Israel and Gaza

I feel that I've got to voice a couple of comments about the current Middle East crisis. It is impossible to ignore because it's just another global problem that has to be kept under control otherwise the repercussions on all of us cannot bear contemplation.

Not everyone on the planet wants to go about killing people  -  thanks be to whichever peaceful God you may support  -  but somewhere along the way fanatic led factions are intent on keeping the killing pot boiling.

World leaders are doing little to alleviate matters. Most of us do not take sides. It is common knowledge that after the second world war a chunk of Palestine was taken from the Arabs to form the state of Israel. The Arabs were understandably not too happy about this and an uneasy on-going stand-off has resulted which alternates between sabre rattling and war. BUT never PEACE!

I think that the main reason that Israel is taking it's present action in Gaza is because of what has repeatedly been made clear: 'WE are willing to share the area with our neighbours but all THEY want to do is wipe us off the face of the earth.' I can't think of any more compelling reason to do what it is doing.

The ex Israeli prime minister, Golda Meir once made the following two statements:-

• There will never be peace until the Arabs love their children more than they hate us.
• We can forgive the Arabs for killing our uniformed sons but we can't forgive them for forcing us to kill their children.

Trying to look for answers and from a neutral unbiased standpoint, I can see that what Golda Meir has said should have far more importance for ME peace than any input from the likes of the great ME peace envoy Tony Blair. This gives rise to another question...what is he doing now in this field, who's paying him and how much?

This hot humid weather

I don't want to make excuses but this hot and often humid weather is really killing me. Years ago I welcomed it but at present my serious geriatric time of life is making it difficult to derive much pleasure from these tropical conditions.

The worst thing is that I've got COPD. For those who know what this is you'll appreciate that I'm having difficulty breathing. Not only does this make me less than happy, it also makes it difficult for me to do what I like doing best of all, and that's to compose a blog post.

I had every intention today of carrying on with my analysis of how people should ensure that their energy bills are managed sensibly but I'm afraid I'm unable to do this important subject justice right now.

On the TV and in the press those knowledgeable medical people are advocating that it is best to keep moving and taking light exercise, so this is what I intend to do despite it being at the expense of sitting at my desk pounding a keyboard. I've had a good walk today but it's taken it's toll and now I'll have to end this post before I lose it and start making a load of excuses which you don't want to hear.

Please look after yourselves, particularly if you are in your senior years. Please bear with me until I can start writing sensible topics. 

Rags to Riches

In my last post I talked about the unsolicited mail that regularly comes through the post-box and how it should all (except flyers) be given a cursory glance before deciding what action to take.

OK...we all know that most of it is rubbish but in my last post, I did mention a particular type of sales copy which if nothing else is worth a read for it's sheer entertainment value.

You've got it...the glossy professional looking pamphlets, which invariably are direct mail shots from a publishing house. I'm now going to put my analytical hat and dispense a chunk of logic.

Now the sales copy might be aimed at selling one of the company's own products but it has to be fronted by an individual who has apparently made a cool couple of million over the past two years...and how? By exploiting a secret loophole in a system which the authorities can't close  -  so it's best to act FAST before they find a way to do so.

But why an individual? The answer is because a good rags to riches story is required to impress the targets, so the text can only realistically talk about an individual.

I'm just looking now at a sales pitch purported to be from someone who three years ago hadn't got a job; no chance of getting one; was buried in debt and living in an unloved one bedroom flat with peeling wallpaper.

As if this wasn't enough to make this guy think of slitting his throat he was married with a young child and another on the way.

If you are like me you will only consider dealing with anyone who is not treating you like an idiot. Any organisation or individual who does so cannot be relied on to dispense sound and useful information.

I conclude that most of these rags to riches stories are usually from a file of stock text which can be pulled out, modified and tweaked to suit.

Do you think that anyone with half a brain, drowning in debt etc. etc. and with nowhere decent to live, would even consider having another child? Well if you think that makes sense...I certainly don't!

I'm not saying that all unsolicited direct mail is rubbish because I'm sure a lot of good products are being marketed by these means but as soon as I read a fairy story, there is no chance that I will become a convert.

I've said that I usually file this stuff for at least a year and that is because the same stuff normally gets pushed out again. I particularly do this for the sales pitches which have time or number constraints such as the following:-

'This offer is for the first 100 applicants and will never be repeated in the future.' There's a laugh! Hang about long enough and you'll get your chance maybe. It might not be for another year but memories can be short!

I've only just touched on one facet of this type of marketing but I will be delving a bit further in future posts for I don't want to overload you too much with excessive reading at one stage. If you take my advice you will never be swayed by hard luck stories however good and potentially wealth creating the product seems to be.

 

   

Unsolicited Sales Copy

I'm back and I'm not going to bore you all with details of where I've been and what I've done. The first thing most of us have to do when returning to base is sift through all the mail which has been shoved through the letter-box.

Most of it is junk  -  flyers etc.  -  but here's where care must be exercised to ensure that 'the baby is not thrown out with the bathwater.'

All mail should be given at least a cursory look so that those bills  -  unwelcome though they be  -  are afforded due consideration.

Today I want to mention a category of mail which is anathema to most but to me is most entertaining with the result that although it falls into the junk genre, I spend a bit of time absorbing the text.

I'm talking about unsolicited sales copy where the sender is trying to relieve me of my hard won cash. This often falls into two types.

The first is in an envelope with the address typed on a stick on label and a second class stamp  -  also licked and stuck on. Inside is a simple computer generated sheet telling me what's on offer. Often it's about some betting service which the sender says is a well guarded secret which the bookmakers don't want to become common knowledge. This can be safely binned. It's most likely that it is a tipping service which uses tips from the popular racing press.

Many years ago 2 blokes who were in the same football team I played for, were invariably late turning up because they wanted to see a race on TV for which they'd sold a lot of tips.

They told me what I've just told you and also that if they tipped the top 3 favourites in any race they were almost certain to get some satisfied customers who would come again. These lads did this for as long as I knew them so their advertising must have generally paid off.

The second type of sales copy is where I get the entertainment I've just mentioned. This will be in a professional looking  envelope (probably A4 size), the postage will be franked and the address will probably show through a see-through panel.

Yes...all very professional looking  -  especially the contents  -  which will often be in the form of  a glossy printed pamphlet with several pages. As a sales strategy it must work for a required number of prospects as decided by the sender! In other words it must convert to the sender's satisfaction.

Now this type of sales copy I don't bin out of hand and although to me it's just so much more junk, I study the text and file it away for at least a year. Why's this?

I will tell you why in another post, for I've got a lot of opinions on these methods of trying to sell invariably tired and useless products. 

   

My Summer Break

Tomorrow I'm off on a summer break and this means that I will be publishing no further posts before the last week in July.

As I've already mentioned, when I'm away I try to keep clear of everything pertaining to computers and computing. This even includes accessing my emails.

Since I spend so many hours of my day sitting at a computer - which incidentally I thoroughly enjoy - I feel that taking breaks whether short or long should be used to indulge in other pursuits. No 'Busman's Holiday' for me...not if I can help it!

Having said all this, I don't suppose I'll be able to blank all computer related subjects from my mind: in fact I'll probably come back armed with some notes on ideas I've come across on my travels, which might be the basis for future posts.

Please don't think that I'm gone forever, for as a well known WW2 general once said on leaving the Philippines - I'LL BE BACK.

Or was it I WILL RETURN? In any case my batteries should be well re-charged!

Until the end of July - keep happy.