and was now living on Disability Living
Allowance (DLA) and the occasional free handout.
He prefers to be simply called “Crow” from his
own legal surname. When five or six white ladz
whizzed by on their bmx bikes shouting at him, Crow

was none too pleased. He shouted back at them with

the loud gusto of an irate sargeant-major along with all
the obscenities he could throw at them. Whatever he

could muster against the young cocky ladz, they only

sniggered more at him as they came peddling back in

full force and at dizzy speed to taunt him even further.

Thus, my strange introduction to Southampton’s

Mayflower Park was quite something else. Next, I
almost expected to see the pilgrim ghosts gathering
for their intrepid voyage to Colonial America on The
Mayflower to Plymouth Rock. The park is dedicated,
of course, to those historic souls who sought religious

and social freedom from the then oppressive and

“straightjacketed” England by going to seek their

open liberty in New England.
-
Southampton is England’s world maritime city. And,
the last time I had seen the place was when I came
back for a brief visit to my British homeland on The

Cunard's QEII in 1972. It then took 5 days to

cross the pond … How I so remember it well ...
.

What surprised me the most about this maritime
city was how old it was. I never realised its age until
after seeing such 13th and 14th Century structures
still actively preserved and used like the 15th Century

Round Gateway (shown above) at the centre of town.
Plus, St. Julian’s or God’s House from the 13th Century

that is today still an active English Church and it was

once used also as a Goal House and Debters Prison.
.

.
I was in Southampton for the May holiday weekend to stay

and visit with my close London friends The Stoddards at
their lovely 19th century summer home at nearby Shirley,
which is full of local charity shops including one for, of all

things, the Association for Spina Bifida and Hydrocelphalus.

I’m sorry, but no charity shop should have such a 42-letter

name like that. I can manage ASBH alot better, thank you.

I struggled to find something to buy in the ASBH shop,

but it was in vain and in the end I couldn’t find anything

of use to buy. I’m sorry, again … While by chance at

Andrew Payne’s East Street SPM jewellery shop in
downtown Southampton, I found the best selection of
ancient and rare world coins in a very long time and at quite
reasonable prices, too. Although in some cases the prices were

much higher than current US coin prices. The quid price is

now almost twice the value of the American dollar, so that

doubles the purchase price for most collectiable coins when

buying them in England. Nevertheless I found some pretty

good coins like the Nurenberg hammered jeton dated 1572.

How the coin dealer got to sell it to me for just two and

half quid I don’t know. Yes, it’s in very poor grade but any

kind of coin or token at where the date can been seen and

read of the 16th century is obviously worth more than two

and half quid or at least to me. Other than that, I also got

from Andrew Payne a fine-grade George III (1760-1820)

fourth laureate head Gold Half-Guinea dated 1797 and shown

above that I photo-scanned for my personal records. I found

a number of old American coins, too, including the 1866 three

cent nickel and three or four excellent Canadian Provincial

coins from Nova Scotia and Newfoundland of the 1870's.
Better still, when I left Andrew’s shop, I’d only spent just
over 14 quid or $US25.00 for what I got. I can easily get all

my money back by selling just the half-guinea and make

some profit even more beyond that. Alan Payne is a stand-

ing member of the British Numismatic Trade Association

(BNTA) that is by far the best in the UK.

.

.
Sunday Brunch with The Stoddards at the De Vere
Grand Harbour Hotel was a lovely treat for me from

them. The De Vere doorman Alan Hillman was there to

greet us and to park our car and to open the grand doors

for us. He was a gracious and humble fellow all by himself.

We chatted together and he told me he’d been a doorman
for 10 years and simply loves his work after he’d been a

lowly factory hand since he was then a 17 year old boy

and at now he’s aged to 54. “You can never be in a bad

mood in this job,” he told me with his perpetual smile on

his kind face. He loves wearing his doorman’s uniform, he

told me. "It gives me respect," noted Alan. When I asked

him if I could take a photo of him for my blog, he was more

than delighted to oblige. Alan is a native Southampton son

and so proud of it … Compared to the other Alan, the goth,

the Alan at De Vere’s was the human prize of the day.
.

Being the international maritime city that it is, it

was Southampton’s fantastic replica of a 14th century

English cargo vessel (shown above) that confirmed for

me its just place in British maritime history. I just
happened upon the replica vessel at some side street
near the West Gate of the city. Earlier, I also seen the
permanently grounded trawler called Calshot Spit,
shown below. It was an ugly looking contraption …
.

.
So as I left the goth called Crow at Mayflower
Park, I saw some other young people having a jolly
good time on the swing and being pushed from behind

by a friend so that they could swing even more freely

and much, much higher. They were enjoying the free-

dom of their May holiday weekend in simplicity
and earthliness. Good for them …
.

.
Here then are few parting photoshots of Southampton
(shown below) for you of the classic customs building at

the Royal Pier and one of several luxury boats I saw with
the one here so registered in the Bahamas, I noticed,

and was moored at the Ocean Marina near Gate 4.
.

.
.
So goodbye Southampton and be of good cheer.
Truly, Uncle Monty.
+Sunday after Ascension, 2oo8.

Cast Thy Votes Dear Compatriots.

Cast Thy Votes Dear Compatriots.

Story and Photos By Uncle Monty.

Before the polls even opened at seven o’clock sharp on the

morning of the 2oo8 London Mayoral Election, I was already

standing outside my local polling station at The English

Martyrs Parish Hall and Social Club to cast my vote for

Mayor of London. I was the only one there when I first

arrived although five minutes later an elderly

snowwhite-haired Scots lady came with her Official

Poll Card in her hand. She asked me: “Who do you
want to vote for?” I told her tongue-in-cheek: “For

anybody who is homeless.” She roared in laughter at

what I’d jokingly said. I then asked her who she

planned to give her vote to. She whispered in my

ear almost surreptitiously “… B … N … P …” Or the

far right British National Party. I suspect they’ll do

alot better in the present London-wide election than
previously seen. In fact, I have feelings some of the

present minor political parties like the BNP, English

Democrats, UK Independence Party, Left List, Green

Party and what have you, may do alot better than is

so far predicted of them in the British mass news

media and political polls.

