[the eu] fighting for your boozing and smoking rights - not

How to deal with the EU

From the Register: The European Court of Justice has ruled that boozers and smokers looking to get cut-price deals from countries with lower rates of duty will not be able to buy the stuff online. Punters will have to continue the time-honoured "booze cruise" tradition and "accompany the goods back themselves".

The judges declared that "only products acquired and transported personally by private individuals are exempt from excise duty in the member state of importation". Great for the Treasury and ferry firms but stuff the little man and his wife.

Wonderful organization, the EU, so vital for the successful operation of Britain plc, so concerned for the rights of the ordinary citizen – not. The tossers, the absolute horses’ backsides, the excremental emissions!! Look, let’s just get out of this uber-corrupt organization right now.

Vote for anyone, even Tarquin Fintimlimbimlimbimwhimbimlin Bus Stop Ftang Ftang Olay Biscuit Barrel if necessary or at a pinch, Kevin Phillips Bong but let’s just get out now. Agreed?

[litvinenko] on hit list with mass murderer and crooked oligarch

All right, I read into this article about Litvinenko and how Russian emigres in London are now on edge. And also this: For Londoners, the attack on the former Russian spy, in broad daylight in the midst of the hustle and bustle of their city, has changed the image of the Russians who come here. But when the article started quoting the mass murdering Akhmed Zakayev, actor and former Chechen rebel commander, who arrived in 2002 and lives in the same street as Litvinenko, it was time to draw the line.

Please listen, fellow Britons – do you want the hype or do you actually want the truth? Even this article gets close on occasions: By far the most controversial figure to move to London was Boris Berezovsky, one of the original Russian oligarchs, who amassed a fortune after the collapse of Communism and fled Russia under the threat of prosecution for corruption. Precisely. And where was that fortune made? Out of whose pockets? And he laundered it out of Russia. So a mass murderer and a crooked oligarch are bunched together with this Litvinenko, saying that they believe they are at the "top of the hitlist" of Russian émigrés in London, do they?

Of course they are. But the absolute hypocrisy of fellow Brits saying that this shows Putin is out of order but that our own MI6’s hits in other countries are OK is galling. We believe what we want to believe but each one of these three had very good reason to be on the list and not – repeat not – only because they’ve indulged in ‘criticism’. It’s because of what they’ve done to the Russians themselves. Talk to any Russian within this country about this please. Then form your opinion.

[pope-archbishop summit] what’s the point

You wouldn’t normally associate the ultra-slow-loading Forbes site with ecumenical news. Pope Benedict XVI and Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams want to talk but there are serious obstacles: 1] Rowan’s quite unforgivable facial hair 2] the euphemistically described same-sex unions 3] Anglican ordination of female bishops.

Don’t know how you stand on these but I’ll go out on a limb and suggest all three are strikes against any dialogue [or trialogue, if you include their Employer]. And Benny did not get off to a good start, referring to "the strains and difficulties besetting the Anglican Communion and consequently about the uncertainty of the communion itself."

I know the American Episcopalians appointed a gay bishop in 2003 and if memory serves correctly there are some female bishops roaming around in their wild animal luxury but I’d like to know if there are any current female gay bishops. Anyone know about this?

Incidentally, if you go googling for Rowan, you find this: Telegraph Entertainment The Dark Materials debate: life, God ... Entertainment?

[festive spirit] time to hibernate until late january

How do you like the new winter header? One reader accused me of gratuitous bonhomie in the middle of an English winter but I protest that there is not one santa to be seen, not one cross and not one reference to Christmas anywhere in the new design. It’s the new non-faith-specific design.

Today people were out in force, pre-buying New Year gifts, bless their hearts. Not me. Twenty years ago, I vowed never, never, never to do Christmas again. The reason was an extended family get-together on December 25th where everyone was doing his or her best to make conversation and enjoy the whole sorry day, all for the sake of the grandparents and the children. Well, all right, fair enough.

Then came present time. I’d earlier asked people what the other family members might like and so had dutifully bought brass candle holders, photo frames, mid-market quality wine, children’s things and so on for each member of each family. At the end of the day, I departed with a total haul of one handkerchief which you could never take out, even in the privacy of one’s bathroom, one lower-shelf bottle of plonk and two cards. I asked my mother afterwards, while driving her home, if she’d enjoyed the day.

‘It was appalling,’ she ungraciously replied. I’d never before realized she felt that way. There and then I asked permission never to be asked to attend one of these things again and she most graciously acceded, adding, ‘It’s all right for you – you can get out of them.’ Actually, she had enjoyed the company and I was being unreasonable and I did inwardly decide to go through with it all again the following year but it never happened. I went overseas during the year.

This year James Scrooge has told everyone we’ll be away and not to count us in but I wish them all the very best and please have a lovely time. Is that the wrong festive spirit?

[iceland today] roads, giant iceblocks and kinder

Three classics today from Iceland Review:

Roads in Iceland to improve

Minister of Transport Sturla Bödvarsson announced this morning that the government is going to increase funding for road construction projects through 2010 to improve Iceland’s road system. The announcement was made at a meeting organized by the Federation of Trade and Services this morning. This story is reported on mbl.is.

Bödvarsson also said too many roads in Iceland are still unpaved, which he would like to work on, and he would also like to see increased load bearing capacity, more tunnels and wider roads. Due to heavy industry projects this year, the Minister said there has not been much focus on road improvement operations.

I can just see the fearless reporter now, sitting with the Minister, notebook at the ready.

Ambulance hit by huge ice blocks

An ambulance transporting a patient from Akranes to Reykjavík was severely damaged yesterday when giant ice blocks flew from the roof of a truck and hit the front of the emergency vehicle. According to Morgunbladid, no one was harmed in the accident, which took place near Mosfellsbaer, outside Reykjavík.

