Flickred

A few nice animal abuse images I found:

Flickred

Image by Lst1984
Censrship:

We are the generation that will have to face one of the biggest problems for a democracy: Where´s the limit between the acceptable security and the hardly earned freedorms?
Dwight D. Eisenhower once said: “A people that values its priviledges above its principles soon loses both”
So: What is best? Allow everything including nudty, to protect our freedorm of expression, which costed lots of lives in the past, or protect our minds and our kids from disgusting content?
Maybe, the most of us will agree that showing a 6 years old girl been raped it´s definitively not art, but, even in the case that someone said it is, thats ilegal, so that can be removed from any site on the web.
But, would that be an abuse?
We, as every animal, born nude. Our parents made us having sex. Those are parts of our body as any others (well, I have some extra affection to that part of me, but that´s my case...). Arms are pornography? Feet? There´s people that get hot with feet... So lets ban photos containg feet because they can be used for Is a penis of an adult man into the vagina of an adult woman art? I don´t think so, but I wouldn´t aprove if somebody banned it.
Flickr should be a free site. There are millions of free porno webs in the internet where people can seek for those things. There´s no need of wasting a place like flickr with censorship just because some people abuse the limits of the freedorm of expression.
sexual purposes.
Let´s get serious.

There are thounds of masterpieces of art that show nudity. And I´m just talking about nudity because that´s the theme of the photo. Things such as deleting people´s accounts, preventing them from commenting, selling our democratic convictions just to get into the Chinese maket (and I don´t care if Google did it first) or stuff like that are just dreadful.
We like our freedorms. We like our rights that protect us from real abuse. We want magazines to write and read the opinions of other people, we want voting, to choose our representants, etc.
These are our principles. Sometimes it might looks easier to look in other direction while some of these principles are harassed, like what happened in many parts of the world after 9-11. Yes, we feel a little safer, but things like the US Patriot Act (I mention this one because it´ll be known be most of the people) or others, like the CCTV Cameras that “protect” us, make our world a little closer to Orwell´s nightmare (1984). That´s when we change our principles for priviledges. Freedorm for security, for tranquility. Until we wake up a day and we see that everything´s gone to the toilet and somebody you can´t complain to it´s flushing it.

So, don´t let the consorship get into a place like this. That´s supposed to be a place for photgraphers, to show their work for free, talk/write to other photographers and above all, learn and shared. We don´t get paid for this, except the satisfaction of seeing our work seen by others, commented, faved. Shown.

That´s the kind of place that censorship changes forever.
If it´s not ilegal, let it be.
Don´t allow censorship, flickr-guys.
Please.

Remember Eisenhower: “A people that values its priviledges above its principles soon loses both”

... soon loses both...

1824 Murder at The Tennis Court Inn, Warmley

Image by brizzle born and bred
The Tennis Court Inn, Deanery Road, Warmley, South Gloucestershire BS15 is still trading today.

See Same View 2010

During the evening of the 27 November 1824, James Caines in company with friends, was drinking at The Tennis Court Inn, Warmley. Also drinking at the bar was the local pound-keeper, Isaac Garden. Amongst James’ drinking companions was Francis Britton who started an argument with Garden over the cost of recovering a stray animal and, whilst the subject of the disagreement between these two had nothing whatsoever to do with James or the other friends, as so often happens in such circumstances, Britton’s friends became embroiled in the argument, and the disturbance grew.

As far as can be determined, the sum total of James’ involvement during the commotion appears to have been no worse than the throwing of bits of broken clay pipe in the general direction of Mr.Garden.

Being somewhat outnumbered, Garden left the Inn of his own freewill, and it is believed, without either injury or hindrance. The disturbance in the public house is therefore likely to have been no worse than verbal abuse, accompanied perhaps, by some pushing and shoving. Once outside, Garden appears to have been accosted and knocked or pushed to the ground, but by whom, is unfortunately not recorded. Whether or not Garden was hurt or just shaken, is also not recorded, but for reasons best known to himself, instead of trying to make his own way home, he returned to the bar of the Inn.

One can only guess at Garden’s intention of taking this particular course of action, possibly he was prevented from making his way home by either force or fear or perhaps just feeling unwell. He may possibly have felt more secure inside the hostelry where he may have had friends, or alternatively, he wanted a drink to settle his nerves before quietly returning home.

