It Gets My Goat

Simply add a hot drink to the mug, and the familiar facial hair of our Lord melts away to reveal... an Italian hairdresser!

This is not the first exchange of this nature, and I'm getting bored with it now:

> To: sally
> Subject: blog.co.uk misses you!
> From: info@blog.de
> Date: Thu, 5 Mar 2009 05:41:52 +0100
>
>
> Dear sally
>
> You have not used your blog.co.uk account for almost a year. Therefore, it seems that you are no longer interested in using our services. We would like to advise you that your account will be deleted and your username will be cleared for other users if you do not log in within the next 30 days.
>
> If you wish to keep your blog.co.uk account and your username, simply go to blog.co.uk and log in http://www.blog.co.uk/login.php with your username and password.
>
> We are looking forward to seeing you again.
>
> Your blog.co.uk-team
> ---------------------------------------
> mokono GmbH, blog.de, blog.fr, blog.co.uk
> Oranienstr. 183, 10999 Berlin, Germany
> Tel.: +49-30-322955-0, Fax.: +49-30-322955-299
> Web: http://www.mokono.com
> Registergericht: HRB 103446, Managers: Florian Wilken, Vasco Sommer

_________________________________________________________________________

Dear blog.co.uk-team

I have no idea why you have sent me this, as not only have I been signing into my blog over the last year but also I just paid you a considerable sum of money for the privilege. Please therefore leave my blog and my username as it is.

Thank you,
Sally

Pin your hopes on everlasting life with the help of this little beauty, only $12.95. You'll be sew glad you did.

Obviously a prank, but very funny nevertheless:

Don't want a fairy on your tree? Why not hang a Bishop instead?

Choose from the Archbishop of York(£6.50) or the inexplicably cheaper Archbishop of Canterbury (£5.50.

Rest in the lap of the Lord with this chair, a snip at just under $700.

I know you want one.

A new feature. Unless I forget about it.

This month's Godbothering Gadget is the Jesus Pan.

Don't all rush at once.

It now costs me approximately £20 more to fill up my car with unleaded than it did when I bought the car two years ago.

How long before it really comes to this?

My goat is got. Again. Nuff said.

Bravest of the brave, most generous of the generous, never had a country more faithful friends than you

Sir Ralph Turner MC, 3rd Queen Alexandra's Own Gurkha Rifles, 1931

If there was a minute's silence for every Gurkha casualty from World War II alone, we would have to keep quiet for two weeks

Gurkha Welfare Trust

I think this is a simply scandalous way to treat some of the most modest, brave and courageous individuals I have ever met

Nick Clegg, Lib Dem leader

Hundreds of retired Gurkhas have demonstrated in Westminster to demand the right to remain in the UK and pension equality with British soldiers. Fifty of the Nepalese soldiers have handed back their Long Service and Good Conduct medals in protest.

Gurkhas who retired after 1997 can automatically stay in the UK, but those who retired earlier must apply.

At prime minister's question time in the House of Commons earlier, Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg held up one of the Gurkhas' medals and demanded they be given equal pay and pension rights as well as the right to live in the UK.

Addressing Mr Brown, he asked: "Can you explain to the Gurkhas why on earth you believe that Gurkhas who served in the Army after 1997 are worthy of British citizenship but those who served before that date should be deported?"

Mr Brown responded by saying the Gurkhas did a "tremendous job" for Britain and that the UK government was the first to extend equal pay and pension rights to those serving since 1997. "Now why is the date 1997? It's the date that the Gurkhas - once based in Hong Kong - moved to be based in Britain," he added. "And that's why we are honouring the promises we made for the period after 1997."

Not good enough, Mr Brown.

The history of the Gurkhas is remarkable. Many Nepalese who join up are following a family tradition going back for several generations.

I believe ALL Gurkhas, regardless of their retirement date, should have the option of British or duel citizenship and residency for themselves and their immediate family, and equal pensions to that of other members of the armed forces.

Gurkha Welfare Trust

Dear friends,

Our petition for restraint and dialogue in Tibet is exploding, with 253,353 signers since yesterday! Add your voice to the outcry now:
SIGN THE PETITION!

In just 36 hours, 253,553 of us have supported the Dalai Lama's call for dialogue and human rights in Tibet. This is an incredible response--if each of us can get 4 more of our friends to SIGN THE PETITION, we'll hit 1 million this week!

After decades of suffering, the Tibetan people have burst onto the streets in protests and riots. The spotlight of the upcoming Olympic Games is now on China, and Tibetan Nobel peace prize winner the Dalai Lama is calling to end all violence through restraint and dialogue--he urgently needs the support of the world's people.

China's leaders are lashing out publicly at the Dalai Lama--but we're told many Chinese officials believe dialogue is the best hope for stability in Tibet. China's leadership is right now considering a crucial choice between crackdown and dialogue that could determine Tibet's--and China's--future.

We can affect this historic choice--China does care about its international reputation, and we can help them choose the right path. China's President Hu Jintao needs to hear that the 'Made in China' brand and the upcoming Olympics in Beijing will succeed only if he makes the right choice. But it will take an avalanche of global people power to get his attention. Click below now to join 250,000 others and sign the petition--and tell absolutely everyone you can right away--our goal is 1 million voices united for Tibet:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/tibet_end_the_violence/22.php

China's economy is dependent on "Made in China" exports that we all buy, and the government is keen to make the Olympics in Beijing this summer a celebration of a new and respected China. China is also a sprawling, diverse country with much brutality in its past, so it has good reasons to be concerned about stability -- some of Tibet's rioters killed innocent people. But President Hu must recognize that the greatest danger to Chinese stability and development today comes from hardliners who advocate escalating repression, not from those Tibetans seeking dialogue and reform.

We will deliver our petition directly to Chinese officials in New York, London and Beijing, but it must be a massive number first. Please forward this email to your address book with a note explaining to your friends why this is important, or use our tell-a-friend tool to email your address book--it will come up after you sign.

The Tibetan people have suffered quietly for decades. It is finally their moment to speak--we must help them be heard.

With hope and respect,

Ricken, Iain, Graziela, Paul, Galit, Pascal, Milena, Ben and the whole Avaaz team

Here are some links with more information on the Tibetan protests and the Chinese response:

Crackdown in Tibet, but protests spreading:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/mar/19/tibet.china
http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/crackdown-on-protests-widens/2008/03/17/1205602289349.html

Dalai Lama calling for dialogue and restraint, and an end to violence:
http://www.dalailama.com/news.216.htm
http://www.agi.it/world/news/200803191258-pol-ren0032-art.html

Leaders across Europe and Asia starting to back dialogue as the way forward:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7300157.stm

Chinese Prime Minister attacks "Dalai clique", leaves door open for talks:
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-03/18/content_7813194.htm

Other Chinese signals:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/China_looks_at_India_to_talk_to_Dalai_Lama/articleshow/2875142.cms
---------------------------------------------------

ABOUT AVAAZ
Avaaz.org is an independent, not-for-profit global campaigning organization that works to ensure that the views and values of the world's people inform global decision-making. (Avaaz means "voice" in many languages.) Avaaz receives no money from governments or corporations, and is staffed by a global team based in London, Rio de Janeiro, New York, Paris, Washington DC, and Geneva.

Don't forget to check out our Facebook and Myspace pages!