What The Romans Did For Us

Famously, according to Monty Pythons the People's Front of Judea, or is that the Judean People's Front (which one are the splitters?), or was it the Popular Front of Judea, had a discussion now known as "What have the Romans ever done for us?"

The Romans Did Quite A Lot For Us Actually

Reg: "They've bled us white, the bastards. They've taken everything we had, not just from us, from our fathers and from our fathers' fathers."
Stan: "And from our fathers' fathers' fathers."
Reg: "Yes."
Stan: "And from our fathers' fathers' fathers' fathers."
Reg: "All right, Stan. Don't labour the point. And what have they ever given us in return?"
Xerxes: "The aqueduct."
Reg: "Oh yeah, yeah they gave us that. Yeah. That's true."
Masked Activist: "And the sanitation!"
Stan: "Oh yes... sanitation, Reg, you remember what the city used to be like."
Reg: "All right, I'll grant you that the aqueduct and the sanitation are two things that the Romans have done... "
Matthias: "And the roads... "
Reg: "(sharply) Well yes obviously the roads... the roads go without saying. But apart from the aqueduct, the sanitation and the roads... "
Another Masked Activist: "Irrigation... "
Other Masked Voices: "Medicine... Education... Health..."
Reg: "Yes... all right, fair enough... "
Activist Near Front: "And the wine... "
Omnes: "Oh yes! True! "
Francis: "Yeah. That's something we'd really miss if the Romans left, Reg."
Masked Activist at Back: "Public baths!"
Stan: "And it's safe to walk in the streets at night now. "
Francis: "Yes, they certainly know how to keep order... (general nodding)... let's face it, they're the only ones who could in a place like this.(more general murmurs of agreement)"
Reg: "All right... all right... but apart from better sanitation and medicine and education and irrigation and public health and roads and a freshwater system and baths and public order... what have the Romans done for us? "
Xerxes: "Brought peace! "
Reg: "(very angry, he's not having a good meeting at all) What!? Oh... (scornfully) Peace, yes... shut up! "

However according to this article, it was the language, and the tradition of discourse and civilised debate which is their true heritage to the world.

When you look at those areas that don't share that heritage, you can see that they may have a point.

Talebans War on Women

The Daily Times in Pakistan has reported on a wave of attacks on women's limited rights in Pakistan's SWAT region and how its now spreading.

Now women can't be served in restaurants after an increasing number of restaurants in Quetta have stopped serving women, apparently after being pressured by "religious elements".

Some popular restaurants have now begun to display boards saying, “For gentlemen only. Women not allowed”. As the self-proclaimed champions of Islam, the Pakistani Taleban believe that eating outside along with one’s family is 'un-Islamic', they have been pressuring the owners of these restaurants to permanently shut down the sections of the restaurants which were formerly exclusively for women and families.

This all stems from the fact that women in Islam are treated badly enough even in enlightened times, and these aren't enlightened times in Islam.

Women in the West are blithely ignorant of what is coming unless we stop the PC apologists trying to appease Muslim elements amongst us. These practices, restricting women's lives to that of mere chattels of men are common in the Muslim world, and are not going away, but rather are spreading across regions accompanied by the gun.

1930's Economics Revisited?

The US very nearly resorted to old style protectionism last week. They can't go isolationist because they are oil dependent and most of their debts are owned by the Arabs and Asians, however there is ever a strand of feeling in the US that they can just shut the door and let the world go to hell.

At the last minute, they listened to veiled threats from the Canadians, Europeans and Asians that retaliation would be swift, if the US carried on with the "Buy American" clause of a economic recovery bill, and softened it. Speaking before a vote on that amendment, Mr McCain warned that if the provisions were passed it would "only be a matter of time before we face an array of similar protectionism from other countries - from 'Buy European' to 'Buy Japanese' and more".

Whether its enough to stop tit for tat legislation in the EU and Jap/China blocks remains to be seen but the amended bill passed through the Senate as well.

All this talk of the 1930's style economics reminded me that I had blogged about the similarities between now and the 1930's especially financially before. But more interestingly I had just read an economic article suggesting that protectionism wasn't all bad.

The article suggested that distinguished economists have established pretty convincingly that it was the staying on the gold standard that helped turn a mismanaged US stock market crash into a global slump, by causing a prolonged and devastating period of falling prices.

"The gold standard (in effect, a fixed exchange rate system anchored by the price of gold) led the world's leading economies into a deflationary spiral. That was because the only way for deficit countries to stem the resulting flow of gold (money) out of the country was by shrinking domestic demand, which led to a further downward spiral in prices and incomes.

Since everyone was doing the same thing (and surplus countries like the US were not allowing inflows of gold to stimulate demand), this didn't help countries out of their hole - they just collectively dug themselves deeper and deeper. The first countries to dump the gold standard were also the quickest out of deflation and the quickest to recover."

It then went on to point out the collapse of world trade was as a result of this deflation problem, rather than 'protectionism' being the cause of depression. However, as it goes on to say the world is too interdependent to go down the 'self-dependency' route theses days, as the American politicians were quickly made to realise this week.

An African Hero For Our Times

Yes, there are some Africans fighting corruption, and this story about Richard Karyea in Liberia refusing a bribe (1,300 times greater than his salary), and reporting drug smuggling is heartening.

Asked why he refused "It wasn't difficult to turn down the money, If it took me 50 years to earn that money, I'd want my conscience. I will always want my conscience"

Sadly, his colleagues in the customs office obviously disagreed and he was made redundant shortly later....... hmm.

However all ended well when he ended up in a better job as deputy chief examiner at the ministry of finance, and was made Civil Servant of the Year 2008 and given a $1,000 (£700) prize by President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf.

"Free Speech" Not A UN Concern Anymore

When the UN was set up by civilised nations, it included in its areas of interest, the right of "free speech" via the Universal Declaration of Human Rights ....

Declaration Of Human Rights

 .... which stated 60 years ago, that "a world in which human beings shall enjoy freedom of speech and belief is the highest aspiration of the common people"... this was to be reported on by a UN "Rapporteur."