So into the polling station I went only to find every polling
official, some 5 or 6 of them, were all African blacks and not

a single white face was there, except the three white voters
now being checked by them to ensure the were lawfully
registered voters. By ten minutes after seven, we were all
out of there having cast our ballots for whoever we wanted
as mayor. The Scots lady asked me who I’d voted for has
we chatted small time outside the polling station once again.
I told her I would not tell her who I had voted for, but that I

would tell her who I had not vote for … “Who … who, deary?

...” she quizzed me like some kind of retired political corres-

pondent for The Scotsman. I told her I didn’t vote for

the present mayor Ken Livingstone, who makes me

livid just to hear his voracious voice and to see his

frazzled face like a jackass to me.

And thousands upon thousands of the folkz voting in
the 2oo8 London Mayoral Election on May 1st, are not

even Londoners by birth or rearing or education. Of those

registered to vote for the Mayor of London, a staggering

1 in 3 of them are so-called “black minorities” that not
only don’t originally come from London but are also not
even British-born. Yet, they can vote en masse and sadly

for Britain they do. And also all of those European

Union (EU) citizens living in London – masses of Poles,

Italians, French, and other Eastern Europeans – can all

cast their votes for London Mayor, who I should point

out is not the same mayor as the Lord Mayor of London.
Many confusingly believe the Mayor of London and
the Lord Mayor of London are the same. They’re not.

I noticed the 12:30PM early edition of The London Evening
Standard declared in its front page headline that Boris Johnson
held the lead over Ken Livingstone. The polls don’t finally close
until 10:00PM, so more than nine or so hours may produce
some markedly different results between the 10 mayoral
candidates with Boris Johnson perhaps just making it
over the imp and incumbent Red Ken.

When I returned several hours later to photograph my

polling station (see caption photo) for this story line, I
saw the two very large black and white “Polling Station”
posters had disappeared off the outside walls and had
presumably been blown away by the wind and rain
of the Election Day. As I photographed, I saw two
black males, with one lame, go into the polling station

and come back out about ten minutes later. I then noticed

four or so old white folkz arriving at the polling station and

they also walked right inside to cast their votes. I was then

saying to myself - “Cast Thy Votes Dear Compatriots” - as

I saw them as elderly British pensioners, like me, who may

indeed be voting for the last time in their lives for mayor

based on their old age and possible death by the next

London mayoral election of four years hence in 2012.

It was the first time in my life that I had ever voted
for a London Mayoral candidate and I felt glad I could.
It is no use complaining about what’s wrong with us,
if we fail to exercise our precious right and liberty to
vote. Yet, I spoke to perhaps three or four young
people who told me their different reasons why they
could'nt or would'nt vote at such an election. I didn’t
buy their reasons and I told them so. Of those other
grown-ups who I enquired of whether they’d voted

or not, I was delighted that most of the six or seven

told me they had already done so or planned to do so

after work on their way home. The power of the

people is only as powerful as the people who

use it. No vote, no power. And no power,

no vote. Think about it …

My image and graphic of John Bird (shown above)

at his London Mayoral Campaign event. He later

quietly and unceremoniously dropped out of the

mayor's race after all that he’d said and done as a
mayoral candidate. John’s chance of winning was

pretty slim to say the least and he knew that, too,

I think. But remember what I said to the Scots lady,
I’d vote for anybody who is homeless. Well, John

Bird is the next best thing as a former homeless man

himself and who is now living off the hog like he has

never been homeless in his life thankz to his own

16-year success as co-founder of The Big Issue,

which I still flog as a”blogging” street vendor

at Covent Garden’s Long Acre.

I will update this piece once I have confirmation
of the winner of this year’s 2oo8 London Mayoral
Election. Also be sure to “Cast Thy Votes Dear

Compatriots” come the next General Election to be

held at sometime between now and the year 2010

at when New Labour’s brickhead and prime minister

Gordon Brown must declare a national election. Un-

like what he did last time, he cannot call it off for fear

he and his crony Labour Party being booted out and

thrashed with a good hiding by the British Electorate.

“Boot The Brickhead,” I say … along with London’s

Red Ken and the whole hideous bunch of England's

New Labour – period.

Faternally, Uncle Monty.

+The Ascension. And also have a

good Mayoral Election Day, 2oo8.

-

>>> WELL DONE BORIS <<<

It's great news to finally see the back of the

jackass Ken Livingstone with Boris Johnson having

now been soundly elected as the next Mayor of

London. It was good news, too, to see the bloody

Labour Party clobbered across the country with

losing close to 330 local government seats in one go.

Bravo, bravo. The beginning of the end is finally

coming for the New Labour cronies of every stripe

that have enacted all things at the expense of all

things British. They've devoured the very life

and fabric of this English nation for their

own political pathology, madness, and curse of

mass immigration, forced national ID cards upon

the people, our continued presence in Iraq and

Afghanistan against the will of the pople,

refused to let us vote for or against the

latest twists and turns on our unvoted

European Union membership, and above all

they've done everything to belittle the

best that is Britain.

-

With classless Red Ken gone, now we have

Blue-Blooded Boris. With New Labour's mass loss,

we'll finally see the end of everything that's

Labour at the next U.K. General Election. All I

can say, is the damn quicker the damn better.