The ambulance driver, Gísli Björnsson, told Morgunbladid that the ice blocks had suddenly come flying towards him. He said that if the heavy ice blocks had crashed through the windscreen of the ambulance, he would probably have been killed. Police told Morgunbladid that truck drivers, as all other drivers, should remove snow and ice from the roof of their vehicles to prevent accidents like this.

Kindergarten staff shortage in Reykjavík

The capital’s kindergartens are short on staff, resulting in an increased burden on parents and a more dangerous environment for children. Hanna Birgisdóttir, a teacher at Gullborg kindergarten in Reykjavík, told Bladid that her kindergarten is short of at least three full-time staff members.

Birgisdóttir says with less staff children have less supervision when playing outside and could get hurt more easily. Birgisdóttir says the current staff and parents do their best to cooperate, but without support from the authorities, she says the situation is unlikely to improve. Bladid reports this.

[iceland review] writer strikes back

You may recall my writing of Hitler being in Iceland and the writing style of Icelanders in English being so pleasantly quaint, especially when they are forever quoting RUV.

Intrigued, I wrote to Iceland Review to throw light on exactly who the person is who writes the news. From the style angle, I suspected [hoped for?] a sweet young lady. An example of her simple, earnest style:

This account in Skáldalíf is based on a written testimony given by a man who lived on the farm closest to Skriduklausur. To read another story about Gunnar Gunnarsson, click here.

Well, now she’s replied to my letter - the publishable part is here:

Dear James, I am the one responsible for the daily news and I am happy to hear that you enjoy our website. Best wishes, Eygló Svala Arnarsdóttir, Web Editor

I don’t know what it is but that sort of thing brings out niceness in people, which is one of the reasons I read Iceland Review in the first place. It certainly affects Lady Ellee :

I visited Iceland once for a day trip. I flew from Stansted, saw lots of water features and even had a lovely dip in the Blue Lagoon surrounded by volcanic rock.

But even crusty old bloggers can be affected. Witness our own redoubtable Serf, who is undergoing his own particular bout of niceness just now:

In the middle of a hectic day of a hectic life, Iceland seems somehow peacefully inviting doesn't it?

[christopher beale] youngest author launch – the borders, oxford st, sat 25th november

You may recall the earlier piece which stated that a six-year-old boy whose book will be published in the UK later this month has staked a claim as the world's youngest author. There was a link to the Independent:

Christopher Beale completed his 1,500-word, five-chapter novel 'This and Last Season's Excursions' when he was six years and 118 days old, beating the previous Guinness World Record by 42 days. Christopher, now seven, from Zug in Switzerland, landed a publishing contract with Aultbea Publishing, based in Inverness, and his book will be launched in London on 25 November.

It was then stated that his father’s name is Theodore, aged 38, also known as Vox Day. Vox has now indicated that Christopher’s book launch will be at:

The Borders on Oxford Street at 2:30 [14:30] on Saturday November 25th.

If you could get along there and support the lad, it would be nice. I'll have a little trouble doing that from where I'm stationed but anyone in London that day .....

[in brief] thought for the day

A beautiful young woman

Anouk Aimee, in O Magazine, October 2003, said: You can only perceive real beauty in people as they get older. Elizabeth Cady Stanton, sometime between 1815 and 1902, said: With age comes the inner, the higher life. Who would be forever young, to dwell always in externals? But Plato wrote, sometime between 427 BC and 347 BC: He who is of calm and happy nature will hardly feel the pressure of age, but to him who is of an opposite disposition youth and age are equally a burden. Unfortunately, that cuts the vast majority of us out.

[thanksgiving] dispelling the myths

This reproduces an article by Timothy Walch, director of the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library in West Branch, Iowa, and a writer for the History News Service. His book, Uncommon Americans: The Lives and Legacies of Herbert and Lou Henry Hoover, will be published in 2003.

Thanksgiving dinner: never has the history of a meal been so obscured by myth. Every year on the fourth Thursday in November, Americans sit down to eat with family and friends. Some gather to give thanks for all that they have received over the previous year; others get together just to enjoy turkey and football. We all celebrate Thanksgiving in our own ways.

So what do most Americans believe happened on that first Thanksgiving Day? Most still cling to what they learned in elementary school. The Pilgrims sat down with Indians for a big meal of turkey, cornbread, cranberries and pumpkin pie. The Pilgrims dressed in black, and the Indians wore feathers and colorful beads. In fact, many Americans today still recall if they were "pilgrims" or "Indians" in their school pageants.

It's a charming story, but it's a myth. To be sure, it's a powerful one -- one that will be repeated many times this November. The fact that it's so pervasive is evidence that American myths have long lives.

Read more here ...

[the ashes] here we go, here we go …

The Ashes showdown starting today could be the fiercest in cricket history, England captain Andrew "Freddie" Flintoff said yesterday. "We are one day away from what could be the biggest Test series ever," he said.

The dynamic Flintoff was unable to contain his excitement about the arrival of the most talked-about sporting event Australia has hosted in modern memory, with the exception of the Sydney Olympics.

As many as 40,000 English tourists are expected to have arrived to cheer their team on. The Barmy Army were the best sports fans in the world, Ponting said yesterday. Brisbane is awash with them; two outdoor bars in the city centre becoming their headquarters. Flintoff said he walked the streets at night and bumped into so many people he knew that he thought he was back home in Lancashire. "The fans have supported us for a long time and they're as excited as we are," he said.

With five days of glorious Queensland sunshine predicted, Australia is hot favourite to win the match and the series. Don’t be too cocksure, Aussies. A Brit with his back to the wall can be quite a handful and remember, only mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun. Plus Norman Geras.