When my brother sees this he’s going to shit with glee.

Jamie and his magic fucking torch ruled when I was a kid.

Did you hear that? RULED!And here are the lyrics should you want to sing along:

Jamie! Jamie!
Jamie and the Magic Torch.
Down the helter skelter, faster and faster
towards Cuckoo Land.

Wordsworth! Wordsworth!
Following hard behind.
Ready for adventure, always there to lend a paw or hand!

Mr Boo and all the others too,
the strangest people you’ve ever seen.
And the torch with it’s magical beam -
If I hadn’t really been there
I’d think that I was dreaming!

Jamie! Jamie!
No two nights are the same.
And life is one long glorious game
with Jamie.
Jamie and the Magic Torch!

(I don’t remember the dog being called Wordsworth though - perculiar)

I have mixed feelings on whether it’s indeed fair and appropriate to blame spates of crime upon a specific race, but when the Prime Minister of Great Britain claimed recently that “the spate of knife and gun murders in London was not being caused by poverty, but a distinctive black culture”, it made me take stock of the possibility of just how much truth and justification lies beneath his retort.

Tony Blair yesterday claimed the spate of knife and gun murders in London was not being caused by poverty, but a distinctive black culture. His remarks angered community leaders, who accused him of ignorance and failing to provide support for black-led efforts to tackle the problem.

One accused him of misunderstanding the advice he had been given on the issue at a Downing Street summit.

Black community leaders reacted after Mr Blair said the recent violence should not be treated as part of a general crime wave, but as specific to black youth. He said people had to drop their political correctness and recognise that the violence would not be stopped “by pretending it is not young black kids doing it”.

It needed to be addressed by a tailored counter-attack in the same way as football hooliganism was reined in by producing measures aimed at the specific problem, rather than general lawlessness.

Whereas I may not agree completely in pointing the finger solely at one community demographic, I do believe and wholeheartedly agree with his “Economic inequality” statement. Maybe if we did something about the unemployment and housing problems in the world, maybe we’d see a decline in violent crime.

You can read the full article at Guardian.co.uk

I remember it as if it happened last night.

It was about 12 or 13 years ago when my brother said to me, “I asked the DJ to play you a request…”

Uncle S and Aunt J’s wedding reception. For me it was the quintessentially-pivotal moment for my brother and I and our relationship. I realized only a few days ago how remarkably moving the song that he had play for me was going to be over a decade later.

“Brothers In Arms” is a lyrically moving tune from the Dire Straits boys, a song that I was unfortunately bereft of familiarity until that night.

Songs are interpreted in ways that are personally embraced, and this one took the liberty of affording me some tears that evening, and it still does to this day. I miss my brother, and I think he knows it. We have a strong, yet fragile past as brothers, and I wish at some level I could wind back the clock and have another go. Another chance at rolling the dice.

I miss you brother, I’ve missed you from the day I left for the RAF on March 3rd, 1992.

I’ve always loved you.

I got an e-mail from my brother this morning - I usually get about 5 per week from him, consisting of random jokes and humorous tales - this one was different…

[the full e-mail]

Subject: Pass the word
After many cities not wanting to offend other cultures by putting up Xmas lights. After hearing that the Birmingham council changed its opinion and let a Muslim woman have her picture on her driver’s license with her face covered. After hearing of a Primary School in Birmingham where a boy was told that for PE (Physical Education) he could wear Football League shirts (Aston Villa, Birmingham, West Brom etc) but NOT an England shirt as it could offend others!This prompted the editorial below written by a UK citizen.

