According to worldpopulationreview.com, only three countries in the world do not us the metric system of measurement. I'd have thought that the UK was one of those but no, it's the USA, Myanmar and ...
Liberia.
That's a strange mix of countries, wouldn't you agree? Add to your next pub quiz, if you're the quiz-setter. Do you know when the metric system was invented? Answer: 1789, the year of the French Revolution. No more cubits, rods, poles or perches.
Liberia is a West African coastal country, founded by the American Colonization Society. The ACS was originally known as the Society for the Colonization of Free People of Color of America, was founded in 1816 by Robert Finley to encourage and support the migration of free African Americans to the continent of Africa. Which sounds awfully like sending the slaves back where they came from. Because of its American roots, the country used the American measurement units.
As for Myanmar, their measurement unit history followed a similar pattern, in this case from the Brits' colonisation of Burma (the Western name for Myanmar). After independence, however, they used their own system of measurement: the taung is two Imperial yards (also known as a fathom, as my retired naval officer readers will know - and probably pine for), a sa le is 1⅛ pints - I'll have a sa le of Burbrit Nevada Pale Ale, please, unless you have some zero alcohol. That'll be 8,000 Myanmar Kyat, please sir.
Both Liberia and Myanmar appear to be on the way to adopting the metric system so the good ole US of A will be out on a limb. Not for the first - or I imagine the last - time.
not far from Barcelona. citytoursbarcelona.com tells me that "The wines from El Camp de Tarragona have body and aromatic." I found a Baturrica Gran Reserva 2015 in Lidl
this afternoon and am looking forward to tasting it.
Lidl says I should enjoy this with, amongst other things, pizza. So excuse me while I get on to Domino's. It'll be a 7" Texas BBQ with Vegan Garlic & Herb Dip and (to reach the minimum for delivery) Cookie Dough ice cream. On its way. Bye
It's the Annual General Meeting of the Joint Committee of the People's Front of Cornwall (PFC) and the Cornish People's Front (CPF).
Nige (PFC Leader): All right, but apart from the crowded beaches, the traffic jams, caravans, beer cans, public disorder, queues, pollution, noisy groups of teenagers and Covid-19, what have the Tourists ever done for us?
PFC Member: Brought money?
Nige: Oh, money? SHUT UP!
PFC Member: Jobs. And people.
Mandy (Brian's mum, possibly a CPF spy): Who are all those people?
Brian (as in Life Of): A few friends, popped by for a second.
Mandy: Popped by? Swarmed by is more like it. There's a multitude out there.
210,000 of them this year. I know Cornwall needs tourists but what a relief it is when kids return to school, the Tourists depart and we return to ... peace and quiet. And parking spaces. And restaurant bookings.
Always look on the bright side of life De-dum, de-dum de-dum de-dum
Nige: If you want to join the People's Front of Cornwall, you have to really hate the Tourists.
The National Anthem of Afghanistan has an interesting history. Unless and until the Taliban reintroduce the anthem used from 1996 to 2001, the existing anthem written into the constitution of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan in 2004, and confirmed by Loya Jirga in 2006, presumably holds. Article 20 of the Afghan constitution (2004) requires that the national anthem shall be in Pashto with the mention of "God is Greatest" (Allāhu Akbar) as well as the names of the ethnicities in Afghanistan. There are 14 of those, as you'll see:
This is the country of every tribe Land of Baloochs, and Uzbeks Pashtoons, and Hazaras Turkman and Tajiks
With them, Arabs and Gojars Pamirian, Nooristanian Barahawi, and Qizilbash Also Aimaq, and Pashaye
nationalanthems.info tells us "There has been some criticism of the anthem due to the stated conditions of composition, that the Pashto requirement places less importance on the other languages spoken in the country; that the phrase “Allāhu Akbar” should not be used in the anthem, as it is a sacred phrase in Islam and should not be set to music; and the ethnic groups mentioned in the anthem still do not represent the entire spectrum of nationalities in the country." But it's also different to many of the other 6 anthems since 1926 in espousing peace:
This land is Afghanistan It is pride of every Afghan The land of peace, the land of sword Its sons are all braves
This Land will shine for ever Like the sun in the blue sky In the chest of Asia It will remain as heart for ever
From 1992 to 1996 and again, post-Taliban, from 2002 to 2006 the anthem began:
Fortress of Islam, heart of Asia, Forever free, soil of the Aryans, Birthplace of great heroes Fellow traveler of the warriors of the men of God
This is the Home of the Brave was, from 1996 to 2001, and presumably will now be, the Taliban anthem and contains lines such as:
We defend it with our blood, this is the home of the martyrs! This is the home of the brave, this is the home of the brave!
And
Do you think it can be conquered? It is the home of the lions! Once we were liberated from the British, we became a grave for the Russians! Look at these numerous skulls, that's what was left by the Russians!
This is to be sung a capella, as Islamic scholarship prohibits musical instruments.
You may well think isn't for you but, in case you are interested, here's a performance:
If you ignore the context, I actually like it as a musical experience. In any case, you'll have read previous comments of mine about national anthems and my aversion to their jingoism ("Send her victorious", anyone?).
