Mosher'sUnimaginativelyEntitledBlog
–**– The Blog Without A Bloody Annoying Tagline –**–
Erm, yeah. That didn’t take long. After the earlier post I started looking into flight prices and have booked myself a 1-way ticket on Iceland Airways to Reykjavic. I fly out on January 4th for a few days and will likely head to Copenhagen after that for a the weekend, before getting an expense-paid flight to Geneva and on to Chamonix to work again.
As you do.
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In the wake of Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling classing Icelanders as terrorists in a bid to grab invested British cash back from Icelandic banks, I’d like to say the following. I have posted it as a comment on this BBC story, but given that I somewhat insult both the UK and US governments I don’t know if they’ll use it…
For the sake of full disclosure, I have money invested in Kaupthing – one of the banks that collapsed in Iceland recently. It was bought out by ING who I’d moved from in the first place. Gah.
Anyway:
Icelanders – please don’t hate us for the actions of a small minority of people. That would be like hating everyone in the US simply because their country is run by a bunch of inept, power-hungry goons.
I’ve yet to visit Iceland (if you moved a little closer so the air fares were lower I’d be there like a shot) but I’d like to think that as a people you’re as understanding as we are. Trust me, we don’t like the muppets in charge of our country any more than you do. If anything, this should bring us closer.
I just heard about Blog Action Day and I’m just going to make it with a post before the end of the 15th. This year’s topic is poverty, though I don’t know why we need a whole blog thing to draw attention to it.
No, let me rephrase that. I don’t know why we should need a whole blog thing to draw attention to it. It’s everywhere. From beggars on the streets in London to the poor being fed by the better off in Bangladesh I’ve seen a lot of it.
The thing with poverty is that in some cases we don’t seem to want to do anything about it. We don’t trust those who need it. To a large extent it’s not their fault as so many people use a pretense of poverty to wangle cash out of decent people, thus tainting the truly needy.
This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t help. It simply means you have to be careful how you do. Choose a charity or a cause where you know the maximum money will filter down in a useful way to those who both need and deserve it. Don’t go doling it out in the street, especially somewhere like India where you’ll just get mobbed by “you gave to her, you have to give to me” hordes.
The best way to cure poverty is to get the people in need in a position where they can do something about it. The old “give a man a fish and he’ll have enough to eat for a week; give him a rod and teach him to fish and he’ll have enough to eat for a lifetime” solution. Throwing money at poverty is a great way to make people rely on handouts. There are a gazillion charities which will help people break the poverty cycle. Dig around, find one you like and give them some support.
My personal recommendation? The Blue Dragons Children’s Foundation in Vietnam. Don’t forget that poverty is a worldwide issue. Although there’s likely to be enough on your doorstep to open your eyes.
I posted the following in response to Georgina Best’s article at For Girls Who Can’t Do Football. It came out a little longer than I intended, so thought I’d pop it on here. I also haven’t put anything up here for a few days… Please read that original post before continuing.
As Stuey [first commentor on the article] said, the Spanish fans are just as big a bunch of children as you could wish not to get stuck with.
Racial sensitivity in Spain might also not be as big an issue as it is in this country. I don’t know what the non-white population is in Spain. Without a notable presence and a government around to tell you how to behave around them, how will you know what’s racist?
Never mind drink driving, look at our TV programs 30 years ago. Bernard Manning, Stan Boardman, It Ain’t Half Hot Mum, Till Death Us Do Part… They’re not even repeated these days, let alone have modern-day versions.
Racism = bad. Over-reaction also = bad. And it’s a damned fine line between the two.
Having said all that, I approve of the punishment if it’s the only way to teach clubs to teach fans (although I doubt it’ll work in honesty), but it’s a kick in the teeth for other fans – such as Liverpool who’ve already paid for and organised travel and hotels for their trip there.
Surely due to the logistics, this match could have been made exempt from the ban? Or the ban could have been brought in, say, 3 weeks hence rather than immediately so as not to inconvenience non-Madrid/Spanish fans who wouldn’t have been involved in the first place?
No, wait. We’re talking about a football authority. Fans are the lowest of the low in their estimation.
Down there with the racists.
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… you’re reading a copy of the News of the World someone left sat on the tube seat and once again you find yourself asking “why the hell do people read this ****?”
… you have the best, most filling breakfast in ages despite knowing it’s furring your arteries faster than lining them with badger pelt.
… you’re behind a heavily pregnant woman in a newsagents who buys all her groceries; then a lottery card; then 20 fags.
… a chocolate bar costs around 50p and there’s no excuse like the fact that the shop has to import it in from another country.
… a bus ride costs a quid.
… it’s glorious sunshine despite all the news for the last 3 weeks saying it’s been pissing down (happens every time I come home).
… I can finally top up my mobile without having to contend with a broken bloody website (thanks, Vodafone you *******).
… I don’t see anyone flying their national flag in their gardens or on buildings any more.
… the quality of written and English I’m encountering is worse than that in most of the other countries I’ve been to for the last 4 months.
… encountering traffic driving on the left is not unexpected.
… I can find more than one type of beer in each bar I go to.