-

So for now, congratulations to Boris

Johnson as the new and welcomed Mayor of

London ... And be sure to grab those keys

to City Hall before old Livingstone can get

upto his old tricks and trash evidence of

corruption there and his bad buddies like

Black Jasper, who under Red Ken got

millions of quids for political pet pro-

jects that were suspect from beginning

to end. Jasper has now been arrested.

Perhaps next it'll be the shyster and

jackass himself the ex-mayor Livingstone?

-

I'm here at Southampton for the May

holiday weekend and at where the Tories

also won against the local labour-controlled

council that has held sway here, I believe,

since 1984 or for close to 25 years. Have

now a good holiday weekend, everybody ...

Uncle Monty, May 3rd, 2oo8.

Uncle Monty's May/June Tentative Schedule ...

≈
May 1st
Ascension Day : May Day
Voting Day for London Mayor.
I will vote promptly at 7:00AM.
Festival Evensong for Ascensiontide
at St. Stephen Walbrook.
≈

May 3rd-4th

At Southampton for May holiday

weekend with The Stoddards.

≈
May 5th
May National Holiday, UK.
≈
May 8th
The 23rd Eric Symes Abbott Memorial Lecture:
“The Mystical Turn” by Rev’d Canon Dr. Jane
Shaw at Westminster Abbey.
≈
May 10th
The Pentecost Festival with David Muir.
≈
May 11th
Dinner Guest at Jan Mol’s Super Birthday Party.
≈
May 13th
Guest at the Annual 354th Festival and Dinner

of The Corporation of the Sons of the Clergy at

St. Paul’s Cathedral with Theirs Graces, the

Archbishops of Canterbury and York, along

with the Lord Mayor and High Sheriffs,

etc., with my dear friend Jill Ferguson.
≈
May 14th
Attending the St. Pancrastide Evening Concert

Performance of “Gothic Voices,” with my dear

old pal Elizabeth Middleton.
≈
May 15th
St. Andrew’s Lectures:
“Highlights of the Royal Collection” by David

Wheeler, Curator of the Queen’s Furniture.
≈
May 17th
The Kairo Centre Day Retreat.
≈
May 18th
Trinity Sunday.
Attend International Convention
of “Journey to Justice.”
≈
May 19th
The Lawrence Roundtable on the

Anniversary Death of T.E. Lawrence, who

was best known as "Lawrence of Arabia."
≈
May 23rd - 24th
The Hay Festival at Hay-on-Wye, Wales.

Some of the world's notable personalities will

be there for the 10-day international event.
≈
May 25th
The Feast of Corpus Christi.

At Wesley Chapel’s with Lord Griffiths of

Burry Port and Daniel Grimwood, Piano.

Liszt: Annės des pělerinages.
≈
May 26th
America’s Memorial Day.

Britain’s Spring Holiday.
≈
May 27th
To be studio guest at the BBC-TV White City

H.Q. to participate in the pre-recording of the

television program “Who Dares Wins.”
≈
May 28th
Ordered as trial witness to testify again for

the third time at Highbury Corner Magistrates

Court in the criminal robbery charge against

defendant Delroy Thomas.
≈
May 29th
St. Andrew’s Lectures: “Charity

and The City” by John Barber.
≈
May 31st
Supper Guest at St. Lampert’s.
≈
For June:
Making my first visit to The Rock

of Gibraltar with set date yet TBA.

--
June 30th

The Conference of The Fellowship

of St Alban and St Sergius.

-

I will add further dates when I am sure such dates are
confirmed for me to list here on my tentative schedule
for the upcoming weeks and months of 2oo8.
Regards, Uncle Monty.
Ascension Day, 2oo8.

America's Iranophobia. By Uncle Monty.

America's Iranophobia

Story and Photos By Uncle Monty

--
At some point the United States will attack Islamic Iran. It’s

just in the cards, despite the statement today coming from out of

Iran by its Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini,
who declared that America’s Iraq situation and Washington’s pre-
sent domestic issues makes it unlikely the U.S. will strike Iran.
--
While Mohammad Hosseini’s official statement that an

American military attack on Tehran was now unlikely,
he didn’t spell out such in the kind of undiplomatic words

I use here that it is plainly due to the debilitating factors

like the American criminal insanity that is Iraq and

Afghanistan, the ongoing US presidential campaign, the

rotten economy, the fall out from the sub-prime fiasco,

and George W. Bush’s own deservedly lowest standing of

almost any US president since Richard M. Nixon accord-

ing to all of the professional media polls.
--
He is perhaps America’s most arrogant, cavalier,

and ignoramus president to date is mindless Bush. I

wouldn’t trust him with a ballyhoo banana boat. Yet,

such a man is not accountable, no matter what, for

any military actions he takes until disaster then

looks the world in the face like we continue to see in

Iraq and at else where from America’s murderous

military mindset and fighting might that endangers

the global peace of all the world’s humanity.
--
To attack or not to attack Iran could be one of the

world’s most disastrous disasters waiting to happen

depending upon what point of view one takes. If the

alleged Iranian nuclear threat is considered to be the

most important, then not stopping Iran by attacking

her would be seen as a disaster waiting to happen,

especially for such states as Israel who views Iran as

a mortal enemy just like Iran views them. While

those who, on the flip side of the coin, see the United

States and Israel as a far greater evil and threat than

Iran, then to attack the Shi'ite State would be seen as

a greater disaster for the world than by not attacking

her in the first place.
--
From what I saw and heard during my wonderful stay

inside Iran they seemed to be ready for just about

anything to be thrown at them by the Yanks and the

U.N. But today’s statement by Mohammad Hosseini

seems to now dilute such an “in-your-face” Iranian

posture toward the Bush Administration and The

West from when I was there of what I’m hearing

and reading right now from Iran.
-
:: My View I Took of Esfahan, Iran's Third Largest City ::

