France - after the terror attacks

France is a traumatised nation. Its people have witnessed cold blooded murder in the name of (false) Islam. Most Muslims think the atrocities totally wrong and that they are against everything they believe and stand for. It amazes me that these extremists believe they will be rewarded for their acts in paradise. I'd think the opposite. I suspect most Muslims do too.

What I hope is that France can gather strength and comfort from the unity rallies across France over the weekend - the turnouts were huge - but that the far right does not gain support as a result of these (very few) extremists. It is quite possible that this will happen, in which case the terrorists have literally "shot themselves in the foot" and they will have achieved the absolute opposite of what they (misguidedly) set out to achieve.

In the end, good will triumph over the evil done by a misguided few. Nonetheless, all nations need to be fair to all citizens who all deserve to be treated with value and dignity.

FTSE 100

This morning, the FTSE 100 share index is hovering above its close but is very up and down. A guessing man would say, ignoring any dramatic news, that it may end the day perhaps a little up on the day. Of course, anything is possible but it does not appear to be moving too far today, well so far.

UPDATE 1342z:   The index has just moved into negative territory.

UPDATE 2232z: At the end of the day it was 0.28 higher, so virtually no change after a yo-yo day. Looking at the USA markets, I think the FTSE 100 will start lower.

Nice football story

See http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/30725883 .

A Bristol City fan has been able to watch his favorite team for free all season from the roof of his shed.

Huge support of French anti-terrorist rally

Over 1 million people were on the streets of Paris today to show their total revulsion with recent terrorist attacks in that city.   This included many world leaders.

See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-30765824 .

Tax return (continued)

I completed my online tax return today but will check it over tomorrow before actually submitting it. I really should have done it earlier, but kept putting  it off. This is an annual task that has to be done, but my "foggy" brain (as a result of my brain bleed) does not help. I am pretty sure it is right.

Saudi "justice"?

See http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2015/01/saudi-arabia-blogger-flogged-insulting-islam-20151911120952108.html .

The news that Saudi Arabia is to publicly flog a liberal blogger every Friday outside a mosque until he has received 1000 lashes (50 lashes every Friday) filled me with horror. I thought Islam was a religion of compassion?

Tax return woes

My tax return (online) is due at the end of the month and I have been struggling with it all day. The main problem is finding all the data I need. I should complete it tomorrow, but it is a task I do not like doing. I actually started before Christmas but I usually do it earlier.