Grombles

 I have often used quotes from Abe Lincoln to illustrate a point. For example I always believed he said "You can't make the poor rich, by making the rich poor" and I've been using this quote for years to help explain why I favour capitalism over socialism (whilst nonetheless being an egalitarian). Trouble is, as I've only just learned, he never actually said this. It's the sort of quote you believe someone like him might have made, if only they'd have thought of it.... Which reminds me. Neil Armstrong actually said "One small step for man, one VAST leap for mankind". Not "... one GIANT leap..." as he's traditionally quoted. Check it out for yourself here . What Lincoln did in fact say was admittedly similar to my 'poor rich, rich poor' quip:  “You cannot lift the wage earner up by pulling the wage payer down.”  which I'll agree is not so different, except it only relates to work and employment. He also said: “You can’t m...

I've been stunned in the past weeks about the ubiquity of misunderstanding in the press and even amongst friends about what is a Jew and what is a Muslim (or a Christian come to that). It's very simple. Jews are a race, Muslims (and Christians) aren't. You can't choose to be a Jew (or not to be one). How many fewer might have been selected to be murdered in the Holocaust if the Nazis had excluded anyone who simply didn't want to be a Jew or were prepared to prove they didn't believe in Judaism. Islam, Christianity and Judaism are all religions which you are at liberty, assuming you haven't been permanently brainwashed by your parents, community and teachers, to follow or not as your conscience or fear of reprisal demands. This is why comparing antisemitism with islamophobia is like comparing apples with pears. Actually it's not even that close since they are patently both fruit. Jews can only be Jews if their mothers were Jews. Curiously Jewish fathers...

Every country needs people who WANT to work. Immigrants want to make a better life for themselves and for their children. The emphasis is on the word 'make'. This is in contrast to a massive UK benefit culture that's become the lifestyle of choice for so many claiming to deserve it solely because they were born here. Rights without responsibilities weaken societies. To leave your family, friends, language (usually), customs, familiar places and climate (usually better than cold damp UK) to forge a new life in an unknown place takes courage and determination - both qualities we should welcome into our society. The UK has always been a melting pot of nationalities. Until very recently we were by far the largest trading nation on the planet. Our nation is designed to mix peoples and cultures economically and culturally. By opening our doors to foreign cultures, our lives are enriched. Food, music, dance, art, theatre, sport and many other aspects of the way we entertain o...

I was in Paris this weekend to watch England very nearly beat the French at rugby. Really close game, only marred by a) not winning, and b) getting mugged that morning at an ATM for €200. It was about 9.30 in the morning on a relatively quiet road. I needed a top-up of Euros having arrived the evening before with my wife and two (female) friends for a weekend of rugby (yes, I know). So naturally we'd run out of cash since the shops had already been open a good hour. (Note to self... rugby trips are cheaper with blokes). I went up to an ATM outside a post office while the girls stood to one side. I had noticed a couple of teenagers hanging around nearby (one bizarrely was sitting on a grating in the pavement (sidewalk) apparently warming his butt), but I paid them no attention. I inserted my card, entered my PIN and then realised that the kids had flanked me on either side. The guy on my right held a piece of newspaper on top of the lower screen (the one with the keypad buttons). ...

Kenyan terror. Pakistan funeral bombings. Iraq, Syria and all the old favourites seem to be witnessing increased intensities of religious fundamental madness. Massacres all over the place. The people who are being slain and injured are presumably perceived as 'evil' in the eyes of the murderers - and therefore no doubt 'deserved to die' (or so their god tells them, one might imagine. Nice god). The world condemns these madmen (and women in Kenya we hear) as evil. Everyone hates everyone else and we all want to kill each other, whether inspired by voices, beardies, media and politicians, or just personal outrage. Marvelous. Blood begets blood. Kill a person and you anger their friends and family. They now hate you too. Sons, brothers and cousins sign up to avenge their death. Commit an atrocity, and watch the ranks of neo-nazis swell. Watch retaliations by Norwegian mass murderers, Muscovite thugs, Kashmiri tribesmen and Syrian 'rebels'. Feel your own blood b...

I'm about as removed from being a racist as any human can be. I believe very strongly that we are all one species exhibiting a rich array of genetic and cultural diversity. It's our duty and our right to live together in harmony, and collectively to solve the world's problems. Tribes need to share their understanding of the planet and collaborate, not fight. But last night, I experienced a testing of my determination to be indifferent to ethnicity and nationality. Here's what happened: During the week, my eldest son called to say he'd got some complementary tickets for 'Roger Waters The Wall' tour - he of Pink Floyd and horribly well preserved despite a lifetime of drugs and probably every other vice that fame and fortune offer. Free tickets can either be amazing - as in private boxes, free drinks, celebrity seats etc - or the unsaleable remnants that might as well go to appreciative homes. Though I was of course graciously grateful to my lad, ours were ...

Today I received this viral email. I apologise for reproducing it in full, but there are so many issues contained in it, that you do need to read the whole thing. After you've read it I will argue that this sort of anti-Islamic vitriol is precisely why there was a holocaust in the first place. Read and be very afraid. Europe Died at Auschwitz .. The following is a copy of an article written by Spanish writer Sebastian Vilar Rodriguez and published in a Spanish newspaper on Jan. 15, 2008. It doesn't take much imagination to extrapolate the message to the rest of Europe - and possibly to the rest of the world. REMEMBER AS YOU READ -- IT WAS WRITTEN IN A SPANISH NEWSPAPER Date: Tue. 15 January 2008 ALL EUROPEAN LIFE DIED IN AUSCHWITZ....... By Sebastian Vilar Rodrigez I walked down the street in Barcelona , and suddenly discovered a terrible truth - Europe died in Auschwitz ... We killed six million Jews and replaced them with 20 million Muslims. In Auschwitz we burned a culture...