right way, wrong way

"Actions are held to be good or bad, not on their own merits, but according to who does them," George Orwell observed, "and there is almost no kind of outrage … which does not change its moral colour when it is committed by 'our' side".  Indeed.  This was quoted in an article by Mehdi Hassan in today's Guardian about the state-sponsored killings by the West that are becoming both more prevalent and more widely reported, but without any ensuring public outcry. On the contrary, the reaction is if anything largely positive, as Mehdi Hassan reports.  His argument is spoiled however by a selective quotation from Michael Burleigh in the Telegraph.  Burleigh is a well-respected historian and Hassan's quote suggests he is unequivocally in favour of these murders: 'I shall not shed any tears whenever one of these scientists encounters the unforgiving men on motorbikes, men who live in the real world rather than a laboratory or philosophy seminar.'  But there is a vital coda in the next sentence: 'Except that if Israel ventures down this road, I cannot think of much of an argument to prevent Iran following them, and then anyone else who decides to follow'  Shame on you Mehdi Hassan.  Your sloppy journalism undermines an essentially vital and vibrant piece of writing.

No nostradamus!

Surely this should be enough to scotch the rumours that 'the end of the world is nigh'.  Mayan, er, prophecies have no more validity than those of good ol' Nostradamus.  Yet people are so gullible and astrology still so popular.  So too the multitudes flocking to Lourdes and any of the hundreds of 'Vatican approved Catholic place of worship' to be found on the Internet at www.sacred-destinations.com.    In our post-Enlightenment world this is always a matter of concern for me, even though I understand the consolation religious faith does bring.

The sinking feeling of 'the other'

The sinking  of the Costa Concordia off the coast of Italy is shocking.  The deaths of the passengers and crew a tragedy.  Five people are confirmed dead and fifteen are missing.  The story has dominated the UK news across all of the media.  All this in the hundredth anniversary year of the sinking of the Titanic.  But as Ian Jack in this weekend's Guardian noted: 'Two years after the Titanic, a coal boat rammed the Empress of Ireland when the Liverpool-bound liner got stuck in a fog in the St Lawrence. The liner heeled over and sank within 14 minutes, and more than 1,000 people drowned: men, women and children struggled in the water "as thick as bees", according to a survivor, but no stories of self-sacrifice or selfishness emerged. It had all happened too quickly. The Titanic, on the other hand, took two hours and 40 minutes to go down on one of the stillest nights anyone could remember. Enough time for quandaries, conflicts, and good and bad behaviour.'  He also reminds us that Titanic was neither the fastest nor the largest liner operating at the time, and 'White Star line never advertised her unsinkability beyond a cautious sentence in a short-lived brochure of 1910'. What is shocking to me in 2012 watching the television coverage of the Costa Concordia is the obscene disparity between this and the sinking of the ferry off Indonesia in December of last year with almost a hundred killed, or the loss of the Zanzibar ferry in September with almost 200 drowned, and so it goes on.  But then western European lives are worth more in the hard currency of media reporting than those of 'the other'.  Always have been.  Ask Edward Said.

enthusiastic and comely

 I did enjoy the new series on BBC4 tonight about illuminated medieval manuscripts and what they might tell us about the 'private lives of medieval monarchs'.  The presenter, Dr Janina Ramirez, was both enthusiastic and comely, and refreshingly down-to-earth and giggly but in a good way.  The sort of person you would enjoy chatting to about the ins and outs of medieval history over a pint or two after work.   I did wonder sometimes about her rather sweeping generalisations and the validity of some of the historical analysis, but overall it was still very entertaining  to watch and I enjoyed being in her company for an hour.  The stars throughout of course were the illuminated manuscripts themselves and the wonderful work of the largely unknown artists and scribes. Truly these are great works of art and it is a shame that they should be locked away out of sight from the very public who pay for their upkeep.    

paradigm

It's one of my favourite words.  Paradigm. Wonderful definition from my trusty Chambers 21st Century Dictionary, page 998, quote 'a conceptual framework within which scientific theories are constructed, which is consistent within itself, but may need completely revising as evidence challenging the factual accuracy of some aspects of it accumulates'. I first came across the word reading Thomas S. Kuhn as a history undergraduate.  Ah, those were the days.  How often do you come across great words like that anymore? 

toasted bread soldiers

There are some foods that are transformed by the simplest of things into something elegant and refined. For example, take a soft boiled egg and add to it toasted bread soldiers lightly buttered. Sprinkle a little salt, some pepper, dip your first toasted soldier, and I guarantee you'll be in foodie heaven.  Go on, try it.  There is really nothing quite like a soft boiled egg with lightly buttered toasted bread soldiers.  Oh, and the egg is best boiled for three minutes exactly but should be placed in the pot of cold water from the start.  (These instructions are for Large, Free Range Eggs and take no account of the risk from salmonella because there really isn't one. Raw eggs can certainly present a health risk from Salmonellosis, but so too can reptiles and especially pet turtles.  Both things best not eaten with your breakfast.)

Ho! Ho! Ho!

An old joke maybe but it does make me smile.  As do these:

"Did you hear about the bloke who bought a bottle of liquid Viagra?  He drank Tippex by mistake and woke up with an enormous correction."

The Dalai Lama goes into a pizza shop, and asks, 'Can you make me One with everything?' 

Ho!  ho!