Thought of the Day

You can communicate dogma but not balanced argument in 140 characters.

- Bryan Edwards, Motorsport editor, www.chiefofficers.net.

“Everybody knows… that if a bomb is to be smuggled on to a plane it will be carried on by a Muslim from the Middle East or Africa."

- Kelvin Mackenzie, tabloid columnist, suggesting that searching white people at an airport, in this case Dubai, is "a waste of time."

“People can be very good at lying. Women can be especially good at it because they’re the weaker sex. That’s what the Book says.”

- Steve Farese, an American lawyer representing an alleged rapist.

[In the USA] a sharp rise in interest rates—for example, owing to increased financial imbalances—could push corporate debt servicing capacity to its weakest level since the crisis.

- Tobias Adrian : Financial Counsellor and Director, Monetary and Capital Markets Department, IMF 20 April 2017

“Self-love, my liege, is not so vile a sin, as self-neglecting.”
- William Shakespeare - Henry V

Our opponents believe because the government's majority is so small, that our resolve will weaken and that they can force us to change course. They are wrong.

- Theresa May announcing a UK general election, reminiscent of "The Lady's not for turning" comment of a previous British PM.

You can't catch Muslim from eating Halal Food

- Charlie Pickering, satirising opposition in Australia to halal certification.

I tried harder, but I went slower

Sebastian Vettel after taking P3 in qualifying in the 2017 Bahrain F1 Grand Prix. He went on to win the race.

It's easier to confuse a jury than to convince a judge

- Law and Order (TV programme) proving that truths are to be found in the most unlikely places.

Happy Easter for tomorrow, everyone.

I know that for many people, Easter is all about bonnets, bunnies and chocolate eggs. The importance of the day for Christians has been diminished by the idea of parades and egg hunts in the gardens. But it's much more than that, regardless of one's race, religion or creed.

The fact is that, for Christians, Easter Sunday is much more important than Christmas. That is why it is often celebrated in a much more downbeat manner. It is a time of serious reflection. For Christians, it's a time to re-dedicate their lives to God. All religions have such a festival, this one just happens to be for Christians. But its message is truly universal.

The message of Easter is often lost by the focus on the magical (or miraculous depending on the terminology) of the whole returning from the dead, rolling away the stone, ascending to heaven in a beam of light, thing. In fact, let's take it as a parable not history. And then it doesn't matter if you are Muslim, Hindu, Jew or any other religion - the message of Easter is as important for you as it is for Christians.

Let's put all of that mysticism on one side for a moment. What Easter is really all about is this: no matter how fouled up your life, no matter what weight you are labouring under (the "cross you have to bear" in biblical terms), no matter what is being done to you, one day you will be free of all that misery, suffering and pain and, just when you thought it was all too much to deal with, when you give up, when you want to lie in a hole and pull the earth in over you, that it's true - it is darkest before the dawn, and there will once more be light, you will be able to rise above it and to find your way to happiness. All you have to do is believe and it will come true, even if you have to change your wishes for the future.

I don't care what religion anyone follows, pick any of them apart and the core is the same anyway - it's the will of man that creates divisions between religions and even sects of the same religions. The law of God is the same for all men (including those who claim atheism - the rules and consequences are the same).

The true message of Easter is not about the precise details of the story. It is a story of success not of defeat.

And it's about you, your hopes, wishes and dreams and how, even when everything seems hopeless, one day you (we) will rise above it.

From Starfish and me, a Happy Easter - whatever you call God and however you worship Him.

- Jefferson Galt, Easter 2015, http://www.jeffersongalt.com/a...

“Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.”
- William Shakespeare - Twelfth Night

throughout the global financial crisis in late August 2007 through early 2009, as a result of instructions from Barclays’ senior management, the Bank routinely made artificially low LIBOR submissions to protect Barclays’ reputation
- US Commodity Futures Trading Commission, 2012

"Action is eloquence"
- William Shakespeare - Coriolanus

The only difference between me and a madman is that I'm not mad.

- Salvador Dali