Cool Britannia, home of the whinging neighbour?

The Online newspaper, "The Metro," carried a report yesterday that about sums up the mess Britain has descended into with the nannying and touchy-feely decade of the Blair's "Cool Britannia." Among the more stupid things his government did was create a framework for neighbours to spy on neighbours, to complain about them and to campaign against them. The headline says it all really-

Parents of toddler threatened with fine over noises he makes in garden

Frankly the complainant should be exposed and publicly shamed. Children are noisy and they certainly can get on your nerves, especially when they misbehave (But I bet the same neighbour would be quick to report any attempt to discipline the kid to Social Services if the parents dared to do so!), but one does have to accept that they need to let off steam and play noisily sometimes. OK, so this kid loves to play football. I'd be willing to bet that he kicks the ball against the fence - because it makes a great 'bang' which is very satisfying to a small boy. But for Pete's sake, why not just have a word with the parents instead of threatening to bring the whole "noise abatement" machine into operation to deal with a 4 year old.

Britain is, indeed, a sad place these days. Bad neighbours, spying neighbours, out of control teenagers, jobs worth civil servants ruining everything, politicians who haven't a clue and a media that blames it all on "Europe."

Wünderbahr!

Hannover's Münden ...

Is a very ancient town south of Hannover, just off the A 7 Autobahn. We stopped on the way our way home on Sunday.

The old Town is filled with lovingly restored "Fachwerkhauser" - a description of half-timbered buildings of three and four storeys. The facades are decorated very artistically (and would probably send English Heritage into a complete tailspin over "originality" and "conservation not restoration"), yet all of them are original and the restorations have used replica tools, original techniques and, where original materials are not available, replica bricks made in the same manner as originals.

The town is located on the conjunction of two rivers, the Fulda and the Werra
which together become the Weser River from this point on. There is a famous poem about this, the German equivalent of a "tongue-twister." I'll try to get Mausi to give it to me so I can post it later for those who are interested.

Visit to Hanover

OK, OK, I can hear my German friends telling me it's spelled Hannover ...

Never mind, my camera packed up on me so I could only get a few pictures on my phone. The following were taken in the suburb of List which is very full of trees (All of Hannover is!) and has some fascinating architecture out of the late 1890s, early 1900s. Most of it has been beautifully restored and the 'Wohnungs' (Apartments or Flats to the English speaking world) within have been modernised. These scenes are all located near the Lister Platz U-Bahn station.

A little trip away ...

Mausi and the Monk are off to Hanover (or Hannover as the German's spell it) for a farewell party for Mausi's sister who is taking up a position at a school in Brussels. This will be the Monk's second visit to Hannover, but the last hardly counts as he was there for only one day and a night - for a major exhibition.

He's looking forward to seeing more of it, but not particularly to the four hour drive! Normal posting will, hopefully, resume next week, possibly with some pictures of Hanover!

Playing God? Again?

An interesting item caught my attention today. It's one of those reports that could herald a major breakthrough in disease control - but it could also herald the fall of the first domino tumbling in yet another cascade of scientific disaster. The report concerns the release of mosquitoes deliberately infected with a bacteria which blocks the parasite virus responsible for Dengue Fever. It sounds like a great idea. Dengue Fever is a serious viral illness, possibly on a par with malaria and certainly one of the scourges of populations in mosquito infested areas.

But the problem is this - viruses can also mutate, the Dengue virus being one of the most rapid mutators around. As Denngue is a parasite and relies on the mosquito as a host, it is a matter of time before the virus finds away to fool the blocker.

As I read the news item I was reminded of the Cane Toad story. These poisonous toads were introduced some years ago - in the 1950s I think - to del with another pest damaging the sugar cane crop in Queensland. There was only one problem. Nothing in Australia can eat the toads and they are voracious predators. Not only have they dealt with the original pest - they've decimated the natural fauna as well. One could, I dare say, find many other instances where "science" has found a solution to one problem only to create a monster in another. One which springs readily to mind is the over use of antibiotics in the 60s and 70s which has now given rise to superbugs resistant to antibiotics.

I just hope this experiment with the mosquitoes doesn't go the same way. A "new, improved" dengue fever would not be a good idea!

Financial Problems ...

A recent article in Der Spiegel touches on the problem of "financial markets" and the manner in which they impact on national economies. It makes very interesting reading and exposes the fact that all major investment currencies are extremely vulnerable to manipulation by investors. The fact is the "market" controls the politicians, not the other way round.

Nor can you blame the investors or the investment fund managers for exploiting a system which allows the trade of a nations "assets" on international markets. In fact, at present it would be near impossible to stop it. The "investor" wants to get a return on the investment, the Investment Fund Manager is legally and morally bound to pursue the best return for the investor.

Ever since the government of William Pitt invented "Deficit Budgetting" to fund the French Revolutionary War and then the Napoleonic one, we have faced the possibility of government's being unable to repay their loans. It has also given rise to the need for the politicians to pander to the needs of the financial "markets" in order to keep the money flowing into their dreams and ambitions.

There lies the dichotomy. If a politician makes a decision which weakens a currency or impacts on an economy (and they do all the time!) the "market" takes fright and whisks their investors capital out of danger. Thus the Greek €uro crisis, the Irish €uro crisis and all the others are exacerbated by the transfer and trade against the currency by investors. Even the Almighty US$ is under threat from this trade and so is the GB£.

As Der Spiegel points out, the opportunity to remove at least some of the speculative threat was lost when our politicians failed to ban or regulate the most dangerous financial "products" which were responsible for the collapse of Lehman Brothers. They have failed to regulate their own spending as well, borrowing far more than was wise in the pursuit of ideological dreams.

It's a toxic legacy, one which threatens peace and security for us all.

Weinfest Pictures ...

As promised, some pictures from the Weinfest in Wiesbaden ...