A thoroughly wet day, although not really cold. We managed 16C / 60F. Although our day was a wash-out, it is as nothing in comparison to the Dominican Republic and Haiti, which are being deluged with between 6 and 12 inches of rain, with up to 20 inches in the mountains. Tropical storm Emily has fallen to pieces on crossing the mountainous terrain of the island of Hispaniola, but continues to dump large amounts of rain on the island. These are very likely to cause mudslides and flash floods. Although Emily is no longer a tropical cyclone, it could regenerate upon passing over the Bahamas in a few days' time.
I have spent a few hours in the library, looking for tributes to WW2 casualties in the Stornoway Gazette of 1940. I take photographs, which I will transcribe later. I managed to unearth about 55 stories. This edition of the Gazette is available in its original form, but older editions can only be viewed on microfilm due to the precarious state of the newsprint.
It would appear that a lot of people are thinking that re-introducing the death penalty in this country would be worth considering. I disagree in the strongest possible terms. Once carried out, there will never be any way to reverse the decision, should new evidence come to light at a later stage. It was put to me today that Anders Breivik, the man who murdered dozens of people in Norway last month should be put to death. Yes, he was guilty as hell. Executing him does not return his victims to life, however. Taking a view of the American practices in capital punishment, I am disgusted with the way prisoners on death row are kept there for years and years and years, whilst all manner of appeal procedures are run. The other day, one state ran out of the stuff they put in lethal injections. No thanks.
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