[Leica] IMG: Bees at the Buddleia Bush (& Brexit)

Sat Jun 11 17:00:05 PDT 2016

Too much short termism on this ball of mud, I'm afraid. Not so much sapiens,
but more homo saps.... Nobody seems to think of long term consequences.

I woke up this morning and heard the Dyson vacuum man had joined the Brexit
choir. Funnily, I was feeling crap enough after a breathlessness episode on
Thursday evening while walking up a steep hill as I was down on holidays in
Wexford. I drove back home yesterday, before going into hospital for tests.
Things look ok on the heart front - all vital signs seem vital, but I still
have a mysterious issue on the left side of my chest. More checking next
week.

Anway, the Dyson assertion got me annoyed as I had been thinking of getting
one of his vacuums, so I wrote this to his organisation this morning. Not
that it'll make much difference.....

----
I have been looking at the Dyson vacuum range to replace my tiring Miele Cat
& Dog TT5000 over the last week. I had decided to go for one of your
cylinder vacuums - the Cinetic Animal, but then, this morning, I heard your
founder's statement on Brexit.

It struck me as statement full of short term thinking which would be both
pennywise, and very pound foolish, for Britain, its people, their children,
grandchildren, and descendants to come. Europe is a peaceful place these
days, but this could be transient in the aftermath of a successful Leave
vote, as urged by Sir James.

The sea of poppies drifting from the battlements to fill the moat of the
Tower of London gave some visual inkling to modern Britain, and the world,
of the magnitude of the terrible sacrifices made by the lost generation of
1914 to 1918. However, wars have raged in Europe over the centuries, and
thousands upon thousands, progressing to millions, have died as various
greedy political ambitions have been have been bloodied, and blunted, with
steel.

Sir James seems to have forgotten that we have been living through a very
peaceful period in European history since 1945 when European co-operation
became the norm. The urge to leave seems to have overridden the memory that
WW1 had 17 million deaths, and that, only twenty one years later, WW2 had
the even more horrific figure of 60 million deaths. In addition, millions
upon millions more were injured and maimed during those terrible wars.

Surely, there can be no reasonable denial that the E.U., and its forebears,
has been a very reliable car that has carried us safely through the past
seventy odd years. Arguing about its hubcaps, or the colour of its safety
belts, is a minor matter. No one wants to see the return of a war torn
European charnel house where the remains of our children's and
grandchildren's bones whiten a shattered landscape.

However, Sir James and his Brexit partners like Nigel Farage, are failing to
acknowledge the prime reason for E.U. membership. To me, this is playing
our part in the calming influence of an E.U. that has saved at least one
generation from war - going on averages of time between historic European
wars. The demographic, economic, and emotional impact which a recent war
(say in the 1970s) would have had on Sir James, the British people, their
country, and its economy would have been horrific, yet this seems to have
been forgotten.

I think I'll stick with my Miele until Sir James reconsiders the true long
term implications.

Maybe you might pass this note on.

Douglas Barry
-----

Jim, I'm never seen a green bee either. You'd think they'd be common in
Ireland, but no.

Douglas

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Steve Barbour" <steve.barbour at gmail.com>
To: "LUG list" <lug at leica-users.org>
Sent: Saturday, June 11, 2016 11:08 PM
Subject: Re: [Leica] IMG: Bees at the Buddleia Bush

> and much of the food we eat.
>
>
>
>> On Jun 11, 2016, at 2:54 PM, Ted Grant <tedgrant at shaw.ca> wrote:
>>
>> Hi Jim,
>> True! Sorry I forgot about the "pollinating side of bees?"
>> I suppose if they become extinct? So would the beautiful fields of
>> flowers
>> many of the CREW photograph????
>> What an incredible disaster that would be.  :-(
>> ted
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: LUG [mailto:lug-bounces+tedgrant=shaw.ca at leica-users.org] On Behalf
>> Of
>> Jim Nichols
>> Sent: June-11-16 12:48 PM
>> To: Leica Users Group
>> Subject: Re: [Leica] IMG: Bees at the Buddleia Bush
>>
>> Hi Ted,
>>
>> The bees are also very important for plant pollination.  The almond
>> farmers in California have had a rough go for the last several years.
>>
>> Jim Nichols
>> Tullahoma, TN USA
>>
>> On 6/11/2016 2:34 PM, Ted Grant wrote:
>>> Jim,
>>> Environmental folks here in Canada are having a major fit regarding the
>>> Honey Bee populations across North America as they've dwindled
>>> drastically
>>> in the millions. And of course these are the bees that produce "Honey
>>> for
>> us
>>> humans to eat!"  :-(  And there doesn't seem to be an answer for the
>>> drop
>> of
>>> the bee population. :-(
>>>
>>> Ted
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: LUG [mailto:lug-bounces+tedgrant=shaw.ca at leica-users.org] On
>>> Behalf
>> Of
>>> Jim Nichols
>>> Sent: June-11-16 12:25 PM
>>> To: Leica Users Group
>>> Subject: Re: [Leica] IMG: Bees at the Buddleia Bush
>>>
>>> Hi Ted,
>>>
>>> We've got a heat index of 98 deg F today, so I'm not venturing far from
>>> the house.  I went out to the Buddleia bush looking for butterflies, and
>>> found the tiny little green bee.  This was a case of not knowing what I
>>> had until I enlarged it.
>>>
>>> The Bumble Bees disappeared a few years ago.  Saw nothing but Carpenter
>>> Bees for a few years.  Now, the Bumble Bees seem to be making a
>>> comeback.
>>>
>>> Thanks for looking and commenting.
>>>
>>> Jim Nichols
>>> Tullahoma, TN USA
>>>
>>> On 6/11/2016 2:17 PM, Ted Grant wrote:
>>>> Hi Jim,
>>>> Hey they are neat! Both. I've never seen a green bee like that ever
>>> before?
>>>> Interesting colour!
>>>>
>>>> cheers,
>>>> ted
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>> From: LUG [mailto:lug-bounces+tedgrant=shaw.ca at leica-users.org] On
>>>> Behalf
>>> Of
>>>> Jim Nichols
>>>> Sent: June-11-16 10:30 AM
>>>> To: LUG at Leica-Users.org; Olympus Camera Discussion
>>>> Subject: [Leica] IMG: Bees at the Buddleia Bush
>>>>
>>>> The Buddleia bush is blooming, but butterflies are few.  However, a few
>>>> bees are finding the bush attractive.  First, a small Bumble Bee was
>>>> patiently making its rounds.  These have been scarce in recent years,
>>>> but seem to be returning.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>> http://www.gallery.leica-users.org/v/OldNick/Bumble+Bee+on+Buddleia.tif.html
>>>> A small green bee was also working the blooms.  I have not observed
>>>> this
>>>> variety previously, but it may be what is known as a small green sweat
>>>> bee.  There are many varieties.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>> http://www.gallery.leica-users.org/v/OldNick/Small+Green+Bee+on+Buddleia.TIF
>>>> F.html
>>>>
>>>> Olympus E-1 with Leica Macro Elmarit-R 60mm
>>>>
>>>> Comments and critiques welcomed and appreciated.
>>>>
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Leica Users Group.
>>> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information
>>>
>>>
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