And when such a zealot and zombie like Bush is so low in the

polls and overwhelmingly disliked as the 43rd President
of the United States, both at home and abroad, he really

doesn’t have much to lose after all if he should then attack
Iran in the lame-duck days of his vicious Republican

presidency. In fact, he may gain much more politically

and nationalistically by taking on Iran more than not …

Such might well assure him of a Hero’s Farewell, instead

of a good riddance and a sure shirty goodbye from the

Oval Office by the American people and the world come

next January, 2oo9. Whatever he does, George Bush is

going to leave the present and diabolical military and

political mess he’s created for All America to clean up

long after his days are over in Washington and long

after he’s also dead and buried at Arlington National

Cemetery or at wherever they finally put

his presidential corpse.
-

:: While Out and About Inside Iran's Tehran ::

As I strolled out and about and around the thoroughfares

of Tehran late last year, I was struck by the vibrancy of the

capital city and the friendliness of the people I openly met

on the streets. Periodically, I would look upto the Islamic

sky to be sure I didn’t fail to dodge, if I could, those Yankee

cluster bombs if they should suddenly come from out of the

blue while I was there. For such will surely come as Bush’s

name is spelled much like an obscene four-letter word. If

not him, I think Hillary Clinton, if she’s elected as America's
first female president (and, hopefully not), will take the plunge

and attack Iran that’s if nasty Bush doesn’t do it before he

leaves office. Her very recent Iranophobic statement on Iran

during her presidential campaign trail sounded more like that

of the hideous Yankee ultrahawk and Republican neocon Vice

President Dick Cheney than a so-called “liberal” Democrat which

she switches on and switches off according to whatever she

wants to paint herself for political convenience at any given time

in her ferocious appetite to be America's first woman president.
--
She said in her ratcheted up threats against Iran: "In

the next 10 years, during which they (Iran) might foolishly

consider launching an attack on Israel, we would be able to

totally obliterate them. That's a terrible thing to say but those

people who run Iran need to understand that because that

perhaps will deter them from doing something that would be

reckless, foolish and tragic." And, please also note Hillary that

any pre-emptive American military strike on Iran would

also be "reckless, foolish and tragic."
--
Hilliary Rodham Clinton’s grandmother was after all Jewish

and The Clintons are themselves unadulteratedly pro-

Israel (and, what American politician isn't?) and pro-Jewish

and unreservedly anti-Iran and anti-Sharia. So where does

that leave Iran should The Clintons take over The White House

again in 2009 for the next four years? You see if Hillary gets in,

so also does her hubby ex-prez William Jefferson Clinton who

then gains unelected entré again to The Oval Office as the

husband of America’s would-be first elected woman president.

That’s not good news for Iran no matter how they see things

in Tehran right now ...
-

:: Iranian High School students greeting me at Persepolis, Iran ::

Inside Iran, the domestic elections take place Friday or the day after England’s own Mayoral Election of London is then held on May Day or The Ascension in the Church Calander.

--

I think all the more reason for the United States to attack Iran at some point, with Israel somewhere at play in all of it, is based on the past relationship since the fall of The Shah of Iran, who America supported no matter how brutal he was. It would give asinine George W. Bush a needed boost among those flag-waving Yanks who support anything that’s anti-Iranian. Since the hostage taking at the American Embassy in Tehran in 1979 at the rise of Ayatollah Khomeini and his Islamic Revolution against Shah Pavlavi’s absolute rule and vile tyranny, the majority of Americans not only feel uneasy about Iran but would almost feel relatively good, I suspect, to exact some kind of belated and pent-up revenge against The Ayatollah Nation.

--
Most Americans are totally ignorant, of course, about the whys and wherefores of Iran's place in the world after the fall of Pavlavi. The Shah's Coronation in 1967 also saw him proclaimed as Shahanshah or King of Kings. But less than 13 years later the same Shah had fled his country and then landed up finally dead in Egypt via his hospital treatment at Washington’s Walter Reed Medical Center.

I was there inside America when it all happened about the Shah and the hostage crisis was soon underway in 1979 and having met both Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter some three years earlier at the 1976 presidential debate held at the campus of William and Mary - I think I know the anger of many Americans then and now towards anything Iranian. Remember Americans, both collectively and individually, rarely forget and/or forgive those who they perceive have done them down. They still think Iran has done them down. They're an unforgiving bunch, if the truth be spoken about them. So America's Iranophobia isn't something new. It's been going on now for close to 30 years. The difference today is that America is almost ready to retaliate against Shi'ite Iran for its past grievances against her like the American hostage crisis and the rise of the Islamic Republic against all things Yankee. The nuclear issue is simply part of the cover and excuse for America to act and to teach Iran a lesson not to mess anymore with the Yanks ...

:: The Iranian Patriarch + Myself after Sunday Service ::

Who are the true foreigners in Iraq? The Yanks and Brits, of course. They’re the invading aliens who now complain of Iraq’s next door neighbour Iran for allegedly “interferring” in the American occupation and subjugation by the two and half trillion dollars its already spent and wasted on killing and displacing the indigenous people of Iraq for over five years now. Such a complaint is all part again of America's Iranophobia. How can America then complain about Iran's alleged involvement in helping the anti-American insurgency in Iraq, if the real foreigners and occupiers are themselves nothing more than alien invaders who have no right whatsoever to be in Iraq in the first place? So while the Yanks bitterly complain that their gruesome soldiers are being popped-off by IRB – improvised roadside bombs and manufactured they say by Iran - the real question is this: Now that America has lost the war and its way in Iraq, when will they bloody leave? The answer is not until they've also bombed Iran ... Such will then will be the ultimate act of America's Iranophobia for all the world to see.