I'm looking forward to the post-Elizabethan UK anthem, celebrating our ethnic groups:
This is the country of every tribe Land of Scots, and Ulstermen Englishwomen, and the Welsh Cornishmen and Lancastrians
With them, Scousers and Geordies Celts, Saxons Londoners, and Others Also Fans of Ipswich Town, but not Norwich
We are familiar, to a degree, with the Koran and the Bible, but less so with The Analects. It's a collection of sayings attributed to Confucius. Not a sacred text, since Confucianism is not a religion, but as close as we can get to the principles of that philosophy.
Qufu cave is where Confucius is said to have been born. lonelyplanet.com tells us he was "frighteningly ugly" and "abandoned and cared for by a tiger and an eagle". The cave is on Mount Ni in Shandong province, China.
According to the Book Of Han, a history of the Former Han dynasty - the second imperial dynasty of China - The Analects arose from conversations with Confucius by various of his disciples. I thought I'd mention a few of the sayings, starting with an enigmatic one.
“He Who Knows And Knows That He Knows Is A Wise Man - Follow Him; He Who Knows Not And Knows Not That He Knows Not Is A Fool - Shun Him”
"He who knows all the answers has not been asked all the questions."
“The man who asks a question is a fool for a minute, the man who does not ask is a fool for life.”
“When you see a good person, think of becoming like her/him. When you see someone not so good, reflect on your own weak points.”
“Attack the evil that is within yourself, rather than attacking the evil that is in others.”
“What the superior man seeks is in himself; what the small man seeks is in others.”
“The hardest thing of all is to find a black cat in a dark room, especially if there is no cat.”
I'm not sure how useful these are for your next pub quiz.
Confucianism is characterised by a focus on innate human goodness and the importance of interpersonal human relationships. Those relationships, however, are structured as "a strict hierarchy, with each relation acknowledging and exercising their dominance or submission. There are five key relations under which all social interaction falls: the ruler to the subject, the parent to the child, the husband to the wife, the older brother to the younger brother, and the friend to the friend. Even within friendship, a hierarchy must exist to ensure continuous harmony. Dominant parties should treat the submissive parties with kindness and gentleness, and submissive parties should treat the dominant with reverence and respect. For example, children should only speak when spoken to." [McKenzie Perkins, learnreligions.com]
In my research I discovered the existence of Confucius Institutes, which exist to foster the study of Chinese language and culture. In our post-modern, Sinophobic world, many see this as propaganda. Maybe there are some who think the same of the British Council. The Danes, Hungarians and Latvians, among many others, have cultural institutes with branches in different countries. Western nations perceive the Confucius Institutes, though, as representing malign influencers of a malign, authoritarian government. According to the National Association of Scholars (NAS) of the USA, a conservative group that has advocated the closure of CIs, only around 30 will remain in the United States by the end of 2021, down from 110 in 44 states in 2017.
There are something like 500 Confucius Institutes around the world. The UK has 29. Liexu Cai, of the University of Glasgow School of Education, wrote an article "A comparative study of the Confucius Institute in the United Kingdom and the British Council in China". In it she notes that "the activities of the British Council in China also became popular as one of the central paradigms for educational communication between China and the United Kingdom". You can see an abstract at researchgate.net and even request the whole article if you wish.
I'm not in any position to make judgements on this; I merely offer their existence as something readers may care to examine for themselves.
More Asda Radio trivia. Calmly and quietly eating my breakfast today, reading the paper, minding my own business, I was assaulted by the Rolling Stones shouting at me. Maybe the compiler of today's playlist was celebrating the life of Charlie Watts, the Stones' drummer who died yesterday at the age of 80. Is it disrespectful to question that he died 'peacefully'? That seems very un-Stones. Respect intended.
Later I was cheered up by Abba. I tapped my feet and cheered up.
None of this stopped me trawling some book ideas from various articles and comment pieces in today's Times. I share with Son #2 a love of books and, to an extent, the same kinds of books. We often jointly purchase books that we can share in hard copy, which is cheaper than each of us buying a Kindle edition. It's probably not very good for climate change but excellent for our minds. Today I found these, which may be purchased in the near future:
Fixing Failed States: A Framework for Rebuilding a Fractured World by Ashraf Ghani [this is the Afghan President who fled the country last week but I'm not holding that against him; he could be someone who has an informed view of these issues]
Red Knight: The Unauthorised Biography of Sir Keir Starmer by Michael Ashcroft [Conservative party donor and ex Deputy Chairman, tax exile who previously invested in Watford Football Club, saving them from going into administration; I'm not holding any of that against him because he researches and writes well]
Friday is the New Saturday: How a Four-day Working Week Will Save the Economy by Pedro Gomes [never heard of him but I'm not holding that against him]
Sharing options available for any who wish to join Dan and me!
Anyway, today is a big day for three friends. All of us active or retired croquet players
who used to meet once a month for a pub lunch. Our aim was to visit a different pub each month, particularly those none of us had previously frequented. Not always possible but we did it for 108 months from June 2009. Tony is 90, new hip, still occasional croquet player; Ian I think 75, heart implant of some kind, possibly retired player (I'll ask him today); I am Nigel, 77, sore knees, definitely retired player. We haven't met for almost exactly a year for obvious reasons but today will patronise the Britannia Inn in St Austell, which has lots of outdoor tables and decent food and drink.
