Small but perfectly formed

I would like to thank my great country.

Thanks for voting in a right wing government when the world is turning left.

Thanks for ignoring the effect rampant capitalism is having on the world, for voting in a former investment banker during a world wide financial meltdown, and for dismissing the threat of what will likely be a depression for the sake of tax cuts.

Thanks for shitting from a great height on any hope of an improvement in public transport so you can drive your SUV tanks down gleaming new motorways.

Thanks for being so god-damned ignorant about politics that the only reason you have voted in National is because you think 'it's time for a change'.

And thanks, especially, for bringing back Roger Douglas, who with his Rand worshipping cohorts nearly destroyed the country once already.

You're all just so great!

For the interest of my London based correspondents, apparently the last October snowfall was in 1934.

Remember a few months back, when that young lad was bashed on the 29 bus (aka the bus of DOOM)?

It sort of fell out of the news, but it transpires that the perpetrator was a New Zealand born [sigh] peace activist [sigh sigh sigh sigh SIGH!].

This is depressing on many levels, but somehow not as surprising as it seems originally. I know there are many righteous folk out there who are lovely and full of good intentions, but there are also a lot of "activists" who seem to disassociate themselves with the rest of the world to the point of actual antagonism and (in this case) violence.

As this behaviour alienates people so much that the cause is generally dismissed, I can't help but wonder if those burning down animal testing labs and sitting in trees actually want the world to change at all. My gut feeling is that, if all their wishes were granted, their lives would be purposeless. The fighting is what they're in it for - that's what gets them going.

If their intentions were pure, why would they jeopardise their reputation by being so extreme in their actions? Organisations such as PETA stir up such hate in people that they have failed in their supposed goals from the outset. What is the point, if not the desire for aggression?

Today, whilst talking to an Austrian friend on the phone, I mentioned that I had to get to the supermarket before it closed. She exclaimed "the supermarkets are open on Sunday?!", to which I retorted "you mean they aren't open there?!?!".

Having been brought up with rapidly expanding opening hours in New Zealand, I had assumed that most first world countries must have followed suit (I find Britain's 5pm closing on a Sunday enormously frustrating having grown used to 24 hour, 7 day a week supermarkets back home). Evidently this assumption was wrong.

I asked if Austria was a strongly religious country, and she replied in the affirmative. The church, she told me, is very powerful there. Past attempts to establish extended opening hours have been quashed by them, leaving Austria a rather dull place to be on a Sunday.

I'm a bit horrified by this.

I hadn't quite realised the influence of the christian church in Europe. Certainly in Britain its reach is hardly felt, and I had assumed that on the continent proper it was the same. Obviously somewhere like Italy would still be strongly influenced by the church, but Austria? I always imagined them to be a bt more forward thinking than that.

It worries me.

The world should be turning away from religious states, but at the moment the turn seems to be towards them. I am hard pressed to think of a region of earth untouched by one religion or another, and even somewhere like Britain, which is really very secular, is currently wrestling with those who want to force it into a religious dark age. While ostensibly Britain is tied to the crown and by extension the Church of England, it is not what I would call a driving factor in the nation's decision making (besides which, the CoE champions a christianity so secular in its thinking it can scarcely be called a religion).

Britain HAS to hold on to this secularity, for its own survival.

Don't get me wrong, I have no issue with those who are personally religious - I may think they are a bit mad, but it is really none of my business. When it becomes my business is when it starts to influence the governments of the countries in which I live, although so far (thank... er...) I have managed to avoid living in a religious country.

Religion should not be allowed to dictate our laws. When it does, it actively endangers advances in research (for example, the US stem cell debacle), it restricts human rights (banning gay marriage), and it almost without exception subjugates women. Religion is not a useful tool in showing us how to live in the 21st century, and so much of what is espoused runs in direct opposition to common sense.

Before anyone says it, I am well aware that the two most destructive political movements of the 20th century were anti-religious. I am not saying that it is only religious governments that bring problems with them. But they hold back progress in an unacceptable manner, and I will never, ever, ever support any government with any kind of religious agenda.

...if I ever say anything negative about anyone's appearance.

This is turning into a pet hate. Perhaps it is a sign of my age, but I am very tired of the significance people place upon looks.

Yes, beautiful people are nice to look at, and beauty has its place in society. I am certainly not one of those people who derides fashion magazines and believes skinny models should be banned. Beauty is a legitimate "talent", and like all others is god given - you either have it or you don't. People should be able to make money from this talent should they wish, and it can be admired in others without guilt.

But like most talents, it is not easily learned. Some people will be able to modify themselves to become more beautiful, just as some will be able to slave away on the violin to reach a standard which is not wholly earsplitting. But in the main, like violin virtuosity, beauty is not achievable for many.

So why do we insist upon it?

We do not do this with other talents. We don't say "you cannot draw, therefore you are worthless. Learn to draw or you will never be accepted in society". Nor will it ever commonly be the case that a person's ineptitude in the game of tennis will condemn them to dwell upon their lack of skills for the rest of their days, fostering a hatred of themself so destructive that they will contemplate suicide.

So why is this the case for beauty?

Is it really the media to blame?

Certainly the British media is brutal and unrelenting. On the one hand it delights in printing photos of "fat" (read: normal sized) celebrities and throwing punning headlines above them. On the other hand it condemns "evil" TopShop for introducing size 0/4 clothing when its customers are, generally, half-grown children (shock! skinny teenager!!!).

Then there is the man on the street, who loves nothing more than to shout inanities at those he deems too fat/thin/dark skinned/pale skinned. It's not very nice, and it makes the recipient of the abuse feel bad. Throw in the well-meaning older ladies who insist upon either feeding you up or slimming you down, the gossipy girls with a bad word to say about everyone, and the charming men who exclaim "you're quite pretty for a fat chick", and it cannot be blamed on the individual for feeling rotten about themselves.

I think the main problem is that Western society has nothing to do, nothing important to think about. Content in the knowledge that we will in all likelihood never starve (except voluntarily), and driven only by the accumulation of money with which to buy unnecessary items, Westerners are the epitome of shallow. Laughing at Bono's expanding gut is entertainment for us, we are all so bored.

What is the solution then? I doubt there is one. But I for one am not going to judge people on their looks any longer. As you get older you realise that you cannot actually afford to. No matter who they are, people will inevitably start losing their looks, and unless you are the kind of individual who relentlessly pursues the young - which I'm sure you will all agree is a fairly vile occupation - you are going to have to content yourself with your rapidly deteriorating peer group.