Back to it

Well, I must be feeling better today because not only am I back to work, but I'm also a bit perturbed by something I saw on the Tube this morning. See, many people like to suggest that the Brits speak a more "proper" english than the Americans. And, at first glance, it certainly seems true (and if she's cute, you won't care if it's "proper" or not). Until, that is, you see a headline like this one:

"Video show missile down plane."

Let me count the ways where English grammar has gone astray. First, there's only one video. If there were multiple videos, then "down" would be correct. But there are not multiple videos, there is only one video. Ergo, it should read, "video shows". Second, there was only missile. But that's not the only problem with that part of the sentence. If there were multiple missiles, it would need to say "missiles". Since there is only one missile, it should say "downs". If this is "proper", then I can only surmise that English grammar rules were written on the pitch or in the pub.

At any rate, I've been pretty busy this morning. Actually had some interesting and relevant work to do regarding my chosen field. It's a rarity when I actually get to do research into something that I study, so I reveled in the two hours that were allotted. But, that's done, so after lunch I go back to the doldrums of media searches and oil and gas work. At least it's something to do.

Oddly, one of the partners I work for is out of work for 2 weeks on, get this, jury duty! I can't believe it. In the US, they would never let a lawyer, not to mention a partner perform the task. Smart people universally don't serve on juries in the US. This is just one of the things that this country does better.

Of course, I can't allow that feel good story go unchecked. Yesterday, I had to go to the bank to withdraw my rent money. After waiting in a 15 minute queue (everything here is a 15 minute wait), I got up to the window to get my money. I showed my passport, told him how much I wanted, signed the slip and waited. After checking my passport, he asked me to sign the slip again "like it appears on your passport". Uh, right. The second signature was marginally closer to the passport signature and was accepted. However, he felt it appropriate to suggest that "if your signature has changed, you really ought to get that updated on your passport." What's the Fing picture for, ass****?" Sometimes this country boggles the mind.

Sadly, it appears the UN is unwilling to call the ongoing slaughter in Darfur, Sudan a "genocide". A panel of UN lawyers released a report today that states, in part, that the ethnic cleansing there is not "genocide" because there is not evidence of intent by the state to wipe out a race or ethnic group. They did, however, state unequivocally that there is ethnic cleansing. This debate over terms - "genocide" versus "ethnic cleansing" - is directly tied to the post WW2 definition of "genocide" and the world's desire to make sure another Holocaust never happens again. Therefore, the international community is hesitant to assign the "genocide" tag to something unless it meets a very high and legally defined standard. The downside of that hesitation is that it's more palatable to stand by and allow "ethnic cleansing" to occur than it is to allow "genocide" to continue unabated. 70,000 dead and counting...