The Elgin Marbles

It is not really a very good time for prime minister Mr David Cameron, with the embarrassment at Eastleigh on Thursday with the burgeoning UK Independence Party beating the Conservatives into third place.

How anyone in Eastleigh could have voted for the useless, corrupt and pathetic Liberal Democrats is beyond my imagination, but that as they say is democracy - i.e. what we have to put up with from our brilliant fellow-subjects.

Anyway Cameron has redeemed himself a little in my eyes upon my discovering that he does not intend that the Elgin Marbles (now known by the politically-correct as "The Parthenon Marbles") be returned.  Good.

Does it annoy any of you that names and pronunciations are constantly changed?

So to make myself clear:

"Mumbai" is Bombay

"Myanmar" is Burma

"Innuits" are Eskimos - or more properly Esquimaux

"Romania" is Roumania - that's how my Roumanian ex-girlfriend spelled it.

And Kenya is pronounced "Keenya" as I was taught

I can just about stand "Tanzania" and Zimbabwe, but they are horrible names.

Until the next time

Aung San Suu Kyi

The release of Aung San Suu Kyi after 15 years of house arrest has been greeted with warm statements from many world leaders.

I do not propose to discuss the subject as I have no knowledge of it - apart from the fact that I know that the Burmese Government is composed largely of thugs and that Miss Suu Kyi's imprisonment was a disgrace. And in any case many people far better qualified than I, have been or will be writing on the matter.

No, it was reading this BBC article and in particular Mr David Cameron's reponse that prompted this brief scribble. The BBC article included the following:

UK Prime Minister David Cameron also said the release was "long overdue", describing her detention had been a "travesty"[sic.].

"Aung San Suu Kyi is an inspiration for all of us who believe in freedom of speech, democracy and human rights," he added.

Yes, très touchant, Mr Cameron. Now please tell us what is the extent of "freedom of speech. "

For example, are we allowed to condemn the climate change mafia, the green fascists, and the horrible nannying and bullying anti-tobacco lobby? Are we allowed to criticise the Mohammedans and other fanatical religious fundamentalists? Or the EU? Are we allowed to object to multi-culturalism?

And so on.

Until the next time