Month: September 2005

Holy fools

The BBC is reporting that a group of CofE bishops are suggesting a meeting of Christian and Muslim religious leaders to apologise for the Iraq war.

Whatever your view of the rights and wrongs of the war, this is surely really stupid. I’m never convinced by the ‘Bishops shouldn’t involve themselves in politics’ line that the Tories trotted out from time to time, but on this particular issue, they’re miles off.

First, the war was not – to my knowledge – started by the Church of England, so it’s not for them to apologise, except in a rather pathetic hand-wringing ‘It’s not my fault, honest’ sort of way.

More importantly, though, the war was not about Christians vs. Muslims. It was a war of nominally Christian western states against a secular state inhabited mainly by Muslims. To start going on about apologies from one faith to another plays right into the terrorists’ claims that this is a ‘Crusade’ against Muslims which – for all its faults – it most certainly is not.

Burma Shave Slogans

Burma Shave signs were iconic American advertising from the fifties. Witty billboards posted along a stretch of highway so they read as a little snatch of doggerel, either advertising the benefits of shaving, or with a little safety message. Fiftiesweb has a collection of the old slogans, and more on their history.

Example:
If your peach
Keeps out
Of reach
Better practice
What we preach
Burma-Shave

and

On curves ahead
Remember, sonny
That rabbit’s foot
Didn’t save
The bunny
Burma-Shave