-

Here then is the news report from Reuters on the latest thinking from Iran:

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran said on Sunday a "disastrous situation" facing the United States in Iraq and Afghanistan coupled with Washington's domestic issues made any U.S. attack on the Islamic Republic unlikely. The Foreign Ministry comments came two days after the U.S. Navy said a cargo ship hired by the U.S. military fired warning shots at approaching boats in the Gulf, underscoring tension in an area vital to world oil shipments, and driving up crude prices. "We think it would be unlikely the Americans would take the decision to get themselves into a new fiasco, the consequences of which they themselves have acknowledged would be painful for the region and the world," spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini said. "We hope those who think better in America view the realities more closely and manage to correct such approaches," he told a news conference. Relations between Washington and Tehran, which have not had diplomatic ties for nearly three decades, are tense over Iran's nuclear programme and over who is to blame for violence in Iraq. Hostile rhetoric between the two foes and close encounters in the Gulf have fuelled some speculation the United States may be planning some sort of military action against Tehran. However, a U.S. intelligence report in December that said Iran halted a nuclear weapons programme in 2003 made any U.S. attack very unlikely, analysts say. Iran denies ever having ambitions to build nuclear weapons. Last week, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said another Middle East war would be "disastrous on a number of levels". But he added the military option must be kept on the table "given the destabilizing policies of the regime and the risks inherent in a future Iranian nuclear threat -- either directly or through proliferation." But Hosseini dismissed the likelihood of any U.S. military strike "in view of the numerous problems the Americans are facing, along with the disastrous situation in Iraq and Afghanistan and (their) domestic problems." He did not specify what domestic U.S. problems he was referring to but the Bush administration is facing low approval ratings and an economic downturn during its last year in office. U.S. defence officials first said they suspected the approaching vessels in Thursday's incident were Iranian, but a navy spokeswoman later backed away from that charge. Iran denied any confrontation took place in the Gulf. In January, the United States said five small Iranian speed boats aggressively approached three U.S. Navy ships in the Strait of Hormuz, a critical crude oil shipping route. Iran said its boats were simply trying to identify the U.S. vessels. April 27, 08.
(Reporting for Reuters by Hossein Jaseb; Writing by Fredrik Dahl; Editing by Myra MacDonald)

-

:: My great interpreter, guide + driver ::

As for America’s all out violence at wherever it takes its
"World Agenda," most Americans are always cocksure, gun
happy and war bent no matter what. Many are so blinded they’ll
allow their plutonic patriotism to rule their heady heads no matter
what their hearts are telling them or whatever the world begs of
them not to do. George Bush brings out the worst in such people
and not their best in the slaughterous slugfest called
“The Great Satan” or “God Bless America.”

While inside Iran, I took several hundreds of photographs openly. The only things
I didn’t photograph were military and governmental establishments for that would
endanger my safety as a Westerner. In America, when I once photographed by tele-
photo lens the notorious prison called Sing Sing, I was chased after by four burly New
York State troopers in their flashing state patrol cars at killer speed and who
stopped me and frisked me on the spot and wanted to know why I’d photographed the penitentiary from the interstate at perhaps at third of a mile away. Such was for innocently photographing Sing Sing. That was 25 years ago and long before 9/11, so today I’d probably be hauled in by the Nazi-sounding Department of Homeland Security and badly interrogated and then put on one of the hundreds of catch-all Watch Lists the U.S. now keeps on all manner of innocent people. So why shouldn’t the Iranians also wonder why I
was photographing their stuff, too, if it was military or governmental? I was very careful not to photograph such establishments for I could count on being in big trouble despite my fondness for the Iranians ...

Truly, Uncle Monty. +Rogation Sunday, 2oo8.

:: News Update :: Just three days after my story was posted here on "America's Iranophobia," the latest from Reuter's reporter David Morgan now reports a second U.S. aircraft carrier has been moved in position and is stationed "temporarily" in the Gulf as a "reminder" to Iran:

By David Morgan
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - The U.S. Navy has temporarily added a second aircraft carrier in the Gulf as a "reminder" to Iran, but this was not an escalation of American forces in the region, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Tuesday.
Speaking to reporters during a trip to Mexico, Gates flatly denied a suggestion that the presence of two U.S. carriers in the Gulf could be a precursor to military action against Tehran.
"This deployment has been planned for a long time," Gates said. "I don't think we'll have two carriers there for a protracted period of time. So I don't see it as an escalation. I think it could be seen, though, as a reminder."
He declined to elaborate on his remarks and provided no details about the deployment.
Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said the second carrier arrived in the Gulf on Tuesday to replace one on duty that was expected to depart the region in two days.
U.S. Navy officials were not immediately available for comment.
News of the second carrier came amid simmering tension between the United States and Iran that has fed speculation about a possible U.S. military strike. (April 30th, 2008)

My Home. Story and Photos by Uncle Monty.

My Home.

Story and Photos By Uncle Monty.

:@@
She was an American madame was she when

she said, “A house ain’t necessarily a home.”

Madame Polly Adler couldn’t have been more

correct. How often I’ve visited houses that

aren’t real homes to those who live there. An

air of unhappiness and strife oftentimes dwells

within. And how often I have visited homes that

aren’t houses. Yes, the rich may have everything

money can buy inside their house – fancy furniture,

expensive décor, a smooth and slick kitchen and all

the latest that is considered chic -- yet the sense of

emptiness of the place is far from being home sweet

home. Then, the poor may have a humble dwelling

yet it is truly home sweet home with love and care

for all who live there. Home, of course, is where

you make it and how you make it, so we're told.

@@

Without a home, the disconcerting condition of

homelessness, displacement, and marginalization

ever grows for many. While others cope quite nicely

without a home or even wanting a home. Their home,

ironically, is not having a home. They don't want

the care or worry or expense of having a home

of their own, except perhaps under bridges at

night or squatting somewhere for a temporary

abode or making do with roughing it with a

sleeping bag away from other vexing humanity.

