I hope you don't gobray today

From Toller, via Mark. A lovely route, I might say.

These are some verbs from the northeast Indian Bodo langauge.

mokhrob: to express anger by a sidelong glance
egthu: to create a pinching sensation in the armpit
khale: to feel partly bitter
khonsay: to pick an object up with care as it is rare or scarce
onguboy: to love from the heart
onsay: to pretend to love
onsra: to love for the last time
gagrom: to search for a thing below water by trampling
goblo: to be fat (as a child or infant)
asusu: to feel unknown and uneasy in a new place
gabkhron: to be afraid of witnessing an adventure
serrom: to examine by slight pressing
bunhan bunahan: to be about to speak, and about not to speak
khar: to smell like urine or raw fish
khen: to hit one's heart
gobray: to fall in a well unknowingly

Carnal fruit

I'm pretty sure that cider didn't exist in Biblical times, although it would have been interesting to see how the Garden of Eden turned out if they'd worked out how to ferment the fruit of the tree of life. But if cider had been around, some Biblical references to it might have been…

As is written in Holy Scripture, Drink ye not the brew of the fruits of the apple tree lest thy neighbour mock thee for thy philistine palate, saith the LORD.

The fruits of the SPIRIT art thus: Faith, Hope and Cider. And the greatest of these is Cider.

Verily I say unto ye, the man who scores because of the effects of Satan’s brew shall have the mark erased from his bedpost for such unions please not the LORD.

Ich bin hier fremd

I found this CiF article on MigrationWatch interesting for three reasons; firstly, because the respondents are, in the main, supportive of MW's existence and agenda, and critical of the article. I wonder if this is indicative of an increasing divide between the politics of TG's readership and that of GU's readership. Or just suggests that free speech forums on the web represent nothing more than those who have the time, the ability and the strength of feeling to respond.

Secondly, the author of the piece responds to some of the comments about half way down — I have previously wondered whether the commentators ever read the comments that their comment begets. I was also amused by the author's retort that "I'm old so I can't be ageist". I'm not sure how successfully that argument is used in regard to other isms.

Finally, I had not considered, prior to reading this article, the possibility that immigration is supported by some sectors of the economic Right as a way to divide the unionism of the Left and undermine the working classes by providing cheaper labour and preventing the source of that cheaper Labour from uniting with their fellow class members, because of supposed linguistic, cultural and other divides.

Phew.

Swap shop

This is a rather fun alternative to recycling or trundling down to Oxfam, and it's just like being back at school again (except for the 18 certificate DVDs and the distinct lack of marbles).

Don't fly with me

First point, isn't it rather curious that Gordon's parting gesture as Labour Chancellor of the Exchequer should be cutting income tax? I can't understand why, in a country with such a massive range of incomes, there should be such crude (and low) income tax bands. Probably because I'm not an economist but hey.

Right, I followed with interest (on a quiet day in the office) developments in the main parties' green policies. Yes, it does seem that aviation emissions get disproportionately bad press, because they are much smaller than many industry emissions, mainly power stations.

But they are one of the most rapidly rising areas of emissions, which is, I think, why it's right to try to slap them down now. A cabinet policy review paper says: "On current trends aviation would be equivalent to 26% to 44% of the UK's emission target by 2050" (quoted in The Guardian). I do wish, though, that just some of the money spent on curtailing aviation emissions was redirected to creating a fast and fantastic EU railway system. It aint gonna happen soon though.

I'm not against government initiatives (although I do question the fairness of directing so many emissions reduction policies at individuals, rather than businesses). But I increasingly feel that I can only deal with my own emissions (no pun intended) and so chose to recycle, avoid flying and driving, and change to a green power provider (I will soon, honest). I feel, now, that there is no point in switching off other peoples' computers, recycling their rubbish, dissuading them from exotic travel. It may be my problem, but it's not my business. I quit you all.