There may have been the need for a drink or two, to build up sufficient 'Dutch Courage' to follow Britton and to settle a score on a hoped for one-to-one basis. Whatever theories we put to Garden’s motives will never be more than pure speculation, for all that is certain is that Garden remained behind in the Inn, apparently free of any further argument or intimidation, until after James and his friends left the warmth and comfort of the hostelry.

With the Inn closed for the night, and the dank, still air of a late November night invading the surrounding countryside, a coal miner, on his way home from a long fourteen hour shift, stumbled across the battered body of Isaac Garden.

Once his body had been identified, the local constable began to make enquiries, and, soon the story of the previous evening’s altercation, involving Garden and a known group of seven young men in The Tennis Court Inn, became public knowledge.

In reporting his findings to the local magistrates, the constable confirmed that Garden had met his untimely end in a most unpleasant and brutal way. With the then limitations in medical science, and in particular, forensic science, the magistrates had to rely a great deal on their and the constable’s judgement, which was that Garden had been killed by being hit about the head with a blunt instrument, believed to be a clothes-post which had been found near the body.

Also near to where the body lay, was found a knife which was subsequently identified as belonging to a Robert England, already named as being one of the young men in the group of seven. In addition to the knife, the constable had come across a set of muddy footprints, and the imprint in the ground, of a mark where someone had obviously sat down. Rather importantly, there was within this imprint, the additional outline which represented the shape of a patch, where the owner’s trousers had at one time been mended.

By now the constable had the names of the men involved in the altercation with Garden and so, the hunt was on for Francis and Isaac Britton, James Bush (alias Caines), Thomas Wilmot, Mark Whitting, Samuel Peacock and Robert England.

Within a relatively short space of time, the constable had arrested most of the above and, upon checking the state of their trousers, he was soon to have no doubt that the person who had sat near the body was none other than Mark Whitting.

Having been kept in local custody for almost a week, six of the men were, on the 9 December 1824, transferred to Gloucester Gaol, charged on the oath of George Haskins, with suspicion of having, on the night of Saturday 27 November 1824, in the parish of Oldland, feloniously assaulted, killed and murdered, one Isaac Garden.

In the Felons Register, the hand written entries, for the 9 December 1824, describe Francis Britton as being a labourer, 5'2¾' tall, with a pale complexion and rather stout, he was unable to read or write.

Samuel Peacock was a 5'4' tall cordwainer, also with a pale complexion, a long face, with a large nose and a scar on his forehead, he could both read and write.

Mark Whitting was another labourer, just shorter than Peacock, with brown hair and brown eyes, he could read a little, but not write. Robert England was the shortest man, just 5’0¾' tall, a collier by trade, with an oval face, very much marked by the after effects of smallpox.

Whilst Thomas Wilmot is not described, James Caines is shown to be 5'4½' tall, with brown hair, grey eyes, a dark complexion, and a full face with several visible scars resulting from his employment as a collier, he also could neither read or write.

This just leaves Isaac Britton, who was to arrive at the gaol some four days later, having been similarly charged with Garden’s murder.

Almost 170 years after the event, it is difficult to make a sound judgement on the subsequent actions of the presiding magistrates or judge. There are, of course, decisions taken in today’s Court Rooms which are hard to understand, and we should perhaps put the decisions taken in this case into the same category. However there does seem to be strong grounds for believing that the decisions then taken, were, to say the very least, preposterous, if not somewhat prejudicial.

During the constable’s enquiries, he had discovered that whilst the argument had started over a disagreement between Francis Britton and Isaac Garden, and was originally just between those two, when the altercation began to encompass Britton’s friends, it had been Thomas Wilmot who was the first to physically assault Garden.

Following such evidence as this (presumably there were witnesses to the attack), it might have been expected that Wilmot would have become one of the prime suspects of the violence perpetrated upon Garden, but this was not to be so as, all charges in this case against Wilmot were dropped and, he walked free.

Francis Britton was the instigator of the argument, and no doubt, egged on by his son Isaac and, the demon drink, appears to have taken a leading roll in upsetting Garden’s evening. No specific evidence was put forward to suggest that they were involved with the subsequent murder, and they were also found not guilty. Similarly the charge against Samuel Peacock was also dropped.

