Having it both ways

Remember the post about fruit and vegetables, which determined that tomatoes are fruit, because they contain seeds?  Remember the one about biscuits and cakes which turned on the fact that one was subject to tax while the other was not?  Well, in America back in the 1890s the two concepts sort of came together when the Supreme Court had to decide whether tomatoes were fruit or vegetables, but their decision was being sought because vegetables were subject to tax whereas fruit was not.  And the court decided that for legal purposes, tomatoes should be classified as vegetables, despite being botanically a fruit!

R.I.P

Gordon Kaye - ooh, Rrrené...

Makes a good sound-bite - but...

President Trump (why does that stick in the throat?) has said that his objective is to "make America great again". Which begs the question - when was America ever great? Powerful - yes, prosperous - yes, but great??  There's more to greatness than power or riches, and I'm not entirely convinced America ever had it.

Nasty me??

I've never really thought of myself as a vindictive person, and yet, when I learned the other day that Martin McGuinness is terminally ill (although it appears he may have some years to go) I have to admit that deep down a little part of me hoped that there is some particularly unpleasant corner of Hell waiting for him.

Apples and oranges

Lots of talk about the extent to which availability at GPs surgeries does or does not add to the "crisis" in A & E.  Seems to me to overlook one obvious difference.  If I walk in to A & E I know I may have to wait some time, but I will be seen and assessed.  If I turn up at my GPs surgery (and mine is a particularly good and efficient one) I know that I will have to accept an appointment which maybe will be tomorrow, but more likely will be at least the day after.  So it's pointless to try and draw any meaningful consequences or comparisons.

George Orwell was there first

I have this image of a room full of Civil Servants with copies of "1984" by their elbows, tasked with finding ways of bringing Orwell's vision into reality.  Every now and again they make a breakthrough.  In Orwell's dystopian future you could commit a "thought-crime" - you didn't actually have to do anything illegal - simply thinking about it was sufficient.  Well - we're nearly there.  We've invented "hate crime".  This is a crime which (I think - the definition is anything but clear) is motivated by hostility on racial, religious, sexual orientation or gender identity grounds.  In other words, it is as much - if not more - to do with your state of mind as it is to do with what you actually did.  Note those words "if not more" - there have been occasions where what was done was arguably not an offence but the motivation was judged to fall within the definition set out above.  Thought crime - hate crime - spot the difference?

Formula One

So this is my annual roundup of the 2016 season - but what is there to say? Rosberg wins the championship by virtue of having scored five more points than his team-mate Hamilton but it must have seemed a somewhat hollow victory, as Hamilton won more races (10 to Rosberg's 9) and as the season drew to a close, it was Hamilton's engine blowing up in Malaysia when he was leading by a country mile, and a strange decision by Red Bull to pit Verstappen - for no apparent reason - and thus promote Rosberg from third to second in Brazil that really made the difference. And then, having won the championship, Rosberg promptly resigns - what are we to make of that?  Is it an acceptance of the fact that he was fortunate, and that it's unlikely to happen again?  Funny season!!

Unbelievable and inexcusable

Watched the West Ham/Man U match last night.  Let's put to one side for the moment whether Feghouli should have got a red card or not, and concentrate on the behaviour of Phil Jones.  Here was a calculated, deliberate attempt by one professional player to get another professional player sent off. It was an appalling, abominable display and I am outraged that it was allowed to pass without comment.  Maybe Feghouli should have been sent off - maybe not - but I would ban Jones for the rest of the season!

Can't keep a good man down

I'm sorry for my absence over the last few weeks, but I've not been well - in fact, as Reg Dixon used to say, I've been "proper poorly".  Hopefully I've now shaken whatever it was off and will soon be back to bending your ear on a regular basis.

'Tis the season....

Merry Christmas everyone.