[Published in a British tabloid newspaper]

Quote:
IMMIGRANTS, NOT BRITONS, MUST ADAPT. Take It Or Leave It. I am tired of this nation worrying about whether we are offending some individual or their culture. Since the terrorist attacks on London, we have experienced a surge in patriotism by the majority of Brits. However, the dust from the attacks has barely settled and the “politically correct” crowd begin complaining about the possibility that our patriotism is offending others. I am not against immigration, nor do I hold a grudge against anyone who is seeking a better life by coming to Britain. However, there are a few things that those who have recently come to our country, and apparently some born here, need to understand. This idea of London being a multicultural community has served only to dilute our sovereignty and our national identity. As Britons, we have our own culture, our own society, our own language and our own lifestyle.This culture has been developed over centuries of wars, struggles, trials and victories by millions of men and women who have sought freedom. We speak ENGLISH, not Spanish, Lebanese, Arabic, Chinese,Japanese, Russian, or any other language. Therefore, if you wish to become part of our society, Learn the language! “In God We Trust” is our National Motto. This is not some Christian, right wing, political slogan. We adopted this motto because Christian men and women, on Christian principles, founded this nation, and this is clearly documented. It is certainly appropriate to display it on the walls of our schools. If God offends you, then I suggest you consider another part of the world as your new home, Because God is part of our culture. If St. George’s cross offends you, or you don’t like ” A Fair Go”, then you should seriously consider a move to another part of this planet. We are happy with our culture and have no desire to change, and we really don’t care how you did things where you came from. This is OUR COUNTRY, OUR LAND, and OUR LIFESTYLE, and we will allow you every opportunity to enjoy all this. But once you are done complaining, whining, and griping about Our Flag, Our Pledge, Our National Motto, or Our Way of Life, I highly encourage you take advantage of one other great British freedom, “THE RIGHT TO LEAVE”. If you aren’t happy here then fuck off! We didn’t force you to come here.You asked to be here. So accept the country YOU accepted. Pretty easy really, when you think about it.

I couldn’t agree more with this point of view… although rather agressive, it does indeed bring forth the question, “how many of us are feeling like this?”.

I came here in 2001, and found it quite a different place than I thought it would be… arrogant people, nobody says please or thank you, people would sooner step over you than give you the time of day… pissed me off for a good couple of years… then it hit me, this is New York - deal with it, embrace it.

I wish someone over here would speak out like this guy did in England - it’s about time the people of the U.S. fought for their country’s heritage, told those that want the word “God” taken out of the “Pledge Of Allegiance” to get fucked - this is what the country was founded upon - if you don’t like it here, get the fuck out.

Beginning this week, pubs in Britain won’t have to order drinkers out the door at the stroke of 11:00 every night.

The government argues it’s the best way to stop a growing wave of violent behavior that erupts right after closing, reports CBS News correspondent Mark Phillips.

The British are about to embark on an exercise in social engineering based on what many think is an odd premise – that excessive drinking can be controlled by making it easier to drink.

That’s what an article at cbsnews.com is saying - how will the Brits take this news? After moving to the States, I feel that folks are less likely to race to get wasted as they know the bars here don’t close until around 4am… leisurely drinking, go home when you’re tired… simple.

I have to say though, those English thug bastards probably won’t change their behavior - they’ll just kick the crap out of you at 3am instead.

I just read a very disturbing article on cnn.com about how British troops broke through Iraqi prison walls to retrieve 2 British soldiers that allegedly shot at 2 Iraqi policemen and killed one of them. The Iraqi government have reissued their arrest warrants in connection with the shootings of the policemen.

what troubles me the most is the following statement from the Iraqi Governor:

Basra authorities said the operation violated Iraqi sovereignty, and the governor ordered all government employees to stop cooperating with the British, who have 8,500 troops in the Shiite Muslim-dominated region.aren’t we trying to rebuild the Iraqi region, building and preserving a new sovereignty? yet the British government feel it’s justified to break 2 of our own out of a prison govorned by the same political body we helped create.

I do not condone the actions of the British military nor government, this is going to set a precedent beyond rectifying.

Jesus Tony, if you’re going to play the game, play by the rules you set in the first place. Those 2 soldiers are on Iraqi soil, not UK soil.