HT Theo Spark
The wages of sin?
Sorry to hog the page, but some things get my goat.
Does anybody here think we or anybody else knows what really happened when Meredith Kercher died? No. Nor me. So why on earth does any civilised judicial system allow Amanda Knox to make megabucks on a ‘very thoughtful, reflective and serious book’ deal with a respectable publisher?
Some things are worth raving about.
Delayed Gratification
The body of this post has been copied to a safe place pending a decision by Boadicea. It will be reinstated and re-opened for comments if, and when, she concludes that it is appropriate material for the Chariot. Bearsy.
Having read the full text of this post, I have decided that it will not be published.
I find the article in The Spectator offensive. I fail to see how ‘Indigenous Australians’ behaved in the 1920s (long before most had contact with European habits) has any relevance to the lazy ‘Indigenous British’ who fail to toilet train their children, despite being exposed to the wonders of the ‘Water Closet’ for several generations.
My apologies for the chequered history of this post – but I am rather busy on other matters.
I have re-opened the post for comments.
Boadicea
Quote?
50 great pics
I received this as a slide show recently, found it on the internet here (thanks Jorge) and thought that I’d share.
By the way, those arrows in the bottom right corner give you a full screen view!
My favourites are 39 and 47.
Slave Labour
You may recall hearing of Cait Reilly, an unemployed recent graduate who worked stacking shelves in Poundland, and subsequently is challenging the policy of Mandatory Work Activity in the High Court. This predictably caused a furore of scorn in the popular press, the Daily Mail version is here.
The original concept of MWA seemed to be quite sound, in exchanged for Jobseeker’s Allowance which seems to be the PC term for unemployment benefit, the young jobless would toddle off to work for a short period to gain “fundamental work disciplines, as well as being of benefit to local communities”.
Happy Birthday Janus
I do try to remember people’s birthdays – it helps when they remind me!
Youth
Northland College (NZ) principal John Tapene has offered the following words from a judge who regularly deals with youth.
“Always we hear the cry from teenagers ‘What can we do, where can we go?’
… My answer is, “Go home, mow the lawn, wash the windows, learn to cook, build a raft, get a job, visit the sick, study your lessons and, after you’ve finished, read a book.”
“Your town does not owe you recreational facilities and your parents do not owe you fun. The world does not owe you a living, you owe the world something. You owe it your time, energy and talent so that no one will be at war, in poverty or sick and lonely again.”
“In other words, grow up, stop being a cry baby, get out of your dream world and develop a backbone, not a wishbone. Start behaving like a responsible person. You are important and you are needed. It’s too late to sit around and wait for somebody to do something someday. Someday is now and that somebody is you…”
Oh what a breath of fresh air!
That’s rich!
As far as I know, the USA has exploited China’s low-wage economy for decades, sourcing every conceivable consumer product via its mammoth retail businesses like Wal-Mart, to satisfy its people’s insatiable appetite for throw-away possessions.
On the back of this trade, which has allowed Chinese workers to improve their own standard-of-living and save money, Chinese banks have become major lenders to the creaking US economy, with dollars earned quite legitimately, and arguably saved the USA from serious embarrassment during the latest credit crisis.
Now Obama has the nerve to lecture Chinese leaders on their moral obligation to do ‘fair trade’, to allow their currency to float up to its ‘real’ market value! Otherwise the USA can’t export its cars to China.
Excuse me if I find this hard to swallow.
The pleasures of the Chariot
(As cherished colleagues must have noticed, Backside has now had his gadfly clamped and impounded far away from the the Colosseum where these games are played.)
Our daily visits here bring us all enjoyment far beyond the allure of panem et circenses or Androcles and the Lion or Spartacus. And it was a local Roman playwright, Terence, who wrote a play called The Eunuch, in which one of his characters explains that a love-affair is ruled by its own illogical laws:
“All these vices are in love: injuries, suspicions, enmity, offenses, war, peace restored. If you think that uncertain things can be made certain by reason, you’ll accomplish nothing more than if you strived to go insane by sanity.”
Doesn’t that describe our correspondence on the Chariot? Debates about the uncertainties of life? And most important: a good larf! As WS remarked, “Present mirth hath present laughter. What’s to come is still unsure.”
So I do hope we can all continue to come here, taste the wine, hear the band, blow that horn – and generally be entertained!
Boadicea's Chariot 
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