@@

But for the majority of us, we yearn constantly

for a place we can call our own home. That's

why folkz pay through the nose to buy a house

to live in either by choice or circumstances or

condition. Yet, "a house ain't necessarily home"

even after that. Most people spend their entire

life paying for and protecting their house or

home. And today, most folkz spend more time

out of the house or home than inside it by needing

to go to work to pay for it and its upkeep and to

meet the taxes on it. Aside from that, most other

times are spent just to gad about on holidays or

at shopping malls or outside entertainment or

on outings for the kidz. The only time they seem

to be there for anytime is to sleep at their house

or home. The homeless rarely can do such thingz.
@@
Two years ago, I was assigned sheltered housing

due to my pension age and my status as a vunerable

person and because I was then homeless and selling

The Big Issue as a street vendor. My joy of having

a place to call my own and my home made me feel

ecstatic, especially after having lost my own home

by a catastrophic fire with my house insurance

having not been renewed by my own failure just

three days earlier to the house fire. I not only

lost my home but my house, too.
@@
So when I arrived at my second floor sheltered

accommodation, I had not one stick of furniture

or a bed to sleep on or even a tea towel or any

-thing to frugally furnish what I now had. The

place was totally empty, except for an electric

cooker, a small fridge, room lightbulbs, kitchen

fixtures and large white drapes at the windows.

@@

But that didn't worry or faze me one little bit

at my joy of having the place I could and would

turn into my first English home after almost 40

years of being away from England. My family

owned our first home at Highbury in 1955.

My dad then paid, I believe, just 7.000 quid

for it and today the house has been sold for

almost £800.000. Oh my ... oh, my.
@@
My friends and customers of The Big Issue
soon came to my rescue to furnish my needs

to setup house with Contessa Maria leading

the way with her spare bedroom furniture
and many utensils she promptly sent from her

£1.9 million, 18-room, house at fancy St. John’s

Wood to my little sheltered accommodation.

@@

Others like dear Pat Carney, Jean Frampton,

and the late Carol Richardson also brought me

bedding, rugs, pots and pans, etc., etc. I was

ever so grateful to them and bless their souls. By

the third week’s end, I had more than I could use

or manage. Robert York and his wife Sylvia also

came and filled full my fridge with top groceries

and all the food I could possibly need and eat.

They're in the grocery business, thankfully for

me ... Every few weeks they still do the same.

Wooooooooooooow.

@@

I share here some pictures with you all out

of my pride, but not my boast. I thought it

would be nice to show you what can be done

with a little help from my many friends at

my sheltered home.
_

:: My Dining Room ::
_
:: Leading to my Hallway ::
_

:: Pair of Victorian Rosemead Vases from Maria ::
_
:: Last Year's Xmas cards/giftz from my BI pitch ::
_
:: My Spartan Bed Room ::
_
:: At where I do my blog, surf, and e-mail ::
_
:: My Compact Kitchen ::
_
:: My "Reception" Area ::
_
:: My Sitting Room ::

@@

The beauty of going to car boot sales is

the stuff I can find for peanut prices of

the stuff I like to decorate or enhance the

presence of my simple home. My personal

taste is not of the cultural mass but rather

I say I'm rather old fashioned. I love things

that are old - decorative items, rugs, paintings,

antique furniture, old jewellery, rare coins,

antiquarian books and prints and the older

the better for me. The antiques I go for are

not at expensive antiques auctions (which, I

can ill-afford to say the least) or upmarket

antiques shops and pricey shows, but at

plain car boot sales and less and less at

charity shops unless I'm outside of London

at some new town with local charity shops

to browse for a "steal" or a "find." I don't

shop at Oxfam and the like anymore.

They're a rip-off at best as far as

I'm concerned.

@@

So in any event, I do hope you liked

seeing inside my sheltered home ...

Take care, Uncle Monty.

+St. Cyril, 2oo8.

For God Sake Step Down or Better Still, Drop Dead.

For God Sake Step Down or

Better Still, Drop Dead.

By Alex Albion.

~~

Undoubtedly, Desmond Tutu is today one of

the world's most respected and beloved religious

figures much like was John Paul II during his

profound and prolonged pontifical day.

~~

As South Africa's Anglican Archbishop-Emeritus of

Capetown, Desmond Tutu has written the foreword

for the American gay cleric Gene Robinson's book

foray entitled "In The Eye of the Storm." It hit the

biographical bookshelves less than a month ago

and is published in England by The Canterbury

Press of Norwich at the heafty price of $25.00 or

$12.99 for a rather thin book of which I have no

intention of either reading or forking out a dime for

anymore of Gene Robinson's claptrap. The other

day, I noticed at The Church House Bookshop,

located at the corner of Great and Little Smith

Streets and just a block or two away from West-

minster Abbey, an overblown window display of

the cleric's book for sale. Inside the shop itself,

stacks of the book was also stacked high.

~~

What upsets me is to see such an outstanding

figure like Desmond Tutu seemingly willing to

"prostitute" his good name for the sake of Gene

Robinson's infamy and his well-known wretched-

ness. While I absolutely approve of the retired

archbishop's right to write whatever forward

he wants in any book he wants, I still dis-

approve of him doing so for such a gay figure

as Gene Robinson, who now clothes and adores

himself in his Episcopal vestment as the first

openly gay bishop of the worldwide Anglican

Communion. He was first elected as the Suffragan

Episcopal bishop of the tiny, rural, state of New

Hampshire in 2oo3. Since then, we Anglicans and

American Episcopalians have been hammered over

the head by all things that are Gene Robinson.

~~

At first, I was totally neutral about his election,

his consecration and his bishopric. But now five

years later, I frankly have come to have little

or no time for such a Church wretch that Gene

Robinson has increasingly come to symbolise for

many both within and without the Church. His

first book appears to also trade on his infamy.