It will of course be remembered, that a knife belonging to Robert England was found near Garden’s body. Whilst there was no evidence that Garden had suffered any knife wounds, the discovery of the knife would seem to indicate that England had been at the scene, either before the murder was committed, or not long afterwards. It is of course possible that the knife had either been borrowed from England. and dropped by the murderer or, had been deliberately placed there just to incriminate him. Whatever the reason, the judge was satisfied that England was not involved, and like the other four, he also was found not guilty, and walked free.

Undoubtedly, a murder had been committed and someone had to be punished. If the crime had not been perpetrated by five of those involved in the altercation then, it must have been carried out by the other two, and it should not be forgotten, that for one of those left, there was the damning evidence of the trouser seat imprint whilst the other was, after all, a member of that infamous Caines family.

The only other 'evidence' which was brought before the learned judge was that, in the opinion of the constable, the muddy footprints matched those of Caines.

It would therefore appear to have been an open and shut case against Caines and Whitting with undisputed, (as far as the law was concerned), evidence in the mud surrounding Garden’s body, plus the known fact that both men were part of a group of seven who argued with, and may have pushed and shoved the poor unfortunate victim in the presence of witnesses in the bar of The Tennis Court Inn. No evidence was brought forward by the prosecution that either of the two defendants had struck the fatal blow, or that they were anywhere near Garden when the blows were made.

Whether James, or indeed any of the seven drinking companions, were ever involved in the murder of Isaac Garden, will now never be known. For the young, unintelligent James, there was an unfortunate legacy which caused his continued plea of not guilty to fall on deaf ears, this being that he liked to use Caines as his surname and that he was, without doubt, part of the Caines dynasty.

The fact that both Caines and Whitting may have simply watched the beating or, had gone to Garden’s help, after he had been killed by persons unknown, or had visited the site of the murder out of some morbid curiosity, does not seem to have entered the minds of those who tried the case. Certainly there was no benefit of the doubt shown and, thus, no way of escaping the hangman’s noose, as both young men were found guilty and sentenced to death.

Like his Uncle Benjamin before him, 20 year old James Caines Bush was publicly hanged at Gloucester prison on the 11th April 1825.

The following day, to add to his mother’s grief and worry, James’ younger brother Francis, was brought to Gloucester Prison in chains, charged with highway robbery. Subsequently, Francis was to follow in his father’s footsteps when, as a result of this charge, he was sentenced to be transported to Australia.

Life had many different values in the early nineteenth century to those held today.

There was, for example, no welfare state to 'fall-back on', life was extremely hard and tough, producing very few pleasures, and where even a minor (in today’s terms) illness could cause a great deal of pain and suffering. Death was probably more easily accepted simply because it was much more visible than it is today, particularly with a high infant mortality rate. In addition there was a huge gap in wealth and living conditions between the ruling class and, the working class.

The majority of the crime which occurred during the dynasty of the Caines, was probably petty and totally unsophisticated. Almost certainly, a great amount of crime, both petty and serious, went unrecorded and unpunished, and much was probably of a domestic nature.

See Links Below for the history of The Cock Road Gang Kingswood and The Caines Family History

www.flickr.com/photos/brizzlebornandbred/3319337224/

www.flickr.com/photos/brizzlebornandbred/2019209332/

www.flickr.com/photos/brizzlebornandbred/2019209612/

www.flickr.com/photos/brizzlebornandbred/3319293364/

Hey Sheepy

Image by Sandra Regina
This sheep really, really wanted the grass on the other side. I think. From the Donkey Sanctuary in Guelph.

www.donkeysanctuary.ca

They take in donkeys and other neglected or abused farm animals (like sheep!) and give them a place to stay for the rest of the animals lives. They do not sell or breed them (and they don't buy them any more; they work with various humane societies instead). They sometimes foster out the animals they have to carefully screened farms.

On the 2nd Sunday in June, every year, people are encouraged to visit the Sanctuary and learn about donkeys, mules, and hinnies (including grooming them, what they eat, etc). They have entertainment, donkey rides, even a picnic lunch. It is possible to visit the Sanctuary at other times during the year, but check the website for "Open Days" since they're not open to the public all the time. Also, throughout the year, they offer a variety of educational programs and even a 'life skills' camp for kids.