Is Rick Perry Running To Be President of Iran?
They are made for each other, if The Times is to believed, as they are both convinced that the death penalty is the cure to all evils. I’m told it’s very good at stopping innocent peple becoming criminals.
The Iranians are using buses as scaffolds, which is a severe misuse of a noble piece of transport. Let’s make sure that none of London’s redundant bendy buses go to Iran, as they could be used to execute dozens at a time.
It’s about time, the British government and in fact the governments of all countries opposed to the death penalty, put some meaningful pressure on countries that still use this horrendous punishment.
Kim Kardashian Sues Over Look Alike
I gather that Kim Kardashian is quite famous. Perhaps it is famous for being stupid as she is suing a company because they used someone who looks like her, according to this report. She ought to thank the company for the publicity, especially as I don’t find the lady the least bit attractive. So perhaps she should sue The Times for showing a picture of her, that I don’t like.
You can rest assured that her lawyers will trouser a few dollars, so they will at least been paid well for their time.
Is Rick Perry What the United States Needs for President?
It is being reported that Rick Perry is seeking to gain the Republican nomination to stand against President Obama.
Let’s face it, he’s for capital punishment, the NRA and against publicly funded health care to name just three issues.
He may not be good for the US, but just as with other right-wing presidents of the past, it may well mean that the rest of the world benefits from immigration of some of the United States brightest thinkers, scientists, doctors and engineers.
An Unusual British Export to America
It has been said many times to me by American friends that roundabouts don’t work. But then American driving rules are a bit strange, with the four-way stop something that you never see in Europe. So it was a surprise to see this article on the BBC web site.
I just wonder though how Americans would get on with some of the European experiments of completely clutter-free streets, with no signs and barriers. Apparently, it’s being tried in Ipswich. I should look next time I go to the football.
The British POWs Who Went Fox-Hunting
This may seem a strange heading, as after all Adolf Hitler banned hunting and the Boy Scouts before the Second World War. But these prisoners weren’t in Germany or the parts of Europe they had occupied, but in the Republic of Ireland.
Dan Snow, is making about a program this bizarre story, which also includes recovering a Spitfire from a Donegal peat bog. To make the story even more strange, the pilot was an American, who like all Americans fighting at that time in the War had been stripped of his citizenship.
There is more here on the BBC web site.
But then the role of the Irish in the Second World War contains a lot of strange and almost unbelievable facts.
I once heard that more from the south actually fought in British forces in the war than from the North. Remember that there was no conscription in the North. This page from the Imperial War Museum explains why.
To avoid inflaming sentiments in the nationalist community, conscription was not extended to Northern Ireland.
Even today, I believe that the Irish Guards still accept some recruits from the Republic. This report gives the stories of two Irish Guards killed in Iraq. One was from Zimbabwe and the other from Dublin. There’s more on the story here.
Clarke Loses to the Vengeance Tendency
Sadly, it looks like the progressive sentencing policy of Kenneth Clarke will be dropped according to reports this morning. The Mail and Sun are triumphant.
So what are the government to do now to cut the prison population? Regrettably, I don’t think they’ll be able to do it, so are we to see more prisons being built. I hope not! As the current crime academies, with little or no rehabilitation and education, do not too much to stop offenders going back to a life of crime.
But there is hope from the United States. There crime is dropping and no-one seems to know why. Read this article on the BBC web site, which offers a range of reasons, like Obama being elected President, computer games distracting possible criminals, the deterrent effect of camera-phones and abortion meaning that less prospective recruits are being born.
Many of the factors postulated by American researchers would apply in most places in Europe.
The Candwich
I couldn’t believe that such disgusting food existed, when I saw it on HIGNFY last night. I thought it was a joke.
But never underestimate the Americans, when it comes to creating things that the stupid might eat and make even more obese.
http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/864889-finally-a-sandwich-in-a-can-check-out-the-candwich
I can only think of one use for it. Unopened cans might just be the right height to stop some furniture rocking. Or you could use four and a scaffold board to create a cheap shelf in a shed or garage.
If At FIrst You Don’t Get It Right Try, Try, Try Again!
This seems to be Harold Camping ‘s motto as he says he’ll do his calculation again for the end of the world according to the BBC.
It will actually be his fourth time. He is also quoted as saying. “I’m not a genius, and I pray all the time for wisdom!”
Obviously, you’re not praying enough Harold! But perhaps if there actually was a God, he didn’t give you too many of those little grey cells. So you definitely, aren’t his chosen one?
If you want to get an objective view on Harold Camping read this web page.
Well perhaps not! I’ve just read some of the other pages on European-American Evangelistic Crusade.
Strauss-Kahn Reporting in the United States and France
I have read this enlightening report on Bloomberg about the difference of the reporting of Dominique Strauss-Kahn’s arrest in New York, in the United States and France.
Here’s a typical couple of paragraphs.
For the U.S., the public’s right to know about an arrest is paramount, while in France the privacy — even of a criminal suspect — takes precedence.
“For the moment, the French media has been very restrained” in avoiding saying or writing anything to imply guilt, said Dominique de Leusse de Syon, a member of Strauss- Kahn’s legal team. “The problem is the images, whether they convey Mr. Strauss-Kahn as guilty.”
In other words anything goes in France, if you are French.
After all, the French published any old tosh they could find about Princess Diana, when at the time several high-profile French politicians were as crooked as a hurling stick.
Strauss-Kahn may indeed be innocent, but then seeing the allegations that have appeared in respected newspapers, he doesn’t appear to hsve been a saint in matters sexual.
The Anonymous Widower 