~~

The presence of this fellow has been nothing but a

destructive distraction and crippling blow to The
Episcopal Church of the United States of America
(ECUSA) and the Anglican Communion. And the fact

that Gene Robinson was the first openly gay Episcopal

bishop to be elected and consecrated is now beyond

any further rationale, explanation or justification for

him to parade about in his utter masochistic infamy

and his bizarre place in the history of the church.
http://www.nhepiscopal.org/bishop/bishop.html
~~

For the sake and sanity of the American Episcopal Church,
and the wider worldwide Anglican Communion, it is now
time for the first openly gay Bishop of New Hampshire,
V. Gene Robinson, to go and leave the Church in peace.

~~
If we look at what has been done in the name of this

gay fellow over the past five years, it boggles the mind

for its utter savagery and wickedness of those bishops

and lay members who cared not for the wellness of the

church per se but for their “right” to impose this gay

wretch upon us all. The Church has suffered enormously
because of him and it will continue to do so while he is

still a flaunting Episcopal bishop that seeks to present

his gayness above and beyond the faith and creed of

the whole church. His personal sexual preference is

his business, but instead it has been rammed down

our throats like a grotesque gesture upon us all.

~~

“An ape is an ape, even though dressed in scarlet,” de-

clared Shakespeare. Well, Gene Robinson isn’t far behind

that description for his presence, both within and without

the church, has blemished the name and reputation of all

touched by the Gene Robinson ecclesiastical debacle.

He has no shame at his own shamelessness.
~~
When Gene Robinson first came out of the gay wood-

works, I was absolutely neutral about him, as I stated

earlier, becoming then a bishop in the small Granite

state of New Hampshire at where I happened to also
go to school and at where I lived there under the then

ugly governorship of the Orfordville pig farmer called

Meldrim Thomson. I was aware of the Episcopal Diocese

at the state capital of Concord. At that time, I was unaware

of Gene Robinson himself but I was well aware of its two

previous New Hampshire Episcopal bishops – Philip Alan

Smith in the 70's and Douglas Edwin Theuner in the 80's.

He, Bishop Theuner, I was then told, was allegedly gay,

too - over the course of my 13 years in the northern New

England state. By the time I’d heard about gay Gene, I had

long gone from New Hampshire and I was living out in

Oregon at the time his name was making terrible head-

lines and creating bad waves for many of the faithful.
~~
Again, I was very neutral and figured it would be best

to see how his election, consecration, and bishopric would

go. I thought his status and his controversy as an openly

gay bishop would soon go away. And that given time, he’d

be seen as yet a regular and normal Episcopal member
of the American Episcopacy. Come five years later, how-

ever, I now see the continuing damage he has wrought

upon ECUSA and the Anglican Communion to which may

split up thanks, in a large part, to the negative presence

and gay lifestyle of Gene Robinson who now lives with

his "married" male partner Marc Andrews. Before that,

he, now gay Gene, was a divorcee with two children.
~~
Although he hasn’t been invited as an Episcopal bishop

to the upcoming 2008 Lambeth Conference, gay Gene
plans to be present anyway at the public events surr-

ounding the conference itself that is to be held at

Canterbury this July, 2oo8, with about 700 other

bishops from around world. I’ve never heard of some-

one who is not invited to something, to then invite

himself to an event that he is unwelcomed at. He's

going, so he says, to protest at not being invited

to Lambeth. And that’s Gene Robinson revelling

again in all his infamy and creating further

damage to the Church.

~~

I have come to personally detest all that he repre-

sents, not because he is gay per se but rather that his

presence mocks all that is right and proper within

historic Anglicanism. Gene Robinson has, in my

opinion, become the complete antithesis of all of

that. I say that despite what Desmond Tutu

otherwise says in his foreward about

the New Hampshire fellow.
~~
If his claims of loving the Church is what he says,
then it is time for Gene Robinson to consider if he

should stay being an Episcopal bishop in order to

help save and heal his beloved Church from being

split up to smithereens which it now appears is

edging toward such an abyss as the reality of Gene

Robinson’s consecration and bishopric continues to

take its toll among Anglicans/Episcopalians around

the world. The Anglican and Episcopal laity and

clergy are still warring against each other in the

never-ending debate of consenting or disapproving

the homosexual lifestyle that beings out those who

are for or against the openly gay cleric. The issue and

debate about human sexuality, and especially homo-

sexuality, is now worn out and I think we’re also

truly worn out about Gene Robinson. He surely

must know that the longer he stays in the church,

the longer his presence will continue to harm her.

Without sounding bitterly harsh, I now do believe

he needs for God sake to step down as bishop

or even better still - Drop Dead!!

~~

Let the Church live beyond what Gene Robinson

has come to represent and that has done nothing but

bring fragmentation to the Holy Body of the Church.

We need to live beyond this gay wretch who should

no longer be permitted to use the Church as a plat-

form preacher who preaches everything that doesn’t

belong among us as Anglicans and Episcoplians. So

again, I repeat, gay Gene please for God sake step

down or better still - Drop Dead … That’s if you

really and truly love the Church.
~~

Truly, Alex Albion.

+St. Simon, 2008.

~~

Here in part is Desmond Tutu's foreword:
"I have met him only once and I was impressed by
his demeanour and presence. For someone in the eye
of the storm buffeting our beloved Anglican Communion,
he is so serene, he is not a wild-eyed belligerent campaigner.
I was so surprised at his generosity towards those who have
denigrated him and worse. After all he and his partner had
to wear bullet proof vests for his consecration. He has
received death threats – all of which ought to have
made him want to give as much as he had got. No, he
is not vengeful. I have been amazed at his magnanimity
which reminded me so much of the generosity of spirit
that was displayed by many of the victims who came to
testify before the South African Truth and Reconciliation
Commission. We were frequently bowled over by the in-
credible willingness to forgive of many who had suffered
grievously at the hands of perpetrators of gruesome
atrocities. Instead of baying for their blood as might have
been expected, they chose to walk the path of forgiveness
and reconciliation rather than that of retribution and re-
venge. They did not demonise their adversary. By their
act of forgiveness they set themselves free from the

bondage of victimhood and they gave the perpetrator

the opportunity if he wanted to accept it, of making a
new beginning."

