Plus ça change?

Is this idea of "zero-hours contracts" which is much in the news lately just the modern equivalent of what I used to see as a kid, when men would line up outside the factory gates first thing in the morning in the hope of being taken on for the day?

Today I learned....

...that although the Queen is Head of the Commonwealth, it does not automatically follow that her heirs will inherit that title.  The London Declaration of 1949, which effectively created the modern Commonwealth was silent on the point, and although there is a general assumption that the title will always belong to the British monarch, this could be subject to challenge.

Ha ha.

Bloke walks into a pub and goes up to the bar.  Before he can order a drink, a bowl of peanuts on the bar says "Hey, you're a handsome fella!"  The bloke looks at the bowl of peanuts in surprise, and then hears it say "Like the shirt", and then a little later "That hairstyle really suits you".  The barman comes over to take his order, sees him looking confused and says "Oh don't worry - the peanuts are complimentary"!

Don't look, our Jimmy!

Is Page 3 (of The Sun for those from Mars) pornography?  Some people clearly think so, and have criticised the PM for not condemning it in the same way he has condemned internet porn.  So what do you think?  Why is (straight) pornography considered by some to be A Bad Thing?  We've discussed this before, and the main argument seems to be that some men (or all men if you're a feminist) may be inflamed by viewing such stuff and as a direct result may sexually assault some woman - including possibly their wife or girlfriend.  So is a fairly bland picture of some pretty girl with her tits out likely to produce such a result?  Or is the argument more about women being seen as simply sex-objects?  I think we're confusing two things here, and as a result are in danger of diluting the arguments for and against them both.  It would be good if we could have a calm, sensible discussion about this - unfortunately there are so many people (and newspapers) with such an entrenched position on the subject that I fear that will never be possible, but let's at least separate the two strands and look at each independently. 

Oops!

Bit embarrassing for the Archbishop of Canterbury, who has very publicly promised to put Wonga (see post of 17/10/12) out of business to find that the Church of England indirectly holds shares in that payday loan company.  So if he's successful he will damage the Church's own pension fund - awkward!

Hate to say it, but...

...does anybody else think that perhaps the worst - or certainly the most difficult - possible outcome of the Madeleine McCann business for her parents would be that she is found alive, well and happy?

There's lies, damned lies and...

In a paper the other day I saw that hoary old chestnut about 80% of road accidents happening within 10 miles of home.  So why "hoary old chestnut"?  Is it false? Well no - it's actually quite true, but meaningless.  Why?  Well think about it - chances are that about 80% of the driving anybody does is within 10 miles of their home, so if you have an accident it's more likely to be in that area simply because you are more likely to be driving in that area.  A similar "fact" that comes from Australia is that 97% of shark attacks take place in shallow water - well shucks, couldn't just be that that's where 97% of swimmers are, could it?

The war to end all wars - or not...

In just over 12 months time we shall be commemorating the start of the First World War.  Anybody else find that strange?  Why on earth should we wish to commemorate the start of what would turn out to be one of the greatest military slaughter-fests of history?  Celebrate the end, by all means, but the beginning?

Dear Mum - and anybody else who might be reading this....

Girl on a school trip has a "midnight feast" with some friends in her hotel room. The teachers searched her room and found some chocolate bars.  They then contacted her mother and - according to the mother - told her to come and collect her daughter for breaking the rules.  Now there is some dispute about what the mother was told, but what does not seem to be in dispute, and what I find utterly reprehensible, is that the midnight feast came to the teachers' attention because the girl mentioned it in a letter she wrote home to her mother.  So the teachers intercepted and read her private correspondence??  How dare they!!  Surely that's a criminal offence?  Unbelievable.

Members of the jury....

From a purely academic point of view, I found the most interesting feature of the Zimmerman trial in Florida was the fact that the jury was comprised of only six people.  We are so used to the idea of "twelve good men and true" that it comes as a bit of a surprise to find that there is nothing sacrosanct about the number twelve. Traditionally that is the number used for criminal trials in this country, but if a juror falls ill, they are not replaced and the trial continues with the remaining eleven jurors.  Indeed the number can go down to 9 before there is any question of abandoning proceedings.  And then a Coroner's jury can consist of anything between 7 and 11 jurors, and a County Court jury has 8. In the US a 1970 Supreme Court ruling held that there was nothing unconstitutional about a jury of less than twelve people. and Florida law states that a jury shall be twelve people for a capital trial, and six in all other cases.