24th July:

Ah, nothing makes front page news like a good health scare story. Today, it is soy products. Apparently, a diet rich in soy products can have a dramatic negative impact on sperm production. Has anyone told our Far Eastern brethren? Does this mean that polite middle-class vegetarians in the West will gradually lose the ability to procreate whilst the burger-munching proletariat frug away like rabbits, populating our society with a generation of tabloid-reading mouth breathers?

More amusing is the page on the BBC news site that carries this story, simply because there are links at the side of the page to related news items:
Being fat “can damage sperm”
Paint chemicals “may harm sperm”
Coffee “worsens poor fertility"

So there you have it. Not only are the veggies and the Chinese at risk, overweight decorators with a penchant for cappuccinos also look to be on the way out too. Abandon hope...

21st July:

According to the BBC, the citizens of Beijing have been issued with extensive guidelines by the Chinese government in advance of the Olympic Games to help them interact with the thousands of foreigners who will be staying in and around the city. According to the guidelines, smiling is good but questions about a foreigner’s job, health or income are not. Presumably because the foreigner in question will then be forced to admit that they live in a democratic society, enjoy a decent standard of living and have access to a relatively effective welfare and healthcare system. And we wouldn’t want that, now, would we?

In the same week, a charity in Devon has produced a welcome pack designed to help Polish migrants settle in the UK. Again, smiling is deemed to be a good thing, although the Polish newcomers are also advised to start conversations with a comment about the weather and expect to drink a lot of tea. Strangely, no mention is made of the need to also moan about property prices, the state of the NHS, kids today, the lateness of the trains and the price of petrol. However, I’m sure they will soon get the hang of it – just give them a copy of the Daily Mail and they’ll be off and running.

Example one above is a clear case of government propaganda designed to stop the Chinese population from finding out that life elsewhere might actually be considerably more attractive than at home. As if they are really that stupid. Example two is a worthy but probably unnecessary attempt to make people feel at home in a culture that is different to their own. As if they are really that stupid. Spot the recurring theme..?