One of the good points of John McCain has been his commitment to ending pork barrel politics.

Tariana Turia’s comment that Wanganui’s proposed ban on gangpatches is akin to what the Jews went through in Nazi Germany should spark outrage and calls for resignation from all who have any sense of perspective and morality.

Fear

 That is what terrorism is about. The murder is simply the means to that end. Today exactly one year after I have posted this, 3 bombs went off within 50 seconds of each other here in London. One each on two Circle line trains, going off between Liverpool Street and Aldgate, and another at Edgware Road. A third bomb went off on the Piccadilly line between Kings Cross and Russell Square. A fourth went off an hour later on a bus in Tavistock Square. I catch that third line regularly, as my alternate route to work. The location where the bus bomb went off is also the location of the bus route I sometimes catch as well, if the tube is closed. This morning I took the usual convenient tube route that was not bombed, but I still thought about it.

Bill Gates recent announcement that he is stepping down as CEO of Microsoft (but not Chairman) to focus more time on his charitable foundations gives cause to admire the man – not so much for his charitable endeavours (although there is little doubt that his charities will be better focused, less corrupt and more productive than most, given his own acumen in delivering results for his business), but for his contribution to the world. His own personal wealth, it is not fortune (which comes from the word “fortunate” implying luck), is a tiny fraction of the contribution that his company and the products he has promoted and produced, have done to global productivity.

On the BBC website there is a poll for the most Moving Words quoted in English for all time. The poll is here:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/movingwords/index.shtm...

The results so far are:

Results so far:
1: Woody Allen: To you I'm an atheist; to God, I'm the Loyal Opposition
(5%)
2: Dalai Lama: You can't shake hands with a clenched fist
(8%)
3: Sir Isaac Newton: If I have seen further, it is by standing upon the shoulders of giants
(4%)
4: Saint Augustine: Better to have loved and lost, than to have never loved at all.
(11%)