~~

:: News Update ::

Within less than 10 hours of posting the

above story on Gene Robinson, more than 400

e-mails have so far arrived from around the world.

Only a few of them have been posted by such send-

ers and critics, while most of the others have e-

mailed me off-the-record, so to speak. The vast

majority have condemned me outright and I have

been called every name under the sun in their

personal attacks on me about my integrity, my

sexuality, my Anglican faith, my mental capacity,

my writing ability, my anti-Gene Robinson

stance, and so on and so forth. I expected to get

some responses, one way or another, to what

I'd written here. But never did I expect so many

responses so quickly nor so many personal attacks

against my freedom to write what I think. I'll

repeat here again for those of you who have not

heard it before - "I WRITE WHAT-I BELIEVE,

NOT WHAT I AM TOLD-TO BELIEVE."

I welcome all comments, criticism, praise,

condemnation, congratulations, replies of

venom, words of joy, and strong opinions for

or against. I would also welcome any in-

depth article on the issue of Gene Robinson

to add to my blog herein. And finally, I am

most pleased that you've taken the time and

trouble to read what I think. I neither make

any apology for what I have written nor for

what I personally think - period.

~~

My statement "Drop Dead" is used not only

by me to provoke attention to the question of

Gene Robinson, but also for its literary impact.

The power to deploy words to engender reaction

or response has always been my favourite use

of words and phrases. It never fails to amaze

me how folkz show their true colours when con-

fronted with issues head on, or dead on, through

the use of such words like "drop dead."

So cheers everybody, Alex Albion.

+St. George's Day, 2oo8.

~~

Also Visit The Mad Priest's Blog:

http://revjph.blogspot.com/

~~
Gay Bishop Out of Anglican Summit
By Rachel Zoll. Associated Press Writer.
From "The Christian Post, " April 25th, 2008.

~~
The first openly gay Episcopal bishop announced he will have no

official role in a meeting this summer of world Anglican leaders,

saying restrictions that organizers wanted to place on his invol-

vement had caused him "considerable pain." New Hampshire

Bishop V. Gene Robinson had been told last year that he could

not fully participate in the once-a-decade gathering in England,

called the Lambeth Conference, as the world Anglican

Communion sat on the brink of schism over his 2003 election.
Rev. Gene Robinson, the first openly gay Episcopal bishop,

right, speaks to a committee Wednesday night, June 14, 2006

in Columbus, Ohio during the Episcopal General Convention.

The key committee was drafting the church's response

whether to preserve unity among Anglicans around the world

by temporarily barring gays and lesbians from becoming bishops.
Related:
Episcopal Leaders Investigate Conflict After Diocesan Split
Anglicans Issue Draft in Attempt to Avoid Schism
Bishop: Anglicanism Has Not Lost Its Way Despite Rifts

~~
Still, Episcopal leaders had been negotiating with the

Anglican Communion Office to allow him to join

the event in some capacity. The Episcopal Church

is the Anglican body in the U.S.
At a Texas meeting Monday night of the Episcopal

House of Bishops, Robinson said that the final offer to

include him was in effect a "non-offer," and he had de-

clined it. The House of Bishops was informed that full

invitation is "not possible" from the Archbishop of Can-

terbury to include Robinson. But Anglican leaders said

Robinson could "be present" in the conference Marketplace,

or convention hall, where exhibitors and church agencies

set up stalls, and that he could participate in one

"high profile" event, such as a news conference, at

the 20-day summit.

The exhibit hall is open to the public, while the Lambeth

discussions are private. Robinson told the bishops in Texas

that ever since he got word of the proposal late last Friday,

"I have been in considerable pain." He said he had hoped

to participate in Bible study and small group discussions

with other bishops.
"I am dismayed and sickhearted that we can't sit around

a table, as brothers and sisters in Christ, and study

Scripture together," he said. "It makes me wonder, if we

can't sit around a table and study the Bible together, what

kind of Communion do we have and what are we trying to

save?" A spokesman for the Anglican Communion did not

respond to a request for comment. The spiritual leader of

the Anglican Communion, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan

Williams, didn't invite Robinson to Lambeth, partly to appease

theological conservatives, who believe the Bible bars gay

relationships. Some had threatened to boycott the meeting

if he attended.
Williams also didn't invite Bishop Martyn Minns, who leads

a network of conservative breakaway Episcopal parishes

in the U.S., that have aligned with the like-minded

Anglican Church of Nigeria.
Still, five Anglican archbishops from Africa and South America

said recently they would boycott Lambeth because they could

not share communion with the Episcopal bishops who had

consecrated Robinson. The five are among several Anglican

conservatives who are holding an international gathering

in June in the Mideast that is seen as a rival to Lambeth

(and such has now been re-scheduled of late.) As for The

Lambeth Conference (it) is (itself) scheduled July 16 th-

rough Aug. 3 at the University of Kent in England. Some

Episcopal bishops who believe that committed gay

relationships are acceptable in Scripture had discussed

boycotting the event if Robinson couldn't attend.
But Robinson repeatedly urged them to go. "For

God's sake, don't stay away," Robinson said. He

plans to travel to the event on his own, staying in the

Marketplace to be available for with anyone interested

in talking with him. "Pray for me," he said.

"I will need that. A lot."
~~