I read with some interest, of a new bill that is due for debate today in the German Parliament; The Reichstag. Having been a keen historian, specialising in German history for some three decades now, I cannot but be amazed at the proposal. The Bill proposes nothing less than to make public shows of affection between under 18’s illegal. Worse that that; in view of some of the stereotypes that their history has engendered, it threatens to make Germany a laughing stock.
... read more on
Zis is forbidden
. December 13th, 2007
Biz
I must admit to not being knowledgeable about any number of things and one of those things happens to be the Baptist Church. I know that the Church must have something to do with baptism and by extension, immersion in water; so I was interested to hear about the death of Baptist Minister David Brash, who seemingly received somewhat more water than was beneficial, when his body was found in a swamp in the Philippines. Apparently he was done away with by his young Pilipino bride, who hired two assassins to perform the task.
December 11th, 2007
Biz
Its funny how two diverse and seemingly unrelated pieces of news can have a common thread running through them and today, this phenomenon has re-occurred. Panama has been in the forefront of the news recently due to its location as a bolt hole for John Darwin, the resurrected canoeist and his wife Anne; but now it has featured again for an entirely different reason…language teaching in schools. The other piece of news is the horrendous prospect of Britain being ringed by over 7,000 wind farms.
December 10th, 2007
Biz
A couple of stories caught my eye today; the first, was the announcement by the Secretary of State for Local Government and Communities, Hazel Blears, that councils should reduce the provision of translation services to immigrants and asylum seekers, as blanket provision of such services was proving a serious disincentive to actually learning English, and thus integrating into British society (the shameless Hazel Blears stole my idea!). The second story was the ongoing prediction of a downturn in the economy and the associated, redundancies, repossessions and austere times that go with such happenings.
... read more on
Model behaviour
. December 7th, 2007
Biz
I have been following the story of John and Anne Darwin with growing interest as it has gradually unfolded during the past few days. Although the full story has yet to emerge, it is increasingly looking as if the resurrected canoeing amnesiac and his wife, have been party to a large insurance scam and all I can say is lock them up and throw away the key…but perhaps for a different reason than you may think.
Let us look more closely at what the couple might have done and what they deserve.
... read more on
Paradise lost
. December 6th, 2007
Biz
As you all know, I never cease to be amazed at the stupidity, ineptitude and sheer profligacy demonstrated by councils nationwide…most of you probably feel the same. Speaking personally, it has almost become a vocational duty to heap huge amounts of disrespect upon those councils and politicians that are seriously deserving of it. Thus, today we are specially privileged, in that we have two truly deserving contenders for the crown of ‘stupidest council in the land’.
December 4th, 2007
Biz
Remember the ‘good old days’ when going abroad meant that to all intents and purposes, armed with your trusty blue British passport, most countries would recognise your nation as one that would brook no interference with their citizens and they would, therefore, respect this nation, respect you and let you go on unhindered? Imagine also, that if that kind of safety was assured abroad, then once back in good old blighty, a British citizen must be neigh on invincible…well sadly, times have changed!
December 3rd, 2007
Biz
I stood at the flank waiting to join the action, my head covered and my stomach churning, until finally, the decisive moment had come. I stepped into the breach, hoping that my actions that night would do me credit and not shame my fellows; I fought back the fear and walked forward…outward echoed the hymn…“The first noel, the Angels did say, was to certain poor shepherds in fields as they lay”…
... read more on
The last Noel
. November 30th, 2007
Biz
It has struck me that there has always been a somewhat unequal exchange of culture between our trans-Atlantic allies and ourselves. Now before I go too much further, I must make it perfectly clear that I use the word ‘culture’ in the very loosest sense with regards to America…one generally has to have at least five centuries to even lay down the roots of a basic culture (sorry guys…only another 250 years to go). Here are some illustrative examples:
- We gave them Period costume dramas like ‘Pride and Prejudice’…they gave us Beef Jerky.
November 28th, 2007
Biz
It’s hard to find words to describe my feelings upon reading the story of the British teacher Gillian Gibbons, who is today facing 40 lashes and/or imprisonment in the Sudan for allowing her class of six and seven year old pupils to name a teddy bear, Mohammed.
... read more on
Too much to bear
. November 27th, 2007
Biz
Next Posts
Previous Posts
